OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of acupuncture with yin-yang regulation method versus local acupuncture in treating chronic low back pain (CLBP) in elderly patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), and to evaluate the changes in the multifidus muscle before and after treatment using musculoskeletal ultrasound. METHODS: A total of 128 elderly patients with CLBP due to LDH were randomly assigned to an observation group (64 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a control group (64 cases, 2 cases dropped out). The control group received local acupuncture at bilateral L₃-L₅ Jiaji points (EX-B2), Shenshu (BL23), Dachangshu (BL25), Weizhong (BL40), Yaoyangguan (GV3), and ashi points. The observation group received acupuncture with yin-yang regulation method, which included an abdominal protocol with Baihui (GV20), Zhongwan (CV12), Qihai (CV6), Guanyuan (CV4), bilateral Tianshu (ST25), and Dahe (KI12), etc., and a lumbar protocol with Baihui (GV20), Dazhui (GV14), Jizhong (GV6), Yaoyangguan (GV3), and ashi points, etc., alternated bilaterally. Both groups were treated once every other day, three times per week, for a total of 12 sessions. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI) score, and the indexs of musculoskeletal ultrasound multifidus muscle (resting and functional thickness and Young's modulus values) were observed before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated in the two groups. RESULTS: After 1 and 4 weeks of treatment, both groups showed lower VAS scores compared to baseline (P<0.05), the VAS scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.001). ODI scores in both groups were decreased after 1 and 4 weeks of treatment compared to baseline (P<0.05), with a further reduction at 4 weeks of treatment compared to 1 week of treatment (P<0.05); the observation group showed lower ODI score than the control group after 1 week of treatment (P<0.001). After treatment, both groups demonstrated increased resting and functional multifidus muscle thickness bilaterally compared to baseline (P<0.01), with an increased right-side thickness change rate (P<0.01), though no significant difference was observed between groups (P>0.05). Compared to baseline, after treatment, the observation group exhibited decreased Young's modulus values for bilateral resting and functional multifidus muscle (P<0.01), while the control group showed reductions only in bilateral resting and right-side functional Young's modulus values (P<0.01). After treatment, the bilateral functional Young's modulus values in the observation group were lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), and the bilateral resting and functional changes in Young's modulus values were greater in the observation group than those in the control group (P<0.01). The overall effective rate was 93.5% (58/62) in the observation group, which was higher than 79.0% (49/62) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture with yin-yang regulation method effectively alleviates pain, improves functional disability, increases multifidus muscle thickness, and reduces Young's modulus values in elderly patients with CLBP due to LDH, which has superior therapeutic effect compared to local acupuncture.
Humans ; Low Back Pain/physiopathology* ; Male ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Female ; Aged ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement/physiopathology* ; Middle Aged ; Yin-Yang ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Acupuncture Points ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To explore the correlations of sleep quality and architecture with heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with stenoses of vertebrobasilar artery system and internal carotid artery system.Methods:A retrospective study was performed; 72 patients with stenosis or occlusion of the head and neck arteries (not resulting in cerebral infarction) admitted to Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2023 to June 2024 were chosen, including 33 patients with moderate-to-severe stenosis or occlusion of the vertebrobasilar system (VB group) and 39 patients with moderate-to-severe stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid artery system (ICA group). Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and polysomnography (PSG) were used to evaluate the sleep quality and architecture, respectively; and 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram was used to assess the HRV. Differences in PSQI score, PSG and HRV parameters between the two groups were compared; partial correlation analysis was used to explore the correlations of HRV parameters with PSQI scores and PSG parameters; multivariate linear regression was used to analyze the independent influencing factors for HRV.Results:(1) Compared with the ICA group, the VB group exhibited significantly higher PSQI scores, spontaneous arousal index (SAI), ratio of time of stage 1 non-rapid eye movement sleep/total sleep time (T N1/T t), and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), while significantly lower ratio of time of rapid eye movement sleep/total sleep time (T R/T t), spindle wave density in stage 2 non-rapid eye movement sleep (N2), lowest blood oxygen saturation, standard deviation of normal to normal intervals (SDNN) of all sinus beats, low-frequency power (LF), and high-frequency power (HF, P<0.05). (2) In both VB group and ICA group, SDNN was negatively correlated with PSQI score ( r=-0.461, P=0.020; r=-0.378, P=0.036). In the VB group, SDNN was negatively correlated with T N1/T t ( r=-0.467, P=0.019) and SAI ( r=-0.551, P=0.004), and positively correlated with ratio of time of stage 3 non-rapid eye movement sleep/total sleep time (T N3/T t, r=0.686, P<0.001) and spindle wave density in N2 ( r=0.518, P=0.008); LF and HF were negatively correlated with SAI ( r=-0.481, P=0.015; r=-0.564, P=0.003). In the ICA group, HF was negatively correlated with spindle wave density in N2 ( r=-0.369; P=0.041). (3) Multivariate linear regression results indicated that T N3/T t (β=0.348, P=0.018), SAI (β=-0.330, P=0.018), and spindle wave density in N2 (β=0.286, P=0.013) were independent influencing factors for Ln_SDNN in patients with moderate-to-severe stenosis or occlusion of the vertebrobasilar system. Conclusion:Patients with stenosis or occlusion of the vertebrobasilar system exhibit poorer subjective sleep quality, increased light sleep, heightened arousal, and reduced sleep stability compared with those with stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid artery system, which may be caused by the imbalance of autonomic nerve function.

