Effect of adding the herb Achillea millefolium on mouthwash on chemotherapy induced oral mucositis in cancer patients: A double-blind randomized controlled trial.
Miranzadeh S, Adib-Hajbaghery M, Soleymanpoor L, Ehsani M. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2015 Feb 6. pii: S1462-3889(14)00199-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2014.10.019. [Epub ahead of print]Dept of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran. adib1344@yahoo.com BACKGROUND: Oral mucositis (OM) is a debilitating side-effect of chemotherapy. It has different complications, including impairment of drinking, eating and even talking, sometimes so severe that physician stops the therapy. OBJECTIVE: Investigating the effect of Achillea millefolium distillate solution in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced OM.
INTERVENTIONS/METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 56 cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced OM were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups in similar blocks based on the severity of OM. The experimental group gargled 15mL of a mixture of routine solution and distilled A. millefolium QID for 14 days while the control group gargled 15mL of routine solution. The severity of OM was assessed at three times before, 7 and 14 days after intervention. Data was analyzed using Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, Friedman, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests.
RESULTS: The mean severity score of OM was 2.39 ± 0.875 in both groups at start of the study that was changed to 1.07±0.85 and 0.32±0.54 in the intervention group in days 7 and 14 (p<.001). However, the severity of OM was increased to 2.75±0.87 and 2.89±0.956 in the control group respectively (p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: A. millefolium distillate healed OM much more than the routine solution. Therefore, it is suggested to be used in patients with chemotherapy-induced OM. The study was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, Number: IRCT2013092214729N1. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. PMID: 25667123 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
The effectiveness and safety of a Danshen-containing Chinese herbal medicine for diabetic retinopathy: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter clinical trial.
Lian F, Wu L, Tian J, Jin M, Zhou S, Zhao M, Wei L, Zheng Y, Wang Y, Zhang M, Qin W, Wu Z, Yuan CS, Tong X. J Ethnopharmacol. 2015 Feb 6. pii: S0378-8741(15)00063-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2015.01.048. [Epub ahead of print] Guang’anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China. cyuan@dacc.uchicago.edu xiaolintong66@sina.com ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen in Chinese) is common traditional Chinese herbal medicine often used to treat many medical conditions. The Compound Danshen Dripping Pill (CDDP) is a danshen-containing Chinese herbal product for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, to date, no controlled clinical studies have been conducted to evaluate the effects of CDDP on diabetic retinopathy (DR).
AIM OF THE STUDY: The present large-scale clinical trial was designed to assess the effectiveness and safety of CDDP in treating patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR),
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 223 NPDR patients were enrolled in this controlled trial. Subjects received oral study medications three times daily for 24 weeks. The four groups were placebo, low-dose (270mg), mid-dose (540mg) and high dose (810mg herbal medicine). Primary endpoints were changes in fluorescence fundus angiography (FFA) and fundoscopic examination parameters.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: At 24 weeks, for the FFA, the percent of “Excellent” and “Effective” in the high-dose and mid-dose CDDP groups was 74% and 77%, respectively, very significantly higher than 28% in the placebo group (P<0.001). For fundoscopic examination, the percent of “Excellent” and “Effective” in the high-dose and mid-dose CDDP groups was 42% and 59%, respectively, very significantly higher than 11% in the placebo group (P<0.001). No adverse events with clinical significance were observed. CONCLUSION: DR is a severe microvascular complication of diabetes and a major cause of adult blindness worldwide. Our clinical trial data demonstrated the therapeutic value and safety of a danshen-containing Chinese herbal medicine in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. PMID: 25666427 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
Horsetail mixture on rheumatoid arthritis and its regulation on TNF-? and IL-10.
