scholarly journals The Role of Cupping Therapy (CT) In Pain Tackling, an Insight into Mechanism Therapeutic Effects and its Relevance in Current Medical Scenario

Author(s):  
Mudassir Alam ◽  

Cupping Therapy (CT) is popular as ʻAl-Hijamaʼ in Egypt and Arabic countries which is an ancient traditional method which is practiced for the treatment of various medical conditions, especially claims to be a potential remedy in pain related diseases. Basically, this therapy is an integrated part of the Complementary and alternative medicine, it has got utmost popularity in Unani system of medicine too. Although cupping therapy has been a treatment for long, but its mode of action is not well established yet, several studies have been conducted so far in order to investigate the actual mechanisms behind this therapy, still cupping therapy is a matter of dilemma in medical science. So far, several theories and hypothesis have been put forwarded to explain the effects produced by the cupping therapy. This article provides an overview of cupping therapy practice and associated adverse events, therapeutics potential and current prospective in today’s medical science.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (21) ◽  
pp. 12024
Author(s):  
Chiara Stassi ◽  
Cristina Mondello ◽  
Gennaro Baldino ◽  
Luigi Cardia ◽  
Alessio Asmundo ◽  
...  

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic due to the spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, causing high mortality rates all over the world. The related disease, which mainly affects the lungs, is responsible for the onset of Diffuse Alveolar Damage (DAD) and a hypercoagulability state, frequently leading to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and multiorgan failure, particularly in old and severe-critically ill patients. In order to find effective therapeutic strategies, many efforts have been made aiming to shed light on the pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease. Moreover, following the late advent of vaccination campaigns, the need for the comprehension of the pathophysiology of the fatal, although rare, thrombotic adverse events has become mandatory as well. The achievement of such purposes needs a multidisciplinary approach, depending on a correct interpretation of clinical, biochemical, biomolecular, and forensic findings. In this scenario, autopsies have helped in defining, on both gross and histologic examinations, the main changes to which the affected organs undergo and the role in assessing whether a patient is dead “from” or “with” COVID-19, not to mention whether the existence of a causal link exists between vaccination and thrombotic adverse events. In the present work, we explored the role of postmortem immunohistochemistry, and the increasingly used ancillary technique, in helping to understand the mechanism underlying the pathophysiology of both COVID-19 disease and COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse and rare effects.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander V. Maksimenko

Undiminishing actuality of enzyme modification for therapeutic purposes has been confirmed by application of modified enzymes in clinical practice and numerous research data on them. Intravenous injection of the superoxide dismutase-chondroitin sulfate-catalase (SOD-CHS-CAT) conjugate in preventive and medicative regimes in rats with endotoxin shock induced with a lipopolysaccharide bolus has demonstrated that antioxidant agents not only effectively prevent damage caused by oxidative stress (as believed previously) but also can be used for antioxidative stress therapy. The results obtained emphasize the importance of investigation into the pathogenesis of vascular damage and the role of oxidative stress in it. The effects of intravenous medicative injection of SOD-CHS-CAT in a rat model of endotoxin shock have demonstrated a variety in the activity of this conjugate in addition to prevention of NO conversion in peroxynitrite upon interaction withO2∙-superoxide radical. Together with the literature data, these findings offer a prospect for the study of NO-independent therapeutic effects of SOD-CHS-CAT, implying the importance of a better insight into the mechanisms of the conjugate activity in modeled cardiovascular damage involving vasoactive agents other than NO.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rena Pollack ◽  
Amit Ashash ◽  
Avivit Cahn ◽  
Rivka Dresner-Pollak

Abstract Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer therapy, however, are associated with immune related adverse events (irAEs). Obesity is a pro-inflammatory metabolic state that may play a role in the development of irAEs. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that likelihood of developing thyroid irAEs following anti-PD-1/L1 therapy increases with increasing body mass index (BMI). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of 187 cancer patients who initiated anti-PD-1/L1 at our institution between 01/2014-12/2018, had normal thyroid function tests at baseline and had baseline BMI data available. Results: Overall, 97 (52.2%) patients were with low-normal BMI (<25 kg/m2), 52 (28.0%) overweight (≥25-30 kg/m2) and 37 (19.9%) obese (≥30 kg/m2). Thyroid dysfunction (hyper or hypo, overt or subclinical) developed in 72/187 (38.7%) patients, of whom 29/97 (29.9%) had low-normal BMI, 22/52 (42.3%) were overweight and 21/37 (56.8%) obese (p=0.14). With every 1 kg/m2 increase in BMI, the likelihood of thyroid dysfunction increased by 8.8% (p=0.004). Overt hyperthyroidism occurred in 32/186 (9.1%) of the patients - in 4.1% of patients with low-normal BMI, 11.5% of overweight patients and 18.9% of obese (p=0.006). Overt hypothyroidism occurred in 32/186 (17.2%) of the patients and was not significantly associated with BMI. Hyperthyroidism followed by overt hypothyroidism, consistent with thyroiditis, occurred in 13/186 (7.0%) of patients and was significantly associated with increasing BMI category (p=0.03). Conclusions: Increased BMI was associated with increased thyroid irAEs in patients treated with PD-1/L1 inhibitors. Further exploration of the interaction between obesity and immunotherapy may provide insight into the role of inflammation in mediating immune response.