OBJECTIVE To screen endogenous differential metabolites in mice that die from chlor-promazine(CPZ)poisoning and investigate the detoxification mechanism of triheptanoin(TriHep)against CPZ-induced lethality.METHODS Mice were randomly divided into the following groups(half male and half female):normal control,CPZ 2.5LD50,CPZ LD50 intoxication(CPZI),CPZ LD50 death(CPZD),TriHep-control,and TriHep-intervention(TriHep+CPZ LD50).The CPZ 2.5LD50,CPZI and CPZD groups were intragastrically given a corresponding dose of CPZ,respectively.The TriHep-control group and the TriHep-intervention group were intragastrically given saline and CPZ LD50 respectively before being intragastrically given TriHep(3 μL·g-1)10 min later.Plasma samples from the CPZ 2.5LD50 group and normal control group were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS)for metabolite identification and quantification.MetaboAnalyst 5.0 was employed to perform principal component analysis(PCA),orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA),and metabolic pathway analysis to screen and identify differential metabolites.More comparisons were made of the levels of differential metabolites in plasma between the normal control,CPZI,CPZD,TriHep-intervention,and TriHep-control groups.RESULTS In the PCA score plot,metabolomic samples from the CPZ 2.5LD50 group and normal control group showed clear separation,indicating distinct clus-tering patterns.Primary screening under three conditions,including P＜0.05,variable importance in projec-tion(VIP)score≥ 1 and fold change(FC)≥1.5 or ≤0.67 for a comparison of CPZ 2.5LD50 group with normal control group 28 metabolites were identified.Following quantitative enrichment and structural identifica-tion,three significantly differential metabolites were confirmed:acetylcarnitine,propionylcarnitine,and succinic acid.Compared with the normal control group,both CPZI and CPZD groups showed signifi-cantly decreased plasma levels of acetylcarnitine and propionylcarnitine,while the succinic acid content was markedly increased in the CPZD group.In the TriHep control group,levels of acetylcarnitine and succinic acid were significantly elevated,with no significant change in propionylcarnitine levels.Com-pared with the CPZI group,the CPZD group showed a significant increase in plasma succinic acid levels,but no significant change was observed in the acetylcarnitine content.The TriHep-intervention group demonstrated metabolite profiles(all the three differential metabolites)similar to those in the CPZI group,with significantly reduced propionylcarnitine and succinic acid concentrations compared to the CPZD group.CONCLUSION In the early stage of CPZ intoxication,TriHep can alleviate CPZ poisoning via acetylcarnitine,which can stabilize the level of succinic acid in plasma via indirect succinic acid replenishment.

