Meta-Analysis of Efficacy and Safety of Mongolian Medical Warm Acupuncture in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation

Objective:To systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of Mongolian medical warm acupuncture in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation(LDH).Methods:CNKI,Wanfang,VIP,Pubmed,Embase,Cochrane Library,and other databases were searched.The randomized controlled trials(RCTs)on the treatment of LDH with Mongolian medical warm acupuncture were manually searched in the Chinese Journal of Ethnic Medicine,Chinese Journal of Mongolian Medicine,Journal of Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities,and Journal of Inner Mongolia Medical University.The search time limit was from January 2000 to October 2023.RevMan5.4 software was used to analyze the included and excluded literature.Results:A total of 8 RCTs involving 1,042 patients with LDH were included,with 551 patients in the observation group and 491 patients in the control group.The results of the meta-analysis showed that a total of 8 randomized controlled trials were included in the treatment of LDH with Mongolian medical warm acupuncture compared with simple acupuncture(RR=1.18,95%CI=[1.12,1.23],P<0.00001).Conclusion:The total effective rate of Mongolian medical warm acupuncture for LDH is higher than that of simple acupuncture.However,due to the low quality of the literature included in this study,multi-dimensional,large sample size,and more rigorous clinical randomized trials are needed for further verification in the future.

COMMENTS ON THE STUDY OF ACUPOINT COMBINATION AND REMEDIES FOR TREATMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS WITH ACUPUNCTURE AND MOXIBUSTION

In the present paper, the author reviews the progresses in the study on acumoxi (acupuncture-moxi-bustion) treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) from Chinese ancient classical works, Chinese and foreign journals. The therapeutic results reveal that acupuncture treatment of DM is effective in improving DM patients' symptoms via vagal-nerve reflex, regulation of neuroendocrine and immune functions. The author holds that ① correct selection of acupoints in accordance with syndrome differentiation and the related meridians and combined application of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines (for oral administration) are the key points for raising the therapeutic effect; and ② acupoint combination and curative methods need to be researched further.

Special Issue: The Global Cross-cultural Integration of TCM in the Mainstream Healthcare, Medical Education and the Practice of Medicine

Ioannis Solos Ph.D.,M.D.(China),L.Ac.currently serves as President and CEO at the Saint George Clinic and Research Institute,Scottsdale,AZ.,and Associate Editor for Chinese Medicine and Culture.Professor Solos has earned his Master of Medicine in Traditional Diagnosis at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine,and his Medical Ph.D.in Chinese and Western Integrative Medicine at the Jinan University in Guangzhou.He practices and teaches integrative clinical medicine,Jing Fang(经方TCM formulas),martial lineage acupuncture,and his personalized style of“tendon and fascia reconditioning manipulations for bone and joint disease”.

Analysis on Clinical Characteristics and Combination Medications of Elemene Injection in the Treatment of Esophageal Cancer in Real World Research

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics of Elemene Injection in the treatment of patients with esophageal cancer.Methods:A total of 310 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer from the Hoptital Information System(HIS)of 21 hospitals across the country were selected in the study,and these patients all had been treated with Elemene Injection.In this study,the clinical general medication record information,diagnosis scheme information,general treatment information and combined medications information were analyzed by frequency statistics and association rules.Results:Elemene Injection was used most in patients aged 46-65(177 cases,57.10%);male patients were more than female.Among the main diagnoses of the most seasons and solar terms in hospitalization,the top three diagnoses were esophageal malignant tumor,malignant tumor,and hypertension.In terms of combination medication,the combination of western medicine blood substitutes and perfusion fluids,general nutritional drugs,vitamins,antibacterial drugs,and immune-promoting drugs were the main ones;the combination of traditional Chinese medicine was mainly anti-tumor drugs(48.71%).In addition,among the combination medications,the highest frequency of Elemene Injection combined with western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine were Xiaoaiping Injection(消癌平注射液)and ascorbic acid.Conclusion:The main susceptible people of esophageal cancer was middle-aged around 46-65,and there were more male patients than female;through the first diagnosis of western medicine,it can be found that in addition to patients suffering from esophageal cancer or other cancers,patients with high blood pressure,heart disease,and diabetes could use Elemene Injection.Therefore,when receiving such patients,attention should be paid to checking whether the patient had such diseases.At the same time,when using Elemene Injection,it's necessary to pay attention to certain combined medications to avoid adverse reactions.

Effects of Magnetic Needle Acupuncture on Blood Pressure and Plasma ET-1 Level in the Patient of Hypertension

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is ever known as a bio-peptidewith the strongest vasoconstrictive action and withwide biological effects.

COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE AND WESTERN MEDICINES FOR TREATMENT OF PERIPHERAL FACIAL PALSY

Subjective: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in treatment of acute peripheral facial paralysis. Methods: A total of 80 cases of facial palsy were randomly divided into acupuncture group (n=50) and Western medicine (control) group (n=30). In acupuncture group, Cuanzhu (BL 2), Sibai (ST 2), Yangbai (GB 14), etc. were punctured, combined with TDP radiation, cupping or administration of Chinese medicinal herbs according to the concrete situations. Acupuncture treatment was given once daily, with 6 days being a therapeutic course, continuously for 4 courses. In control group, patients were treated with intravenous injection of “energy mixture”, dexamethasone, compound Danshen injectio, etc.. Results: After treatment, in acupuncture group, of the 50 cases, 48 were cured and 2 had improvement, with the effective rate being 100%; among them, 12 cases were cured in 7 days, 23 cured in 8～14 days, 10 cured in 15～21 days and 3 cured in 22～28 days. In control group, of the 30 cases, 19 were cured, 8 had improvement and 3 had no apparent changes, with the effective rate being 90%. Of the 19 cured cases, 5 were cured within 8～14 days, 10 cured in 15～21 days and 4 cured in 22～28 days. Conclusion: In treatment of acute periphery facial palsy, acupuncture is obviously superior to Western medicines in the therapeutic effect and cure duration.

Mathematical rules for synergistic,additive,and antagonistic effects of multi-drug combinations and their application in research and development of combinatorial drugs and special medical food combinations

Multi-drug(or multi-element)combinations are often prescribed in the practice of clinical medicine and as foods for special medical purposes.The main motivations for these combinations are that most diseases contain multiple related targets and an appropriate combination can maximize benefits while minimizing adverse reactions.As such,it is especially important to derive mathematical models for their quantitative calculation.In this paper,we introduce mathematical rules for the synergistic,additive,and antagonistic effects of multi-drug combinations developed in our laboratory.We have established a“onebelt,one-line”model and provide examples of the quantitative calculation of the synergistic,additive,and antagonistic effects of a combination of multiple components.We also explain how to scientifically and precisely determine the intensity of these synergies,additions and antagonisms,as well as their corresponding dose ranges,thereby laying a solid theoretical foundation for market listing combinatorial drugs and foods for special medical purposes.

Establishment of the First Professional Organization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in California

The California Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Research Association,founded on March 25,1974,is the first Chinese medicine organization registered with the state government in California.It was established after more than a year of arduous preparation and had 15 founding members.Over time,it evolved into the biggest organization of Chinese medicine and acupuncture in California.And in 2015,it became the American Association of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture with more than 500 members.

Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and Combination Therapies for Insomnia

Insomnia, a common sleep disorder, affects general well-being, hastens the onset of other diseases, and impairs work performance. Hypnotic medications are efficacious in the short term but have obvious side effects. Acupuncture, often used to treat insomnia in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is considered to be beneficial in restoring the normal sleep-wake cycle by regulating and restoring the natural flow of qi (energy power). The three main TCM theories for treating insomnia by acupuncture are the tranquilization disturbance, zangfu disturbance (disequilibrium of internal organs), and imbalance of yin and yang theories. Moxibustion, another treatment for insomnia, is usually combined with acupuncture. Acupuncture and moxibustion with tuina (exercise massage), acupuncture with Chinese herbal injection, electroacupuncture, and acupuncture with medication or psychotherapy are other interventions. Some acupuncture-based methods such as needle-rolling acupuncture, auricular acupoint plaster therapy, phlebotomy, and acupoint catgut-embedding therapy are used as well. Although most clinical trials have shown that acupuncture and its combination therapies are significantly effective in insomnia, the beneficial effects may have been overvalued, because of small sample size, nonstrict inclusion and exclusion criteria, flawed methodology, short follow-up, or nonstandardized evaluation. Therefore, clinical studies of high methodological quality are needed to verify the efficacy of acupuncture, moxibustion, and other combination therapies in insomnia.

