Naturally derived metabolites are valuable resources for drug research and development, and play an important role in the treatment of diseases. As the "second genome" of the body, gut microbiota is rich in metabolic enzymes, which interacts with external substances such as drugs, thus affecting the progression of diseases. This article summarizes the interaction between gut microbiota-producing enzymes and natural medicines, and focuses on the impact of this interaction on disease progression, hoping to provide new ideas for the development and pharmacological mechanism of natural medicines.

Objective To explore the effect of virtual reality treadmill training on balance and gait in stroke patients. Methods From March,2022,to March,2023,40 stroke patients in Beijing Tiantan Hospital,Capital Medical University were randomly divided into control group(n = 20)and experimental group(n = 20).Both groups received rou-tine rehabilitation training.The control group received ordinary treadmill walking training,and the experimental group received treadmill walking training with virtual reality,for two weeks.They were assessed with Berg Bal-ance Scale(BBS)and Timed Up and Go Test(TUGT),and the envelope ellipse area,center of pressure(COP)av-erage speed of movement,step length,stride length and stride width were compared between two groups before and after treatment. Results After treatment,the scores of BBS and time of TUGT improved in both groups(|t|>3.508,P<0.01),and they were better in the experimental group than in the control group(|t|>3.019,P<0.01);there was no significant dif-ference in the envelope ellipse area,COP average speed,and stride width between two groups(P>0.05);howev-er,the step length and stride width improved in the experimental group(|t|>4.008,P<0.01). Conclusion Treadmill training with virtual reality can improve the balance and walking ability of stroke patients.

AIM To investigate the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on hearing function,cochlear morphology and autophagy-related protein expression in a rat model of presbycusis.METHODS Forty-five rats were randomly divided into the control group,the model group and the low,medium and high dose G.biloba extract groups(10,20 and 30 mg/kg),with 9 rats in each group.The rat model of presbycusis was established by intraperitoneal injection of 500 mg/kg D-galactose(D-gal).Eight weeks after the corresponding administration,the rats had their changes of hearing threshold detected by the auditory brainstem evoked potential(ABR);their morphological changes of cochlear hair cells,stria vascularis(SV)and spiral ganglion cells observed by HE staining;their number of hair cells inside and outside the cochlea detected by immunofluorescence staining;their ultrastructure changes of cochlear hair cells observed by transmission electron microscopy;and their expression of autophagy-related proteins in cochlea tissue detected by Western blot.RESULTS Compared with the control group,the model group displayed increased ABR threshold(P<0.01);more severely damaged inner and outer hair cells,spiral ganglion cells and SV,decreased SV thickness and numbers of spiral ganglion cells,inner and outer hair cells and autophagosomes(P<0.01);decreased protein expressions of Beclin1 and LC3 Ⅱ and ratio of LC3 Ⅱ/LC3 Ⅰ in cochlear tissue(P<0.01),and higher P62 protein expression(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the medium and high dose G.biloba extract groups shared decreased ABR thresholds(P<0.01);improved morphology of inner and outer hair cells and SV in the cochlea,normalized,morphology of spiral ganglion cells,and increased SV thickness and the numbers of spiral ganglion cells,inner and outer hair cells and autophagosomes(P<0.05,P<0.01);increased protein expressions of Beclin1 and LC3 Ⅱ and the ratio of LC3 Ⅱ/LC3 Ⅰ in the cochlea(P<0.01),and decreased P62 protein expression(P<0.01).CONCLUSION The protective effects G.biloba extract on hearing function and cochlear cells in the rat model of presbycusis may be associated with the up-regulated expression of Beclin1 and LC3 Ⅱ proteins and down-regulated P62 protein expression in cochlear tissues.