OBJECTIVE To screen endogenous differential metabolites in mice that die from chlor-promazine(CPZ)poisoning and investigate the detoxification mechanism of triheptanoin(TriHep)against CPZ-induced lethality.METHODS Mice were randomly divided into the following groups(half male and half female):normal control,CPZ 2.5LD50,CPZ LD50 intoxication(CPZI),CPZ LD50 death(CPZD),TriHep-control,and TriHep-intervention(TriHep+CPZ LD50).The CPZ 2.5LD50,CPZI and CPZD groups were intragastrically given a corresponding dose of CPZ,respectively.The TriHep-control group and the TriHep-intervention group were intragastrically given saline and CPZ LD50 respectively before being intragastrically given TriHep(3 μL·g-1)10 min later.Plasma samples from the CPZ 2.5LD50 group and normal control group were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS)for metabolite identification and quantification.MetaboAnalyst 5.0 was employed to perform principal component analysis(PCA),orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA),and metabolic pathway analysis to screen and identify differential metabolites.More comparisons were made of the levels of differential metabolites in plasma between the normal control,CPZI,CPZD,TriHep-intervention,and TriHep-control groups.RESULTS In the PCA score plot,metabolomic samples from the CPZ 2.5LD50 group and normal control group showed clear separation,indicating distinct clus-tering patterns.Primary screening under three conditions,including P＜0.05,variable importance in projec-tion(VIP)score≥ 1 and fold change(FC)≥1.5 or ≤0.67 for a comparison of CPZ 2.5LD50 group with normal control group 28 metabolites were identified.Following quantitative enrichment and structural identifica-tion,three significantly differential metabolites were confirmed:acetylcarnitine,propionylcarnitine,and succinic acid.Compared with the normal control group,both CPZI and CPZD groups showed signifi-cantly decreased plasma levels of acetylcarnitine and propionylcarnitine,while the succinic acid content was markedly increased in the CPZD group.In the TriHep control group,levels of acetylcarnitine and succinic acid were significantly elevated,with no significant change in propionylcarnitine levels.Com-pared with the CPZI group,the CPZD group showed a significant increase in plasma succinic acid levels,but no significant change was observed in the acetylcarnitine content.The TriHep-intervention group demonstrated metabolite profiles(all the three differential metabolites)similar to those in the CPZI group,with significantly reduced propionylcarnitine and succinic acid concentrations compared to the CPZD group.CONCLUSION In the early stage of CPZ intoxication,TriHep can alleviate CPZ poisoning via acetylcarnitine,which can stabilize the level of succinic acid in plasma via indirect succinic acid replenishment.

Objective:To explore the correlations of sleep quality and architecture with heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with stenoses of vertebrobasilar artery system and internal carotid artery system.Methods:A retrospective study was performed; 72 patients with stenosis or occlusion of the head and neck arteries (not resulting in cerebral infarction) admitted to Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2023 to June 2024 were chosen, including 33 patients with moderate-to-severe stenosis or occlusion of the vertebrobasilar system (VB group) and 39 patients with moderate-to-severe stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid artery system (ICA group). Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and polysomnography (PSG) were used to evaluate the sleep quality and architecture, respectively; and 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram was used to assess the HRV. Differences in PSQI score, PSG and HRV parameters between the two groups were compared; partial correlation analysis was used to explore the correlations of HRV parameters with PSQI scores and PSG parameters; multivariate linear regression was used to analyze the independent influencing factors for HRV.Results:(1) Compared with the ICA group, the VB group exhibited significantly higher PSQI scores, spontaneous arousal index (SAI), ratio of time of stage 1 non-rapid eye movement sleep/total sleep time (T N1/T t), and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), while significantly lower ratio of time of rapid eye movement sleep/total sleep time (T R/T t), spindle wave density in stage 2 non-rapid eye movement sleep (N2), lowest blood oxygen saturation, standard deviation of normal to normal intervals (SDNN) of all sinus beats, low-frequency power (LF), and high-frequency power (HF, P<0.05). (2) In both VB group and ICA group, SDNN was negatively correlated with PSQI score ( r=-0.461, P=0.020; r=-0.378, P=0.036). In the VB group, SDNN was negatively correlated with T N1/T t ( r=-0.467, P=0.019) and SAI ( r=-0.551, P=0.004), and positively correlated with ratio of time of stage 3 non-rapid eye movement sleep/total sleep time (T N3/T t, r=0.686, P<0.001) and spindle wave density in N2 ( r=0.518, P=0.008); LF and HF were negatively correlated with SAI ( r=-0.481, P=0.015; r=-0.564, P=0.003). In the ICA group, HF was negatively correlated with spindle wave density in N2 ( r=-0.369; P=0.041). (3) Multivariate linear regression results indicated that T N3/T t (β=0.348, P=0.018), SAI (β=-0.330, P=0.018), and spindle wave density in N2 (β=0.286, P=0.013) were independent influencing factors for Ln_SDNN in patients with moderate-to-severe stenosis or occlusion of the vertebrobasilar system. Conclusion:Patients with stenosis or occlusion of the vertebrobasilar system exhibit poorer subjective sleep quality, increased light sleep, heightened arousal, and reduced sleep stability compared with those with stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid artery system, which may be caused by the imbalance of autonomic nerve function.

