The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Although lots of great achievements have been gained in the battle against cancer during the past decades, cancer is still the leading cause of death in the world including in developing countries such as China. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is popular in Chinese and East Asian societies as well as some other Western countries and plays an active role in the modern healthcare system including patients with cancer, which may act as a potential effective strategy in treating human cancers. In this review, we aimed to introduce the mechanisms of TCM compound, as an option of individualized therapy, in treating cancer patients from the perspective of both Chinese and Western medicine. ⋯ It could be applied in cancer patients with cancer-related fatigue (CRF). In addition, it is a good method for alleviating the side effects of both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Therefore, TCM compound plays a critical role in treating patients with cancer, which has a promising strategy in the field of cancer management.
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Cisplatin, a platinum chelate with potent antitumor activity against cancers of the testis, ovary, urinary bladder, prostate, and head and neck, has adverse effects on the kidney, bone marrow, and digestive organs, and its use is particularly limited by nephropathy as a side effect. In the present study, safflower seed extract was administered to a mouse model of cisplatin-induced acute renal failure to investigate its activity. Cisplatin (20[Formula: see text]mg/kg body weight) was administered by intraperitoneal injection to mice that had received oral safflower seed extract (100 or 200[Formula: see text]mg/kg body weight per day) for the preceding 2 days. ⋯ The expression of proteins related to the anti-oxidant defense system in the kidney was down-regulated following cisplatin treatment, but safflower seed extract significantly up-regulated the expression of the anti-oxidant enzyme catalase. Furthermore, safflower seed extract reduced the overexpression of phosphor (p)-p38, nuclear factor-kappa B p65, cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, ATR, p-p53, Bax, and caspase 3 proteins, and mice treated with safflower seed extract exhibited less renal histological damage. These results provide important evidence that safflower seed extract exerts a pleiotropic effect on several oxidative stress- and apoptosis-related parameters and has a renoprotective effect in cisplatin-treated mice.
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Review Meta Analysis
Chinese Herbal Medicine for Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been widely used in the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but their efficacy and safety remain controversial. We sought to comprehensively aggregate and evaluate the available evidence on the efficacy and safety of the combination treatment with CHM and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in NSCLC patients. ⋯ Compared with EGFR-TKIs therapy alone, meta-analysis showed significant differences favoring the combination treatment in progression-free survival ([Formula: see text]), median survival time ([Formula: see text]), one-year survival rate ([Formula: see text]), two-year survival rate ([Formula: see text]), probability of severe toxicities ([Formula: see text]), objective response rate ([Formula: see text]), Karnofsky performance status ([Formula: see text]), and improvement in percentage of CD3[Formula: see text] T lymphocyte ([Formula: see text]) and CD4[Formula: see text] T lymphocyte ([Formula: see text]). Though these results require further confirmation, they are prone to show a potential therapeutic value of CHM in improving the clinical effect, overcoming the drug resistance and toxicities as an adjunctive therapy to EGFR-TKIs.
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Review Meta Analysis
Excavating Anticonvulsant Compounds from Prescriptions of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Epilepsy.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and been widely used in prevention and treatment of epilepsy in China. This paper is intended to review the advances in the active anticonvulsant compounds isolated from herbs in the prescription of TCM in the treatment of epilepsy. ⋯ In addition, in this present review, the evaluation of the effects of the anticonvulsant classical TCM prescriptions is discussed. According to these rewarding pharmacological effects and chemical substances, the prescription of TCM herbs could be an effective therapeutic strategy for epilepsy patients, and also could be a promising source for the development of new drugs.
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Meta Analysis
The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Osteoporosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
To summarize the existing evidence and evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture as a clinical treatment for osteoporosis. Six English and four Chinese databases were searched from their inception to April 2017. Randomized controlled trials were included, in which warm acupuncture, needling or electroacupuncture were compared with sole Western medicine with osteoporosis. ⋯ Needling could relieve pain (MD [Formula: see text] -2.27, 95% CI [Formula: see text] -3.11, -1.43, [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]0.00001) compared with sole Western medicine. This present systematic review indicated that acupuncture could be an effective therapy for treating osteoporosis. Warm acupuncture seemed to more effective than electroacupuncture and needling for osteoporosis in comparison to sole Western medicine.