Advances in the management of arteriosclerosis of the lower extremity:Integrating Western and Chinese medicine approaches

This editorial provides a commentary on the recent article.The paper reviews current literature and explores innovative treatment strategies for lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans(LEASO)through an integrative approach.It highlights the effectiveness of combination therapies that merge traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)with Western medical practices,suggesting that such integrative methods may improve patient compliance and outcomes through personalized care.This paper stresses the importance of rigorous clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TCM interventions within LEASO treatment protocols,advocating for evidence-based validation of these combined therapies.Our recommendations emphasize accurate diagnosis,appropriate pharmacological in-terventions,the use of advanced surgical and endovascular techniques,and the inclusion of TCM to address underlying dysfunctions.Additionally,continuous monitoring,patient education,and lifestyle modifications are essential to slow disease progression and achieve optimal patient outcomes.The paper concludes by calling for further research to develop standardized treatment protocols that effectively integrate both Western and Chinese medical approaches in managing LEASO.

The use of traditional Chinese medicine internally and externally combined with auricular acupuncture point bloodletting in the treatment of vulvar leukoplakia

Vulvar leukoplakia refers to the chronic disease of degeneration and hypopigmentation of the skin and mucous membrane of the vulva with unbearable itching in women, seriously affecting the quality of life. The main treatment of western medicine for vulvar leukoplakia is the external use of glucocorticoids or estrogen, resulting to the high recurrence rate and side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has the characteristics of the overall concept and dialectical treatment with a variety of ways. Literature review in recent years found that the treatment of TCM decoction combined with external therapies, such as external fumigation, acupuncture and other treatments, or the combination of TCM decoction and external western medicine hormone ointment, can obtain good effects in vulvar leukoplakia. During the clinical practice, we found that the use of TCM internally and externally combined with auricular acupuncture point bloodletting was highly effective with unique advantages in the treatment of vulvar leukoplakia, providing the ideas guidance for clinicians.

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.

CLINICAL OBSERVATION ON TREATMENT OF 80 CASES OF PROLAPSE OF LUMBAR INTERVERTEBRAL DISC BY COMBINATION OF ACUPUNCTURE AND MEDICINE

cases of prolapse of lumbar intervetebral disc were randomly divided into treatment and control groups. 80 cases in treatment group were treated with combination of acupuncture, oral administration of Chinese medicinal herbs, traction, point injection and intravenous drip of energy dehydration mixture; 70 cases in control group were managed by combination of acupuncture, oral administration of herbal medicines, traction, acupoint injection (without energy dehydration mixture). The results showed that the curative rate and the total effective rate of the treatment group were 91.25% and 98.75% separately, while those of the control group 62.86% and 92.86% respectively. Comparison of the curative rate between the 2 groups showed a remarkable significance (P<0.01). The observation demonstrated that combined treatment of prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc with traditional Chinese and Western medicine is an effective approach.

Integrative techniques using acupuncture,Chinese herbal medicine,diet,and supplements for polycystic ovary syndrome:a case report

Patients with a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome （PCOS） are on the rise. About 4%-12% of women are currently estimated to have this condition. It is hypothesized that PCOS appears in women who have long-standing insulin resistance （1R）, which leads to high androgen and testosterone levels; this ultimately disrupts their menstrual cycles. Some researchers attribute IR to genetic factors, although there have been only minute changes in the human genome in the past 20 000 years. However, even with a stable gene pool, genes can be turned on and offby the environment, food and air quality and toxin exposure.

Treatment of 140 cerebral palsied children with a combined method based on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and western medicine

Objective:To observe and evaluate a method that is effective and practical for treatment of cerebral palsied(CP)children in China.Method:The patient's age and disease type and individual specific conditions were considered in choosingtherapy methods accordingly:Chinese herbs,acupuncture,auricnlar seed pressure,point finger pressing,massage,orthopedichand manipulation,physiotherapy,occupational therapy,language therapy,etc.Meanwhile we created a new CP treatment modelthat combines hospitalized treatment with family therapy.Results:The majority of CP patients improved greatly in motor andsocial adaptation capacities after treatment.Wilcoxon paired rank sum test analysis showed that there were significant differencesbetween the data before and after treatment(P<0.01).Conclusion:This combined therapy method,based on traditional Chinesemedicine and western medicine plus family supplemental therapy,is an effective and practical treatment strategy for CP children inChina.

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.

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.

Systematic evaluation and Meta-analysis of acupuncture and collaterals cupping therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective:In order to obtain the best treatment program for Knee Osteoarthritis(KOA),to alleviate the pain of patients with KOA,and to systematically evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture cupping therapy for KOA.Methods:we used computer to search the databases of CNKI(1989-2018.10),Wanfang(1989-2018.10),VIP(1989-2018.10),PubMed(1966-2018.10),EMbase(1986-2018.10)and Cochrane Library(the 3rd issue of 2018).And the literature quality was evaluated by Jadad scale.Results:A total of 19 eligible RCT studies were included,and a total of 2,088 patients participated in the eligible clinical study.Meta-analysis results showed that the total effective rate OR combination=2.85[OR=3.98,95%CI(2.98,5.32),P<0.00001].The results showed that the curative effect of acupuncture and collaterals cupping in the treatment of KOA was superior to other therapies.Conclusion:Acupuncture and cupping therapy of traditional Chinese medicine is effective and safe in treating KOA.Due to the impact of the original study on Meta-analysis results,more large samples and high-quality clinical trials are still needed to verify.

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.

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.

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.

A Review of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Depression

Depression is a common mental illness with symptoms such as loss of interest.At present,It is mainly treated with antidepressants,which are effective in a short time,but it is highly addictive and has a high probability of adverse reactions.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)treatment of depression has the advantages of high feasibility,good tolerance,obvious effect,and small side effects.In addition,TCM has great potential for the treatment of depression with the overall concept of the unity of nature and man as its guiding ideology and rich clinical experience.This review mainly expounds on the research progress of TCM treatment of depression from two aspects of TCM non-drug therapy and TCM drug therapy,to provide a reference for clinical treatment of depression.

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.

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.

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)

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.