BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies最新文献

Background: Various traditional medical procedures are widely practiced in Somalia. The most important reasons for this are difficulties in accessing modern health facilities, the low cost of traditional medicine and local beliefs in the beneficial effects of healers and local pharmacies. Guboow is a painful traditional treatment involving the application to the body of fire-heated wooden or similar objects. Although Guboow is known to be practiced in Somali society, community attitudes towards the practice and levels of dependence are unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess Guboow use and its determinants among parents of children being treated in a tertiary hospital in Somalia.

Methods: This study involved a cross-sectional survey of 290 parents of children receiving health care in a hospital in Somalia. Factors associated with use of Guboow were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results: Guboow had been performed on 34.5% of the children in the study, and 39.8% of the parents had previously undergone the procedure. The use of Guboow increased as the educational levels of the mother and father decreased ([OR: 14.477(3.247-64.541)], [OR: 7.040(3.358-14.759)], respectively). Guboow was also more common among individuals with lower incomes ([OR: 6.480 (2.101-19.984)]).

Conclusion: The rate of Guboow use among children was considerable and strongly associated with lower socioeconomic status. These findings underscore the need for public health strategies that address the structural barriers to modern healthcare while also implementing community education programs to raise awareness of the risks associated with this traditional practice.

Background: Hypertension (HTN), a chronic inflammatory condition, is a major cardiovascular risk factor. Dysregulation of inflammatory cytokines and brain-gut peptides contributes to its progression. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a Tai Chi rehabilitation program on blood pressure, inflammatory cytokines [interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10)], and brain-gut peptides [neurotensin (NT), gastrin (GAS)] in patients with HTN, hypothesizing that Tai Chi would improve these parameters compared with Fitness exercise or no intervention.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial enrolled 105 patients with HTN and coronary heart disease. Participants were randomized into the Tai Chi group (n = 35), Fitness group (n = 35), or Blank group (n = 35). The intervention lasted 24 weeks (3 sessions per week, 60 min per session, 40-60% heart rate reserve). Blood pressure and serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, NT, and GAS were measured before and after the intervention using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 27, applying paired t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation.

Results: Ninety participants completed the study (Tai Chi group: 31, Fitness group: 28, Blank group: 31). The Tai Chi group showed significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and IL-6 (p < 0.001), along with increases in IL-10, NT, and GAS (p < 0.001) compared to baseline. Compared with the Fitness group, the Tai Chi group achieved greater increases in NT and GAS (p < 0.05). Compared with the Blank group, the Tai Chi group demonstrated superior reductions in SBP and IL-6 (p < 0.05). Reductions in IL-6 were negatively correlated with increases in NT and GAS (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Tai Chi rehabilitation lowered systolic blood pressure, reduced inflammation, and improved brain-gut peptides, supporting its role as a complementary therapy for hypertension. The modest sample size, 14.3% dropout rate, and recruitment from two hospitals may limit generalizability, and larger multi-center studies with longer follow-up are needed.

Trial registration: The trial was registered with the International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registry (Registration No. ITMCTR2024000813; registration date: 2024/12/13).

Background: Acetaminophen overdose is a leading cause of drug-induced acute liver damage, underscoring the urgent need for accessible hepatoprotective therapies. This study evaluated the hepatoprotective effects of Aqueous Aloe vera gel extract on acetaminophen-induced liver damage in adult male Albino Wistar rats.

Methodology: Liver Damage was induced in Albino Wistar rats by oral administration of acetaminophen (750 mg/kg). The rats were divided into six groups: normal control, negative control, positive control (silymarin 50 mg/kg), and three treatment groups receiving Aloe vera gel extract at doses of 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg, and 1000 mg/kg. Body and liver weight, hematological, biochemical and oxidative stress parameters and liver histology were assessed after 7 days of treatment.

Results: Treatment with Aloe vera gel extract demonstrated dose-dependent hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects with the 1000 mg/kg dose exhibiting efficacy comparable to silymarin. Higher doses (1000 mg/kg) significantly increase both the body weight and weight of the liver (p = 0.0265 and p = 0.0061); decreased the white blood cell count (p = 0.0034) and also improved hematological parameters. The extract at 1000 mg/kg also enhanced antioxidant status by reducing MDA levels (p < 0.0001) while increasing SOD (p < 0.0001) and catalase activities. Histological examination also showed that higher doses of the aqueous Aloe vera gel extract restored liver histoarchitecture, with clearly defined nuclei and cell borders.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the aqueous Aloe vera gel extract mitigates acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative mechanisms. At 1000 mg/kg, it restored hepatic histoarchitecture, haematological homeostasis, normalized liver function biomarkers, and suppressed oxidative stress, rivalling silymarin in efficacy. The observed improvements in liver histology, haematological parameters, and antioxidant biomarkers indicate Aloe vera's therapeutic potential, likely mediated through its bioactive constituents with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Further research is recommended to understand its mechanism of action, long-term and potential clinical applications.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major diabetes complication and a primary cause of end-stage renal failure. Notoginsenoside R1 (NGR1) is known to reduce proteinuria, exert hypoglycemic effects, and enhance renal function in DN patients. However, the exact mechanisms by which NGR1 affects DN are not well understood.

Methods: An integrative approach combining multi-omics bioinformatics and experimental validation was employed. We analyzed GEO datasets (GSE30122, GSE96804) to identify differentially expressed genes and performed WGCNA to define key modules. Network pharmacology predicted NGR1 targets, which were refined via machine learning (LASSO and Random Forest). Immune infiltration was assessed by CIBERSORT. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations evaluated binding interactions. In vitro functional validation used high glucose (HG)-injured MPC5 podocytes, with MME-specific inhibitor (Thiorphan), confirming target necessity.

Results: Bioinformatic analysis identified three core targets, MME, PTGS2, and S100A9, within the DN pathological network. Functional enrichment revealed their involvement in oxidative stress detoxification, TGF-β-mediated fibrosis, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathways. Immune infiltration analysis indicated an aberrant increase in M0/M2 macrophages and activated mast cells, alongside a reduction in protective γδ T cells, with core targets showing strong correlations with specific immune subsets. Subsequent molecular docking and dynamics simulations indicated that NGR1 exhibited the strongest binding affinity for MME, among the three targets. Corroborating these findings, in vitro experiments confirmed that NGR1 specifically upregulates MME expression transcriptionally and translationally. Crucially, NGR1 counteracted HG-induced oxidative stress, fibrosis, and inflammation. These protective effects were largely abolished upon MME inhibition, demonstrating MME's essential role in this process.

Conclusion: This study suggests that NGR1 may exert renoprotective effects in DN potentially through MME modulation, which appears to mitigate oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis. The findings indicate MME could serve as a promising therapeutic target, providing preliminary mechanistic insights for developing targeted DN therapies.