Aristolochia ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Aristolochic Acids ; adverse effects ; Belgium ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms ; chemically induced ; Nephritis ; chemically induced

Whether traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) could be categorized as a kind of science or not has been a controversial issue over last century. Part of the confusion is caused by the indistinguishable usage of Chinese words "science" and "scientific" during discussion. According to western academic standards, TCM cannot be considered as pure or conventional science. However, in author's view, the foundation of a majority part of TCM practice is probably scientific, while many TCM theories remain unproved. In this article, medical theories and practices are classified based on scientific content into eight levels: medical science, scientific medicine, medical system, medical theory, medical opinion, medical belief, medical cultism, and medical fraud. Both Western medicine and TCM are positioned in this system accordingly. Currently, the scientific level of TCM is much lower than that of Western medicine, and more research is needed for its improvement.
Biomedical Research ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; standards

Curcumin is a principal polyphenolic curcuminoid extracted from turmeric rhizome, which has been used for treating inflammation of joints, ulcers, jaundice and other disorders in Asian traditional medicine. In recent years, many studies have indicated that curcumin plays important roles in treatment of liver diseases. Curcumin attenuates liver injury and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by lowering the release of inflammation cytokines, minimizing oxidative stress, enhancing the sensitivity of insulin and altering lipid metabolism. Curcumin shows potent anti-fibrosis activity, contributing to inhibit the activation of hepatic stellate cells and reduce the deposition of extracellular matrix by its regulation of PPAR-γ, NF-ΚB and TGF-β signaling pathways. Moreover, curcumin exhibits anti-cancer effect by inducing G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in several hepatoma cell lines. However, poor water solubility and low bioavailability of curcumin limit its clinical applications. To overcome its limited systemic bioavailability, many new approaches have been explored to deliver curcumin effectively. This article focuses on advances in the effects of curcumin and its derivatives for treatment of liver injury, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and hepatocarcinoma.
Apoptosis ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; Liver Diseases ; drug therapy ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; PPAR gamma ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; metabolism

The microbial community structure of 4 kinds of sponges in South China Sea were revealed using culture-independent PCR- DGGE gene fingerprint technique as well as the mixed culturable microorganism. The relationship between the culturable and un-culturable microorganism was studied based on the different fingerprint profile. It was found that there is host specificity for microorganism in different sponges from the same marine area. Culture condition such as medium is an important factor for sponge-associated microbial cultivation and the culturable microorganism amount to only a little part of the total sponge-associated microorganisms.

Cervical Vertebrae ; Dura Mater ; Epidural Space ; Humans ; Spinal Cord Neoplasms ; surgery

Animals ; Autoantigens ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Centromere Protein A ; Chromosomal Instability ; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Kinetochores ; metabolism ; Mitosis ; physiology ; Rectal Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Spindle Apparatus ; metabolism

Objective To investigete the changes of neurons in cortex and hippocampus of spontaneously hypertensive rat.Methods Systolic pressure,diastolic pressure and mean arterial pressure,heart rate were measured by caudal artery manometry in six-month old SHR and age-matched Wistar rats(control group).Neurons in frontal lobe,parietal lobe,temporal lobe,and hippocampal CA1,CA3 sub-field and the dentate gyrus were observed through Nissl staining.Results Systolic pressure,diastolic pressure and mean arterial pressure in SHR were significantly higher than that in control group(P

It is significant to enhance the doctor-patient communication ability for medical graduates during clinical practice stage and establish appropriate doctor-patient communication sense,which is also important to promote medical education quality and cultivate qualified medical talents.This paper analyzed the common problems in doctor-patient communication for medical graduates.For example,patients did not trust the intern students;the students were nervous when faced with patients;some did not pay attention to their images;some called patients improperly.Then,it put forward some measures:to set up the communication and training courses,to carry out the communication skill training in clinical practice,and to attach importance to the doctor-patient communication skill practice.

Objective To evaluate the safety,local efficacy and survival rates of isolated pulmonary metastases from colorectal carcinoma treated with CT-guided radiofrequency ablation.Methods A total of 28 patients with isolated pulmonary metastases from colorectal carcinoma were performed with CT-guided radiofrequency ablation (radiofrequency ablation group).The size of the lesion was 1.2-5.0 (2.9 ± 1.0) cm.During the same time,9 patients,who did not take any treatment for isolated pulmonary metastases from colorectal carcinoma,were collected as control group.The size of the lesion was 2.0-5.0 (3.6 ± 1.0) cm.The local progression-free rates and overall survival rates were compared.Results All the cases were able to complete the radiofrequency ablation in radiofrequency ablation group.During and after the procedure,no major complications occurred.The 1-,2-,and 3-year local progression-free rates and overall survival rates in radiofrequency ablation group were significantly higher than those in control group.The local progression-free rates were 89.3％ vs.76.2％,78.6％ vs.33.9％,70.7％ vs.16.9％.The overall survival rates were 96.4％ vs.77.8％,85.7％ vs.44.4％,56.7％ vs.22.2％.The differences between two groups had statistical significance (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion CT-guided radiofrequency ablation for isolated pulmonary metastasis from colorectal carcinoma is a safe,effective,minimally invasive treatment,and can significantly improve the local progression-free rates and overall survival rates.

Acupuncture Therapy ; adverse effects ; Humans