title: The effects of wet cupping on coronary risk factors in patients with metabolic syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: High serum cholesterol is an important risk factor for cardiovascular events. It has been reported that regular blood donation is associated with a reduction in serum cholesterol. This study aimed to determine the effects of wet cupping on lipid profiles and anthropometric characteristics of patients with metabolic syndrome. One hundred and thirty-six patients aged 18-65 years with metabolic syndrome were recruited to participate in this trial. Ten patients were excluded due to exclusion criteria. Patients (n = 126) were randomly assigned into the control (n = 63) and experimental (n = 63) groups. Patients in the experimental group were treated with wet cupping combined with dietary advice. The controls were given dietary advice only. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were assessed at baseline and at six and 12 weeks after treatment. The significance of the data was analyzed using a repeated measure ANOVA. The lipid profile status did not differ significantly between the two groups (p > 0.05) whereas there was a significant difference between the two time points within each group (p < 0.05). In addition, several anthropometric parameters improved in both groups, but this did not differ significantly between subject groups. Wet cupping does not have a significant effect on anthropometric or biochemical indices compared to the effect of dietary advice alone.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Syed Kazem
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Farahmand
authors.forename: Li Zhi
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Gang
authors.forename: Seyed Ahmad
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Saghebi
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Shabnam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Ghazaleh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Gordan A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ferns
authors.forename: Majid Ghanbar
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Zadeh
authors.forename: Gholamreza Ghayour
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Razmgah
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ramazani
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghayour-Mobarhan
authors.forename: Hoda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Azizi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol