Complementary Medicine Research最新文献

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely used as an adjuvant therapy for advanced gastric cancer (AGC), yet its underlying mechanisms and targets remain inadequately characterized.

Methods: This study integrated meta-analysis and network pharmacology to evaluate the therapeutic effects of TCM, identify core-effective prescriptions (CEPs), and predict potential molecular targets.

Results: Seventeen studies comparing TCM combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for AGC were identified through a search of seven databases. Meta-analysis showed that TCM significantly improved overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio: 1.65, 95% confidence interval: 1.23-2.22, p < 0.001, I2 = 0%). CEPs and their chemical constituents were identified. A component-target (C-T) network was constructed, revealing the top 10 core genes were TP53, AKT1, CASP3, MYC, IL6, ESR1, EGFR, TNF, PTEN, and HIF1A.

Conclusion: This meta-analysis demonstrates that TCM combined with chemotherapy improves OS in AGC patients more effectively than chemotherapy alone. Network pharmacology offered complementary mechanistic insights, laying a foundation for future experimental research.

Background: Constipation is a common gastrointestinal disease that seriously affects quality of life. Although abdominal massage (AM) has shown some therapeutic effects in some clinical practices, high-quality evidence on AM treating constipation is still scarce.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to thoroughly investigate the efficacy and safety of AM treatment for constipation.

Methods: According to the PRISMA guidelines, we searched the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Scopus databases for English-language studies published up to July 2025. We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating AM for constipation and screened them according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool (RevMan 5.30). Heterogeneity among trials was measured using the I2 statistic. Effect sizes were expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Additionally, sensitivity analyses, subgroup analyses, and meta-regression analyses were conducted to further explore sources of heterogeneity.

Results: A total of 25 RCTs published from 2009 to 2024 involving 1,508 subjects were included after screening, of which 19 were included in the meta-analysis. The overall risk of bias in the included studies was low. Our findings demonstrated that AM significantly improved constipation severity in patients with constipation (SMD = -1.64, 95% CI = [-2.26, -1.01], p < 0.00001); quality of life (SMD = -1.71, 95% CI = [-2.31, -1.11], p < 0.00001); number of bowel movements per week (SMD = 1.17, 95% CI = [0.70, 1.65], p < 0.00001); stool consistency (SMD = 1.2, 95% CI = [0.05, 2.36], p = 0.04); and pain intensity associated with constipation (SMD = -1.26, 95% CI = [-1.74, -0.77], p < 0.00001). Subgroup analyses further indicated that even short-term AM interventions may positively impact on patients with constipation. Additionally, regarding safety, most included trials did not report adverse events.

Conclusion: AM is safe and effective in the treatment of constipation. Although the results of sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis provide important guidance for clinical selection of AM treatment options, these results need to be interpreted with caution given the diversity of constipation etiologies.

Introduction: Infertility is a significant health problem with psycho-social burden for couples. Ayurveda considers a holistic approach, including complex multimodal regimens in managing infertility. Increasing evidence has shown that Yoga as an adjuvant to infertility treatment increases pregnancy rates. Therefore, this research will investigate the comparative efficacy of Ayurveda regimen and letrozole, along with integration of Yoga in both groups in female infertility.

Methods: The primary outcome, ovulation rate, will be measured through serial transvaginal sonography (TVS) for six consecutive menstrual cycles. The secondary outcome, conception rate, will be measured by definitive signs of pregnancy. Participants' quality of life will be assessed using the Ferti Quality of Life (FertiQOL) tool. The study will randomize 160 women aged 21-40 years diagnosed with anovulatory or unexplained infertility into two groups using permuted block randomization. Participants in group I will receive internal oleation with Phala Ghrita and mild purgation with Gandharvahasta (GH) oil for three consecutive cycles. Standard care group II participants will receive letrozole tablet once daily from day 3 to day 7 of the menstrual cycle for three cycles. The yoga instructor will take yoga sessions for participants of both groups for 6 months. This study will also use machine learning (ML) models to compare two regimens to predict improvements in outcome variables. The goal was to develop an online platform that aids personalized treatment planning and enhances clinical decision-making.

Discussion: This will be the first study to generate evidence on the efficacy of integrated treatment regimens in female infertility, where predictive ML models will be developed.

Introduction: The study evaluated the recurrence of acute upper respiratory tract infections (aURTIs) and the number of antibiotic prescriptions within a 12-month follow-up period in patients prescribed with either homeopathic medicines or medicines from one of four conventional medication classes for aURTI therapy.

Methods: This explorative cohort study used real-world electronic healthcare data from the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA). Included were patients of all ages from Germany with an index diagnosis of aURTI between 2010 and 2018, who had prescriptions for either homeopathic, conventional cough and cold, nasal, or throat medicines or nonopioid analgesics on the day of diagnosis or within 6 days afterwards. aURTI recurrence was assessed by multivariable logistic regression, the number of antibiotic prescriptions by multivariable negative binomial regression.

Results: From 3,628,295 patients with aURTI diagnosis initially identified in the database in the relevant time interval, a total of 610,118 patients, fulfilling the in- and not violating the exclusion criteria, were retained for analysis. In the multivariate analyses on all patients, prescriptions of nasal medicines were associated with a significant, slightly higher (OR: 1.18, CI: 1.10-1.26, p < 0.001) risk of aURTI recurrence compared to homeopathic medicines within 12 months. Prescriptions of cough and cold (OR: 0.92, CI: 0.86-0.97, statistically significant, p = 0.005) as well as throat medicines (OR: 0.93, CI: 0.86-1.01, p = 0.086) and nonopioid analgesics (OR: 0.95, CI: 0.89-1.02, p = 0.181) were associated with slightly lower risk of aURTI recurrence compared to homeopathic medicines. In the analysis of the age-dependent subgroups, there were some deviations from the overall population in terms of statistical significance; however, the directions of the effect estimates were unchanged. Almost all results of negative binomial regression analyses assessing differences in the frequency of antibiotic prescriptions during follow-up, both in all patients and in the age-dependent subgroups, were statistically significant in favor of homeopathic medicines.

Conclusion: The study demonstrated that follow-up recurrence and antibiotic prescriptions in patients with uncomplicated aURTI are at least comparable between patients treated with homeopathic and conventional medicines in real-world practice. Despite some methodological limitations inherent to the database used, the results of this study indicate that homeopathic medicines present a valuable therapeutic option for managing aURTI.

Introduction: The study evaluated the recurrence of acute upper respiratory tract infections (aURTIs) and the number of antibiotic prescriptions within a 12-month follow-up period in patients prescribed with either homeopathic medicines or medicines from one of four conventional medication clas

Introduction: Many patients with breast cancer use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) including mistletoe preparations (Viscum album extracts, VAE). CAM alone has been associated with poor outcomes. Few, if any, confirmed breast cancer remissions have been reported with CAM treatment alone.

Case presentations: Case 1: 60-year-old female with a histologically confirmed local recurrence of hormone receptor positive (HR+) Her2/neu negative (HER2-) breast cancer 3 years after the initial diagnosis and treatment. The patient declined conventional therapies and was treated with intratumoral VAE plus intratumoral influenza vaccine (IV) and concurrent VAE-induced hyperthermia. Lumpectomy 5 months later confirmed a near pathological complete remission (near pCR). Follow-up at 3 years confirms durable remission. Case 2: 57-year-old female with histologically confirmed HR+, HER2- right sided breast cancer with 2-[18F]FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) positive metastatic disease who declined conventional treatment. The patient was treated with 17 monthly cycles of VAE-induced hyperthermia, eight of which included intratumoral VAE, four of these eight including intratumoral IV. Almost 2 years after treatment start, a follow-up 2-[18F]FDG-PET/CT showed marked morphological and metabolic reduction of breast tumor on the right side, stable local lymph node metastases in the right axilla, complete remission of pulmonary metastases, the single bone metastasis, and the majority of hilomediastinal lymph node metastases but a new metabolic highly active left adrenal lesion.

Conclusions: Clinical studies of intratumoral VAE-influenza vaccine with concurrent VAE-induced hyperthermia in ER positive HER2/neu negative breast cancer are warranted.

Background: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapies have shown great improvement in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, yet no bibliometric analysis on TCM therapies for COPD exists.

Summary: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on TCM therapies for COPD within the past decade, utilizing the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. To analyze collaborative patterns among countries/regions, institutions, and authors, as well as identify influential references and emerging research trends, CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were employed. The dataset comprised 625 articles from WOS and 5,641 from CNKI, revealing a consistent growth in COPD-related TCM research over the past 10 years. China emerged as the leading contributor, with a predominant focus on TCM Universities. The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine was the most cited journal, while Medicine published the highest number of articles. Li JS was the most prolific author, and Barnes PJ was the most frequently cited researcher. Key studies by Leung RWM [Eur Respir J. 2013;41(5):1051-7], Li SY [BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012;12:197], and Polkey MI [Chest. 2018;153(5):1116-24] garnered significant attention. Keyword analysis highlighted the prominence of Tai Chi, Chinese herbal medicine, acupoint sticking, acupuncture, lung function, quality of life, and inflammation as core research themes.

Key messages: Research on TCM therapies for COPD has gained growing attention over the past decade. Among the most commonly studied TCM interventions are Tai Chi, Chinese herbal medicine, acupoint sticking, and acupuncture. Lung function, quality of life, and inflammation have emerged as key areas of investigation and are likely to remain focal points for future research endeavors.

Background: Pain, both acute and chronic, places a substantial burden on global healthcare systems. While conventional treatments may be limited in efficacy due to side effects, risk of dependency, or variable individual response, there is growing interest in mind-body complementary approaches. Yoga nidra (YGN) has emerged as a promising noninvasive intervention for pain management. However, a clear understanding of its efficacy remains limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the effects of YGN on pain outcomes.

Methods: A literature search was conducted across seven databases and one trial database. Eligible studies included quantitative designs assessing the effects of YGN on pain. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials and the modified Downs and Black checklist for non-randomized studies. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to estimate pooled effect sizes.

Results: Twelve studies, comprising 1,176 participants, were included. Between-group analyses revealed that YGN significantly reduced pain compared to passive comparators (Hedge's g: -2.05, p = 0.01), while comparisons with active comparators (g: -0.31, p = 0.53) showed no statistically significant differences. Within-group analyses indicated significant pain reduction following YGN (g: -2.01, p < 0.001). Subgroup comparisons of single versus multiple training sessions, as well as meta-regression analyses, revealed no significant dose-response relationship across intervention durations.

Conclusion: YGN shows potential in reducing pain intensity compared to passive control conditions, with notable within-group improvements following intervention. However, given the low methodological quality across the included studies, these effects should be interpreted cautiously, as the observed effects may represent inflated estimates. Despite these limitations, YGN demonstrates potential as a complementary approach for pain management, underscoring the need for high-quality, standardized research to establish its efficacy as a viable clinical intervention.