A study explored how acupuncture could help manage menopause symptoms in breast cancer patients. It discovered that while acupuncture effectively relieved general menopause symptoms, it didn’t significantly reduce hot flushes in patients undergoing medical menopause due to breast cancer treatments. For those concerned about hormone therapy’s side effects, acupuncture might serve as an alternative.
Method
The study, accessible at this link focused on breast cancer patients experiencing hot flushes due to medical menopause. Instead of traditional hormone therapy, some patients chose acupuncture. The research reviewed various randomised clinical trials involving 844 women, averaging 58 years old, using Cochrane criteria to assess the acupuncture’s effectiveness.
Result
The analysis showed that while acupuncture didn’t notably impact the frequency and severity of hot flushes (p = 0.34; p = 0.33), it did significantly improve overall menopause symptoms (p = 0.009). No severe adverse effects were reported from acupuncture treatment.
Conclusion
Acupuncture emerges as an effective method to alleviate menopause symptoms for breast cancer patients. However, its influence on hot flushes appears limited. For those worried about hormone therapy’s repercussions, considering acupuncture as an alternative is recommended. Further large-scale studies exploring biomarkers or cytokines could deepen our understanding of how acupuncture aids in managing menopause symptoms in breast cancer patients.
At the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, researchers are delving deep into the mysteries of acupuncture for treating asthma. Their work could lead to a breakthrough anti-asthma medication targeting specific acupuncture points on the back. But what really goes on at the molecular level behind this ancient therapy?
Deciphering Acupuncture’s Effects
In the latest issue of “Science Translational Medicine” from February 8, 2018, Professor Yang Yongqing and his team showcased remarkable progress after nearly a decade of studying acupuncture’s impact on asthma and identifying potential targets.
Their research not only uncovered new targets through clinical trials but also shed light on how acupuncture triggers various protein reactions in the body. They even found promising molecules mimicking acupuncture’s effects, possibly evolving into versatile “acupuncture drugs.”
Editorial Acclaim
The editor-in-chief of “Science” praised these findings, marking a milestone for traditional Chinese medicine. It’s the first time such practitioners have published original scientific work with independent rights in a specialized journal. It’s also the first confirmation of a new asthma target by Chinese scientists.
Traditional Wisdom Meets Modern Science
Asthma, commonly treated with medications, often comes with side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine, however, has long relied on acupuncture at specific points to improve respiratory function in patients like Shao Jingming did. This wisdom, refined over decades, still holds promise today.
How Acupuncture Works For Asthma
Professor Yang’s team dug into how acupuncture helps asthma. Using mouse models, they honed in on Metallothionein-2 (MT-2) as crucial in alleviating symptoms. By understanding its interaction with Transgelin-2, they revealed how acupuncture eases breathing.
Pioneering New Treatments
Their study also uncovered potential “acupuncture drugs.” Collaborating since 2003, they identified molecules with bronchial-dilating properties similar to acupuncture. These could be the next wave of anti-asthma medications, bridging traditional and modern medicine.
New Frontiers in Asthma Care
Targeting Transgelin-2 offers fresh solutions for asthma treatment, as highlighted by “Science” reviewers. This approach ensures China’s leadership in acupuncture research, blending traditional wisdom with modern technology. Ultimately, acupuncture and its derived drugs offer a holistic approach to asthma treatment.
Chemotherapy can sometimes lower your platelet count, which increases the risk of bleeding and other complications. Chinese herbal medicine has been used for centuries to treat various health issues, including low platelet counts. Some scientific evidence suggests that these herbs might help boost platelet counts during chemotherapy, but more research is needed.
How Can Chinese Herbal Medicine Help?
Our registered Chinese medicine practitioners will assess your overall health and make a Pattern Diagnosis based on Chinese medicine principles. They will then recommend an herbal formula and treatment plan tailored to the severity of your low platelet count.
You can use Chinese herbal medicine alongside other treatments, but always under the supervision of a healthcare provider.
Research and Reviews
Shen Cao Granules Study: This study found that Shen Cao granules helped reduce low platelet counts in chemotherapy patients with gastrointestinal cancer. It also shortened the duration of low platelet counts and reduced hospital stays and costs.
