Background:Acupuncture(AP)is widely used in hospitalized patients.However,high-quality evidence supporting its use in patients with sepsis-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction remains limited.Objective:This study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of AP in patients with sepsis-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction.Methods:PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,SinoMed,VIP Database,Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform,China National Knowledge Infrastructure,and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to March 10,2024.We included randomized controlled trials(RCTs)that focused on adult patients with sepsis receiving AP and compared them with a control group.The primary outcome was gastrointestinal indicators.Sensitivity analysis,subgroup analysis,and assessment of publication bias were conducted to explore the potential heterogeneity among the included studies.Results:A total of 23 RCTs involving 1603 patients were included.Overall,AP significantly improved gastrointestinal indicators,including intra-abdominal pressure(mean difference[MD]=-1.97cm H2O;95％confidence interval[CI]:-2.77,-1.16;P＜0.00001),bowel sounds(MD=0.91 per minute;95％CI:0.66,1.16;P＜0.00001),and gastric residual volume(MD=-46.94mL;95％CI:-83.45,-10.43;P=0.01).These findings were corroborated by subgroup and sensitivity analyses.AP also showed significant benefits in inflammation indicators(procalcitonin,tumor necrosis factor-α,and interleukin-6),gastrointestinal function indicators(D-lactate,diamine oxidase,intestinal fatty acid-binding protein,and motilin),disease severity scores(Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ score and gastrointestinal dysfunction score),clinical prognosis,and other critical clinical outcomes(total effective rate and time to achieve target enteral nutrition)(all P values＜0.05).Additionally,the mortality rate in the AP group was comparable to that of the control group.Conclusion:Our findings suggest that AP significantly improves gastrointestinal indicators and other clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis and gastrointestinal dysfunction,indicating its potential as a promising therapeutic option.However,due to the small sample sizes and substantial heterogeneity among the included studies,further high-quality,multicenter RCTs are needed to validate these results.

Background: Acupuncture (AP) is widely used in hospitalized patients. However, high-quality evidence supporting its use in patients with sepsis-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction remains limited. Objective: This study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of AP in patients with sepsisinduced gastrointestinal dysfunction. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, SinoMed, VIP Database, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to March 10, 2024. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that focused on adult patients with sepsis receiving AP and compared them with a control group. The primary outcome was gastrointestinal indicators. Sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis, and assessment of publication bias were conducted to explore the potential heterogeneity among the included studies. Results: A total of 23 RCTs involving 1603 patients were included. Overall, AP significantly improved gastrointestinal indicators, including intra-abdominal pressure (mean difference [MD] = -1.97 cm H O; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.77, -1.16; P < 0.00001), bowel sounds (MD = 0.91 per minute; 95% CI: 0.66, 1.16; P < 0.00001), and gastric residual volume (MD = -46.94 mL; 95% CI:-83.45, -10.43; P = 0.01). These findings were corroborated by subgroup and sensitivity analyses. AP also showed significant benefits in inflammation indicators (procalcitonin, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6), gastrointestinal function indicators(D-lactate, diamine oxidase, intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, and motilin), disease severity scores (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score and gastrointestinal dysfunction score), clinical prognosis, and other critical clinical outcomes (total effective rate and time to achieve target enteral nutrition) (all P values < 0.05). Additionally, the mortality rate in the AP group was comparable to that of the control group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that AP significantly improves gastrointestinal indicators and other clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis and gastrointestinal dysfunction, indicating its potential as a promising therapeutic option. However, due to the small sample sizes and substantial heterogeneity among the included studies, further high-quality, multicenter RCTs are needed to validate these results.