An Approach to the Integration of Acupuncture and Drug

Integration of acupuncture and drug is a therapeutic method in which acupuncture treatment and pharmacotherapy are synchronously performed in the same patient to prevent and treat the disease. Its importance can be traced back to Sun Simiao (581-682 A.D.), a prominent physician of China's Tang Dynasty. He pointed out that: A physician who masters only acupuncture treatment in clinical practice but not moxibustion, or masters only moxibustion treatment but not acupuncture is not a skillful doctor; and a physician who is only aware of the application of acupuncture and moxibustion but ignorant of pharmacotherapy, or is only aware of pharmacotherapy but ignorant of the application of acupuncture and moxibustion also should not be a skillful one. Not only should a skillful doctor have the knack of applying acupuncture and moxibustion, but he should have the knack at pharmacotherapy in treating diseases. Each of acupuncture and moxibustion, and drug has its strong points. Therefore, both of them should be used simultaneously, thus bringing the strong points of both individuals into full play and offsetting their weaknesses so as to obtain a satisfactory therapeutic effect. With the development of modern medicine and introduction of advanced technology, there have been brilliant developments in the method and applied range of integration of acupuncture and drug, particularly in the studies on combined anesthesia induced by using acupuncture and drug, and administering drug by acupoint. All these have provided us a ground to further probe into the mechanism underlying the integration of acupuncture and drug.

Juvenile Myasthenia Laryngis Treated by Acupuncture and TCM Medication

Myasthenia laryngis, or laryngoparalysis, oftenoccurs in juvenile teachers, actors or actresses, andmusical school students.

Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture Used for Rehabilitation of the Impaired Urinary System in Patients with Paraplegia—A Report of 52 Cases

Infection of the urinary system is frequently seen in the paraplegic patients with urinary complications,which is one of the main reasons for the late death in such cases. The effects of the therapeutic method adopted for the urinary rehabilitation are directly related to the life quality and survival time of the paraplegic patients. Since 1999-2002, the authors had applied Chinese herbal medicine combined with acupuncture for the urinary rehabilitation in 52 paraplegic patients, with quite good therapeuticresults as reported in the following.

Forty-seven Cases of Gonitis Treated by A Combined Therapy of Chinese Drugs and Acupuncture

Osteoarthritis, a nonspecific inflammatory lesion, is a commonly seen joint disease. Clinically, it is mainly characterized by arthralgia, swelling, and motor impairment. Since the knee joint is the load-bearing joint of the human body, and is susceptible to trauma, gonitis tends to have the highest morbidity in the four limbs, which manifests itself arthritis of patella and femur at the early stage; narrowness or disappearance of the medial joint space at the mid stage; and damage of the cartilage accompanied with flexion deformity at the late stage. In recent years, based on the experience of Prof. Cao Yiming, the author has treated 47 cases of gonitis by combined use of Chinese drugs and acupuncture, and obtained satisfactory therapeutic results as reported in the following.

Effects of acupuncture combined with drug anesthesia on stress reaction and cognitive function in senior patients with total hip arthroplasty

Objective: To investigate the effects of acupuncture combined with anesthesia on stress and cognitive function in senior patients with total hip arthroplasty. Methods: A total of 89 patients who underwent total hip replacement between January 2016 and May 2018 were collected. According to whether acupuncture anesthesia was applied during total hip replacement, the patients were divided into acupuncture combined anesthesia group and drug anesthesia group. Fasting venous blood (3mL) was collected before the operation without electrical stimulation and after the operation. Cortisol (Cor) and β-endorphin (β-EP) were detected by radioimmunoassay, and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) was detected by electrochemical luminescence immunoassay. The levels of s-100β protein (s-100β), c-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were determined by ELISA. Flow cytometry was used to determine the ratio of T cell subsets (CD3+) and natural killer cells (NK cells) in the blood. Results: The levels of Cor, β-EP, NSE, S-100β, CRP, TNF-α and the ratio of NK cell, CD3+ between the two groups have no significant differences before operation (P>0.05). Serum levels of Cor, β-EP, NSE, S-100β, CRP and TNF-α in patients in the acupuncture combined with drug anesthesia group and the single drug anesthesia group were significantly higher than those before surgery (P<0.05). In addition, serum levels of Cor, β-EP, NSE, S-100β, CRP, TNF-α in the acupuncture combined with anesthesia group were significantly lower than those in the drug group alone (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in NK cell and CD3+ ratio between postoperative and preoperative in the acupuncture combined with drug anesthesia group (P>0.05). The ratio of NK cells and CD3+ in the pure drug anesthesia group was significantly lower than that before surgery (P<0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture combined with drug anesthesia can effectively reduce the inflammatory stress response of patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty, relieve the immune suppression caused by surgery and anesthesia, reduce the damage to the nervous system, and have a good influence in the cognitive function of the senior patients.

Acupuncture Legislation in the United States: Minnesota as a Case Study

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of legal regulation of acupuncture in the United States,as the first acupuncture law was enacted in Nevada.Acupuncture,like any other medical modality,is regulated at the state level,with each state formulating and enforcing its own laws and statutes over time.This article narrates the legislative process and major developments of the acupuncture profession in Minnesota,in the context of legislative developments across the country.It tells how this midsize,Midwest state’s acupuncture profession became regulated,and examines the challenges faced by the profession before and after state statutes were enacted.Minnesota stands as a representative example of the legislative process in other states.

