Some recent research

[Guest guest]

1. A. Molassiotis et al., A systematic review of the effectiveness of

Chinese herbal medication in symptom management and improvement of quality of

life

in adult cancer patients, _Complementary Therapies in Medicine_

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09652299) _Volume 17, Issue 2_

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL & _tockey=#TOC#6746#2009#\

999829997

#866082#FLA# & _cdi=6746 & _pubType=J & view=c & _auth=y & _acct=C000050221 & _version=1 & _

urlVersion=0 & _userid=10 & md5=42619860bd4181d6adccf105a88d4524) , April 2009,

Pages 92-120.

Results

* All studies but 1 of low methodological quality

* Most studies found Chinese medicinal herbs improved treatment side

effects, quality of life, and performance status

* Some studies showed evidence of tumor regression and increased

survival

2. K. Farhadi etal., _The effectiveness of wet-cupping for nonspecific low

back pain in Iran: A randomized controlled trial_

(http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=2568300) , Complementary

Therapies in Medicine, _Volume

17, Issue 1_

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL & _tockey=#TOC#6746#2009#\

999829998#791074#FLA# & _cdi=6746 & _pubType=J & view=c & _auth=y & _acct=C

000050221 & _version=1 & _urlVersion=0 & _userid=10 & md5=e397633549f1585fd630c28cfedc

9b1e) , January 2009, Pages 9-15.

Conclusions

Traditional wet-cupping care delivered in a primary care setting was safe

and acceptable to patients with nonspecific low back pain. Wet-cupping care was

significantly more effective in reducing bodily pain than usual care at

3-month follow-up.

3. Xiong G. et al., Application of Delphi Technique in Identification of

Appropriate Screening Questions for Chronic Low Back Pain from Traditional

Experts' Opinions, The Journal of Alternative and

Complementary

Medicine. January 1, 2009, 15(1): 47-52.

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the present study was to obtain a standard list of

traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptoms and signs for screening chronic low

back pain (cLBP) from a group of experts and to assess agreement and

consistency among their opinions on the items of a questionnaire.

Design, settings, and subjects: The study design involved three rounds of

modified Delphi technique, and it was carried out by 13 experts in

orthopedics, massage, and acupuncture working in four hospitals affiliated with

Yunnan

University of Traditional , China

Outcome measures: The outcome was measured on the 5-score Likert-scale

self-administered checklists.

Results: A review of eight textbooks identified 12 pain characteristics, 11

associated factors, and 25 physical and tongue diagnostic expressions as

important factors in the TCM diagnosis of cLBP. These 48 diagnostic

characteristics were rated by 13 experts as “not important†to “very

important†on a

scale of 1–5. After three rounds of rating, 13 characteristics were

eliminated

from the list, with the final numbers for each group being 8, 11, and 16,

respectively. Seven items based on Western medicine were also added by the

experts. The intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficient for agreement among the

experts was 0.2 at the end. Intra-rater, between rounds, consecutive pair-wise

median kappa values were 0.53 and 0.66. Analysis of variance using items

appearing in all three rounds revealed significant effects of expert and group

of

symptoms and signs (p < 0.001) and nonsignificant differences among scores of

the same expert in the three rounds (p = 0.97). Mean score of physical and

tongue expressions was significantly (p < 0.001) lower than that of all other

groups of symptoms and signs.

Conclusions: Modern TCM experts have de-emphasized the items on physical and

tongue expressions and have adopted instead those from Western medicine.

Intra-expert agreement across items was low, and each expert tended to stick to

her/his original opinions.

 

 

 

References and further reading may be available for this article. To view

references and further reading you must _purchase_

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[Guest guest]

1. Acupuncture for schizophrenia: a systematic review and

meta-analysis
International Journal of Clinical Practice, 10/15/09

Lee MS et al. – These results provide limited evidence for the

effectiveness of acupuncture in treating the symptoms of schizophrenia.

However, the total number of RCTs, the total sample size and the

methodological quality were too low to draw firm conclusions. As all

studies originated from China, international studies are needed to test

whether there is any effect.

 

2. Chinese herbal medicines for people with impaired glucose tolerance

or impaired fasting blood glucose
Cochrane Reviews, 10/19/09

Grant SJ et al. – This review examined 16 randomised controlled trials

of 15 different Chinese herbal medicines. The trials lasted from four

weeks to two years (average nine months) and involved altogether 1391

participants. Death from any cause, diabetic complications and economic

outcomes were not investigated. No serious adverse events were

reported. The available evidence suggests that Chinese herbal medicines

are able to lower and normalise high blood glucose. Due to considerable

distortions (bias) in the trials, further high–quality and rigorously

evaluated studies are required before any conclusions can confidently

be reached about the effects of Chinese herbal medicines for the

treatment of impaired glucose tolerance and the delay of diabetes onset.

3. Clinical efficacy evaluation on electroacupuncture for

osteoarthritis and observation on biomechanical indexes
Journal of

Acupuncture and Tuina Science, 10/19/09

 

Ku XJ et al. – Electroacupuncture has better effect for knee

osteoarthritis than tuina, and it can also improve the gait performance

of the patients.

 

4. Berberine lowers blood glucose in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

through increasing insulin receptor expression
Metabolism-Clinical and

Experimental, 10/13/09

Zhang H et al. – The results confirmed the activity of BBR on InsR in

humans and its relationship with the glucose–lowering effect. Together

with the previous report, the authors strongly suggest BBR as an ideal

medicine for T2DM with a mechanism different from metformin and

rosiglitazone.

5. Ethanol extract of Fructus Ligustri Lucidi promotes osteogenesis of

mesenchymal stem cells
Phytotherapy Research, 10/13/09

Print Email This Article Save in My Library Free Abstract

Li G et al. – This study demonstrated that the EFLL is capable of

enhancing osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. It might be useful for

treating diseases with inadequate bone formation, including

osteoporosis.

 

6. Effect of Haishengsu as an Adjunct Therapy for Patients with

Advanced Renal Cell Cancer: A Randomized and Placebo-Controlled

Clinical Trial
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,

10/15/09

Liu JS et al. – Addition of Haishengsu (extract from Tegillarca

granosa) to the conventional immunotherapy is associated with an

increased remission rate in patients with advanced renal cell cancer.

Haishengsu was also associated with a reduced rate of gastrointestinal

side–effects from the immunotherapeutic agents, and an improvement in

the physical functionality of the patients.

 

7. Clinical observation on effects of scraping therapy for headache

due to common cold, 
Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science, 10/20/09

Li D et al. – Scraping therapy has obvious real–time effect on

headache caused by cold. However, whether the patients can follow the

doctor’s advice is a key factor in the relapse of headache

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Herbs, Acupuncture, Theory, Case Studies

 

 

Messages In This Digest (6

Messages)

 

 

 

 

1a.

 

Mom, Following up w/ my urinary obstruction patient, and the giant C

yehuda frischman

1b.

 

Re: Mom, Following up w/ my urinary obstruction patient, and the gia

thmsn

 

 

2a.

 

Re: Best free web resourses for Acupuncture

attiliodalberto

2b.

 

Re: Best free web resourses for Acupuncture

stefanomarcelli

 

 

3.1.

 

Re: Need some herbal data

Yuk Ming

3.2.

 

Re: Need some herbal data

Yuk Ming

 

 

 

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Messages

 

 

 

1a.

 

 

 

Mom, Following up w/ my urinary obstruction patient, and the

giant C

 

Posted by: " yehuda frischman "

 

 

 

 

 

Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:17 am (PDT)

 

 

 

 

 

Aah, the remarkable ways of Providence--

 

 

 

Dear Group, 

 

 

 

To those of you who answered me, thank you for your emphathy; To those

of you whose suggestions I wisely considered, thank you for your

expertise;  To all of you, listen on:

 

 

 

Thursday evening, as I began preparing what I felt would be a prudent

formula to resolve the scarring and stricture in my patients urinary

tract, I received a phone call from my sister that my mother (who

celebrated her 91st birthday yesterday), had suffered  a stroke in her

new urologist's office.  She was immediately admitted to S. John's

hospital in S. Monica, very weak and very compromised.  My sister was

in tears,  and my father who totally had depended upon Mom and whose

memory is starting to go became  withdrawn, and mom began talking more

about her childhood and returning to her deceased parents and siblings.

