OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical efficacy of pramipexole combined with levodopa-benserazide in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease （PD）. METHODS A total of 108 PD patients treated at the Fifth People’s Hospital of Wuhu City from January 1， 2021， to February 28， 2023， were randomly divided into observation group and control group， with 54 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were administered levodopa-benserazide （initial dose of 62.5 mg per dose）， three times daily； after one month， the dose was increased to 250 mg per dose， four times daily. Patients in the observation group received the same treatment as the control group， with the addition of pramipexole （initial dose of 0.25 mg per dose） orally twice daily on an empty stomach； after 14 days， the dose was increased to 0.25 mg per dose， three times daily. Both groups were treated for 3 months. The short-term efficacy， safety and long-term prognosis of the two groups were compared. RESULTS After treatment， the observation group had significantly lower scores on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part Ⅲ （UPDRS-Ⅲ）， the Hamilton Depression Scale （HAMD）， the Hamilton Anxiety Scale （HAMA）， and the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39（ PDQ- 39） compared to the control group； in contrast， the observation group had higher scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment （MoCA） scale， the Mini-mental State Examination （MMSE） scale， the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale （DRS）， and the Quality of Life （QOL） scale （P＜0.05）. Both groups showed a significant reduction in UPDRS-Ⅲ and PDQ-39 scores， and a significant increase in DRS scores compared to baseline （P＜0.05）. However， only the observation group showed a significant increase in MoCA scale， MMSE scale， and QOL scores， and a significant decrease in HAMD and HAMA scores compared to baseline （P＜ 0.05）. The total incidence of adverse drug reactions in both groups was not significantly different （P＞0.05）. The 12 months follow-up results showed that the incidence of dementia and mortality rates in the observation group were significantly lower than the control group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Pramipexole combined with levodopa-benserazide significantly improves motor function， cognitive function， quality of life and symptoms of depression and anxiety in PD patients， and may reduce the long-term risk of dementia and mortality in these patients.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical effect of blood transfusion treatment in elderly critically ill patients under different blood transfusion initiation thresholds. Methods: A total of 144 elderly critically ill patients aged >70 years who underwent red blood cell transfusion in the elderly intensive care unit (ICU) of our hospital from January 2021 to January 2023 were included. According to different blood transfusion initiation thresholds, the patients were divided into restrictive blood transfusion group (n=77, Hb<70 g/L before blood transfusion) and liberal blood transfusion group (n=67, Hb 70-100 g/L before blood transfusion). Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score, estimated mortality and general data collection were performed when the two groups of patients entered the ICU. Blood transfusion details of these patients in the ICU were collected and documented, including pre-transfusion Hb levels, volume and number of red blood cell transfusion, and post- transfusion Hb levels. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match the baseline data of the two groups of patients, and the clinical outcomes were compared and analyzed after matching. Results: After PSM matching, 52 pairs of patients were successfully matched. The matched restrictive and liberal transfusion groups showed comparable characterists, including age, APACHE Ⅱ score, the number of cases with APACHE Ⅱ score >20, estimated mortality, incidence of comorbidities and primary diseases (P>0.05). The number of red blood cell transfusions and transfusion volume (U) in the ICU of the two groups were 7.77±4.73 vs 12.19±10.41, 11.64±7.65 vs 19.14±16.14 (all P<0.05), and the Hb levels (g/L) before and after red blood cell transfusion in the ICU was 59.92±5.98 vs 77.44±8.60,77.88±17.21 vs 87.56±15.23 (all P<0.05). In terms of clinical outcomes, there was no significant difference between the two groups (all P>0.05): ICU length of stay (d) 39.56±36.80 vs 40.10±49.29, three-week mortality rate (%) 21.2 vs 21.2, in-hospital mortality rate (%) 46.2 vs 53.9, mortality rate in subgroup with APACHE Ⅱ score ≤ 20 (%) 11.5 vs 1.9, the incidence of severe infection (%) 78.8 vs 73.1, the incidence of heart failure (%) 57.7 vs 44.2, and the incidence of pulmonary edema (%) 26.9 vs 19.2. Conclusion: Elderly ICU patients can tolerate lower blood transfusion thresholds. Therefore, the restrictive transfusion strategy can reduce the total amount of blood transfusion, save valuable blood resources, and achieve the same blood transfusion effect as the liberal transfusion strategy.

Objective To establish a stable,reliable,and clinically relevant porcine model of endotoxin-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).Methods Ten 8-month-old male Bama minipigs were deeply sedated,followed by invasive mechanical ventilation and electrocardiographic monitoring.Lipopolysaccharide(LPS)was intravenously pumped at 600 μg/(kg·h)for 3 hours,then maintained at 15 μg/(kg·h)thereafter.Dynamic monitoring was performed at five time points after LPS injection(LPS 0,1,3,5,and 8 h),including arterial blood gas analysis and chest computed tomography(CT)scans.Pathological examination of lung tissues obtained via bronchoscopic biopsy(HE staining and transmission electron microscopy)was conducted.These indicators were comprehensively used to evaluate the success of the animal model.Results At 5 hours after LPS administration,8 minipigs developed symptoms such as skin cyanosis,elevated body temperature,and respiratory distress.The oxygenation index decreased to<300 mmHg.Chest CT scans showed diffuse pulmonary infiltrates.Histopathology revealed alveolar edema and hyaline membrane formation.Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated disruption of pulmonary blood-air barrier,depletion of lamellar bodies in type Ⅱ pneumocytes,inflammatory cell infiltration,and exudation of plasma proteins and fibrin.Compared with LPS 0 h,at LPS 8 h,the oxygenation index and arterial blood pH were significantly decreased(P<0.001),while blood lactic acid and serum potassium were significantly increased(P<0.05);serum calcium and base excess were significantly decreased(P<0.05),and the lung injury score based on HE-stained lung sections was significantly increased(P<0.01).Conclusion The porcine ARDS model established by continuous LPS injection can dynamically simulate the pathophysiological characteristics and typical pathological manifestations of clinical septic ARDS,making it an effective tool to study the pathogenesis,prevention,and treatment strategies of septic ARDS.

Objective To investigate the differences of perineuronal net(PNN)and parvalbumin(PV)-positive neuron distribution across specific brain regions between young and aged mice.Methods Brains from young(45 days)and aged(350 days)mice(n=4 per group)were fixed with 4％paraformaldehyde,sectioned(50 μm)using a vibratome,and stained with Wisteria floribunda agglutinin(WFA)and PV immunofluorescence.Quantitative analyses of PNN-positive and PV-positive neurons,along with PNN encapsulation of PV-positive neurons,were performed in the anterior cingulate cortex(ACC),somatosensory cortex barrel field layer 4(S1BF L4),striatum(STR),and hippocampal CA2 region.Results Aged mice exhibited no significant changes in PNN-positive or PV-positive neuron counts in ACC,S1BF L4,or STR compared to young mice,but showed significantly increased PNN encapsulation of PV-positive neurons.In hippocampal CA2,PNN-positive neurons increased significantly without PV-positive neuron alterations.Conclusion The differences in PNN-PV neuron interactions and PNN density exist in specific brain regions of young and aged mice.

Objective To develop a method of combining electroencephalogram(EEG)/electromyography(EMG)with multi-regional fiber photometry recording to simultaneously capture the changes of neuronal activity in the whole brain and specific brain regions during epileptic seizures.Methods The mouse head was divided into left and right regions based on the middle suture of the skull.EEG electrodes(EEG/EMG)were implanted in one side,while optical fibers were implanted in the striatum,hippocampus,entorhinal cortex,and thalamus on the contralateral side to simultaneously monitor EEG,EMG,and calcium signal dynamics.Results By combining EEG/EMG with multi-regional fiber photometry recording,differences in neuronal activity across brain regions,alongside EEG and EMG,were observed during different behavioral states.In a kainic acid(KA)-induced epilepsy model,abnormal synchronous neuronal discharges in the mouse brain were accompanied by calcium signal changes in the striatum,hippocampus,entorhinal cortex,and thalamus,with the earliest changes occurring in the hippocampus.Conclusion The combined use of EEG/EMG and multi-brain-region fiber photometry is successfully implemented in mice.This method synchronously recordes abnormal calcium signal changes across multiple brain regions,along with EEG and EMG,in the KA-induced epilepsy model.

