BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies最新文献

Background: Acanthamoeba is a resilient protozoan that causes serious diseases such as Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK). Due to the ineffectiveness of many drugs against this parasite, plant extracts provide a promising alternative in the treatment process. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the aqueous extract of Eucalyptus microtheca against Acanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts in vitro.

Methods: In the current experimental study, Acanthamoeba isolate was cultured in a non-nutritive agar (NNA) medium. Aqueous extracts of Eucalyptus microtheca were prepared at concentrations of 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/ mL, with exposure times of 30, 60, 90, and 120 min for trophozoites and 24, 48, and 72 h for cysts. Chlorhexidine (0.02%) and PBS served as positive and negative controls, respectively. Viability was assessed using 1% eosin dye.

Results: Our study revealed that the aqueous extract of Eucalyptus microtheca significantly reduced the number of both trophozoites and cysts. At 80 mg/ mL, the extract completely eliminated cysts (100%) after 24 h and reduced trophozoites by 99.33% within 120 min.

Conclusion: This study indicates that Eucalyptus microtheca aqueous extract possesses significant anti-Acanthamoeba properties, with effects strongly associated with concentration and exposure time (p < 0.001).

Background: Tuina therapy (Tuina) is commonly utilized for managing knee osteoarthritis (KOA), yet the available evidence is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Tuina compared to widely accepted manual physical therapy (mPT) for patients with KOA.

Methods: Between Oct 2019 and Oct 2021, patients with KOA (Kellgren-Lawrence score II or III) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive Tuina or mPT, with eight 20-min sessions over 3 weeks. Assessments were performed at baseline, week 4, 8, and 16. The primary outcome was the change of total Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) from baseline to week 4. Secondary outcomes included WOMAC subscales, knee pain measures, performance-based tests, quality-of-life measures, and safety assessments. Patients, evaluators, and statisticians were blinded to treatment group assignment. All main analyses were by intention-to-treat.

Results: Of the 140 patients allocated to Tuina or mPT, 127 completed the treatment. There was significant intervention × time interaction observed in the WOMAC-total (F(2, 266) = 3.87, P = 0.02), there was no statistically significant between groups at week 4 (between-group difference: -1.00, 95%CI: -5.33 to 3.33, P = 0.79, Bonferroni correction). By week 8, Tuina showed significantly consistent improvement compared to mPT (between-group difference: -4.33, 95%CI: -8.34 to -0.31, P = 0.03, Bonferroni correction), whereas there were no statistically significant differences between groups at week 16 (between-group difference: 0.74, 95%CI: -3.67 to 5.15, P = 0.37, Bonferroni correction). Most secondary outcomes showed no significant between-group differences, except for the Timed Up and Go Test Time favoring mPT (0.94, 95%CI: 0.03 to 1.85, P = 0.04). No serious adverse events occurred. One patient in the mPT group took the medication and no patients received other therapies for KOA.

Conclusions: Tuina produced beneficial effectiveness similar to mPT in treating KOA.

Trial registration: NCT03966248, Registered on 29/05/2019, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Background and purpose: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent a major global health challenge. Clinical research is increasingly leveraging patient perspectives to evaluate the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in treating these conditions. This study reviews and summarizes the application and characteristics of Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in TCM for CVD, the overarching goal is to provide a resource that can guide potential research directions for PROs endpoints in future TCM CVD clinical research.

Methods: We searched clinical studies of TCM for CVD from the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform registered between January 1, 2010, and February 22, 2025. The outcome types, whether PRO measures (PROMs) explicitly mentioned, study design, clinical study phases,age, gender, and geographic region were analyzed. We classified the studies that explicitly specified PROs into 15 categories based on the International Classification of Diseases-11 (ICD-11),and compared their PROMs with the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET).

Results: A total of 636 TCM CVD studies were included, of which 394 employed PROs. However, 103 studies did not specify the PROMs utilized, including 33 that involved TCM syndrome scores. None of the most frequently used PROMs were TCM-specific. The most frequently studied disease categories - chronic coronary heart diseases and heart failure - employed PROMs that were basically aligned with COMET recommendations. In contrast, other disease categories were not aligned with COMET.

