Narrow Results

The clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (SAR) was evaluated by employing a two-phase crossover single-blind clinical trial. Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to two groups with 17 and 13 subjects respectively and treated with real or sham acupuncture (three times per week) for four consecutive weeks and then a crossover for treatments for a further four weeks without a washout period. The administration of real acupuncture treatment was guided by a syndrome differentiation according to Chinese Medicine Theory. Subjects were assessed by various criteria before, during and after the treatments. Outcome measures included subjective symptom scores using a five-point scale (FPS), relief medication scores (RMS) and adverse effect records. Twenty-six (26) subjects completed the study. There was a significant improvement in FPS (nasal and non-nasal symptoms) between the two types of acupuncture treatments. No significant differences were shown in RMS between the real acupuncture treatment group and the sham acupuncture treatment group. No side effects were observed for both groups. The results indicate that acupuncture is an effective and safe alternative treatment for the management of SAR.

The predictive roles of symptom combination traditionally evaluated in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were explored. Three hundred and ninety six patients were randomly divided into 197 subjects receiving Western medicine therapy (WM) and 199 subjects receiving TCM therapy (TCM). A complete physical examination and 18 clinical manifestations typically assessed in TCM were recorded before the randomization. The ACR responses were used for efficacy evaluation. ACR20 and 50 responses with WM treatment were higher than in the TCM group. The 18 symptoms in RA could be clustered into 4 symptom combinations with factor analysis, which represent joint symptoms, cold pattern, deficiency pattern and hot pattern in TCM respectively. TCM would be more effective in patients with weak-symptom combination 3 (deficiency pattern in TCM), and WM would be more effective in patients with symptom combination 2 (cold pattern in TCM). Symptom combinations judged with TCM may have influence on the efficacy of therapy in the treatment of RA.

The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of electro-acupuncture coupled with conventional treatments and compare it with the efficacy of conventional treatments alone in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. Thirty patients with chronic refractory plantar fasciitis were randomly assigned to two groups. Subjects in the control group received five weeks of conventional treatments, including stretching exercise, shoe modification and rescue analgesics. Subjects in the acupuncture group received the same treatments plus ten sessions of electro-acupuncture twice weekly. Endpoints included a success rate determined by a minimum of a 50% decrease in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Foot Function Index (FFI). At the end of treatment, VAS decreased significantly from 6.00 ± 1.69 to 1.89 ± 1.59 and from 6.27 ± 2.34 to 5.40 ± 2.26 in the acupuncture and control groups, respectively. FFI decreased significantly only in the acupuncture group (p < 0.05). Subjects in the acupuncture group obtained higher success rates than those in control group (80% and 13.3%, respectively). FFI in the acupuncture group was better than those in the control group (p < 0.001). At the sixth week follow-up, subjects in the acupuncture group showed a better FFI and success rate for pain during the day than those in the control group (p < 0.05). Electro-acupuncture coupled with conventional treatments provided a success rate of 80% in chronic planar fasciitis which was more effective than conventional treatments alone. The effects lasted for at least six weeks.

Chronic low back pain is one of the most common reasons that people seek medical treatment, and the consequent disability creates a great financial burden on individuals and society. The etiology of chronic low back pain is not clear, which means it is often refractory to treatment. Acupuncture has been reported to be effective in providing symptomatic relief of chronic low back pain. However, it is not known whether the effects of acupuncture are due to the needling itself or nonspecific effects arising from the manipulation. To determine the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy, a meta-analysis was performed to compare acupuncture with sham acupuncture and other treatments. Overall, 2678 patients were identified from thirteen randomized controlled trials. The meta-analysis was performed by a random model (Cohen's test), using the I-square test for heterogeneity and Begg's test to assess for publication bias. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by pain intensity, disability, spinal flexion, and quality of life. Compared with no treatment, acupuncture achieved better outcomes in terms of pain relief, disability recovery and better quality of life, but these effects were not observed when compared to sham acupuncture. Acupuncture achieved better outcomes when compared with other treatments. No publication bias was detected. Acupuncture is an effective treatment for chronic low back pain, but this effect is likely to be produced by the nonspecific effects of manipulation.

Gegen (Radix Puerariae Lobatae), the root of Pueraria lobata, is an edible and medicinal herb which has been used in treating diabetic symptoms in the orient for thousands of years. We present an evidence map of the efficacy and safety of Gegen and Gegen formulas (GGFs) that use Gegen as an essential herb for diabetes, and also its mechanism of actions. We comprehensively searched the ancient medical records to identify empirical evidence; conducted a systematic review (SR) based on moderate- to high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to synthesize the clinical evidence; and reviewed the possible mechanisms of its antidiabetic effects. Empirical application of Gegen in treating diabetic symptoms dated back to more than 2000 years ago. Common herbs used in RCTs that accompany with Gegen included Radix et Rhizoma Glycyrrhizae, Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng, Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Poria, and Radix Ophiopogonis. The combinations used today are consistent with their usage in ancient times. Results of the SR showed that GGFs could benefit patients with type 2 diabetes for blood glucose control. When in combination with hypoglycemic agents or insulin, GGFs enhanced the glucose-lowering effect as well as the lipid-lowering effects. Also, the incidence and the risk of adverse events (AE), especially the hypoglycemic episodes, were lower in the combination group. No serious or life-threatening AE was reported. The experimental evidence presented that Gegen and GGFs might exert and enhance the anti-diabetic effects through activation of multiple mechanisms, such as reducing insulin resistance, increasing insulin release, inhibiting glucose absorption and reabsorption, and improving insulin sensitivity, glucose uptake, and metabolism.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a catastrophic disease associated with damaged neurological structures and has become a significant social and economic burden for the health care system and patients’ families. The use of Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) to treat SCI has been increasing in recent years. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effectiveness of CHM for patients with SCI. Therefore, we included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CHM for SCI in seven databases. A total of 26 studies involving 1961 participants were included in this study. No serious heterogeneity or publication bias was observed across each study. The results showed that significant improvements of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA)-grading improvement rate ($\mathrm{\text{RR}}=1.44$, $p<0.0001$), clinical effective rate ($\mathrm{\text{RR}}=1.28$, $p<0.00001$), ASIA motor score ($\mathrm{\text{MD}}=7.34$, $p<0.00001$), ASIA sensory score (total) ($\mathrm{\text{MD}}=9.31$, $p<0.00001$), ASIA sensory score (light touch) ($\mathrm{\text{MD}}=7.31$, $p<0.00001$), ASIA sensory score (pinprick) ($\mathrm{\text{MD}}=7.33$, $p<0.0001$), and activities of daily living (ADL) score ($\mathrm{\text{SMD}}=0.68$, $p<0.00001$) in CHM group compared with the control group. Among the CHM groups, Buyang Huanwu decoction was the most frequently prescribed herbal formula, while Astragalus membranaceus was the most commonly used single herb. In addition, there were no serious and permanent adverse effects in the two groups. The methodological quality of the most included RCTs was poor and the quality of evidence for the main outcomes was from very low to moderate according to the GRADE system. Current evidence suggests that CHM is an effective and safe treatment for SCI and could be treated as a complementary and alternative option with few side effects. However, considering the low quality, small size, and high risk of the studies identified in this meta-analysis, higher methodological quality, rigorously designed RCTs with large sample sizes are needed to confirm the results.

To compare the long-term efficacy and safety of glycyrrhizic acid preparation and hormone treatment in patients with autoimmune hepatitis, we enrolled 377 patients in a study that lasted from January 2009 to January 2020. After performing propensity score matching, we included 58 patients in the hormone group and 58 in the glycyrrhizic acid preparation group in statistical analysis. We then compared the ratio of sustained biochemical responses at 48 weeks after treatment. Adverse events, including some incidence of decompensated liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, were evaluated. The results showed that a total of 61.8% of treated patients achieved complete biochemical remission. The cumulative biochemical remission rate in the hormone group and glycyrrhizic acid preparation group showed no significant difference (62.3% vs. 60.7%, ${\chi }^2=0.028$, $P=0.868$). At the end of follow-up, the total bile acid in the hormone group was significantly higher than that in the glycyrrhizic acid preparation group (8.9$\mu$mol/L vs. 5.6$\mu$mol/L, $Z=-2.3$, $P=0.049$). The incidence of adverse reactions in the hormone group was significantly higher than that in the glycyrrhizic acid preparation group (31.03% vs. 15.52%, ${\chi }^2=3.91$, $P=0.048$). In conclusion, compared with the hormone treatment, glycyrrhizic acid preparation might be a safe and effective treatment for autoimmune hepatitis.

