فصلنامه طب مکمل
سال نهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 32، پاییز 1398)

Radiation-Induced Mucositis (RIM) is more common in patients with head and neck cancers. Common medications have not been fully successful in preventing and treating RIM. We can use the potential of Iranian medicine for prevention and oral/topical treatment of these lesions. 

In this review study, the keywords of “Mucositis”, “Head and Neck Radiotherapy”, “Aphthous”, and “Mouth Ulcers” (In Persian) were used for searching in books related to Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM) and in related papers published online and indexed in Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases from 1995 to 2018.

According to ITM, RIM is mostly similar to a kind of aphthous oral ulcers called Ghola, both of which have the same treatment. For RIM treatment, various strategies for lifestyle modification have been recommended. Furthermore, considering that heat and dryness are the primary causes of RIM occurrence, the plants that cause damp feeling and produce moisture and maintain tissue integrity throughout the body and mouth can be used locally and orally for the prevention and treatment of RIM based on their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibiotic properties.

Due to different viewpoints of ITM on health and disease, lifestyle modification and herbal remedies along with therapeutic measures can be effective in controlling RIM.

Boron supplement is an essential ingredient for humans approved the American Food and Drug Administration. Since today, the use of dietary supplements for the treatment of diseases has received much attention, this systematic review study aimed to determine the effect of boron supplement on the treatment and prevention of various diseases.
Methods

The search was conducted among papers published until July 2019 and indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, SID, IranMedex and MagIran databases using keywords of “boron supplementation”, “boric acid”, “calcium fructoborate”, “treatment”, and “prevention”. Articles with a score of 3 or more based on the Jadad Scale were included in the study (n=67). 

Fifteen preventive therapeutic effects of boron supplement were investigated. All studies confirmed the favorable effect of boron supplementation in the fields of treatment and prevention and no side effects were reported in any of them.

Symptoms of boron deficiency such as amnesia, osteoporosis, degenerative diseases, hormonal disorders and decreased libido are prevalent, and this deficiency have many side effects that can be prevented. Hence, the use of boron as a reasonable nutritional intervention and appropriate alternative to conventional chemical drugs is recommended.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Branched-Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplementation on O2 uptake kinetics and the time to exhaustion in trained women. 

In this quasi-experimental study with pre-test/post-test design, participants were 20 trained women (Mean±SD age, 21.3±0.5 years). They were randomly assigned into two groups of BCAA (received 45mg/kg/d BCAA for 7 days; n=10) and isocaloric placebo (received 2g/d microcrystalline cellulose for 7 days; n=10). On day 7, subjects performed the incremental exercise test on a cycle ergometer until exhaustion in order to measure maximal oxygen uptake (Vo2max). Respiratory gas exchange was measured using breath-by-breath analysis in order to evaluate O2 uptake kinetics. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with repeated measures at the significance level of P<0.05.

BCAA supplementation significantly increased Vo2max (P<0.04, 1.5±0.8 vs 1.9±0.5 min) and the time to exhaustion (P<0.02, 13.5±3.1 vs. 16.6±2.1 min) during the exercise test. The O2 uptake kinetics such as oxygen deficit (P<0.01), time constant 1(P<0.02) and time constant 2 (P<0.01) in the BCAA group were faster than those in the placebo group. 

BCAA supplementation (45mg/kg/d) can speed up the O2 uptake kinetics and may be effective in increasing the endurance capacity.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of supplementation with chromium picolinate combined with resistance training on the serum level of liver enzymes and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) in male patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D).

In this study, participants were 30 male patients with T2D (Mean±SD weight: 75.1±6.3 kg and BMI= 26.1±2.3 kg/m2). They were divided into three groups (two experimental and one control). In addition to resistance training for 8 weeks, experimental groups consumed 400-mg chromium picolinate daily and placebo. Serum levels of liver enzymes, insulin and glucose were measured before and after the training period. Data were analyzed using one-way ACNOVA and Bonferroni correction test (P<0.05).

