Abnormal gastroscopy findings were related to lower meridian energy

The Effectiveness of a Traditional Chinese Medicine-Based Mobile Health App for Individuals With Prediabetes: Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theories assert that body constitution and meridian energy lay the foundation for disease prevention. TCM-based health concepts have not yet been incorporated into mobile health (mHealth) apps for individuals with prediabetes.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a TCM mHealth app for individuals with prediabetes.

METHODS

This randomized controlled trial recruited 121 individuals with prediabetes at a teaching hospital in New Taipei City between February 2020 and May 2021. The participants were randomly assigned to the TCM mHealth app group (n=42), ordinary mHealth app group (n=41), or control group (n=38). All participants received the usual care that included 15-20 minutes of health education about the disease, along with healthy diet and exercise encouragement. The ordinary mHealth app included physical activity (PA), diet, and disease education, along with individual records. The TCM mHealth app additionally included qi and body constitution information, along with constitution-based PA and diet advice. The control group received the usual care alone and did not have access to any app. Data were collected at baseline, at the end of the 12-week intervention, and 1 month after the intervention. Body constitution, including yang-deficiency, yin-deficiency, and phlegm-stasis, was measured according to the Body Constitution Questionnaire, with higher scores indicating a greater deficiency. Body energy was examined using the Meridian Energy Analysis Device. The Short-Form 36 questionnaire was used to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL), which yielded physical component scores and mental component scores, with higher scores indicating better physical and mental aspects of HRQOL, respectively.

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, the TCM mHealth app group showed greater improvement in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), yang-deficiency and phlegm-stasis body constitution, and BMI; however, no significant differences were found in these outcomes between the TCM mHealth app and ordinary mHealth app groups. The TCM mHealth app group showed better improvement in body energy and mental component scores than the ordinary mHealth app group. There were no significant differences in fasting plasma glucose, yin-deficiency body constitution, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension dietary behavior, and total PA among the three groups after the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of either the ordinary or TCM mHealth app improved HRQOL among individuals with prediabetes. Compared to the outcomes of controls not using any app, use of the TCM mHealth app was effective at improving HbA1c, BMI, yang-deficiency and phlegm-stasis body constitution, and HRQOL. Moreover, using the TCM mHealth app seemed to improve the body energy and HRQOL more than when using the ordinary mHealth app. Further studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up period may be necessary to determine whether the differences favoring the TCM app are clinically meaningful.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04096989; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04096989.

Determination of the functional state of the body using non-traditional research methods when performing the static exercise: "Prone press ups, static top position" (Cobra)

Material and methods. Investigation of the effect of the selected static exercise was performed using the method of determining the electrical conductivity of representative points of the human body. Ten female students of 18-20 years who perfectly mastered the technique of performing the exercise were surveyed. The measurements were performed during, after and after 6 minutes. Results. Significant changes in indicators of electrical activity in representative points of the human body were revealed. Selected static exercise has a significant impact on the functional state of the person: according to Chinese folk medicine, stimulates the body points corresponding to the acupuncture meridians according to the classification of Chinese medicine cardiovascular, lymphatic and immune systems, colon and submucosa, mucosa spleen, small intestine. Conclusions. During the study of the effect of static exercise, it was found that the increase of electrical activity of the human body points, which, according to the literature, are responsible for the functions of the respiratory, cardiovascular, lymphatic and immune systems, the large intestine. This exercise also causes a decrease in electrical activity at representative points of the liver, stomach, and inhibits the activity of the small intestine, spleen, and pancreas. It is possible to propose the use of methods for determining the activity of human body points for the study of the influence of static exercises on the human body, along with other generally accepted scientific methods.

Application of Meridian Electrical Conductance in the Setting of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Cross-Sectional Study

Acupuncture is widely used for improving poststroke care. Knowing the condition of meridian can help traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctors make a tailored choice of acupoints for every patient. The establishment of an objective meridian energy measurement for acute ischemic stroke that can be used for future acupuncture treatment and research is an important area in stroke-assisted therapy. In this study, a total of 102 subjects diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke within 7 days of onset were recruited, and the meridian energy analysis device (MEAD) was used to record the meridian electrical conductance (MEC) values of twelve meridians on unaffected and affected limbs. We found that the MEC value of the twelve meridians on the affected limbs was significantly higher than that on the unaffected limbs (P=0.001). Compared with the unaffected limbs, there was a higher value of MEC on the affected limbs of the lung meridian, heart meridian, pericardium meridian, and small intestine meridian, with significant differences (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.05, respectively). Further analysis revealed that the MEC values of both Yin and Yang meridians of the affected limbs were significantly higher than those of the unaffected limbs (P=0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively). Meanwhile, the mean of the index of sympathovagal balance in patients with acute ischemic stroke (5.49 ± 4.21) was higher than the normal range (1–1.5), indicating autonomic imbalance. The results of this study are consistent with TCM theory as well as clinical observation and pathological mechanisms, suggesting that the measurement of MEC values may be used as a supplementary diagnostic method for acupuncture in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

