Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of Gegen Decoction plus Sini Powder for polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS) women with acne and to explore its possible therapeutic mechanism.Methods Seventy cases of PCOS women with acne aged 18-45 years were randomized into treatment group and control group,35 cases in each group.The treatment group was given Gegen Decoction plus Sini Powder orally and the control group was given Diane-35 orally.The treatment lasted for 12 weeks.After treatment,the skin lesions and symptom scores were observed.The body mass index (BMI),serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT),interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were detected before and after treatment.Results (1) The markedly effective rate of the treatment group was 80.00％ and that of the control group was 57.14％,the difference being significant between the two groups(P ＜ 0.05).(2) After treatment,the total scores of the symptoms and the scores of each symptom such as sweating,sleeping and physical strength in both groups were decreased(P ＜ 0.01),and the decrease in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group(P ＜ 0.05).(3) The BMI and serum levels of DHT,IL-6 and IL-8 in both groups were significantly decreased after treatment (P ＜ 0.01),and the decrease in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Gegen Decoction plus Sini Powder is effective for the treatment of PCOS women with acne,and the mechanism is probably related with the decrease of BMI and serum DHT,IL-6 and IL-8 levels.

Corticotroph tumors (CTs) are classified into functional CTs and silent CTs (SCTs)according to presence or absence of Cushing's disease manifestations. The pathological manifestations of functional CTs and SCTs are consistent, and both adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and T-box transcription factor TBX19 expressions are seen by immunohistochemistry. SCTs have normal peripheral blood ACTH levels, without Cushing's disease manifestations; and SCTs exhibit invasive growth with high recurrence rate. Some studies have suggested that the biochemical silencing mechanism of SCTs involves pro-opiomelanocortin ( POMC, ACTH precursor) gene expression and ACTH secretion. In this paper, the biochemical silencing mechanism of SCTs will be reviewed from aspects of physiological synthesis and regulation of ACTH in normal adenohypophysial cells, and transcription, post-transcriptional regulation, and post-translational regulation of POMC gene, and ACTH abnormal secretion in SCTs.

Ureaplasma is a common pathogen in the human reproductive tract and consists of two distinct biotypes: biotype 1 and biotype 2. In 2002, based on the differences between biotypes, biotype 1 was further classified to a separate species named Ureaplasma parvum (Up), whereas biotype 2 is referred to as Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu). Uu infection is associated with various urogenital diseases including infertility, preterm birth, and urethritis, while the pathogenicity of Up remains controversial. Researches have shown that different serotypes showed distinct pathogenicity and drug resistance in different diseases and populations, highlighting the importance of clinical tests of serotype and biotype for Ureaplasma. This article reviews the factors that may be associated with Ureaplasma infection, and the current status of the diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice, aiming to provide insights into the clinical significance and necessity of biotypes and serotype tests for Ureaplasma-positive cases and to serve as a reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of related diseases.

ObjectiveTo investigate the structural features of vaginal microbiota in the early threatened abortion patients with the syndrome of kidney deficiency. MethodThirty-one patients with early threatened abortion of kidney deficiency syndrome （DK-TA group） and 116 women with normal early pregnancy （NP group） attending the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from May 2018 to December 2020 were selected. The vaginal secretions were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing， which can reveal the vaginal microbiota composition and differential bacteria between the two groups. ResultThe DK-TA group had higher abundance and diversity of vaginal microbiota than the NP group. The Binary jaccard and unweighted_unifrac distance matrix analysis showed that the similarity， dispersion， abundance， and phylogenetic relationship of vaginal microbiota were significantly different between the two groups. At the phylum level， the DK-TA group had lower relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria and higher relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes than the NP group. At the genus level， the DK-TA group had lower relative abundance of Sneathia and Bifidobacterium and higher relative abundance of Escherichia-Shigella and Shuttleworthia than the NP group. Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size（LEfSe）revealed that Bacteroidetes， Fusobacteria， and Bifidobacteria were dominant in the NP group and Proteobacteria and Firmicutes in the DK-TA group. The function prediction found that DK-TA was closely associated with 38 functional pathways， including cyclic adenosine monophosphate signaling pathway and regulation of tryptophan channels by inflammatory mediators. In addition， the vaginal differential bacteria between the two groups had significant positive or negative association with the differential metabolic pathways. ConclusionProteobacteria， Gemmatimonadetes， and Bacteroidetes in the vaginal microbiota may be biomarkers for threatened abortion of kidney deficiency syndrome.

