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This study aimed to investigate the effects of ultrasound-guided high-dose Shinbaro 2 pharmacopuncture on the pain, dysfunction, and quality of life in patients with low back pain and radiating pain due to an acute herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD). A 39-year-old male patient with low back pain and radiating pain caused by an acute HIVD was treated with Korean and Western integrative medicine, with a focus on ultrasound-guided high-dose Shinbaro 2 pharmacopuncture at Kambin's triangle. The treatment lasted 16 weeks, including a 12-day hospitalization. The low back pain and radiating pain were evaluated using the numeric rating scale (NRS). The lumbar function and quality of life were assessed using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and the EuroQol five-dimension index (EQ5D). Satisfaction was gauged using the patient global impression of change (PGIC). After treatment, the NRS score decreased from 10 to 1, whereas the ODI and EQ5D scores improved from 84.44 to 28.89 and from 0.303 to 0.871, respectively. The PGIC was rated as 1, indicating considerable improvement. Notably, the changes observed during hospitalization were significant. This report suggests that ultrasound-guided high-dose Shinbaro 2 pharmacopuncture at Kambin's triangle significantly improves the pain, dysfunction, and quality of life in patients with an acute HIVD, demonstrating its potential usefulness among Korean medicine practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of Lycium chinense Mill (LCM) extract on obesity and diabetes, using both in vitro and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity mouse models. We found that LCM notably enhanced glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion in NCI-h716 cells from 411.4 ± 10.75 pg/mL to 411.4 ± 10.75 pg/mL compared to NT (78.0 ± 0.67 pg/mL) without causing cytotoxicity, implying the involvement of Protein Kinase A C (PKA C) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in its action mechanism. LCM also decreased lipid droplets and lowered the expression of adipogenic and lipogenic indicators, such as Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS), Fatty Acid-Binding Protein 4 (FABP4), and Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein 1c (SREBP1c), indicating the suppression of adipocyte differentiation and lipid accumulation. LCM administration to HFD mice resulted in significant weight loss (41.5 ± 3.3 g) compared to the HFD group (45.1 ± 1.8 g). In addition, improved glucose tolerance and serum lipid profiles demonstrated the ability to counteract obesity-related metabolic issues. Additionally, LCM exhibited hepatoprotective properties by reducing hepatic lipid accumulation and diminishing white adipose tissue mass and adipocyte size, thereby demonstrating its effectiveness against hepatic steatosis and adipocyte hypertrophy. These findings show that LCM can be efficiently used as a natural material to treat obesity and diabetes, providing a new approach for remedial and therapeutic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Moxibustion has been used in the treatment and prevention of obesity. However, there has been no systematic review or meta-analysis conducted on the use of moxibustion on obesity treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the role of moxibustion in the treatment of obesity. Methods: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, and MEDLINE/PubMed databases were searched to identify all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effect of moxibustion on obesity. The primary outcome was body weight. The secondary outcomes were the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). The risk of bias assessment and meta-analysis were conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. Results: Eleven RCTs involving 761 participants were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Other interventions that were included in the analyses were manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, embedding therapy, herbal medicine, and diet control. Moxibustion combined with other interventions resulted in a significant improvement in body weight reduction (mean difference [MD] −3.32, 95% confidence interval [CI: −4.25 to −2.38]; I2 = 17%), BMI (MD −1.51, 95% CI [−1.88 to −1.14]; I2 = 76%), and WC (MD −2.82, 95% CI [−3.50 to −2.13]; I2 = 75%), but did not improve HC (MD −2.05, 95% CI [−4.21 to 0.11]; I2 = 0%) or WHR (MD −0.01, 95% CI [−0.03 to 0.01]; I2 = 57%). Conclusions: Moxibustion can be used with other interventions to improve body weight, BMI, and WC in people with obesity. However, the conclusions of this review should be cautiously applied to clinical practice because most of the included studies had a high or unclear risk of bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is a major health problem in dogs and is strongly associated with an increased risk of chronic inflammatory and metabolic diseases. The microaerophilic human gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila has been proposed as a potential preventive and therapeutic agent against obesity in both humans and mice; however, the protective effects of human-derived A. muciniphila against canine obesity remain unstudied. We previously demonstrated that the heat-killed A. muciniphila strain EB-AMDK19 (AMDK19-HK) isolated from the faeces of a healthy Korean exerts similar protective effects as the live bacterium in mice with high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obesity. Here, we evaluated the effects of AMDK19-HK on body weight, body fat mass, haematological and biochemical parameters, and faecal microbiota composition in beagles fed an HFD for 12 weeks. AMDK19-HK supplementation effectively suppressed body weight increase, body fat deposition and serum triglyceride increase in the canine model; however, no significant changes in the overall haematological and biochemical parameters were observed, reflecting the direct anti-obesity effect of AMDK19-HK. Additionally, 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that AMDK19-HK supplementation induced significant changes in the faecal bacterial community, with an increased abundance of Firmicutes and a decreased abundance of Bacteroidota. These results suggest that AMDK19-HK can be used as a dietary supplement to counteract diet-induced overweight in dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]