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Clinical research

Edited by Holger Cramer, Jianping Liu and Karen Pilkington

This section covers research reporting clinical applications of interventions or resources in the complementary medicine field, including the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of the therapies, clinical trials and systematic reviews/meta-analysis.

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  1. Elderberry has traditionally been used to prevent and treat respiratory problems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been interest in elderberry supplements to treat or prevent illness, but also concern t...

    Authors: L. Susan Wieland, Vanessa Piechotta, Termeh Feinberg, Emilie Ludeman, Brian Hutton, Salmaan Kanji, Dugald Seely and Chantelle Garritty

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:112

    Content type: Research article

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  2. Total glucosides of paeony (TGP), an active compound extracted from the roots of Paeonia lactiflora Pallas, has been increasingly used as the adjunctive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Though TGP ...

    Authors: Bin Liu, Xiang Meng, Yanfang Ma, Huizhen Li, Yuqi Liu, Nannan Shi, Yaolong Chen, Yanping Wang and Cheng Lu

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:102

    Content type: Research article

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  3. Chinese eye acupuncture, focuses on treating different diseases by applying needle stimulation around the orbit of the eye. Since 1970, it has been used in China for the management of pain-related disorders. T...

    Authors: Yuan Chi, Jürgen Barth, Mei Wang, Nicola Robinson, Zan-Hua Li and Jian-Ping Liu

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:101

    Content type: Research article

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  4. Complementary and alternative medicine use among Americans is prevalent. Originating in India, Ayurvedic medicine use in the United States has grown 57% since 2002. CAM accounts for a significant proportion of...

    Authors: Christopher M. Karousatos, Justin K. Lee, David R. Braxton and Tse-Ling Fong

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:91

    Content type: Case report

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  5. Anal fissure is a common complication of the anorectal region and one of the most reported causes of anal pain. Acute anal fissure can be cured by surgery or medical treatment. There is an increase in the use ...

    Authors: Mohamad Hadi El Charif, Samer Doughan, Rawya Kredly, Sara Kassas, Rayan Azab and Eman Sbaity

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:75

    Content type: Study protocol

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  6. Atractylodes lancea (Thunb) DC. (AL) and bioactive compounds β-eudesmol and atractylodin have been demonstrated in the in vitro and in vivo studies for their potential clinical use in cholangiocarcinoma. The stud...

    Authors: Inthuon Kulma, Luxsana Panrit, Tullayakorn Plengsuriyakarn, Wanna Chaijaroenkul, Siriprapa Warathumpitak and Kesara Na-Bangchang

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:61

    Content type: Research article

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  7. Childbearing women have been using various herbs to assist with pregnancy, labour and birth for centuries. One of the most common is raspberry leaf. The evidence base for the use of raspberry leaf is however u...

    Authors: Rebekah Bowman, Jan Taylor, Sally Muggleton and Deborah Davis

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:56

    Content type: Research article

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  8. Sleep disorders encompass a wide range of conditions which affect the quality and quantity of sleep, with insomnia being a specific type of sleep disorder of focus in this review. Complementary and alternative...

    Authors: Jeremy Y. Ng and Nandana D. Parakh

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:54

    Content type: Research article

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  9. Pelargonium sidoides DC (Geraniaceae) root extract, EPs®7630 or “Kaloba®”, is a widely used herbal remedy for respiratory infections, with some evidence of effectiveness for acute bronchitis. However, it is not y...

    Authors: Merlin Willcox, Catherine Simpson, Sam Wilding, Beth Stuart, Dia Soilemezi, Amy Whitehead, Alannah Morgan, Emma Wrixon, Shihua Zhu, Guiqing Yao, Fran Webley, Ruiyang Yan, Jennifer Bostock, Margaret Bell, Gareth Griffiths, Geraldine Leydon…

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:48

    Content type: Research article

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  10. There is preliminary evidence to suggest curcumin can alleviate digestive symptoms in adults with self-reported digestive complaints and irritable bowel syndrome. However, in all these trials, curcumin was use...

    Authors: Adrian L. Lopresti, Stephen J. Smith, Alethea Rea and Shavon Michel

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:40

    Content type: Research article

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  11. Inflammation is the main key role in developing chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis, and neurodegenerative diseases which possess a huge challenge for treatment. Wit...

    Authors: Yazan Ranneh, Abdah Md Akim, Hasiah Ab. Hamid, Huzwah Khazaai, Abdulmannan Fadel, Zainul Amiruddin Zakaria, Mohammed Albujja and Mohd Fadzelly Abu Bakar

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:30

    Content type: Review

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  12. Little is known about factors associated with a clinically relevant reduction in menopausal symptoms through a brief acupuncture approach for women with moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms.