Background::Previous studies have reported associations of specific maternal and paternal lifestyle factors with offspring’s cognitive development during early childhood. This study aimed to investigate the prospective associations between overall parental lifestyle and offspring’s cognitive performance during adolescence and young adulthood in China.Methods::We included 2531 adolescents aged 10-15 years at baseline in 2010 from the China Family Panel Studies. A healthy parental lifestyle score (ranged 0-5) was constructed based on the following five modifiable lifestyle factors: Smoking, drinking, exercise, sleep, and diet. Generalized estimating equation models were used to examine the association between baseline parental healthy lifestyle scores and offspring’s fluid and crystallized intelligence in subsequent years (2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018).Results::Offspring in the top tertile of parental healthy lifestyle scores performed better in overall fluid intelligence (multivariable-adjusted β = 0.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.29-0.77) and overall crystallized intelligence (multivariable-adjusted β = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.16-0.54) than those in the bottom tertile of parental healthy lifestyle scores. The results were similar after further adjustment for the offspring’s healthy lifestyle scores and persisted across the subgroups of parental socioeconomic status. Additionally, maternal and paternal healthy lifestyle scores were independently associated with better offspring’s cognitive performance, with significant contribution observed for paternal never-smoking, weekly exercise, and diversified diet. When both parents and offspring adhered to a healthier lifestyle, we observed the highest level of the offspring’s overall crystallized intelligence. Conclusions::Our study indicates that parental adherence to a healthier lifestyle is associated with significantly better offspring’s cognitive performance during adolescence and early adulthood, regardless of socioeconomic status. These findings highlight the potential cognitive benefits of promoting healthy lifestyles among parents of adolescents.

Objective To investigate the value of interleukin-6(IL-6),procalcitonin(PCT)and immuno-globulin G(IgG)in evaluating the susceptibility and recurrence of bacterial pneumonia in children with hor-mone-sensitive primary nephrotic syndrome(PNS).Methods A total of 150 children with hormone-sensitive PNS admitted to the hospital from January 2019 to March 2023 were selected as the study objects.The pa-tients were divided into concurrent group and non-concurrent group according to whether bacterial pneumonia was complicated or not within 3 months.The baseline IL-6,PCT and IgG levels of the two groups were com-pared,and the factors affecting susceptibility to bacterial pneumonia were analyzed by Logistic regression.Re-ceiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)was drawn to analyze the value of IL-6,PCT and IgG in assessing susceptibility to PNS bacterial pneumonia and the risk of PNS recurrence.Results IL-6[(7.84±2.49)pg/mL]and PCT[(0.39±0.11)ng/mL]in concurrent group were higher than those in non-concurrent group[(4.75±1.56)pg/mL,(0.29±0.09)ng/mL].IgG[(3.82±1.25)g/L]was lower than that of non-concurrent group[(5.92±1.97)g/L],and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Logistic regression e-quation showed that with the increase of IL-6 and PCT and the decrease of IgG,the susceptibility to bacterial pneumonia gradually increased,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The AUC of IL-6,PCT and IgG for PNS bacterial pneumonia susceptibility was 0.792,0.744 and 0.677,respectively.The AUC of IL-6 and PCT combined IgG for PNS bacterial pneumonia susceptibility was 0.929,which was higher than that of IL-6,PCT and IgG alone(P＜0.05).The risk of PNS recurrence in patients with high IL-6 level was 7.054 times that of low IL-6 level,the risk of PNS recurrence in patients with high PCT level was 6.750 times that of low PCT level,and the risk of PNS recurrence in patients with high IgG level was 0.079 times that of low level,the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion IL-6,PCT and IgG are the influencing factors of hormone-sensitive PNS bacterial pneumonia in children,and they are related to the recurrence of PNS.Clinically,IL-6,PCT and IgG levels can be used to evaluate the susceptibility and recur-rence risk of bacterial pneumonia in children,so as to provide guidance for preventive clinical intervention.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of exercise-based acupuncture in treating ischemic stroke and its effects in improving the patient's motor function and daily living ability. Methods:A total of 106 patients with motor dysfunction due to cerebral infarction were randomized into a trial group and a control group,each consisting of 53 cases.Both groups received conventional rehabilitation;in addition,the control group was given point-toward-point acupuncture at scalp points,and the trial group was offered exercise-based acupuncture,3 times weekly for 4 consecutive weeks.Before treatment,after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment,and at the 2-month follow-up,the Fugl-Meyer assessment(FMA)scale,Lovett scale for muscle strength,modified Ashworth scale(MAS),and activities of daily living(ADL)scale were used to assess the patient's motor function,muscle strength,muscle tension,and daily living ability. Results:After treatment,both groups gained improvements in motor function and daily living ability;after 4-week treatment and at the 2-month follow-up,the trial group had higher FMA and ADL scores than the control group(P<0.05).The MAS score decreased after treatment in both groups;after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment and at the 2-month follow-up,the MAS score was lower in the trial group than in the control group(P<0.05).After the intervention,the Lovett score increased in both groups;after 4 weeks of treatment,the Lovett score was higher in the trial group than in the control group(P<0.05). Conclusion:Based on routine rehabilitation,exercise-based acupuncture and scalp point-toward-point acupuncture both can improve the motor function and daily living ability in ischemic stroke patients;exercise-based acupuncture performs better than scalp point-toward-point acupuncture.

