Powerful Lei Gong Teng

Chinese Herb as Good as RA Drug

A traditional Chinese herbal remedy used to relieve joint pain and inflammation works as well as methotrexate, a standard drug treatment that is frequently prescribed to control the symptoms of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), reveals research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Furthermore, combining the herbal remedy with methotrexate — the disease modifying drug (DMARD) most commonly used to treat RA — was more effective than treatment with methotrexate alone, the findings showed.

Triptergium wilfordii Hook F, or TwHF, is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat joint pain, swelling, and inflammation, and is already approved for the treatment of RA in China.

The research team randomly assigned 207 patients with active RA to one of three treatment groups: methotrexate 12.5mg once a week; or TwHF 20mg three times a day; or a combination of the two over a period of 24 weeks.

The researchers wanted to find out which of these approaches would sufficiently alleviate symptoms to reach an ACR 50 response. This indicates a 50 per cent improvement in the number of tender or swollen joints and other criteria including pain, disability, and the doctor’s assessment of disease severity.

Most (174; 84 per cent) of the participants completed the full 24 weeks of the trial. The proportion of patients achieving ACR 50 was almost 46.5 per cent in those treated with methotrexate alone; 55 per cent in those treated with TwHF alone; and just under 77 per cent in those treated with both.

Similar clinically significant patterns of improvement in disease activity and remission rates also occurred among the three treatment groups.

There was little difference between the frequency or type of side effects experienced in the different treatment groups, although the number of women who developed irregular periods was slightly higher in those treated with TwHF.

More than 300 compounds have been identified in TwHF, including diterpenoids, which experimental research suggests can suppress genes controlling inflammation and dampen down the immune response, the authors point out.

And an extract of the root has recently been investigated for its potential to treat automimmune diseases and some cancers, say the researchers from Peking Union Medical College.

Source of the report is here.

Traditional Chinese Medicine for Cancer Care in China

Traditional Chinese Medicine for Cancer Care in China

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely applied for cancer care in China. There have been a large number of controlled clinical studies published in Chinese literature, yet no systematic analysis has been done. This study was conducted to summarize the current evidence of controlled clinical studies of TCM for cancer. A total of 2964 studies (involving 253,434 cancer patients) including 2385 randomized controlled trials and 579 non-randomized controlled studies were included. The top seven cancer types treated were lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, esophagus cancer, colorectal cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer by both study numbers and case numbers. The majority of studies (72%) applied TCM therapy combined with conventional treatment, whilst fewer (28%) applied only TCM therapy in the experimental groups. Herbal medicine was the most frequently applied TCM therapy (2677 studies, 90.32%). The most frequently reported outcome was clinical symptom improvement (1667 studies, 56.24%) followed by biomarker indices (1270 studies, 42.85%), quality of life (1129 studies, 38.09%), chemo/radiotherapy induced side effects (1094 studies, 36.91%), tumor size (869 studies, 29.32%) and safety (547 studies, 18.45%). Completeness and adequacy of reporting appeared to improve with time. The study concluded that data from controlled clinical studies of TCM therapies in cancer treatment is substantial, and different therapies are applied either as monotherapy or in combination with conventional medicine.  Further studies should address the most frequently used TCM therapy for common cancers and outcome measures should address survival, relapse/metastasis and quality of life.

Li X, Yang G, Li X, Zhang Y, Yang J, Chang J, Sun X, Zhou X, Guo Y, Xu Y, Liu J, Bensoussan A. Traditional Chinese medicine in Cancer Care: a Review of Controlled Clinical Studies Published in Chinese. PLoS One. 2013;8(4):e60338.

Gwen Stefani Visits Acupuncture Clinic

Her Bundle of Joy! Gwen Stefani Keeps baby Apollo under Wraps as She Visits Acupuncture Clinic

There are many stresses and strains that come with being a new mother, which is perhaps why Gwen Stefani paid a visit to her acupuncturist for a little relief today.

The flawless star went to a clinic in Los Angeles which practices the ancient Asian healing technique, accompanied by her seven-week-old son and his nanny.

Gwen later emerged looking refreshed and cradled her youngest child, who was wrapped in a blanket, as she carried him to her car.

The No Doubt singer's body has pinged back into shape since the birth, but she wore a loose-fitting black vest top and matching trousers, with a pair of dark round rimmed sunglasses and her trademark scarlet red lips.