Aim To investigate the mechanism of ligu aged 2 months of the same strain were used as the constilide (LIG) in delaying the senescence of auditory trol (Ctrl) group. Auditory brainstem response test was cortex and treating central presbycusis. Methods used to detect the auditory threshold of mice before and Forty C57BL/6J mice aged 13 months were randomly di after treatment. Levels of serum MDA and activity of vided into ligustilide low-dose(L-LIG) group, ligustil serum SOD were detected to display the level of oxidative ide medium-dose (M-LIG) group, ligustilide high-dose stress. The pathological changes of auditory cortex were (H-LIG) group and aging (Age) group, and 10 mice observed by HE staining. Ferroptosis was observed by

The scientific basis of acupuncture on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treating ischemic stroke (IS) is discussed. MSCs transplantation has great potential for the treatment of tissue damage caused by early stage inflammatory cascade reactions of IS, but its actual transformation is limited by various factors. How to improve the homing efficiency of MSCs is the primary issue to enhance its efficacy. As such, the possible mechanisms of acupuncture and MSCs transplantation in inhibiting inflammatory cascade reactions induced by IS are explored by reviewing literature, and a hypothesis that acupuncture could promote the secretion of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) from ischemic foci to regulate SDF-1α/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) axis, thereby improving the homing efficiency of MSCs transplantation, exerting its neuroprotective function, and improving the bed transformation ability, is proposed.
Humans ; Ischemic Stroke ; Chemokine CXCL12 ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; Inflammation

OBJECTIVES: To explore the application of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in the rapid clinical diagnosis of critically ill neonates. METHODS: The critically ill neonates who admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Children's Hospital of Fudan University and underwent WGS from August to September, 2019 were enrolled in this prospective study. The genetic testing results and clinical outcome were analyzed with reference to the sequencing data and clinical features of the neonates. RESULTS: A total of 15 neonates were tested, among whom there were 9 boys and 6 girls. The main reason for hospitalization included abnormal breathing in 7 neonates, poor response in 2 neonates, feeding difficulty in 2 neonates, fever in 1 neonate, hypothermia in 1 neonate, preterm birth in 1 neonate, and convulsion in 1 neonate. The mean turn-around time was 4.5 days for WGS. Finally a genetic diagnosis was obtained for 3 neonates, with a positive diagnostic rate of 20% (3/15). Among the 3 neonates, 2 neonates were withdrawn from the treatment due to severe conditions and 1 neonate died on the day when the sample was sent for genetic testing, whose etiology could be explained by the results of genetic testing. CONCLUSIONS WGS technique can provide a timely and effective diagnosis for critically ill neonates suspected of genetic diseases and provide genetic evidence for clinical treatment of critically ill cases.
Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Critical Illness ; Prospective Studies ; Premature Birth ; Dyspnea ; Fever

Gut microbiota is a complex and dynamic system, and is essential for the health of the body. As the "second genome" of the body, it can establish communication with the important organs by regulating intestinal nerves, gastrointestinal hormones, intestinal barrier, immunity and metabolism, thus affecting host′s physiological functions. Short chain fatty acid (SCFA), known as one important metabolite of intestinal microbiota, is regarded as a significant messenger of the gut-organ communication, due to its extensive regulation in the body′s immunity, metabolism, endocrine and signal transduction. In this review, we summarize the interaction between gut-liver/brain/kidney/lung axis and diseases, and focus on the role and mechanism of SCFA in the gut-organ communication, hoping to provide new ideas for the treatment of the related diseases.

BACKGROUND: Long-term remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) has been proven to be beneficial in multiple diseases, such as cerebral and cardiovascular diseases. However, the hyperacute and acute effects of a single RIC stimulus are still not clear. Quantitative proteomic analyses of plasma proteins following RIC application have been conducted in preclinical and clinical studies but exhibit high heterogeneity in results due to wide variations in experimental setups and sampling procedures. Hence, this study aimed to explore the immediate effects of RIC on plasma proteome in healthy young adults to exclude confounding factors of disease entity, such as medications and gender. METHODS: Young healthy male participants were enrolled after a systematic physical examination and 6-month lifestyle observation. Individual RIC sessions included five cycles of alternative ischemia and reperfusion, each lasting for 5 min in bilateral forearms. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 5 min after RIC, and 2 h after RIC, and then samples were processed for proteomic analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. RESULTS: Proteins related to lipid metabolism (e.g., Apolipoprotein F), coagulation factors (hepatocyte growth factor activator preproprotein), members of complement cascades (mannan-binding lectin serine protease 1 isoform 2 precursor), and inflammatory responses (carboxypeptidase N catalytic chain precursor) were differentially altered at their serum levels following the RIC intervention. The most enriched pathways were protein glycosylation and complement/coagulation cascades. CONCLUSIONS One-time RIC stimulus may induce instant cellular responses like anti-inflammation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis balancing, and lipid metabolism regulation which are protective in different perspectives. Protective effects of single RIC in hyperacute and acute phases may be exploited in clinical emergency settings due to apparently beneficial alterations in plasma proteome profile. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of long-term (repeated) RIC interventions in preventing chronic cardiovascular diseases among general populations can also be expected based on our study findings.
Young Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Proteome ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Proteomics ; Ischemia ; Blood Coagulation

