Recent Medline Abstracts on AP & Herbs

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Clin Rehabil. 2003 Nov;17(7):742-9. A pilot investigation of the

hypoalgesic effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

upon low back pain in people with multiple sclerosis. Al-Smadi J,

Warke K, Wilson I, Cramp AF, Noble G, Walsh DM, Lowe-Strong

AS. Division of Physiotherapy Education, University of Nottingham,

Northern Ireland. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the hypoalgesic

effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) upon

low back pain (LBP) in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

DESIGN: A randomized double-blind placebo controlled clinical

pilot study. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Fifteen people with MS

were recruited and randomly allocated to one of the following

groups under double blind conditions (n = 5 per group): TENS 1 (4

Hz, 200 micros), TENS 2 (110 Hz, 200 micros), placebo TENS.

INTERVENTIONS: Treatment was applied for 45 minutes three

times a week for six weeks with a four-week follow-up. OUTCOME

MEASURES: The following outcome measures were taken at

weeks 1, 6, and 10: visual analogue scale (VAS) (for current LBP,

right leg pain, left leg pain); Leeds Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life

Questionnaire; Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire; Short Form-

36 (SF-36) Version 1; and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ).

VAS for current LBP, right and left leg pain were also taken before

and after treatment, and once a week during the follow-up period.

RESULTS: Analysis showed no statistically significant effects for

any of the data. However, both active treatment groups showed a

trend of improvement in the majority of the outcome measures.

CONCLUSION: Active TENS was more effective than placebo

TENS in decreasing VAS scores following each treatment although

results were not statistically significant. Further work in this area is

warranted and should include a larger number of participants in the

form of a randomized controlled clinical trial to determine the

efficacy of this modality. PMID: 14606740 [PubMed - in process]

 

Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2003 Nov 14;128(46):2418-2420. [severe

lead poisoning due to Ayurvedic indian plant medicine] [Article in

German] Weide R, Engelhart S, Farber H, Kaufmann F, Heymanns

J, Koppler H. Praxisklinik fur Hamatologie/Onkologie, Koblenz.

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 39-year-old woman with a

history of slowly progressive muscular dystrophia was transferred

to us for further evaluations of a hypochromic, microcytic anaemia.

The patient complained about progressive muscle weakness, loss

of appetite and constipation, sleep disorders as well as muscle and

back pain. Clinical examination revealed a tetraparesis without any

detectable muscle reflexes and atrophic muscles of the

extremities. A bilateral radial paresis was found with a loss of

power. INVESTIGATIONS: She presented with a hypochromic,

microcytic anaemia with a haemoglobin of 7.9 g/dl. Re-evaluation of

her peripheral blood smear showed basophilic stippling of the

erythrocytes. Bone marrow biopsy revealed a marked dysery-

thropoiesis with 50 % ring sideroblasts. After the examination of

the bone marrow, the blood lead level was found to be grossly

elevated up to 880 micro g/l. DIAGNOSIS: Re-evaluation of the

patient's history revealed that she had been to India for an

Ayurvedic treatment approach to improve her muscle dystrophia.

She had taken regularly 4 different natural plant pills which she had

bought in an Ayurvedic health centre. Toxicologic analysis of these

pills revealed one to have a lead concentration of 50.4 mg/g.

TREATMENT AND COURSE: The patient was treated with 16

infusions of sodium-EDTA followed by a 4-week treatment with

dimercaptopropionic acid orally. Her neurological condition

improved and the radial paresis resolved gradually so that she

could return to work. Her haematological parameters normalized.

