This review focuses on the efficacy and safety of effective herbal medicines in the management of obesity in humans and animals. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and IranMedex databases were searched up...This review focuses on the efficacy and safety of effective herbal medicines in the management of obesity in humans and animals. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and IranMedex databases were searched up to December 30, 2008. The search terms were ＂obesity＂ and （＇herbal medicine＂ or ＂plant＂, ＂plant medicinal＂ or ＂medicine traditional＂） without narrowing or limiting search elements. All of the human and animal studies on the effects of herbs with the key outcome of change in anthropometric measures such as body weight and waist-hip circumference, body fat, amount of food intake, and appetite were included. In vitro studies, reviews, and letters to editors were excluded. Of the publications identified in the initial database, 915 results were identified and reviewed, and a total of 77 studies were included （19 human and 58 animal studies）. Studies with Cissus quadrangularis （CQ）, Sambucus nigra, Asparagus officinalis, Garcinia atroviridis, ephedra and caffeine, Slimax （extract of several plants including Zingiber officinale and Bofutsushosan） showed a significant decrease in body weight. In 41 animal studies, significant weight loss or inhibition of weight gain was found. No significant adverse effects or mortality were observed except in studies with supplements containing ephedra, caffeine and Bofutsushosan. In conclusion, compounds containing ephedra, CQr ginseng, bitter melon, and zingiber were found to be effective in the management of obesity. Attention to these natural compounds would open a new approach for novel therapeutic and more effective agents.展开更多
Despite progress in the treatment of advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer （PC）, the outcome of this disease remains dismal for the majority of patients. Given the moderate efficacy of treatment, prognostic fact...Despite progress in the treatment of advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer （PC）, the outcome of this disease remains dismal for the majority of patients. Given the moderate efficacy of treatment, prognostic factors may help to guide treatment decisions. Several trials identified baseline performance status as an important prognostic factor for survival. Unfit patients with a Kamofsky performance status （KPS） below 70% only have a marginal benefit from chemotherapy with gemcitabine （Gem） and may often benefit more from optimal supportive care. Once, however, the decision is taken to apply chemotherapy, KPS may be used to select either mono- or combination chemotherapy. Patients with a good performance status （KPS = 90%-100%） may have a significant and clinically relevant survival benefit from combination chemotherapy. By contrast, patients with a poor performance status （KPS ≤ 80%） have no advantage from intensified therapy and should rather receive single-agent treatment.展开更多
AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin (GEMOX) combined with huachansu (cinobufagin) injection treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), and to...AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin (GEMOX) combined with huachansu (cinobufagin) injection treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), and to assess the quality of life (QOL) of such patients. METHODS: Twenty-fi ve patients with locally advanced or metastatic GBC were treated with intravenous gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) over 30 min on days 1 and 8, 2 h infusion of oxaliplatin (120 mg/m2) on day 1, and 2-3 h infusion of huachansu (20 mL/m2) on days -3-11, every 3-4 wk. Treatment was continued until occurrence of unacceptable toxicity or disease progression. QOL of patients was assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 at baseline, at the end of the fi rst, third and sixth chemotherapy cycles, and 1 mo after the treatment. RESULTS: Among the 25 patients with a median age of 64 years (range 42-78 years), 23 were evaluable in the study. A total of 137 cycles of therapy were performed and the median cycle was 5 (range 1-8) per patient. Out of the 23 patients whose response couldbe evaluated, 8 partial responses (PR) were observed (34.8%), while 7 patients (30.4%) demonstrated a stable disease (SD). The disease control rate was 65.2%. Progression of cancer was observed in 8 (34.8%) patients. The median progression-free and overall survival time was 5.8 mo (95% CI: 4.5-7.1 mo) and 10.5 mo, respectively. The therapy was well tolerated, with moderate myelosuppression as the main toxicity. Anemia grade 2 was seen in 16.0%, neutropenia grade 3 in 8.0% and thrombocytopenia grade 3 in 24.0% of patients, respectively. Non-hematologic toxicity ranged from mild to moderate. No death occurred due to toxicity. The QOL of patients was improved after chemotherapy, and the scores of QOL were increased by 10 to 20 points. CONCLUSION: GEMOX combined with huachansu (cinobufagin) injection is well tolerated, effective, thus improving the QOL of patients with advanced GBC.展开更多
