OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of acupuncture therapy on dysphagia in patients with Parkinson's disease. METHODS: This randomized controlled study lasted 42 days and included 112 patients with Parkinson's disease and dysphagia. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (56 cases each group) using the completely randomized design, all under routine treatment. The experimental group was given acupuncture therapy. The primary outcome was Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS). The secondary outcomes were (1) Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA), and (2) nutritional status including body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, prealbumin, and hemoglobin. Adverse events were recorded as safety indicators. RESULTS: One participant quitted the study midway. There were no significant differences in baseline assessment (P>0.05). After treatment, both groups showed significant improvement in PAS, SSA and nutritional status except for BMI of the control group. There were significant differences between the two groups in the PAS for both paste and liquid, SSA (25.18±8.25 vs. 20.84±6.92), BMI (19.97±3.34 kg/m²vs. 21.26 ±2.38 kg/m²), serum albumin (35.16 ±5.29 g/L vs. 37.24 ±3.98 g/L), prealbumin (248.33 ±27.72 mg/L vs. 261.39 ±22.10 mg/L), hemoglobin (119.09±12.53 g/L vs. 126.67±13.97 g/L) (P<0.05). There were no severe adverse events during the study. CONCLUSION: The combination of routine treatment and acupuncture therapy can better improve dysphagia and nutritional status in patients with Parkinson's disease, than routine treatment solely. (registration No. CLINICALTRIAL gov NCT06199323).
Humans ; Parkinson Disease/therapy* ; Deglutition Disorders/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Therapy/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Nutritional Status ; Body Mass Index

Periodontal bone defects, primarily caused by periodontitis, are highly prevalent in clinical settings and manifest as bone fenestration, dehiscence, or attachment loss, presenting a significant challenge to oral health. In regenerative medicine, harnessing developmental principles for tissue repair offers promising therapeutic potential. Of particular interest is the condensation of progenitor cells, an essential event in organogenesis that has inspired clinically effective cell aggregation approaches in dental regeneration. However, the precise cellular coordination mechanisms during condensation and regeneration remain elusive. Here, taking the tooth as a model organ, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing to dissect the cellular composition and heterogeneity of human dental follicle and dental papilla, revealing a distinct Platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) population with remarkable odontogenic potential. Interestingly, a reciprocal paracrine interaction between PDGFRA⁺ dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) and CD31⁺ Endomucin⁺ endothelial cells (ECs) was mediated by Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and Platelet-derived growth factor subunit BB (PDGFBB). This crosstalk not only maintains the functionality of PDGFRA⁺ DFSCs but also drives specialized angiogenesis. In vivo periodontal bone regeneration experiments further reveal that communication between PDGFRA⁺ DFSC aggregates and recipient ECs is essential for effective angiogenic-osteogenic coupling and rapid tissue repair. Collectively, our results unravel the importance of MSC-EC crosstalk mediated by the VEGFA and PDGFBB-PDGFRA reciprocal signaling in orchestrating angiogenesis and osteogenesis. These findings not only establish a framework for deciphering and promoting periodontal bone regeneration in potential clinical applications but also offer insights for future therapeutic strategies in dental or broader regenerative medicine.
Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha/metabolism* ; Humans ; Neovascularization, Physiologic/physiology* ; Dental Sac/cytology* ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Transcriptome ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Bone Regeneration ; Animals ; Dental Papilla/cytology* ; Periodontium/physiology* ; Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Regeneration ; Angiogenesis

BACKGROUND: The use of inserted sham acupuncture as a placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is controversial, because it may produce specific effects that cause an underestimation of the effect of acupuncture treatment. OBJECTIVE: This systematic survey investigates the magnitude of insert-specific effects of sham acupuncture and whether they affect the estimation of acupuncture treatment effects. SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched to identify acupuncture RCTs from their inception until December 2022. INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTs that evaluated the effects of acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture and no treatment. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS: The total effect measured for an acupuncture treatment group in RCTs were divided into three components, including the natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (controlled for no-treatment group), the placebo effect, and the specific effect of acupuncture. The first two constituted the contextual effect of acupuncture, which is mimicked by a sham acupuncture treatment group. The proportion of acupuncture total effect size was considered to be 1. The proportion of natural history and/or regression to the mean effect (PNE) and proportional contextual effect (PCE) of included RCTs were pooled using meta-analyses with a random-effect model. The proportion of acupuncture placebo effect was the difference between PCE and PNE in RCTs with non-inserted sham acupuncture. The proportion of insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture (PIES) was obtained by subtracting the proportion of acupuncture placebo effect and PNE from PCE in RCTs with inserted sham acupuncture. The impact of PIES on the estimation of acupuncture's treatment effect was evaluated by quantifying the percentage of RCTs that the effect of outcome changed from no statistical difference to statistical difference after removing PIES in the included studies, and the impact of PIES was externally validated in other acupuncture RCTs with an inserted sham acupuncture group that were not used to calculate PIES. RESULTS: This analysis included 32 studies with 5492 patients. The overall PNE was 0.335 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.255-0.415) and the PCE of acupuncture was 0.639 (95% CI, 0.567-0.710) of acupuncture's total effect. The proportional contribution of the placebo effect to acupuncture's total effect was 0.191, and the PIES was 0.189. When we modeled the exclusion of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, the acupuncture treatment effect changed from no difference to a significant difference in 45.45% of the included RCTs, and in 40.91% of the external validated RCTs. CONCLUSION The insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture in RCTs represents 18.90% of acupuncture's total effect and significantly affects the evaluation of the acupuncture treatment effect. More than 40% of RCTs that used inserted sham acupuncture would draw different conclusions if the PIES had been controlled for. Considering the impact of the insert-specific effect of sham acupuncture, caution should be taken when using inserted sham acupuncture placebos in RCTs. Please cite this article as: Luo XC, Liu JL, Yao MH, Chen YM, Fan AY, Liang FR, Zhao JP, Zhao L, Zhou X, Zhong XY, Yang JH, Li B, Zhang Y, Sun X, Li L. Specific effect of inserted sham acupuncture and its impact on the estimation of acupuncture treatment effect in randomized controlled trials: A systematic survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):630-640.
Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Placebo Effect ; Placebos ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To explore the causes of related medical damage risks and preventive measures by analyzing the identification results of medical damage in 20 urological death cases.Methods A retro-spective analysis was conducted on 20 death cases of medical damage identification involving urology diagnosis and treatment accepted by the Judicial Appraisal Center,School of Forensic Medicine,Gui-zhou Medical University,and Academy of Forensic Science from 2010 to 2023.Results Among the 20 cases,the male-to-female ratio was 1.5∶1.The age of the identified persons ranged from 37 to 84 years old,with an average age of 59.2 years.There were 21 medical institutions involved,with 81.0%being tertiary medical institutions.The statistical results of the causes of death showed that 60.0%deaths were due to infectious shock or hemorrhagic shock.Conclusion The causative potency analysis of medical damage in urological death cases is closely related to the patients'diseases,the death con-sequences of medical damage,and medical errors.Analyzing characteristics of typical cases can im-prove the comprehensive analysis ability of forensic examiners in similar cases,help them understand the rationality and compliance of medical behaviors in different situations,in order to make more accu-rate and comprehensive judgments.

Tetramethylpyrazine is the main component of Ligusticum chuanxiong. Studies have found that tetramethylpyrazine has a good protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. In the heart, tetramethylpyrazine can reduce myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting oxidative stress, regulating autophagy, and inhibiting cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Tetramethylpyrazine can also reduce the damage of cardiomyocytes caused by inflammation, relieve the fibrosis and hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes in infarcted myocardium, and inhibit the expansion of the cardiac cavity after myocardial infarction. In addition, tetramethylpyrazine also has a protective effect on the improvement of familial dilated cardiomyopathy. Besides, the mechanisms of tetramethylpyrazine on blood vessels are more abundant. It can inhibit endothelial cell apoptosis by reducing oxidative stress, maintain vascular endothelial function and homeostasis by inhibiting inflammation and glycocalyx degradation, and protect vascular endothelial cells by reducing iron overload. Tetramethylpyrazine also has a certain inhibitory effect on thrombosis. It can play an anti-thrombotic effect by reducing inflammatory factors and adhesion molecules, inhibiting platelet aggregation, and suppressing the expression of fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor. In addition, tetramethylpyrazine can also reduce the level of blood lipid in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice, inhibit the subcutaneous deposition of lipids, inhibit the transformation of macrophages into foam cells, and inhibit the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, thereby reducing the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. In combination with network pharmacology, the protective mechanism of tetramethylpyrazine on the cardiovascular system may be mainly achieved through the regulation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/Akt), hypoxia-inducible factor 1(HIF-1), and mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK) pathways. Tetramethylpyrazine hydrochloride and sodium chloride injection has been approved for clinical application, but some adverse reactions have been found in clinical application, which need to be paid attention to.
Mice ; Animals ; Endothelial Cells/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; Thrombosis ; Inflammation ; Apoptosis

Objective:To investigate correlations between blood lipid levels and clinical characteristics of patients with psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) in Fujian province.Methods:Totally, 245 PsV patients were enrolled from Department of Dermatology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from March 2019 to March 2022, and 250 gender-, age-, and body mass index-matched health checkup examinees served as controls. Their biochemical indicators, such as blood lipids, liver function, and kidney function, were evaluated. Clinical data, such as disease courses, involvement of specific sites, history of smoking and alcohol consumption, and family history of psoriasis, were collected from the PsV patients, and correlations between these clinical data and dyslipidemia were analyzed. Measurement data were compared using t test or Mann-Whitney U test, and enumeration data were compared using chi-square test. Results:There were 122 (50.8%) patients with dyslipidemia in the PsV group and 94 (37.6%) in the control group, and the prevalence of dyslipidemia significantly differed between the two groups ( χ2 = 7.48, P = 0.006). The prevalence of hypo-high-density lipoprotein cholesterolemia was significantly higher in the PsV group (29.8%) than in the control group (18.8%; χ2 = 8.15, P = 0.004). The PsV group showed significantly decreased serum levels of total cholesterol (4.5[3.9, 5.2] mmol/L), high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (1.1[1.0, 1.3] mmol/L), and apolipoprotein A1 (1.2[1.1, 1.4] g/L) compared with the control group (4.9[4.3, 5.4] mmol/L, 1.3[1.1, 1.5] mmol/L, 1.3[1.2, 1.5] g/L, respectively; all P < 0.001). The proportions of males, patients with a history of alcohol consumption, and patients with involvement of the palmoplantar sites were significantly higher in the PsV patients with dyslipidemia (92.6%, 13.1%, 13.8%, respectively) than in those without dyslipidemia (70.7%, 6.0%, 5.0%, respectively; all P < 0.001). Multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that "male" and "BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2" were independent risk factors for dyslipidemia in the PsV patients ( OR [95% CI]: 3.94 [1.74, 9.74], 3.18 [1.71, 6.09], respectively), and "involvement of the palmoplantar sites" was independently associated with increased risk of hyperlipidemia ( OR [95% CI]: 3.38 [1.18, 11.01]) . Conclusion:The prevalence of dyslipidemia was higher in PsV patients than in healthy populations, and PsV patients being males, having BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and with involvement of palmoplantar sites may be prone to develop lipid metabolism disorders.

Objective:To analyze the adjustment of the amount of medical insurance reimbursement with the addition of the age factor, making the system more in line with the actual clinical resource consumption.Methods:Data were collected from the first page of medical records of 54 535 inpatients discharged from hospital between January 1 th, 2021 and December 31 th, 2021.First, the paired t-test was used to verify any statistical difference between the standard payment amounts before and after adjustment based on the model and the actual hospitalization expenses.Secondly, the actual cost was compared with the cost after the model-based adjustment and the current benchmark cost(before adjustment), respectively.The standard deviations of the two groups were compared to assess the difference between the benchmark cost and the actual cost before and after adjustment. Results:Through the Blom formula, the actual cost, adjusted benchmark cost and current benchmark cost data were normalized.After normalization, the actual expenses and the adjusted benchmark cost as well as the actual expenses and the current benchmark cost were compared, respectively, using the paired t-test, producing a P value of 0.97 for the former pair and a P value of 0.93 for the latter pair, both greater than 0.05, and the benchmark cost before and after adjustment could reflect the actual clinical resource consumption.However, the effect of benchmark cost adjustment was assessed by analyzing the standard deviation of the difference between paired values of the two groups.The standard deviation of paired values between the actual expense and the adjusted benchmark cost was 0.68, lower than the standard deviation of paired values between the actual expense and current benchmark cost, which was 0.7. Conclusions:With the inclusion of the age factor, the model can reasonably adjust the current benchmark cost based on the patient's age and verify that the adjusted benchmark cost can more accurately reflect the actual clinical resource consumption compared with the current standard.However, further improvement of the payment adjustment model is still needed.

As one of the most lethal diseases, pancreatic cancer shows a dismal overall prognosis and high resistance to most treatment modalities. Furthermore, pancreatic cancer escapes early detection during the curable period because early symptoms rarely emerge and specific markers for this disease have not been found. Although combinations of new drugs, multimodal therapies, and adjuvants prolong survival, most patients still relapse after surgery and eventually die. Consequently, the search for more effective treatments for pancreatic cancer is highly relevant and justified. As a newly re-discovered mediator of gasotransmission, hydrogen sulfide (H