Despite good clinical results of current drugs, a good reason still exists to search for additional therapies for the management of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) has thus far been overlooked by researchers and no data exists on the subject. We studied the impact of adjunctive CHM on the disease course of CML, using mortality as the major outcome measurement. We used the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database to perform a nationwide population-basedcohort study. Our study included CML patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2010. We matched groups according to age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score and use of imatinib, and compared the Hazard Ratios (HR) of CHM group and non-CHM users, as well as characterized trends of prescriptions used for treating CML. 1371 patients were diagnosed with CML in the years examined, of which 466 were included in to this study. We found that the HR of CHM group was significantly lower compared to non-CHM groups (0.32, 95% CI 0.22-0.48, P < 0.0001). We also established that this association between reduced HR was dose-dependent, and the longer CHM users received prescriptions, the lower the HR (P < 0.01). We also analyzed the most commonly used herbal products as well as the HR associated to their use, thus providing future research candidates. Our results supply a strong reason to assume that when administered by properly trained physicians, CHM may have a substantial positive impact on the management of CML.

BACKGROUND:

Increased frequency of migraine was reported in adults with allergic rhinitis (AR). Although migraine is less common in children than in adults, it can begin in early childhood and persist into adulthood. We conducted this population-based cohort study to investigate the incidence and subsequent risk of migraine in children with AR.

METHODS:

From 2000 to 2007, 461,850 children with recently diagnosed AR and 460,718 non-AR controls were included in the study. By the end of 2008, incidences of migraine in both cohorts, the AR to non-AR cohort hazard ratios (HRs), and confidence intervals (CIs) were measured.

RESULTS:

The incidence of migraine during the study period was 3.2-fold higher in the AR cohort (95% CI, 2.97 to 3.46) than in the non-AR cohort (11.4 vs 3.49 per 10000 person-years). The risk was greater for boys than for girls, and for children aged <6 years. The HR for migraine in children with AR was 1.44 (95% CI, 1.31 to 1.58) for those with ≤2 annual AR-related medical visits, whereas, 14.8 (95% CI, 13.6 to 16.2) for those with >4 visits (p < 0.0001, the trend test). The risk of migraine development in the AR cohort was highest within the first year after AR diagnosis (HR 4.89; 95% CI, 3.98 to 6.00). Children with AR were more likely to have migraine without aura than migraine with aura.

CONCLUSION:

Children with AR had a higher incidence and subsequent risk of migraine. Physicians should be more aware of migraine in children with AR who complain of headache.

OBJECTIVE:

We investigated the relationship between antidepressant use and the risk of subsequent dementia development.

METHOD:

A population-based retrospective case-control analysis was conducted using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. From patients enrolled in the National Health Insurance program between 2005 and 2011, we identified 2 subsets: 5,394 cases, who had major depression in 1997-2004 and subsequently were diagnosed with dementia (ICD-9-CM code 290) in 2005-2011, and 5,232 controls, who had major depression in 2005-2011 but no dementia history. The proportional distributions of antidepressant use and comorbidities in the dementia case and nondementia control groups were compared. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for theassociation between dementia and antidepressant use.

RESULTS:

The dementia patients were more likely to have diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and head injury. The adjusted OR for dementia was 0.24 (95% CI, 0.22-0.27) in patients using tricyclics . By contrast, the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (OR = 2.48; 95% CI, 2.27-2.71), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) (OR = 1.86; 95% CI, 1.47-2.36), heterocyclic antidepressants (OR = 1.44; 95% CI, 1.32-1.57), and other antidepressants (OR = 2.05; 95% CI, 1.85-2.27) was associated with an increased risk of dementia. Furthermore, as the cumulative dose was increased, tricyclic antidepressants reduced the risk of dementia, whereas SSRIs, MAOIs, heterocyclic antidepressants, and other antidepressants increased the risk of dementia.

CONCLUSIONS:

The incidence of dementia in patients is associated with antidepressant medication use. Treatment with tricyclic antidepressants was associated with a reduced risk of dementia, whereas treatment with SSRIs, MAOIs, heterocyclic antidepressants, and other antidepressants was associated with an increased risk of dementia.

BACKGROUND:

Some allergic inflammation-associated mediators have been reported in acute stage of Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP). However, the association of children with allergic diseases and their subsequent risks of HSP and HSP nephritis remain unknown.

METHODS:

In this study, we included 2,240 children with HSP diagnosed between 2000 and 2008 as well as 8,960 non-HSP controls matched for age, sex, and level of urbanization. The odds ratios (ORs) of HSP were calculated with respect to associations with pre-existing allergic diseases.

RESULTS:

Children with allergic diseases had an increased subsequent risk of HSP; the lowest adjusted OR (aOR) was 1.33 for allergic conjunctivitis (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17-1.52) and the highest was 1.68 for asthma (95% CI: 1.48-1.91). The aOR increased to 2.03 (95% CI: 1.80-2.31) in children with at least two allergic diseases. Children who visited medical institutes more often per year for associated allergic diseases had an increased risk of HSP. Of the 2,240 children with HSP, 249 (11%) had HSP nephritis and 45.8% of those with nephritis had history of any allergic disease.

CONCLUSION:

Atopic children had an increased subsequent risk of HSP but not an increased risk of HSP nephritis.

BACKGROUND:

The long-term consequence of cardiovascular health has not been evaluated for patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. This study evaluated the risk of ischemic stroke using population-based data.

METHODS:

We identified 8705 inpatients with CO intoxication diagnosed from 2000 to 2011 from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The control cohort consisted of 34,820 persons randomly identified from patients without exposure frequency matched by age, sex, and the year of hospitalization. Incidence and hazard ratio (HR) of ischemic stroke were evaluated by sociodemographic factors and comorbidities by the end of 2011.

RESULTS:

The incidence of ischemic stroke revealed a significant increase in the CO-poisoning cohort over the follow-up period (p<0.001). The overall incidence of ischemic stroke was near 2.5-fold greater in the CO-poisoned cohort than in controls (5.49 versus 2.02 per 1000 person-years), with an adjusted HR of 2.60 (95% confidence interval (CI)=2.15-3.15). The adjusted HR for those without comorbidities was slightly higher (2.76, 95% CI=2.13-3.58). The age-specific CO-poisoning to non-CO-poisoning relative risk was greatest in the youngest group (20-34years) (adjusted HR=6.45; 95% CI=3.30-12.6).

CONCLUSION:

CO poisoning is associated with a long-term risk of increased incident ischemic stroke. Further study on the mechanism of ischemic stroke for CO poisoning affects is needed.