Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), the leading cause of death globally. HCM can precipitate heart failure (HF) by causing the cardiac tissue to weaken and stretch, thereby impairing its pumping efficiency. Moreover, HCM increases the risk of atrial fibrillation, which in turn elevates the likelihood of thrombus formation and stroke. Given these significant clinical ramifications, research into the etiology and pathogenesis of HCM is intensifying at multiple levels. In this review, we discuss and synthesize the latest findings on HCM pathogenesis, drawing on key experimental studies conducted both in vitro and in vivo. We also offer our insights and perspectives on these mechanisms, while highlighting the limitations of current research. Advancing fundamental research in this area is essential for developing effective therapeutic interventions and enhancing the clinical management of HCM.
Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/physiopathology* ; Humans ; Animals

[Objective]To investigate the optimal ratio of Shuji Decoction for the treatment of dystonia in Parkinson's disease(PD)rats.[Methods]The model of PD dystonia was prepared by induction of 6-hydroxydopamine,and the experiment was designed by the orthogonal experimental design,and randomly divided into model group(equal volume of 0.9%sodium chloride solution),Shuji Decoction group 1～16[dosing ratio according to L16(215)orthogonal test table],and sham operation group(equal volume of 0.9%sodium chloride solution)as control,which was administered once/d for 28 d.The stepping test,suspension test and abnormal involuntary movement(AIM)were used to detect the degree of muscular rigidity.Ultrastructural changes of the neuromuscular junctions of the phrenic nerve were observed by transmission electron microscope.The expression level of tyrosine hydroxylase(TH)in brain tissue was measured by immunohistochemistry.[Results]The results of the orthogonal test showed that the best combination of Shuji Decoction was Shuji Decoction group 4,i.e.,Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex:Clematis chinensis Osbeck:Stephania tetrandra S.Moore:Cyclea barbata Miers:Lobelia sessilifolia Lamb in the ratio of 1:1:2:2:1.Compared with sham operation group,there was significantly decreased number of adjusting steps whereas increased latency and AIM scores of rats in model group(P<0.01);compared with model group,the number of adjusting steps was significantly increased,while latency and AIM scores of rats in Shuji Decoction groups were significantly reduced(P<0.01),among which the effect of No.4 Shuji Decoction group was the most obvious(P<0.01).The electron microscopic examination revealed that Shuji Decoction could reduce the number of presynaptic membrane vesicles,mitochondria and postsynaptic membrane folds,and relieve the structural damage of neurons.Immunohistochemistry showed that compared with model group,the expression level of TH was significantly increased in Shuji Decoction groups(P<0.05),and the expression level of TH in Shuji Decoction group 4 was highest(P<0.01).[Conclusion]The optimal ratio of Shuji Decoction for the treatment of dystonia in rats with PD is 1:1:2:2:1 for Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex:Clematis chinensis Osbeck:Stephania tetrandra S.Moore:Cyclea barbata Miers:Lobelia sessilifolia Lamb.

Background: and Purpose This study aimed to investigate early changes in interstitial fluid (ISF) flow in patients with severe carotid stenosis after carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). Methods: We prospectively recruited participants with carotid stenosis ≥80% undergoing CAS at our institute between October 2019 and March 2023. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were performed 3 days before CAS. MRI with DTI and MMSE were conducted within 24 hours and 2 months after CAS, respectively. The diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) index was calculated from the DTI data to determine the ISF status. Increments were defined as the ratio of the difference between post- and preprocedural values to preprocedural values. Results: In total, 102 participants (age: 67.1±8.9 years; stenosis: 89.5%±5.7%) with longitudinal data were evaluated. The DTI-ALPS index increased after CAS (0.85±0.15; 0.85 [0.22] vs. 0.86±0.14; 0.86 [0.21]; P=0.022), as did the MMSE score (25.9±3.7; 24.0 [4.0] vs. 26.9±3.4; 26.0 [3.0]; P<0.001). Positive correlations between increments in the DTI-ALPS index and MMSE score were found in all patients (rs=0.468; P<0.001). Conclusion An increased 24-hour post-CAS DTI-ALPS index suggests early improvement in ISF flow efficiency. The positive correlation between the 24-hour DTI-ALPS index and 2-month MMSE score increments suggests that early ISF flow improvement may contribute to long-term cognitive improvement after CAS.