Background:Acupuncture(AP)is widely used in hospitalized patients.However,high-quality evidence supporting its use in patients with sepsis-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction remains limited.Objective:This study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of AP in patients with sepsis-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction.Methods:PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,SinoMed,VIP Database,Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform,China National Knowledge Infrastructure,and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to March 10,2024.We included randomized controlled trials(RCTs)that focused on adult patients with sepsis receiving AP and compared them with a control group.The primary outcome was gastrointestinal indicators.Sensitivity analysis,subgroup analysis,and assessment of publication bias were conducted to explore the potential heterogeneity among the included studies.Results:A total of 23 RCTs involving 1603 patients were included.Overall,AP significantly improved gastrointestinal indicators,including intra-abdominal pressure(mean difference[MD]=-1.97cm H2O;95％confidence interval[CI]:-2.77,-1.16;P＜0.00001),bowel sounds(MD=0.91 per minute;95％CI:0.66,1.16;P＜0.00001),and gastric residual volume(MD=-46.94mL;95％CI:-83.45,-10.43;P=0.01).These findings were corroborated by subgroup and sensitivity analyses.AP also showed significant benefits in inflammation indicators(procalcitonin,tumor necrosis factor-α,and interleukin-6),gastrointestinal function indicators(D-lactate,diamine oxidase,intestinal fatty acid-binding protein,and motilin),disease severity scores(Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ score and gastrointestinal dysfunction score),clinical prognosis,and other critical clinical outcomes(total effective rate and time to achieve target enteral nutrition)(all P values＜0.05).Additionally,the mortality rate in the AP group was comparable to that of the control group.Conclusion:Our findings suggest that AP significantly improves gastrointestinal indicators and other clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis and gastrointestinal dysfunction,indicating its potential as a promising therapeutic option.However,due to the small sample sizes and substantial heterogeneity among the included studies,further high-quality,multicenter RCTs are needed to validate these results.

Objective: To preliminary, explore the effect of small intestinal epithelial dendritic cells on the occurrence and development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice. Methods: Thirty-two (half male and half female) 4-week-old C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups. The mice were fed with normal diet (SD group) and high-fat diet (HFD group). Eight mice (half male and half female) were randomly killed from each group over the 14 and 20-weeks feeding period to observe their body weight, liver and small-intestine wet weight. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, blood glucose, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol and triglyceride were determined by eyeball blood samples. Pathological diagnosis and alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score were collected. The number of mice small intestinal dendritic cells was observed under a microscope. Statistical analysis was performed to compare two groups of independent samples with homogeneity test of variance, t test, and covariance analysis. Results: The body weight, liver wet weight, serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase of mice in HFD group were significantly higher than those of control group at 20 weeks (P < 0.05), and the serum high density lipoprotein of mice in HFD group was significantly higher than that of SD group at 14 weeks (P < 0.05). At 14th weeks, the liver tissue of mice in HFD group had early pathological manifestations of hepatitis (fatty degeneration, punctate necrosis and balloon-like degeneration). Of which 87.5% (7/8) of them were diagnosed as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, while only a few mice in SD group had early pathological manifestations of hepatitis. At 20th weeks, all mice in HFD group were diagnosed with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, while none of the mice in SD group was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. At both time points, the percentage of small intestinal dendritic cells in HFD group was significantly higher than that in SD group (14 weeks: 4.181 ± 4.314 vs. 15.099 ± 10.349; 20 weeks: 9.615 ± 8.267 vs. 32.839 ± 24.475, both P < 0.05). Statistical analysis combined with the alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score showed that there was no linear correlation between the two groups (regression coefficient was 20.196%). Conclusion The number and different staging of small intestinal dendritic cells in mice is associated with the occurrence and development of NAFLD.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of cognitive function in patients with early onset and adult onset schizophrenia.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 546 patients with schizophrenia who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-Ⅳ) were selected.Among them, 62 cases were defined as early onset schizophrenia (EOS, age of onset＜18 years) and 175 patients were defined as adult onset schizophrenia (AOS, age of onset≥25 years).Patients underwent clinical assessments with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) and the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), and comprehensive neuropsychological assessments.Results:The EOS patients got lower scores in motor function-PEGDOM T score [ (26±12) vs. (30±11), P＜0.01], working memory-average T score of PASAT and WMSSP[ (34±12) vs. (38±10), P＜0.05]and executive function (inhibition) -Stroop T score [ (35±12) vs. (39±10), P＜0.05]than AOS patients.No differences were fund in processing speed, verbal memory and learning, visual memory and learning (Ps＞0.05) between the two groups.Conclusion:It suggests that the EOS patients have worse motor function, working memory and inhibition.