Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) is a clinical and bio-chemical syndrome associated with advancing age in males and seriously affects the quality of life of some of the patients. A classical therapeutic option for LOH is testosterone supplementary treatment (TST). Its effectiveness has been verified, whereas its long-term safety remains to be further evaluated. With deeper insights into LOH, many new therapeutic strategies have been proposed, which include the treatments with gonadotropins, testosterone precursors (such as dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA]), non-aromatizable androgens (such as dihydrotestosterone [DHT]), antiestrogens (such as aromatase inhibitors and estrogen receptor antagonists), and Chinese medicine. Meanwhile, studies on the transplantation of Leydig stem cells, selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), and selective estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) agonists have shed new light on the treatment of LOH.
Humans ; Hypogonadism ; drug therapy ; surgery ; therapy ; Male ; Testosterone ; therapeutic use

Exposure to thermal environment is one of the main concerns for manned space exploration. By focusing on the works performed on thermoregulation at microgravity or simulated microgravity, we endeavored to review the investigation on space thermal environmental physiology. First of all, the application of medical requirements for the crew module design from normal thermal comfort to accidental thermal emergencies in a space craft will be addressed. Then, alterations in the autonomic and behavioral temperature regulation caused by the effect of weightlessness both in space flight and its simulation on the ground are also discussed. Furthermore, countermeasures like exercise training, simulated natural ventilation, encouraged drink, etc., in the protection of thermoregulation during space flight is presented. Finally, the challenge of space thermal environment physiology faced in the future is figured out.
Aerospace Medicine ; Body Temperature Regulation ; Environment ; Exercise ; Humans ; Space Flight ; Weightlessness ; Weightlessness Simulation

Chronic Disease ; Graft Rejection ; therapy ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Kidney Diseases ; etiology ; therapy ; Kidney Transplantation ; adverse effects

Saw palmetto fruit extract (SPE), as a herbal product, is widely used for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Recent studies show that SPE also has some therapeutic effects on chronic prostatitis, prostate cancer, sexual dysfunction, and so on. This article presents an overview on the application of SPE in the treatment of BPH, prostate cancer, and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, with a discussion on its action mechanisms.
Chronic Disease ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; drug therapy ; Male ; Pelvic Pain ; drug therapy ; Plant Extracts ; therapeutic use ; Prostatic Diseases ; drug therapy ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy ; Syndrome

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a common male sexual disorder with an incidence rate of 20-30%. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated that phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i), as the first-line drug for erectile dysfunction (ED), can improve ejaculatory function probably by acting on the peripheral and central adrenergic nerves. The possible action mechanisms of PDE5i may involve lessening of the central sympathetic output, modulation of the contractile responses from the vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate and urethra, induction of peripheral analgesia, and prolonging of the total erectile duration, increasing the confidence of ejaculation control, and reducing the post-ejaculation refractory time. This review discusses the possible mechanisms and clinical application of PDE5i in the treatment of PE.
Ejaculation ; drug effects ; Erectile Dysfunction ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Muscle Contraction ; Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Premature Ejaculation ; drug therapy ; Seminal Vesicles ; physiology ; Vas Deferens ; physiology

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a most common inherited renal disease, about 50% with a family history, although the exact etiology not yet clear. To date, ADPKD, a multisystem disorder without effective preventive and therapeutic means, has been shown to be detrimental to human health. Recent studies show that severe oligoasthenozoospermia, necrospermia, immotile sperm, azoospermia, epididymal cyst, seminal vesicle cyst, and ejaculatory duct cyst found in male ADPKD patients may lead to male infertility, though the specific mechanisms remain unknown. Structural anomaly of spermatozoa, defect of polycystin, mutation of PKD genes, and micro-deletion of the AZF gene could be the reasons for the higher incidence of abnormal semen quality in male ADPKD patients. Assisted reproductive techniques can increase the chances of pregnancy, whereas the health of the offspring should be taken into consideration. This article presents an overview of reproductive issues concerning infertile male ADPKD patients from the perspective of the morbidity, pathophysiological mechanism, diagnosis, and management of the disease.
Cysts ; pathology ; Ejaculatory Ducts ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; physiopathology ; Kidney ; pathology ; Male ; Mutation ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant ; physiopathology ; Pregnancy ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Semen Analysis ; Spermatozoa ; pathology

Animals ; Arteries ; metabolism ; Cochlea ; blood supply ; Cystathionine gamma-Lyase ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

AIM:To construct hybrid nucleic acid vaccines which contain Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1 ) block 1 7gene and gene fragment coding for several T cell epitopes. METHODS:MSP1 block 1 7gene of FUP strain was connected with a polyvalent gene fragment which contains several T cell epitopes from MSA1 ,MSA2 ,RESA,IL- 1 and Tetanus toxin,the connected gene fragment (hybrid gene,HG) was cloned into eukaryotic expression plasmid p CDNA3.1 (- ) ,VR1 0 1 2 for intracellular expression,VR1 0 1 2 /TPA for secretion,the recombinants were identified by PCR and restriction enzyme digestion. RE- SUL TS &CONCLUSION:The hybrid nucieic acid vaccines:VR1 0 1 2 /HG,VR1 0 1 2 /TPA/ HG and p CDNA3.1 /HG were successfully constructed.

Objective This study aimed to understand the continuous physiological parameters during sleep under the guidance of Chinese medical theory and clinical practice and to establish the method to diagnose the physical and mental status by analyzing nocturnal sleep data.Methods More than 2000 subjects were recruited in the nocturnal sleep examination using the micro-movement sensitive mattress sleep monitoring system.Based on the analysis of the sleep indices and nocturnal physiological parameters combined with clinical data,a hypothesis was put forward that sleep cycle could reflect the circulation status of qi and blood,as well as some preliminary exploration on revealing the status of qi,blood,yin and yang.Results Sleep structure could reflect the status of qi and blood circulation in different meridians according to the traditional Chinese time unit.Sleep structure and sleep cycle could show corresponding changes if there is morbidity in some meridian,zang-viscera and fu-viscera.Heart rate,respiration rate and other physiological parameters could reflect the alternative predominance of yin and yang.Conclusion Interpreting the physiological parameters during sleep could be a supplementary diagnosis method for Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation.

Objective: To learn the epidemiological characteristics of infectious disease related public health emergencies in Zhejiang Province from 2010 to 2018 for the prevention and control. Methods: The surveillance data was extracted from National Public Health Emergency Management Information System. Descriptive epidemiology method was used to analyze main diseases as well as distribution characteristics of time and places. Results: A total of 445 events were reported, which caused 14362 cases and 34 deaths, with a attack rate of 0.69% and mortality rate of 0.24%. There were 298 events with less than 30 cases, accounting for 66.97%. The event classification was dominated by general events ( 242 events, 54.38% ) and ungraded events ( 201 events, 45.17% ). The main diseases were chickenpox ( 134 events, 30.11% ), hand foot mouth disease ( 59 events, 13.26% ) and other infectious diarrhea ( 51 events, 11.46% ). The incidence peaked from April to June ( 129 events, 28.99% ) and from November to December ( 131 events, 29.44% ). Ningbo ranked the top in the number of reported events ( 141 events, 31.69% ). Most events ( 322 events, 72.36% ) occurred in schools. Conclusions The infectious disease related public health emergencies in Zhejiang Province from 2010 to 2018 were mainly caused by chickenpox, hand-foot-mouth disease and other infectious diarrhea. The two peaks of the emergencies occurred from April to June and from November to December. Ningbo was the main area reporting infectious diseases, and schools were the main places.