CONCLUSION: This case report underscores the importance, while

asking patients for their drug history, to ask additionally if natural

plant medicine is taken or applied regularly. The report reveals that

Ayurvedic pills from India may have a high concentration of lead

and may cause severe poisoning. PMID: 14614655 [PubMed - as

supplied by publisher]

 

Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2003 Nov;228(10):1201-1207. Effects of

Bilateral Auricular Acupuncture Stimulation on Body Weight in

Healthy Volunteers and Mildly Obese Patients. Shiraishi T, Onoe

M, Kojima TA, Kageyama T, Sawatsugawa S, Sakurai K,

Yoshimatsu H, Sakata T. Department of Neurophysiology, Division

of Human Structure and Function, The Tokai University School of

Medicine, Isehara 259-1193. The Research Institute of Oriental

Medicine, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0031. Department of Internal

Medicine 1, Oita Medical University, Oita 879-5593, Japan. We

investigated the effects of auricular acupuncture stimulation on non-

obese healthy volunteers and mildly obese patients. Subjects (n =

55 and 5, respectively) averaged 34.5 years old, and BMI was 24.3

and less than 27.5 kg/m(2), respectively. We also studied the

effects of single-blind sham treatment in approximately 500 age-,

sex-, and BMI-matched subjects. Small (0.15 x 2.0 mm) auricular

needles were placed intracutaneously into the bilateral cavum

conchae identified by having a resistance of less than 100

kOmega/cm(2). In the 2-week pretreatment the period, in which

body weight was measured without auricular acupuncture

stimulation, 57.1% of the subjects showed a reduction in body

weight. This indicates that charting one's own body weight might

itself be a useful method of weight control. In the auricular

acupuncture treatment period, 35 healthy subjects of 55 (63.6%)

showed a decreased body weight, 11 (20%) showed an increased

body weight, and 9 (16.4%) showed no change in body weight. The

obese patients showed individual variation, but all achieved weight

reduction, with a highly significant correlation between body weight

and fat volume. The CT/MRI cross-sectional pictures supported

these findings. Sham treatment had no statistically significant

effect on body weight. These results suggest that success in

achieving weight reduction can be partly attributed to the act of

charting of one's own weight pattern. Bilateral auricular

acupuncture stimulation can help reduce body weight both in mildly

obese patients and in healthy non-obese subjects. In conclusion,

this is in accord with the bilateral auricular acupuncture stimulation

that it may be useful in the treatment of the obesity. We propose a

possible mechanism for the weight-reducing effects of bilateral

auricular acupuncture stimulation. PMID: 14610261 [PubMed - as

supplied by publisher]

 

Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd. 2003 Oct;10(5):256-

61. [standardized acupuncture therapy in patients with ocular

hypertension or glaucoma - results of a prospective observation

study] [Article in German] Uhrig S, Hummelsberger J, Brinkhaus B.

Augenarztliche Praxis, Wiesbaden, Deutschland. STANDARDIZED

ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH OCULAR

HYPERTENSION OR GLAUCOMA NDASH; RESULTS OF A

PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY Background:

Glaucoma is one of the most frequent causes of blindness

worldwide. The main risk factor for this optic nerve disease is high

individual intraocular pressure. Objective: The aim of this

observational study was to investigate the effect of acupuncture

therapy on individual internal eye pressure in glaucoma and ocular

hypertension patients. Material and Methods: 18 patients (11

female; age 38-75 years) with a diagnosis of glaucoma (n = 3) or

ocular hypertension (n = 15) were included in this study. Patients

received one session of a standardized acupuncture treatment

(acupuncture points Liv 3, Li 4, Gb 37). Target parameters were the

change in intraocular pressure and the compatibility of treatment.

Measurements of intraocular pressure were carried out 15 min

before, 15 min after, and 24 h after acupuncture. Results:

Compared with the mean intraocular pressure in both eyes before

treatment (21.94 2.4 mm Hg), patients showed a significant

decrease 15 min after treatment (-2.67 1.34 mm Hg) as well as 24

h after treatment (-2.5 2.13 mm Hg). There was no significant

difference between the mean intraocular pressure at 15 min after

treatment and at 24 h after treatment. No adverse events were

observed. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that

acupuncture therapy may be a valid treatment option for glaucoma

and ocular hypertension patients. Additional and, if possible,

randomized studies investigating the effectiveness of acupuncture

in the treatment of the above-mentioned conditions still need to be

conducted. Copyright 2003 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg PMID:

