American Journal Of Chinese Medicine Research Articles

Global trends and performances of infrared imaging technology studies on acupuncture: a bibliometric analysis.

To summarize development processes and research hotspots of infrared imaging technology research on acupuncture and to provide new insights for researchers in future studies. Publications regarding infrared imaging technology in acupuncture from 2008 to 2023 were downloaded from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). VOSviewer 1.6.19, CiteSpace 6.2.R4, Scimago Graphica, and Microsoft Excel software were used for bibliometric analyses. The main analyses include collaboration analyses between countries, institutions, authors, and journals, as well as analyses on keywords and references. A total of 346 publications were retrieved from 2008 to 2023. The quantity of yearly publications increased steadily, with some fluctuations over the past 15 years. "Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine" and "American Journal of Chinese Medicine" were the top-cited journals in frequency and centrality. China has the largest number of publications, with the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine being the most prolific institution. Among authors, Litscher Gerhard from Austria (currently Swiss University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Switzerland) in Europe, was the most published and most cited author. The article published by Rojas RF was the most discussed among the cited references. Common keywords included "Acupuncture," "Near infrared spectroscopy," and "Temperature," among others. Explore the relationship between acupoints and temperature through infrared thermography technology (IRT), evaluate pain objectively by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and explore acupuncture for functional connectivity between brain regions were the hotspots and frontier trends in this field. This study is the first to use bibliometric methods to explore the hotspots and cutting-edge issues in the application of infrared imaging technology in the field of acupuncture. It offers a fresh perspective on infrared imaging technology research on acupuncture and gives scholars useful data to determine the field's hotspots, present state of affairs, and frontier trends.

The Potential of Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds in the Fight Against COVID-19

The Potential of Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds in the Fight Against COVID-19

Hypolipidemic effect of ethanol extract from Mesona chinensis Benth. in high fat diet-induced obesity mice

Hypolipidemic effect of ethanol extract from Mesona chinensis Benth. in high fat diet-induced obesity mice

Trends in Scientific Publications of Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important component of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The fast economic growth of mainland China in the past two decades has promoted the use of TCM beyond Chinese-speaking countries. Chinese researchers have published more TCM research studies in CAM-related professional journals, including the American Journal of Chinese Medicine (AJCM), the highest impact journal in Chinese medicine. The consistent increase of the impact factor of the AJCM suggests a growth in TCM popularity. This study analyzed articles published in the AJCM between 2004 and 2011. Our data show that while enthusiasm towards cardiovascular, nervous system and inflammation related research remained high, more herbal investigations and cancer studies were published. Furthermore, a reduction in TCM formulation studies was replaced by increasing botanical single constituent research. Examples of frequently cited studies, including those before 2004, are presented. These data are not only important to the scientific community for recognition of trends in TCM research, but also for providing information to TCM researchers who are targeting potentially highly cited studies.

Scientific Publications from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in Integrative and Complementary Medicine Journals: A Ten-Year Literature Survey

Practitioners and researchers from China, the largest user of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), have been publishing an increasing number of scientific articles in world-famous CAM journals in recent years. However, the status of CAM research in the three major regions of China, the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong has, until now, not been reported. In this study, we compared articles from these three regions published in international CAM journals from 2000 to 2009 using PubMed database and the Journal Citation Reports. The study results showed that the number of published articles from Mainland China increased significantly from 2000 to 2009, particularly since 2005. Meanwhile, the number of published articles from Taiwan also increased, whereas those from Hong Kong remained steady. Clinical trials and randomized controlled trials from Chinese authors both took a small percentage of the total. The impact factors of the journals in which these articles were published suggested similar academic levels whereas the average number of citation of articles from the Mainland was less than those from the other two regions. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, American Journal of Chinese Medicine, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine were the most popular journals for Chinese authors.

Battlefield Acupuncture

Battlefield Acupuncture

Evaluating the performance of sponsored Chinese herbal medicine research

Chinese herbal medicine has recently become a hot research field internationally; an increasing number of pharmaceutical researchers and scientists have dedicated themselves to such research work. Based on papers in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine from 2002 to 2004, 60% of papers published in the journal were sponsored by different institutions in the authors’ countries. This fact indicates that researchers receive sponsorship for their work, and sponsors should pay more attention on the control of the researchers to use financial support more efficiency. This study applied Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP to evaluating the performance of sponsored Chinese herbal medicine research, and this method can help sponsors weight evaluation elements without having to change the system of every category of research. To explain the process and application of AHP, a Taiwanese case study is presented. The analytical results presented in this study, provide a reference for institutes supporting research on Chinese Herbal Medicine.

Commentary — The Proteomics: A New Tool for Chinese Medicine Research

Proteomics technology is based on the vast analytical power for protein/peptide identification and quantification offered by modern mass spectrometry coupled with hyphenated separation techniques such as two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and micro- or nano-scale multidimensional liquid chromatography. The rapid growth of proteomics field provides an array of new tools for the integration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with modern technology and systems biology, and is potentially advancing the progress of modernization and internationalization of TCM. Cho, in this issue of the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, highlights the recent application of 2DE-based and bottom-up proteomics in Chinese medicine research, including the exploration of pharmacological mechanisms of the actions of TCM, the facilitation of herb authentication and identification, and the profiling of protein expression following acupuncture treatment in animal models. Recent development in proteomics has provided further refinement on the analysis of proteins posttranslational modifications as well as quantitative comparison of different proteomes, and enabled the study of proteomes of specific diseases or biological processes under clinically relevant conditions. It is conceivable that the application of technologies developed in proteomics, genomics and metabonomics in the clinical practice and basic research of Chinese medicine will eventually lead to the reconciliation and integration of TCM and contemporary medicine. Chinese medicine is fundamentally a highly personalized medicine; perhaps it is time to embrace the arrival of TCM OMICS era in Chinese medicine research.

COX-2, Another Important Player in the Nitric Oxide–Endothelin Cross-Talk

See related article, pages 1439–1445 Traditionally, the role of the endothelium was thought to be primarily that of a selective barrier to the diffusion of macromolecules from the vessel lumen to the interstitial space. During the past 20 years, numerous additional roles for the endothelium have been defined such as regulation of vascular tone, modulation of inflammation, promotion as well as inhibition of vascular growth, and modulation of platelet aggregation and coagulation. Endothelial dysfunction is a characteristic feature of patients with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic smoking. More recent studies indicate that it may predict long-term atherosclerotic disease progression as well as cardiovascular event rate.1 There is a growing body of evidence that decreased endothelial bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO·) in particular attributable to increased production of reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide (O2·−), leads to an activation of the renin–angiotensin system,2,3 increased formation of cyclooxygenase (COX)-dependent vasoconstrictors,4 but also to increased expression of the most potent endogenous vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 (ET-1).5–9 Of the 4 active endothelins (ET-1 to ET-4) ET-1 is the predominant isoform in the cardiovascular system. ET-1 exerts its major cardiovascular effects through activation of 2 distinct G protein–coupled receptors, the ETA and ETB receptors. ETA receptors are found exclusively in smooth muscle cells. Endothelin-1 promotes vasoconstriction, mitogenesis, and thrombosis predominantly via binding to the ETA receptor. ETB receptors are localized to some extent in smooth muscle cells, but also in endothelial cells. Activation of ETB receptors has been demonstrated to cause the release of NO· and prostacyclin (PGI2).10,11 In normal states with p reserved vascular (endothelial) NO …

