Post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS) is a rare condition characterized by the rapid onset of extreme fatigue, flu-like symptoms, difficulty concentrating, depression, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, itchy eyes, and other physical and psychological discomforts following ejaculation. This report presents the outcomes of two patients with POIS who underwent a two-year course of autologous seminal plasma subcutaneous cluster immunotherapy. Treatment efficacy was assessed using methods such as the symptom Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the Union Physio-Psycho-Social Assessment Questionnaire (UPPSAQ)-70, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). The results suggest that autologous seminal plasma subcutaneous cluster immunother-apy may be a safe and effective therapeutic approach for POIS.

Objective:To investigate the relationship among seminal oxidation-reduction potential(nORP),sperm DNA frag-mentation(DFI)and semen parameters in patients with varicocele.Methods:Clinical data of 522 patients treated in the reproduc-tive andrology clinic of the Northern Theater General Hospital from November 2023 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed,in-cluding 435 men of childbearing age and 87 men of infertile age.The patients were divided into the varicocele group(n=116)and non-varicocele group(n=406)according to clinical diagnosis.The differences of seminal plasma nORP,DFI,sperm high DNA stain ability(HDS)and semen parameters were analyzed between the two groups.The relationship among general clinical data,seminal plasma nORP,semen parameters,DFI and HDS in patients with varicocele were further analyzed.According to the severity of varico-cele,the patients were divided into three groups,including mild,moderate and severe.And the differences of seminal plasma nORP and semen parameters,DFI and HDS among all groups were analyzed.The differences of seminal plasma nORP,semen parameters,DFI and HDS were compared between the varicocele and non-varicocele groups.Results:The total sperm count,sperm concentra-tion,progressive motility sperm percentage(PR％)and normal sperm morphology rate(NSMR)in patients with varicocele were sig-nificantly lower than those in control group(P＜0.05).And seminal plasma nORP,DFI and HDS in patients with varicocele were sig-nificantly higher than those in control group(P＜0.05).Seminal plasma nORP in patients with varicocele was significantly negatively correlated with total sperm,sperm concentration and NSMR(P＜0.05),and significantly positively correlated with DFI and HDS(P＜0.05).There were significant differences in nORP,total sperm count,sperm concentration,PR％,DFI and HDS among mild,moderate and severe varicocele groups(P＜0.05).Seminal plasma nORP,sperm concentration,PR％and DFI in severe group were significantly lower than those in mild and moderate groups(P＜0.05).Sperm count and HDS in severe group were significantly lower than those in mild group(P＜0.05).In infertile patients,seminal plasma nORP,DFI and HDS in varicocele group were significantly higher than those in control group(P＜0.05).And PR％in varicocele group was significantly lower than that in control group(P＜0.05).Conclusions:Seminal plasma nORP in patients with varicocele may be an important marker of oxidative stress affecting DFI and semen parameters.

Background/Aims: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients who failed antiviral therapy are at increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study assessed the potential role of metformin and statins, medications for diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperlipidemia (HLP), in reducing HCC risk among these patients. Methods: We included CHC patients from the T-COACH study who failed antiviral therapy. We tracked the onset of HCC 1.5 years post-therapy by linking to Taiwan’s cancer registry data from 2003 to 2019. We accounted for death and liver transplantation as competing risks and employed Gray’s cumulative incidence and Cox subdistribution hazards models to analyze HCC development. Results: Out of 2,779 patients, 480 (17.3%) developed HCC post-therapy. DM patients not using metformin had a 51% increased risk of HCC compared to non-DM patients, while HLP patients on statins had a 50% reduced risk compared to those without HLP. The 5-year HCC incidence was significantly higher for metformin non-users (16.5%) versus non-DM patients (11.3%; adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratio [aSHR]=1.51; P=0.007) and metformin users (3.1%; aSHR=1.59; P=0.022). Statin use in HLP patients correlated with a lower HCC risk (3.8%) compared to non-HLP patients (12.5%; aSHR=0.50; P<0.001). Notably, the increased HCC risk associated with non-use of metformin was primarily seen in non-cirrhotic patients, whereas statins decreased HCC risk in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. Conclusions Metformin and statins may have a chemopreventive effect against HCC in CHC patients who failed antiviral therapy. These results support the need for personalized preventive strategies in managing HCC risk.

