Objective To review the systemat ic reviews/meta-analyses involving Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM ) therapy for menopausal syndrome, so as to offer clinical evidence about the safety and efficacy of TCM. Methods We searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2006), MEDLINE (1991 to 2006), Ovid (1990 to 2006), CBM(1990 to 2006), CNKI(1989 to 2006) and VIP(1979 to 2006). The search terms of "menopause OR climacteric" and "traditional Chinese medicine OR herb OR plant" and "systematic review OR evidence-based medicine OR Meta-analysis OR Meta-analysis" were used to identify systematic reviews or meta-analyses on TCM for menopause syndrome. Results A total of 6 systematic reviews or meta-analyses were identified. Two of these were in Chinese databases and four were in the foreign language databases. The 6 articles were reviewed and summarized. Conclusion TCM has a effect in the treatment of menopausal syndrome with a good safety profile. However, due to the generally low quality of included studies, the evidence available is not b enough to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TCM for menopausal syndrome.More rigorously designed and strictly executed trials are needed.
Objective To study the clinical anatomical basis of the liver hanging maneuver through research of applied anatomy. Methods Retrohepatic portions of the inferior vena cava of 21 cadaver were observed intracavitarily, and the numbers of short hepatic vein (SHV) opening were counted based on different possible pathway of the liver hanging maneuver and different width of retrohepatic tunnel (10 mm, 6 mm). Results The number of SHV was 0 to 3 (median=1) using standard pathway of the liver hanging maneuver in 6 mm retrohepatic tunnel, and the number of SHV was 0 to 2 (median=0) using EM pathway that was on the right border of retrohepatic portion of the inferior vena cava and 1 cm away from the inferior border of liver. There was a significant difference between the EM pathway and standard pathway, P=0.003.Conclusion The results show that setting up a retrohepatic tunnel through the liver hanging maneuver is feasible and safe.