Objective To explore the clinical value of second polar body (Pb2) exclusion monitoring by timelapse in predicting the fertilization and embryo development efficiency for intracytoplasmic sperm injection ( ICSI). Methods A retrospective research was performed on 278 patients treated with ICSI, the clinical data and Time-lapse monitoring embryo culture data were collected and analyzed, to explore the exclusion of Pb2 after ICSI and the relationship between the specific exclusion time and the outcome of fertilization and embryo development. Results The average time of Pb2 exclusion after ICSI was ( 3. 03 ± 1. 21) hours; The fertilization rate, 2 pronucleus(PN) fertilization rate and 5 days ( D5) blastocyst formation rate in the Pb2 exclusion group were significantly higher than those in the without Pb2 exclusion group (99.95% vs f. 75%, P < 0 . 001; 97.18% vs 0.66%, P< 0.001; 60.50% vs 16.67%, P < 0 . 0 5 ) ; The 2PN fertilization rate in Pb2 exclusion time >3-4 hours group was significantly higher than that in 0-2 hours group and >5 hours group (98.80% vs 9 3 . 8 1 % , P<0. 05; 98.80% vs 95.40%, P<0. 0 5 ) ; The exclusion time of Pb2 was significantly correlated with the average number of blastomeres in D3 embryos (P<0. OOf). The D5 blastocyst formation rate of 3-4 hours group was significantly lower than that of > 2-3 hours group ( 56. 23% vs 67. 23%, P < 0. 05 ) , > 4-5 hours group was significantly lower than 0-2 hours group and >2-3 hours group ( 46. 6f % vs 62. 30% , P<0. 05; 46. 6f % vs 67. 23% , P< 0. 05) , and D5 blastocyst formation rate of >5 hours group was 7. f 4 % , which were significantly lower than that of the other four groups (P<0. 05). The fonnation rate of D5 high-quality blastocysts in 3-4 hours group was significantly lower than 0-2 hours group and > 2-3 hours group ( 9. 92% vs 16. 39% , P<0. 05; 9. 92% vs 20. 72% , P<0. 05) , and D5 highquality blastocysts formation rate in > 4-5 hours group was significantly lower than that in > 2-3 hours group (11. 02% vs 20.72%, P<0. 05). Conclusion Monitoring Pb2 exclusion by Time-lapse can accurately predict fertilization outcome. The time of Pb2 exclusion is significantly correlated with embiyo development potential. It is a valuable morphological index to predict fertilization and embiyo development outcome in ICSI.

OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy in children with appendix-related chronic abdominal pain. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 30 children with the chief complaint of chronic abdominal pain who were admitted from August 2019 to May 2021. All the children were found to have inflammation of the appendix or intracavitary stool and fecalith by ultrasound and underwent ultrasound-guided endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy. The medical data for analysis included clinical manifestations, endoscopic findings, white blood cell count, neutrophil percentage, length of hospital stay, and cure rate. RESULTS: Among the 30 children with chronic abdominal pain, there were 13 boys (43%) and 17 girls (57%), with a mean age of (9±3) years (range 3-15 years) at diagnosis. The median duration of the disease was 12 months, and the median length of hospital stay was 3 days. The children had a median white blood cell count of 6.7×10⁹/L and a neutrophil percentage of 50%±13%. Fecalith and a large amount of feces were flushed out of the appendix cavity for 21 children (70%) during surgery. The follow-up rate was 97% (29/30), and the median follow-up time was 11 months (range 5-26 months). Of the 29 children, abdominal pain completely disappeared in 27 children (93%). CONCLUSIONS Ultrasound-guided endoscopic retrograde appendicitis therapy is effective in children with chronic abdominal pain caused by feces or fecalith in the appendix cavity.
Abdominal Pain/etiology* ; Adolescent ; Appendicitis/surgery* ; Appendix/surgery* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Fecal Impaction ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography, Interventional

