Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2005

Protocol for Evaluating TCM Treatment for Osteoporosis To ensure the effectiveness and efficacy of the use of traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM ) to treat osteoporosis, CUHK scholars and their mainland counterparts w o r k ed w i t h the Wo r l d He a l th Or gan i z a t i on to set u p Guidelines on TCM for Preclinical Evaluation and Clinical Trials in Osteoporosis, wh i c h evaluate TC M treatments for osteoporosis using the evidence-based approach. They p r o v i d e a protocol for academia, health service providers, and pharmaceutical companies to evaluate the d r ug effectiveness o f T CM and, in doing so, contribute to the modernization and internationalization o f TCM. C l i n i c a l s t u d i es by the D e p a r t me nt of Orthopaedics and Traumatolog y showed tha t a 12-month oral administration of a herbal formula w i t h Yin Yang Huo (epimedium leptorhizum) as the main component registered an average increase of t wo per cent i n bone mineral density at sites w i t h high risk of fractures. New Treatment • CUHK Pioneers Treatment of Gastric Cancer Gastric cancer ranks fourth as a cause of cancer- related death in Hong Kong. Early gastric cancer (EGC), defined as stomach cancer involving only the mucosa or submucosa, is hard to recognize. Ove r the years, the Faculty of Medicine has introduced a wid e range of n ew endoscopic and laparoscopic techniques for the management of EGC. I n 2004, t h e f a c u l t y i n t r o d u c e d t he endoscopic submucosal dissection technique to treat EGC. Recently the facult y applied chromoendoscopy and magnifying endoscope t o the assessment of suspicious gastric lesions. The new magnifying endoscope has a magnification powe r of 80 times which allows endoscopists to examine the g l andu l ar pit structure and pattern of the g a s t r i c mu c o s a . E a r l y cancer s h a v i n g an ulcerative mo r p h o l o gy or i n v a d i n g i n to the submucosa need to be surgically excised. • CT-guided Radiofrequency Ablation for Hypertension Caused by Functional Adrenal Neoplasm H i gh blood pressure is one of the most common diseases in Hong Kong, affecting approximately one million people. Over 90 per cent of the cases are primary hypertensio n without cause. The rest are h y p e r t e n s i on s e c o n d a r y to u n d e r l y i n g pathologies such as f un c t i onal adrenal g l and neoplasm. It is estimated that one to t wo per cent of all h y p e r t e n s i o n cases are secondary to a f un c t i onal adrena l neoplasm w h i c h produces excessive aldosterone or corticosteroid. The F a c u l t y of M e d i c i n e has r e c e n t ly i n t r o d u c ed a no v e l technique of treatin g the disorder. Since Au g u st 2004, 18 patients w i t h secondary h y p e r t e n s i o n due to a f u n c t i o n al ad r ena l t u m o u r were treated by CT - g u i d ed r a d i o f r e q u e n cy a b l a t i o n (RFA) u n d er l o c a l anaesthesia at the Prince of Wales Hospital. RFA uses h i gh frequency current delivered by a n electrode to generate heat energy wh i ch destroys tissue i n a predictable volume . Imaging-guided RFA offers a m i n i ma l l y invasive approach to ablate neoplasm w i t h o ut external wo u n d. The i n i t i a l results o f CT - g u i d e d RFA i n f u n c t i o n a l a d r e n a l g l a n d n e o p l a s m are e n c o u r a g i n g . A l l p a t i e n t s h a v e s h o w n improvement in blood pressure control w i t h two - t h i r ds n ow c omp l e t e l y d r ug - f r ee . The s e r um aldosterone or cortisol levels as we ll as potassium concentration are normalize d in all 18 patients w i t h an overall success rate of 94 per cent. News in Brief 6 7