CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON COMBINED TREATMENT OF VASCULAR DEMENTIA WITH ACUPUNCTURE, MOXIBUSTION AND CHINESE MEDICINAL HERBS

In the present study, the clinical effect of acupuncture, moxibustion plus Chinese medicinal herbs for treatment of 30 cases of vascular dementia (VD) was observed and their mechanisms were analyzed by determining the activity of SOD, LPO and GSH-Px. Results showed that after 2 months’combined treatment, of the 30 cases, 12 had marked improvement, 15 had improvement and 3 had not any improvement, with an effective rate of 90%; the activity of SOD and GSH-Px increased considerably while the content of LPO lowered strikingly. There were significant differences between pre-and post-treatment in the activity of SOD and GSH-Px and the content of LPO (P<0. 01). It reveals that this method is capable of improving VD patients’ clinical symptoms and signs such as headache, dizziness, hemi-paralysis or hemianesthesia, forced crying and laughing, etc.and also raising the ability of the body in removing oxygen free radical, and suppressing peroxidization of free radical to reduce its products, thereby alleviating the toxic effect of oxygen free radical on the brain tissues.

COMBINED TREATMENT OF 54 CASES OF APOPLECTIC SEQUELAE WITH ACUPUNCTURE AND CHINESE MEDICINAL HERBS

In the present paper, 54 cases of apoplectic sequelae were treated with acupuncture plus Chinese medicinal herbs. Acupoints used were scalp point Motor Area (MS 6), points of body acupuncture: Jianyu(LI 15) and Shousanli(LI 10) for paralysis of the upper limb; Zusanli (ST 36)and Xuanzhong (GB 39) for paralysis of the lower limb, combined with other points based on syndromes. Chinese medicinal herbs for reinforcing qi, promoting blood circulation, relieving muscular spasm and dredging meridians were used. Patients of the control group were treated with Troxerutinum, enteric Aspirin, etc.. Findings showed that out of the 54 cases of the treatment group, 28 were cured basically, 16 had marked improvement, 8 had improvement and 2 were ineffective, with the total effective rate of 96. 3%; of the 28 cases in the control group, 3 were cured basically, 7 had striking improvement, 13 had improvement and 5 were ineffective, with the total effective rate of 82.2%.Both the total effective rate and the basic-cure rate of the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0. 01). Results of the present paper display that manipulating the needle to cause "qi reaching the affected area" and applying Chinese medicinal herbs can act on the locus by way of meridians which is the key point for achieving better therapeutic effect.

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.

Treatment of Retinal Vein Obstruction with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicinal Herbs

We have treated thirty-two cases (52 eyes) of retinal vein obstruction by acupuncture and oral administration of Huo Xue Ming Mu Decoction. The total effective rate of 90.38% demonstrated that the treatment was definitely effective.

COMBINED TREATMENT OF 200 CASES OF PERIPHERY FACIAL PARALYSIS WITH ACUPUNCTURE AND CHINESE MEDICINAL HERBS

In the present study, 200 cases of periphery facial paralysis were treated with combined therapies of handle needle, electroacupuncture (EA), electronic moxibustion and oral administration of Supplemented Qianzheng San. After treatment, of the 200 cases, 176 were cured, 15 had marked improvement and 9 had improvement. Two groups of acupoints were chosen and used alternately for keeping the excitement of acupoints, preventing acupoint fatigue and raising the therapeutic effect. In the acute stage of periphery facial palsy, acupuncture treatment was performed using shallow needling, mild manipulation and no needling penetration. In the convalescence stage and sequela stage, penetration needling was adopted and stronger stimulation given. During acute period and when facial muscular spasm appeared, EA stimulation was not suitable for facial acupoints. Over use of vision should be avoided.

EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE-MOXIBUSTION PLUS CHINESE MEDICINAL HERBS ON PLASMA TXB_2, 6-Keto-PGF1α IN PATIENTS WITH VASCULAR DEMENTIA

In the present paper, changes of TXB2, 6-Keto-PGF1α contents before and after treatment by using acupuncture, moxibustion and Chinese medicinal herbs and in comparison with the normal values of healthy people were observed in 30 vascular dementia (VD) patients. Results showed that in VD patients, the content of serum TXB2 increased significantly and that of 6-Keto-PG1α decreased markedly in comparison with control group (P<0. 01), suggesting a significant imbalance between plasma TXB2 and 6-Keto-PG1α; after combined treatment with acupuncture, moxibustion and Chinese herbs, the content of plasma 6-Keto-PG1α raised remarkably and that of TXBα lowered,which had a positive correlation with clinical therapeutic effect. The fact indicates that this combined treatment is capable of regulating the balance between plasma TXB2 and 6-Keto-PG1α, increasing cerebral blood flow, raising the metabolic rate of the brain tissues and improving functions of the brain.

Clinical Observation on Treatment of Acquired Paralytic Strabismus by Acupuncture Plus Oral Administration of Chinese Herbs

From June 1996 to June 2002, the author treated 38 cases of acquired paralytic strabismus by acupuncture plus oral administration of Zheng Rong Tang (正容汤), with another 38 cases of acquired paralytic strabismus treated only with oral administration of Chinese herbs as the controls. The results are reported as follows.

Case report: Treating postpartum SUI with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine

Background:Stress urinary incontinence(SUI),is the most common type of urinary incontinence affecting women.SUI has a significant impact on psychosocial functioning and quality of life.Biomedical treatments,such as surgery,often result in post-operative complications.In China,traditional Chinese medicine tends to be the treatment of choice for SUI.Case presentation:We present a 35-year-old patient who developed SUI following forceps delivery and was treated successfully with acupuncture and Chinese herbs.Traditional Chinese diagnosis,including channel and acupoint palpation revealed the patient had a syndrome pattern of liver/kidney deficiency,disordered bladder qi transformation,all of which lead to enuresis.Acupuncture,both body and scalp needling,were performed.Herbs were prescribed adjunctively.Conclusion:Traditional Chinese medicine modalities may be considered for treatment of SUI based on appropriate syndrome pattern assessment.

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.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON 40 CASES OF ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS TREATED WITH ACUPUNCTURE AND CHINESE DRUGS

Objective： To observe the clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture plus Chinese herbal medicines for ankylceing Methods： A total of 80 cases of AS patients were evenly and randomly divided into treatment group and control group. In treatment group, patients were treated with acupuncture of Jiaji （夹脊 EX-B 2） and oral administration of Yishen Tongdu Won （益肾通督丸,Bolus for Reinforcing the Kidney and Dredging Governor Vessesl） and those of control group treated with oral administration of Sulfasalazin （0.5 g, twice daily）. Before and after treatment, the thoracic-dilaion scale, Schober test, Bath ankylceing spondylitis disease activity index （BASDAI）, Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index （BASFI）, erythrocyte sedimentation rate （ESR） and C-reaction protein （CRP） were detected separately. Results： After 6 months of treatment, of the both 40cases in treatment and control groups, 27 （67.5%） and 13 （32.5%） were improved remarkably, 11 （27.5%） and 16 （40.0%） effective, and 2 （5.0%） and 11 （27.5%） failed, with the effective rates being 95.0% and 72.5% separately. The therapeutic effect of treatment group was significantly superior to that of control group （P〈 0.05）. After treatment, the thoracicdilaion scale and Schober test values increased significantly （ P〈 0.05）, while BASDAI, BASFI, ESR and CRP lowered considerably （P〈0.01, P〈0.05）. Comparison between two groups indicated that after treatment, the decreased values of BASDAI, BASFI, ESR and CRP of treatment group were significantly lower than those of control group （ P〈 0.01 ）, while those of the thoracio-dilaion scale and Schober test of treatment group were significantly higher than those of control group （ P 〈 0.05, P 〈 0.01 ）. Results displayed that both acupuncture combined with Chinese drugs and Sulfasalazin could lower BASDAI, BASFI, ESR and CRP, raise the thoracic-dilaion scale and Schober test values considerably in AS patients, and the therapeutic effect of combined acupunclure and Chinese drugs was apparently superior to that of Westem medicine. Conclusion： Joint application of acupuncture and Chinese drugs is superior to Western medicine in the therapeutic effect for AS and has fewer side effects.

