title: Danqi Piantang Jiaonang (DJ), a traditional Chinese medicine, in poststroke recovery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Despite improvements in acute stroke treatment, many patients only make a partial or poor recovery. Therefore, there is a need for treatments that would further improve outcome. Danqi Piantang Jiaonang (DJ; NeuroAid), a traditional Chinese medicine widely used in China to improve recovery after stroke, has been compared with another traditional Chinese medicine in 2 unpublished randomized clinical trials. The results of these studies were pooled and reanalyzed to assess efficacy and safety.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundred five subjects were randomized in 2 randomized double-blinded, controlled trials to receive either DJ or Buchang Naoxintong Jiaonang. Subjects were treated for 1 month. Inclusion criteria were: (1) patients with recent (from 10 days to 6 months) ischemic stroke; (2) patients satisfying Western diagnostic standards for stroke and traditional Chinese medicine standards for diagnosis of apoplexy; and (3) Diagnostic Therapeutic Effects of Apoplexy score >/=10.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The functional outcome, measured by the Comprehensive Function Score component of the Diagnostic Therapeutic Effects of Apoplexy scale, showed a statistically significant superiority of DJ over the control treatment group (relative risk, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.28 to 4.51; P=0.007). Tolerance was excellent in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pooled analysis of 2 unpublished trials of DJ, a traditional Chinese medicine currently approved in China to improve neurological recovery after stroke, shows good tolerability and superiority of DJ over another traditional Chinese medicine also approved for stroke. A large double-blind randomized clinical trial is required to further assess the safety and efficacy of DJ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, National University of Singapore, Singapore. phccclh@nus.edu.sg
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Venketasubramanian
authors.forename: Robert N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Picard
authors.forename: Bernard P L
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Marie G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bousser
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xuemin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills; D020127:Recovery of Function; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C539199:danqi piantang jiaonang