Conclusion: In TCM clinical research on CVD, PROs have been commonly adopted as outcome measures, with usage steadily increasing. However, the application of TCM-specific PROMs remains limited, revealing a significant gap. PROMs recommended by COMET should be further investigated across a broader range of CVD categories. Furthermore, there is an urgent need for patient-centered research on TCM syndrome scores, highlighting the importance of developing robust, standardized TCM-specific PROMs tailored to this field.

Background: Yeast hydrolysate (YH) has been shown to be effective in inhibiting fat accumulation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of YH and exercise on high-fat diet-induced obesity and their underlying mechanisms in C57BL/6J mice.

Methods: In this study, 6-week-old C57BL/6 mice were divided into 7 groups; a normal group fed a normal chow diet, an HFD group (CON) fed ad libitum, an exercise group (15m/min, 30min), an HFD supplemented with low dose of YH (100 mg/kg, YHL), an HFD supplemented with high dose of YH (200 mg/kg, YHH), and a combination of exercise and YHH group. After 12 weeks of HFD and YH administration, white adipocytes and liver tissue were analyzed.

Results: Both YH and exercise significantly reduced the weight of the body and adipose tissues; however, the greatest effect was observed when YH and exercise were combined. Similarly, most reduction in adipocyte size and fat formation in the liver was notable following the combination of YH and exercise. Furthermore, both YH and exercise effectively downregulated lipid synthesis genes, namely fatty acid synthase (FAS), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), and SREBP1 and SREBP2 proteins. YH and/or exercise also significantly increased the mRNA levels of hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1), both of which are related to fatty acid oxidation. In addition, pAMPKα and PPARα levels were significantly increased by YH and exercise, with the greatest increase noted following the combination of YH and exercise. Additionally, YH and exercise combined caused the most significant increase in the antioxidant response, as evidenced by nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) upregulation at protein and mRNA levels. Their combination also exhibited strongest suppression of inflammatory responses via the downregulation of NF-κB, TNF-α, and IL-1β at protein and mRNA levels. Collectively, YH and exercise combination showed an inhibitory effect on obesity, leading to decreased lipogenesis and increased lipolysis, with favorable regulation of antioxidant and inflammatory responses.

Conclusion: This study suggests the potential use of a combination of physical activity and YH supplementation to control obesity and related metabolic diseases.

Introduction: Cancer is currently the second most common cause of death worldwide and is often treated with chemotherapy. Music therapy is a widely used adjunct therapy offered in oncology settings to attenuate negative impacts of treatment on patient's physical and mental health; however, music therapy research during chemotherapy is relatively scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of group music therapy sessions with patients and caregivers on their perceived anxiety, stress, and wellbeing levels and the perception of chemotherapy-induced side effects for patients.

Materials and methods: This is a retrospective cohort study following the STROBE guidelines. From April to October 2022, 41 group music therapy sessions including 141 patients and 51 caregivers were conducted. Participants filled out pre- and post-intervention Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) assessing their anxiety, stress, and wellbeing levels, and for patients the intensity of chemotherapy-induced side effects.

Results: The results show a statistically significant decrease of anxiety and stress levels (p < .001), an increase in well-being of patients and caregivers (p < .001, p = .009), and a decrease in patients' perceived intensity of chemotherapy-induced side effects (p = .003). Calculated effect sizes were moderate for anxiety, stress, and well-being levels, and small for chemotherapy-induced side effects.

Discussion: This is the first study regarding group music therapy sessions for cancer patients and their caregivers during chemotherapy in Colombia. Music therapy has been found to be a valuable strategy to reduce psychological distress in this population and to provide opportunities for fostering self-care and social interaction.

Conclusions: Music therapy should be considered as a valuable complementary therapy during chemotherapy. However, it is crucial to conduct prospective studies with parallel group designs to confirm these preliminary findings.