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether acupuncture combined with moxibustion could inhibit epithelialmesenchymal transition in Crohn's disease by affecting the transforming growth factor β 1 (TGF- β 1)/Smad3/Snail pathway. METHODS: Sixty-three patients with Crohn's disease were randomly divided into an observation group (31 cases) receiving moxibustion at 43 °C combined with acupuncture, and a control group (32 cases) receiving moxibustion at 37 °C combined with sham acupuncture using a random number table. Patients were treated for 12 weeks. Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) was used to evaluate disease activity. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to observe the morphological and ultrastructural changes. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of transforming growth factor β 1 (TGF-β 1), T β R1, T β R2, Smad3, Snail, E-cadherin and fibronectin in intestinal mucosal tissues. RESULTS: The decrease of the CDAI score, morphological and ultrastructural changes were more significant in observation group. The expression levels of TGF- β 1, Tβ R2, Smad3, and Snail in the observation group were significantly lower than those before the treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). After treatment, the expression levels of TGF-β 1, TβR2, and Snail in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05); compared with the control group, the expression of fibronectin in the observation group was significantly decreased, and the expression of E-cadherin was significantly increased (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Moxibustion at 43 °C combined with acupuncture may suppress TGF-β 1/Smad3/Snail pathway-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition of intestinal epithelial cells in Crohn's disease patients by inhibiting the expression levels of TGF-β 1, Tβ R2, Smad3, and Snail. (Registration No. ChiCTR-IIR-16007751).
Acupuncture Therapy ; Cadherins/metabolism* ; Crohn Disease/therapy* ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Fibronectins/metabolism* ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Smad3 Protein/metabolism* ; Snail Family Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/metabolism*

ObjectiveTo establish a population pharmacokinetic （PPK） model of teicoplanin in septic patients from Intensive Care Unit （ICU） and to explore its pharmacokinetic characteristics and related covariates. MethodsThe study included 66 septic patients hospitalized in the department of critical care medicine from November 2017 to February 2020. After intravenous dosing of teicoplanin in septic patients， the trough concentration of teicoplanin was determined by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） and the concentration-time data was analyzed by non-linear mixed effect model. The pharmacokinetic parameters and residual errors were evaluated. The influence of covariates on model parameters was tested by forward addition and backward elimination. The predictive performance of the final model was assessed by internal validation. ResultsA two-compartment model best described the teicoplanin concentration-time data. The PPK parameter estimates were central clearance of 0.45 L/min， peripheral clearance of 0.72 L/min， central volume of distribution of 39.74 L and peripheral volume of distribution of 152.41 L. Creatinine， total protein， and lactate were found to significantly affect central clearance of teicoplanin （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe two-compartment PPK model of teicoplanin established in this study could be used for individualized treatment in septic patients from ICU due to its good stability and high predictive accuracy.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture-moxibustion on negative emotions and plasma tryptophan (Trip)-kynurenine (Kyn) metabolism in the patients with Crohn's disease (CD) at the mild and moderate active stage. METHODS: A total of 66 CD patients were randomized into an observation group (33 cases, 1 case dropped off) and a control group (33 cases, 2 cases dropped off). In the observation group, acupuncture was applied in combination with moxibustion. In the control group, the sham-acupuncture was used in combination with sham-moxibustion. In both of the observation group and the control group, acupuncture was applied to Zhongwan (CV 12), Shangjuxu (ST 37), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Gongsun (SP 4), Hegu (LI 4), Quchi (LI 11), Taixi (KI 3) and Taichong (LR 3), and moxibustion was applied to Tianshu (ST 25) and Zusanli (ST 36). The treatment was given once every two days, 3 times a week, totally for 12 weeks. Separately, before and after treatment, the score of the hospital anxiety-depression scale (HADS) and the score of intestinal core symptoms (degree of abdominal pain and frequency of diarrhea) were observed in the patients of the two groups. The concentration of plasma indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) and the ratios of Kyn/Trp, QuinA/Kyn, KynA/Kyn and KynA/QuinA were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Compared with before treatment, the scores of HADS-A and HADS-D in the observation group and the score of HADS-A in the control group were all reduced after treatment ( CONCLUSION Acupuncture and moxibustion relieve the negative emotions of anxiety and depression in CD patients at mild and moderate active stage, which is probably related to the regulation of plasma Trp-Kyn metabolic pathway.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Crohn Disease/therapy* ; Emotions ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Plasma ; Treatment Outcome ; Tryptophan