Studies demonstrate a decline in androgens with age and this results in the andropause. The objective of this paper is to review the literature on hormonal changes that occur in the aging males and determine if there are associations between decreased testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and decreased cognitive function. Trials of androgen replacement and its impact on cognitive function will also be analyzed. Method of analysis will be by a thorough search of articles on MEDLINE, the Intemet and major abstract databases. Results of the author's own research in 302 men of the association of memory loss as a symptom in the andropause will be presented. In addition, the authors open trial of testosterone replacement in hypogonadic men with Alzheimer's disease will also be presented. The results of the author's trial will be compared with other investigators. High endogenous testosterone level predicted better performance on visual spatial tests in several studies, but not in all studies. Likewise, testosterone replacement in hypogonadic patients improved cognitive functions in some but not all studies. Testosterone has also been shown to improve cognitive function in eugonadal men. Several studies have shown that declines in DHEA may contribute to Alzheimer's disease and the results of double blind studies with DHEA replacement and its effect on cognition will also be presented. In summary, there is still no consensus that androgen replacement is beneficial in cognitive decline but this option may prove promising in some patients.

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the lag effects of daily average temperature on the daily cases of bacillary dysentery in Lanzhou city. METHODS: The data of daily cases of bacillary dysentery were collected during 2008 and 2015 in the city, and the meteorological data at the same period was integrated. The distributed lag non-linear model was used to analyze the relevance between daily average temperature and the daily cases of bacillary dysentery. RESULTS: The exposure response relationship between the daily temperature and the incidence of bacillary dysentery was "J" type, the lowest incidence temperature was 17 °C, and the effect of high temperature on different gender and age groups was higher than that of the intermediate effect. The effect of high temperature and intermediate effect on the male and female groups showed an acute effect, the effect of the day was the highest, followed by fluctuations in temperature, and the greater the impact on women. In different age groups, high temperature effect and the intermediate effect of bacterial dysentery in 0-3 years old groups were the biggest; the effects of high and intermediate temperature on people aged 0-3 and 19-64 year all showed acute effects, which were the maximum value at the day, then decreased volatility; and for people aged over 65 years, the day after the onset, decreases and then increases slowly. There were obviously increasing risks of bacillary dysentery both the high temperature (32 °C) and the middle temperature (26 °C) with respect to 17 °C. The accumulative effects were highest at lag14 days, and the RR (95%CI) values of middle temperature was 2.30 (1.53-3.13), 2.45 (1.65-3.30), 2.41 (1.59-3.28), 2.54 (1.40-3.79), 1.82 (0.41-3.43), 1.98 (1.11-2.93), and 1.73 (0.68-2.88) among the males, females, 0-3 years old, 4-11 years old, 12-18 years old, 19-64 years old and over 65 years old people, respectively; while the high temperature was 2.93 (1.38-4.69), 3.08 (1.48- 4.90), 3.26 (1.60-5.16), 3.12 (1.06-5.56), 1.94 (0.73-5.39), 2.31 (0.54-4.36), and 2.06 (0.02-4.51), respectively. CONCLUSION The high temperature may increase risks of bacillary dysentery, and the females and younger people were the sensitive population. Meteorological factors play an important role in the occurrence and development of bacillary dysentery in Lanzhou. The incidence of bacillary dysentery is affected by multiple meteorological factors, but the primary one is high temperature. The temperature has not a direct effect on the incidence of bacillary dysentery, but an indirect influence in different populations through the impacts of various aspects of the incidence of bacterial dysentery (residents living habits, communication channels and the habits of the susceptible population).
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China/epidemiology* ; Cities ; Dysentery, Bacillary/epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Meteorological Concepts ; Middle Aged ; Temperature ; Young Adult

Objective Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) are major public health and social issues worldwide. The long-term follow-up of COVID-19 with pulmonary TB (PTB) survivors after discharge is unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively describe clinical outcomes, including sequela and recurrence at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge, among COVID-19 with PTB survivors. Methods From January 22, 2020 to May 6, 2022, with a follow-up by August 26, 2022, a prospective, multicenter follow-up study was conducted on COVID-19 with PTB survivors after discharge in 13hospitals from four provinces in China. Clinical outcomes, including sequela, recurrence of COVID-19, and PTB survivors, were collected via telephone and face-to-face interviews at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge. Results Thirty-two COVID-19 with PTB survivors were included. The median age was 52 (45, 59) years, and 23 (71.9％) were men. Among them, nearly two-thirds (62.5％) of the survivors were moderate, three (9.4％) were severe, and more than half (59.4％) had at least one comorbidity (PTB excluded). The proportion of COVID-19 survivors with at least one sequela symptom decreased from 40.6％ at 3 months to 15.8％ at 24 months, with anxiety having a higher proportion over a follow-up. Cough and amnesia recovered at the 12-month follow-up, while anxiety, fatigue, and trouble sleeping remained after 24 months. Additionally, one (3.1％) case presented two recurrences of PTB and no re-positive COVID-19 during the follow-up period. Conclusion The proportion of long symptoms in COVID-19 with PTB survivors decreased over time, while nearly one in six still experience persistent symptoms with a higher proportion of anxiety. The recurrence of PTB and the psychological support of COVID-19 with PTB after discharge require more attention.

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