1.Treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by the Method of Lifting the Sunken from "Deficiency,Toxin, Wind-Heat"
Ziyi WANG ; Shaosong WANG ; Yinxia LIU ; Panlin CEN ; Huanqin LI
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;65(23):2492-2496
The treatment of bi (痹) disease in The Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor (《黄帝内经》) is mainly based on acupuncture therapy. There are differences in needling depth, angle, needling techniques, number of needles and the selection of needle instruments. By reviewing literature, it is found that in The Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor, five body constituents (skin, vessel, flesh, sinew, bone) disease location differentiation is taken as the principle for the diagnosis and treatment of bi disease, guiding the needle to the lesion level where the disease is located, and according to the severity of the disease, the characteristics of pathological qi and other factors, the choice of specific acupuncture method and needles are made. This paper summarized and grouped the 17 kinds of acupuncture methods for the treatment of bi disease according to the different five body consitutuents disease location. For needle instruments, filiform needles which can softly unblock and regulate qi are often used in the treatment of bi disease. Lance needles are good at treating vessel bi with the function of clearing blood and moving qi. Round-sharp needles and fire needles are applicable for sinew bi, among which fire needles are especially good at that induced by cold. Long needles have advantages for deep-seated bi disease due to their long needle body. The puncturing method should be in accordance with the needle instruments. The five body instituents disease location differentiation and treatment is a unique system of acupuncture in the treatment of bi disease, which is worthy of more inheritance and application.
2.Impact of arsenic exposure during gestation on testosterone synthesis and sperm quality in F1 adult male rats
Qian XU ; Yiqin CHEN ; Qi WANG ; Jing YAO ; Panlin WANG ; Wenxiang WANG
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2022;39(9):1038-1044
Background Arsenic is recognized as a kind of developmental toxicant, which can pass through the placenta barrier and induce health defects in offspring. However, the effects of environmental levels of arsenic exposure during gestation on the reproductive system of adult male offspring remain unclear. Objective To investigate the impact of environmental levels of arsenic exposure during gestation on testosterone synthesis and sperm quality in F1 adult male rats. Methods Forty sexually mature Wistar female rats were randomly divided into four groups according to body weight, namely control group, low-dose sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) group, middle-dose NaAsO2 group, and high-dose NaAsO2 group. They were mated with sexually mature Wistar male rats in a ratio of 2:1, and the day with presence of a vaginal plug or spermatozoa in the vaginal smear was designated as gestational day 0 (GD0). Pregnant rats were provided drinking water containing 0, 1, 5,, or 25 mg·L−1 NaAsO2 until delivery. At postnatal day 70, the F1 male rats were euthanized. Anogenital distance was measured, testis and epididymis were weighed, and associated organ coefficients were calculated. Epididymal sperm quality was evaluated. The histological changes of testis were observed. The levels of testosterone and estradiol in serum were determined with ELISA kit. The testicular mRNA relative expression levels of key steroidogenic enzymes were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The protein relative expression levels of key steroidogenic enzymes were determined by Western blotting. Results Compared with the control group, the testicular coefficients and epididymis coefficients were increased in the low- and middle-dose groups (P<0.05), and the epididymis coefficient was also increased in the high-dose group (P<0.05). As for the percentage of sperm motility, compared to the control group, grade Ⅰ sperm cells were increased in the low-dose group, but significantly decreased in the middle- and high-dose groups; grade Ⅱ and Ⅲ sperm cells were decreased in the low- and high-dose groups; grade Ⅳ sperm cells were significantly increased in the middle- and high-dose groups; all the differences above were statistically significant (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, there was a significant increase in serum testosterone levels in all treated groups (P<0.05), and the serum estradiol levels were significantly decreased in the high-dose group (P<0.05). Meanwhile, compared with the control group, the relative mRNA expression levels of Hsd3β1 and Cyp19a1 were decreased (P<0.05), while those of StAR and Cyp11a1 were increased in the high-dose group (P<0.05). In addition, the relative protein expression levels of CYP11A1 were significantly increased in all treated groups compared with the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Environmental levels of arsenic exposure during gestation can up-regulate testosterone level and reduce sperm quality, and is a potential risk for reproductive dysfunction in adult male offspring.