    Authors: Frans Boch Waldorff, Christine Winther Bang, Volkert Siersma, John Brodersen and Kamma Sundgaard Lund

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:29

    Content type: Research article

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  13. Wrist-ankle acupuncture (WAA) as a kind of micro acupuncture therapy has been used to management cancer pain, however, the effects of WAA on cancer pain were controversial in the current studies. Therefore, th...

    Authors: Bei Dong, Lu Lin, Qiuyun Chen, Yishu Qi, Fen Wang, Keyan Qian and Li Tian

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:24

    Content type: Research article

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  14. Evidence showed that Tai Chi may have beneficial effects among hypertensive individuals, although the results are not convincing. We aim to conduct a high-quality clinical trial with 24-h BP measurement to pro...

    Authors: Yuxi Li, Dongling Zhong, Chao Dong, Lihong Shi, Yaling Zheng, Yongguo Liu, Qiaoqin Li, Hui Zheng, Juan Li, Tianyu Liu and Rongjiang Jin

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:23

    Content type: Study protocol

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  15. The traditional Chinese medicine formula Si-Jun-Zi-Tang (SJZT) has a long history of application in the treatment of functional dyspepsia (non-ulcer dyspepsia, FD)-like symptoms. SJZT-based therapies have been cl...

    Authors: Yaping Wang, Bin Liu, Xiuqiong Fu, Tiejun Tong and Zhiling Yu

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:11

    Content type: Research article

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  16. The benefits of qigong for systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) reduction have been noted in previously published systematic reviews; however, the data on its effectiveness has been at best scarce. We ai...

    Authors: Siew Mooi Ching, Naidu Ragubathi Mokshashri, Maharajan Mari Kannan, Kai Wei Lee, Nurin Amalina Sallahuddin, Jun Xun Ng, Jie Lin Wong, Navin Kumar Devaraj, Fan Kee Hoo, Yee Shen Loo and Sajesh K. Veettil

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:8

    Content type: Research article

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  17. Stroke causes lasting brain damage that has numerous impacts on the survivor’s physical, psychosocial, and spiritual well-being. Young survivors (< 65 years old) tend to suffer more because of their longer ove...

    Authors: Caitlin Kar Pui Chan, Temmy Lee Ting Lo, Adrian Ho Yin Wan, Pamela Pui Yu Leung, Marco Yiu Chung Pang and Rainbow Tin Hung Ho

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:7

    Content type: Study protocol

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  18. Correspondence from Yu et al. identify methodological issues with the systematic review of manual therapy for pediatric manuscript. Like any research study, limitations are important for readers to keep in con...

    Authors: Katherine A. Pohlman, Kristian Anderson, Beth Carleo and Brian Gleberzon

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:5

    Content type: Correspondence

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    The original article was published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:4

  19. Prevost et al. published a systematic review evaluating the use of manual therapy for clinical conditions in the pediatric population in 2019. However, several methodological flaws in the conduct of the review...

    Authors: Hainan Yu, Heather Shearer, Anne Taylor-Vaisey, Silvano Mior, Leslie Verville, Gaelan Connell and Pierre Côté

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:4

    Content type: Correspondence

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    The Correspondence to this article has been published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2021 21:5

  20. The aim of the trial was to investigate the effect of a hypnotherapeutic group program in healthy persons with increased levels of perceived stress.

    Authors: Silvia Fisch, Suzana Trivaković-Thiel, Stephanie Roll, Theresa Keller, Sylvia Binting, Margit Cree, Benno Brinkhaus and Michael Teut

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:344

    Content type: Research article

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  21. Saffron (stigma of Crocus sativus L.) from Iridaceae family is a well-known traditional herbal medicine that has been used for hundreds of years to treat several diseases such as depressive mood, cancer and cardi...

    Authors: Zahra Ayati, Guoyan Yang, Mohammad Hossein Ayati, Seyed Ahmad Emami and Dennis Chang

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:333

    Content type: Research article

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  22. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a mucocutaneous autoimmune disease with T-cell mediation. Corticosteroids are considered as a first choice in OLP and should be used for a long period with a subsequent increase in ...

    Authors: Seyed Javad Kia, Maryam Basirat, Tahereh Mortezaie and Mahdieh-Sadat Moosavi

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:328

    Content type: Research article

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  23. Persicaria minor extract exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and has potential effects on cognitive function and mood. However, the effects of P.minor on brain activation and biomarkers have not...

    Authors: Huijin Lau, Suzana Shahar, Mazlyfarina Mohamad, Nor Fadilah Rajab, Hanis Mastura Yahya, Normah Che Din and Hamzaini Abdul Hamid

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:315

    Content type: Research article

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  24. Ulcerative colitis, characterized by diarrhea, bloody stools and abdominal pain, is a chronic, idiopathic inflammatory disease of the colonic mucosa. In recent years, the incidence of ulcerative colitis presen...