Chang Gung Platelet Elevating Formula (CGPEF): A 2018 study on gynecologic cancer patients showed that CGPEF might increase platelet counts during chemotherapy. The study was small, so more research is needed.
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: A review of 12 trials found that Chinese herbal medicine could increase platelet counts and reduce bleeding risks in chemotherapy patients. However, more studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Summary
Chinese herbal medicine has traditionally been used to boost platelet counts. Always consult your doctor and a registered Chinese medicine practitioner to ensure safe and effective treatment.
References
Chunfeng Yu et al., “Effects of Shen Cao Granules on Chemotherapy-Induced Thrombocytopenia in Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2019.
Yi-Hong Wu et al., “Use of Chinese Herbal Medicine Improves Chemotherapy-Induced Thrombocytopenia among Gynecological Cancer,” Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2018.
Li YX et al., “Effectiveness of Chinese Herbal Medicine in Improving Platelet Count among Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Thrombocytopenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” BMC Complement Altern Med, 2017.
An estimated 15% of couples in the world suffer from infertility. According to a survey in 2013 by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Optimization (NICE) in the United Kingdom, male factors have become the main reason for infertile couples to use assisted reproductive therapy (ART).
Male infertility is mainly diagnosed by routine semen analysis (WHO standard), including semen volume, concentration, vitality and morphology.
Although studies have shown that semen quality and ART outcome are correlated, until now, we have not found a conventional semen threshold that can predict the success of ART.
Recent studies have shown that sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), including sperm DNA single-strand breaks and double-strand breaks, are all related to male infertility factors, which can adversely affect the male reproductive system and increase the risk of genetic diseases in offspring .
Two previous Meta-analysis studies have shown that SDF is related to ART failure and repeated pregnancy loss.
However, human sperm itself does not have DNA repair activity (DRA). Once fertilised, DRA mainly depends on the transcripts produced during the maturation of the oocyte to repair it. The ability of oocytes to repair SDF depends on the degree of fragmentation of SDF and the quality of oocytes.
Therefore, reproductive medicine researchers from Sao Paulo, Brazil, conducted research on women’s age and SDF and the outcome of intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) assisted pregnancy.
Amanda Souza Setti et al. collected 540 couples who underwent ICSI at the centre from May 2017 to December 2019, and divided the ICSI cycle into three groups according to the age of the woman: ≤36 years old (285 cases), 37-40 years old ( 147 cases) and >40 years old (108 cases).
Sperm chromatin diffusion test was used to evaluate the SDF of semen specimens.
For each age group, according to the SDF index, the ICSI cycle is divided into two subgroups: low fragmentation index (SDF <30%) and high fragmentation index (SDF ≥ 30%).
Summarised and analysed the outcome indicators such as embryo implantation rate, pregnancy rate and abortion rate.
The study found that: for young patients (36 years old) and patients between 37-40 years old, whether SDF <30% or SDF ≥ 30%, the laboratory and clinical results of the ICSI cycle were not significantly different.
When female patients are older than 40 years old, compared with SDF<30%, in an ICSI cycle with SDF ≥ 30%, the rate of D3 high-quality embryo acquisition (54.4% vs 33.1%) and the rate of blastocyst formation (49.6% vs 30. 2%), pregnancy rate (20.0%vs7.7%) and implantation rate (19.7%vs11.9%) were significantly reduced, while miscarriage rate (12.5%vs100.0%) increased.
Results
This study showed older oocytes, when injected with sperm derived from samples with high SDF (Sperm DNA Fragmentation) index, develop into embryos of poor quality that lead consequently to lower implantation and pregnancy rates and higher miscarriage rates, in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles from women with advanced maternal age.
The results of this study are of great significance to clinical work:
Women’s age cannot be changed, but male SDF can be improved through diet, environment, lifestyle changes, antioxidant and other therapies.
This study may provide new ideas for improving the ART pregnancy rate of elderly couples and reducing the abortion rate.
