Acupuncture And Herbs Optimize Liver Cirrhosis Treatment

Information provided for interest only. Always consult your GP/MD or practitioner regarding any health issues or treatment.

Any references here to treat or treatment are confined to the article or research as presented.

If you have any queries about this then Herbs and Helpers will be happy to clarify verbally.

Acupuncture And Herbs Optimize Liver Cirrhosis Treatment

Postby herbsandhelpers » Wed Aug 28, 2019 12:41 pm

Acupuncture And Herbs Optimize Liver Cirrhosis Treatment

Researchers find acupuncture and herbs effective for the treatment of liver cirrhosis. Researchers from the Third People’s Hospital of Yiwu City combined acupuncture and herbs with standard drug therapy. Patients receiving both drug therapy and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) treatment in a combined treatment protocol had superior patient outcomes compared with patients receiving only drug therapy. The researchers conclude that the addition of acupuncture and herbs to conventional drug therapy can “effectively improve liver function, control the development of the disease, promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function, and reduce relevant complications.” [1]

Multiple subjective and objective instruments were used to measure patient outcomes. First, liver fibrosis markers were measured, including laminin (LN), hyaluronic acid (HA), and type-III procollagen (PCⅢ). Second, gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated using the gastrointestinal symptom scale. Higher gastrointestinal symptom scores are associated with worsening gastrointestinal symptoms. Third, liver function markers were recorded, including albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TBil), alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST).

Fourth, the prognosis of liver cirrhosis was calculated using the Child-Pugh score. Higher Child-Pugh scores are associated with poorer prognoses. Fifth, the recovery of gastrointestinal function was quantified by measuring recovery time of bowel sounds, end time of regurgitation and vomiting, and daily defecation frequency. Sixth, the incidence rate of complications (ascites, pleural effusion, edema of both lower extremities, abdominal varicose veins) in the two groups were compared.

After treatment, liver fibrosis markers (LN, HA, PCⅢ) and gastrointestinal symptom scores improved significantly in the two groups (p<0.01). Liver fibrosis markers, gastrointestinal symptom scores, liver function markers (ALT, ALB, AST, TBil), Child-Pugh scores, and gastrointestinal functions in the TCM treatment group were significantly better than those in the drug monotherapy control group (p<0.01). In addition, the TCM treatment group had a 10.7% complication rate, while the drug monotherapy control group had a 38.2% complication rate (p<0.05).

Design


Researchers (Li et al.) used the following study design. A total of 62 patients were treated and evaluated in this study. They were all selected from the Third People’s Hospital of Yiwu City. They were randomly divided into an acupuncture and herbs treatment group and a drug monotherapy control group, with 28 and 34 patients in each group respectively. For the control group patients, conventional drug therapy was administered. The treatment group received acupuncture and herbs in addition to the identical drug therapy administered to the drug control group.

The statistical breakdown for each randomized group was as follows. The treatment group was comprised of 10 males and 18 females. The average age in the treatment group was 41 years. The average course of disease in the treatment group was 5.16 years. The control group was comprised of 12 males and 22 females. The average age in the control group was 41 years. The average course of disease in the control group was 5.16 years. There were no significant statistical differences in gender, age, and course of disease relevant to patient outcome measures for patients initially admitted to the study. For both groups, patients received the following conventional drug therapy:

Drugs to alleviate jaundice and protect liver function
Drugs to relieve portal hypertension
Intravenous therapy to correct fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base disorders
Nutritional support
Adefovir dipivoxil capsules were prescribed for viral liver cirrhosis
Serum albumin (ALB) was prescribed for severe conditions

TCM Treatment

The treatment group patients received acupuncture and herbs in addition to drug therapy. The following acupoints were selected bilaterally for the treatment group:

ST25 (Tianshu)
ST36 (Zusanli)
ST37 (Shangjuxu)
ST39 (Xiajuxu)
CV4 (Guanyuan)
CV12 (Zhongwan)

Acupuncture treatments commenced with patients in a supine position. After disinfection of the acupoint sites, a 0.30 mm × 40 mm disposable filiform needle was inserted into each acupoint with a high needle entry speed. A deqi sensation was obtained and the needles were manually stimulated with Ping Bu Ping Xie (mild attenuating and tonifying) manipulation techniques. The needles were retained for 30 minutes. Acupuncture sessions were administered once per day, for a total of 30 consecutive days. The herbal formula used in this study (modified Si Jun Zi Tang) contained the following ingredients:

Huang Qi 30 grams
Tai Zi Shen 30
Ze Xie 15
Da Fu Pi 15
Fu Ling 12
Sang Bai Pi 10
Chao Bai Zhu 10
Gan Cao 3

Additional herbs were prescribed based on differing diagnostic patterns. For blood stasis in the liver and spleen, the following herbs were added:

Xian He Cao 30 grams
Dan Shen 20
Bie Jia 15
Di Yu 15
Huai Hua 15

For damp-heat brewing and binding, the following herbs were added:

Ji Gu Cao 30 grams
Mian Yin 20
Bai Hua She She Cao 20

For qi stagnation and damp obstruction, the following herbs were added:

Mai Ya 30 grams
Sha Ren 10
Hou Po 10
Chen Pi 8

For cold-damp encumbering the spleen, the following herbs were added:

Mu Gua 10 grams
Gan Jiang 6
Cao Guo Ren 6
Mu Xiang 6

The researchers note that the ingredients benefit the spleen and liver, free the channels, drain pathogenic water, accelerate blood circulation, and help the body to remove blood stasis. The prescribed dosage was one decoction daily. The above ingredients were brewed with water to obtain a 350 ml decoction, which was then split into 2 servings, taken separately in the morning and at night. Patients consumed the TCM herbal medicine at this rate for 30 consecutive days.

Results

The results indicate that acupuncture and herbs combined with drug therapy into an integrated treatment protocol is more effective than drug monotherapy. Li et al. conclude that acupuncture and herbs are safe and effective for the relief of liver cirrhosis.

Reference:
[1] Li J, Luo JC, Fu HM, Chen H, Feng LM. Clinical Study on Acupuncture plus Si Jun Zi Decoction in Treating Hepatocirrhosis [J]. Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, 2019,38(04):369-373.

Source: HealthCMI
herbsandhelpers
Site Admin
 
Posts: 5540
Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:07 pm
Location: UK

Return to Conditions

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests

Information

The team • All times are UTC [ DST ]

cron