The Development and Application Evaluation of Meridian Energy Detection System in Traditional Oriental Medicine: A Preliminary Study

As technology advances, more modern medical devices are developed to help the physicians in performing objective assessment and diagnosis. In this study, our main objective was to evaluate the clinical application of the low voltage Meridian Energy Detection System in assessing the electrodermal activity (EDA) of the specific acupoints in a specific age group of healthy individuals and to assess the difference in the energy overview between the genders and specific time of assessment. 43 young healthy adults were recruited in a single group, nonrandomized, evaluation study. Written informed consent of each participant was obtained prior to the assessments. Results on energy overview between genders and specific time of assessment as well as factors influencing EDA were discussed. It was concluded that the study using Meridian Energy Detection System in healthy individuals provided an understanding of the difference in energy level of the meridians between the genders. Male healthy individuals had significantly higher values for Physical Status as well as Yin and Yang energy while female healthy individuals had significantly higher values for Mental Health and Autonomic Nervous System. There was no significant difference when comparing the assessments at the specific time of assessment. Hence there was no specific time in using the device. However, due to the limitation of the sample size and the healthy subjects, future research can be designed to investigate whether the time of assessment can affect the results in individuals with specific disease conditions in larger scale. It may merit further studies on the application of such device as preliminary diagnosis of the overall conditions and investigate the treatment efficacy by observing the change in the meridian energy level.

Therapeutic efficacy of Traditional Chinese medicine, "Kuan-Sin-Yin", in patients undergoing chemotherapy for advanced colon cancer - A controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used increasingly as complementary medicine in cancer care. Kuan-Sin-Yin (KSY) is a TCM decoction containing seven herbs known to cause immunomodulation or anticancer activity, and which are associated with the TCM concept of Qi and energy supply. Kuan-Sin-Yin has cytostatic effects on cancer cells in animal models.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of improvement in meridian energy and heart-rate variability (HRV) and to assess whether these observations are compatible with TCM theory.

METHOD

A non-randomized controlled trial was designed with monitoring of the meridian electro-conductivity and heart-rate variability (HRV) to compare the efficacy of Kuan-Sin-Yin in the control and experimental groups. 52 patients were enrolled in this study. We also measured cancer-related symptoms and quality of life as secondary outcomes.

RESULTS

We found that colon cancer patients who received KSY as complementary therapy benefitted with enhancement of meridian energy (Yin meridian: 27.90:35.45μA; p=0.014; Yang meridian: 27.09:33.55μA; p=0.024) and increases in HRV activity (78.40:129.04ms; SDNN: p=0.001) and parasympathetic tone(HF:1644.80:3217.92 ms²; p=0.003; RMMSD:99.76:164.52ms; p=0.002). Cancer-related symptoms decreased (ECOG>1:46.2:7.7%; p=0.0001), and quality of life (KSY group: PCS 35.46:42.12, p=0.0001; MCS: 44.50:47.55, p=0.209) was improved with statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

The correlation of positive results reflected in meridian energy and HRV activity confirms the positive role of complementary medicine of Kuan-Sin-Yin in cancer care.

System for simultaneous measurements of bilaterally symmetrical acupoints multifrequency impedances

Devices which can obtain comparable bilaterally symmetrical acupoints (BSA) multifrequency impedances (MFI) are often needed in the detection of the energy balance states of acupoints in traditional Chinese medicine. To satisfy these needs, a two-channel impedance measurement system has been introduced which is capable of accurately and simultaneously measuring BSA MFI. The system includes a set of five electrodes, two of which are injected with exciting current signal to synchronously and equally excite BSA; the other three electrodes are used as sensors to simultaneously sense the response signal from both sides. The system also includes a PC-based time-domain signal testing platform with arbitrary current waveform generation and three channels (one exciting current and two response voltages) simultaneously sampling, and a set of MFI simultaneously unbiased computing algorithms based on special odd multisine current signal input. Preliminary validating experiments suggest that the system allows accurate and synchronous measurement of BSA MFI at least in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 60 kHz, and the obtained BSA MFI are well comparable.

Wave-induced flow in meridians demonstrated using photoluminescent bioceramic material on acupuncture points

The mechanisms of acupuncture remain poorly understood, but it is generally assumed that measuring the electrical conductivity at various meridians provides data representing various meridian energies. In the past, noninvasive methods have been used to stimulate the acupuncture points at meridians, such as heat, electricity, magnets, and lasers. Photoluminescent bioceramic (PLB) material has been proven to weaken hydrogen bonds and alter the characteristics of liquid water. In this study, we applied the noninvasive PLB technique to acupuncture point irradiation, attempting to detect its effects by using electrical conductivity measurements. We reviewed relevant literature, searching for information on meridians including their wave-induced flow characteristics.