Background. Migraine is a common reason for primary headache disorders. Cupping is a frequently used traditional intervention for controlling pain including migraine. There have been no systematic reviews on the clinical effects of cupping on migraine. Objective. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of cupping therapy for migraine. The search strategy was built for the presence of related keywords, such as “migraine” and “cupping therapy”, in the title and abstract of research articles indexed in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and other databases. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of cupping therapy for migraine were searched and selected from inception to May 2019. We searched eight databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The selection process and the quality assessment were performed by 2 authors independently. The meta-analysis was conducted and qualitative analysis was also performed. Results. 218 studies were identified, and 6 RCTs were enrolled in this review. In comparison to drugs, wet cupping showed a higher total effective rate (TER). In the dry cupping plus acupuncture, the result of TER showed more effectiveness (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.99 to 1.12, ) compared with acupuncture alone, but there was no statistically significant difference. In qualitative analysis, the results showed wet cupping plus drugs treatment could quickly relieve pain and significantly improve patients’ quality of life and wet cupping could reduce headache pain. Conclusion. Cupping therapy could be effective for the treatment of migraine. However, the qualities of the evidence were low, so well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm the effectiveness of cupping. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO registration number is CRD42017054979.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an intractable disease associated with high morbidity and healthcare costs. Metabolites and gut microbes are areas of interest for mainstream and complementary and alternative medicine. We, therefore, aimed to contribute to the discovery of an integrative medicine for UC by comparing and analyzing gut microbes and metabolites in patients with UC and in healthy individuals. This was an observational case-control study. Blood and stool samples were collected from the participants, and metabolite and gut microbial studies were performed. Among metabolites, formate, glycolate, trimethylamine, valine, and pyruvate levels were significantly different between the two groups. Among gut microbes, the abundance of Bacteroidetes at the phylum level; Bacteroidia at the class level; Bacteroidales and Actinomycetales at the order level; Prevotellaceae, Acidaminococcaceae, and Leptotrichiaceae at the family level; and Prevotella, Roseburia, Paraprevotella, Phascolarctobacterium, Ruminococcus, Coprococcus, Clostridium_XIVB, Atopobium, and Leptotrichia at the genus level was also significantly different. Most of the metabolites and gut microbes significantly different between the two groups were involved in energy metabolism and inflammatory processes, respectively. The results of this study could be helpful for the identification of targets for integrative medicine approaches for UC.

Introduction: Even if levodopa, dopamine agonists, and others are used for patients with Parkinson’s disease, the effect is not sustained, and side effects such as motor fluctuation and dyskinesia are more likely to appear as the dose increases. Thus, new approaches for managing Parkinson’s disease are needed. This study aimed to compare the metabolites and gut microbes between patients with Parkinson’s disease and healthy individuals. Methods: This was an observational study with a case-control design. Metabolite and gut microbial analyses were performed using blood and stool samples collected from the subjects. Results: Among the metabolites, the acetate, citrate, methionine, and trimethylamine levels were significantly different between the two groups. In the gut microbes, abundance of Bacteroidetes, Prevotella, Phascolarctobacterium, Pseudoflavonifractor, Eisenbergiella, and Gemella were also significantly different between the two groups. Discussion: Metabolites are the products of gut microbes. Therefore, when the gut microbes change, the metabolites change accordingly. Metabolites and gut microbes that were significantly different between the two groups were mostly those involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. Our data may be helpful for the development of new drugs targeting metabolites and gut microbes through large-scale studies in the future.

Background and Objectives: Diabetes can cause various vascular complications. The Compounded Danshen-Dripping-Pill (CDDP) is widely used in China. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness and safety of CDDP in the blood viscosity (BV) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Materials and Methods: We conducted a systematic search of seven databases from their inception to July 2022 for randomized controlled trials that used CDDP to treat T2DM. To evaluate BV, we measured low shear rate (LSR), high shear rate (HSR), and plasma viscosity (PV). Homocysteine and adiponectin levels were also assessed as factors that could affect BV. Results: We included 18 studies and 1532 patients with T2DM. Meta-analysis revealed that CDDP significantly reduced LSR (mean difference [MD] −2.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] −3.77 to −1.72), HSR (MD −0.86, 95% CI −1.08 to −0.63), and PV (MD −0.37, 95% CI −0.54 to −0.19) compared to controls. CDDP also reduced homocysteine (MD −8.32, 95% CI −9.05 to −7.58), and increased plasma adiponectin (MD 2.72, 95% CI 2.13 to 3.32). Adverse events were reported less frequently in the treatment groups than in controls. Conclusions: CDDP is effective in reducing BV on T2DM. However, due to the poor design and quality of the included studies, high-quality, well-designed studies are required in the future.

Background. The aim of this study was to compare shoulder movement measurements between a Kinect-based markerless ROM assessment device (POM-Checker) and a 3D motion capture analysis system (BTS SMART DX-400). Methods. This was a single-visit clinical trial designed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the POM-Checker. The primary outcome was to assess the equivalence between two measurement devices within the same set of participants, aiming to evaluate the validity of the POM-Checker compared to the gold standard device (3D Motion Analysis System). As this was a pilot study, six participants were included. Results. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the reproducibility of the measurements. Among the 18 movements analyzed, 16 exhibited ICC values of >0.75, indicating excellent reproducibility. Conclusion. The results showed that the POM-checker is reliable and validated to measure the range of motion of the shoulder joint.

Taeseok Ahn, Daeook Lee, Jihyun Moon, Jiwoo Kim, Youngjo So, Hyeon-gyu Cho, Sangho Ji, Sangkwan Lee, Myungjin Oh, Cheol-Hyun Kim. J Pharmacopuncture 2025;28:248-54. https://doi.org/10.3831/KPI.2025.28.3.248