Adjunctive herbal medicine treatment for patients with acute ischemic stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Chang-Ho Han, Mikyung Kim, Seung-Yeon Cho, Woo-Sang Jung, Sang-Kwan Moon, Jung-Mi Park, Chang-Nam Ko, Ki-Ho Cho, Seungwon Kwon

Journal: Complementary therapies in clinical practice 2019;33():124-137

PMID: 30396610

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In the East-Asian countries, the combined treatment of Western medicine and herbal medicine has been widely administered. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of herbal medicine in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

METHODS

We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, and CNKI up to January 2017. Randomized Controlled Trials evaluating the effect of adjunctive herbal medicine on acute ischemic stroke were included.

RESULTS

A total of 80 studies (8057 patients) were collected. The overall methodological quality was low. In the herbal group, meta-analysis indicated a statistically significant improvement in the neurologic deficits and activity of daily living compared with the non-herbal group. Furthermore, herbal treatments were relatively safe.

CONCLUSION

The treatment can induce neurological improvements without side effects. However, concrete conclusions cannot be made due to the methodological problems of the included studies.

Address: Department of Internal Medicine, Dongguk University College of Korean Medicine, Gyeongju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Internal Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Sangji University, Wonju, Republic of Korea.; Department of Cardiology and Neurology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.; Department of Cardiology and Neurology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.09.007

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MeSH Terms: Brain Ischemia, Data Accuracy, Herbal Medicine, Humans, Phytotherapy, Plants, Medicinal, Stroke, Treatment Outcome