    Authors: Xiao Wang, Nan-qi Zhao, Yu-xin Sun, Xue Bai, Jiang-tao Si, Jian-ping Liu and Zhao-lan Liu

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:309

    Content type: Research article

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  26. Some studies have shown the effect of oral administration of curcumin on knee pain. However, limited studies are available on the effect of topical curcumin. This study aimed to investigate the effect of curcumin

    Authors: Neda Jamali, Mohsen Adib-Hajbaghery and Alireza Soleimani

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:305

    Content type: Research article

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  27. Hypertension, a major risk factor of cardiovascular mortality, is a critical issue for public health. Although Baduanjin (Eight Brocades, EB), a traditional Chinese exercise, might influence blood pressure, gl...

    Authors: Bao-yi Shao, Xia-tian Zhang, Robin W. M. Vernooij, Qiu-yi Lv, Yao-yang Hou, Qi Bao, Li-xing Lao, Jian-ping Liu, Ying Zhang and Gordon H. Guyatt

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:304

    Content type: Research article

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  28. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy complication whose range has been calculated to be between 0.01 and 15.6% all around the world. We wanted to systematically evaluate the effect and sa...

    Authors: Ruiting Wang, Nuo Cheng, Rongyan Peng, Zeyu Yu, Mengdie Nan and Huijuan Cao

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:303

    Content type: Research article

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  29. Up to 50% of individuals diagnosed with depression are known to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The aim of this study was to identify the quantity and assess the quality of CAM recommendation...

    Authors: Jeremy Y. Ng, Zainib Nazir and Hayley Nault

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:299

    Content type: Research article

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  30. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Echium amoenum (EA) on the severity of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) in comparison with placebo.

    Authors: Maryam Farahmand, Davood Khalili, Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani, Gholamreza Amin and Reza Negarandeh

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:295

    Content type: Research article

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  31. Hyperuricemia is an independent risk factor in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Allopurinol and febuxostat are prescription medicines used to treat hyperuricemia but suffer side-effects. Earlier clinical study ha...

    Authors: Usharani Pingali, Chandrasekhar Nutalapati, Niranjan Koilagundla and Gangadhar Taduri

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:281

    Content type: Research article

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  32. Primary insomnia (PI) is characterized by difficulties in initiating sleep or maintaining sleep, which lead to many serious diseases. Acupuncture for PI has drawn attention with its effectiveness and safety. H...

    Authors: Yu-Kai Wang, Tie Li, Li-Juan Ha, Zhong-Wen Lv, Fu-Chun Wang, Zhi-Hong Wang, Jing Mang and Zhong-Xin Xu

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:254

    Content type: Research article

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  33. At present, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is internationally recognized as a therapeutic drug in clinic. However, about 40% Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) patients are poor responders to UDCA. It has been dem...

    Authors: Hui Yang, Hang Yang, Lixia Wang, Honggang Shi, Bojia Liu, Xue Lin, Qingyong Chang, Jiande D. Z. Chen and Zhijun Duan

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:242

    Content type: Research article

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  34. Stroke is one of the major causes of death and disability. The treatments that are provided to patients during hospitalization after an acute stroke are very important in stabilizing their medical condition an...

    Authors: Wei-Sen Chen, Hung-Chih Hsu, Yi-Wen Chuang, Meng Lee, Kuan-Yu Lu, Yi-Fei Chen and Chien-Min Chen

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:244

    Content type: Research article

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  35. While there are several existing eHealth technologies for drug-drug interactions and stand-alone drug adverse effects, it appears that considerably less attention is focussed on that of complementary and alter...

    Authors: Jeremy Y. Ng, Maryam Mooghali and Vanessa Munford

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:239

    Content type: Research article

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  37. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the commonest form of inflammatory joint disease. Unfortunately, to date, there is no appropriate treatment for OA. Boswellia serrata was considered as a potent anti-inflammatory, anti-arth...

    Authors: Ganpeng Yu, Wang Xiang, Tianqing Zhang, Liuting Zeng, Kailin Yang and Jun Li

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:225

    Content type: Research article

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  38. Overactive bladder is defined as “urgency, with or without urge incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia”. Electroacupuncture may be a safe and an effective alternative therapy for overactive bladder,...

    Authors: Qian Wen, Ning Li, Xueling Wang, Hao Li, Fengwei Tian, Weiwei Chen, Yanyan Lu and Zhishun Liu

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:224

    Content type: Study protocol

    Published on:

  39. Liver cirrhosis is one of the main causes of the morbidity and mortality in liver diseases. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has long been used for the clinical treatment of liver diseases. This study was designe...