Objective To investigate the dietary patterns of rural residents in the high-incidence areas of esophageal cancer (EC), and to explore the clustering and influencing factors of risk factors associated with high-incidence characteristics. Methods A special structured questionnaire was applied to conduct a face-to-face survey on the dietary patterns of rural residents in Yanting county of Sichuan Province from July to August 2021. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the influencing factors of risk factor clustering for EC. Results There were 838 valid questionnaires in this study. A total of 90.8% of rural residents used clean water such as tap water. In the past one year, the people who ate fruits and vegetables, soybean products, onions and garlic in high frequency accounted for 69.5%, 32.8% and 74.5%, respectively; the people who ate kimchi, pickled vegetables, sauerkraut, barbecue, hot food and mildew food in low frequency accounted for 59.2%, 79.6%, 68.2%, 90.3%, 80.9% and 90.3%, respectively. The clustering of risk factors for EC was found in 73.3% of residents, and the aggregation of two risk factors was the most common mode (28.2%), among which tumor history and preserved food was the main clustering pattern (4.6%). The logistic regression model revealed that the gender, age, marital status and occupation were independent influencing factors for the risk factors clustering of EC (P<0.05). Conclusion A majority of rural residents in high-incidence areas of EC in Yanting county have good eating habits, but the clustering of some risk factors is still at a high level. Gender, age, marital status, and occupation are influencing factors of the risk factors clustering of EC.

BACKGROUND:With the aging of the global population,the incidence rate of osteoporosis is also increasing.It is very important to further understand its pathogenesis and propose new therapeutic targets.Recent studies have shown that ferroptosis is closely related to the pathogenesis of some bone diseases,such as inflammatory arthritis,osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the previous studies on the mechanism of ferroptosis in osteoporosis,so as to provide new therapeutic ideas and potential therapeutic targets for osteoporosis. METHODS:The first author used the computer to search the documents published from 2000 to 2022 in CNKI,WanFang,VIP,PubMed and Web of Science with the key words of"ferroptosis,osteoporosis,osteoblasts,osteoclasts,iron chelators,reactive oxygen species,nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2,heme oxygenase-1,glutathione peroxidase 4,review"in Chinese and English.A total of 70 articles were finally included according to the inclusion criteria. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Ferroptosis is significantly different from necrosis,apoptosis and autophagy.In terms of cell morphology and function,it does not have the morphological characteristics of typical necrosis,nor does it have the characteristics of traditional apoptosis,such as cell contraction,chromatin condensation,the formation of apoptotic bodies and the disintegration of cytoskeleton.Contrary to autophagy,ferroptosis does not form a classical closed bilayer membrane structure(autophagic vacuole).Morphologically,ferroptosis is mainly manifested by obvious contraction of mitochondria,increased membrane density,and reduction or disappearance of mitochondrial cristae,which are different from other cell death modes.Iron overload can destroy bone homeostasis by significantly inhibiting osteogenic differentiation and stimulating osteoclast formation,leading to osteoporosis.Iron overload interferes with the differentiation of stem cells to osteoblasts,leading to a weakened osteoblast function and further imbalance of bone metabolism in the body,which eventually leads to osteoporosis.Stimulated by iron overload,osteoclast bone resorption is enhanced and bone loss exceeds new bone formation.Iron chelators have been proved to have osteoprotective effects by inhibiting osteoclast activity and stimulating osteogenic differentiation of osteoblasts.Its potential mechanism is related to inhibiting osteoclast differentiation and promoting osteoblast differentiation.Antioxidants can prevent reactive oxygen species production and inhibit bone absorption,thus improving bone metabolism and effectively preventing osteoporosis.

Currently,human health due to corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic has been seriously threatened.The coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)spike(S)protein plays a crucial role in virus transmission and several S-based therapeutic approaches have been approved for the treatment of COVID-19.However,the efficacy is compromised by the SARS-CoV-2 evolvement and mutation.Here we report the SARS-CoV-2 S protein receptor-binding domain(RBD)inhibitor licorice-saponin A3(A3)could widely inhibit RBD of SARS-CoV-2 variants,including Beta,Delta,and Omicron BA.1,XBB and BQ1.1.Furthermore,A3 could potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus in Vero E6 cells,with EC50 of 1.016 pM.The mechanism was related to binding with Y453 of RBD deter-mined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry(HDX-MS)analysis combined with quan-tum mechanics/molecular mechanics(QM/MM)simulations.Interestingly,phosphoproteomics analysis and multi fluorescent immunohistochemistry(mIHC)respectively indicated that A3 also inhibits host inflammation by directly modulating the JNK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)path-ways and rebalancing the corresponding immune dysregulation.This work supports A3 as a promising broad-spectrum small molecule drug candidate for COVID-19.