 

 

 

(A little more background:  My parents have lived for the past 10 or so

years, 1/2 the year in Sunrise, Florida, and half the year in Laguna

Woods, about 1/2 way between LA and SD.  Sept 3, mom had a stroke, and

we all agreed that it was best for Mom and Dad, for them to move up to

LA, for us to take care of them, as they could no longer take care of

themselves  independently.  They signed a six month lease for

a wonderful new apartment on a gated street on the Westside  of LA,

just last week, my sister moving in down the hall from them!--Now back

to my story:)

 

     

 

 I planned on coming Friday morning, but was awoken by a call from my

wife's caregiver, that she was unable to come in that day, so without a

choice, I had to stay home Friday, take care of my wife and prepare

Shabbos (shopping, cooking and cleaning).  After Shabbos, I again

planned to go to visit Mom, especially after receiving desperate calls

from my sister crying and my father yelling at me for being a callous

and uncaring son.  But then our night caregiver, who said she would be

available couldn't be there.   The thought of me treating Mom was out

of the questions as  I have always been my Mom's little boy,  and her

experiences with acupuncture in the past have not been positive, so

that idea had never been discussed.    Sunday, I again had no one to

take care of my wife until early evening, and throughout the day,

received desperate calls from family members to please come.  I told my

sister that I would be able to be there

 

around 7:00pm, and in passing, desperate after this second stroke, my

sister and father mentioned that they were prepared to do ANYTHING,

 even to have ME treat Mom, if I felt I could help.  I said that with

their permission, and G-d willing, I would try, and worked on Mom for

about two hours.  The change was remarkable, and hopefully today or

tomorrow, she will move to a rehab facility and G-d willing,  be home

within a week or so. 

 

 

 

Now,  all this time, I was unable to work on the formula to help my

patient with urinary obstruction who I discussed previously (see letter

below).  Sunday night, though, as I reviewed my phone messages, there

was a message from him.  I had been so preoccupied with Chana (my 

wife) and my Mom, that I hadn't taken any phone calls since Friday. 

Though I feared that he was calling to find out the progress on his

formula, in reality, he called to tell me that suddenly, the pain and

frequency had dramatically diminished, and he was now able to go every

2 hours without urinating, and without pain!  Apparently, the 2

formulas and the treatments that he had been taking for 3 or so months

had finally done the trick, though like the giant Chinese bamboo, their

effect was not appreciated  because they were slowly healing from

within!  The new formula was therefore completely unnecessary.  Yet he

still plans to have surgery next week.  I hope to

 

convince him to wait, and continue to healing process naturally.

 

 

 

One more thing:  For Mom, we have a wonderful cardiologist and

Urologist, but are in need of an internist or GP that works out of the

Westside, preferably S.Monica.  Any recommendations?

 

 

 

Thanks for your support and thanks for listening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

male urinary obstruction from blood stasis and without damp

heat

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

 

 

 I have a very athletic patient in his 50s, who 5 years ago came down

with a severe case of Guillain-Barre syndrome.  Though  he has

difficulty walking, he has built himself back up by swimming an

hour daily.  When I started treating him about a month ago, both

proximal pulses were empty, and slow but as would be expected, the

distal pulses on the right wrist are robust. I have been treating him

with a combination of You Gui wan and Xiao Huo Luo Dan, along with

acupuncture and heat (a combination of infrared heat and moxa,

alternatingly) .  The first condition that I treated him

for was ulcerated sores or his feet and toes with numbness, similar to

diabetics with neuropathy.    The sores have now healed completely, and

the extremities though still cold are less so.  His proximal pulses are

now thready and a little slow and weak.  None of his pulses give any

indication of a slippery or rapid quality. All the above

 

is background to my actual question:

 

 

 

His chief complaint is urinary obstruction and unrelenting pain upon

urination.  In order to urinate he has to gently massage his penis, and

even then only a few drop come out.  It is very painful, and he is

afflicted by it day and night, every half hour or so.   But wait,

before you jump on the prostatitis and damp heat bandwagon,  first, as

I mentioned above neither his pulses nor tongue reflect that at all. 

Second, he saw his urologist yesterday, who upon examination and

testing said that there is no evidence of infection, and though, his

prostate is marginally enlarged, it is consistant with someone his age,

and certainly contributes little to his current condition.  Also, there

is no urinary retention, and so a catheter would not be helpful at

all.  The current condition,  he said,  was clearly the result of scar

tissue and stricture, the result of the GBS from 5 years ago in the

penis and urethra.  He is open to herbs

 

and clearly, what I need to prepare is a formula that will invigorate

blood stasis,  while continuing to warm and open the channels,

 boost Kidney Yang and  nourish Kidney Jing.  One other unpleasant side

effect:  When he bears down too hard trying to urinate, he

involuntarily defecates.

