Complementary Medicine Research最新文献

Background: Cognitive impairment is one of the long COVID symptoms that many people experience after Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Many individuals report a decline in cognitive functions, such as reduced memory and brain fog. These symptoms not only directly affect the cognitive functions of the brain but also hinder daily living activities, thereby reducing the quality of life. Moreover, these symptoms are significant risk factors for long-term cognitive decline in the elderly and can have both short-term and long-term effects on brain function. Clinically, acupuncture is widely used to improve cognitive impairment in the elderly. Elucidating the brain network mechanisms underlying acupuncture therapy for long COVID-related cognitive impairment represents an urgently needed research focus. In this study, we employed acupuncture as an intervention to mitigate cognitive decline in long COVID patients and investigate the potential mechanisms by which acupuncture alleviates cognitive impairment.

Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 60 eligible participants are planned to be recruited and randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the acupuncture group and the health education group, which will then receive acupuncture treatment and health education. The acupuncture group will participate in treatment three times per week for a total of 8 weeks. The health education group will receive health education once per week for a total of 8 weeks. The primary assessment index was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), and the secondary assessment indexes included Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL), Auditory Verbal Learning Test-Huashan Version (AVLT-H), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data. These assessment indicators were all tested in 1 week each before and after the intervention was implemented.

Discussion: This trial aims to investigate the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on cognitive impairment in patients with long COVID and to further explore the imaging mechanisms by which acupuncture alleviates cognitive dysfunction in these patients.

Introduction: This case report describes a 65-year-old female patient from Germany who developed clinically significant lead poisoning following the use of Ayurvedic herbal preparations provided by an unlicensed practitioner in a major German city.

Case presentation: Although the patient presented with nonspecific symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue, and gastrointestinal complaints - possible indicators of heavy metal toxicity - these warning signs were initially overlooked by the practitioner. It was only after a colleague at the same institute raised concerns that appropriate diagnostic investigations were initiated. Laboratory analyses revealed a markedly elevated blood lead level (BLL) of 574 µg/L, prompting hospitalization and initiation of chelation therapy with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). The patient responded well to DMSA therapy, with subsequent serum lead levels showing a marked decrease to 86 µg/L at a 10-months follow-up. She tolerated the treatment without significant adverse effects and is in good health, able to engage fully in both her personal and professional life. Despite this adverse experience with lead toxicity resulting from advice given by an unlicensed Ayurvedic practitioner, the patient remains interested in Ayurveda - now with a strong preference for treatment by qualified and licensed professionals.

Conclusion: This case underscores a key lesson: adverse outcomes in traditional medicine often result not from the therapeutic system itself but from its use outside of regulatory and ethical frameworks. It highlights the importance of seeking care from trained and licensed practitioners and emphasizes the necessity of sourcing botanical products only from rigorously tested, quality-controlled, and legally registered suppliers within the European Union or other places outside Ayurveda´s countries of origin. Using preparations following rasa-śāstra -practice is contraindicated in the EU because of possibly toxic doses of heavy metals.

Objective: This paper aims to assess the impact of probiotics on oral Candida infection using an evidence-based medicine approach.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of probiotics in the treatment of oral Candida infection were retrieved from databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP Database, Wanfang Database, and China Biomedical Literature Database, up until December 2022. Two researchers independently conducted data extraction and quality assessment. Meta-analysis of the extracted data was performed using the statistical software RevMan 5.4. The study included a total of 12 trials, comprising 4 in English and 8 in Chinese, with 1029 subjects (537 in the experimental group and 492 in the control group).

Results: Results indicated that probiotics effectively treated oral Candida infection [OR = 7.80, 95% CI (4.78, 12.75), P < 0.001], reduced the detection rate of oral Candida [OR = 0.06, 95% CI (0.01, 0.57), P = 0.01], and lowered the recurrence rate after cure [OR = 0.21, 95% CI (0.12, 0.35), P < 0.001]. These effects were observed in studies using probiotics both with and without antifungal agents, though a more consistent benefit was reported in studies using combination therapy.

Conclusions: Probiotics demonstrated a significant impact on the treatment of oral Candida infection by reducing oral Candida colonization and minimizing recurrence rates post-cure.

Introduction: Cancer patients are prone to experiencing negative emotions such as anxiety and depression after receiving chemotherapy. Research has shown that acupressure may be beneficial in relieving the anxiety and depression caused by chemotherapy, but high-quality evidence is lacking. This study was designed to systematically evaluate the efficacy of acupressure for relieving chemotherapy-induced anxiety and depression.

Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA framework. Four English databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library) and four Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM) were searched from inception to December 31, 2022, to identify randomized clinical trials examining the use of acupressure for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced anxiety and depression. Cochrane Review Manager 5.4 and RStudio were used for the meta-analysis.

Results: This meta-analysis included 1,119 patients from 12 randomized controlled trials. We mainly compared acupressure with sham acupressure and routine nursing. The results showed that acupressure alleviated chemotherapy-induced anxiety (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-1.15, -0.28], p = 0.001) and depression (SMD = -0.75, 95% CI [-1.36, -0.14], p = 0.02) more effectively than sham acupressure and routine nursing.

Conclusion: This meta-analysis found that acupressure (body point) can relieve chemotherapy-induced anxiety and depression and improve the quality of life of patients. However, the current relevant literature has low quality and is highly heterogeneous, which reduces the credibility of the research results. Therefore, more rigorously designed randomized controlled trials are needed to verify these conclusions.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupoint-embedded needling combined with auricular acupressure in treating simple obesity associated with spleen deficiency and dampness accumulation.

Methods: Ninety-six patients with simple obesity were randomized into two groups. The intervention group received acupoint-embedded needling and auricular acupressure, while the control group received conventional acupuncture. After 30 days, body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood lipid profiles, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, and metabolic markers were assessed. These included homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, serum leptin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, body fat percentage, and basal metabolic rate. Adverse events were monitored.

Results: Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed significantly greater reductions in body weight, BMI, waist circumference, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (all p < 0.05). TCM scores and metabolic indicators also showed significant improvement. The overall adverse event rate was lower in the intervention group (8.33% vs. 29.17%, p = 0.019), although individual event types showed no statistically significant difference.

Conclusion: Acupoint-embedded needling combined with auricular acupressure is an effective and well-tolerated approach for managing simple obesity associated with spleen deficiency and dampness, with benefits in weight loss, improved metabolism, and symptom relief.

Introduction: Previous studies have shown that integrative medicine (IM) is of considerable relevance from the patients' perspective. The acceptance of healthcare professionals is essential to meet patient needs and integrate IM into routine clinical practice. The aim of this study was to assess personal use and attitudes toward IM, as well as the implementation of integrative nursing (IN), among employees at a German university hospital.

Methods: A cross-sectional online study was conducted among employees at University Hospital Ulm in 2022. Univariate analysis of frequencies and cross-tabulations with chi-square tests were performed.

Results: A total of 244 employees participated in the survey, 80.7% of whom were female and 49.3% were nurses. The mean age was 38.3 ± 12.3 years. Most respondents were familiar with IM (87.3%; n = 179). Overall, 63.2% (n = 129) rated its benefit as high. A total of 26.1% (n = 54) indicated that IN had been implemented in their own work settings, while the majority (91.4%; n = 171) supported broader implementation. Interest in training and education on IN was expressed by 52.4% (n = 98). Subgroup analyses revealed statistically significant associations between age and familiarity with IM (p = 0.039), personal use of IM (p = 0.019), and the rating of its benefits (p = 0.009), as well as between work-related patient contact and interest in further IN training (p < 0.001). No significant associations were observed for sex and profession.

Conclusion: The findings indicate a high level of personal use and favorable attitudes toward IM, along with notable interest in IN among hospital employees, highlighting potential for further implementation of IM within clinical practice.

Introduction: A healthy lifestyle is considered to be an important factor for healthy aging. Kneipp therapy (KT) includes a combination of hydrotherapy, herbal medicine, mind-body medicine, physical activities, and healthy nutrition. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of KT care on activities of daily living, health, and quality of life in residents of nursing homes.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, two-armed comparative observational study to compare matched nursing homes with KT (Kneipp group) versus nursing homes with common preventive interventions (control group) over a 12-month period. Outcome measures included activities of daily living (Barthel Index), cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]), and quality of life (QUALIDEM; Short-Form 12 [SF-12]).

Results: We included 7 nursing homes (n = 105 residents) for the Kneipp group and 6 nursing homes (n = 69) as control. Except for Barthel Index, there were no time point-dependent differences between the groups. The Barthel Index showed a smaller difference from baseline in the control group (mean difference 0.94, 95% CI [-1.94; 3.82]) compared to the Kneipp group (-4.08, 95% CI [-6.46; -1.69]; p = 0.009) after 6 months; mean difference between groups Kneipp versus control: 5.01, 95% CI [1.25; 8.77]; p = 0.009. Pooled over the time points, the SF-12 mental health sum scale exhibited a smaller difference from baseline in the Kneipp group (-1.3, 95% CI [-3.6; 0.9]) compared to the control group (-3.8, 95% CI [-6.3; -1.4]; p = 0.027). Furthermore, the MMSE sum score decreased less in the Kneipp group compared to control (-1.1, 95% CI [-2.2, -0.1]; p = 0.033) after 12 months. A post hoc comparison of residents from both groups who received at least 30 preventive interventions monthly exhibited better values for QUALIDEM items "social relations," "social isolation," and "feeling at home."

Conclusion: This comparative observational study showed only small differences in outcome measures between the groups. The frequency of treatments may positively influence social components of behavior and well-being in residents. High-quality pragmatic randomized trials are needed for further investigations.