1992 ◽  
Vol 67 (01) ◽  
pp. 111-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Levi ◽  
Jan Paul de Boer ◽  
Dorina Roem ◽  
Jan Wouter ten Cate ◽  
C Erik Hack

SummaryInfusion of desamino-d-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP) results in an increase in plasma plasminogen activator activity. Whether this increase results in the generation of plasmin in vivo has never been established.A novel sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) for the measurement of the complex between plasmin and its main inhibitor α2 antiplasmin (PAP complex) was developed using monoclonal antibodies preferentially reacting with complexed and inactivated α2-antiplasmin and monoclonal antibodies against plasmin. The assay was validated in healthy volunteers and in patients with an activated fibrinolytic system.Infusion of DDAVP in a randomized placebo controlled crossover study resulted in all volunteers in a 6.6-fold increase in PAP complex, which was maximal between 15 and 30 min after the start of the infusion. Hereafter, plasma levels of PAP complex decreased with an apparent half-life of disappearance of about 120 min. Infusion of DDAVP did not induce generation of thrombin, as measured by plasma levels of prothrombin fragment F1+2 and thrombin-antithrombin III (TAT) complex.We conclude that the increase in plasminogen activator activity upon the infusion of DDAVP results in the in vivo generation of plasmin, in the absence of coagulation activation. Studying the DDAVP induced increase in PAP complex of patients with thromboembolic disease and a defective plasminogen activator response upon DDAVP may provide more insight into the role of the fibrinolytic system in the pathogenesis of thrombosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-259
Author(s):  
Joseph Acquisto

This essay examines a polemic between two Baudelaire critics of the 1930s, Jean Cassou and Benjamin Fondane, which centered on the relationship of poetry to progressive politics and metaphysics. I argue that a return to Baudelaire's poetry can yield insight into what seems like an impasse in Cassou and Fondane. Baudelaire provides the possibility of realigning metaphysics and politics so that poetry has the potential to become the space in which we can begin to think the two of them together, as opposed to seeing them in unresolvable tension. Or rather, the tension that Baudelaire animates between the two allows us a new way of thinking about the role of esthetics in moments of political crisis. We can in some ways see Baudelaire as responding, avant la lettre, to two of his early twentieth-century readers who correctly perceived his work as the space that breathes a new urgency into the questions of how modern poetry relates to the world from which it springs and in which it intervenes.


Letonica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Māra Grudule

The article gives insight into a specific component of the work of Baltic enlightener Gotthard Friedrich Stender (1714–1796) that has heretofore been almost unexplored — the transfer of German musical traditions to the Latvian cultural space. Even though there are no sources that claim that Stender was a composer himself, and none of his books contain musical notation, the texts that had been translated by Stender and published in the collections “Jaunas ziņģes” (New popular songs, 1774) and “Ziņģu lustes” (The Joy of singing, 1785, 1789) were meant for singing and, possibly, also for solo-singing with the accompaniment of some musical instrument. This is suggested, first, by how the form of the translation corresponds to the original’s form; second, by the directions, oftentimes attached to the text, that indicate the melody; and third, by the genres of the German originals cantata and song. Stender translated several compositions into Latvian including the text of the religious cantata “Der Tod Jesu” (The Death of Jesus, 1755) by composer Karl Heinrich Graun (1754–1759); songs by various composers that were widely known in German society; as well as a collection of songs by the composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann (1741–1801) that, in its original form, was published together with notation and was intended for solo-singing (female vocals) with the accompaniment of a piano. This article reveals the context of German musical life in the second half of the 18th century and explains the role of music as an instrument of education in Baltic-German and Latvian societies.


