Traditional East Asian Herbal Medicine for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Scoping Review

Table 7

Review of randomized controlled trials.

First author (year)	Country	Sample size (T/C)	Sex (M:F)	Average age (T/C)	The average duration of disease (T/C) (m)	Diagnosed by	Intervention	Duration of treatment	Outcomes	Significant findings	Side effects (n)
Chin et al. (2012) [52]	China	37 (23/14)	(T) 18:5; (C) 10:4	74.5	No mention	El Escorial criteria	(T) Liqitongbianxieding decoction, general treatment, acupuncture, massage; (C) Placebo, general treatment	14d	TER; Number of evacuation; Stool characteristics; Symptoms of difficulty in evacuation; Companion symptoms during the evacuation; Pulmonary function test	TER T 100%, C 83.3%; Improving number of evacuation, stool characteristics, symptoms of difficulty in evacuation, and companion symptoms during evacuation; Improving peak airway pressure, respiratory frequency, and airway resistance	Diarrhea(2)
Jin (2013) [53]	China	28 (15/13)	(T) 11:4; (C) 9:4	54.45 (57.83/50.54)	(18.62/18.25)	ALS diagnosis criteria	(T) Guiluerxianjiaojiajian, riluzole, acupuncture; (C) Riluzole	6 m	ALSFRS-R; TCM syndrome score	Compared with the control group, the treatment group showed a lower decrease in the ALSFRS-R score	None
Pan et al. (2013) [54]	China	42 (23/19)	(T) 14:9; (C) 11:8	50.4 (51.6/50.1)	(25.9/26.1)	El Escorial criteria	(T) Jiaweisijunzitang; (C) Riluzole	6 m	ALSFRS; SF-36 physical function	Limbs first attacked in patients in the treated group had a smaller rate of change of ALSFRS scores	Constipation(2); Nausea(2)
Fang (2016) [55]	China	37 (18/19)	(T) 13:5; (C) 11:8	51.31 (49.1/53.4)	(17.6/12.9)	Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of ALS in China	(T) Jianpiyifei decoction; (C) Riluzole	12w	Frenchay; Dysphagia score kubota drinking water test; speech-ALSSS; swallowing-ALSSS; ALSFRS-R bulbar symptoms self-score	No statistical significant difference	No mention
Bao et al. (2016) [56]	China	45 (24/21)	(T) 15:9; (C) 14:7	No mention	No mention	El Escorial criteria	(T) Jiaweisijunzitang, general treatment; (C) General treatment	6 m	TCM spleen deficiency symptoms score; Shortness of breath; Mental fatigue score	Delayed TCM deterioration; Spleen deficiency symptoms, Shortness of breath, and mental fatigue	No mention
Zhu et al. (2017) [57]	China	45 (24/21)	(T) 15:9; (C) 14:7	No mention	No mention	El Escorial criteria	(T) Jiaweisijunzitang, general treatment; (C) Placebo, general treatment	9 m	ALSFRS-R; TCM syndrome score	Delaying the deterioration of related symptoms and ALSFRS-R	None
Gao et al. (2017) [58]	China	42 (22/20)	(T) 14:8; (C) 13:7	50.4 (50.2/50.7)	(23.9/24.3)	El Escorial criteria	(T) Jian Pi Lian Se Tang; (C) Placebo, general treatment	6 w	QS; FNU; ESS; ALSFRS	Improving the scores of the QS, FNU, and ESS	None
Yang (2019) [59]	Korea	30 (19/11)	(T-1) 5:5; (T-2) 7:3; (C) 7:3	56.47 (54.50/58.30/56.60)	No mention	El Escorial criteria	(T-1) Mecasin 1.6 g, riluzole; (T-2) Mecasin 2.4 g, riluzole; (C) Placebo, riluzole	12 w	ALSFRS-R; SF-8; MRC scale for muscle strength; VAS pain; HRSD; FSS; PGIC; Pulmonary function test; Creatinine kinase; Body weight	K-ALSFRS-R were significantly decreased in the (C) compared to (T-1), (T-2)	(T); Anxiety (2), Cough (2), Sputum (2), Insomnia (1), Hyperlipidemia (1), Shoulder pain (1), Low back pain (1), Tingling sense (1), Arm pain (1), Frequent voiding (1), Upper respiratory infection (1); (C); Insomnia (2), Constipation (1),

Curcuma longa, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Gastrodia elata, Chaenomeles sinensis, Polygala tenuifolia, Paeonia lactiflora, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Atractylodes lancea, and Aconitum carmichaeli. It is a 30% ethanol extraction. T, treatment group; C, control group; M, male; F, female; w, week(s); m, month(s); TER, total effective rate; ALSFRS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale; ALSFRS-R, ALSFRS-Revised; SF, short from; TCM, traditional Chinese medicine; ALSSS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis severity scale; ESS, Epworth sleepiness scale; QS, quantity of salivation/sialorrhea; FNU, frequent nighttime urination; MRC, Medical Research Council; VAS, visual analogue scale; HRSD, Hamilton rating scale for depression; FSS, fatigue severity scale; and PGIC, patient global impression of change.