Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of the left spermatic vein transposition to the great saphenous vein in treating left varicocele (VC) secondary to nutcracker syndrome (NCS). Methods: Clinical data of 8 patients treated during Feb.2020 and Feb.2023 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed.A meticulous preoperative evaluation of the vascular status of the spermatic vein and the great saphenous vein was performed using color Doppler ultrasound.A spermatic vein-great saphenous vein shunt surgery was performed in patients who were strictly selected.The clinical symptoms and hemodynamics of renal vein were compared before and after operation. Results: The median age of patients was 23.5(18-33) years.There was a notable reduction in post-exercise scrotal and lower back pain in all patients，and the score of scrotal pain decreased to 0 in 7 patients. The median quantification of urinary protein was 352.8(54.4-687.3) mg prior to surgical intervention，which significantly diminished to 125.5(25.9-255.1) mg 6 months after operation.Notably，3 cases of preoperative positive urine occult blood tests were undetectable in the subsequent postoperative assessments.The median peak blood flow velocity at the site of stenosis in the left renal vein measured at 74.4(48.7-117.6) cm/s preoperatively，subsequently reduced to 45.1(25.5-61.2) cm/s postoperatively.During the 6-month follow-up，no recurrence of varicocele，vascular anastomotic stenosis or thrombosis were observed. Conclusion: Our research indicates that spermatic vein to great saphenous vein bypass is safe and feasible in the treatment of left varicocele secondary to nutcracker syndrome for strictly selected patients，which can effectively alleviate renal vein congestion without significant complications.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Patients with glioma experience a high symptom burden and have diverse palliative care needs. However, the assessment scales used in palliative care remain non-standardized and highly heterogeneous. To evaluate the application patterns of the current scales used in palliative care for glioma, we aim to identify gaps and assess the need for disease-specific scales in glioma palliative care. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search of five databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, EMBASE, and CINAHL for quantitative studies that reported scale-based assessments in glioma palliative care. We extracted data on scale characteristics, domains, frequency, and psychometric properties. Quality assessments were performed using the Cochrane ROB 2.0 and ROBINS-I tools. RESULTS: Of the 3,405 records initially identified, 72 studies were included. These studies contained 75 distinct scales that were used 193 times. Mood (21.7%), quality of life (24.4%), and supportive care needs (5.2%) assessments were the most frequently assessed items, exceeding half of all scale applications. Among the various assessment dimensions, the Distress Thermometer (DT) was the most frequently used tool for assessing mood, while the Short Form-36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36) was the most frequently used tool for assessing quality of life. The Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) was the most common tool for cognitive assessment. Performance status (5.2%) and social support (6.8%) were underrepresented. Only three brain tumor-specific scales were identified. Caregiver-focused scales were limited and predominantly burden-oriented. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant heterogeneity, domain imbalances, and validation gaps in the current use of assessment scales for patients with glioma receiving palliative care. The scale selected for use should be comprehensive and user-friendly.
Humans ; Glioma/psychology* ; Palliative Care/methods* ; Quality of Life ; Psychometrics ; Brain Neoplasms/psychology*

PURPOSE: End-stage knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients are the primary candidates for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, most morphological refinements of TKA prosthesis are based on anatomical data from the knees of healthy individuals. This study aimed to determine whether differences exist in key bony morphological characteristics of the distal femur and proximal tibia between osteoarthritic knees and healthy knees. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional observational study with a case-control design. Patients who were aged ≥ 50 years, had no history of trauma, fracture, or surgery in the studied knee, and had no obvious knee flexion contracture were included in this study by CT scans. Patients who met the American College of Rheumatology clinical criteria for knee OA were included in the study group. Kellgren-Lawrence grade III or IV knees were studied (for bilateral cases, the more severely affected knee was chosen). Patients who presented with unilateral knee pain or trauma were included in the control group, with CT scans from the opposite (asymptomatic) knee used for analyzing. The studied knee had a Kellgren-Lawrence grade of 0 or I and showed no abnormalities upon physical examination. Archived knee CT scans from 160 patients were divided into 2 groups: the study group (80 moderate-to-severe OA knees) and the control group (80 healthy knees). After 3-dimensional reconstruction and virtual cutting using a CT workstation, 13 morphological parameters of the distal femur and proximal tibia were compared between the 2 groups using independent-samples t-tests. RESULTS: No significant group differences in the femoral anteroposterior dimension (p = 0.797), height of the lateral femoral condyle (p = 0.268), posterior condylar angle (p = 0.240), tibial anteroposterior dimension (p = 0.536), or tibial lateral anteroposterior dimension (p = 0.702) were observed. However, the femoral mediolateral dimension (p = 0.002), distal femoral aspect ratio (femoral mediolateral dimension/femoral anteroposterior dimension) (p < 0.001), height of the femoral trochlear groove (p < 0.001), height of the medial femoral condyle (p < 0.001), tibial mediolateral dimension (p = 0.001), proximal tibial aspect ratio (tibial mediolateral dimension/tibial anteroposterior dimension) (p = 0.004), tibial medial anteroposterior dimension (p = 0.005), and tibial asymmetry ratio (tibial medial anteroposterior dimension/tibial lateral anteroposterior dimension) (p = 0.006) were all significantly greater in the study group. CONCLUSION Knees with moderate-to-severe OA are significantly wider than healthy knees, and OA is a risk factor for increased tibial platform asymmetry. When refining the morphological parameters of TKA prostheses, the specific bony morphological characteristics of OA knees should be taken into account to reduce the potential risk of femoral or tibial component underhang and facilitate optimal balance between tibial component fit and rotational alignment.
Humans ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/pathology* ; Male ; Female ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Prosthesis Design ; Knee Prosthesis ; Femur/anatomy & histology* ; Tibia/anatomy & histology* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Knee Joint/diagnostic imaging*