Author(s):  
James Marlatt

ABSTRACT Many people may not be aware of the extent of Kurt Kyser's collaboration with mineral exploration companies through applied research and the development of innovative exploration technologies, starting at the University of Saskatchewan and continuing through the Queen's Facility for Isotope Research. Applied collaborative, geoscientific, industry-academia research and development programs can yield technological innovations that can improve the mineral exploration discovery rates of economic mineral deposits. Alliances between exploration geoscientists and geoscientific researchers can benefit both parties, contributing to the pure and applied geoscientific knowledge base and the development of innovations in mineral exploration technology. Through a collaboration that spanned over three decades, we gained insight into the potential for economic uranium deposits around the world in Canada, Australia, USA, Finland, Russia, Gabon, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, and Guyana. Kurt, his research team, postdoctoral fellows, and students developed technological innovations related to holistic basin analysis for economic mineral potential, isotopes in mineral exploration, and biogeochemical exploration, among others. In this paper, the business of mineral exploration is briefly described, and some examples of industry-academic collaboration innovations brought forward through Kurt's research are identified. Kurt was a masterful and capable knowledge broker, which is a key criterion for bringing new technologies to application—a grand, curious, credible, patient, and attentive communicator—whether talking about science, business, or life and with first ministers, senior technocrats, peers, board members, first nation peoples, exploration geologists, investors, students, citizens, or friends.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003329412097663
Author(s):  
Cristina Trentini ◽  
Renata Tambelli ◽  
Silvia Maiorani ◽  
Marco Lauriola

Empathy refers to the capacity to experience emotions similar to those observed or imagined in another person, with the full knowledge that the other person is the source of these emotions. Awareness of one's own emotional states is a prerequisite for self-other differentiation to develop. This study investigated gender differences in empathy during adolescence and tested whether emotional self-awareness explained these differences. Two-hundred-eleven adolescents (108 girls and 103 boys) between 14 and 19 years completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess empathy and emotional self-awareness, respectively. Overall, girls obtained higher scores than boys on IRI subscales like emotional concern, personal distress, and fantasy. Regarding emotional self-awareness, we found gender differences in TAS-20 scores, with girls reporting greater difficulty identifying feelings and less externally oriented thinking than boys. Difficulty identifying feelings explained the greatest personal distress experienced by girls. Lower externally oriented thinking accounted for girls’ greater emotional concern and fantasy. These findings offer an insight into the role of emotional self-awareness–which is essential for self-other differentiation–as an account for gender differences in empathic abilities during adolescence. In girls, difficulty identifying feelings can impair the ability to differentiate between ones’ and others’ emotions, leading them to experience self-focused and aversive responses when confronted with others’ suffering. Conversely, in boys, externally oriented thinking can mitigate personal distress when faced with others’ discomfort.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (S1) ◽  
pp. 36-37
Author(s):  
Pei Wang ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Peng Liu

IntroductionThe treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), a common hematological malignancy, remains a great challenge in China, partially due to the limited accessibility to novel agents and inadequate public health insurance coverage. Ixazomib, a novel oral proteasome inhibitor (PI), was approved by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) for RRMM in 2018. While bortezomib, a traditional PI, is the recommended agent in the clinical guideline for MM. Here, we compared their costs and effectiveness.MethodsRRMM patients who has received an ixazomib-based regimen (at least 2 cycles) were analyzed. Using a propensity score matching method, we generated a control group of RRMM patients who received the bortezomib-based regimen. The criteria included the number of treatment lines, age, and the revised international staging system stage (R-ISS) which representing the disease stage for myeloma, and paired at a ratio of 1:2 (allowing one control to match multiples). The difference in hospitalization stay, grade 3/4 adverse events rates, overall response rate (ORR), mortality during treatment, and treatment costs was then compared.ResultsNineteen patients received ixazomib and twenty-seven that received bortezomib were included. The ixazomib-group demonstrated a shorter hospital stay (9 days versus 27 days, p < 0.001), lower grade 3–4 adverse events rates (42.1% versus 55.6%, p < 0.001), higher ORR (63.2% versus 48.1%, p = 0.228), and lower mortality rate during treatment (0% versus 7.4%, p = 0.169) than that of bortezomib-group. The ixazomib group had lower total costs (127,620CNY versus 156,424CNY [18,033USD versus 22,103USD], p > 0.05), lower drug costs (98,376CNY versus 103,307CNY [13,901USD versus 14,598USD], p > 0.05), and the lower costs of supportive treatment (5,507CNY versus 14,701 CNY [778USD versus 2,077USD], p < 0.001). Only in terms of self-funded costs, the bortezomib-based regimen was significantly lower (37,127CNY versus 11,521CNY [5,246USD versus 1,628USD], p < 0.001).ConclusionsCompared with the bortezomib-based regimen, the ixazomib-based regimen has better therapeutic effects on MM patients while saving costs. Hence, it may be preferable for use in the treatment of RRMM in China.


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