The Potential of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment and Modulation of Pain

Background Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) that imposes an enormous burden on the healthcare system. Although some studies show that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments confer a protective effect on DN, the long-term impact remains unclear. This study aims to examine end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and mortality rates among TCM users with DN. Methods A total of 125,490 patients with incident DN patients from 2004 to 2006 were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan and followed until 2012. The landmark method was applied to avoid immortal time bias, and propensity score matching was used to select 1:1 baseline characteristics-matched cohort. The Kaplan–Meier method and competing-risk analysis were used to assess mortality and ESRD rates separately. Results Among all eligible subjects, about 60% of patients were classified as TCM users (65,812 TCM users and 41,482 nonusers). After 1:1 matching, the outcomes of 68,882 patients were analyzed. For the ESRD rate, the 8-year cumulative incidence was 14.5% for TCM users [95% confidence interval (CI): 13.9–15.0] and 16.6% for nonusers (95% CI: 16.0–17.2). For the mortality rate, the 8-year cumulative incidence was 33.8% for TCM users (95% CI: 33.1–34.6) and 49.2% for nonusers (95% CI: 48.5–49.9). After adjusting for confounding covariates, the cause-specific hazard ratio of ESRD was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.78–0.84), and the hazard ratio of mortality for TCM users was 0.48 (95% CI: 0.47–0.50). The cumulative incidence of mortality increased rapidly among TCM users with ESRD (56.8, 95% CI: 54.6–59.1) when compared with TCM users without ESRD (30.1, 95% CI: 29.4–30.9). In addition, TCM users who used TCM longer or initiated TCM treatments after being diagnosed with DN were associated with a lower risk of mortality. These results were consistent across sensitivity tests with different definitions of TCM users and inverse probability weighting of subjects. Conclusions The lower ESRD and mortality rates among patients with incident DN correlates with the use of TCM treatments. Further studies about specific TCM modalities or medications for DN are still needed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-019-2491-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Bge. , Huang Qi in Chinese, for improving proteinuria [12], or decreasing the use of nephrotoxic WM medications [41, 42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional Chinese medicine use is associated with lower end-stage renal disease and mortality rates among patients with diabetic nephropathy: a population-based cohort study

Chen

Pan

Chen

et al. 2019

BMC Complement Altern Med

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“…Analgesics that are likely to be non-addictive and have a low side-effect profile are being actively sought. Traditional medicine from many cultures suggests that plants are possible sources of complex chemical mixtures that can be used to treat diverse human conditions, including pain [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. The secondary metabolome of the Cannabis plant has been suggested as sources of new analgesics [14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diverse TRPV1 responses to cannabinoids

et al. 2019

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Cannabinoid compounds are potential analgesics. Users of medicinal Cannabis report efficacy for pain control, clinical studies show that cannabis can be effective and opioid sparing in chronic pain, and some constituent cannabinoids have been shown to target nociceptive ion channels. Here, we explore and compare a suite of cannabinoids for their impact upon the physiology of TRPV1. The cannabinoids tested evoke differential responses in terms of kinetics of activation and inactivation. Cannabinoid activation of TRPV1 displays significant dependence on internal and external calcium levels. Cannabinoid activation of TRPV1 does not appear to induce the highly permeant, pore-dilated channel state seen with Capsaicin, even at high current amplitudes. Finally, we analyzed cannabinoid responses at nociceptive channels other than TRPV1 (TRPV2, TRPM8, and TRPA1), and report that cannabinoids differentially activate these channels. On the basis of response activation and kinetics, state-selectivity and receptor selectivity, it may be possible to rationally design approaches to pain using single or multiple cannabinoids.

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“…BS is one of the common pattern identifications of KM and has various manifestations, of which pain is the most representative [6,29]. In KM, the mechanism of pain is recognized by the inhibition of blood flow, reduction of signal transduction, and accumulation of secretions by other factors such as inflammation, qi stagnation, BS, and cold [30]. Accordingly, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic (Huang Di Nei Jing) has suggested that poor circulation causes pain, and improvement of circulation eliminates the pain [31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy and Safety of Blood Stasis Based Herbal Medicine for Patients with Traffic Accident : A Prospective Observational Study

Bong¹,

Jo²,

Jang³

et al. 2020

J Acupunct Res

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Background: Blood stasis (BS) is commonly used for pattern identification in traumatic injuries, including traffic accidents (TAs). Various studies have identified the efficacy of Korean medicine treatments for TA patients, but studies focusing on the BS-based herbal medicine (BSHM), including Tongdo-san (TDS), are rare.Methods: This was a single-center, prospective observational study, conducted from August 24th, 2018 to December 27th, 2018, which included 40 TA patients. Participants underwent routine Korean medicine treatments including acupuncture, electronic moxibustion, cupping, physical therapy, and herbal medicine. In the herbal medicine treatment, participants took BSHM with more than 3 days including taking TDS. The primary outcome measures were the scores from a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) and numerical rating scale (NRS). Secondary outcome measures included scores from EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ-5D) and EQVAS questionnaires, the BS and cold/heat indices, and safety assessments.Results: There were significant improvements in the VAS, NRS, EQ-5D, EQ-VAS scores, and BS index after treatment. In the sub-analysis, VAS, NRS, EQ-5D, and EQ-VAS scores were higher in groups with a higher BS index. The moderate and severe BS index groups showed more improvement than the minor BS index group, and there was a significant difference in the EQ-5D scores. There was no significant differences observed in cold/heat index groups scores.Conclusion: BS is associated with TA-related symptoms. BSHM, including TDS, may significantly reduce BS, pain, and discomfort.

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The Potential of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment and Modulation of Pain

Cited by 34 publications

References 109 publications

Traditional Chinese medicine use is associated with lower end-stage renal disease and mortality rates among patients with diabetic nephropathy: a population-based cohort study

Traditional Chinese medicine use is associated with lower end-stage renal disease and mortality rates among patients with diabetic nephropathy: a population-based cohort study

Diverse TRPV1 responses to cannabinoids

Efficacy and Safety of Blood Stasis Based Herbal Medicine for Patients with Traffic Accident : A Prospective Observational Study

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