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between the polygenic risks for various psychiatric disorders and clinical and neuropsychological characteristics in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, 285 children with ADHD and 107 healthy controls were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for parents, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Blood samples were collected for genetic data. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for various psychiatric disorders were calculated using the PRSice-2 software. RESULTS: Compared with the healthy controls, the children with ADHD displayed significantly higher PRSs for ADHD, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (P<0.05). In terms of daily-life executive function, ADHD-related PRS was significantly correlated with the working memory factor; panic disorder-related PRS was significantly correlated with the initiation factor; bipolar disorder-related PRS was significantly correlated with the shift factor; schizophrenia-related PRS was significantly correlated with the inhibition, emotional control, initiation, working memory, planning, organization, and monitoring factors (P<0.05). The PRS related to anxiety disorders was negatively correlated with total IQ and processing speed index (P<0.05). The PRS related to obsessive-compulsive disorder was negatively correlated with the processing speed index and positively correlated with the stop-signal reaction time index of the stop-signal task (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS PRSs for various psychiatric disorders are closely correlated with the behavioral and cognitive characteristics in children with ADHD, which provides more insights into the heterogeneity of ADHD.
Humans ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/genetics* ; Child ; Male ; Female ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Multifactorial Inheritance ; Adolescent ; Mental Disorders/etiology* ; Executive Function ; Genetic Risk Score

OBJECTIVE: Peritoneal fibrosis (PF) is an adverse event that occurs during long-term peritoneal dialysis, significantly impairing treatment efficiency and adversely affecting patient outcomes. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), a principal active component derived from Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, has exhibited anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects in various settings. This study aims to investigate the potential therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of AS-IV in the treatment of PF. METHODS: The PF mouse model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 4.25% peritoneal dialysis fluid (100 mL/kg). The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HMrSV5 cells was induced by the addition of 10 ng/mL transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). The differentially expressed genes in HMrSV5 cells treated with AS-IV were screened using transcriptome sequencing analysis. The potential targets of AS-IV were screened using network pharmacology and analyzed using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. RESULTS: Administration of AS-IV at doses of 20, 40, or 80 mg/kg effectively mitigated the increase in peritoneal thickness and the development of fibrosis in mice with PF. The expression of the fibrosis marker α-smooth muscle actin in the peritoneum was significantly decreased in AS-IV-treated mice. The treatment of AS-IV (10, 20, and 40 μmol/L) significantly delayed the EMT of HMrSV5 cells induced by TGF-β, as demonstrated by the decreased number of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine-positive cells, reduced migrated area, and decreased expression of fibrosis markers. A total of 460 differentially expressed genes were detected in AS-IV-treated HMrSV5 cells through transcriptome sequencing, with notable enrichment in the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT) signaling pathway. The reduced levels of phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K) and p-AKT were detected in HMrSV5 cells with AS-IV treatment. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was predicted as a direct target of AS-IV, exhibiting strong hydrogen bond interactions. The activation of the PI3K-AKT pathway by the compound 740Y-P, and the activation of the EGFR pathway by NSC 228155 each partially counteracted the inhibitory effect of AS-IV on the EMT of HMrSV5 cells. CONCLUSION AS-IV delayed the EMT process in peritoneal mesothelial cells and slowed the progression of PF, potentially serving as a therapeutic agent for the early prevention and treatment of PF. Please cite this article as: Huang Y, Chu CL, Qiu WH, Chen JY, Cao LX, Ji SY, Zhu B, Wang GK, Shen QQ. Astragaloside IV delayed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in peritoneal fibrosis by inhibiting the activation of EGFR and PI3K-AKT pathways. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):694-705.
Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects* ; Animals ; Saponins/pharmacology* ; Triterpenes/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Peritoneal Fibrosis/pathology* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; ErbB Receptors/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Male ; Humans ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Cell Line ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

Humans ; Aged ; Lung Diseases ; Pneumonia/drug therapy* ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/drug therapy* ; Administration, Inhalation ; Community-Acquired Infections/drug therapy*

