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The American Journal of Chinese Medicine 2013The constitution of traditional Chinese medicine was established in 1970s by Chinese scholars, in which the constitutions of Chinese people were classified into nine... (Review)
Review
The constitution of traditional Chinese medicine was established in 1970s by Chinese scholars, in which the constitutions of Chinese people were classified into nine types for study. The phlegm-dampness constitution is one of the nine constitutions and is the most common type in constitution study. Genomics studies found four upregulated genes: COPS8, GNPDA1, CD52 and ARPC3; and six downregulated genes: GSPT2, CACNB2, FLJ20584, UXS1, IL21R and TNPO in the phlegm-dampness constitution. Gene functional analyses on genes affecting the differences between the phlegm-dampness constitution and the balanced constitution indicated that people with phlegm-dampness constitution were susceptible to hyperlipemia and diabetes. Results of epidemiological surveys also revealed that people with phlegm-dampness constitution have a much higher risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and diabetes than people with a balanced constitution. Therefore, differentiation of phlegm-dampness constitution could be performed in the normal population with the Constitution of Chinese Medicine Scale to estimate the risks of those diseases for prediction. For people with phlegm-dampness constitution, Chinese medicine could be used to reduce risk of related diseases. Constitution-based strategies in disease prevention and treatment are consistent with the current proposed 4P medical mode (personalized, predictive, preventive and participatory). With the rising burden of global disease and increasing medical expenditure, the objectives of medicine are transforming from treatment to prevention. Thus, studies on the phlegm-dampness constitution of traditional Chinese medicine are significantly important for the prediction and prevention of related diseases and maintenance of human health.
Topics: Disease Susceptibility; Drug Therapy; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Genetics, Medical; Genomics; Humans; Medicine, Chinese Traditional
PubMed: 23548117
DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X13500183 -
Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao = Journal of... Jun 2011Based on years of ancient literature research and clinical experience, Professor Pin-kang Wei developed the phlegm theory of gastric cancer. In light of the properties... (Review)
Review
Based on years of ancient literature research and clinical experience, Professor Pin-kang Wei developed the phlegm theory of gastric cancer. In light of the properties of gastric cancer and the method of differentiating syndromes within the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) paradigm, it is believed that gastric cancer is closely related with phlegm. Much ancient literature regarding the relationship between phlegm and gastric cancer was reviewed to explain the rationale and academic inheritance of the phlegm theory. In this theory, gastric cancer is regarded as a form of phlegm stagnation and consists of phlegm core, phlegm collateral and phlegm contamination. In order to explain the mechanism of development, recurrence and metastasis of gastric cancer, phlegm contamination is regarded as the most fundamental cause and pathogenesis of gastric cancer. The therapy of resolving phlegm and dispersing nodules is suggested for the fundamental treatment of gastric cancer.
Topics: Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Stomach Neoplasms
PubMed: 21669159
DOI: 10.3736/jcim20110601 -
Biomolecules Feb 2021The gastrointestinal (GI) tract has an intriguing and critical role beyond digestion in both modern and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), as demonstrated by... (Review)
Review
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract has an intriguing and critical role beyond digestion in both modern and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), as demonstrated by its link with the immune system. In this review, we attempted to explore the interrelationships between increased GI permeability and phlegm, an important pathological factor in CAM, syndrome, and therapeutic herbs for two disorders. The leaky gut and phlegm syndromes look considerably similar with respect to related symptoms, diseases, and suitable herbal treatment agents, including phytochemicals even though limitations to compare exist. Phlegm may be spread throughout the body along with other pathogens via the disruption of the GI barrier to cause several diseases sharing some parts of symptoms, diseases, and mechanisms with leaky gut syndrome. Both syndromes are related to inflammation and gut microbiota compositions. Well-designed future research should be conducted to verify the interrelationships for evidence based integrative medicine to contribute to the promotion of public health. In addition, systems biology approaches should be adopted to explore the complex synergistic effects of herbal medicine and phytochemicals on conditions associated with phlegm and leaky gut syndromes.
Topics: Humans; Intestinal Diseases; Intestinal Mucosa; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Permeability; Phytochemicals; Plants, Medicinal
PubMed: 33671865
DOI: 10.3390/biom11020284 -
Evidence-based Complementary and... 2016This review paper summarized the current situation of studies on the essence of phlegm syndrome and relation between phlegm syndrome, diseases, and therapeutics based on... (Review)
Review
This review paper summarized the current situation of studies on the essence of phlegm syndrome and relation between phlegm syndrome, diseases, and therapeutics based on published English articles. In studies on the essence of phlegm syndrome, omic technologies were used to explore the molecular basis of phlegm syndrome; in studies on relation between phlegm syndrome and diseases, discovery of markers of phlegm syndrome in diseases becomes a hotspot; the distribution of phlegm syndromes in some common chronic diseases was found; in the therapy of phlegm syndrome, two therapeutic models, treatment with CM formula and treatment with a combination of CM formula and Western medicine, were used most frequently. It is certainly that using one omic technology is not able to deal with the complexity of phlegm syndrome and that the use of a combination of multiple omic methods will be a trend in future studies. Meanwhile, for rapidly increasing clinical research quality of phlegm syndrome, a series of agreed criteria, such as syndrome diagnostic criteria and efficacy criteria clinical studies of phlegm syndrome, needed to be established urgently, and there was an urgent need of standardizing syndrome names in English.
PubMed: 26981140
DOI: 10.1155/2016/6463270 -
Respiratory Care Jun 2009Although some clinicians still believe that cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is largely due to hypersecretion of very viscous mucus, it has never been demonstrated that... (Review)
Review
Although some clinicians still believe that cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease is largely due to hypersecretion of very viscous mucus, it has never been demonstrated that there is mucus hypersecretion in CF and it is clear that there is almost no intact mucin (the principal polymeric component of normal mucus) in CF sputum. CF sputum has lower viscosity when compared to asthma or bronchitis sputa, but is highly tenacious and biochemically most closely resembles pus. Tenacity and lower viscosity lead to decreased cough clearance of infected phlegm, which is thought to induce a persistent inflammatory state in the airway, leading to bronchiectasis. There are many medications and devices either in use or under development that are meant to improve airway hygiene in CF by assisting with sputum expectoration. This paper discusses the scientific basis and potential mechanism of action for many of these interventions and briefly reviews the clinical evidence of their safety and effectiveness.
Topics: Cystic Fibrosis; Disease Progression; Expectorants; Humans; Mucus; Respiratory Mucosa; Sputum
PubMed: 19467160
DOI: 10.4187/002013209790983269 -
Evidence-based Complementary and... 2015Phlegm is one of the most common patterns of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Chinese medicine. Our research was aimed at investigating the association between phlegm... (Review)
Review
Phlegm is one of the most common patterns of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Chinese medicine. Our research was aimed at investigating the association between phlegm syndrome of CAD and coronary angiography (CAG) by meta-analysis. According to inclusion criteria, a total of 30 studies involving 5,055 CAD patients were included. The meta-analysis showed that phlegm syndrome patients were prone to multivessel disease (28 studies, OR = 1.53, 95% CI, 1.24 to 1.88, P < 0.01) and higher Gensini score (2 studies, OR = 5.90, 95% CI, 1.86 to 9.94, P = 0.004), but not obviously relevant to severe stenosis (≥75%) of coronary arteries (13 studies, OR = 1.20, 95% CI, 0.63 to 2.27, P = 0.57). We concluded that the coronary arteries lesions of CAD patients with phlegm syndrome were more severe than those with nonphlegm syndromes. Phlegm syndrome should, therefore, be regarded as a dangerous pattern of CAD with worse prognosis.
PubMed: 26180535
DOI: 10.1155/2015/751743 -
Journal of Ethnopharmacology Apr 2024Many researchers have adopted resolving phlegm and unblocking fu-organs (RPUF) therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients and yielded beneficial results in terms... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
Many researchers have adopted resolving phlegm and unblocking fu-organs (RPUF) therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients and yielded beneficial results in terms of clinical symptoms. However, there has been no systematically pooled analysis of RPUF therapy for AIS to date. Therefore, a well-designed systematic review and meta-analysis is necessary.
AIM
This systematic review aims to determine the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy for resolving phlegm and unblocking fu-organs (RPUF) for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS).
METHODS
Eight databases were searched to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving RPUF therapy for AIS. The primary outcome included the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and the secondary outcomes were the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the Neurological Deficit Score (NDS), Barthel Index (BI), Fugel-Meyer assessment (FMA), and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions was used to assess risk of bias. The quantitative synthesis was analyzed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14.0 software.