    Authors: Fuu-Jen Tsai, Pei-Yuu Yang, Chao-Jung Chen, Ju-Pi Li, Te-Mao Li, Jian-Shiun Chiou, Chi-Fung Cheng, Po-Heng Chuang, Ting-Hsu Lin, Chiu-Chu Liao, Shao-Mei Huang, Bo Ban, Wen-Miin Liang and Ying-Ju Lin

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:221

    Content type: Research article

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  40. Allium hookeri is widely consumed as a vegetable and herbal medicine in Asia. A. hookeri has been reported anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, osteoblastic, anti-oxidant, and anti-diabetic effects in animal studies....

    Authors: Soo-Hyun Park, Ui-Jin Bae, Eun-Kyung Choi, Su-Jin Jung, Sung-Hyen Lee, Jae-Heon Yang, You-Suk Kim, Do-Youn Jeong, Hyun-Ju Kim, Byung-Hyun Park and Soo-Wan Chae

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:211

    Content type: Research article

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  41. Depression has rapidly progressed worldwide, and the need for an efficient treatment with low side effect has risen. Melissa officinalis L and Lavandula angustifolia Mill have been traditionally used in Asia for ...

    Authors: Mostafa Araj-Khodaei, Ahmad Ali Noorbala, Reza Yarani, Fatemeh Emadi, Elham Emaratkar, Soghrat Faghihzadeh, Zahra Parsian, Fatemeh Alijaniha, Mohammad Kamalinejad and Mohsen Naseri

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:207

    Content type: Research article

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  42. Zheng Qing Feng Tong Ning (ZQFTN) is a sinomenine (SIN) preparation that has been used in clinical practice. Our study aimed to assess the methodological and reporting quality of meta-analyses on the Chinese h...

    Authors: Mingge Liang, Lan Yan, Zhigang Mei, Yanan Luo, Xiaoqiang Hou and Zhitao Feng

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:195

    Content type: Research article

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  43. About 1 in every 150 pregnancies end in stillbirth. Consequences include symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Yoga has been used to treat PTSD in other populations and ma...

    Authors: Jennifer Huberty, Mariah Sullivan, Jeni Green, Jonathan Kurka, Jenn Leiferman, Katherine Gold and Joanne Cacciatore

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:173

    Content type: Research article

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  44. Occipital neuralgia is one of the main causes of occipital pain. This systematic review aims to assess the level of evidence in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effects of acupuncture on occipital ne...

    Authors: Jung-Min Yun, Sook-Hyun Lee, Jae-Heung Cho, Koh-Woon Kim and In-Hyuk Ha

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:171

    Content type: Research article

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  45. The purpose of this study was to identify the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients complicated with aristolochic acid nephropathy(AAN) after radic...

    Authors: Hongli Shan, Wen Tian, Yazhao Hong, Bo Xu, Chunxi Wang, Bing Yu and Xiaoqing Wang

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:166

    Content type: Research article

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  46. Herbal medication is widely used in our region as a mode of alternative medicine. Its contents and combinations are often modified to suit the needs of different populations. These products are said to boost t...

    Authors: Anna Misya’il Abdul Rashid, Fauzah Abd Ghani, Liyana Najwa Inche Mat and Christopher Thiam Seong Lim

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:163

    Content type: Case report

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  47. Previous studies have acknowledged Tai Chi and Qigong exercise could be potential effective treatments for reducing depression and anxiety in both healthy and clinical populations. However, there is a scarcity...

    Authors: Fang Liu, Jiabao Cui, Xuan Liu, Kevin W. Chen, Xiaorong Chen and Ru Li

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:161

    Content type: Research article

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  48. Whole body vibration (WBV) is currently increasing in popularity as a treatment modality for musculoskeletal disorders and improving health-related quality of life. Recent research has shown that WBV can reduc...

    Authors: Weiming Wang, Shuting Wang, Wujian Lin, Xian Li, Lars L. Andersen and Yuling Wang

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:158

    Content type: Research article

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  49. Chinese herbal medicine is widely used in combination with usual care for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in China. Chinese patent medicine Shufeng Jiedu (SFJD) capsules i...

    Authors: Ru-yu Xia, Xiao-yang Hu, Yu-tong Fei, Merlin Willcox, Ling-zi Wen, Ming-kun Yu, Li-shan Zhang, Meng-yuan Dai, Guang-he Fei, Mike Thomas, Nick Francis, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Moore and Jian-ping Liu

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:151

    Content type: Research article

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  50. Acute radiation-induced proctitis (ARP) is the most common side effect following radiotherapy for malignant pelvic disease. This study evaluated the efficacy of Aloe vera ointment in prevention of ARP.

    Authors: Adeleh Sahebnasagh, Arash Ghasemi, Jafar Akbari, Abbas Alipour, Hossein Lashkardoost, Shahram Ala, Seyed Jalal Hosseinimehr and Ebrahim Salehifar

    Citation: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 2020 20:146

    Content type: Research article

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