Complementary therapies in medicine
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Complement Ther Med · Feb 2013
ReviewThe role of acupuncture in emergency department settings: a systematic review.
Patients with non-emergent and non-life threatening conditions often present to the emergency department (ED), which hinders the efficient utilisation of healthcare resources. Acupuncture has frequently been used for such common conditions, although not in the ED context. This study aimed to evaluate the current evidence for acupuncture treatment in the ED and to inform future randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for acupuncture in ED settings. ⋯ The current evidence is insufficient to make any recommendations concerning the use of acupuncture in the ED. The effectiveness and safety as well as the feasibility of acupuncture should be tested in future RCTs.
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Complement Ther Med · Feb 2013
The multi-target capabilities of the compounds in a TCM used to treat sepsis and their in silico pharmacology.
This study aims to explain the mechanisms at the molecular level of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of sepsis. ⋯ We found that multiple active compounds contained in the TCM interact with multiple sepsis-related targets. We predicted several promising compounds for sepsis treatment, and the first 10 compounds were characterised. Among those tested, rosmarinic acid displayed the strongest biological activity in the in vitro activity test with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of 85μM. This study demonstrates a novel way of identifying naturally occurring chemical entities as new leads for sepsis treatment.