Reference:
Oocyte ability to repair sperm DNA fragmentation: the impact of maternal age on intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes
Fertility and Sterility (IF7.329), Pub Date : 2021-02-13, DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2020.10.045
Amanda Souza Setti, Daniela Paes de Almeida Ferreira Braga, Rodrigo Rosa Provenza, Assumpto Iaconelli, Edson Borges
Is maternal caffeine intake associated with neonatal anthropometry?
Findings
In this cohort study of 2055 women from 12 clinical sites, measures of caffeine consumption (plasma caffeine and paraxanthine and self-reported consumption) were associated with neonatal size at birth.
Increasing caffeine measures were significantly associated with lower birth weight, shorter length, and smaller head, arm, and thigh circumference.
A study has found that caffeine consumption during pregnancy, even in amounts less than the recommended 200 mg per day, is linked to smaller neonatal anthropometric measurements.
The longitudinal cohort study in JAMA Network Open concluded that compared to women who drank no, or very little caffeine, women who drank the most caffeine (a plasma caffeine level of ≤ 28 ng/mL) had neonates who weighed 84 g less, were 0.44 cm shorter in length, a 0.28 cm smaller head circumference, a 0.25 cm smaller arm circumference, and a 0.29 cm smaller thigh circumference.
“Most of the research on caffeine and neonatal size at birth focuses on birthweight and length, while relying on self-reported measures of caffeine consumption.,” said senior author Katherine Grantz, MD, an investigator in the Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland.
The current study analyzed data from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies–Singletons, which enrolled 2,055 nonsmoking women at low risk for fetal growth abnormalities with complete information on caffeine consumption from 12 U.S. clinical sites between 2009 and 2013.
“In the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies, we have rich data on multiple measures of neonatal anthropometry to more specifically characterize neonatal size, as well as objective measures of plasma concentrations of caffeine and its primary metabolite, paraxanthine,” Grantz told Contemporary OB/GYN.
The two main sources of caffeine were coffee and soda, which accounted for 35% and 41% of caffeine intake, respectively.
Caffeine was evaluated by both plasma concentrations of caffeine and paraxanthine and self-reported caffeinated beverage consumption measured/reported at 10 to 13 weeks gestation.
Caffeine metabolism was defined as fast or slow, based on genotype information from the single nucleotide variant rs762551.
“Prior caffeine studies have observed lower birthweight after consumption of higher amounts of caffeine — usually 200 to 300 mg, or 2 to 3 cups of coffee, daily,” said Grantz, who served as a co-principal investigator of the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies.
Before starting their analyses, the current authors knew that the average consumption in the sample was much lower, about 35 mg/day, and only 16 women reported drinking more than 200 mg/day.
Because of this low consumption, we were uncertain we would see any significant results, so it was surprising that we still found that increasing caffeine consumption, even at low levels, was associated with some smaller anthropometric measures in the offspring,” Grantz said. “Also, the finding that the decreases in birthweight were manifested by decreases in bone and muscle measures, but not skin folds and fat mass, were unexpected. These findings may indicate decreases in lean tissue as caffeine consumption increases.”
The clinical implications of the study are unknown, considering there were only small reductions in some neonatal anthropometric measures, Grantz said. “Other evidence suggests that even small amounts of caffeine intake during pregnancy (50 mg/day) could be associated with a higher risk of excess growth in infancy and childhood that could put children at higher risk of later cardiometabolic disease,” she said.
“Therefore, our results could indicate some disruption in normal fetal growth patterns, but will require more research to confirm.”
Although the study authors are unable to make recommendations based on the results of their single study, “we encourage pregnant women to talk to their providers about caffeine consumption, and suggest that caution may be warranted,” Grantz said.
The next step for the investigators is to evaluate the serial ultrasounds and fetal volumes conducted throughout pregnancy by the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies to determine when changes begin in fetal growth in relation to caffeine measures, and how these changes may be manifested in fetal volumes.
Disclosure
Grantz reports no relevant financial disclosures.
Reference
Gleason JL, Tekola-Ayele F, Sundaram R, et al. Association between maternal caffeine consumption and metabolism and neonatal anthropometry: a secondary analysis of the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies–Singletons. JAMA Network Open. Published online March 25, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.3238
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