AIM：TO compare the efficacy and safety of dexrabe-prazole 10 mg versus rabeprazole 20 mg in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease （GERD）.METHODS： This was a randomized, double-blind clinical study. Fift...AIM：TO compare the efficacy and safety of dexrabe-prazole 10 mg versus rabeprazole 20 mg in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease （GERD）.METHODS： This was a randomized, double-blind clinical study. Fifty patients with GERD were randomly assigned to receive dexrabeprazole 10 mg or rabeprazole 20 mg once daily. Efficacy was assessed by evaluating improvement in visual analog scale （VAS） scores of heart-burn and regurgitation and safety was assessed by recording incidence of any adverse drug reactions. Laboratory investigations and upper gastro-intestinal endoscopy was conducted at baseline and after 28 d of therapy.RESULTS： A total of 50 patients （n = 25 in dexrabeprazole group and rabeprazole group each） completed the study. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. The VAS score （mean 4. SD） of heartburn and regurgitation in dexrabeprazole （64.8±5.1 and 64 ± 8.1, respectively） and rabeprazole （64.4 ± 8.7 and 57.6 ± 9.7, respectively） groups significantly reduced （P 〈 0.0001） to 30 ± 11.5, 24 ± 10 and 32 ± 9.5, 29.2±11.9, respectively on d 28. A significantly higher （P = 0.002） proportion of patients showed ≥ 50% improvement in regurgitation with dexrabeprazole 10 mg （96%） compared to rabeprazole 20 mg （60%）. Onset of symptom improvement was significantly earlier with dexrabeprazole than with rabeprazole （1.8 ± 0.8 d vs 2.6 ± 1.4 d; P 〈0.05）. The incidences of esophagitis in the dexrabeprazole group and rabeprazole group before therapy were 84% and 92%, respectively （P = 0.38）. The incidence of improvement/healing of esophagitis after therapy was more （P = 0,036） in the dexrabeprazole group （95.2%） compared to the rabeprazole group （65.2%）. No adverse drug reaction was seen in either group.CONCLUSION： In the treatment of GERD, efficacy of dexrabeprazole 10 mg is better than rabeprazole 20 mg, with regards to improvement/healing of endoscopic lesions and relief from symptoms of regurgitation.展开更多
Objective： To explore the characteristic of operation, intra-operation treatment and the application of immunosuppressant in pediatric renal transplantation in order to improve therapeutic effectiveness. Methods： Fr...Objective： To explore the characteristic of operation, intra-operation treatment and the application of immunosuppressant in pediatric renal transplantation in order to improve therapeutic effectiveness. Methods： From March 1986 to October 2006, the clinical data of 63 children who underwent renal transplantation in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Results： The 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-year graft survival rates were 98.4%, 90.5%, 88.9% and 68.3%, respectively. And the corresponding patient survival rates were 100%, 95.2%, 92.1%, 71.4%. The body weight increased 4 to 12 kg and the body height grew up 2 to 6 cm during the first year post-transplantation. The main complications in the first year post-transplantation were hypertension （26/63, 41.3%）, crinosity （14/63, 22.2%）, drug-induced hepatic injury（11/63, 17.5%）, gingival hyperplasia （10/63, 15.8%）, pulmonary infection（9/63, 14.3%）, bone marrow suppression（5/63, 7.9%）, herpes （4/63, 6.3%） and diabetes （3/63, 4.8%）. Conclusion： Renal transplantation is a preferred method for the treatment of children in end-stage renal disease （ESRD）. Good tissue matching, proper operative time and pattern, peri-operactive care were essential to success, as well as appropriate immuno-suppressant strategy and good compliance.展开更多
Objective: to evaluate cilazapril in vasovagal syncope treatment. Method: eighty\|six cases of VVS patients found positive in TTT tilt were medicated with 2.5 mg cilazapril daily for three months and followed up by TT...Objective: to evaluate cilazapril in vasovagal syncope treatment. Method: eighty\|six cases of VVS patients found positive in TTT tilt were medicated with 2.5 mg cilazapril daily for three months and followed up by TTT. Results: seven cases quit due to cough or unexplained reason; 79 VVS patients had no more fainting spells; 75.95% of TTT results of patients changed to negative after 3 months therapy. The before and after cilazapril treatment average blood pressures (taken in lying position) were 121/73 mm Hg (1 mm Hg= 0.133kPa) and 120/76 mm Hg respectively ( P > 0.05); and mean heart rates were 68.63±12.37/min and 70.13±13.15/min respectively with no significant changes ( P > 0.05). Conclusion: Cilazapril was effective in treatment of VVS; did not affect normal blood pressure and heart rate; was safe; and had little side effect.展开更多
