In this article, the therapeutic uses of five Chinese medicines that contain orchids are discussed, together with a brief report of some of the animal experimentation undertaken. The impression that these preparations have no therapeutic use may be incorrect. However, herbal preparations have not usually been subject to the rigorous characterization and standardization necessary for clinical study, and persuading practitioners that substances in use for many centuries still need to be tested in randomized controlled clinical trials is proving a significant challenge.

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Study objective-The aim was to investigate the relationship between social factors and stroke mortality in men and women aged between 45 and 74 years using census and mortality data from 32 London boroughs in 1971 and 1981. Design