Objective To explore the clinical value of resistance index(RI)of prostatic capsular artery in predicting or screening of prostate cancer(PCa)by comparing prostatic capsular artery RI with the serum total prostatic specific antigen(TPSA),fPSA/tPSA ratio and prostatic specific antigen dernsity(PSAD).Methods RI of prostate capsular artery,serum TPSA,of fPSA/tPSA ratio and PSAD were measured with colour Doppler ultrasonography in this subset of 203 patients who had undergone transrectal ultrasound guided prostate puncture biopsy.The patients were divided into two groups [PCa and benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH)group] for comparative study.Results Of them,the level of TPSA were between 4 and 10 ng/ml(grey area)in 34 cases,accounts for 16.75%of the total subjects.All the others were outside the grey area.ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of RI of the capsular artery was 0.77,which was close to 0.84 and 0.86 of TPSA and PSAD.It indicated a similar value in predicting or screening PCa; while the AUC of fPSA/tPSA ratio was only 0.49,which had little clinical value.The fPSA/tPSA ratio and the mean value of PSAD in the grey area had significant differences(t=2.78,3.94,P＜0.02)between the two groups.However,the fPSA/tPSA ratio had no statistical significance in the high value area outside the grey area(t=0.873,P ＞ 0.05).And the mean value of RI of prostatic capsular artery had significant differences between the two groups both in the grey area and in the high value area outside the grey area(t=4.56,5.10,P ＜ 0.001).Conclusions RI of prostatic capsular artery can be steadily used to predict or screen PCa.It is not affected by the gray area of TPSA and is of great value in clinical practice.

Objective To investigate the efficacy and the collective brain responses of acupuncture for post-stroke limb numbness.Methods A total of 24 patients with post-stroke limb numbness and 23 matched healthy participants were recruited.Both groups received coordinated acupuncture treatment to regulate their physical and mental state,three times a week for 4 weeks.Changes in limb numbness assessed by the visual analog scale(VAS)were observed before and after acupuncture.Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)scans were conducted on the participants during the scanning process with acupuncture intervention.Blood oxygen level-dependent(BOLD)data were collected in three states:resting state,acupuncture task state,and needle retention state.Data processing was performed using software such as fMRIPrep and brainIAK.Intersubject correlation(ISC)analysis was conducted to compare the ISC values of different brain regions between the two groups under different conditions.Results Acupuncture treatment significantly reduced the VAS scores of limb numbness.No significant changes in ISC values in both groups during resting state.Under acupuncture conditions,the patient group exhibited significantly increased ISC values in the left precentral gyrus,left paracentral lobule,left postcentral gyrus,left insula,left anterior cingulate gyrus,right middle frontal gyruss and right anterior cingulate gyrus.Under the needle retention condition,a slight negative activation was observed in the bilateral precentral gyrus of the control group.In the patient group,the ISC values of the left superior frontal gyrus,left precentral gyrus,left paracentral lobule,left precuneus,left postcentral gyrus,left insula,left anterior cingulate gyrus,left thalamus,right superior frontal gyrus,right middle frontal gyrus,right precentral gyrus,and right anterior cingulate gyrus showed a significant increase compared to the resting state.Conclusion Acupuncture can improve post-stroke limb numbness symptoms and induce a specific pattern of collective brain activation in patients.This activation involves the precentral gyrus,postcentral gyrus,thalamus,insula,frontal lobe and cingulate gyrus.Acupuncture may enhance the processing of sensory information by activating the somatosensory-motor network and the cortical-thalamic-cortical loop.It may also modulate the central executive network and the descending pain control pathway to promote the relief of pain symptoms.