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Background: Methamphetamine (MA) addiction has become a crucial public health concern because of its adverse consequences to individuals and the society., Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of laser acupuncture combined with group cognitive behavioral therapy for MA addiction treatment., Materials and Methods: MA users who participated in group cognitive behavioral therapy and met the inclusion criteria were referred from psychiatrists to participate. The participants received laser acupuncture treatment once a week for 2 months (total eight treatments) on selected acupoints (PC6, HT7, LI4, ST36, SP6, and LR3). Laboratory assessment included urinalysis for MA and liver function tests aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and γ -glutamyltransferase (AST, ALT, and γ -GT), whereas the objective assessment included visual analog scale (VAS) for MA craving and refusal and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaires. All data were collected before and at 1 and 2 months after treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy completion rate and rate of relapse to MA use were also determined., Result: Fifteen participants were enrolled, of whom seven completed the trial. Urinalysis for MA revealed a decrease in drug use from 57.1% to 28.6%. Compared with those before treatment, PSQI scores were significantly lower at 1 and 2 months after treatment (-3.73 and -4.10, respectively; both p < 0.001), and so were BDI scores (-5.64 and -8.17, respectively; p =0.01 and 0.001, respectively). However, no significant difference was observed in the liver function test, VAS of craving and refusal, and BAI results. A slight improvement in the motivation for drug abstinence and anxiety was observed during the treatment course. Participants reported no adverse events., Conclusion: Laser acupuncture combined with group cognitive behavioral therapy may improve sleep quality, alleviate depression, and reduce MA use. Additional large-scale studies confirming the effectiveness of this modality are warranted., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Yi-Hsien Shiao et al.)

Among adolescent girls, overweight or obesity has both physical and psychological involvement. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of moxibustion using a moxa burner. Fifty-four eligible girls aged 15-18 years with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25.3 were enrolled in the study. The girls were randomly allocated to the treatment ( n  = 27) and control ( n  = 27) groups. The girls underwent treatment three times per week for 8 weeks (24 treatments). Moxibustion was applied to the RN12, RN6, ST25, ST36, and SP6 acupoints. Physical assessments were BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and body fat ratio (BFR). Psychological outcomes were measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Data were collected at the beginning of the study (baseline), week 4, and week 8. Of the 54 participants, 46 completed the trial. The difference in mean BMI from baseline between the two groups was 0.097 ( p =0.655) at week 4 and -0.794 ( p =0.001) at week 8. The mean WHR of the treatment group was significantly reduced compared with baseline, with a -0.011 ( p =0.017) and -0.035 ( p < 0.001) mean change at weeks 4 and 8, respectively. The mean BFR was slightly reduced (-0.253; p =0.474 ) at week 4 compared with baseline in the treatment group. At week 8, it was significantly reduced (-2.068; p < 0.001) from baseline in the treatment group. The mean RSE in the treatment group showed no significant increase from baseline at week 4 (0.155 points, p =0.803), but it improved significantly from baseline at week 8 (1.606 points, p =0.021) compared to that in the control group. No obvious adverse effect was reported during this study. Moxibustion using a moxa burner may be an effective and safe intervention for overweight adolescent girls, having both physical and psychological benefits., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Yuan-Chieh Yeh et al.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of laser acupuncture for the treatment of women with overactive bladder (OAB) in Taiwan., Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted on female patients with OAB symptoms referred from gynecologists, and subjects were divided into two groups using blocked randomization. LaserPan (RJ-Laser, Germany) was applied to seven selected acupuncture points. The subjects received laser acupuncture 3 times per week for 3 weeks, 9 sessions in total. Basic patient data, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7), and Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) scores were recorded prior to first treatment and at the end of 3 rd , 6 th , and 9 th treatments., Results: Thirty patients were enrolled, and twenty-seven patients completed all treatments in this study. The OABSS total score of the experimental group decreased significantly by 3.13 ( p ≤ 0.001), 4.60 ( p ≤ 0.001), and 3.79 ( p ≤ 0.001) after 3 rd , 6 th , and 9 th treatments, respectively, compared with that of the control group. The IIQ-7 score declined significantly from baseline by 4.57 ( p =0.003) and 3.63 ( p =0.023) after 3 rd and 6 th treatments, respectively, compared with that of the control group. Similarly, the UDI-6 score of the experimental group exhibited a significant decrease from baseline by 1.90 ( p =0.042) and 2.25 ( p =0.025) after 6 th and 9 th interventions, respectively, compared with that of the control group., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that laser acupuncture can alleviate OAB symptoms and improve quality of life. This noninvasive device could be an effective therapy for women with OAB., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Yu-Wei Chang et al.)

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is the most common type of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) used in Taiwan, is increasingly used to treat patients with breast cancer. However, large-scale studies on the patterns of TCM prescriptions for breast cancer are still lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the core treatment of TCM prescriptions used for breast cancer recorded in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. TCM visits made for breast cancer in 2008 were identified using ICD-9 codes. The prescriptions obtained at these TCM visits were evaluated using association rule mining to evaluate the combinations of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) used to treat breast cancer patients. A total of 37,176 prescriptions were made for 4,436 outpatients with breast cancer. Association rule mining and network analysis identified Hedyotis diffusa plus Scutellaria barbata as the most common duplex medicinal (10.9%) used for the core treatment of breast cancer. Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San (19.6%) and Hedyotis diffusa (41.9%) were the most commonly prescribed herbal formula (HF) and single herb (SH), respectively. Only 35% of the commonly used CHM had been studied for efficacy. More clinical trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these CHM used to treat breast cancer.