OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical efficacy of percutaneous endoscopic discectomy with a lateral approach and dual-channel method in treating highly free lumbar disc herniation(LDH). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 54 patients with highly free LDH who were treated with spinal endoscopic techniques from January 2021 to December 2022. Twenty-seven patients were treated with lateral approach dual-channel(lateral approach dual-channel group), including 16 males and 11 females, with an average age of (54.6±10.5) years old. Twenty-seven patients were treated with unilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE group), including 17 males and 10 females, with an average age of (52.9±12.3) years old. The number of intraoperative fluoroscopy, operation time and hospital stay, as well as visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry diability index (ODI) of low back and leg pain between two patients before operation, 1 day, 1, 3, and 12 months after operation, and the efficacy was evaluated by the modified MacNab criteria at 12 mohths after operation. RESULTS: All patients were successfully completed surgical and were followed up, the time raged from 12 to 22 months with an average of (13.57±4.12) months. There was no statistically significant difference in operation time between two groups (P>0.05). The hospital stay of lateral approach dual-channel group was (3.9±1.1) days, which was shorter than that of UBE group (6.5±1.4) days, the number of intraoperative fluoroscopy in lateral approach dual-channel group was (12.7±2.1) times, which was more than that in UBE group (6.6±1.3) times, the differences were statistically significant (t=5.197, -7.532;P<0.05). VAS and ODI for low back pain at 1 day and 1 month after operation, and VAS for leg pain at 1 day after operation of lateral approach dual-channel group were superior to those of UBE group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences in VAS and ODI for low back and leg pain between two groups before operation and 3 and 12 months after operation (P>0.05). VAS and ODI of low back and leg pain were significantly improved at each time point before and after operation in both groups, and the difference were statistically significant (P<0.05). At 12 months after operation, according to the modified MacNab criteria, the excellent and good rates of therapeutic effects between lateral approach dual-channel group and UBE group were 92.6% (25/27) and 88.9% (24/27), respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (χ²=0.22, P>0.05). CONCLUSION For patients with highly free lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion, both of lateral approach dual-channel method and UBE endoscopic surgery are safe and effective. Endoscopic surgery with lateral approach and dual-channel method could be performed under local anesthesia, allowing for the removal of the nucleus pulposus under direct vision. It is simpler, more efficient.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement/surgery* ; Middle Aged ; Diskectomy, Percutaneous/methods* ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery* ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Aged

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

Objective:To investigate the overall recurrence rate and the pattern of treatment failure in thoracic esophageal cancer (TEC) patients after minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE), and to evaluate the significance of adjuvant therapy after MIE.Methods:Clinical data of TEC patients who underwent MIE with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University between 2016 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The pathology-based lymph node metastasis (LNM) rate, overall recurrence rate, and pattern of treatment failure following MIE were analyzed by SPSS 26.0 statistical software. Cox regression model was used to identify the high-risk factors for recurrent disease. Propensity score matching was performed to compare the survival of patients between the postoperative radiotherapy group and non-radiotherapy group.Results:A total of 443 eligible patients were enrolled in this study, and the pathology-based LNM rate in all groups was 42.0%. The overall recurrence rate was 34.8%. Regional lymphatic metastasis was the most frequent pattern of recurrence (24.2%), followed by distant metastasis (19.4%). Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified pT 3-4 stage and pN + stage as the independent risk factors for recurrence. At the same time, the total number of lymph nodes dissected ≥12 and the number of lymph nodes dissected ≥7 in the neck clavicle and upper mediastinum could reduce the risk of tumor recurrence. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates in the postoperative radiotherapy group and non-radiotherapy group were 83.5%, 66.8%, 60.7%, and 79.2%, 61.6%, 57.2%, respectively ( χ2=0.13, P=0.715). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates in two groups were 92.0%, 72.0%, 67.5% and 84.0%, 68.0%, 55.4% , respectively ( χ2=0.43, P=0.513). Conclusions:Regional lymphatic and distant metastases are the main patterns of recurrence for TEC patients after MIE with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. pT 3-4 stage, pN + stage, insufficient total number of lymph node dissection and insufficient number of lymph nodes in neck supraclavicular and upper mediastinal dissection are high-risk factors for postoperative recurrence. The survival rate in the postoperative radiotherapy group tends to be higher than that in the non-radiotherapy group. Adjuvant therapy, including postoperative radiotherapy, may remain necessary.