14605482 [PubMed - in process]

 

Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. 2002 Aug;1(3):397-400. Combined

electro-acupuncture with liver artery intubation in treatment of

massive liver cancer. Xin YL, Liu DR, Meng X. Department of

Thoracic Surgery, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing

100029, China. mengxin2001cn Objective: To

investigate the clinical effectiveness of electro-acupuncture therapy

(EAT) in combination with liver artery intubation chemotherapy for

massive liver cancer. Methods: A total of 106 patients were divided

into 3 groups. In group A, patients underwent EAT in combination

with invasive therapy. In group B, patients received EAT alone. In

group C, patients underwent liver artery intubation chemotherapy.

In group A and B, subcostal oblique incision was performed to

expose liver cancer, and electrodes were inserted into the tumor

under direct vision. In group A, liver artery intubation was performed

during operation, followed by chemotherapy through the tube. Liver

artery intubation chemotherapy was performed only in group C.

Results: The effective rate was 73.7% (28/38), 55.6% (20/36) and

28.1% (9/32) in group A, B and C, respectively. Conclusions:

Electro-acupuncture therapy in combination with liver artery

intubation chemotherapy achieves best results. It is an effective

therapy for massive liver cancer. PMID: 14607714 [PubMed - in

process]

 

Horm Metab Res. 2003 Oct;35(10):602-6. The Prototypic

Antidepressant Drug, Imipramine, but not Hypericum perforatum

(St. John's Wort), Reduces HPA-Axis Function in the Rat. Frost P,

Bornstein S, Ehrhart-Bornstein M, O'Kirwan F, Hutson C, Heber D,

Go V, Licinio J, Wong ML. Laboratory of Pharmacogenomics,

Neuropsychiatric Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine,

University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Dysregulation in

corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) secretion in the

hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may be involved in the

etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Chronic therapy with

standard antidepressant drugs, such as imipramine, can

downregulate HPA axis function, indicating that the HPA axis may

be an important target for antidepressant action. We tested several

doses of a standardized commercial preparation of Hypericum

perforatum plant extract (popularly known as St. John's Wort), a

medicinal herb used for treating mild depressive symptoms, to

determine whether it also modulated HPA axis function. Chronic

imipramine treatment (daily injections for 8 weeks) of male Sprague-

Dawley rats significantly downregulated circulating plasma levels of

adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone compared

to animals treated with saline. However, chronic St. John's Wort

treatment (daily gavage for 8 weeks) had no effect on plasma ACTH

or corticosterone, even at the highest doses tested. Our results

confirm previous findings that imipramine may have significant

peripheral HPA axis-mediated effects. However, our data does not

support any role for H. perforatum in modulation of HPA axis

function, suggesting that alternative pathways may be involved in

mediating its antidepressant effects. PMID: 14605995 [PubMed - in

process]

 

