Herbal Medicine Research from Pubmed

[Effects of Shenqi Jiedu Decoction on expressions of transforming growth factor-beta1, smad2 and smad3 in renal tissues of rats with chronic renal failure induced by adenine.]

Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2010 Mar;8(3):263-8

Authors: Li TT, Si GM, Chen FC

Objective: To investigate the effects of Shenqi Jiedu Decoction (SQJDD), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on expressions of transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), smad2 and smad3 proteins in renal tissues of rats with chronic renal failure (CRF) induced by adenine, and to explore the mechanisms of SQJDD in treating CRF. Methods: Ninety healthy Wistar male rats were randomly divided into six groups: normal group, untreated group, losartan group, low-dose SQJDD group, medium-dose SQJDD group, and high-dose SQJDD group. Rat model of CRF was established by feeding 2.5% adenine. Levels of plasma creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in different groups after model establishment were detected to estimate the renal function of rats with CRF. After eight-week treatment, levels of Cr, BUN, triacylglycerol (TAG), cholesterol (Chol) and albumin (ALB) in plasma were detected. Pathological changes of renal tissue were observed by HE staining. Protein expressions of TGF-beta1, Smad2 and Smad3 in renal tissues were detected by Western blotting. Results: Compared with pretreatment, levels of Cr and BUN in the losartan group and the SQJDD groups were markedly decreased (P<0.01). After treatment, levels of Cr, BUN and Chol in all treated groups were lower than those in the untreated group (P<0.01, P<0.05). Levels of ALB in all treated groups were higher than that in the untreated group (P<0.01). Pathological lesions of renal tissues in all treated groups were lessened as compared with the untreated group (P<0.01). The Western blotting results showed that the protein expressions of TGF-beta1, Smad2 and Smad3 in renal tissues in all treated groups were lower than those in the untreated group (P<0.01). Conclusion: SQJDD can delay the progress of CRF by inhibiting TGF-beta1/Smads signal transduction pathway.

PMID: 20226149 [PubMed - in process]

[Effects of Bushen Huoxue Granule on motor function in patients with Parkinson's disease: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial.]

Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2010 Mar;8(3):231-7

Authors: Yang MH, Li M, Dou YQ, Liu Y, Luo XD, Chen JZ, Shi HJ

Background: The main clinical symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) are resting tremor, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia, and so on. There is no effective treatment for PD yet, and dyskinesia symptoms affect the life qualities of PD patients. The therapy used for reinforcing kidney and activating blood circulation in treatment of PD can achieve good clinical effects. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Bushen Huoxue Granule (BSHXG), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine for reinforcing kidney and activating blood circulation in treatment of PD. Design, setting, participants and interventions: A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study was undertaken. A total of 120 PD patients from Outpatient Department of General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Xijing Hospital and Tangdu Hospital in Xi'an, were randomly divided into BSHXG group and placebo group. There were 55 cases in BSHXG group, for 5 cases lost to follow-up, and 51 cases in placebo group, for 1 case was excluded and 8 cases lost to follow-up. The patients in two groups were all treated for three months. Main outcome measures: The movement scale, exercise testing, and muscle tension were observed before and after treatment to make a comprehensive evaluation for clinical efficacy. One month follow-up was also made. Results: At three different times (one, two and three months) after treatment, the score of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) III, rise time of 10-meter back and forth exercise and resting muscle tension in BSHXG group were improved as compared with before treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01), and there was an interaction between treatment time and intervention (P<0.05, P<0.01). There were no differences in evaluation results of chronograph movement (times of left and right hand movement in one minute), and walking time and turn around time of 10-meter back and forth exercise between BSHXG group and placebo group, and no interaction existed between treatment time and intervention. BSHXG showed a better efficacy than the placebo (P<0.01) in improving motor function, shortening rise time of 10-meter back and forth test and relieving muscle tension. No adverse effects were found in this trial. Conclusion: BSHXG plus Western medicine is effective and safe in improving motor dysfunction of PD patients.

PMID: 20226144 [PubMed - in process]

[Survival benefit of an herbal formula for invigorating spleen for elderly patients with gastric cancer.]

Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2010 Mar;8(3):224-30

Authors: Zhao AG, Cao W, Xu Y, Zhao G, Liu BY, Cai Y, Yang JZ, Gu Y, Yuan W, Zhu YJ, Han YY, Yang JK

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in treatment of gastric cancer, but still lacking large sample controlled trial to evaluate its efficacy. Objective: To analyze the prognostic factors of 220 elderly patients with gastric cancer, and to further study the efficacy of an herbal formula for invigorating spleen and it modifications based on syndrome differentiation of TCM in treatment of gastric cancer in elderly patients and the influence on prognosis. Design, setting, participants and interventions: A total of 220 elderly patients aged 65 years or over with gastric cancer from Longhua Hospital of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Renji Hospital and Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical College were prospectively enrolled. All patients were assigned to either traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCHM) group (89 cases) or non-TCHM group (131 cases). Patients in the TCHM group were treated with an herbal formula for invigorating spleen plus chemotherapy, while patients in the non-TCHM group were only treated with chemotherapy. Main outcome measures: Univariate and Cox regression analyses were performed to determine all the potential prognostic factors. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to assess the differences in survival time between TCHM group and non-TCHM group after stratification for TNM stage, surgery or chemotherapy. Results: The 220 eligible patients were histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the stomach from 2001 to 2007. Eighty-nine cases in the TCHM group received three or more months of TCHM treatment, and 131 cases in the non-TCHM group did not receive TCHM treatment. Cox regression analysis suggested that the TNM stage, radical resection, three or more treatment cycles of chemotherapy, and TCHM treatment were independent prognostic factors (P<0.01). The patients receiving TCHM treatment demonstrated better prognosis than the other prognostic factors in multivariate analysis; the odds ratio [Exp(beta)] of overall group was 0.322, and 95% confidence interval (CI) was from 0.212 to 0.489. Median overall survival of TCHM group was 41.129 months, and one-, three-, and five-year survival rates were 85.2%, 55.6% and 45.7% respectively. Median overall survival of non-TCHM group was 17.195 months, and one-, three-, and five-year survival rates were 63.9%, 26.9% and 21.9% respectively. In stratification analysis of stage for 96 patients who did not accepted radical resection or suffered from recurrence and metastasis (36 cases in the TCHM group, and 60 cases in the non-TCHM group), Cox regression analysis suggested that three or more treatment cycles of chemotherapy and TCHM treatment were independent prognostic factors for improving survival respectively (P<0.01). The hazard ratio [Exp(beta)] of TCHM in stratification for late stage was 0.421, and 95% confidence interval was from 0.255 to 0.693. Median overall survivals were 17.819 months for TCHM group and 8.548 months for non-TCHM group. In stratification analysis of surgery and chemotherapy for 102 patients with Ib-IV (M0) who accepted radical resection (R0 resection) and three or more treatment cycles of chemotherapy (33 cases in the TCHM group, and 69 cases in the non-TCHM group), the disease-free survival and overall survival did not reach the median at the time of analysis. In the TCHM group, one-, three-, and five-year disease-free survival rates were 97.0%, 59.9% and 50.4%, and one-, three-, and five-year survival rates were 100.0%, 74.1% and 61.4%, respectively. In the non-TCHM group, one-, three-, and five-year disease-free survival rates were 82.6%, 51.1% and 51.1%, and one-, three-, and five-year survival rates were 86.9%, 55.6% and 55.6%, respectively. Conclusion: The herbal formula for invigorating spleen has an important value for improving the prognosis of elderly patients with gastric cancer. This herbal formula show survival benefit for advanced gastric cancer in elderly patients. The influence of TCHM on disease-free survival and overall survival of postoperative gastric cancer in elderly patients need to be further evaluated.

PMID: 20226143 [PubMed - in process]

Molecular Basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Cancer Chemoprevention.

Curr Drug Discov Technol. 2010 Mar 15;

Authors: Wang S, Penchala S, Prabhu S, Wang J, Huang Y

Cancer is the second leading cause of death, for which current therapeutic approaches are still very limited. Chemoprevention is an important approach to decrease cancer morbidity and mortality by the use of non-toxic natural or synthetic substances to reverse the processes of initiation and subsequent development of cancer. A substantial amount of evidence from human, animal and cell line studies has shown that many herbal products used for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can exert chemopreventive effects. The underlying theory for TCM to treat or prevent cancer is to bring the patient back to a healthy state by modifying multiple cancer-causing events. Since carcinogenesis involves multiple abnormal genes/pathways, using TCM in cancer chemoprevention may be superior to the agents targeting a single molecular target alone. However, before TCM can be accepted universally as complementary and alternative medicine for cancer treatment and prevention, it is crucial to understand the molecular basis for their effects. This review highlights several known molecular mechanisms of selected TCM in chemoprevention. Many TCM products or single active components have been reported to inhibit a variety of processes in cancer cell growth, invasion and metastasis by modulating a wide range of molecular targets, including cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor-Kappa B (NF- B) and nuclear factor erythroid 2 -related factor 2 (Nrf2)-mediated antioxidant signaling pathways. The TCM and their active components with potent chemopreventive effects can be considered as promising lead agents for the design of more effective and less toxic agents for cancer chemoprevention.

PMID: 20226002 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Refugees: A Systematic Review.

J Immigr Minor Health. 2010 Mar 12;

Authors: Macduff S, Grodin MA, Gardiner P

Little is known about the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among refugees, despite the common practice of CAM in many non-Western countries. We performed a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature using nine electronic databases. We included articles pertaining to refugees and CAM (whole medical systems, mind body medicine, herbal remedies, manipulative therapies, energy medicine). Qualitative and quantitative data were compiled and analyzed through descriptive statistics and chi square distribution tables. We reviewed 237 abstracts, and 47 publications met our inclusion criteria. Twenty-six papers documented whole medical systems; 11 mind-body medicine; 5 biologically based practices; 4 manipulative and body-based therapies; and 1 study documented the use of energy medicine. There were 3 clinical trials, 20 surveys, 12 case reports, 2 participant-observer qualitative papers, and 10 review papers. Most studies focused on Asian refugee populations (66%; n = 31). Mental problems related to trauma accounted for 36% of CAM use (17). Among included articles, methodological quality was extremely low. Our results show evidence that type of CAM used by refugees may vary based on ethnicity, yet this is most likely due to a bias in the medical literature. Efforts are needed to further explore these results and expand research within this field.

PMID: 20224938 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Mortality and cancer incidence among physicians of traditional Chinese medicine: a 20-year national follow-up study.

Occup Environ Med. 2010 Mar;67(3):166-9

Authors: Liu SH, Liu YF, Liou SH, Lin YL, Hsiao YC, Chen CC, Li CY, Wu TN

Objective To study the risks of mortality and cancer incidence in physicians of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) who had frequent exposure to herbal medicine. Methods A population-based cohort design was conducted in which a total of 7675 certified physicians of TCM who ever practised between 1985 and 2005 were compared with the age-, sex- and calendar year-specific mortalities and cancer incidence rates of the general population of Taiwan. The age-, sex- and calendar year-standardised mortality ratio (SMR) and standardised cancer incidence ratio (SIR) were calculated to estimate the relative risks of all causes and site-specific mortality and cancer incidence. Results Over an up to 20-year observational period, 796 (10.4%) physicians of TCM died, and 279 (3.6%) developed cancer. The study cohort showed a significantly reduced SMR for all-causes mortality (68, 95% CI 63 to 73), and for deaths from infectious (SMR=64), circulatory (SMR=68), respiratory (SMR=64) and digestive (SMR=56) disease. The study cohort also had a significantly reduced SIR (80, 95% CI 71 to 90) for all cancers, and for neoplasm of rectum, rectosigmoid junction, and anus (SIR=45), female breast (SIR=30) and cervix uteri (SIR=10). On the other hand, we noted that physicians of TCM suffered from a significantly increased SIR for neoplasm of liver and intrahepatic bile ducts (SIR=151, 95% CI 116 to 192) and of bladder cancer (SIR=259, 95% CI 167 to 382). Conclusion Like other healthcare workers, we noted that physicians of TCM had significantly reduced risks of all-causes mortality and cancer incidence. Nonetheless, reasons truly responsible for significantly increased risks of liver and bladder neoplasm among physicians of TCM warrant further investigations.

PMID: 20223844 [PubMed - in process]

[Multi-target therapeutics and new drug discovery]

Yao Xue Xue Bao. 2009 Mar;44(3):226-30

Authors: Xu Y, Li XJ

Drugs acting on individual molecular targets usually exert unsatisfying therapeutic effects or have severe toxicity when used in diseases of complicated causes such as tumor, diabetes and inflammation. Multitarget therapeutics which regulates multiple nodes of the disease network simultaneously shows synergistic effect, is unlikely to induce resistance and provides optimal clinical use. This review summarized the characteristics, classification, development strategies and screening models, current multi-target therapeutic drugs used in clinic and also explored the potential of TCM in multi-target therapeutics.

PMID: 19449518 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Microscopic identification study of western herbs. Part I: Three Echinacea-species roots]

Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2009 Nov;34(21):2718-20

Authors: Li Q, Chu C, Tan Z, Wang Y, Wei J, Li P, Zhao Z

OBJECTIVE: To make microscopic identification research of three Echinacea-species roots recorded in the United States Pharmacopeia. METHOD: The root transverse section and powder of E. angustifolia, E. pallida, and E. purpurea were observed. The main microscopic features were photographed. RESULT: The main microscopic features of transverse section and powder in three Echinacea-species roots are basically similar, except for some diagnostic differences. The results provide reliable reference for the authentication of raw materials of western herbal studies.

PMID: 20209899 [PubMed - in process]