Forty-three Cases of Acute Lumbar Sprain Treated by Acupuncture Plus Kinesitherapy

Acute lumbar sprain is commonly encountered among the young and middle-aged. It often occurs at the lower part of the back, which seriously hinders the daily life and work of the patients because of the severe pain. The author has treated 43 cases of acute lumbar sprain by needling Weizhong (BL 40), Houxi (SI 3) and Yaotongdian (EX-UE7) plus kinesitherapy and obtained satisfactory therapeutic results. A report follows.

COMBINATION OF ACUPUNCTURE ANALGESIA AND EPIDURAL BLOCK IN RENAL TRANSPLANTATION

One hundred patients undergoing renal transplantation were randomly divided into com-bined acupuncture-epidural anesthesia group (group A, points selected: Ciliao, Sanyinjiao, Taixi to-gether with Shenyu and para-incision or Zusanli; combined with small dose of epidural block) and epidural block group (group C), each 50 patients. The initial dose and total dose of local anesthetics were 5. 6 ±0. 3 ml and 13. 5±1.0ml in group A, and 14. 5±0. 4 ml and 25. 4 ±1. 2 ml in group C,respectively. There was very significant difference between the two groups (P< 0.001 ). During the operation the hemodynaminc changes were greater in group C. Ephedrine and atropine were used in 1 and 2 cases in group A, and in 9 and 5 cases in group C, respectively. The starting time of urination of the transplanted kidney was shorter in group A than in group C, being 209±25 s and 410±47 s, re-spectively (P<0.001 ). There was no significant difference in the indices of immmunologic function between the two groups. The anesthetic results in group A were evaluated according to the initial dose of epidural anesthetics. Those were excellent in 31 cases (62 % ) and good in 13 (26% ) with the ex-cellent-good rate 88 %.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON THE TREATMENT OF APOPLEXY BY ACUPUNCTURE COMBINED WITH DRUGS

Apoplexy involves cerebrovascular accident, such as cerebral hemorrhage, cerebralthrombosis, cerebral infarction, subarachaoid hemorrhage, etc. and its sequelae in modern medicine. The author treated 81 cases of apoplexy using acupuncture combined with drugs. AIn0ng them, 36cases were male, accounting for 44%; 45 cases female, accounting for 56 %. The oldest was 82 yearsold, and youngest 28 years old. The shortest course of disease was one day, and the longest over 3years The treatment results show that 60 cases were cured, accounting for 74. 07%; 16 casesmarkedly effect, acc0unting for 19. 75 %; 3 cases improved, accounting for 3. 7 %; 2 cases ineffective,accounting for 2. 48 %. The total effect rate was 97. 52 %.

A CLINICAL STUDY ON THE SUBTOTAL GASTRECTOMY UNDER ACUPUNCTURE COMBINED WITH EPIDURAL ANESTHESIA OF SMALL DOSAGE

We have performed operations on the patients with perforation of gastric ulcer forsubtotal gastrectomy under acupuncture combined with epidural anesthesia of smaIl dosage （studygroup） or epidural anesthesia only（control gr0up） at rand0m, 2O cases in each group. There is no ob-vious difference of successful rates between tw0 groups （P】O. O5）. But the fluctuation of the bloodpressure of the study group is smaller than that of the control group（PwtO- O1 ）; the comparison of thefluctuations of capacity of vessel and the changes 0f TMwave of ECG before and during operationshows that the study group is better than control gr0up （PrO. O1, P【O. O5, respectively）; in thestudy group, WBC is decreased significantly after operation, while in the control guoup, CRP（C-re-active pr0tein） is markedIy increased, there are significant differences of these indices between twogroups（P【0. 05, respectively）; complement C3, IgA, IgG and IgM are decreased to a different ex- tent after operation in both groups, but the

TREATMENT OF 33 CASES OF APOPLETIC HEMIPLEGIA BY COMBINED ACUPUNCTURE THERAPIES

In the present study,33 cases of apopletic hemiplegia were treated with combinedtherapies of scalp-,body-acupuncture and restoring consciousness needling;besides,electroacupuncture（EA）stimulation was added.The treatment was given once daily,six days constitutea therapeutic course with an interval of 1—2 days between courses.After 5 courses of treatment,10cases（30.30％）were cured,15（45.45％）markedly effective,7（21.21％）effective and 1（3.03％）was ineffective.The total effective rate was 96.96％.