Objective To compare the efficacy,economic burden,psychological impact,and quality of life between surgical and medical castration following radical prostatectomy(RP)in patients with very high-risk prostate cancer(VHR PCa).Methods Clinical data of 167 patients with VHR PCa who underwent RP in the Department of Urology,the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University during Jul.2019 and Mar.2024 were retrospectively collected.Patients were divided into two groups:the surgical castration group(n=44)and medical castration group(n=123).The effects of different castration methods on the biochemical recurrence(BCR)were analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models.The survival curves of BCR-free and progress to castration-resistant prostate cancer(CRPC)were plotted with the Kaplan-Meier method.The differences in functional assessment of cancer therapy-prostate(FACT-P)and hospital anxiety and depression scale(HADS)between the two groups were evaluated with linear regression model.Results The total costs were significantly lower in the surgical castration group than in the medical castration group[(47 422.0±3 998.3)yuan vs.(59 017.2±8 014.1)yuan,P＜0.001].One month postoperatively,the surgical castration group had significantly lower prostate-specific antigen(PSA)level[0.028(0.010,0.159)ng/mL vs.0.100(0.029,0.895)ng/mL,P=0.002].However,no significant differences were observed in the PSA level between the two groups at 3,6,and 12 months postoperatively,or in PSA nadir and time to nadir(P＞0.05).Cox regression analysis suggested a potentially higher risk of BCR in the medical castration group(HR=2.23),but the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.112).The 1-and 3-year BCR-free survival rates were higher in the surgical castration group(90.9％vs.85.4％;86.4％vs.70.7％,respectively),whereas 1-and 3-year progression-free survival rates were comparable between the two groups(97.7％vs.97.6％;95.5％vs.91.9％),with no significant differences(P＞0.05).No significant differences were found in FACT-P[(57.3±10.2)vs.(57.3±7.6)]or HADS[(12.6±5.1)vs.(11.3±4.8)]scores between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion In VHR PCa patients,surgical castration performed following RP is not inferior to drug castration in terms of PSA control,and potential delay of BCR.It had a lower cost and does not significantly increase the psychological burden.As an underutilized strategy,surgical castration can become an optional option for individualized treatment.

Objective To compare the efficacy,economic burden,psychological impact,and quality of life between surgical and medical castration following radical prostatectomy(RP)in patients with very high-risk prostate cancer(VHR PCa).Methods Clinical data of 167 patients with VHR PCa who underwent RP in the Department of Urology,the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University during Jul.2019 and Mar.2024 were retrospectively collected.Patients were divided into two groups:the surgical castration group(n=44)and medical castration group(n=123).The effects of different castration methods on the biochemical recurrence(BCR)were analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models.The survival curves of BCR-free and progress to castration-resistant prostate cancer(CRPC)were plotted with the Kaplan-Meier method.The differences in functional assessment of cancer therapy-prostate(FACT-P)and hospital anxiety and depression scale(HADS)between the two groups were evaluated with linear regression model.Results The total costs were significantly lower in the surgical castration group than in the medical castration group[(47 422.0±3 998.3)yuan vs.(59 017.2±8 014.1)yuan,P＜0.001].One month postoperatively,the surgical castration group had significantly lower prostate-specific antigen(PSA)level[0.028(0.010,0.159)ng/mL vs.0.100(0.029,0.895)ng/mL,P=0.002].However,no significant differences were observed in the PSA level between the two groups at 3,6,and 12 months postoperatively,or in PSA nadir and time to nadir(P＞0.05).Cox regression analysis suggested a potentially higher risk of BCR in the medical castration group(HR=2.23),but the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.112).The 1-and 3-year BCR-free survival rates were higher in the surgical castration group(90.9％vs.85.4％;86.4％vs.70.7％,respectively),whereas 1-and 3-year progression-free survival rates were comparable between the two groups(97.7％vs.97.6％;95.5％vs.91.9％),with no significant differences(P＞0.05).No significant differences were found in FACT-P[(57.3±10.2)vs.(57.3±7.6)]or HADS[(12.6±5.1)vs.(11.3±4.8)]scores between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion In VHR PCa patients,surgical castration performed following RP is not inferior to drug castration in terms of PSA control,and potential delay of BCR.It had a lower cost and does not significantly increase the psychological burden.As an underutilized strategy,surgical castration can become an optional option for individualized treatment.

ObjectiveTo explore the current status and issues regarding the application of ancient books in clinical practice guidelines and expert consensus of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） published in China， and to provide methodological recommendations for the incorporation of ancient books in the development of TCM guidelines. MethodsWe searched China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）， WanFang Data， VIP， SinoMed， PubMed， Embase， as well as six industry websites including China Association of Chinese Medicine， National Group Standards Information Platform， and Chinese Association of the Integration of Traditional and Western Medicine，etc. TCM clinical practice guidelines or expert consensus issued during January 1st， 2017， to November 26th， 2022 were searched. Clinical practice guidelines or expert consensus that explicitly referred to ancient books were included， and the content regarding the searching for ancient books， sources of access to ancient books， methods of evaluating the level of evidence， methods of evaluating the level of recommendation， and methods of evaluating the evidence for the ancient books were analysed. ResultsA total of 1,215 TCM clinical practice guidelines or expert consensus were retrieved， with 442 articles explicitly mentioning the application of ancient books， including 300 （67.87%） clinical practice guidelines and 142 （32.13%） expert consensus. Sixty of the 442 publications explicitly reported that ancient books searching had been conducted （13.57%）； among these 60 publications 27 （45.00%） explicitly reported ancient books searching strategies， and the most frequent method was manual searching with a total of 24 articles （40.00%）. The most popular search source was Chinese Medical Dictionary， a TCM classics database， with a total of 18 articles. 197 articles （44.57%） explicitly reported the evaluation criteria for the level of evidence， of which 141 articles （71.57%） involved the evaluation criteria for the ancient books； 413 articles （93.44%） mentioned ancient books in the recommendations， and only the source of formula name was mentioned in 409 （99.03%） of the publications. ConclusionThe current application of ancient books in TCM clinical practice guidelines and expert consensus is limited， with issues of non-standard searching and evaluation methods. Standar-dization and uniformity are needed in evidence grading and recommendation standards. Future research should clarify the scope and methods of applying ancient book， emphasize their integration with modern research evidence， and enhance their value and quality in the development of TCM clinical practice guidelines.

Immune system is thought to be closely associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in recent years. Genome-wide association studies have identified many AD risk genes related to immune response and microglia. This paper mainly reviews immune-related AD risk genes, describing their biological functions and possible roles in AD, in order to provide new scientific basis for early prevention and treatment of AD.

Objective:To investigate the effects of blood pressure variability (BPV), serum reactive oxygen species (ROS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels on cognitive function in patients with subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD).Methods:A total of 133 patients with SIVD confirmed by craniocranial MRI admitted to Department of Neurology, Red Flag Hospital Affiliated to Mudanjiang Medical University from October 2021 to October 2022 were selected. According to Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores, they were divided into SIVD without cognitive impairment group (SIVD-NC group, n=39) and subcortical vascular cognitive impairment group (SVCI group, n=94); and 23 healthy volunteers with normal cognition who had normal brain MRI in the Physical Examination Center during the same period were chosen as control group. General data of all subjects and vascular risk factors in each group were collected, routine biochemical indexes of peripheral blood were detected, 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed, and serum ROS and SOD levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Statistical methods were used to analyze the risk factors for cognitive impairment, correlations of independent risk factors with cognitive function, and diagnostic value of risk factors in cognitive impairment in patients with SIVD. Results:(1) Compared with control group, SIVD-NC group had significantly increased percentages of patients with hypertension history or lacunar stroke history, and significantly increased hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level ( P<0.05). Compared with control group and SIVD-NC group, patients in SVCI group had significantly older age, lower years of education, higher proportion of patients with lacunar stroke history, and increased hs-CRP level ( P<0.05). Compared with control group, SVCI group had significantly higher proportion of patients with hypertension history ( P<0.05). (2) SIVD-NC group had significantly higher ROS level than control group ( P<0.05); Compared with control group and SIVD-NC group, SVCI group had significantly increased ROS level ( P<0.05). (3) SIVD-NC group had significantly increased nighttime systolic blood pressure (nSBP) compared with control group ( P<0.05); SVCI group had significantly increased 24 h SBP, nSBP and nSBP-variable coefficient (CV) compared with control group and SIVD-NC group ( P<0.05). Compared with SIVD-NC group, SVCI group had significantly increased 24 h SBP-CV ( P<0.05). (4) The nSBP, nSBP-CV, serum hs-CRP and ROS, and lacunar stroke history were independent risk factors for cognitive impairment in SIVD patients ( OR=1.096, P<0.001, 95% CI: 1.042-1.154; OR=1.231, P=0.010, 95% CI: 1.050-1.443; OR=2.303, P=0.004, 95% CI: 1.311-4.039; OR=1.026, P<0.001, 95% CI: 1.014-1.039; OR=2.954, P=0.041, 95% CI: 1.045-8.348), and education level was a protective factor for that ( P<0.05). (5) Serum ROS and hs-CRP, nSBP, and nSBP-CV were negatively correlated with MoCA scores in SIVD patients ( r s=-0.336, P<0.001; r s=-0.503, P<0.001; r s=-0.204, P=0.018; r s=-0.309, P=0.001). (6) Serum ROS and hs-CRP, nSBP, and nSBP-CV had high diagnostic values in cognitive impairment in SIVD patients (areas under the curves: 0.874, 0.847, 0.804 and 0.702, P<0.05); combined diagnosis efficacy of multiple indexes was better (area under the curve: 0.948, P<0.05). Conclusion:Serum ROS and hs-CRP, nSBP and nSBP-CV are highly likely to be hemodynamic and serological monitoring indexes for screening of cognitive impairment in SIVD patients.

This study delves into the pivotal factors influencing the consensus process within traditional Chinese medicine guideline development, with the objective of augmenting the quality of this process through methodological recommendations aimed at elevating standardization.

This article reviewed the application of different kinds of imaging methods combined with the analysis of brain connectome in mild cognitive impairment. Previous studies demonstrated that the brain worked as the small-world network. In patients with Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment, the structure of small-world of network might be changed. According to the different methods, the trend of those changes might be different. This paper reviewed the current situation of the study in mild cognitive impairment through brain network analysis, and emphasized its importance and prospects.

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide plays an important role in bone metabolism. However, the effects of different doses of L-arginine, nitric oxide substrate, on the healing of osteoporotic fractures remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of different doses of L-arginine on the healing of osteoporotic fractures and blood biochemistry in rats. METHODS: A total of 50 female Wistar rats, aged 6-month-old, were randomly divided into sham-surgery (n=10) and osteoporosis (bilateral ovariectomy, n=40). After osteoporosis model was established, left middle femoral fractures were made in al 50 rats, and the osteoporosis group was further divided into four groups, low, middle and high dose of L-arginine, and control groups. The L-arginine groups were intraperitoneal y injected with 1, 3, and 5 mg/kg L-arginine at the second day fol owing surgery, while the control and sham-surgery groups were injected with the same volume of normal saline. At 8 weeks, the lumbar and cal us bone mineral density, serum nitric oxide, and nitric oxide synthase were detected. Meanwhile, the bone cal us histological examination was conducted. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: During fracture healing, osteoporosis rats showed a low level of serum nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase compared with normal fractured rats (P < 0.05). L-arginine can improve the concentration of serum nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthase in osteoporosis rats. Moreover, middle dose of L-arginine can increase the cal us and lumbar spine bone mineral density of osteoporosis rats, so the number and continuity of bone trabecula were enhanced. These findings suggest that middle dose of L-arginine (3 mg/kg) can promote healing process of osteoporotic fractures and improve osteoporosis.