In addition to the essential pharmacologi-cal effects of opioids,situational cues associated with drug addiction memory are key triggers for drug seeking.CircRNAs,an emerging hotspot regulator in crown genet-ics-play an important role in central nervous system-relat-ed diseases.However,the internal mediating mechanism of circRNA in the field of drug reward and addiction mem-ory remains unknown.Here,we trained mice on a condi-tional place preference(CPP)model and collected nucle-us accumbens(NAc)tissues from day 1(T0)and day 8(T1)for high-throughput RNA sequencing.qRT-PCR revealed that circTmeff-1 was highly expressed in the NAc core but not in the NAc shell,suggesting that it plays a role in addiction memory formation.Meanwhile,the reverse regulation of circTmeff-1 by adeno-associated viruses could both inhibit the formation of addiction mem-ory in the NAc core or shell.Subsequently,the GO and KEGG analyses indicated 21 that circTmeff-1 might regu-late the addiction memory via the MAPK and AMPK path-ways.These findings suggest that circTmeff-1 in NAc plays a crucial role in morphine-dependent memory for-mation.

Objective:To understand the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during the perioperative period of cervical spine surgery and analyze its risk factors.Methods:A retrospective analysis of 426 cervical spine surgery patients admitted to the from March 2017 to March 2021. The basic information of the patients, including gender, age, body mass index (BMI), underlying diseases, and the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was calculated based on the underlying diseases.The preoperative serum cardiac troponin I(cTnI) level and the operation-related indicators were collected,including the type of cervical spine surgery, surgical procedure, approach, duration of surgery, duration of anesthesia, intraoperative bleeding, postoperative pain visual analogue scale (VAS), and electrolyte disturbances. Count data were expressed as cases (%), and comparisons between groups were made using the χ 2 test; logistic regression models were applied to perform a multifactorial analysis of the factors influencing the perioperative occurrence of MACE in patients undergoing cervical spine surgery. Results:Among the 426 patients, 54 (12.68%) experienced MACE during the perioperative period, including 4 cases of unstable angina (7.41%), 4 cases of acute myocardial infarction (7.41%), 33 cases of severe arrhythmia (61.11%), and 13 cases of acute heart failure (24.07%). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the older the age group (50-59 years old: odds ratio=1.34, 95% confidence interval: 1.14-1.78; 60-69 years old: odds ratio=1.48, 95% confidence interval: 1.20-1.86; 70-79 years old: odds ratio=1.71, 95% confidence interval: 1.34-2.57; 80-89 years old: odds ratio=1.95, 95% confidence interval: 1.46-2.85), as well as females, CCI scores>3, and preoperative cTnI>0.04 μg/L, postoperative VAS score>5, and electrolyte disorders are all influencing factors for the occurrence of MACE in cervical spine surgery patients during the perioperative period (odds ratios of 1.84, 2.12, 2.34, 2.57, 2.20, 95% confidence intervals of 1.34-2.68, 1.50-3.41, 1.63-3.72, 1.53-4.01, 1.43-3.69, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The incidence of MACE in the perioperative period of cervical spine surgery is relatively high. Elderly age, female, high CCI score, high preoperative serum cTnI, postoperative pain and electrolyte disturbance are independent risk factors for the perioperative period of cervical spine surgery.