OBJECTIVE: Here, we explored molecular changes that could potentially mediate healing effects of Gua Sha - a method employed by the Chinese traditional medicine with proven track records of safe and efficient applications dating back to ancient times as well as support from randomized controlled trials performed by modern medical studies - yet remaining almost entirely unexplored by the modern-day high-throughput methods of the -omics sciences. METHODS: We investigated transcriptome changes occurring shortly after Gua Sha treatment in the whole blood of healthy volunteers using bulk RNA-seq analysis. We applied various analytical tools to identify genes with consistent expression changes in multiple individuals in response to Gua Sha and their networks. RESULTS: We found that while the changes were very subtle and individual-specific, we could identify consistent upregulation of three histone genes. Further analysis of the potential regulatory networks of these histone genes revealed the enrichment of functions involved in the immune response and inflammation. CONCLUSION The significance of these results in the context of potential effects of Gua Sha and the next steps in exploring the molecular mechanisms of action of this technique are discussed.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Histones ; Gene Expression

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and the risk factors of fungal sepsis in 25 neonatal intensive care units (NICU) among preterm infants in China, and to provide a basis for preventive strategies of fungal sepsis. Methods: This was a second-analysis of the data from the "reduction of infection in neonatal intensive care units using the evidence-based practice for improving quality" study. The current status of fungal sepsis of the 24 731 preterm infants with the gestational age of <34⁺⁰ weeks, who were admitted to 25 participating NICU within 7 days of birth between May 2015 and April 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. These preterm infants were divided into the fungal sepsis group and the without fungal sepsis group according to whether they developed fungal sepsis to analyze the incidences and the microbiology of fungal sepsis. Chi-square test was used to compare the incidences of fungal sepsis in preterm infants with different gestational ages and birth weights and in different NICU. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to study the outcomes of preterm infants with fungal sepsis, which were further compared with those of preterm infants without fungal sepsis. The 144 preterm infants in the fungal sepsis group were matched with 288 preterm infants in the non-fungal sepsis group by propensity score-matched method. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the risk factors of fungal sepsis. Results: In all, 166 (0.7%) of the 24 731 preterm infants developed fungal sepsis, with the gestational age of (29.7±2.0) weeks and the birth weight of (1 300±293) g. The incidence of fungal sepsis increased with decreasing gestational age and birth weight (both P<0.001). The preterm infants with gestational age of <32 weeks accounted for 87.3% (145/166). The incidence of fungal sepsis was 1.0% (117/11 438) in very preterm infants and 2.0% (28/1 401) in extremely preterm infants, and was 1.3% (103/8 060) in very low birth weight infants and 1.7% (21/1 211) in extremely low birth weight infants, respectively. There was no fungal sepsis in 3 NICU, and the incidences in the other 22 NICU ranged from 0.7% (10/1 397) to 2.9% (21/724), with significant statistical difference (P<0.001). The pathogens were mainly Candida (150/166, 90.4%), including 59 cases of Candida albicans and 91 cases of non-Candida albicans, of which Candida parapsilosis was the most common (41 cases). Fungal sepsis was independently associated with increased risk of moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (adjusted OR 1.52, 95%CI 1.04-2.22, P=0.030) and severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) (adjusted OR 2.55, 95%CI 1.12-5.80, P=0.025). Previous broad spectrum antibiotics exposure (adjusted OR=2.50, 95%CI 1.50-4.17, P<0.001), prolonged use of central line (adjusted OR=1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.08, P<0.001) and previous total parenteral nutrition (TPN) duration (adjusted OR=1.04, 95%CI 1.02-1.06, P<0.001) were all independently associated with increasing risk of fungal sepsis. Conclusions: Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis are the main pathogens of fungal sepsis among preterm infants in Chinese NICU. Preterm infants with fungal sepsis are at increased risk of moderate to severe BPD and severe ROP. Previous broad spectrum antibiotics exposure, prolonged use of central line and prolonged duration of TPN will increase the risk of fungal sepsis. Ongoing initiatives are needed to reduce fungal sepsis based on these risk factors.
Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Birth Weight ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Sepsis/epidemiology* ; Retinopathy of Prematurity/epidemiology* ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical features, treatment methods and clinical effects of cervical spondylosis with proximal muscular atrophy. METHODS: Eleven patients with proximal-type cervical spondylotic amyotrophy were retrospectively studied from September 2016 to November 2020, including 7 males and 4 females, aged 38 to 68 years old. Clinical symptoms, MRI and neuroelectrophysiological manifestations were analyzed, and patients were treated with conservative treatment or anterior cervical decompression fusion surgery, respectively. The efficacy was evaluated by manual muscle test (MMT) before and after treatment, and patients' satisfaction was followed up at the same time. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 6 to 19 months. All 11 patients were unilateral, mainly manifested by atrophy of deltoid muscle, supraspinatus muscle and infraspinatus muscle, and may be accompanied by ipsilateral neck and shoulder pain at early stage. MRI showed lesions at C_4,5, C_5,6 segments were more common. Electrophysiological examination showed the affected muscle was denervated, and amplitude of compound muscle action potential (CMAP) of innervated nerve on the affected side was lower than that on the healthy side. All patients were obtained bone fusion. One patient who were underwent anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF) occurred developed contralateral C5 nerve root paralysis after operation, which recovered completely after 10 weeks of symptomatic treatment. At 12 months after operation, the efficacy was evaluated according to MMT, 3 patients were treated conservatively, 2 patients excellent and 1 good;in 8 patients treated by operation, 3 patients were excellent, 4 good, and 1 moderate. CONCLUSION The incidence of cervical spondylosis with proximal muscular atrophy is low, which is manifested as unilateral proximal muscle atrophy and may be accompanied by ipsilateral neck and shoulder pain in the early stage. Combined with MRI and neuroelectrophysiological examination, misdiagnosis could be reduced. In the early stage of disease, especially in the case of nucleus pulposus protrusion leading to nerve compression, conservative treatment could be taken. When the conservative treatment is ineffective or the pain cannot be tolerated, anterior decompression surgery is recommended, and the overall effect is satisfactory.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Shoulder Pain ; Cervical Vertebrae/pathology* ; Muscular Atrophy/surgery* ; Decompression, Surgical/methods* ; Spondylosis/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Spinal Fusion/adverse effects*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Jianpi Jieyu Decoction (JJD) for treating patients with mild-to-moderate depression of Xin (Heart)-Pi (Spleen) deficiency (XPD) syndrome. METHODS: In this multi-center, randomized, controlled study, 140 patients with mild-to-moderate depression of XPD syndrome were included from Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Botou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from December 2017 to December 2019. They were randomly divided into JJD group and paroxetine group by using a random number table, with 70 cases in each group. The patients in the JJD group were given JJD one dose per day (twice daily at morning and evening, 100 mL each time), and the patients in the paroxetine group were given paroxetine (10 mg/d in week 1; 20 mg/d in weeks 2-6), both orally administration for a total of 6 weeks. The primary outcome was the change of 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) score at week 6 from baseline. The secondary outcomes included the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score, Traditional Chinese Medicine Symptom Scale (TCMSS), and Clinlcal Global Impression (CGI) scores at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th weekends of treatment, HAMD-17 response (defined as a reduction in score of >50%) and HAMD-17 remission (defined as a score of ⩽7) at the end of the 6th week of treatment. Adverse events (AEs) were also recorded. RESULTS: From baseline to week 6, the HAMD-17 scores decreased 10.2 ± 4.0 and 9.1 ± 4.9 points in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.689). The HAMD-17 response occurred in 60% of patients in the JJD group and in 50% of those in the paroxetine group (P=0.292); HAMD-17 remission occurred in 45.7% and 30% of patients, respectively (P=0.128). The differences of CGI scores at the 6th week were not statistically significant (P>0.05). There were significant differences in HAMD-17 scores between the two groups at 2nd and 4th week (P=0.001 and P=0.014). The HAMA scores declined 8.1 ± 3.0 and 6.9 ± 4.3 points from baseline to week 6 in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.905 between groups). At 4th week of treatment, there was a significant difference in HAMA between the two groups (P=0.037). TCMSS decreased 11.4 ± 5.1, and 10.1 ± 6.8 points in the JJD and paroxetine groups, respectively (P=0.080 between groups). At the 6th week, the incidence of AEs in the JJD group was significantly lower than that in the paroxetine group (7.14% vs. 22.86%, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with paroxetine, JJD was associated with a significantly lower incidence of AEs in patients with mild-to-moderate depression of XPD syndrome, with no difference in efficacy at 6 weeks. (Trial registration No. ChiCTR2000040922).
Humans ; Paroxetine/adverse effects* ; Spleen ; Anxiety ; Syndrome ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Treatment Outcome ; Double-Blind Method

ObjectiveTo further study the pathogenic role of different types of Chlamydia trachomatis （CT） proteins in tubal factor infertility， evaluate the clinical detection value of Chlamydia trachomatis protein antibody in predicting tubal factor infertility. MethodsA total of 58 cases of tubal factor infertility （TFI）， 41 cases of fertile controls （FC） and 18 cases of infertile controls （IFC） were included. For serum detection， first， CT-IgG ELISA kit was used to detect the expression of CT-IgG in serum of three groups of people； then， 6 kinds of Chlamydia trachomatis proteins were expressed and purified in the early stage to establish the antibody test for these proteins， and ELISA detection method was used to detect the expression of their antibodies in the serum of TFI group， FC group and IFC group， respectively； and finally， the antibody OD value of the 6 kinds of Chlamydia trachomatis proteins in the three groups of subjects were statistically described， and CT-IgG was used as the reference standard to draw the receiver operating characteristic curve （ROC curve） of each CT antibody. The Youden Index determines the cutoff value for each antibody. Taking TFI as the reference class， two disordered multiple classification logistic regression models were established with the FC and IFC groups， respectively； and the reference class was used to explore the value of various antibodies and age in predicting TFI， FC and IFC of Chlamydia trachomatis. The back-off method was used to screen the variables. ResultsThe OD value of CT376 antibody in the TFI group was higher than that in the FC group （0.86 vs. 0.60， P=0.026）. The CT376 antibody OD value in the TFI group was higher than that in the IFC group （0.86 vs. 0.64， P=0.026）. The CT443 antibody OD value in the IFC group was higher than that in the TFI group （0.59 vs. 0.34， P=0.036） and higher than that in the FC group （0.59 vs. 0.30， P=0.02）. The multiple classification logistic regression analysis established between TFI and FC showed that CT-IgG ［P<0.001， OR=0.084， 95%CI （0.025， 0.284）］， CT376 antibody ［P=0.068， OR=0.359， 95%CI （0.120， 1.078）］. CT-IgG is an independent risk factor for tubal infertility， and CT376 antibody cannot be an independent risk factor for tubal infertility. The multiple classification logistic regression analysis established between TFI and IFC showed that among infertile patients， CT-IgG ［P<0.05， OR=0.194， 95%CI （0.046， 0.817）］， CT376 antibody ［P<0.05， OR=0.176， 95%CI （0.038， 0.818）］ and CT381 antibody ［P<0.05， OR=0.112， 95%CI （ 0.016， 0.796）］ were independent risk factors for tubal infertility. ConclusionThe expression of CT376 antibody in tubal infertility patients is higher than that in fertile and infertile controls， suggesting that CT-induced tubal factor infertility may be related to CT376. CT-IgG， and CT376 antibodies are meaningful in predicting CT-induced tubal factor infertility.

The current recommendation for postoperative radiotherapy for esophageal cancer in China is mainly based on the data of incomplete two-field dissection of open left thoracotomy. At present, the type of surgery for esophageal cancer gradually transitions from open left thoracotomy to open right thoracotomy and from open esophagectomy to minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE). Patients with early-stage esophageal cancer are selected as candidates for MIE. MIE is less invasive than open esophagectomy, and the right thoracic approach is conducive to more thorough lymph node dissection. However, few data and related studies are available on the patterns of failure after MIE in esophageal cancer, and guiding an adjuvant therapy is difficult. The feasibility of an adjuvant therapy for selective high-risk patients and the optimized treatment after MIE remains to be explored in clinical practice. In this regard, this article aims to review the safety of MIE, long-term survival outcomes, postoperative recurrence patterns, and recurrence rates of patients to discuss the value of postoperative adjuvant therapy and guide clinical treatment.

Aim To explore the protective effects of ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides (GLPS) on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS) and the underlying mechanism. Methods Thirty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into three groups: normal control group, EAE model group and GLPS group (5 mg • kg