Background: Disorders associated with mental health significantly impact disability-adjusted life year values and represent an ongoing problem in stressed societies. Worsening mental health also affects cognitive function and quality of life. Increasing attention has thus been attracted to preventive measures for mental and brain health in daily life. This has created a growing interest in care using laughter. This study assessed the effects of a short-term, laughter-based intervention on the mental health and cognitive functions of middle-aged adults.

Methods: The study applied a single-blind, crossover-controlled trial design. Cognitive tasks (e.g., digit vigilance) were performed after participants viewed a video clip of approximately four minutes (comedic or control video), and the resulting scores were treated as the primary endpoint. The secondary endpoints included cerebral blood flow in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (measured using NIRS), heart rate variability (calculated from ECG), subjective mood assessment, and salivary stress biomarkers (e.g., α-amylase activity).

Results: The study was conducted on 25 healthy Japanese-speaking adults aged 40 to 65. Results revealed a significant increase in digit vigilance scores. Compared to viewing the control video, participants evinced a trend toward an increase in serial seven subtraction scores after viewing the comedic video. No significant differences were found for other cognitive tasks. The cerebral blood flow was also significantly higher in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the cognitive tasks performed after the participants viewed the comedic video compared to the control video. The outcomes of heart rate variability, subjective mood state assessment, and salivary stress markers also suggested that the comedic video intervention could subsequently contribute to the activation of parasympathetic activity and reduce psychological stress levels.

Conclusions: The outcomes indicated that interventions using short comedic videos can improve focus and may reduce psychological stress. These results support the clinical benefits of humor, which can be utilized as a simple, non-invasive approach to promoting the health of middle-aged adults.

Trial registration: The study was approved by the ethics committee of Kirin Holdings Company (No. 2020-014) and registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) database (Registration No. UMIN000043332; http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ ) on February 15, 2021.

Background: Mycobacterium intracellulare (M. intracellulare) is a common, slow-growing opportunistic pathogen that can cause chronic pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections. Despite its rising incidence, standard treatments are often ineffective in eradicating M. intracellulare, leading to prolonged treatment and high recurrence rates, likely due to persistence of non-growing bacteria. Although essential oils are known for their antimicrobial properties, their effects on M. intracellulare, particularly in its non-growing phase, have not been well studied.

Methods: We screened 151 essential oils to assess their antimicrobial activity against stationary-phase non-growing M. intracellulare. Essential oils with significant activity were further evaluated at different concentrations by MIC and drug exposure tests.

Results: Thirty-four essential oils were found to have activity at 5000 µg/mL, with 18 showing effectiveness at 1250 µg/mL. Six essential oils, Ajwain, Oregano, Palmarosa, Thyme, Mountain Savory, and Litsea Cubeba had the highest activity, achieving 100% bacterial clearance after one day exposure. Carvacrol, the key active component of Ajwain, Oregano, Thyme, Mountain Savory, eradicated stationary-phase bacteria at 310 µg/mL concentration within one day, while citronellol, the active component of Palmarosa, at 630 µg/mL achieved complete clearance after three day exposure.

Conclusions: We have newly identified several essential oils, including Ajwain, Oregano, Thyme, Mountain Savory, Palmarosa, and Litsea Cubeba and their active components such as carvacrol and citronellol, to have promising activity against M. intracellulare, and these findings may have implications for developing improved treatments for M. intracellulare infections.

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition, but current treatment options are limited. Although medication is widely used, it does not fully address all challenges and can result in considerable side effects. One approach showing promise in alleviating symptoms is mindfulness. However, typical mindfulness-based stress reduction programmes require a significant time commitment, resulting in high attrition. Researchers have therefore started to focus on discrete components on mindfulness, including the body scan meditation.

Methods: Before embarking on large-scale trials, it is helpful to understand the willingness and preferences for body scan practice. Using an online survey, we examined current mindfulness exercises and preferences, willingness, belief that it was feasible to engage in body scan practices in 157 individuals with ADHD.

Results: We found that most were not currently practising mindfulness but were willing to do so and believed that it was feasible. Symptom severity and available space were predictors of willingness. Preferences were shown for professional classes and 1-2 body scan practices per week. These data indicate people with ADHD are willing to engage with body scan practices, supporting the implementation of large-scale studies.

Conclusions: The result provides insights to support the co-development of an intervention based on body scan meditation to manage the difficulties and the design of future studies to investigate its efficacy.

Background: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance and the prevalence of bacterial infections have prompted the search for novel antimicrobials with diverse therapeutic potential from natural products. Thus, this study investigated the antibacterial efficacy of the leaf extracts of M. cajuputi. Additionally, the chemical composition and the mechanism of action of the most active extract (MAE) were evaluated.

Methods: The antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of M. cajuputi was assessed using the broth microdilution assay. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the effects of MAE on the morphology of bacterial cells. Meanwhile, the chemical composition of the MAE was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). AutoDock Vina was used for molecular docking analysis to unveil the interactions between the ligands and the active sites of the target bacterial proteins.

Results: The crude extracts were obtained through cold maceration. The methanolic extract demonstrated the most significant antibacterial activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values spanning 0.25 mg/mL to 2 mg/mL. After 12 h of treatment with 1 × MIC of the methanolic extract, the bacteria showed discernible morphological alterations, including disrupted cell wall and membrane integrity. Thirty compounds were identified in the MAE and subsequently subjected to molecular docking studies against target bacterial proteins. Amongst the compounds, methylanthracene, cycloisolongifolene, diphenyl imidazole, benzil monohydrazone, and trimethoxybenzoic acid showed pronounced binding affinities towards Klebsiella pneumoniae membrane protein (PDB ID: 5O79), peptide binding protein (PDB ID: 7RJJ), Streptococcus agalactiae cell wall surface anchor (PDB ID: 2XTL), pilin (PDB ID: 3PHS), Staphylococcus aureus transglycosylase (PDB ID: 3VMQ), and penicillin-binding proteins (PDB ID: 3VSK). The binding energy scores for these interactions varied between - 6.0 kcal/mol and - 7.5 kcal/mol. Molecular dynamics simulations validated the stability of these interactions, reinforcing the in vitro findings of cell wall and membrane disruption​.

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the methanolic extract of M. cajuputi leaves displayed potent antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae, S. agalactiae, and S. aureus. The molecular docking analysis reveals significant binding interactions between the identified compounds and the target bacterial proteins, highlighting the potential of M. cajuputi as a novel source of anti-infectives targeting bacterial infections.

Introduction: The rapidly rising incidence and prevalence of cancer pose a financial burden on Hong Kong's health system. This study aimed to co-create an outpatient integrative oncology (IO) service delivery model for the territory that bridges the District Health Centres (DHCs; local coordinators for medical and social service providers), private traditional Chinese medicine practitioners (TCMPs), and private oncologists and to establish stakeholder-recommended implementation interventions (IIs) for promoting service delivery and utilisation.

Methods: We conducted individual semi-structured contextual interviews to develop a preferred outpatient model that would enable DHC-based IO interprofessional collaborations and to refine relevant IIs developed for facilitating the implementation of the model. Then, we conducted a Delphi survey to contextualise and finalise the IIs using the APEASE criteria.

Results: After interviewing 11 local stakeholders, a model was proposed that IO specialist nurses in DHCs would coordinate referrals between private TCMPs and oncologists and evaluate service delivery. Thirty-six IIs were refined to support model implementation. This model presented the possible role of cancer nurse specialists in leading and coordinating interprofessional cancer care between traditional and conventional medicine. In the Delphi study, 21 local stakeholders achieved positive consensus on 35 IIs (agreement 76.2-100%). Affordability was the most critical criterion in determining the recommendation of IIs.

Conclusions: Along with the 35 local stakeholder-recommended IIs, our proposed nurse-led model provided insights into forging the partnership between the nurse specialists, private TCMPs, and oncologists to provide outpatient IO services. Further research is expected to seek opinions from policymakers regarding the potential administrative implementation determinants.