GE Healthcare Life Sciences take part in Life-Saving, Olivier Loeillot (GM of Bioprocess Asia).

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How Can Cord Blood be Used to Save Lives? Life-Saving Mission of SCBB: An Interview with Dr. William Hwang.

An Interview with Mr. Stephen Ooi, Senior Executive Advisor Zimmer Biomet Asia Pacific.

APACMed – Serving Unmet Healthcare Needs in Asia Pacific, Fredrik Nyberg (CEO of APACMed).

Vaccination, One of the Solutions to Prevent Dengue Infection.

MonaLisa Touch^® Advanced Laser Treatment for Better Life Quality.

Antisense oligonucleotide technology allows the targeted reduction of mRNA expression through the in vitro application of short (~20 nt) DNA molecules. Oligonucleotides are valuable both in the study of gene regulation and for having potential therapeutic effects. In theory, a base sequence complementary to a region of the transcript would hybridize to its mRNA target. Nevertheless, in practice some complementary antisense oligonucleotides are more active and more potent than others in suppressing specific gene expression. We present a novel computational approach to modeling oligonucleotide efficacy that uses aggregate motifs, which are flexible tetramotifs that expand the predictive ability of the data descriptors and the attribute space. We also demonstrate our findings on the largest dataset yet reported in the literature. It was shown that the prediction accuracy was significantly enhanced, offering more than eightfold improvement compared to the traditional methods.

During this rapid development of wind energy aiming to combat climate change worldwide, there is greater need to avoid, reduce, and compensate for impacts on wildlife: Through the effective use of mitigation, wind energy can continue to expand while reducing impacts. This is a first broad step into discussing and understanding mitigation strategies collectively, identifying the current state of knowledge and be a beneficial resource for practitioners and conservationists. We review the current state of published knowledge, both land-based and offshore, with a focus on wind energy–wildlife mitigation measures. We state measures and highlight their objective and discuss at which project stage it is most effective (e.g. planning, construction, and operation). Thereafter, we discuss key findings within current wind energy mitigation research, needing improved understanding into the efficacy of wildlife mitigation as well as research into the cost aspects of mitigation implementation. This paper is divided into two articles; Part 1 focuses on mitigation measures during planning, siting, and construction, while Part 2 focuses on measures during operation and decommissioning.

During this rapid development of wind energy aiming to combat climate change worldwide, there is greater need to avoid, reduce, and compensate for impacts on wildlife: Through the effective use of mitigation, wind energy can continue to expand while reducing impacts. This is a first broad step into discussing and understanding mitigation strategies collectively, identifying the current state of knowledge and be a beneficial resource for practitioners and conservationists.

We review the current state of published knowledge, both land-based and offshore, with a focus on wind energy–wildlife mitigation measures. We state measures and highlight their objective and discuss at which project stage it is most effective (e.g. planning, construction, operation). Thereafter, we discuss key findings within current wind energy mitigation research, needing improved understanding into the efficacy of wildlife mitigation as well as research into the cost aspects of mitigation implementation. This review is divided into two articles; Part 1 focuses on mitigation measures during planning, siting, and construction, while Part 2 focuses on measures during operation and decommissioning.

