OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effects and the serous estradiol change of patients with menopause syndrome using Xianling Gubao capsules for treatment.

METHOD110 patients with manopause syndrome who were diagnosized by clinic index were recruited for the study. They were divided into two groups randomly. The treatment group were dealed with Xianling Gubao capsules and the control group with placebo of starch capsules for 8 weeks. The menopausal Kupperman index was used to assess change in menopausal symptoms before and after treatment. At the same time, serous estradiol and the thickness of uterine endometrium was evaluated.

RESULTThe Kupperman index were improved apparently in treatment group after treatment (P < 0.01). The serous estradiol level of treatment group was increased apparently after treatment (P < 0.05). However, There were no statistical deference in the thickness of uterine endometrium in the treatment and the control group before and after treatment.

CONCLUSIONThe treatment using Xianling Gubao capsules for patients with menopause syndrome could improve the clinic symptoms, increase the serous estradiol level, but do not increase the risk of endometrial hyperplasia.

Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Endometrium ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Menopause ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of single microneedle radiofrequency versus photodynamic therapy in the treatment of inflammatory lesions of moderate and severe facial acne vulgaris.Methods:Sixty patients with moderate to severe facial acne vulgaris were retrospectively collected from Guangzhou Institute of Dermatology between December 2021 and July 2022, including 30 patients who had received single microneedle radiofrequency treatment, and 30 patients who had received photodynamic therapy. There were no significant differences in the age, gender distribution, and severity of acne between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The patients in the microneedle radiofrequency group were treated with single microneedle radiofrequency once every 4 weeks for 2 sessions; those in the photodynamic therapy group received aminolevulinic acid-based photodynamic therapy once every 2 weeks for 3 sessions; patients in both groups were still treated with oral doxycycline for 8 weeks. After 8-week treatment, the efficacy, pain severity and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Statistical analysis was carried out by using chi-square test, two independent samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results:After 8-week treatment, there was no significant difference in the response rate between the microneedle radiofrequency group (93.33%, 28/30) and photodynamic therapy group (86.67%, 25/30; χ2 = 0.74, P = 0.389). No significant difference was observed in the pain severity score between the microneedle radiofrequency group (4.80 ± 2.08) and photodynamic therapy group (4.13 ± 1.86, t = 1.32, P = 0.194), and there was also no significant difference in the pain degree between the two groups ( Z = -1.13, P = 0.260). In the microneedle radiofrequency group, burning sensation occurred in 3 cases (10.00%), swelling and pain in 4 (13.33%), erythema in 2 (6.67%), and dryness and desquamation in 2 (6.67%), and no reactive acne or hyperpigmentation was observed; in the photodynamic therapy group, burning sensation occurred in 10 cases (33.33%), swelling and pain in 9 (30.00%), erythema in 8 (26.67%), reactive acne in 11 (36.67%), hyperpigmentation in 2 (6.67%), and dryness and desquamation in 11 (36.67%). Compared with the photodynamic therapy group, the microneedle radiofrequency group showed significantly decreased incidence rates of burning sensation, erythema, reactive acne, and dryness and desquamation ( χ2 = 4.81, 4.32, 13.47, 7.95, respectively, all P < 0.05) ; there was no significant difference in the incidence rates of swelling and pain as well as hyperpigmentation between the two groups ( χ2 = 2.46, 2.07, respectively, both P > 0.05) . Conclusion:Single microneedle radiofrequency showed marked efficacy equivalent to that of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of moderate to severe facial acne vulgaris, but higher safety, providing more clinical treatment options for moderate to severe facial acne vulgaris.

Objective:To investigate changes in skin microecological structures and functions between acute and remission phases in adult patients with severe atopic dermatitis (AD) .Methods:From October 2019 to November 2020, skin scale specimens were collected from 5 body sites (cheeks, cubital fossa, back of the hand, abdomen, lower limbs) of 4 adult patients with severe AD in the acute and remission phases, who visited the outpatient clinic of Guangzhou Institute of Dermatology. The next-generation high-throughput sequencing was performed for metagenomic sequencing to construct the microbial gene catalogue of these specimens, followed by gene annotation and bioinformatics analysis for each sample.Results:A total of 18 phyla, 37 classes, 73 orders, 142 families, 237 genera, and 331 species were identified in the skin specimens from the 4 patients with severe AD. The patients with AD in the remission phase showed significantly increased diversity of skin microbiota and markedly different relative abundance of skin microorganisms compared with those in the acute phase (both P < 0.05). At the microbial species level, Staphylococcus aureus showed the highest impact on the acute phase of AD, while Staphylococcus epidermidis, Moraxella osloensis, Francisella sp., Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus warneri, Malassezia globosa and Malassezia restricta were enriched in the remission phase of AD with the absolute value of the common logarithm of the linear discriminant analysis score > 2 (Kruksal-Wallis test, all P < 0.05). As KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed, the differentially abundant genes were annotated into a total of 355 functional pathways, of which 38 pathways were significantly enriched (all P < 0.05), mainly involving Staphylococcus aureus infection, tryptophan metabolism, histidine metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, metabolism of arginine and proline, biosynthesis and degradation of valine, leucine and isoleucine, fatty acid degradation, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathway, etc. Conclusion:The skin microecological structure significantly differed between the acute and remission phases among the patients with severe AD, which may be related to multiple functional pathways, such as Staphylococcus aureus infection, tryptophan metabolism, histidine metabolism and nitrogen metabolism.

To establish mouse endometrial injury model by curettage or coagulation.Female ICR mice were randomly allocated into 2 groups: in curettage group, a blunt 20G needle was inserted in one uterine horn with 0.05 megapascals negative pressure; in coagulation group, one uterine horn was coagulated using a monopolar electric needle with 0.5 watts power. In both groups the contra-lateral uterine horn was used as control. The morphological changes and thickness of endometrium were evaluated 1 week after operation. The endometrial samples were taken on d4 of pregnancy, and the expressions of endometrial receptivity-related cytokines were examined. The number of implanted embryos on each side of uterus was calculated on d10 of pregnancy.There was no difference in operation time between 2 groups. In both groups, the endometrial glands and stroma were significantly reduced, and the endometrial thickness was also significantly decreased on injury side compared to contra-lateral horn. However, local injury was more severe in coagulation group, uterine obliteration and hydrops were developed in 2 mice of coagulation group, and none in curettage group. The expressions of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and oncostatin M (OSM) were significantly reduced on injured side in both groups compared to opposite side; however, the expression of LIF and OSM in curettage group was higher than that in coagulation group. The numbers of implanted embryos were decreased in both groups on injured side compared to opposite side, and fetal death was only observed in coagulation group.Both curettage and coagulation can make injury on mouse endometrium, impair endometrial receptivity and reduce fertility. Curettage can cause moderate injury, and coagulation may lead to more severe injury.