Objective To investigate the effect of oral fish oil on wound healing and related indexes in patients with diabetic foot ulcer(DFU).Methods A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled design was used to recruit 68 patients with DFU aged 18-80 years old in the hospital,and the baseline clinical data of the patients were collected.The patients were randomly divided into experimental group(32 cases,fish oil soft capsule,3 g/d)and control group(33 cases,corn oil soft capsule,3 g/d)by random number generated by Ex-cel,and the intervention lasted for 12 weeks.The primary endpoints included the proportion of complete wound healing and healing area≥50%.The secondary endpoints included wound area,healing time,inflamma-tion index,glucose metabolism index,nutrition related index and wound reinfection.Additionally,the influen-cing factors of wound healing were analyzed.Results After intervention,the proportion of complete wound healing and healing area≥50%in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P=0.007,0.039).In the subjects with complete wound healing,the mean healing time in the experi-mental group was shorter than that in the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.132).The reduction area of wound area in the experimental group was significantly larger than that in the control group(P=0.045).The decrease of interleukin(IL)-6 and IL-8 in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the reduc-tion of C-reactive protein(CRP),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),glycated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c)and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)between the two groups(P>0.05).The improvement of prealbumin(PA)in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that oral fish oil intervention(OR=6.771,95%CI:1.787-25.652),HbA1c(OR=4.149,95%CI:1.026-16.770)and ulcer type(OR=4.319,95%CI:1.026-18.173)were the influencing factors of wound healing(P<0.05).Conclusion Oral fish oil promotes wound healing in patients with DFU,which may be re-lated to improving the level of chronic inflammation in the body.

Objective:To evaluate the effects of single spay of L-menthol (NPO-11) on suppressing gastric peristalsis during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and the influencing factor.Methods:This study was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-parallel controlled study. The eligible patients were randomly divided into two groups by randomized blocks. Patients received local spray of either NPO-11 (160 mg L-menthol) or placebo 20 mL during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The gastric peristalsis was recorded and evaluated before, 2 minutes after and at the end of endoscopy. The complexity of the procedure was evaluated by the researchers. The influencing factors for antiperistaltic effect of NPO-11 were analyzed.Results:A total of 220 patients were enrolled from five research centers. There were 109 cases in the NPO-11 group and 111 cases in the placebo group. The baseline data of the two groups were similar and comparable. The proportion of patients with grade 1 peristalsis at 2 minutes after the treatment and at the end of endoscopy was significantly higher in the NPO-11 group than that in the placebo group [40.37% (44/109) VS 16.22% (18/111), χ2=15.93, P<0.001]. Compared with the placebo group, the proportions of weak peristalsis (grade 1 and 2) were higher in the NPO-11 group at 2 minutes after the treatment [67.89% (74/109) VS 46.85% (52/111)] and at the end of endoscopy [79.82% (87/109) VS 48.65% (54/111)]. Subgroup analysis showed that the inhibitory effect of NPO-11 on gastric peristalsis was more significant in Helicobacter pylori antibody positive group. Conclusion:Local spray of NPO-11 can effectively inhibit gastric peristalsis during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and its effect is more significant in Helicobacter pylori antibody positive group. It could be recommended for no obvious adverse reactions , its safety, and the convenient procedure.

Objective:To investigate the mechanism by which non-enterotoxin-producing Bacteroides fragilis (NTBF) inhibits TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in human normal colonic epithelial cells hcoEPIC, and explore new probiotic therapies for the prevention and treatment of colitis. Methods:The co-culture system of NTBF and hcoEPIC cells was established, and the adhesion and invasion ability of NTBF were detected, respectively. TNF-α was added to induce cellular inflammation after 4 h of co-culture of NTBF and hcoEPIC cells, and cell survival and apoptosis were detected by the CCK-8 assay and the AnnexinⅤ-FITC/PI assay respectively after 24 h. Key proteins of the NF-κB signalling pathway in hcoEPIC cells in different treatment groups were detected by Western blot and RT-qPCR, and the expression of downstream cytokines of this pathway incluing IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-10 were detected by ELISA. The effect of NTBF intervention on dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)-induced colitis mice was assessed by in vivo animal experiments. Results:NTBF adhered to hcoEPIC cells, and was non-toxic to the cells. Compared with control group, NTBF treatment alone did not affect cell survival and apoptosis of hcoEPIC cells ( P>0.05), but significantly reduced cell damage and apoptosis induced by TNF-α ( P<0.05); Compared with the TNF-α treatment alone group, the expression levels of p-NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα protein as well as NF-κB and IκBα mRNA were significantly reduced ( P<0.05); the production of IL-1β and TNF-α in the cell supernatant was reduced and the release of IL-10 was increased ( P<0.05). Animal experiments demonstrated that NTBF was indeed effective in alleviating DSS-induced colitis in ulcerative colitis model mice, which was mainly manifested by inhibiting weight loss, lowering DAI scores, improving colonic shortening, and attenuating colonic pathological damage in colitis-induced mice. Conclusions:NTBF may inhibit TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses in colonic epithelial cells by down-regulating the NF-κB pathway.