 

   

 

The benefit of your experience would be appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

1. _Auricular stimulation and anti-aging_

(http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=2919508)

Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science, 10/21/09

Zhao WM et al. – Auricular stimulation, ear point–embedding method and

ear point–massaging method in particular, is a simple, effective and non–

traumatic healthcare and therapeutic method and should display great effect in

anti–aging.

2. _CAM and Respiratory Disease_

(http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=2920428)

Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 10/27/09

Sorkness RL – Complementary and alternative medicine is used commonly for

respiratory diseases. This review summarizes data that identify potential

links between dietary intake and asthma, and results of interventional

trials of herbal substances for the treatment of asthma, chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease, and acute bronchitis.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

1. _Olive tree (Olea europaea) leaves: potential beneficial effects on

human health_ (http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=2940815)

Nutrition Reviews, 11/09/09

El SN et al. – Olive tree (Olea europaea L.) leaves have been widely used

in traditional remedies in European and Mediterranean countries such as

Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, and Tunisia. They have

been used in the human diet as an extract, an herbal tea, and a powder, and

they contain many potentially bioactive compounds that may have

antioxidant, antihypertensive, antiatherogenic, anti–inflammatory,

hypoglycemic, and

hypocholesterolemic properties. One of these potentially bioactive

compounds is the secoiridoid oleuropein, which can constitute up to 6–9% of

dry

matter in the leaves. Other bioactive components found in olive leaves include

related secoiridoids, flavonoids, and triterpenes.

2. _Impact of Medical Qigong on quality of life, fatigue, mood and

inflammation in cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial_

(http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=2935318)

Annals of Oncology, 11/04/09

Oh B et al. – This study indicates that MQ can improve cancer patients’

overall QOL and mood status and reduce specific side–effects of treatment.

It may also produce physical benefits in the long term through reduced

inflammation.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Marty:

 

this olive leaf monograph is from a western biomed perspective. i'm

wondering about the functions from a tcm point of view.

 

the study you site on med qi gong is wonderful news. the abstract doesn't

give the studies definition of medical qi gong. was a practitioner giving

individual treatments, or were the patients preforming qi gong exercises?

 

kath

 

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 10:51 AM, <martyeisen wrote:

 

>

>

>

> 1. _Olive tree (Olea europaea) leaves: potential beneficial effects on

> human health_ (http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=2940815)

> Nutrition Reviews, 11/09/09

> El SN et al. – Olive tree (Olea europaea L.) leaves have been widely used

> in traditional remedies in European and Mediterranean countries such as

> Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, and Tunisia. They

> have

> been used in the human diet as an extract, an herbal tea, and a powder, and

>

> they contain many potentially bioactive compounds that may have

> antioxidant, antihypertensive, antiatherogenic, anti–inflammatory,

> hypoglycemic, and

> hypocholesterolemic properties. One of these potentially bioactive

> compounds is the secoiridoid oleuropein, which can constitute up to 6–9% of

> dry

> matter in the leaves. Other bioactive components found in olive leaves

> include

> related secoiridoids, flavonoids, and triterpenes.

> 2. _Impact of Medical Qigong on quality of life, fatigue, mood and

> inflammation in cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial_

> (http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=2935318)

> Annals of Oncology, 11/04/09

> Oh B et al. – This study indicates that MQ can improve cancer patients’

> overall QOL and mood status and reduce specific side–effects of treatment.

> It may also produce physical benefits in the long term through reduced

> inflammation.

>

>

[Guest guest]

1. _Rose hip herbal remedy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis – a

randomised controlled trial_

(http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=3052894)

Phytomedicine, 02/22/10

Willich SN et al. – The results indicate that patients with RA may benefit

from additional treatment with rose hip powder.

2. _Green Tea Polyphenols Prevent UV-Induced Immunosuppression by Rapid

Repair of DNA Damage and Enhancement of Nucleotide Excision Repair Genes_

(http://www.mdlinx.com/readArticle.cfm?art_id=3040283)

Cancer Prevention Research, 02/16/10

Katiyar SK et al. – This study is the first to show a novel NER mechanism

by which drinking GTPs prevents UV–induced immunosuppression and that

inhibiting UV–induced immunosuppression may underlie the chemopreventive

activity of GTPs against photocarcinogenesis.