The efficacy and safety are two challenging factors before trusting the lipid-based Nanosystems (LBNs) for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the accessible in-vitro and in-vivo studies on the contribution of major physicochemical factors of LBNs for the effective and safe delivery of drugs and anticancer agents into the target site. These factors included lipid charge, particle size and size distribution, lipid composition and components, surface hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity, and surface coating. Here, reliable databases were searched for full-text, accessible and original articles to conduct this review. We included relevant studies since 1992, which were conducted on the development of LBNs for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Many studies have shown that using polyethylene glycol modification reduces the undesirable side effects and controls the efficacy and toxicity for in-vitro and in-vivo delivery of drugs or anticancer agents. Also, optimization of the size and composition of lipid nanoparticles minimizes the toxicity of the anticancer agents associated with a carrier. In addition, the presence of positively charged lipids in LBNs improves the efficacy of encapsulated drugs in spite of low blood circulation efficiency and high toxicity effects. The identification of important factors involved in the delivery of LBNs as potential drug carriers is crucial and contributes to the proper design of these interesting carriers for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.

Infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is determined through the decay of healthy CD4+ T-cells in a well-mixed compartment, such as a bloodstream. A mathematical model is considered to illustrate the effects of combined drug therapy, i.e. reverse transcription plus protease inhibitor, on viral growth and T-cell population dynamics. This model is used to explain the existence and stability of infected and uninfected steady states in HIV growth. An analytical technique, called variational iteration method (VIM), is used to solve the mathematical model. This method is modified to obtain the rapidly convergent successive approximations of the exact solution. These approximations are obtained without any restrictions or the transformations that may change the physical behavior of the problem. Numerical simulations are computed and exhibited to illustrate the effects of proposed drug therapy on the growth or decay of infection.

Background: Although the current nonsurgical treatment for trigger digits is corticosteroid (CS) injection, it often comes with adverse effects that may cause some limitations. Currently, Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been successfully used in tendinopathy and may be used in stenosing tenosynovitis. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of ultrasound-guided injection between the HA and CS in trigger digits treatment.

Methods: Double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted. Fifty patients with 66 trigger digits were randomly assigned into an intervention group (1 ml of low-molecular weight HA) and a control group (1 ml of 10mg/ml triamcinolone acetate). The ultrasound-guided injection and local anesthesia (0.5 ml of 1% lidocaine without adrenaline) were used. The Quinnell grading, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score of pain, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score and complications were collected at 1-, 3-and 6-month follow-up.

Results: The mean age of HA group (33 digits) and CS group (33 digits) were 58.3 years and 54.7 years respectively. Nine patients were loss of follow-up (7 in HA group and 2 in CS group). The Quinnell grades have shown an improvement in both group. The CS group had a significant better improvement at 1-month (p-value < 0.001) and there was no significant difference at 3-and 6-month follow-up between the two groups. The median of VAS and DASH score were significantly improved by time in both groups (p-value < 0.01). The CS group showed a better significant improvement in early period of follow-up (p-value < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the last follow-up.

Conclusions: HA and CS injection has a comparable therapeutic effect in treatment of trigger digits. However, CS injection has higher efficacy of pain and inflammation reduction in the early phase of the disease.

Background: COVID-19 outbreak spread in China and is a threat to the world. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to treat various symptoms and diseases in China and has been demonstrated to be effective. Chinese Medicine may be beneficial in the treatment of COVID-19. So we updated a meta-analysis to fully evaluate the strength of evidence supporting Chinese Medicine treatment for COVID-19.

Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, CBM and CNKI) were searched until 12 September 2023. The Cochrane bias risk tool was used for risk evaluation and JADAD scale for assessing the quality. Meta-analysis was carried out by Stata 15.1. Begg’s test was used for publication bias.

Results: A total of 4128 COVID-19 patients in 38 eligible RCT studies were included. Compared with Western medicine alone, integrated TCM significantly shortened the duration of fever [$\mathrm{\text{WMD}}=-1.14$, 95%CI (−1.28, −0.99)] and length of hospitalization [$\mathrm{\text{WMD}}=-2.65$, 95%CI (−3.23, −2.06)] and nucleic acid turning negative time [$\mathrm{\text{WMD}}=-2.23$, 95%CI (−2.97, −1.50)] and reduced the severity illness rate [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=0.41$, 95%CI (0.29, 0.57)] and improved CT changes [OR = 2.21, 95%CI (1.78, 2.74)] and a series of clinical symptoms including fever [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=1.94$, 95%CI (1.42, 2.65)], cough [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=2.36$, 95%CI (1.71, 3.25)], fatigue [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=2.09$, 95%CI (1.50, 2.90)], muscle pain [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=4.75$, 95%CI(1.65, 13.68)], expectoration [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=2.89$, 95%CI (1.60, 5.20)], breathless [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=6.39$, 95%CI (3.10, 13.17)], chest distress [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=1.95$, 95%CI (1.20, 3.18)], dyspnea [$\mathrm{\text{OR}}=5.25$, 95%CI (1.65, 16.76)] of COVID-19.