Objective To explore the molecular mechanism of Atractylodes macrocephala in the treatment of Ulcerative colitis(UC)based on network pharmacology,and verify it with animal experiments.Methods The active components of Atractylodes macrocephala was screened from the TCMSP database,the TCM-ID database,and in combination with relevant references,and the corresponding targets were obtained through Swiss database.The relevant targets of UC were obtained from GeneCards database,construct the"drug-component-target-disease"network diagram and"pathway-active ingredient-target"network diagram and draw PPI network diagram;GO function enrichment analysis and KEGG signal pathway annotation analysis were carried out.Autodock software is used for molecular docking of active components and targets.Then,the experimental validation of the network pharmacology prediction was carried out.The mouse UC model was induced by dextran sodium sulfate(DSS).The pathological changes of the colon tissue,the number of goblet cells,and the positive expression of inflammatory factorswere detected by HE staining,AB-PAS staining and immunohistochemistry in colon tissue of UC mice.Results The results have shown 30 active ingredients including atractylolactone I,II and III were screened,and 591 corresponding targets were obtained,of which the key target was IL-1β、TNF-α and so on.Molecular docking show that the core components had good binding affinity with the key targets.And the results of animal experiments showed that the alcohol extract of Atractylodes macrocephala could significantly increase the colon length,reduce the DAI score,improve the pathological changes of colon tissue of UC mice,increase the number of goblet cells,and inhibit the expression of IL-1β,TNF-α in colon tissue.Conclusion This study indicated that Atractylodes macrocephala could regulate the release of inflammatory factors through multiple components,multi-target and multi-channel,which could inhibit inflammatory reaction and play a role in improving UC.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between intramuscular adipose tissue index (IATI) calculated from computed tomography images at transverse process of the first lumbar and all-cause mortality in maintenance dialysis patients, and to provide a reference for improving the prognosis in these patients.Methods:It was a multicenter retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of patients who received maintenance hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis treatment from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 in 4 grade Ⅲ hospitals including Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, Taizhou People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University, and the Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were retrospectively collected. IATI was calculated by low attenuation muscle (LAM) density/skeletal muscle density. The receiver-operating characteristic curve was used to determine the optimal cut-off value of IATI, and the patients were divided into high IATI group and low IATI group according to the optimal cut-off value. The differences of baseline clinical data and measurement parameters of the first lumbar level between the two groups were compared. The follow-up ended on December 23, 2022. The endpoint event was defined as all-cause mortality within 3 years. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were used to analyze the survival rates and the differences between the two groups. Multivariate Cox regression analysis models were used to analyze the association between IATI and the risk of all-cause mortality in maintenance dialysis patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis model was used to analyze the influencing factors of high IATI.Results:A total of 478 patients were eligibly recruited in this study, with age of (53.55±13.19) years old and 319 (66.7%) males, including 365 (76.4%) hemodialysis patients and 113 (23.6%) peritoneal dialysis patients. There were 376 (78.7%) patients in low IATI (<0.42) group and 102 (21.3%) patients in high IATI (≥0.42) group. The proportion of age ≥ 60 years old ( χ2=24.746, P<0.001), proportion of diabetes mellitus ( χ2=5.570, P=0.018), fasting blood glucose ( t=-2.145, P=0.032), LAM density ( t=-3.735, P<0.001), LAM index ( t=-7.072, P<0.001), and LAM area/skeletal muscle area ratio ( Z=-9.630, P<0.001) in high IATI group were all higher than those in low IATI group, while proportion of males ( χ2=11.116, P<0.001), serum albumin ( Z=2.708, P=0.007) and skeletal muscle density ( t=12.380, P<0.001) were lower than those in low IATI group. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the 3-years overall survival rate of low IATI group was significantly higher than that in high IATI group (Log-rank χ2=19.188, P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that IATI<0.42 [<0.42/≥0.42, HR(95% CI): 0.50 (0.31-0.83), P=0.007] was an independent protective factor of all-cause mortality, and age ≥60 years old [ HR (95% CI): 2.61 (1.60-4.23), P<0.001], diabetes mellitus [ HR (95% CI): 1.71 (1.06-2.78), P=0.029] and high blood neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio [ HR (95% CI): 1.04 (1.00-1.07), P=0.049] were the independent risk factors of all-cause mortality in maintenance dialysis patients. Stepwise Cox regression analysis showed that IATI<0.42 was still an independent protective factor of all-cause mortality in maintenance dialysis patients [<0.42/≥0.42, HR (95% CI): 0.45 (0.27-0.76), P=0.003]. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low skeletal muscle density [ OR (95% CI): 0.84 (0.81-0.88), P<0.001] and high serum triglyceride [ OR (95% CI): 1.39 (1.07-1.82), P=0.015] were the independent influencing factors of IATI≥0.42. Conclusion:IATI<0.42 of the first lumbar level is an independent protective factor of all-cause mortality in maintenance dialysis patients. Localized myosteatosis within high-quality skeletal muscle may reduce the risk of all-cause mortality in these patients.