TREATMENT OF 50 CASES OF SENILE DEMENTIA BY ACUPUNCTURE COMBINED WITH INHALATION OF HERBAL DRUGS AND OXYGEN

Clinical DataCase selection: 100 cases who met thediagnostic criteria of senile dementiaformulated by American Association ofPsychiatry in Handbook of Diagnosis andStatistics (DSM-Ⅲ-R, 3rd revised edition)

Cerebral mechanism of puncturing at He-Mu point combination for functional dyspepsia: study protocol for a randomized controlled parallel trial

Acupuncture is widely used to treat functional dyspepsia with satisfactory outcomes. Combination of the He and Mu acupoints is commonly used and has a synergistic effect on functional dyspepsia; however, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, a randomized controlled parallel clinical trial is currently underway at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China. This trial is designed to explore the efficacy of and central responses to the He-Mu point combination in patients with functional dyspepsia using functional magnetic resonance imaging. A total of 105 patients with functional dyspepsia will be allocated into 3 groups： the low-He point group（puncturing at Zusanli（ST36））, Mu point group（puncturing at Zhongwan（CV12））, and He-Mu point combination group（puncturing at ST36 and CV12）. Every participant will receive 20 sessions of manual acupuncture for 4 weeks. The needles will be inserted perpendicularly to a depth of 1 to 2 cun. The angle of rotation and twisting will range from 90 to 180 degrees, while lifting and thrusting will range from 0.3 to 0.5 cm. The various manipulations will be performed 60 to 90 times per minute. The needles will remain in place for 30 minutes, during which manipulation will be applied every 10 minutes. Magnetic resonance imaging will be performed before and after 20 sessions of acupuncture. The primary outcome is symptom improvement according to the Chinese version of the Nepean Dyspepsia Index. Secondary outcomes include the Leeds dyspepsia questionnaire, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and visual analogue scale scores before and after 10 and 20 sessions of acupuncture. Needle sensation and adverse events will be used to assess the therapeutic effects. This study will promote more widespread awareness of the benefits of acupoint combination in the clinical setting and provide a further explanation of the neuromechanism by which acupuncture at the He-Mu point combination for functional dyspepsia. Registration： Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, Chi CTR-IOR-15006402.

Function and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of Parkinson＇s disease

Parkinson’s disease （PD） was frst discovered 200 years ago. The current gold standard of clinical treatment is still mainly levodopa replacement therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine is the foundation of traditional medicine in China. Chinese herbs and acu-puncture both exhibit remarkable effcacy in the treatment of PD. Clinical studies on the treatment of PD using Chinese herbs have confrmed that the combined use of Chinese herbs and the levodopa formulation can signifcantly increase the treatment effect and reduce toxic side effects. Basic studies further confrmed that various Chinese herbs and their monomeric substances can protect dopaminergic neurons in PD models. The major mechanisms include anti-infammation, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptosis, neuroprotection, mitochondrial function protection, and regulation of gut microbiota. The function of acupuncture in the treatment of PD has also gradually received extensive attention in China and other countries. Acupuncture not only has peculiar advantages in the improvement of symptoms of PD patients, but also can attenuate adverse drug reactions, delay disease progression, and increase the quality of life of patients. Basic studies further confrmed that acupuncture can improve many motor symptoms in animal models of PD and has cumulative effects and follow-up effects. The major mechanisms include dopamin-ergic neuron protection functions, anti-infammation and anti-oxidant effects, and the regulation of related neuro-transmitters and neural circuits. The clinical application of acupuncture and Chinese herbs still requires strict ran-domized, double-blind, controlled design, multi-centre and large-sample size evidence-based clinical studies and follow-up observations of long-term effcacy to support the effect. In addition, the multi-target and multi-pathway therapeutic mechanisms need further studies.

Treatment of Phlegm-and Heat-induced Insomnia by Acupuncture in 120 Cases

Clinical DataThe 120 cases in this series were outpatients suffering from insomnia due to interior-stirring by phlegm-heat, ranging in age from 28 to 67 years. They were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group.

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.

Twenty-eight Cases of Neuritis of Lateral Cutaneous Nerve of Thigh Treated by Acupuncture and Point-Injection

Neuritis of lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh, also called meralgia paresthetica, is a commonly encountered disease in clinical practice. The author has treated 28 cases of meralgia paresthetica since 1996 by acupuncture plus point-injection with satisfactory results. A report follows.Clinical Data Among the 28 cases, 13 were male and 15 female. Their age ranged from 24 to 72 years, most of the patients being 35 to 50 years; the duration of illness varied from one month to ten years and 6 cases were affected on left side, 8 cases on right side and 14 cases on both sides.

Effects of acupuncture combined with Kaijingtongmai Decoction on ATP sensitive potassium channel related proteins Kir6.1 and Kir6.2 in myocardial infarction rats

Objective:To study the effect of combination of acupuncture and medicine on the expression of ATP sensitive potassium channel related proteins Kir6.1 and Kir6.2 in rats with myocardial infarction,and to study the possible mechanism of combination of acupuncture and medicine on the improvement of myocardial infarction,so as to provide experimental data basis for the development of new treatment methods for myocardial infarction.Methods:65 healthy male SD rats were randomly selected as the control group.The other rats were fed with high-fat food for three weeks.The rats in the control group were injected with normal saline subcutaneously,and the other rats were injected with isoproterenol hydrochloride in the same way.Through ECG comparison,40 successful Mi rats were randomly divided into model group,acupuncture group,western medicine group and acupuncture drug combination group,with 10 rats in each group.After the corresponding treatment,the ECG changes of rats in each group were observed,the pathological changes of rat cardiomyocytes were observed by HE staining,and the expression of ATP sensitive potassium channel(Kir6.1,Kir6.2)protein was detected by Western blot.Results:compared with the control group,40 experimental specimens in the experimental group showed significant changes in cardiomyocyte protein The expression of Kir6.1 and Kir6.2 increased,and the difference was statistically significant.After treatment,compared with the model group,the protein expression of Kir6.1 and Kir6.2 in cardiomyocytes of Western medicine group,acupuncture group and acupuncture drug combination group showed a downward trend,among which the decline degree of acupuncture drug combination group was the most obvious,and the difference was statistically significant.The decline degree of acupuncture group and Western medicine group was not significant,and there was no significant difference Conclusion:acupuncture combined with medicine has a significant effect on improving myocardial infarction in rats,which may be related to the expression of ATP sensitive potassium channel related proteins Kir6.1 and Kir6.2 in rat cardiomyocytes.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON COMBINED TREATMENT OF 360 CASES OF PROSTATITIS WITH ACUPUNCTURE OF SISHENCHONG POINT, ETC. AND SELF-DRAFTED PRESCRIPTION I, II AND III

In the present series of observations, 360 cases of prostatitis were treated with acupuncture of Sishenchong (EX HN 1), etc. and self drafted prescription I, II and III. After 4 courses (28 sessions) of treatment, 321 cases (89.17%) were cured, 35 cases (9.72%) had improvement and 4 cases (1.11%) failed. The total effective rate was 98.89%.

Treatment of anovulatory infertility with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine

Objective To observe the therapeutic effects on anovulatory infertility with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Methods Fifty patients with anovulatory infertility were divided randomly into 2 groups with 25 in the observation group and 25 in the control group. Both herbal decoctions and acupuncture treatment were applied to the observation group. For Chinese herbal medicine, according to different phases of menstrual cycle, Cu Luanpao Tang （促卵泡汤 follicle promote decoction）, Cu Pailuan Tang （促卵泡汤 ovulation induce decoction） and Cu Huangti Tang （促黄体汤 corpora luteum promote decoction） was given to the patients; and acupoints such as Guanyuan （关元 CV 4）, Zhongji （ 中极 CV 3） and LuSnchao Xue（卵巢穴 Extra point） were selected. The control group was asked to take Clomiphene as well as Chorionic Gonadotropin （HCG） injection. Observation is undertaken continuously for 6 cycles, and statistics of ovulation rate and pregnancy rate were collected. Results There were no statistical significance of difference of ovulation rate between the two groups（P〉0.05） ; the pregnancy rate of the observation group is 44. 0%（11/25）, which is obviously higher than 16.0% （4/25） of the control group （P〈0.05）. Comparison was made on Insler score of the cervical mucus and thickness of the endometrium between the 2 groups, and the result showed that both of the indexes of the observation group were better than those of the control group （P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. Conclusion Both of the methods, namely ovulation induction with acupuncture and herbal decoctions and with Clomiphene and HCG injection, are effective for enhancing the ovulation rate, while the former one is better than the later one in the pregnancy rate.