The Don't Speak star is starting to take Apollo on his first trips out in public, and was seen with her eldest son Kingston pushing him around in a wheelchair at the Westfield Mall in Los Angeles last Friday.

To read the entire story, click here.

Sheng Mai San for Heart Failure

Sheng Mai San for Heart Failure

Heart failure is a major public health problem worldwide. Sheng Mai San, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, has long been used as a complementary treatment for heart failure in China.

A meta analysis was conducted. The study  included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of Sheng Mai San plus usual treatment for heart failure versus usual treatment alone, or Sheng Mai San versus placebo, irrespective of blinding status.

The study included a total of 14 RCTs (858 patients) in this review update, four of which were new trials. Of these 14 RCTs, 11 trials compared Sheng Mai San plus usual treatment with usual treatment alone, and three trials compared Sheng Mai San with placebo. Improvement of NYHA functional classification was more common in patients taking Shengmai plus usual treatment than in those receiving usual treatment alone (RR 0.37; 95% CI 0.26 to 0.51; 10 trials, 672 participants; low quality evidence). Beneficial effects of Sheng Mai San in treating heart failure were also observed in other outcomes, including exercise test, ejection fraction and cardiac output. The three RCTs (106 patients) comparing Sheng Mai San with placebo reported improvement in NYHA functional classification and in stroke volume. Three of the 14 RCTs reported a total of six patients with mild adverse effects and two were withdrawn due to the adverse effects. The adverse events rate was 1.21%.

The study conclude that Sheng Mai San may exert a positive effect on heart failure, especially for improving NYHA functional classification when Sheng Mai San plus usual treatment is used. The review results should be interpreted with caution due to the high risk of bias of the included studies (particularly regarding allocation concealment and blinding), the small sample size of these studies, and the significant heterogeneity in outcomes such as ejection function, cardiac output and stroke volume. There was no evidence available concerning the effect of Sheng Mai San on mortality, and more high quality studies with long-term follow-up are warranted.

Zhou Q, Qin WZ, Liu SB, Kwong JS, Zhou J, Chen J. Shengmai (a traditional Chinese herbal medicine) for heart failure. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Apr 14;4.

Top 3 Surprises About Acupuncture

Top 3 Surprises About Acupuncture

Acupuncture is not just for pain

Ask most people why other people get acupuncture and the majority will say pain. It's true that acupuncture can work wonders on pain conditions -- for everything from low back pain and shoulder pain to migraines and TMJ, acupuncture is on it.

However, acupuncture can alleviate a wide variety of ailments that have nothing to do with physical pain. Whether you have digestive issues, gynecological conditions, emotional concerns such as anxiety and depression, asthma, seasonal allergies, you name it, acupuncture can help address your symptoms.

Acupuncturists go to school for a long time

People tend to be unaware of the extent to which acupuncturists train to become licensed in their profession. Many assume becoming an acupuncturist is similar to becoming a massage therapist or Reiki practitioner or yoga instructor. Not so much.

At minimum, a licensed acupuncturist in the United States has been to three years of graduate school. Four years is more common. They hold master's degrees. Some acupuncturists with doctorates have studied at the graduate level for five-plus years. Upon graduating from an accredited school, all acupuncturists must pass multiple board exams to become licensed in their state.

In addition to the academic and state requirements for practicing acupuncture, many acupuncturists seek hands-on training and mentorship in the form of apprenticeships and continuing education seminars.

Acupuncture is relaxing

Acupuncture needles are surprisingly thin. They do not bear any resemblance to needles that are used for injections or to draw blood. In most cases, the insertion of acupuncture needles does not hurt. It can produce a variety of sensations, but frequent acupuncture goers will tell you it doesn't hurt.

Once the needles are in, they start working their magic, which is where the relaxation part comes in. Acupuncture helps shift your body out of sympathetic mode (fight or flight) and into parasympathetic mode (rest and digest). It mellows out the nervous system, decreases muscular tension, and helps quiet internal chatter.

People who get acupuncture on a regular basis are familiar with the term "acu-land," a magical place where many find themselves during and after acupuncture treatments. It's a state of blissful relaxation in which you feel lighter, calmer, and better equipped to manage stress. You ought to check it out some time.

To read the entire story, click Huffington Post.