In observational studies, herbal prescriptions are usually studied in the form of "similar prescriptions". At present, the classification of prescriptions is mainly based on clinical experience judgment, but there are some problems in manual judgment, such as lack of unified criteria, labor consumption, and difficulty in verification. In the construction of a database of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19), our research group tried to classify real-world herbal prescriptions using a similarity matching algorithm. The main steps include 78 target prescriptions are determined in advance; four levels of importance labeling shall be carried out for the drugs of each target prescription; the combination, format conversion, and standardization of drug names of the prescriptions to be identified in the herbal medicine database; calculate the similarity between the prescriptions to be identified and each target prescription one by one; prescription discrimination is performed based on the preset criteria; remove the name of the prescriptions with "large prescriptions cover the small". Through the similarity matching algorithm, 87.49% of the real prescriptions in the herbal medicine database of this study can be identified, which preliminarily proves that this method can complete the classification of herbal prescriptions. However, this method does not consider the influence of herbal dosage on the results, and there is no recognized standard for the weight of drug importance and criteria, so there are some limitations, which need to be further explored and improved in future research.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Algorithms ; Databases, Factual ; Prescriptions ; Plant Extracts

Objective:To investigate characteristics of the 18F-flurodeoxyglucose ( 18F-FDG) uptake intensity and ranges in distinct hepatic alveolar echinococcosis lesions. Methods:The clinical data of 39 patients with position emission tomography during Jan 2017 to Dec 2019 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University were enrolled. Among them, there were 17 males and 22 females, aging from 15 to 65 years (median 34 years). Lesions were classified into six groups based on heterogenic scales of calcification and liquefaction: A. non-calcified and non-liquefied ( n=7); B. obvious calcified and non-liquefied ( n=7); C. partial calcified and partial liquefied( n=10); D. obvious calcified and partial liquefied ( n=5); E. partial calcified and subtotal liquefied ( n=5); F. obvious calcified and subtotal liquefied ( n=5). Tumor to background ratio (TBR) and width (W) of lesion infiltrative boundary were measured and calculated. Statistical comparison using Mann-Whitney U test as well as correlation analysis was performed. Results:TBR values [ M( Q1, Q3)] for each group were 4.40(3.66, 7.03), 2.55(1.69, 3.60), 3.73(3.37, 5.21), 2.90(2.75, 3.60), 3.80(3.49, 6.36), 2.49(2.21, 3.97), among which A>B, A>D, A>F, C>B, E>B ( U=3.0, 4.0, 4.5, 11.0, 5.0, all P<0.05); From the perspective of the calcification in each group, it was found that the lighter the calcification was, the greater the TBR value was. W values [ M( Q1, Q3)] for each group were [12.5(10.0, 19.5), 11.2(10.5, 12.5), 12.2(10.9, 13.2), 7.8(7.3, 9.3), 10.0(7.3, 13.4), 7.3(6.8, 7.6)] mm, among which A>D, A>F, B>D, B>F, C>D, C>F (all U=0, all P<0.05); According to the degree of calcification and liquefaction of lesions in each group, the lighter the calcification was, the greater the W value was; The heavier the liquefaction was, the smaller the W value was. A mild strength linear correlation has been observed between the TBR value and W value ( r=0.4136, P<0.05). Conclusions:Less calcification and liquefaction implicated higher 18F-FDG uptake intensity and wider range. Radical resection margins and tissue sampling should be individualized based on different lesion features in surgical treatment.