Hum Fertil (Camb). 2003;6(4):161-168. Application of traditional

Chinese medicine in the treatment of infertility. Xu X, Yin H, Tang

D, Zhang L, Gosden RG. The Jones Institute for Reproductive

Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Norfolk,

Virginia 23507, USA. The philosophy and practice of traditional

Chinese medicine (TCM) have been evolving for thousands of years

in China, Japan and other Asian countries. TCM is now generating

popular interest worldwide for reproductive health care and disease

prevention, including applications for treating infertility and

improving sexual function. This review focuses on the application of

TCM for infertility patients, and provides a critical reflection on the

efficacy and safety of selected Chinese herbal formulas. It has

been claimed that some formulas produce high clinical pregnancy

rates with few or no side effects, as well as improving the general

well-being of patients. The need for randomized control trials and

research into possible mechanisms of action, effective doses,

contra-indications and toxicity is self-evident. However, the task is

enormous in view of the number of herbal products currently

available on the market; yet among these products are undoubtedly

some that will prove to be safe and beneficial. PMID: 14614194

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

J Indian Med Assoc. 2003 Mar;101(3):208-9, 212. Comparative

randomised controlled clinical trial of a herbal eye drop with

artificial tear and placebo in computer vision syndrome. Biswas

NR, Nainiwal SK, Das GK, Langan U, Dadeya SC, Mongre PK,

Ravi AK, Baidya P. Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic

Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

110029. A comparative randomised double masked multicentric

clinical trial has been conducted to find out the efficacy and safety

of a herbal eye drop preparation, Itone eye drops with artificial tear

and placebo in 120 patients with computer vision syndrome.

Patients using computer for at least 2 hours continuosly per day

having symptoms of irritation, foreign body sensation, watering,

redness, headache, eyeache and signs of conjunctival congestion,

mucous/debris, corneal filaments, corneal staining or lacrimal lake

were included in this study. Every patient was instructed to put two

drops of either herbal drugs or placebo or artificial tear in the eyes

regularly four times for 6 weeks. Objective and subjective findings

were recorded at bi-weekly intervals up to six weeks. Side-effects,

if any, were also noted. In computer vision syndrome the herbal

eye drop preparation was found significantly better than artificial

tear (p < 0.01). No side-effects were noted by any of the drugs.

Both subjective and objective improvements were observed in Itone

treated cases. So, Itone can be considered as a useful drug in

computer vision syndrome. PMID: 14603980 [PubMed - in process]

 

J Int Acad Periodontol. 2003 Oct;5(4):106-15. Adjunctive

periodontal treatment with Centella asiatica and Punica granatum

extracts. A preliminary study. Sastravaha G, Yotnuengnit P,

Booncong P, Sangtherapitikul P. Out-Patient Department, Faculty

of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Centella asiatica and Punica granatum are

medicinal herbs that have been reported to promote tissue healing

and modulate host responses. The purpose of this study was to

investigate the effects of the combined extracts from C. asiatica

and P. granatum pericarp on periodontal healing following scaling

and root planing in adult periodontitis patients. METHODS: An

innovative herbal medicament was formulated in the form of

biodegradable chips for subgingival application. Twenty patients

with initial pocket depth 5-8 mm were enrolled into the study. After

baseline examination, scaling and root planing of non-target teeth,

the target teeth received scaling and root planing followed by

subgingival delivery of medicated chips in the test group and

unmedicated chips in the placebo group. Probing pocket depth,

attachment level, bleeding on probing, gingival index, and plaque

index were recorded at baseline, 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: The

results showed significant improvements of pocket depth and

attachment level in the test sites when compared with the placebo

sites at 3 months and with the placebo and control sites at 6

months. All treatment sites exhibited a similar trend of decreasing

plaque score. However, the test sites seemed to show slightly

better percentage of bleeding on probing. CONCLUSION: The

results indicate that local delivery with C. asiatica and P. granatum

extracts plus scaling and root planing significantly reduced the

clinical signs of chronic periodontitis. PMID: 14604059 [PubMed -

in process]

 

J Pediatr Surg. 2003 Nov;38(11):1607-1611. Effects of the herbal

medicine inchinko-to on liver function in postoperative patients with

biliary atresia-a pilot study. Iinuma Y, Kubota M, Yagi M, Kanada

S, Yamazaki S, Kinoshita Y. Background/Purpose: A continuation

of liver fibrosis after undergoing successful Kasai operation has

become the important clinical issue in the long-term follow-up of

patients with biliary atresia (BA). The aim of this study is to

evaluate the efficacy of the herbal medicine Inchinko-to (TJ-135) on

the treatment of liver fibrosis in patients with BA without jaundice,

especially from the viewpoint of the long-term effects of TJ-135.