RESULTS
The systematic review and meta-analysis comprised 61 RCTs with a total of 6056 participants. RPUF prescriptions combined with usual care were superior to usual care alone in individuals with AIS, as evidenced by decreased mRS (MD=-0.34; 95%CI [-0.65, -0.03]; P=0.03), NIHSS (MD=-3.38; 95%CI [-4.07, -2.68]; P<0.00001), and NDS (MD=-3.65; 95%CI [-4.07, -3.24]; P<0.00001), as well as improved BI (MD=10.4; 95%CI [8.21, 12.59]; P<0.00001), FMA (MD=20.41; 95%CI [17.40, 23.41]; P<0.00001), and GCS (MD=3.08; 95%CI [1.95, 4.20]; P<0.00001). No significant difference was observed in the incidence of adverse effects between the RPUF therapy group and the usual care group.
CONCLUSION
RPUF therapy appears to be an effective and safe approach for treating AIS; it could decrease mRS, NIHSS, and NDS while improving BI, FMA, and GCS. However, the methodological quality of the included RCTs was far from sufficient, and further high-quality, well-designed RCTs with long-term follow-up are still required.
Topics: Humans; Ischemic Stroke; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 38160868
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117660 -
Journal of Ethnopharmacology Aug 2015Cancer is considered to be the second leading cause of human death. It is unsatisfactory that in the past decades, the treatment for cancer has not progressed as fast as... (Review)
Review
ETHONOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
Cancer is considered to be the second leading cause of human death. It is unsatisfactory that in the past decades, the treatment for cancer has not progressed as fast as it was expected, as only 50% of newly diagnosed patients could be cured even today. The development of cancer is a multifactorial process, involving tumor cells themselves, the interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironments, as well as the interactions between tumor cells and the host's immunity. Focusing on any single goal may bring limited benefits.
AIM AND METHODS OF THE STUDY
Phlegm-eliminating herbs, which can reduce phlegm and eliminate pathological metabolites, are commonly used to treat cancer in China. However, the underlying molecular targets and efficacy of herbal medicines in cancer treatment still remain unclear. In this study, we reviewed the potential anticancer mechanisms of some phlegm-eliminating herbs and their active ingredients from the articles through such scientific databases as MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar.
RESULTS
We found that the anticancer mechanisms of phlegm-eliminating herbs and ingredients include inducing apoptosis, anti-proliferation, preventing tumor invasion and metastasis, and reducing resistance to chemotherapy. In addition, some phlegm-eliminating herbs and their ingredients have anti-inflammatory and anti-metabolic syndrome effects.
CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that the phlegm-eliminating herbs and ingredients are potential candidates for anticancer treatment and cancer prevention by playing a comprehensive role.
Topics: Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Ethnopharmacology; Humans; Metabolic Syndrome; Mucus; Phytotherapy
PubMed: 26038151
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2015.05.032 -
Zhongguo Zhen Jiu = Chinese Acupuncture... May 2022After reading the article, "": published in , the authors collected the original evidences also for the effect of Fenglong (ST 40) on phlegm disorders by tracing from...
After reading the article, "": published in , the authors collected the original evidences also for the effect of Fenglong (ST 40) on phlegm disorders by tracing from 9 ancient books of acupuncture and moxibustion, explored the standardized expressions of its indications and analyzed the changes of its indications. In that article, it was viewed that the effect of Fenglong (ST 40) started to be generalized in treatment of phlegm disorders since the Ming Dynasty. On contrary, we believes that Fenglong (ST 40) works on strengthening the spleen and resolving dampness for the disorders caused by the broad meaning of "phlegm/damp". Based on it, since the Ming Dynasty, the effect of Fenglong (ST 40) is extended specifically for the disorders caused by the visible sputum from the lung, the narrowing mean of "phlegm". Hence, if "Fenglong (ST 40) for phlegm" is considered as an academic point of view, it needs an adequate evidences to expound and prove.
Topics: Acupuncture; Acupuncture Points; Acupuncture Therapy; Moxibustion; Mucus
PubMed: 35543950
DOI: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.20210520-0007 -
European Journal of Internal Medicine Sep 2023
Topics: Humans; Male; Respiratory System; Sputum
PubMed: 37173193
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejim.2023.04.027