Objective To evaluate the treatment of acne vulgaris with acupuncture by different methods of point selection.Methods 51 cases of acne vulgaris were randomly recruited into local point selection group,distal point selection group and combination of local and distal point selection group.10 cases of healthy people were recruited for normal control group.Serum arachidonic acid (AA),free testosterone (FT),and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels were observed in all treatment groups.Results After the treatment,serum AA was (20.56±5.28)μg/L,(18.86±5.70) μg/L and (14.62±3.06) μg/L,while SHBG was (333.31±87.96) nmol/L,(332.02±87.82) nmol/L and (273.02±61.74) nmol/L respectively in local point selection group,distal point selection group and combination of local and distal point selection group,both showing no significant difference than the normal control group (P＞0.05).There was no significant difference in FT value between the combination of local and distal point selection group (5.62± 1.98) nmol/L and the normal control group (P＞0.05).The decrease of AA in the combination of local and distal point selection group was between than the local point selection group (P＜0.01).Conclusion Acupuncture can effectively improve the level of inflammatory factors and androgen of the acne vulgaris.Different methods of point selection of acupuncture on the improvement of some indicators were quite different,which laid the foundation for the best compatibility of acupuncture treatment in acne vulgaris.

[Objective]To summarize the clinical experience of treating chloasma with the theory of the Zangfu-organs by Pro.Sun Yinong. [Method]By analyzing the idea of Sun’s therapy and medication of the proven case, it elaborates Pro.Sun Yinong’s clinical experience on using Chinese herbs to treat chloasma under the theory of the Zangfu-organs. [Results]The five Zang-organs perform their respective duties, any pathological changes in the five Zang-organs al can cause chloasma. We adapted at different herbs therapy to treat chloasma, which relieved the patient ’s clinical symptoms, and achieved satisfactory clinical outcome.[Conclusion] Starting from the five Zang-organs on the treatment based on syndrome differentiation, not only provides a new thought for the treatment of chloasma,but also ful y embodies the concept of holism and syndrome differentiation on TCM treatment of chloasma, which has practical effect on clinical application.

Abstact: Biqiu is equivalent to allergic rhinitis in modern medicine. Ancient and modern literature has shown that acupuncture has a good clinical efficacy on this disease. However, there is no uniform specification in the choice of acupuncture methods (such as acupuncture, moxibustion, warm acupuncture and so on) and the selection of acupoints. According to the etiology and pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis and its clinical manifestations, Biqiu can be classified as“fluid retention disease”in TCM. This article tried to provide a new idea for acupuncture treatment of Biqiu from the perspective of the treatment of“fluid retention disease”in TCM.

Objective To investigate the association of Mycoplasma pneumoniae(MP) infection with disease activity of ankylosing spondylitis. Methods A total of 158 subjects in our hospital were enrolled in this study, including patients with ankylosing spondylitis(AS, n=66), rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n=31),osteoarthritis(OA, n=25) and normal controls(NC, n=36). MP infection was defined as anti-MP IgM antibody positive. Anti-MP IgM antibodies were determined by a mycoplasma pneumoniae(Mac strain)membrane-based agglutination test. AS patients were divided into two groups: MP infection group and non-MP infection group. T-test was used for statistical analysis of age, blood white cells, ESR, CRP, immunoglobulin, BASDAI index, global assessment on VAS scale, Schober test and chest expansion reflecting spinal mobility.χ2-test was used to compare the positive rate of MP infection in different groups. Gender difference and prevalence of clinical infection in past four weeks between MP infection and MP-free group in AS patients was also compared. Ridit analysis was used to analyze the association of MP infection with degree of sacroiliac damage on CT. Results The prevalence of MP infection in AS (52%, 34/66) was much higher than that in rheumatoid arthritis (RA, 6%, P＜0.01 ), osteoarthritis(OA, 4%, P＜0.01 ) and normal controls (NC, 11%, P＜0.01) . Compared with the non-MP infection group, the MP infection group had more active disease in term of BASDAI(4.0±1.1 vs 3.0±1.9, P=0.017), ESR[(44±32) mm/1h vs (28±23) mm/1h, P=0.029], CRP [(40±38) mg/L vs (22±21) mg/L, P=0.025] serum total IgG level [(18±3) g/L vs (16±5) g/L, P=0.027],but not in serum total IgA and IgM. Regarding to the sacroiliac joint and spinal mobility, MP infection group did not exhibit any association with the sacroiliac grading on CT, Schober test and expansion. In AS patients with MP infection, only 44.1%(15/34) was complicated by clinical manifestations of upper respiratory tract in the past 4 weeks. However, a higher prevalence of MP infection was found in AS patients with clinical manifestation of upper respiratory tract, compared with those with negative clinical manifestation(71% vs 42%,P=0.027). Conclusion Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the most common reported pathogen in ankylosing spondylitis and relates to the disease activity of AS. MP infection is probably a principal triggering factor in the pathogenesis of AS.