METHODS: Six postoperative patients with BA ranging between 3

and 13 years of age with normal serum total bilirubin levels (total

bilirubin < 1.0 mg/dL [17 micromol/L]) received TJ-135 from 2 to 4

years. The liver enzyme (glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase

[GOT], glutamic pyruvic transaminase [GPT], gamma glutamyl

transpeptidase[gamma-GTP]transpeptidase[gamma-GTP] levels

and hyaluronic acid (HA) levels were compared before and after the

administration of TJ-135. The monthly collected data were averaged

on a 1-year basis. The record of one postoperative patient with BA

and a normal serum total bilirubin level was incorporated as a

control. This patient showed portal hypertension and did not receive

TJ-135. RESULTS: Five of the six patients who showed abnormal

values for liver enzymes, exhibited a significant decrease in serum

GOT, gamma-GTP, or GPT levels after a 1 to 3-year administration

of TJ-135, and the improvement in these parameters persisted

thereafter. Furthermore, one patient who had an abnormally high

value of HA also showed a significant decrease in the serum level

of HA. In the remaining patient with normal liver enzyme values, no

significant change was observed during the administration of TJ-

135. The control patient exhibited a chronological decrease in the

serum GOT and GPT levels by 5 years of age, but the serum

gamma-GTP and HA levels remained stable throughout the

postoperative period. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term effectiveness

of TJ-135 was only found in those patients with abnormal liver

enzyme levels and HA, thereby suggesting that TJ-135 has a

protective and antifibrotic effect on the liver. PMID: 14614709

[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

J Pharm Pharmacol. 2003 Oct;55(10):1419-26. Sho-saiko-to and

Saiko-keisi-to, the traditional Chinese and Japanese herbal

medicines, altered hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes in mice and

rats when administered orally for a long time. Nose M, Tamura M,

Ryu N, Mizukami H, Ogihara Y. Graduate School of

Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 3-1 Tanabe-dori,

Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8603, Japan. nose

As the consumption of herbal remedies has increased, the

opportunity that such herbal medicines are co-administered with

other drugs has also risen gradually and we are, therefore, very

much concerned about herb-drug interactions. We examined the

effects of pre-administration of Kampo medicines (Sho-saiko-to,

Saiko-keishi-to, Shigyaku-san and Dai-saiko-to) on the

pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in mice and rats, to clarify the

possibility that they could affect the drug-metabolizing enzymes.

The administration of Sho-saiko-to and Saiko-keishi-to for 4 weeks

significantly shortened the pentobarbital-induced sleeping time in

mice and the administration of Sho-saiko-to for 2 weeks

significantly reduced the sleeping time in rats. Furthermore, we

tried to identify the molecular species of rat cytochrome P450s

(CYPs) affected by Sho-saiko-to and Saiko-keishi-to by competitive

RT-PCR. The oral administration of Sho-saiko-to for 2 weeks

upregulated the mRNA expression of CYP2B, CYP3A1, CYP2E1

and CYP4A1 in rats. The treatment with Saiko-keishi-to for 2

weeks also up-regulated the mRNA expression of CYP2B,

CYP3A1 and CYP4A1. Sho-saiko-to and Saiko-keishi-to may

potentially influence the drug-metabolizing enzymes in man, and

would thus require much attention when used in the clinical

situation. PMID: 14607025 [PubMed - in process]

 

J Pharm Pharmacol. 2003 Sep;55(9):1283-90. Therapeutic effect of

Semecarpus anacardium Linn. nut milk extract on carbohydrate

metabolizing and mitochondrial TCA cycle and respiratory chain

enzymes in mammary carcinoma rats. Arathi G, Sachdanandam

P. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Dr. A.L.M. Post-Graduate

Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Madras,

Taramani Campus, Chennai-600 113, India. Semecarpus

anacardium Linn. of the family Anacardiaceae has many

applications in the Ayurvedic and Siddha systems of medicine. We

have evaluated the effect of S. anacardium nut milk extract on

carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes and mitochondrial

tricarboxylic acid cycle and respiratory enzymes in liver and kidney

mitochondria of dimethyl benzanthracene-induced mammary

carcinoma in Sprague-Dawley rats. Mammary carcinoma-bearing

rats showed a significant rise in glycolytic enzymes (hexokinase,

phosphoglucoisomerase and aldolase) and a simultaneous fall in

gluconeogenic enzymes (glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose 1,6-

diphosphatase). The activities of mitochondrial enzymes isocitrate

dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinate

dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, NADH-dehydrogenase and

cytochrome C oxidase were significantly lowered in mammary

carcinoma-bearing rats when compared with control rats. S.