Conclusion: TCM could be a complementary medicine to improve COVID-19.

In Australia the overall prevalence for complementary medicine use is 14–65% among adults diagnosed with cancer (with estimates as high as 80–91% in the US and Europe), and 8–14% for alternative medicine use among adult cancer patients. Given the increasing desire of cancer patients to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), it is important that clinicians have a good understanding of the levels of evidence available for the efficacy and safety of specific complementary and alternative therapies. This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a range of CAMs in each of five categories used by cancer patients (upon diagnosis, during conventional treatment, in response to disease progression or recurrence, or during remission/survivorship) in Australia and elsewhere. Where possible, evidence from metaanalytic and systematic reviews is utilised. Currently, there is evidence from high-quality clinical trials that some complementary therapies, used as adjuncts to conventional medical treatments, are beneficial in reducing disease or treatment symptoms andim proving quality of life and psychological functioning. There is also evidence of potential harm. It is therefore imperative that those involved in the medical care of cancer patients are equipped with the skills and knowledge to help patients appropriately evaluate complementary and alternative therapies. Additionally, clinicians are strongly encouraged to routinely ask patients about complementary and alternative therapy use. Offering evidencebased complementary therapies alongside conventional treatments in cancer services can influence patients' decisions to continue with mainstream care and help avoid any potential harm that may occur with autonomous CAM use.

Chronic diabetic foot ulcers are sometimes resistant to conventional treatment with debridements and daily dressings. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) by stimulating angiogenesis locally could accelerate tissue healing. Schaden et al. first reported treating skin lesions with ESWT with a study cohort of 102 patients (104 chronic foot ulcers). They found 74% efficacy of success to produce complete healing. No adverse effect was observed. This cohort did not include any chronic diabetic ulcer. Schaden et al. further reported on the treatment of 175 patients (177 chronic skin lesions) with 74.5% showing complete healing. Santos et al. reported 12 case reports of chronic skin lesions treated by ESWT, four being diabetic foot lesions. They concluded that ESWT was effective, although it is noted that their study size was small. Currently, a randomised control study is underway by United States National Institute of Health by Tissue Regeneration Technologies since August 2006 to study the safety and efficacy of ESWT using Dermagold® for the treatment of chronic diabetic plantar foot ulcers. The authors are also currently conducting a randomised control study on the efficacy of ESWT for the treatment of chronic diabetic dorsal foot ulcers in collaboration with Dornier Medtech. A phase I/II FDA-sponsored diabetic foot ulcer study in the US is also currently underway by Attinger and Steinberg at the Limb Centre, Georgetown University.

We study alternative protection on the occurrence of mass dieback in oak forests seedlings in Central Serbia (caused by Microsphaera alphitoides Griff. et Maubl.) with various dosages of AQ-10 biofungicide, which is a pelleted formulation of conidia of Ampelomyces quisqualis Ces. ex Schlechtend. Simultaneous testing was conducted on the efficacy of a chemical sulphur-based preparation. The results of the research have demonstrated that AQ-10 biofungicide can be used as a part of integrated disease management programmes as an alternative. The best results in suppression of oak powdery mildew were attained through use of sulphur SC in the concentration of 0.5%, while very satisfactory results were obtained by use of AQ-10 biofungicide in the highest dosage of application (70 g/ha). The number of treatments was proven to have no significant impact on increased efficacy of the bio-preparation, or in other words, it showed that besides the application dosage, the high efficacy of the biopreparation depends primarily on proper timing of the application.