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Back to Basics

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary MedicineVol. 12, No. 4 EditorialsEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Back to BasicsRichard Hammerschlag and Heather ZwickeyRichard HammerschlagSearch for more papers by this author and Heather ZwickeySearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:24 May 2006https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2006.12.349AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail "Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Back to Basics." , 12(4), pp. 349–350FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited ByPoultry eggshell-derived antimicrobial materials: Current status and future perspectivesJournal of Environmental Management, Vol. 314Inter-Rater Agreement of Biofield Tuning: Testing a Novel Health Assessment Procedure Richard Hammerschlag, Eileen D. McKusick, Namuun Bat, David J. Muehsam, James McNames, and Shamini Jain8 October 2020 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 26, No. 10 Acupuncture versus Various Control Treatments in the Treatment of Migraine: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials from the Past 10 Years 1 August 2020 | Journal of Pain Research, Vol. Volume 13Effects of Electroacupuncture for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 2016Der Blick über den Tellerrand – Fünf mutige Beispiele10 March 2015A Clinical Study of Integrating Acupuncture and Western Medicine in Treating Patients with Parkinson's DiseaseThe American Journal of Chinese Medicine, Vol. 43, No. 03Should systematic reviews assess the risk of bias from sham–placebo acupuncture control procedures?European Journal of Integrative Medicine, Vol. 6, No. 2Acupuncture Pain Research: Quantitative and Qualitative11 September 2013Traditional Korean medicine practitioners’ attitudes toward evidence based medicine: A qualitative studyEuropean Journal of Integrative Medicine, Vol. 4, No. 4Acupuncture and the Emerging Evidence Base: Contrived Controversy and Rational DebateJournal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 4Acupuncture for the Trauma Spectrum Response: Scientific Foundations, Challenges to Implementation20 December 2011 | Medical Acupuncture, Vol. 23, No. 4Effects of GV20 Acupuncture on Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity of Middle Cerebral Artery and Anterior Cerebral Artery Territories, and CO2 Reactivity During Hypocapnia in Normal Subjects20 March 2011 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 17, No. 3Paradoxes in Acupuncture Research: Strategies for Moving ForwardEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 2011Der Blick über den Tellerrand ‒ Fünf mutige BeispieleMainstreaming Acupuncture: Barriers and Solutions23 July 2010 | Complementary health practice review, Vol. 15, No. 1Time-variant fMRI activity in the brainstem and higher structures in response to acupunctureNeuroImage, Vol. 47, No. 1Developments in Acupuncture Research: Big-Picture Perspectives from the Leading Edge21 September 2008 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 14, No. 7Acupuncture modulates resting state connectivity in default and sensorimotor brain networksPain, Vol. 136, No. 3Evidence overviews: the role of systematic reviews and meta-analysesPhysiological dynamics of acupuncture: correlations and mechanismsNeuroimaging Acupuncture Effects in the Human Brain25 August 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 6The Importance of Early Phase Research28 May 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 4Acupuncture in an Outpatient Clinic in Fortaleza, Brazil: Patients' Characteristics and Prevailing Main Complaints4 May 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3Auriculotherapy with Magnetic Pellets Produces Longitudinal Changes in Sleep Patterns of Elderly Patients with Insomnia4 May 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3Image Cycling for Hands-on Healers4 May 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3Clinicians' Attitudes and Usage of Complementary and Alternative Integrative Medicine: A Survey at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institute4 May 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3Challenges of Integrating CAM and Biomedicine27 March 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3Controversies In Acupuncture Research: Selection of Controls and Outcome Measures In Acupuncture Clinical Trials9 January 2007 | The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 12, No. 10Neuroimaging for the Evaluation of CAM MechanismsDer Blick über den Tellerrand — Fünf mutige Beispiele Volume 12Issue 4May 2006 InformationCopyright 2006, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:Richard Hammerschlag and Heather Zwickey.Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Back to Basics.The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.May 2006.349-350.http://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2006.12.349Published in Volume: 12 Issue 4: May 24, 2006PDF download

GATA4 and the Two Sides of Gene Expression Reprogramming

See related article, pages 837–845 During embryonic development as well as in postnatal life, cardiac cells are continuously exposed to a host of extracellular signals to which they adapt and respond by activating intracellular signaling pathways and modulating the expression of nuclear genes. In the adult heart, the most common and easily recognized response to stressful stimuli is hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes and remodeling of the entire organ.1 This reactive growth response requires de novo synthesis of contractile and structural proteins, obtained through a complex series of events culminating in gene expression reprogramming.2 GATA4 is a zinc-finger transcription factor highly expressed in cardiomyocytes at different developmental stages where it regulates the transcription of several structural and regulatory genes, including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), α- and β-myosin heavy chain (MHC).3 In human hearts, GATA4 has also been demonstrated to be a critical regulator of cardiac development, as shown by the association between GATA4 mutations and the presence of congenital cardiac malformations.4 The specific effects of GATA4 deletion during embryonic age have been extensively investigated in genetically modified mouse models.5–7 Mice homozygous for a GATA4 null allele6 or homozygous GATA4-deficient mice (GATA4−/−)5 die early in development because of abnormal …

Cardioprotective Properties of Fibrates

Several large intervention trials have investigated the potential of fibrates to reduce cardiovascular events. The results have varied widely: positive, with gemfibrozil in the primary prevention Helsinki Heart Study (HHS)1 and the secondary prevention Veterans Administration High Density Lipoprotein Intervention Trial (VA-HIT)2; positive, with reservations related to an increase in noncardiovascular mortality in the primary prevention World Health Organization trial (clofibrate)3; and mixed, with bezafibrate in the secondary prevention Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention (BIP) study4 and with fenofibrate in the combined primary and secondary prevention FIELD study,5 in which positive outcomes were observed only in certain subgroups. Reasons for the differences between the outcomes of these studies are not immediately apparent. Article p 1556 It emerged in post hoc subgroup analyses of the HHS,6 VA-HIT,7 and BIP8 data that fibrate-induced reductions in cardiovascular events were especially great (of the order of 30% to 50%) in subjects with evidence of insulin resistance or other features of the metabolic syndrome, such as dyslipidemia and increased body weight. However, this finding was not replicated with fenofibrate in the FIELD study.5 In another post hoc analysis of VA-HIT, it was found that diabetics with preexisting cardiovascular disease derived a major reduction in future events when treated with gemfibrozil,7 but again, this was not confirmed with fenofibrate in FIELD.5 The observation that the cardioprotective effects of gemfibrozil in the HHS and VA-HIT studies were substantially greater than those found with other fibrates in the World Health Organization, BIP, and FIELD studies may reflect no more than the play of chance. It may also reflect differences in the populations studied in the trials. However, it is possible that gemfibrozil has protective properties that are lacking in other fibrates or that other fibrates have adverse …

The Heme Oxygenase System: Update 2005

The Heme Oxygenase System: Update 2005

Obesity

Obesity

Gangliosides for acute ischemic stroke.

Section Editor: Graeme J. Hankey MBBS, MD ### Background Gangliosides may have a protective effect on the central and peripheral nervous systems. ### Objectives The objective of this review was to assess the effect of exogenous gangliosides in acute ischemic stroke. ### Search Strategy We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group trials register (last searched May 2001) and contacted drug companies and main investigators of included trials. ### Selection Criteria Randomized trials of gangliosides compared with …

What's in a name? A systematic review of the nomenclature of Chinese medical formulae.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been modified to some extent in other Far Eastern countries such as Korea and Japan. Researchers of each of the three countries seem to use different English names for the same Chinese medicinal formulae. Lack of knowledge of the Chinese characters is destined to increase this confusion. In order to investigate this matter systematically, all investigations of Chinese medicine formulae published in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine (AJCM, 1997-March 2001) were evaluated. Moreover, PubMed (1966-June 2001) was searched using keywords differentiated by language, location and number of hyphens, and upper-or lower-case of the first letter of the English equivalent of each Chinese character. Fifty-four formulae of TCM were identified in 45 reports published in AJCM. Thirty-two were named in Chinese only (23 reports); six in Japanese (six reports); and five in Korean (five reports). Ten formulae were named in Japanese with the Chinese name in brackets (ten reports); and one in Chinese with the Japanese name in brackets (one report). By computerized literature search, different numbers of research papers were retrieved by using keywords differentiated by language, location and number of hyphens. Such confusion may prevent progress in the evaluation of TCM. To increase the efficiency of studies on Chinese medical formulae, standardization of terminology is required.

Editorial: "The American Journal of Chinese Medicine: Perspectives for the 21st Century"

Editorial: "The American Journal of Chinese Medicine: Perspectives for the 21st Century"

Index to Volume 28, Nos. 1–4, 2000 The American Journal of Chinese Medicine

Index to Volume 28, Nos. 1–4, 2000 The American Journal of Chinese Medicine

A short history of acupuncture.

A short history of acupuncture.

Neutrophil signal transduction and activation of the respiratory burst

Neutrophil signal transduction and activation of the respiratory burst