Ultra-weak photon emission as a potential tool for evaluating the therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine in patients with type 2 diabetes
Author: Meina Yang1,2, Zhongwen Zhang1, Jialei Fu3, Junyan Liu4, Jiangxiang Pang2, Hua Fan5, Zailin Yang6, Yuanbin Zhang6, Jinxiang Han2
Affiliation:
1 Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
2 NHC Key Laboratory of Biotechnology Drugs (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Biomedical Sciences College, Shandong First Medical University, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
3 Shandong Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
4 Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
5 Shandong First Medical University& Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
6 Neck-Shoulder and Lumberjack Pain Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Ji'nan, Shandong, China.
Conference/Journal: Heliyon
Date published: 2023 Jul 12
Other:
Volume ID: 9 , Issue ID: 7 , Pages: e18055 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18055. , Word Count: 341
Background:
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes (T2DM) for thousands of years. The holistic view of TCM and the "multitarget" characteristics of Chinese medicine have unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of T2DM. TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment are effective for T2DM; however, currently, the therapeutic effect of TCM is generally evaluated by asking for patients' subjective feelings, or by checking the changes in relevant indicators. The main problems are that the patient's descriptions are unclear and subjective, and although the self-reported symptoms may have improved significantly, the relevant indicators are sometimes not obvious, which cannot truly reflect the therapeutic effect of TCM. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a novel, sensitive, and noninvasive method to quantitatively evaluate the therapeutic effect of TCM.
Methods:
In this study, ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) was measured at four sites of hands of T2DM patients with Qi-Yin deficiency before treatment and after 1 and 2 weeks of treatment with TCM. The UPE intensity and spectral distribution were calculated and analyzed using the results measured at these four sites. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to quantify the correlation between the UPE parameters and the syndrome scores of TCM.
Results:
The UPE intensity of T2DM patients with Qi-Yin deficiency decreased gradually with the course of the treatment and was significantly lower than that before the treatment. The ratio of photon counts between the wavelength ranges of 495-550 nm and 550-610 nm after the treatment was higher than that before the treatment and negatively correlated with the corresponding syndrome scores so that the degree of symptoms improvement could be characterized by the ratio (495-550 nm/550-610 nm).
Conclusions:
The therapeutic effect of TCM in T2DM patients with Qi-Yin deficiency can be shown at the level of UPE. UPE is a potential and noninvasive tool for evaluating the therapeutic effect of TCM in patients with T2DM.
Keywords: Noninvasive; Syndrome of TCM; Therapeutic effect; Type 2 diabetes; Ultra-weak photon emission (UPE).
PMID: 37519692 PMCID: PMC10372244 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18055
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