Traditional Persian medicine is based on humoral medical concepts. In the case of abundant blood in the body, tabi'at (body nature) deals with this imbalance by elimination of the morbid substances via some controlling mechanisms. If tabi'at could not react properly, the physician should prescribe an intervention to let the extra blood out. This can be done through phlebotomy, wet cupping, and the use of leech or scarification of the ears. Cupping with scarification may eliminate the morbid substance through the scarified skin, and cupping without scarification evacuates the morbid materials from the compromised organs. Wet cupping in health state is meant to be applied for preventing the blood humor dominance in susceptible individuals. In disease condition, wet cupping is defined as a treatment in which the patients confront the abundance of blood. Wet cupping may have harmful complications in extremely thin or obese patients. Wet cupping should be postponed in patients compromised by diseases especially in the thick phlegm abundance. In Asia, Iranian people, because of religious beliefs, are very interested in cupping therapy. Many unsupervised cupping procedures are performed in Iran, whereas benefits and risks of these procedures are undetermined by providers and clients. In this study, the most important indications and contraindications of wet cupping have been reviewed based on the traditional Persian medicine resources.

Introduction Many patients with chronic diseases often use traditional medicine, as well as conventional medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological factors of patients with dermatological conditions referring to traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) clinic. Materials and Methods In this cross‐sectional study, we reviewed all the patients’ medical documents, from March 2018 to March 2019, with dermatological conditions referred to the TPM clinic at Shiraz, Southern Iran. Then, the epidemiological factors of the patients were recorded in a researcher‐made data collection form. SPSS software version 22 was used to analyse the data. Results Overall, 631 patients consisting of 151 (23.9%) males and 580 (76.1%) females were enrolled in the study. Most of the patients were aged from 31 to 40 years, 347 (55%) patients were married, and most of them were housewives. The frequency of patients in the spring was higher than in other seasons. Furthermore, most of the patients were university educated. Acne, eczema and hair loss were the three most complaints of the patients who were referred to the traditional medicine clinic. 301(47.7%) patients reported gastrointestinal problems as another complaint concomitant with their skin problems. Conclusion It seems that women with skin problems, including acne, eczema, and hair loss, were more likely to refer to the TPM clinic. Therefore, the development of TPM clinics in the dermatology field as a scientific and academic approach can be effective in the treatment of patients with dermatological conditions accompanied by traditional medicine.

No abstract

Ma'aljobon, a handmade substance, is the liquid portion of coagulated milk after adding vinegar to the heated milk. In traditional Persian medicine (TPM) it has been known as a useful remedy for the treatment of some skin disorders. The aim of this study was to review the applications of Ma'aljobon for skin diseases according to the sages of TPM and modern medicine. Main TPM sources were reviewed with the keyword of "Ma'aljobon." Furthermore, electronic databases including Scopus, PubMed, SID, and Google Scholar were searched with the keyword "Whey protein" during 2000 to 2018. According to TPM sources, Ma'aljobon was used by Iranian sages as a safe and effective remedy to treat a wide range of skin diseases, such as pimples, and ulcers. Meantime, recent evidence has also shown the effectiveness of whey protein in treating some skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis. Gastrointestinal discomfort was the most adverse effect of Ma'aljobon mentioned in TPM sources. In conclusion, there were several applications for Ma'aljobon in treatment of dermatologic disease according to TPM, as well as modern medicine. These finding could be the basis of future clinical trials on the effects of Ma'aljobon in the treatment of skin problems.

No abstract

Background: Chronic pruritus is one of the most common conditions in dermatology and a common manifestation in many systemic diseases. Since the etiology of chronic pruritus remains somewhat unknown, hence, conventional medications may not always show a good therapeutic response. This finding has led both investigators and patients to use herbal and complementary remedies for its treatment. The aim of this study was to review clinical trials in which herbal and complementary medicine was used in the control and treatment of chronic pruritus. Materials and methods:In this study, we reviewed related articles in this domain, from 2000 to 2020. The search involved electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and SID databases using the keywords "pruritus," "itch," "herb," "complementary medicine," "traditional medicine," "integrative medicine," and their related MeSH terms. Finally, we extracted the pertinent information from these articles and summarized the results. Results:The findings of this study showed that 17 clinical trials have been conducted till date in order to evaluate the efficacy of herbal remedies and complementary medicines in the treatment of chronic pruritus. Herbal remedies including turmeric, Fumaria parviflora, Avena sativa, capsaicin, sweet almond oil, peppermint oil, violet oil, vinegar, as well as manual therapies including aromatherapy, auricular acupressure, and acupuncture, were significantly effective in the treatment of chronic pruritus. Conclusion:There are only a few studies published on the therapeutic efficacy of herbal remedies and complementary medicine in the treatment of chronic pruritus. Some have shown promising results. Therefore, more evidence-based studies are needed in order to determine if herbal remedies and complementary medicine could be an effective alternative or adjuvant treatment modality in chronic pruritus.

Introduction It remains a matter of debate whether traditional concepts regarding the nature of food affect the development and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).To date, there are limited studies that have investigated the association between MS and dietary patterns based on the categories of food nature (hot, cold, or balanced) defined in traditional medicine. Method This case-control study was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020. In total, 60 patients diagnosed with MS within the preceding 6 months and referred to our neurology outpatient clinic were included in our case group. The control group included 180 patients who were referred to the same center for general or orthopedic surgery. Dietary intake was assessed in both groups through a reliable and valid semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Data were assessed using principal component analysis. Results The mean age of the participants was 44.9 ± 17.33 years. The analysis showed that four food patterns were distinguished (eigenvalue > 1), namely “additives and cold-natured foods”, “hot and balanced foods and nuts”, “dairy and legumes”, and “hot and balanced starches”. These food patterns explained 57.8% of the total variance. After adjusting all confounding factors, individuals in the highest quartile and medium quartile of “additives and cold-natured foods” had an elevated MS risk compared with the lowest quartile (OR = 7.21, 95%CI = 2.01–12.38 and OR = 3.37, 95%CI = 1.02–11.35, respectively). Furthermore, individuals in the highest quartile of the “hot and balanced foods and nuts” group were protected against MS compared with its lowest quartile (OR = 0.28, 95%CI = 0.08–0.90). Moreover, a protective effect against MS was seen in the highest quartile of the “hot and balanced starches” group relative to its lowest quartile (OR = 0.34, 95%CI = 0.12–0.98). No significant association was found between “dairy and legumes” and the risk of MS. Conclusion This study revealed that dietary patterns based on the traditional concept of food nature might be associated with the risk of developing MS. This represents the first work in this area, so further research is recommended.

The color of urine is an important factor in urine examination, which can help physicians differentiate various diseases. Today, it is known that certain dyes, drug intoxications, and diseases can induce green urine discoloration. In the view of traditional Persian medicine, which is based on humoral medicine, green urine discoloration is generally referred to the dominance of coldness in the body. In fact, it is considered to be a result of a special kind of humoral imbalance and fluid depletion or retention in the human body. Persian scholars believed that green urine could be an indicator of intoxication or a predictor of an imminent spasm or convulsion in pediatric patients. Further investigations could result in finding new diagnostic scales of urine color based on the teachings of traditional Persian medicine.