Search

Backgrounds. Chuanxiong Chatiao san (CXCT) is a famous Chinese classical prescription. It has a favorable effect in treating migraine. It is reported that CXCT combined with Western conventional medicine (WCM) could increase the therapeutic efficacy on migraine. The purpose of this paper is to systematically assess the clinical efficacy, safety, and some indexes of CXCT for migraine. Methods. PubMed, Embase Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, the Cochrane Library, and the CBM were searched from January 2000 to February 2019. We made a detailed record of outcome measurements. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results. A total of 3307 patients were included in the 37 articles. Meta-analysis showed that CXCT significantly increased the total efficiency rate (TER), compared with Western medicine treatment (WMC) (P < 0.00001). When CXCT is combined with WMC, the result showed that P < 0.00001. CXCT was significantly reduced the adverse events (AEs) compared with WMC (P < 0.00001). The levels of VAS, number of migraine episodes (NE), and time of headache duration (TD) were significantly reduced (P < 0.00001). Platelet function and blood rheology level were improved via a significantly decrease in 5-HT and β-EP (P < 0.00001). Other indicators such as substance P, CGRP high-cut viscosity, low-cut viscosity, plasma viscosity, and fibrinogen were significantly reduced (P < 0.00001). Conclusion. Our findings provide evidence that CXCT and CXCT combined with WMC have higher efficacy in the treatment of migraine compared with WCM alone. Methodological quality was generally low, so the conclusion of this paper has some limitations and it has to be carefully evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI), a serious complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is gaining more acceptance and attention. The learning and memory function of diabetics always decreases. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been demonstrated to be effective in treating the symptoms in China, and thereinto Chinese medicinal herbs (CMH) are the most widely used. The objective of the present study was to review and analyze the existing data about reducing the symptoms in CMH treatment for DCI. Methods. Electronic literature databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, SinoMed, and Wan fang) were searched for randomized controlled trials conducted in China, comparing CMH with western medicines in the treatment of DCI, up to April 1, 2018. We applied standard meta-analytic techniques to analyze data from papers that reached acceptable criteria. Result. Nine randomized controlled trials (n = 576) on CMH were included. We found moderate evidence that CMH used alone or in combination with western medicines was more effective than western medicines alone in reliving the symptoms for DCI (total effective rate, odds radio (OR) = 4.64 (2.60, 8.29), and 95% confidence interval, P<0.00001). Besides, CMH along or in combination with western medicines showed more beneficial effects on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale (mean difference (MD) = 1.31(0.75, 1.87), P<0.00001), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale (MD = 2.07 (0.86, 3.28), P<0.00001, and TCM symptom score (TCMSS) (MD = -4.89 (-8.44, -1.34), P = 0.007). Most of the included studies showed that there was not a significant difference in the adverse events. Conclusions. These findings demonstrated that CMH used alone or in combination with western medicines were apparently better than western medicines alone in the treatment of DCI. Because of the poor quality of the studies that were available for the present meta-analysis, further researches are still needed to support these early findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Dan’e-fukang soft extract in endometriosis treatment. Method. PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang Database, VIP, SinoMed, and Cochrane Library were searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy of Dan’e-fukang soft extract and conventional western medicines for endometriosis treatment were included. The data were extracted independently by two people and analyzed using RevMan 5.2.0 software. The relative risk (RR) and mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals were considered as effective outcome indicators. Results. Thirty-nine papers including 5442 patients with endometriosis were included in this study. A meta-analysis revealed that Dan’e-fukang soft extract was more efficient than gestrinone in the treatment of endometriosis (RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.15, I2 = 71%, REM, 18 trials) and its efficacy was comparable to that of danazol and mifepristone. Dan’e-fukang soft extract was also as effective as gestrinone and mifepristone in terms of relapse rate and relieving dysmenorrhea. The incidence of adverse reactions was lower than that of conventional western medicines. Conclusions. The results of this study showed that Dan’e-fukang soft extract offers certain advantages in endometriosis treatment, but rigorously designed, strictly implemented RCTs are needed to further validate its efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]