Over 170 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major cause of liver diseases. Current interferon-based therapy is of limited efficacy and has significant side effects and more effective...Over 170 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major cause of liver diseases. Current interferon-based therapy is of limited efficacy and has significant side effects and more effective and better tolerated therapies are urgently needed. HCV is a positive, single-stranded RNA virus with a 9.6 kb genome that encodes ten viral proteins. Among them, the NS3 protease and the NS5B polymerase are essential for viral replication and have been the main focus of drug discovery efforts. Aided by structure-based drug design, potent and specific inhibitors of NS3 and NS5B have been identified, some of which are in late stage clinical trials and may significantly improve current HCV treatment. Inhibitors of other viral targets such as NS5A are also being pursued. However, HCV is an RNA virus characterized by high replication and mutation rates and consequently, resistance emerges quickly in patients treated with specific antivirals as monotherapy. A complementary approach is to target host factors such as cyclophilins that are also essential for viral replication and may present a higher genetic barrier to resistance. Combinations of these inhibitors of different mechanism are likely to become the essential components of future HCV therapies in order to maximize antiviral efficacy and prevent the emergence of resistance.展开更多
文摘This review focuses on the efficacy and safety of effective herbal medicines in the management of obesity in humans and animals. PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and IranMedex databases were searched up to December 30, 2008. The search terms were ＂obesity＂ and （＇herbal medicine＂ or ＂plant＂, ＂plant medicinal＂ or ＂medicine traditional＂） without narrowing or limiting search elements. All of the human and animal studies on the effects of herbs with the key outcome of change in anthropometric measures such as body weight and waist-hip circumference, body fat, amount of food intake, and appetite were included. In vitro studies, reviews, and letters to editors were excluded. Of the publications identified in the initial database, 915 results were identified and reviewed, and a total of 77 studies were included （19 human and 58 animal studies）. Studies with Cissus quadrangularis （CQ）, Sambucus nigra, Asparagus officinalis, Garcinia atroviridis, ephedra and caffeine, Slimax （extract of several plants including Zingiber officinale and Bofutsushosan） showed a significant decrease in body weight. In 41 animal studies, significant weight loss or inhibition of weight gain was found. No significant adverse effects or mortality were observed except in studies with supplements containing ephedra, caffeine and Bofutsushosan. In conclusion, compounds containing ephedra, CQr ginseng, bitter melon, and zingiber were found to be effective in the management of obesity. Attention to these natural compounds would open a new approach for novel therapeutic and more effective agents.
文摘Despite progress in the treatment of advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer （PC）, the outcome of this disease remains dismal for the majority of patients. Given the moderate efficacy of treatment, prognostic factors may help to guide treatment decisions. Several trials identified baseline performance status as an important prognostic factor for survival. Unfit patients with a Kamofsky performance status （KPS） below 70% only have a marginal benefit from chemotherapy with gemcitabine （Gem） and may often benefit more from optimal supportive care. Once, however, the decision is taken to apply chemotherapy, KPS may be used to select either mono- or combination chemotherapy. Patients with a good performance status （KPS = 90%-100%） may have a significant and clinically relevant survival benefit from combination chemotherapy. By contrast, patients with a poor performance status （KPS ≤ 80%） have no advantage from intensified therapy and should rather receive single-agent treatment.
文摘AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin (GEMOX) combined with huachansu (cinobufagin) injection treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), and to assess the quality of life (QOL) of such patients. METHODS: Twenty-fi ve patients with locally advanced or metastatic GBC were treated with intravenous gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) over 30 min on days 1 and 8, 2 h infusion of oxaliplatin (120 mg/m2) on day 1, and 2-3 h infusion of huachansu (20 mL/m2) on days -3-11, every 3-4 wk. Treatment was continued until occurrence of unacceptable toxicity or disease progression. QOL of patients was assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 at baseline, at the end of the fi rst, third and sixth chemotherapy cycles, and 1 mo after the treatment. RESULTS: Among the 25 patients with a median age of 64 years (range 42-78 years), 23 were evaluable in the study. A total of 137 cycles of therapy were performed and the median cycle was 5 (range 1-8) per patient. Out of the 23 patients whose response couldbe evaluated, 8 partial responses (PR) were observed (34.8%), while 7 patients (30.4%) demonstrated a stable disease (SD). The disease control rate was 65.2%. Progression of cancer was observed in 8 (34.8%) patients. The median progression-free and overall survival time was 5.8 mo (95% CI: 4.5-7.1 mo) and 10.5 mo, respectively. The therapy was well tolerated, with moderate myelosuppression as the main toxicity. Anemia grade 2 was seen in 16.0%, neutropenia grade 3 in 8.0% and thrombocytopenia grade 3 in 24.0% of patients, respectively. Non-hematologic toxicity ranged from mild to moderate. No death occurred due to toxicity. The QOL of patients was improved after chemotherapy, and the scores of QOL were increased by 10 to 20 points. CONCLUSION: GEMOX combined with huachansu (cinobufagin) injection is well tolerated, effective, thus improving the QOL of patients with advanced GBC.