Pyroptosis is a newly discovered form of cell death.Through the activation of inflammasome complexes,pyroptosis induces the production of interleukin (IL)-1 β and IL-18,and the osmotic swelling of cells,thus induces cellular rupture and death.It plays a role in the pathological process of a variety of human diseases.The death of retinal cells including photoreceptor cells and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells is the main reason leading to visual dysfunction in the pathogenesis in ocular fundus diseases.Researches have demonstrated that pyroptosis is closely related to the onset and progression of various retinal diseases.In age-related macular degeneration,pyroptosis directly causes apoptosis of RPE cells and upregulation of proinflammatory factors,enhancing toxic effect of lipofuscin.For retinitis pigmentosa,pyroptosis is the leading manner of death of secondary cone photoreceptor cells.In cytomegalovirus retinitis,pyroptosis is the main responding way to infection.This review presented the molecular mechanism of pyroptosis and its role in age-related macular degeneration,retinitis pigmentosa and cytomegalovirus retinitis and other retinal diseases.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of serum D-dimer combined with myocardial injury markers on admission for early identification of high-risk patients with acute myocarditis.Methods:Patients hospitalized for acute myocarditis in China-Japan Friendship Hospital were retrospectively enrolled from 2010 to 2021. Patients were divided into the high D-dimer level group and low D-dimer level group according to the median value of D-dimer measured by immunoturbidimetry within 24 h of admission. In-hospital adverse events were defined as death, cardiogenic shock, malignant ventricular arrhythmia and new-onset heart failure. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to explore the independent predictors of in-hospital adverse events, and receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive value.Results:A total of 106 patients were analyzed, including 52 high level D-dimer patients and 54 low level D-dimer patients, with an average age of (36±16) years, and 62.3% were male. Compared with the low D-dimer level group, patients in the high D-dimer level group had lower mean systolic blood pressure [(114±21) mmHg vs. (121±14) mmHg] and diastolic blood pressure [(71±13) mmHg vs. (76±10) mmHg], higher heart rate [(97±26) beats/min vs. (79±15) beats/min], higher C-reactive protein levels [6.82 (1.61, 20.05) mg/dL vs. 1.30 (0.13, 8.93) mg/dL] and creatinine levels [86.95 (67.63, 117.83) μmol/L vs. 68.80 (60.18, 81.93) μmol/L] on admission. The proportion of patients having QRS interval >120 ms on electrocardiogram was higher in high D-dimer level group (25.0% vs. 7.4%). There was no significant difference in patients with positive myocardial injury biomarkers between the two groups. The incidence of in-hospital adverse events was higher in the high D-dimer level group (67.3% vs. 22.2%, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that serum D-dimer levels and elevated myocardial injury markers on admission were independently associated with in-hospital adverse events. The area under the curve (AUC) of elevated serum D-dimer level on admission for predicting in-hospital adverse events was 0.781 (95% CI: 0.690-0.873), the sensitivity was 74.5%, and the specificity was 71.2%. When combined with positive cardiac biomarkers, the AUC was 0.831 (95% CI: 0.752-0.910) with a sensitivity of 80.9% and a specificity of 78.0%. Conclusions:Elevated D-dimer level on admission can predict the risk of in-hospital adverse events in patients with acute myocarditis. The combination of cardiac injury biomarkers can improve the predictive value.

