The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Traditional Chinese Medications for Knee Osteoarthritis Pain: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Traditional Chinese medication (TCM) has analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). We conducted the first systematic review of the best quantitative and qualitative evidence currently available in order to evaluate the effectiveness of TCM in relieving pain in knee OA. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using three English and four Chinese biomedical databases from their inception through March 1, 2015. ⋯ This evidence suggests that TCM is safe and effective for improving pain, function, and wellness in treatments of knee OA. However, there is inherent clinical heterogeneity (diverse TCM formulations, controls, and treatment regimens) among the included trials. Despite these limitations, the potential analgesic effects of TCM warrant further methodologically rigorous research to determine the clinical implications of TCM on pain management in knee OA.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Ganglioside on Working Memory and the Default Mode Network in Individuals with Subjective Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examined whether the administration of ganglioside, an active ingredient of deer bone extract, can improve working memory performance by increasing gray matter volume and functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) in individuals with subjective cognitive impairment. Seventy-five individuals with subjective cognitive impairment were chosen to receive either ganglioside (330[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/day or 660[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/day) or a placebo for 8 weeks. Changes in working memory performance with treatment of either ganglioside or placebo were assessed as cognitive outcome measures. ⋯ The current findings suggest that ganglioside has cognitive-enhancing effects in individuals with subjective cognitive impairment. Ganglioside-induced increases in gray matter volume and functional connectivity in the DMN may partly be responsible for the potential nootropic effects of ganglioside. The clinical trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT02379481).
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Astragalus membranaceus is a major medicinal herb commonly used in many herbal formulations in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat a wide variety of diseases and body disorders. Among its diversified clinical applications, the potential use of this herb and its chemical constituents in treatments of inflammatory diseases and cancers has been actively investigated in recent years. Astragalus-based treatments have demonstrated significant amelioration of the toxicity induced by other concurrently administered orthodox drugs (e.g., immunosuppressants and cancer chemotherapeutics). ⋯ The antitumorigenic mechanisms of a novel Astragalus saponins extract called AST in treating various gastrointestinal cancers are highlighted. We discuss in detail how the Astragalus herb and AST influence the immune system, modulate various cancer signaling pathways, and interact with specific transcription molecules during protection against gastrointestinal inflammation and cancers. This information could help clinicians and scientists develop novel target-specific and effective therapeutic agents that are deprived of major systemic side effects, so as to establish a better treatment regimen in the battle against inflammatory diseases and cancers of the gut.
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Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate, exists exclusively in cruciferous vegetables, and has been shown to possess potent antitumor and chemopreventive activity. However, there is no available information that shows SFN affecting human colon cancer HCT 116 cells. In the present study, we found that SFN induced cell morphological changes, which were photographed by contrast-phase microscopy, and decreased viability. ⋯ Western blotting also showed that SFN induced the release of cytochrome c, and AIF, which was confirmed by confocal microscopy examination. SFN induced ER stress-associated protein expression. Based on those observations, we suggest that SFN may be used as a novel anticancer agent for the treatment of human colon cancer in the future.
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Autophagy exists in vascular endothelial cells, but the relationship between autophagy and blood vessel dysfunction in hypertension remains elusive. This study aimed to investigate role of autophagy in vascular endothelial dysfunction in prehypertension and hypertension and the underlying mechanisms involved. Furthermore, we sought to determine if and how tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside (TSG), a resveratrol analogue and active ingredient of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb used for its cardiovascular protective properties in traditional Chinese medicine, influences vascular endothelial function. ⋯ Moreover, TSG significantly activated Akt-mTOR signaling in HUVECs and reduced the autophagic levels in vitro, which were almost completely blocked by rapamycin. In summary, mesenteric endothelial dysfunction in prehypertensive SHRs was at least partly attributable to excessive autophagy in vascular tissues. TSG partly restored microvascular endothelial dysfunction through activating the Akt/mTOR pathway, which consequently suppressed autophagy, indicating that TSG could be potentially applied to protect vascular function against subclinical changes in prehypertension.