OBJECTIVE: Based on the PTEN-induced hypothetical kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin pathway, the effect of acupuncture pretreatment on the expression of mitochondrial autophagy-related proteins in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of rats with exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) was observed, and the underlying mechanism of acupuncture pretreatment for the prevention and treatment of EIMD was explored. METHODS: Of 88 SD male rats, aged 6 weeks, 8 rats were randomly selected as a blank group, and the remaining 80 rats were randomized into a model group and an acupuncture pretreatment group, with 40 rats in each group. Either the model group or the acupuncture pretreatment group was subdivided randomly into 5 subgroups with 8 rats in each one according to the time points of sample collection, 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after modeling. An intermittent downhill running centrifugal exercise was carried out on an animal experimental treadmill to establish the EIMD model in the model group and the acupuncture pretreatment group. The rats in the acupuncture pretreatment group received acupuncture at "Guanyuan" (CV6) and bilateral "Zusanli" (ST36), once a day for 20 min each time, for 7 consecutive days before EIMD model preparation. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of gastrocnemius muscle tissue in each group. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in serum were detected by ELISA. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of PINK1, Parkin, sequestosome 1 (p62) and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3B (LC3B) in rat gastrocnemius muscle tissue. Real-time PCR was adopted to detect the mRNA expression of PINK1, Parkin, p62 and LC3B in rat gastrocnemius muscle tissue. RESULTS: Compared with the blank group, the mitochondria of gastrocnemius muscles showed obvious swelling in the 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h model subgroups , autophagosomes were formed in the 12 h and 24 h model subgroups, and the mitochondrial morphology returned to normal gradually in the 72 h model subgroup. The serum MDA contents of rats in 5 model subgroups increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). The contents of SOD and CAT in the subgroups of 0 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein and mRNA expression levels of PINK1, Parkin and LC3B in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of rats in 0 h, 12 h and 24 h subgroups were elevated (P<0.01); and the protein and mRNA expression levels of p62 in the 0 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h subgroups were reduced (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the model subgroup at the same time point, the myofibril damage and the degree of mitochondrial swelling were mild in each acupuncture pretreatment subgroup, and the numbers of autophagosomes were fewer. The contents of MDA in the acupuncture pretreatment subgroups decreased at 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h (P<0.05, P<0.01). The contents of SOD and CAT in the 12 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroup increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein and mRNA expression levels of PINK1 and Parkin in the 0 h, 12 h, and 24 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroups decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05). The protein and mRNA expression levels of LC3B in the 12 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroup decreased (P<0.01), and that of p62 in the 0 h and 24 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroups increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION The intermittent downhill running centrifugal exercise induces the excessive mitochondrial autophagy. Acupuncture pretreatment may attenuate EIMD, and the underlying mechanism is related to the regulation of PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway expression, reducing oxidative stress damage in skeletal muscle cells, and inhibiting mitochondrial autophagy overactivation.
Animals ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/genetics* ; Male ; Rats ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Mitophagy ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Muscular Diseases/physiopathology* ; Signal Transduction

In recent years, it has become a new direction in the field of neuroscience to explore the mode characteristics, functional significance and interaction mechanism of resting spontaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and task-evoked EEG. This paper introduced the basic characteristics of spontaneous EEG and task-evoked EEG, and summarized the core role of spontaneous EEG in shaping the adaptability of the nervous system. It focused on how the spontaneous EEG interacted with the task-evoked EEG in the process of task processing, and emphasized that the spontaneous EEG could significantly affect the performance of tasks such as perception, cognition and movement by regulating neural activities and predicting external stimuli. These studies provide an important theoretical basis for in-depth understanding of the principle and mechanism of brain information processing in resting and task states, and point out the direction for further exploring the complex relationship between them in the future.
Humans ; Electroencephalography/methods* ; Brain/physiology* ; Rest/physiology* ; Cognition/physiology* ; Evoked Potentials/physiology* ; Task Performance and Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of the "Three-Step Nine-Method Lumbar Correction" combined with physical therapy in the treatment of patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis(DLS). METHODS: From January 2021 to December 2021, 72 patients diagnosed with DLS were enrolled and divided into the Three-Step Nine-Method Lumbar Correction group and the pelvic traction group, with 36 cases in each group. In the Three-Step Nine-Method Lumbar Correction group, there were 15 males and 21 females;aged 54 to 66 years old, with an average of (59.07±5.69) years old;the course of disease was 14 to 26 years old, with an average of (20.35±5.66) years old. They were treated with the Three-Step Nine-Method Lumbar Correction combined with low-frequency physical therapy, 3 times a week, for a 4-week course. In the pelvic traction group, there were 12 males and 24 females;aged 54 to 66 years old, with an average of (59.69±5.59) years old;the course of disease was 13 to 26 years old, with an average of (19.74±5.80) years old. They were treated with pelvic traction combined with low-frequency physical therapy. Efficacy evaluation was conducted using the visual analogue scale(VAS), Oswestry disability index(ODI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, and Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) before treatment, after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, and at the 8-week follow-up after the end of treatment. In addition, imaging parameters of paravertebral muscles were evaluated before treatment and at the completion of treatment. RESULTS: All 72 patients completed the follow-up for 8 weeks. At the 8-week follow-up after the end of treatment, in the Three-Step Nine-Method Lumbar Correction group, the VAS score for low back pain decreased from (6.25±1.23) points before treatment to (1.25±0.65) points, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05);the ODI decreased from (57.17±7.13)% before treatment to (19.89±5.66)%, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05);the JOA score and SF-36 score increased from (15.46±3.20) points and (35.25±9.28) points before treatment to (23.75±2.10) points and (62.31±13.03) points, respectively, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). The improvement of each index in the Three-Step Nine-Method Lumbar Correction group was better than that in the pelvic traction group (P<0.05), but the change in imaging parameters was not significant (P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P>0.05), and no serious adverse events occurred. CONCLUSION The Three-Step Nine-Method Lumbar Correction combined with physical therapy has a definite efficacy in the treatment of DLS. It can significantly relieve pain symptoms, improve physical function and patients' quality of life. Its effect is better than that of pelvic traction combined with physical therapy, and it has high safety. However, its improvement on paravertebral muscles is not obvious.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Spondylolisthesis/physiopathology* ; Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Lumbar Vertebrae/physiopathology* ; Physical Therapy Modalities ; Adult

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study assessed the methodological quality of systematic reviews (SRs) of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) published in Chinese between Jan 2021 and Sep 2022. METHODS: Chinese language CHM SRs were identified through literature searches across 3 international and 4 Chinese databases. Methodological quality was appraised using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2. Logistic regressions were used to explore associations between bibliographical characteristics and quality. RESULTS: Analyses of methodological quality found that among the 213 sampled SRs, 69.5% were of critically low quality, 30.5% were of low quality, and none achieved high or moderate quality. Common shortcomings included the failure to identify the studies excluded from the analysis, failure to disclose funding sources, and limited evaluation of the potential impact of bias on conclusions. Logistic regressions revealed that SRs led by corresponding authors affiliated with universities or academic institutions tended to be of lower quality than SRs led by authors affiliated with hospitals or clinical facilities. CONCLUSION Recent Chinese language CHM SRs exhibited limited methodological quality, making them unlikely to support the development of clinical practice guidelines. Urgent initiatives are needed to enhance training for researchers, peer-reviewers and editors involved in the preparation and publication of SRs. Adoption of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines in Chinese language journals is crucial to improve the relevance of SRs for Chinese medicine development. Addressing deficiencies in methodology and reporting is essential for promoting evidence-based practices and informed clinical decisions in Chinese medicine. Please cite this article as: Jiang Y, Zhong CC, Wang BH, Xu SS, Ho FF, Kwong MH, Ho L, Zhou JHS, Lam KC, Liu JP, Zhang BT, Chung VCH. Methodological quality of systematic reviews on orally administered Chinese herbal medicine published in Chinese between 2021 and 2022: A cross-sectional study. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):492-501.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Systematic Reviews as Topic/standards* ; Humans ; China ; Administration, Oral ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective To observe the clinical effect of PENG's tendon-separating tuina therapy combined with lateral needling technique for meridian sinew in the treatment of acute scapulohumeral periarthritis(referred to as frozen shoulder),and to provide therapeutic ideas and evidence for the treatment of acute scapulohumeral periarthritis.Methods Sixty patients with acute scapulohumeral periarthritis were randomly divided into treatment group and control group,with 30 cases in each group.The control group was treated with lateral needling technique for meridian sinew,and the treatment group was treated with PENG's tendon-seperating tuina therapy combined with lateral needling technique for meridian sinew.Both groups were treated for once a day,10 times as a course of treatment,and for a total of 2 courses of treatment.The changes of pain Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)score and Constant-Murley Scale(CMS)score of shoulder joint function in the two groups were observed before treatment and after one and two course(s)of treatment.Moreover,the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated.Results(1)After two courses of treatment,the total effective rate of the treatment group was 90.00%(27/30),and that of the control group was 73.30%(22/30).The overall efficacy(tested by rank sum test)and total effective rate(tested by chi-square test)of the treatment group were significantly superior to those of the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)After one and two course(s)of treatment,the VAS scores of pain in the two groups were significantly decreased than those before treatment(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01);after two courses of treatment,VAS scores in the two groups were significantly lower than those after one course of treatment(P＜0.05).The decrease of VAS scores in the treatment group after one and two course(s)of treatment was significantly superior to that in the control group,and the difference were statistically significant(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).(3)After one and two course(s)of treatment,the CMS scores of shoulder joint function in the two groups were significantly higher than those before treatment(P＜0.01);after two courses of treatment,the CMS scores in the two groups were higher than those after one course of treatment(P＜0.05).The increase of CMS scores in the treatment group after one and two course(s)of treatment was significantly superior to that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.01).Conclusion PENG's tendon-separating tuina therapy combined with lateral needling technique for meridian sinew has a definite clinical effect in the treatment of patients with acute scapulohumeral periarthritis,which can effectively relieve the pain and discomfort of shoulder joint and improve the movement function of shoulder joint.

Aim To investigate the dynamic changes of neuronal cells at different time points following acute cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by establishing a model of brain ischemia-reperfusion injury.Methods Thirty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were ran-domly divided into six groups:sham group and cere-bral ischemia-reperfusion injury(IR)groups at differ-ent time points.Focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model was established using the middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)technique.The Longa sco-ring method was used to assess neurobehavioral scores in rats.After successful model preparation,routine paraffin sections were made,and TUNEL staining and immunohistochemistry staining with NeuN antibody were performed to observe cell apoptosis and neuronal cell survival,respectively.Immunohistochemistry stai-ning was also performed to investigate the changes in glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)as a marker for astrocytes,ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1(IBA-1)as a marker for microglia,and CD31 as a marker for endothelial cells at different time points.Results No significant changes were observed in neu-ronal cells of the sham group at different time points.In the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury groups,cell apoptosis was activated at IR3h and increased in quan-tity with morphological damage as time progressed.Ne-uN+neurons showed signs of ischemic injury after IR3h,with abnormal cell morphology.From 12 h,Ne-uN+neurons decreased in a time-dependent manner and reached their peak severity at 24 h.GFAP+astro-cytes decreased significantly after IR3h,while poorly labeled GFAP+astrocytes increased at IR 6 h and al-most disappeared in the infarcted area at 24 h and 48 h.The number of IBA-1+microglia-positive cells de-creased at IR3h,and their volume increased at IR6h.Microglial cell death was observed in the infarcted area at IR12h.CD31+endothelial cells around the infarc-ted cortex and striatum increased significantly after IR3h and persisted until 48 h.Conclusions After cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury,the number of ap-optotic cells increases with the prolongation of time,and NeuN+neurons exhibit the most severe damage at 24 h.GFAP+astrocytes and microglial cells gradually die over time.The number of CD31+endothelial cells increases significantly around the infarcted cortex and striatum after 3 h of reperfusion and persists until 48 h.

Objective To investigate the effect of fixation of posterior malleolar fractures of Haraguchi type Ⅱ on ankle function in trimalleolar fractures.Methods A total of 118 patients with trimalleolar fractures accompanied with posterior malleolar fractures of Haraguchi type Ⅱ who treated by surgery were selected as the study subjects,and divided into the fixation group(57 cases)and the non-fixation group(61 cases)based on whether the posterior malleolus was fixed during the operation.The operation related indicators,American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society(AOFAS)ankle-hindfoot score,and the excellent and good rate of ankle function recovery were compared between the two groups.Results There was no significant difference in the operation time,intraoperative blood loss,hospital stay,fracture healing time,complete weight-bearing time or postoperative joint flatness between the two groups(P<0.05).At the end of the follow-up,the pain score and total score of the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scale in the fixation group were higher than those in the non-fixation group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05);and the excellent and good rate of ankle function recovery in the fixation group was higher than that in the non-fixation group,with statistically significant difference(P<0.05).Conclusion Surgical treatment for the trimalleolar fractures accompanied with posterior malleolar fractures of Haraguchi type Ⅱ can achieve satisfactory clinical outcome,and the fixation of posterior malleolar fractures of Haraguchi type Ⅱ can effectively reduce postoperative joint pain and improve ankle function.

