The ancient, Present and Future Prospects of Tongue Manifestation

Tongue inspection with a long history is one of the most distinctive methods in diagnosis of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The emergence and improvement of tongue inspection theory is the crystallization of countless ancient medical doctors' wisdom. We should combine the theory of tongue inspection and modern technology and interchange TCM and western medicine, which is conducive to clinical research and promotes the objective development of tongue inspection, achieving the inheritance of TCM and creating TCM of our time. Keywords: tongue inspection; ancient; modern; future prospects

Tongue inspection

Background. Tongue inspection (TI) is important for diagnosis and prognosis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Tongue evalua­tion models vary among countries; however, no systematic protocol is in place. Objective. To propose a systematic protocol for TI to be used in neurology. Method. 1) A review of the books in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and of papers in English, Portuguese, Span­ish, and French retrieved from the databases Pubmed, Lilacs, and Cochrane Library using the following descriptors: tongue, diagnosis, prognosis, traditional Chinese medicine; 2) Selection of the major tongue characteristics; search for a tongue examination protocol, and search for descriptions of features related to prognostic assessment. Results. In total, 26 articles were selected; however, none of them provided information pertaining to the object of the present study, or the information was inaccurate and vague. The same occurred with the Western medicine books, as none of them outlined a protocol. A TCM-based TI protocol was prepared, comprising four levels of severity and complexity. Conclusion: A systematic TI protocol was created for use in integrative medicine (Western and Chinese medi­cine), eliminating the divergent points and simplifying the items to be assessed during tongue inspection.

Taenia solium cysticercosis in West Africa: status update

Cysticercosis is caused by the larvae of the cestode Taenia solium. Few data are available on the prevalence of this disease in pigs and humans in West African countries. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of existing data concerning the spread of this parasitosis in the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the basis of the literature published over the last five decades. Systematic searches for publications were carried out on PubMed and Google Scholar, as well as in certain regional and local journals. From a total of 501 articles initially retrieved concerning T. solium cysticercosis in West African countries, only 120 articles were relevant for this review and therefore finally retained. For pigs, only eight out of sixteen countries of the region have reported porcine cysticercosis. Post-mortem examination of carcasses at slaughterhouses, meat inspection at butcheries or tongue inspection in herds have been the main source of data, but may not entirely reflect actual parasite distribution. For humans, only five out of sixteen countries reported epidemiological data on neurocysticercosis. Most data referred to neurocysticercosis prevalence among epileptic patients or isolated clinical cases. Furthermore, existing data are often old. Overall, T. solium cysticercosis remains largely neglected in West Africa, and its prevalence appears not to be affected by any religion in particular. There is an urgent need to promote and implement health partnerships and programs on this disease in order to collect more data and identify sensitive populations in the countries of the ECOWAS area.