Jiang X, Qu Q, Li M, Miao S, Li X, Cai W. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2014 Nov;27(6 Suppl):2019-23. Dept of Urology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. Taking autoimmune inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis as entry point, this paper discussed the clinical effect of horsetail mixture on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its mechanism. A total of 60 cases of patients with RA were randomly divided into experimental group and control group using randomized controlled trial. We observed its biochemistry, TNF-? and IL-10 before and after treatment, and then systematically assessed the clinical effect of horsetail on RA. Results showed that the total effective rate of experimental group was 80%, while that of control group was 16.67%. After statistical treatment, the differences between two groups were significant (p<0.01). Comparison of the difference value of TNF-? (p<0.05) and IL-0.05 in serum between groups before and after treatment, there were significant differences. Comparison of CRP within group before and after treatment was significantly different (p<0.05), while comparison of CRP between groups was not significantly different (p>0.05). Comparison of ESR and RF within group before and after treatment was significantly different (p<0.01), and comparison of them between groups was also significantly different (p<0.05). Comparison of difference values within group before and after treatment were also significantly different (p<0.01). It was concluded that horsetail mixture has remarkable curative effect on rheumatoid arthritis, and its clinical application is safe and reliable. It has obvious down regulatory effect on cell factor TNF-? related to RA, that is, it can down regulate the level of pre-inflammatory factor TNF-? as well as the level of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10. Therefore, it is considered that the regulating effect of horsetail mixture on TNF-? and IL-10 is one of the mechanisms of its treatment on RA. PMID: 25410066 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Serenoa repens, lycopene and selenium versus tamsulosin for the treatment of
LUTS/BPH. An Italian multicenter double-blinded randomized study between single
or combination therapy (PROCOMB trial).
Morgia G, Russo GI, Voce S, Palmieri F, Gentile M, Giannantoni A, Blefari F, Carini M, Minervini A, Ginepri A, Salvia G, Vespasiani G, Santelli G, Cimino S, Allegro R, Collura Z, Fragalà E, Arnone S, Pareo RM. Prostate. 2014 Nov;74(15):1471-80. doi: 10.1002/pros.22866. Epub 2014 Aug 23. Dept of Urology, Univ of Catania, Catania, Italy. BACKGROUND: Phytotherapy has been used to treat patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of combination therapy between Serenoa Repens (SeR), Lycopene (Ly), and Selenium (Se)?+?tamsulosin versus single therapies.
METHODS: PROCOMB trial (ISRCTN78639965) was a randomized double-blinded, double-dummy multicenter study of 225 patients between 55 and 80 years old, PSA???4?ng/ml, IPSS ?12, prostate volume ?60 cc, Qmax ?15?ml/sec, postvoid residual urine (PVR) <150?ml. Participants were randomized group A (SeR-Se-Ly), group B (tamsulosin 0.4?mg), group C (SeR-Se-Ly?+?tamsulosin 0.4?mg). The primary endpoints of the study were the reduction of IPSS, PVR, and increase of Qmax in group C versus monotherapy groups. RESULTS: The decrease for combination therapy was significantly greater versus group A (P? CONCLUSION: SeR-Se-Ly?+?tamsulosin therapy is more effective than single therapies in improving IPSS and increasing Qmax in patients with LUTS. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID: 25154739 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Curcuminoid treatment for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Panahi Y, Rahimnia AR, Sharafi M, Alishiri G, Saburi A, Sahebkar A. Phytother Res. 2014 Nov;28(11):1625-31. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5174. Epub 2014 May 22. Chemical Injuries Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) is challenging owing to the inefficacy and long-term adverse events of currently available medications including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Curcuminoids are polyphenolic phytochemicals with established anti-inflammatory properties and protective effects on chondrocytes. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical efficacy of curcuminoids in patients suffering from knee OA. A pilot randomized double-blind placebo-control parallel-group clinical trial was conducted among patients with mild-to-moderate knee OA. Patients were assigned to curcuminoids (1500?mg/day in 3 divided doses; n?=?19) or matched placebo (n?=?21) for 6?weeks. Efficacy measures were changes in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), visual analogue scale (VAS) and Lequesne’s pain functional index (LPFI) scores during the study. There was no significant difference in age, gender, body mass index, and VAS, WOMAC and LPFI scores between the study groups at baseline (p?>?0.05). Treatment with curcuminoids was associated with significantly greater reductions in WOMAC (p?=?0.001), VAS (p??0.05). There was no considerable adverse effect in both groups. To conclude, curcuminoids represent an effective and safe alternative treatment for OA. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID: 24853120 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