文摘AIM：TO compare the efficacy and safety of dexrabe-prazole 10 mg versus rabeprazole 20 mg in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease （GERD）.METHODS： This was a randomized, double-blind clinical study. Fifty patients with GERD were randomly assigned to receive dexrabeprazole 10 mg or rabeprazole 20 mg once daily. Efficacy was assessed by evaluating improvement in visual analog scale （VAS） scores of heart-burn and regurgitation and safety was assessed by recording incidence of any adverse drug reactions. Laboratory investigations and upper gastro-intestinal endoscopy was conducted at baseline and after 28 d of therapy.RESULTS： A total of 50 patients （n = 25 in dexrabeprazole group and rabeprazole group each） completed the study. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. The VAS score （mean 4. SD） of heartburn and regurgitation in dexrabeprazole （64.8±5.1 and 64 ± 8.1, respectively） and rabeprazole （64.4 ± 8.7 and 57.6 ± 9.7, respectively） groups significantly reduced （P 〈 0.0001） to 30 ± 11.5, 24 ± 10 and 32 ± 9.5, 29.2±11.9, respectively on d 28. A significantly higher （P = 0.002） proportion of patients showed ≥ 50% improvement in regurgitation with dexrabeprazole 10 mg （96%） compared to rabeprazole 20 mg （60%）. Onset of symptom improvement was significantly earlier with dexrabeprazole than with rabeprazole （1.8 ± 0.8 d vs 2.6 ± 1.4 d; P 〈0.05）. The incidences of esophagitis in the dexrabeprazole group and rabeprazole group before therapy were 84% and 92%, respectively （P = 0.38）. The incidence of improvement/healing of esophagitis after therapy was more （P = 0,036） in the dexrabeprazole group （95.2%） compared to the rabeprazole group （65.2%）. No adverse drug reaction was seen in either group.CONCLUSION： In the treatment of GERD, efficacy of dexrabeprazole 10 mg is better than rabeprazole 20 mg, with regards to improvement/healing of endoscopic lesions and relief from symptoms of regurgitation.
文摘Objective： To explore the characteristic of operation, intra-operation treatment and the application of immunosuppressant in pediatric renal transplantation in order to improve therapeutic effectiveness. Methods： From March 1986 to October 2006, the clinical data of 63 children who underwent renal transplantation in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Results： The 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-year graft survival rates were 98.4%, 90.5%, 88.9% and 68.3%, respectively. And the corresponding patient survival rates were 100%, 95.2%, 92.1%, 71.4%. The body weight increased 4 to 12 kg and the body height grew up 2 to 6 cm during the first year post-transplantation. The main complications in the first year post-transplantation were hypertension （26/63, 41.3%）, crinosity （14/63, 22.2%）, drug-induced hepatic injury（11/63, 17.5%）, gingival hyperplasia （10/63, 15.8%）, pulmonary infection（9/63, 14.3%）, bone marrow suppression（5/63, 7.9%）, herpes （4/63, 6.3%） and diabetes （3/63, 4.8%）. Conclusion： Renal transplantation is a preferred method for the treatment of children in end-stage renal disease （ESRD）. Good tissue matching, proper operative time and pattern, peri-operactive care were essential to success, as well as appropriate immuno-suppressant strategy and good compliance.
文摘Objective: to evaluate cilazapril in vasovagal syncope treatment. Method: eighty\|six cases of VVS patients found positive in TTT tilt were medicated with 2.5 mg cilazapril daily for three months and followed up by TTT. Results: seven cases quit due to cough or unexplained reason; 79 VVS patients had no more fainting spells; 75.95% of TTT results of patients changed to negative after 3 months therapy. The before and after cilazapril treatment average blood pressures (taken in lying position) were 121/73 mm Hg (1 mm Hg= 0.133kPa) and 120/76 mm Hg respectively ( P > 0.05); and mean heart rates were 68.63±12.37/min and 70.13±13.15/min respectively with no significant changes ( P > 0.05). Conclusion: Cilazapril was effective in treatment of VVS; did not affect normal blood pressure and heart rate; was safe; and had little side effect.
文摘Over 170 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major cause of liver diseases. Current interferon-based therapy is of limited efficacy and has significant side effects and more effective and better tolerated therapies are urgently needed. HCV is a positive, single-stranded RNA virus with a 9.6 kb genome that encodes ten viral proteins. Among them, the NS3 protease and the NS5B polymerase are essential for viral replication and have been the main focus of drug discovery efforts. Aided by structure-based drug design, potent and specific inhibitors of NS3 and NS5B have been identified, some of which are in late stage clinical trials and may significantly improve current HCV treatment. Inhibitors of other viral targets such as NS5A are also being pursued. However, HCV is an RNA virus characterized by high replication and mutation rates and consequently, resistance emerges quickly in patients treated with specific antivirals as monotherapy. A complementary approach is to target host factors such as cyclophilins that are also essential for viral replication and may present a higher genetic barrier to resistance. Combinations of these inhibitors of different mechanism are likely to become the essential components of future HCV therapies in order to maximize antiviral efficacy and prevent the emergence of resistance.