anacardium nut extract administration to tumour-induced animals

significantly lowered the glycolytic enzyme activities (hexokinase,

phosphoglucoisomerase and aldolase) and there was a rise in

gluconeogenic enzymes (glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose 1,6-

diphosphatase), which indicated an antitumour and anticancer

effect. Comparison of normal control rats and rats administered S.

anacardium only as drug control animals showed no significant

variations in enzyme activities. S. anacardium nut extract

administration to dimethyl benzanthracene-tumour-induced animals

significantly increased the activities of mitochondrial enzymes,

thereby suggesting its role in mitochondrial energy production.

PMID: 14604472 [PubMed - in process]

 

J Vet Sci. 2000 Dec;1(2):133-138. Effect of BL-21 (Wei-Yu)

acupoint stimulation on gastric motility following preanesthetic

treatment in dogs. Kim HY, Kwon OK, Nam TC. Department of

Veterinary Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National

University, Seoul 151-742, Korea. tcnam In

acupuncture practice of animals, preanesthetics sometimes are

needed. The purpose of this study was to select the ideal chemical

restraint at acupuncture for gastric motility. Nine healthy mixed

breed dogs weighed 10-21 kg and aged 1-3 years old were used in

this study. Two EMG surface electrodes were placed between the

seromuscular and the mucosal layer of pylorus. Twenty minutes

after feeding normal gastric motility was recorded for 60 minutes

using physiograph (Narco-Biosystem). Then preanesthetic treated-

gastric motility was observed for 30 minutes. Preanesthetics used

were xylazine, diazepam, and acepromazine. Acupuncture needles

were inserted to BL-21 (Wei-Yu) acupoint, and then changes of

gastric motility were recorded for 60 minutes. The gastric motility

following xylazine administration (1 mg/kg, IV) was markedly

decreased. BL-21 (Wei-Yu) acupoints stimulation did not alter

xylazine-induced depression of gastric motility. The diazepam (1

mg/kg IV) treated-gastric motility was increased mildly 20 minutes

after drug administration. BL-21 (Wei-Yu) acupoint stimulation after

diazepam administration enhanced gastric motility significantly.

The gastric motility following acepromazine (0.3 mg/kg, IM)

administration was not changed compared with normal gastric

motility. Application of traditional acupuncture at BL-21 (Wei-Yu)

significantly increased the gastric motility. Based on these results,

acepromazine and diazepam could be acceptable chemical

restraints for acupuncture therapy of gastric motility, but xylazine

couldn't be. PMID: 14614309 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

J Vet Sci. 2001 Aug;2(2):121-124. Therapeutic effect of bee venom

in sows with hypogalactia syndrome postpartum. Choi SH, Kang

SS. Department of Veterinary Surgery, College of Veterinary

Medicine and Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk

National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea.

shchoi The objective of this study was to

determine the clincotherapeutic effect of whole bee venom in

hypogalactic sows postpartum. Sows after parturition were

assigned to treated and nontreated control groups. In the treated

group, 22 sows were bee acupunctured once a day for 3

consecutive days. Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) for bee

acupuncture were about 15 days after metamorphosis. One live

bee was used to sting the acupoints known as Yang-ming (ST-18,

1.5 cm lateral to the base of the last 2 pairs of teats) and Jiao-chao

(GV-1, at the indentation between the base of tail and the anus). In

the control group, 20 sows were intramuscularly injected with a

standard dosage of penicillin G (400,000 IU/head) once a day for 3

consecutive days. At post-treatment, 85.0% of the drug-treated

control and 90.9% of the bee venomtreated group recovered from

hypogalactia syndrome. The advantages of apitherapy were that

the patients did not have stress because they were not restrained

for a long period. The result suggested that apitherapy using bee

venom is an effective treatment for sows with hypogalactia

syndrome postpartum. PMID: 14614282 [PubMed - as supplied by

publisher]

 

J Vet Sci. 2003 Aug;4(2):124-8. Effect of Acupuncture in the

Treatment of Young Pigs with Induced Escherichia coli Diarrhea.