In this study,the immunological characteristics of the PhoP protein were explored with a two-component system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb).Bioinformatics was used to predict the B and T cell epitopes of the PhoP protein.A re-combinant expression plasmid was constructed by PCR analysis of the phoP sequence and cloning into the prokaryotic expres-sion vector pET-28a(+).Competent Escherichia coli BL21 cells were transformed with the recombinant plasmid and expres-sion was induced with IPTG.The recombinant PhoP protein was purified by affinity chromatography.Serum levels of PhoP-specific antibodies in Mtb-infected mice and tuberculosis(TB)patients were analyzed with an ELISA.BALB/c mice were im-munized with the PhoP recombinant protein by intramuscular injection.Sera of mice were collected and antibody titers were detected with an ELISA and specificity was assessed by West-ern blot analysis.Mouse splenocytes were isolated and the pro-portions of IFN-y-positive cells and cytokine levels were detec-ted with an ELISpot and ELISA,respectively.Bioinformatics i-dentified 24 B cell and 11 T cell epitopes of the PhoP protein.A prokaryotic recombinant vector of PhoP was successfully con-structed and the recombinant PhoP protein was obtained by purification.Specific antibody levels to PhoP in sera of Mtb in-fected mice and TB patients increased significantly,with preci-sion of 99.9％and 82.5％,and specificity of 100％,respectively.PhoP protein immunization successfully induced production of specific antibodies in mice.Stimulated by antigens in vitro,IL-2 and IFN-γ levels were significantly increased in the splenocytes of immunized mice.Immunization with the PhoP protein induce a humoral immune response and Thl-dominated cellular immu-nity,indicating that the PhoP protein was immunogenic with diagnostic efficacy for TB.These results lay a foundation to clari-fy the role of PhoP in Mtb infection and application for diagnosis and prevention of TB.

As artificial intelligence technology rapidly advances, its deployment within the medical sector presents substantial ethical challenges. Consequently, it becomes crucial to create a standardized, transparent, and secure framework for processing medical data. This includes setting the ethical boundaries for medical artificial intelligence and safeguarding both patient rights and data integrity. This consensus governs every facet of medical data handling through artificial intelligence, encompassing data gathering, processing, storage, transmission, utilization, and sharing. Its purpose is to ensure the management of medical data adheres to ethical standards and legal requirements, while safeguarding patient privacy and data security. Concurrently, the principles of compliance with the law, patient privacy respect, patient interest protection, and safety and reliability are underscored. Key issues such as informed consent, data usage, intellectual property protection, conflict of interest, and benefit sharing are examined in depth. The enactment of this expert consensus is intended to foster the profound integration and sustainable advancement of artificial intelligence within the medical domain, while simultaneously ensuring that artificial intelligence adheres strictly to the relevant ethical norms and legal frameworks during the processing of medical data.
Artificial Intelligence/legislation & jurisprudence* ; Humans ; Consensus ; Computer Security/standards* ; Confidentiality/ethics* ; Informed Consent/ethics*

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy between staged acupuncture based on "thoroughfare vessel is the sea of blood" theory combined with routine hormone replacement cycle treatment and routine hormone replacement cycle treatment for patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) of thin endometrium. METHODS: A total of 72 RIF patients with thin endometrium were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 36 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were treated with routine hormone replacement cycle treatment. Based on the treatment of the control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with staged acupuncture based on "thoroughfare vessel is the sea of blood" theory. The main acupoints were Neiguan (PC 6) and Gongsun (SP 4), and the supplementary acupoints were selected according to the menstrual cycle and syndrome differentiation; the acupuncture was given once every other day, 3 times a week, for 3 consecutive menstrual cycles. The thickness and shape of endometrium, and Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) score were observed at implantation window before and after treatment; the clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate and cycle cancellation rate were compared between the two groups; the correlation between endometrial thickness and HAMA score was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the endometrial thickness in the two groups and the proportion of type A+B endometrium in the observation group were increased (P<0.05), and the HAMA scores in the two groups were decreased (P<0.05) after treatment. The above indexes in the observation group were superior to those in the control group (P<0.05). The clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), and the cycle cancellation rate was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between endometrial thickness and HAMA score (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Based on the routine hormone replacement cycle treatment, the addition use of staged acupuncture based on "thoroughfare vessel is the sea of blood" theory could improve the thickness and shape of endometrium, relieve anxiety, increase the clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate, and reduce the cycle cancellation rate in RIF patients with thin endometrium. The curative effect is superior to the routine hormone replacement cycle treatment alone.
Female ; Pregnancy ; Humans ; Anxiety ; Anxiety Disorders ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Endometrium ; Hormones