Both resistance training combined with chromium picolinate supplementation (P=0.04) and resistance training with placebo (P=0.11) significantly reduced HOMA-IR compared to the control group. They both also resulted in a significant decrease in Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) enzymes level compared to the diabetic control group (P=0.01). Resistance training along with chromium picolinate supplementation (P=0.01) significantly reduced the waist-hip ratio (P=0.04) and fat percentage (P=0.01) compared to controls.

training combined with chromium picolinate supplementation is more effective in improving the liver enzymes level in T2D patients.

Cancer disease and its treatment methods affect the quality of life of those suffering from breast cancer. Nausea and vomiting are frequent side-effects of chemotherapy. Nowadays, complementary therapies are used along with routine treatments to control this disease. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sucking ice bits with plain water on nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer.

In this clinical trial, participants were 60 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. They were randomly divided into two groups of control and ice. The ice group received 30 bits of ice in 1 cc during chemotherapy, while control group received 30-cc tap water. Nausea was evaluated based on visual analog scale and vomiting was estimated based on the number of cases. The data were analyzed in SPSS software.

The Mean±SD of nausea in ice group was 1.268±1.9 and in the control group it was 1.787±2.9 and this difference was statistically significant after intervention (P=0.015). The mean of vomiting in ice group was 0.406±0.2 and in the control group it was 0.449±0.266, but this difference was not significant; i.e. the intervention had no significant effect on vomiting (P=0.549).

Sucking ice bits containing plain water had high effect on reducing nausea caused by chemotherapy but it had no effect on occurrence of vomiting.

One of the common problems of patients undergoing open heart surgery is physiological disorders due to anxiety that can affect the result of surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Benson relaxation on the physiological sysmptoms of patients undergoing open heart surgery.

This is a clinical trial performed on 90 candidates for open heart surgery referred to the hospitals affiliated to AJA University of Medical Sciences in Tehran in 2014. The subjects were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. In both groups, the physiological symptoms (respiratory rate, pulse rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) of the patients were measured one day before surgery. Benson relaxation was performed on patients in the experimental group in the morning of the surgery day and the physiological symptoms of both groups were evaluated after intervention. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V. 21 software using Chi-square test, paired t-test and independent t-test at a significance level of P<0.05.

There was no significant difference in physiological symptoms of both groups before intervention. After intervention, a significant difference between the groups was reported in terms of all physiological variables (P=0.001). Paired t-test results also showed a significant difference between the two groups before and after the intervention in terms of all physiological variables except diastolic blood pressure.

Benson relaxation significantly improved the physiological status of patients undergoing open heart surgery. It is recommended that nurses use this method to improve the physiological status of these patients.

Nonunion fracture of lower-extremity long bones is really important because these bones bear the weight of the body. Some reasons of nonunion fracture are: Instability and immobility of the fractured fragments; insufficient blood supply to the fractured site; and damage to periosteum and necrosis of periosteal cells caused by insufficient blood supply. There are two methods of nonunion treatment based on Iranian traditional medicine: (A) Nonsurgical treatment including physiotherapy, ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves or injection of Maltose-binding protein for stimulation of bone regeneration; and (b) Surgical treatment with the aim of fixing fractured parts internally and externally, and eventually bone graft in the form of allografts and autografts.

The patient was a 29-year-old man whose thigh bone had been fractured in an accident at the age of 21. During 8 years, he had underwent surgical and nonsurgical treatments as well as allograft and autograft transplantation, but unfortunately none of these treatments were effective and he suffered from infection, transplant rejection and necrosis of fractured fragments. Disappointed patient was subjected to treatment based on traditional medicine including modification of lifestyle and dietary regime, and using traditional drugs and leech therapy. 

After 6 months of therapy, avascular necrosis was completely removed and new bones were created in the areas between the fractures and the patient got better over time. By expanding education and research in the field of Iranian traditional medicine, we can increase the use of effective, non-invasive and low-cost Iranian-based therapies which have great role in improving the quality of life of the individual and community and can prevent from expensive material and spiritual costs of surgery and amputation.