Objective:To explore the effect of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) and intracorporeal urinary diversion (ICUD).Methods:A total of 83 patients who received LRC+ ICUD in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital from March 2014 to September 2020, were divided into 2 groups based on different perioperative management, including 29 ERAS cases and 54 conventional recovery after surgery (CRAS) cases. The ERAS group included 26 males and 3 females , with an average age of (62.07 ± 9.26) years. There were 26 patients with ASA class Ⅰ-Ⅱ, 3 patients with ASA class Ⅲ, 4 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 7 patients had a history of abdominal surgery in ERAS group. The CRAS group included 44 males and 10 females , with an average age of (61.59 ± 10.16) years. There were 50 patients with ASA class Ⅰ-Ⅱ, 4 patients with ASA class Ⅲ, 9 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 10 patients had a history of abdominal surgery in CRAS group. There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. The patients in both groups underwent LRC+ ICUD procedures. The perioperative results and complications between the two groups were compared.Results:In the ERAS group, there were 20 patients who underwent Bricker ileal conduit surgery and 9 patients who underwent Studer orthotopic ileal neobladder surgery. Pathological staging included 3, 3, 7, 7, 5 and 4 cases in stage T a, T is, T 1, T 2, T 3 and T 4a, respectively. There were 23, 2, 3 and 1 patient with pathological stage N 0, N 1, N 2 and N 3, respectively. Pathological diagnosis included 3 cases of low-grade urothelial carcinoma, 24 cases of high-grade urothelial carcinoma, and 2 cases of other histological subtypes. In the CRAS group, there were 31 patients who underwent Bricker ileal conduit surgery and 23 patients who underwent Studer orthotopic ileal neobladder surgery. Pathological staging included 5, 3, 12, 9, 15 and 10 patients in stage T a, T is, T 1, T 2, T 3 and T 4a, respectively. There were 35, 6, 7 and 6 patients with pathological stage N 0, N 1, N 2, and N 3, respectively. Pathological diagnoses included 6 cases of low-grade urothelial carcinoma, 45 cases of high-grade urothelial carcinoma, and 3 cases of other histological subtypes. There were no statistically significant differences ( P>0.05) in surgical methods, pathological staging, or pathological types between the ERAS and CRAS groups. ERAS group presented less albumin loss [(25.73±8.63)% vs. (32.63±9.05)%, P=0.001], shorter hospital stay [9(7, 13)d vs. 12(9, 16)d, P=0.006], less 30-day overall complications [55.2% (16/29) vs. 83.3% (45/54), P=0.009]. In multivariable analysis, maximum albumin loss≥20% was independently associated with 30-day minor complications ( P=0.049), and maximum albumin loss ≥25% was independently associated with hospital of stay≥10 days ( P=0.038), respectively. Conclusions:For patients who received LRC+ ICUD, ERAS was associated with reduced perioperative albumin loss, shorter length of stay, less 30-day complications, accelerated recovery time, improved clinical outcome and less albumin injection.

In the context of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by dysregulated lipid metabolism in hepatocytes, the quest for safe and effective therapeutics targeting lipid metabolism has gained paramount importance. Sanhuang Xiexin Tang (SXT) and Baihu Tang (BHT) have emerged as prominent candidates for treating metabolic disorders. SXT combined with BHT plus Cangzhu (SBC) has been used clinically for Weihuochisheng obese patients. This retrospective analysis focused on assessing the anti-obesity effects of SBC in Weihuochisheng obese patients. We observed significant reductions in body weight and hepatic lipid content among obese patients following SBC treatment. To gain further insights, we investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of SBC in HFD-fed mice. The results demonstrated that SBC treatment mitigated body weight gain and hepatic lipid accumulation in HFD-fed mice. Pharmacological network analysis suggested that SBC may affect lipid metabolism, mitochondria, inflammation, and apoptosis-a hypothesis supported by the hepatic transcriptomic analysis in HFD-fed mice treated with SBC. Notably, SBC treatment was associated with enhanced hepatic mitochondrial biogenesis and the inhibition of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/NF-κB pathways. In conclusion, SBC treatment alleviates NAFLD in both obese patients and mouse models by improving lipid metabolism, potentially through enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis. These effects, in turn, ameliorate inflammation in hepatocytes.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/metabolism* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Organelle Biogenesis ; Retrospective Studies ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Obesity/metabolism* ; Liver ; Inflammation/metabolism* ; Body Weight ; Lipid Metabolism ; Lipids ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects*