Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common diseases in elderly men, the incidence of which gradually increases with age and leads to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are widely used for the treatment of BPH in China and some other countries. To explore the molecular mechanisms of CHMs for BPH, we conducted a review based on peer-reviewed English-language publications in PubMed and Web of Science databases from inception to December 31, 2023. This article primarily reviewed 32 papers on the use of CHMs and its active compounds in the treatment of BPH, covering animal and cell experiments, and identified relevant mechanisms of action. The results suggest that the mechanisms of action of CHMs in treating BPH may involve the regulation of sex hormones, downregulation of cell growth factors, anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects, inhibition of cell proliferation, and promotion of apoptosis. CHMs also exhibit α-blocker-like effects, with the potential to relax urethral smooth muscle and alleviate LUTS. Additionally, we also reviewed 4 clinical trials and meta-analyses of CHMs for the treatment of BPH patients, which provided initial evidence of the safety and effectiveness of CHMs treatment. CHMs treatment for BPH shows advantages as a multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway therapy, which can mitigate the severity of the disease, improve LUTS, and may become a reliable treatment option in the future.
Prostatic Hyperplasia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Male ; Animals

During long-duration space missions,astronauts face health challenges such as bone density loss,muscle atrophy,cardiovascular dysfunction,immune function suppression caused by microgravity,as well as mental health issues in a confined environment.There is an urgent need for real-time,continuous,and multi-dimensional health monitoring technologies to safeguard the health and safety of astronauts.This paper systematically reviews the technical requirements and current development status of astronaut on-orbit health monitoring,with a focus on analyzing breakthroughs in technologies such as dynamic electrocardiography,non-invasive blood pressure assessment,flexible electronic skin,and molecular probe spectroscopy.It also elaborates on how the integration of artificial intelligence and bionics technologies is propelling the monitoring system towards intelligence and autonomy,providing a reference for the medical support of astronauts during long-duration spaceflight missions.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the incidence, clinical features, genetic variant characteristics and prognosis of Glutaric acidemia type I (GA1) among neonates from Henan Province. METHODS: A total of 814 625 neonates undergoing screening for inherited metabolic diseases by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2016 to December 2022 were selected as the study subjects. A retrospective method was adopted to collect the clinical data of the patients. Whole exome sequencing was carried out to detect GCDH gene variants in individuals with positive results by GA1 newborn screening, and Sanger sequencing was used to verify the candidate variants. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the pathogenicity of candidate variants was rated. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Hospital (Ethics Number: 2019 Medical Ethics Review No. 67). RESULTS: Eight cases of GA1 were diagnosed among the 814 625 neonates. Blood glutaryl carnitine (C5DC) and urine glutaric acid (GA) levels of the 8 children were higher than the normal reference values. In total 12 variants were detected, all of which were missense variants. c.1064G>A (p.Arg355His) was the most common one, accounting for 21.4% (3/14). Three GCDH gene variants, including 1297G>C (p.Ala433Pro), c.467G>A (p.Gly156Asp) and c.1125T>G (p.Cys375Trp), were previously unreported. REVEL software analysis predicted that all of the three variants were harmful. 3D protein structure modeling indicated that the three variants may cause amino acid residue alterations, and c.1297G>C (p.Ala433Pro) and c.1125T>G (p.Cys375Trp) may result in increase in hydrogen bonds and affect the function of GCDH protein. By December 2023, one of the eight children had deceased, and another child had severe clinical symptoms with poor prognosis. Six children had a good prognosis, of which two had mild motor development delay and four had normal development without clinical symptoms. CONCLUSION The incidence of GA1 in newborns screened by MS/MS in Henan Province is 1/101 828, and the carrier rate of pathogenic GCDH variants is 1/160. The c.1064G>A (p.Arg355His) may be the hotspot variant of the GCDH gene among children with GA1 in Henan. Discovery of the three novel variants has enriched the mutational spectrum of the GCDH gene and provide a basis for the early diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and genetic counseling of this disease.
Humans ; Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors/epidemiology* ; Glutaryl-CoA Dehydrogenase/chemistry* ; Infant, Newborn ; Female ; Neonatal Screening/methods* ; Male ; Brain Diseases, Metabolic/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Mutation ; Genetic Variation ; Glutarates

With the progress of society,the global development of scientific and technical research activities,and the increasing number of medical Institutional Review Board(IRB)review projects,the construction and management of electronic informatization have become extremely important.In the process of electronic information construction in institutional ethics review,it is necessary to take into account the new policy of ethical governance of science and technology,consider the system and standard operating procedures of IRB,and develop reasonable processes based on practical work,simplify manual operation,improve the accuracy of project management,achieve refined management,and facilitate communication among researchers,ethics committee secretaries,and members.

Objective To explore the relationship between the polymorphism of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) C8092A locus and the efficacy and prognosis of platinum-based chemotherapy for lung cancer (LC), and to provide a theoretical basis for precision treatment of LC. Methods From January 2014 to October 2017, 120 patients from two tertiary hospitals in Haikou City, and with pathologically confirmed lung cancer treated with platinum-based chemotherapy were selected as the research objects. After informed consent was obtained, peripheral blood samples were collected for DNA extraction, and the genotype of ERCC1 C8092A locus was detected by mass spectrometry. WHO's Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST) was used to judge patients' chemotherapy efficacy and patients' survival status was obtained by telephone follow-up and other means. Results Among the 120 LC patients, the genotype frequencies of ERCC1 C8092A locus were 67 cases of CC wildtype (55.8%), 45 cases of CA heterozygous type (37.5%), and 8 cases of AA rare mutation type (6.7%), which conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (χ2=0.140, P>0.05). The total effective rate of chemotherapy was 32.5%, with the highest effective rate in patients with the CA genotype (42.2%) at the ERCC1 C8092A locus and the lowest in patients with the CC genotype (25.4%). The overall one-year survival rate was 68.3% and the three-year survival rate was 35.8%. The patients with ERCC1 C8092A AA genotype had the lowest survival rate, with a one-year survival rate of 50.0% and three-year survival rate of only 25.0%. However, there were no statistical differences in the overall survival rate among the three genotypes of carriers of ERCC1 C8092A (χ2=0.328, P=0.849). Conclusions The polymorphism of ERCC1 C8092A locus is associated with the efficacy of platinum-based chemotherapy for LC, and patients with CA genotype have the highest efficacy. The one-year and three-year survival rates of patients with CC genotype are significantly higher than those of CA and AA genotypes.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of shikosin （SHI） on psoriasis （PSO） and explore the underlying mechanism via the cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase （cGAS）/stimulator of interferon genes （STING） signaling pathway. MethodHaCaT cells were classified into normal culture（Control）， a mixture of five proinflammatory cytokines（M5）， low-， medium-， and high-dose SHI （L-SHI， M-SHI， and H-SHI， respectively）， and SHI+ADU-S100 groups. The cells in the M5 group were stimulated with 10 μg·L^-1 interleukin （IL）-1α， IL-17， IL-22， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， and oncostatin M （OSM） for 48 h. The cells in the L-SHI， M-SHI， and H-SHI groups were treated with 0.1， 1， 10 μmol·L^-1 SHI， respectively， on the basis of the treatment in the M5 group. The cells in the SHI+ADU-S100 group were treated with 10 μmol·L^-1 STING activator ADU-S100 on the basis of the treatment in the H-SHI group. The methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） assay and colony formation assay were employed to examine the effect of SHI on the proliferation of HaCaT cells. The wound healing assay was employed to examine the effect of SHI on the migration of HaCaT cells. Flow cytometry was employed to detect the effect of SHI on the apoptosis of HaCaT cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the levels of IL-1β， IL-6， IL-15， IL-23， and interferon-γ （IFN-γ） in HaCaT cells. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of cGAS and STING in HaCaT cells. ResultCompared with Control group， the M5 group showed decreased survival rate， colony formation， and would healing rate of HaCaT cells， increased apoptosis rate， elevated levels of IL-1β， IL-6， IL-15， IL-23， and IFN-γ， and up-regulated protein levels of cGAS and STING （P<0.01）. Compared with the M5 group， the L-SHI， M-SHI， and H-SHI groups showed increased survival rate， cell colony formation， and wound healing rate， decreased apoptosis rate， lowered levels of IL-1β， IL-6， IL-15， IL-23， and IFN-γ， and down-regulated protein levels of cGAS and STING （P<0.01）. Compared with the H-SHI group， the SHI+ADU-S100 group showed decreased survival rate， cell colony formation， and wound healing rate， increased apoptosis rate， risen levels of IL-1β， IL-6， IL-15， IL-23， and IFN-γ， and up-regulated protein levels of cGAS and STING （P<0.01）. ConclusionSHI can inhibit the inflammation in the cell model of PSO by inhibiting the cGAS/STING signaling pathway.