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- Duhuo Jisheng Decoction with PRP in Treating Osteoarthritis of the Knee due to Liver and Kidney Deficiency
- Effects of Acupoint Injections on the Peripheral Neuropathy Induced by Platinum-Based Chemotherapy
1. Duhuo Jisheng Decoction with PRP in Treating Osteoarthritis of the Knee due to Liver and Kidney Deficiency
SUMMARY: 72 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee due to liver and kidney deficiency were randomly divided into treatment1group (36 subjects) and control group (36 subjects) according to the random number table method. The diagnosis of each subject was confirmed by doctors of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from Xintai People’s Hospital, Shandong, China. There was no significant difference in age and gender between the treatment group and control group, and the two groups were therefore statistically comparable (P>0.05).
In the control group, subjects were treated with sodium hyaluronate injection, 2.5ml once a week for 5 weeks. In the treatment group, subjects were treated with Duhuo Jisheng Decoction (獨活寄生湯, 1 decoction divided into two doses, taken in the morning and evening everyday for 5 weeks) with PRP injection (applied into the cavity of the knee joint, 5ml once every 2 weeks for 6 weeks). The ingredients of the Duhuo Jisheng Decoction included: Huang Qi 黃耆 30g (Radix Astragali seu Hedysari), Sang Ji Sheng 15g (桑寄生 Ramulus Taxilli), Du Huo 12g (獨活 Radix Angelicae Pubescentis), Du Zhong 12g (杜仲 Cortex Eucommiae), Chuan Niu Xi 12g (川牛膝 Cyathula officinalis Kuan), Qin Jiao 12g (秦艽 Radix Gentianae Macrophyllae), Fu Ling 12 g(茯苓 Poria), Shu Di Huang 9g (熟地黃 Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata), Rou Gui 9g (肉桂 Cortex Cinnamomi), Fang Feng 10g (防風 Radix Ledebouriellae), Chuan Xiong 9g (川芎 Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong), Ren Shen 9g (人參 Radix Ginseng), Bai Shao 9g (白芍 Radix Paeoniae Alba), Dang Gui 9g (當歸 Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Gan Cao 6g (甘草 Radix Glycyrrhizae), and Xi Xin 3g (細辛 Herba Asari).
To evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness, the following parameters were monitored: clinical efficacy, TCM symptom scores, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores, levels of inflammatory factors (hS-CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α), adverse reactions, and quality of life scores.
The clinical efficacy was considered as:
- Markedly Effective: symptoms resolved, knee joint mobility returns to normal range
- Effective: symptoms significantly improved, knee joint function recovered, and able to perform basic activity of daily livings (BADLs)
- Ineffective: no significant improvement in symptoms and knee joint function, unable to perform BADLs
Total Effective Rate = (number of markedly effective cases + number of effective cases) / total number of cases × 100%
The results showed that the total effective rate of the treatment group was 94.44%, which was significantly higher than the control group (72.22%) (P<0.05). After the treatment, the TCM symptom scores and VAS scores significantly reduced, the IKDC scores and quality of life scores significantly improved, and the levels of inflammatory factors significantly reduced in both groups, but the improvement in the treatment group was more significant (P<0.05). There was no significant adverse reaction in both groups (P>0.05). This study suggests that combining Duhuo Jisheng Decoction with PRP is effective and safe in treating osteoarthritis of the knee due to liver and kidney deficiency.
Furong Wang. Guangming Journal of Chinese Medicine. 2022. 37 (18): 3393-3396.
2. Effects of Acupoint Injections on the Peripheral Neuropathy Induced by Platinum-Based Chemotherapy
SUMMARY: 112 patients with peripheral neuropathy induced by oxaliplatin chemotherapy were divided into treatment group and control group according to the random number table method, with 56 subjects in each group. Inclusion criteria of the study were:
1) Diagnosis of malignant tumors confirmed by pathological examination;
2) Peripheral neuropathy induced by chemotherapy;
3) Patients with a survival time of ≥ 6 months;
4) met the criteria for chemotherapy before the treatment;
5) voluntarily participated and signed the informed consent to the study.
Exclusion criteria were:
1) Peripheral neuropathy induced by diabetes or traumatic brain injury;
2) severe heart, liver and kidney insufficiency;
3) peripheral neuropathy caused by other chemotherapy agents;
4) suffer from mental illness and unable to cooperate;
5) ≥80 years old. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of gender, age, primary disease and other general data (P>0.05).
In the control group, subjected received acupoint injections with mecobalamin after 3 chemotherapy treatments: 0.5ml on unilateral ST-36 (足三里Zusanli) and 0.5ml on unilateral LI-10 (手三里 Shousanli) once every other day. In addition to the same acupoint injections protocol as the control group, subjects in the treatment group also received Wenjing Hexue Tongbi Prescription (溫經和血通痹方) ; the prescription was decocted into 200 ml and taken twice a day (100ml in the morning and 100ml in the evening).
The ingredients of the Wenjing Hexue Tongbi Prescription included: Dang Gui 20g (當歸 Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Huang Qi 黃耆 20g (Radix Astragali seu Hedysari), Shen Ai Ye 20g (艾葉 Folium Artemisiae Argyi, raw), Shen Jin Cao 20g (伸筋草 Lycopodii Herba), Chuan Xiong 15 g (川芎 Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong), Gan Cao 8g (甘草 Radix Glycyrrhizae), Gui Zhi 15g (桂枝 Ramulus Cinnamomi), Bai Shao 10g (白芍 Radix Paeoniae Alba), Hong Hua 10g (紅花 Flos Carthami), Xi Xin 6g (細辛 Herba Asari), Gan Jiang 10g (乾薑 Rhizoma Zingiberis), Ji Xue Teng 15g (雞血藤 Caulis Spatholobi), Zhi Ru Xiang 20g (乳香 Olibanum). The course of treatment was 1 month for both groups.
To evaluate the result of the study, the peripheral neurotoxicity classifications, Neurological Symptom Scores (NSSs), nerve conduction velocities and clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups.
The clinical efficacy was considered as:
- Markedly Effective: if the clinical signs and symptoms are resolved.
- Effective: if the clinical signs and symptoms improved
- Ineffective: the clinical symptoms did not improve or exacerbate.
Total effective rate = (total number of cases – number of “Ineffective” cases) / total number of cases x 100%
According to the result, the number of peripheral neurotoxicity grades 0-2 increased, the NSSs decreased, and the nerve conduction velocities increased significantly in both groups (P<0.05). Even though there was no significant difference in terms of the total effective rate between the two groups, the level of improvement in the treatment group was more significant than the control group (P<0.05). This suggested that Wenjing Hexue Tongbi Prescription combined could effectively improve the clinical efficacy when combining with mecobalamin acupoint injections in treating oxaliplatin chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.
Daiyi Deng, et al. Journal of Changchun University of Chinese Medicine. 2022. 38 (10): 1126-1129.