Park ES, Jo S, Seong JK, Nam TC, Yang IS, Choi MC, Yoon YS.

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Veterinary

Medicine, Seoul National University, San 56-1, Shilim-dong,

Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea. The effect of acupuncture in the

treatment of young pigs with induced enteropathogenic Escherichia

coli diarrhea was histopathologically evaluated by routine

hematoxylin and eosin stain. Thirty two pigs weighed 4-5kg and

aged 21days old were used in this study. The animals with diarrhea

were treated with traditional acupuncture, or enrofloxacin. In the

group treated with traditional acupuncture, acupoint GV1 (Jiaochao)

was used and in the group treated with antibiotics, enrofloxacin

was injected intramuscularly. Ten pigs were inoculated with E. coli,

but were not treated and served as nontreated control group. At

postinoculation day 6, all pigs of the acupuncture and antibiotic

treated groups recovered from diarrhea. In the ascending and

descending colons of the nontreated control group, severe

infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria was observed

and in the fundic stomach, destruction of the fundic gland

architecture and necrotic lesions were observed, however, in the

same sites of the acupuncture and antibiotics treated groups, the

mucosae of the colon and stomach were relatively similar to those

of the normal group. These results indicate that acupuncture

treatment is effective in controlling induced E. coli diarrhea in pigs

at its early stage. PMID: 14610364 [PubMed - in process]

 

Life Sci. 2003 Dec 12;74(4):435-50. Protective effects of methanol

extract of Acori graminei rhizoma and Uncariae Ramulus et Uncus

on ischemia-induced neuronal death and cognitive impairments in

the rat. Lee B, Choi Y, Kim H, Kim SY, Hahm DH, Lee HJ, Shim I.

Department of Oriental Medical Science, Graduate School of East-

West Medical Science, College of Oriental Medicine, Kyung Hee

University, 1 Seochon-ri, Kiheung-eup, Youngin-shi, Kyungki-do,

449-701, Suwon, South Korea Acori graminei rhizoma (AGR) and

Uncariae Ramulus et Uncus (URE) have been widely used as

herbal medicine against ischemia. In order to investigate whether

AGR and URE influenced cerebral ischemia-induced neuronal and

cognitive impairments, we examined the effect of AGR and URE on

ischemia-induced cell death in the striatum, cortex and

hippocampus, and on the impaired learning and memory in the

Morris water maze and radial eight-arm maze in rats. After middle

cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 h, rats were administered

saline, AGR or URE (100 mg/kg, p.o.) daily for three weeks,

followed by their training to the tasks. In the water maze test, the

animals were trained to find a platform in a fixed position during 6

days and then received a 60-s probe trial in which the platform was

removed from the pool on the 7th day. In the radial eight-arm maze,

animals were tested six times per week for 1 week. Rats with

ischemic insults showed impaired learning and memory on the

tasks. Pretreatment with AGR and URE produced a significant

improvement in escape latency to find the platform in the Morris

water maze and in the number of choice errors in the radial arm

maze test. Consistent with behavioral data, pretreatments with

AGR and URE significantly reduced ischemia-induced cell death in

the hippocampal CA1 area. These results demonstrated that AGR

and URE have a protective effect against ischemia-induced

neuronal loss and learning and memory damage. Our studies

suggest that AGR and URE may be useful in the treatment of

vascular dementia. PMID: 14609722 [PubMed - in process]

 

 

 

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