OBJECTIVETo compare therapeutic effects of catgut implantation at acupoint and routine acupuncture on prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.

METHODSOne hundred and forty cases were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group, 70 cases in each group. The treatment group were treated with catgut implantation at acupoint, once each week, 3 sessions constituting one course, and the control group with routine acupuncture, once every other day, 10 sessions constituting one course.

RESULTSThe effective rate was 95.6% after treatment of one course and 88.2% 3 months later in the treatment group, which were better than 84.6% and 72.3% in the control group, respectively (Both P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCatgut implantation at acupoint has a better therapeutic effect on prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc, with lower cost.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Catgut ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Prolapse

AIM To study the effects of Danggui Buxue Decoction total glycosides combined with Hirudo in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in rats and its mechanism.METHODS One hundred and twenty male SD rats were selected,eighteen of which were taken as normal group (normal saline),the remaining 102 rats were used to establish model for pulmonary fibrosis.Seventy-two modeled rats were randomly divided into model group (normal saline),Danggui Buxue Decoction total glycosides group (13 mg/kg),Hirudo group (Hirudo powder,4 g/kg) and combination group (Danggui Buxue Decoction total glycosides,13 mg/kg;Hirudo powder,4 g/kg),eighteen rats in each group with intragastric administration.RESULTS On the 7th,14th and 28th days after modeling,alveolar inflammatory score,pulmonary fibrosis degree score,TGF-β1 and PAI-1 expression levels in lung tissue,IL-4 and IL-17 expression levels in alveolar lavage fluid,hydroxyproline (HYP) content in lung tissue in the model group were significantly higher than those in the normal group (P ＜ 0.05).Alveolar inflammatory score,pulmonary fibrosis degree score,TGF-β1,PAI-1,IL-4,IL-17 expression levels and HYP content in the Danggui Buxue Decoction total glycosides group,Hirudo group and combination group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P ＜ 0.05).In the combination group,alveolar inflammatory score,pulmonary fibrosis degree score,TGF-β1,PAI-1,IL-4,IL-17 expression levels and HYP content were significantly lower than those in the Danggui Buxue Decoction total glycosides group and Hirudo group (P ＜ 0.05).CONCLUSION Danggui Buxue Decoction total glycosides combined with Hirudo have good therapeutic effects on pulmonary fibrosis in rats mainly by reducing TGF-β1,PAI-1 expression levels and HYP coment in lung tissue.

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome