Development,Status and Opportunities of Acupuncture in Qatar

This paper presents an outline of the current status, regulations, and qualifications required for the practice of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and acupuncture in Qatar. The paper also provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities that face practitioners of Acupuncture as a complimentary medicine in Qatar and the recent licensing mechanisms introduced in January 2016. Qatar＇s 2030 vision and demand for continued development and sustainable growth includes the Chinese initiative ~One Belt, One Road＇ project which offers a golden opportunity for the further development of TCM in Qatar. The findings of this paper suggest that there are now real possibilities China and Qatar to cooperate in the exchange of medical services, training and education in the field of TCM.

Chemotherapy-induced hand-foot syndrome in rectal cancer treated with acupuncture

Objective： To observe the clinical therapeutic effects of acupuncture on chemotherapy-induced hand-foot syndrome（HFS）.Methods： A total of 60 patients treated with chemotherapy of capecitabine and suffering from the chemotherapy-induced HFS were divided into an acupuncture group and a Vitamin B6 group according to the random number table, 30 cases in each one. In the acupuncture group, after chemotherapy,acupuncture was given at Bǎihui（百会 GV 20）, Hégǔ（合谷 LI 4）, Wàiguān（外关 TE 5）, Zúsānlǐ（足三里ST 36） and Ashi points. The needles were retained for 30 min in each treatment, once a day, totally for 2 weeks. In the Vitamin B6 group, after chemotherapy, Vitamin B6 was taken orally, 300 mg a day, totally for 2 weeks. Separately, on the day of enrollment and after 2 weeks of treatment, the scores of Karnofsky performance scale（KPS） and the quality of life（QLQ-C30） were evaluated in the acupuncture group and the Vitamin B6 group. After 2 weeks of treatment, the therapeutic effects were evaluated.Results： The effective rate of chemotherapy-induced HFS was 70.0% in the acupuncture group and was36.7% in the Vitamin B6 group. The result in the acupuncture group was higher than the Vitamin B6 group, indicating the significant difference（P0.05）. After treatment, the KPS scores（84.23 ± 10.49） in the acupuncture group were higher obviously than the Vitamin B6 group（77.84 ± 10.33）, indicating the significant difference（P0.05）. Regarding QLQ-C30 evaluation, after 2-week treatment, the scores in the items of physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function and social function were all reduced remarkably as compared with those before treatment in the two groups, indicating the significant differences（all P〈0.05）. After treatment, the scores of physical function（7.13 ± 1.56 vs 16.72 ± 4.29）,emotional function（4.89 ± 0.87 vs 11.76 ± 1.29） and cognitive function（6.32 ± 1.23 vs 18.17 ± 4.1） in the acupuncture group were all lower obviously than those in the Vitamin B6 group, indicating the significant differences（all P0.05）; and the scores of role function and social function were not different significantly as compared with the VB6 group（all P〈0.05）.Conclusion： Acupuncture is effective for HFS induced by the chemotherapy with capecitabine and its effects are better than the oral administration of Vitamin B 6 in terms of physical function, emotional function and cognitive function.

Clinical study of warm needling moxibustion combined with entecavir in the treatment of compensated cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis B

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and possible mechanism of action of warm needling moxibustion combined with entecavir in the treatment of compensated cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis B(CHB).Methods:Ninety patients were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group,with 45 patients in each group.The control group was given oral entecavir,and the observation group was given additional warm needling moxibustion.The serum alanine transaminase(ALT),aspartate transaminase(AST),albumin(ALB)levels,portal vein internal diameter,splenic vein internal diameter,spleen thickness,and liver hardness were compared before and after treatment.The serum hyaluronic acid(HA),laminin(LN),procollagen typeⅢ(PCⅢ),typeⅣcollagen(Ⅳ-C),interleukin(IL)-21,and platelet-derived growth factor(PDGF)levels were also measured.Results:After treatment,the serum ALT and AST levels decreased(P<0.05),and the serum ALB levels increased(P<0.05)in both groups.The serum ALT and AST levels were lower in the observation group than in the control group(P<0.05),and the ALB level was higher in the observation group(P<0.05).The portal vein internal diameter,splenic vein internal diameter,spleen thickness,and liver hardness values were reduced in both groups after treatment(P<0.05),and were lower in the observation group than in the control group(P<0.05).The serum HA,LN,PCⅢ,andⅣ-C levels were reduced in both groups(P<0.05),and were lower in the observation group than in the control group(P<0.05).In the control group,the serum IL-21 level decreased(P<0.05),but the serum PDGF level did not change significantly(P>0.05);in the observation group,the serum IL-21 and PDGF levels decreased significantly(P<0.05)and were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Warm needling moxibustion combined with entecavir treatment can improve liver function,reduce the inner diameters of the portal vein and splenic vein,spleen thickness,and liver hardness,and improve liver fibrosis indicators in patients with CHB cirrhosis,which may be related to the reduction of serum IL-21 and PDGF levels.