Professor Qiu Maoliang,in his clinical practice and experience summary of acupuncture-moxibustion in the treatment of febrile diseases,proposes four acupuncture-moxibustion antipyretic methods,namely,releasing the exterior and reducing fever,clear-ing the interior and purging the heat,nourishing the yin and purging the heat,and assisting the yang and reducing fever,which respec-tively correspond to the exterior heat syndrome,interior heat syndrome,yin deficiency fever syndrome,and yang deficiency fever syn-drome.The academic connotation of Professor Qiu Maoliang's acupuncture-moxibustion for fever can be summarized as examining the syndrome and seeking the cause,and classifying fever;coordinating the four methods of acupuncture-moxibustion and operation tech-niques,which reflect Professor Qiu Maoliang's academic characteristics,such as the convergence of Chinese and Western medicine,mutual learning of acupuncture-moxibustion and medicine,and the connection of effect mechanism and theory.Professor Qiu Ma-oliang's academic thought of acupuncture-moxibustion antipyretic method not only helps to provide basis for further application of acu-puncture-moxibustion in contemporary clinical practice,but also enriches the modern biological connotation of acupuncture-moxibus-tion medicine.

Discogenic low back pain from intervertebral disc degeneration was one of the major public health problems in the world, leading to global workforce decline. Recent studies showed that microorganisms existed in the intervertebral disc with significant differences between the normal intervertebral disc and the degenerated ones in not only species and numbers but also the changes of their functional activities. In addition, there was an overlap in microbial populations between the gut and the intervertebral disc, suggesting that the gut microbiota may play a key role in the pathological process of intervertebral disc degeneration. To further explore the relationship between gut microbiota and the host immune metabolic system, the concept of gut-organ axis was established. Researchers proposed the theory of gut-intervertebral disc axis to clarify the specific mechanism of intestinal flora in intervertebral disc degeneration. Studies showed that microorganisms could enter the intervertebral disc in a variety of ways, such as hematogenous transmission, lymphatic route, and invasion through annulus fibrosus tears. The arrival of these microorganisms in the intervertebral disc would trigger a series of local immune and inflammatory responses, promoting the degeneration of the intervertebral disc tissue. In the future, precision medical strategies targeting the gut and intervertebral disc microbiome may become promising in the prevention and treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. With further research in this field, the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration by targeting the gut and intervertebral disc microbiota showed great clinical value. This article reviewed and discussed the effect of intestinal flora imbalance on intervertebral disc degeneration and the potential therapeutic effect of adjusting intestinal flora on intervertebral disc degeneration. The theory of gut-intervertebral disc axis, which provided a new perspective to understand the pathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration, supported innovative treatment methods in the future.

Discogenic low back pain from intervertebral disc degeneration was one of the major public health problems in the world, leading to global workforce decline. Recent studies showed that microorganisms existed in the intervertebral disc with significant differences between the normal intervertebral disc and the degenerated ones in not only species and numbers but also the changes of their functional activities. In addition, there was an overlap in microbial populations between the gut and the intervertebral disc, suggesting that the gut microbiota may play a key role in the pathological process of intervertebral disc degeneration. To further explore the relationship between gut microbiota and the host immune metabolic system, the concept of gut-organ axis was established. Researchers proposed the theory of gut-intervertebral disc axis to clarify the specific mechanism of intestinal flora in intervertebral disc degeneration. Studies showed that microorganisms could enter the intervertebral disc in a variety of ways, such as hematogenous transmission, lymphatic route, and invasion through annulus fibrosus tears. The arrival of these microorganisms in the intervertebral disc would trigger a series of local immune and inflammatory responses, promoting the degeneration of the intervertebral disc tissue. In the future, precision medical strategies targeting the gut and intervertebral disc microbiome may become promising in the prevention and treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. With further research in this field, the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration by targeting the gut and intervertebral disc microbiota showed great clinical value. This article reviewed and discussed the effect of intestinal flora imbalance on intervertebral disc degeneration and the potential therapeutic effect of adjusting intestinal flora on intervertebral disc degeneration. The theory of gut-intervertebral disc axis, which provided a new perspective to understand the pathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration, supported innovative treatment methods in the future.

Objective:To explore the relationship between iodine and hypothyroidism.Methods:Patients with primary hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism group) and healthy people (control group) from Linfen City who first came to the Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Treatment in 2017 and 2018 were selected as the research subjects. One random urine sample and fasting venous blood sample were collected from the research subjects. The levels of urinary iodine, blood iodine and serum total triiodothyronine (TT 3), total thyroxine (TT 4), free triiodothyronine (FT 3), free thyroxine (FT 4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) were detected. According to the results of TSH level, hypothyroidism group was divided into hypothyroidism Ⅰ group (TSH≥10.00 mU/L) and hypothyroidism Ⅱ group (4.20 mU/L < TSH < 10.00 mU/L), and they were compared with control group (0.27 mU/L≤TSH≤4.20 mU/L). Results:A total of 97, 96 and 175 research subjects were included in hypothyroidism Ⅰ group, hypothyroidism Ⅱ group and control group, respectively. There was no significant difference in urinary iodine levels among the three groups ( H = 0.631, P > 0.05). The blood iodine levels [(40.70 ± 21.08), (58.59 ± 14.55), (59.50 ± 11.89) μg/L] in the three groups were significantly different ( F = 50.559, P < 0.01), and the blood iodine level in hypothyroidismⅠgroup was lower than that in hypothyroidism Ⅱ group and control group ( P < 0.01). The levels of TT 3 [median (interquartile range): 1.59 (0.99, 2.05), 2.25 (1.98, 2.59), 2.14 (1.89, 2.49) nmol/L], TT 4 [35.18 (16.06, 70.23), 105.68 (83.38, 133.19), 107.18 (89.92, 128.30) nmol/L], FT 3 [3.48 (1.94, 4.52), 5.01 (4.57, 5.50), 5.02 (4.64, 5.55) pmol/L] and FT 4 [7.14 (3.12, 10.76), 15.31 (13.87, 17.11), 16.69 (14.87, 18.20) pmol/L] in the three groups were significantly different ( H = 66.197, 142.461, 94.508, 166.557, P < 0.01). After further pairwise comparison, the levels of TT 3, TT 4, FT 3, and FT 4 in hypothyroidism Ⅰ group were significantly lower than those in hypothyroidism Ⅱ group and control group ( P < 0.01). The levels of TgAb and TPOAb in the three groups were significantly different ( H = 85.507, 101.726, P < 0.01). After further pairwise comparison, the levels of TgAb and TPOAb in hypothyroidismⅠgroup were significantly higher than those in hypothyroidism Ⅱ group and control group ( P < 0.01); and the levels of TgAb and TPOAb in hypothyroidism Ⅱ group were significantly higher than those in control group ( P < 0.01). The correlation analysis showed that urinary iodine was positively correlated with blood iodine ( r = 0.170, P < 0.05); blood iodine was positively correlated with TT 3, TT 4, FT 3, and FT 4 levels ( r s = 0.484, 0.594, 0.383, 0.509, P < 0.01), and it was negatively correlated with TSH level ( r s = - 0.373, P < 0.01). Conclusion:Hypothyroidism patients with TSH≥10.00 mU/L may have low blood iodine level.