Objective To observe the effects of melatonin on autophagy in cortical neurons of neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage(HIBD)and to explore its mechanisms via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway,aiming to provide a basis for the clinical application of melatonin.Methods Seven-day-old Sprague-Dawley neonatal rats were randomly divided into a sham operation group,an HIBD group,and a melatonin group(n=9 each).The neonatal rat HIBD model was established using the classic Rice-Vannucci method.Neuronal morphology in the neonatal rat cerebral cortex was observed with hematoxylin-eosin staining and Nissl staining.Autophagy-related protein levels of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3)and Beclin-1 were detected by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analysis.Phosphorylated phosphoinositide 3-kinase(p-PI3K)and phosphorylated protein kinase B(p-AKT)protein expression levels were measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blot.The correlation between autophagy and the PI3K pathway in the melatonin group and the HIBD group was analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis.Results Twenty-four hours post-modeling,neurons in the sham operation group displayed normal size and orderly arrangement.In contrast,neurons in the HIBD group showed swelling and disorderly arrangement,while those in the melatonin group had relatively normal morphology and more orderly arrangement.Nissl bodies were normal in the sham operation group but distorted in the HIBD group;however,they remained relatively intact in the melatonin group.The average fluorescence intensity of LC3 and Beclin-1 was higher in the HIBD group compared to the sham operation group,but was reduced in the melatonin group compared to the HIBD group(P<0.05).The number of p-PI3K+and p-AKT+cells decreased in the HIBD group compared to the sham operation group but increased in the melatonin group compared to the HIBD group(P<0.05).LC3 and Beclin-1 protein expression levels were higher,and p-PI3K and p-AKT levels were lower in the HIBD group compared to the sham operation group(P<0.05);however,in the melatonin group,LC3 and Beclin-1 levels decreased,and p-PI3K and p-AKT increased compared to the HIBD group(P<0.05).The correlation analysis results showed that the difference of the mean fluorescence intensity of LC3 and Beclin-1 protein in the injured cerebral cortex between the melatonin and HIBD groups was negatively correlated with the difference of the number of p-PI3K+and p-AKT+cells between the two groups(P<0.05).Conclusions Melatonin can inhibit excessive autophagy in cortical neurons of neonatal rats with HIBD,thereby alleviating HIBD.This mechanism is associated with the PI3K/AKT pathway.

This study was aimed at understanding the etiological and genetic characteristics of Yersinia enterocolica isolated in Jiangsu Province between 2005 and 2019.All 110 identified strains of Y.enterocolica were from patients with foodborne diar-rhea in Jiangsu Province,or from pigs,dogs,cattle,sheep,poultry,flies,or food.Virulence genes,biological serotypes,drug resistance,multilocus sequence typing(MLST),and core genome multilocus sequence typing(cgMLST)based on whole-genome sequencing were performed.The strains included 27 pathogenic strains(24.5％)and 83 non-pathogenic strains(75.5％).Non-pathogenic strains accounted for a high proportion,particularly among strains from patients(15/16,93.8％).The biological serotypes of pathogenic strains were mainly type 3/O∶3(26/27,96.3％).Non-pathogenic strains included 1A/O∶8 type(23/83,27.7％),1 A/O∶5 type(14/83,16.9％),and the other four biological serotypes(excluding unknown se-rotypes).Pathogenic strains were dominated by type 3/O∶3(26/27,96.3％),and more than 80％of these strains were sensi-tive to 19 antibiotic types.Whole-genome sequencing indicated that the pathogenic strains were all ST135 type,whereas the non-pathogenic strains were more diverse and scattered.HierCC clustering analysis grouped all strains into three clus-ters:pathogenic strains were in one cluster,and strains from patients were found in all three clusters.In conclusion,the Y.enterocolica strains from patients were primarily non-patho-genic.Non-pathogenic strains showed richer epigenetic and ge-netic diversity than pathogenic strains.The monitoring of these strains should be strengthened to decrease the risk of human infection.

This study was aimed at understanding the etiological and genetic characteristics of Yersinia enterocolica isolated in Jiangsu Province between 2005 and 2019.All 110 identified strains of Y.enterocolica were from patients with foodborne diar-rhea in Jiangsu Province,or from pigs,dogs,cattle,sheep,poultry,flies,or food.Virulence genes,biological serotypes,drug resistance,multilocus sequence typing(MLST),and core genome multilocus sequence typing(cgMLST)based on whole-genome sequencing were performed.The strains included 27 pathogenic strains(24.5％)and 83 non-pathogenic strains(75.5％).Non-pathogenic strains accounted for a high proportion,particularly among strains from patients(15/16,93.8％).The biological serotypes of pathogenic strains were mainly type 3/O∶3(26/27,96.3％).Non-pathogenic strains included 1A/O∶8 type(23/83,27.7％),1 A/O∶5 type(14/83,16.9％),and the other four biological serotypes(excluding unknown se-rotypes).Pathogenic strains were dominated by type 3/O∶3(26/27,96.3％),and more than 80％of these strains were sensi-tive to 19 antibiotic types.Whole-genome sequencing indicated that the pathogenic strains were all ST135 type,whereas the non-pathogenic strains were more diverse and scattered.HierCC clustering analysis grouped all strains into three clus-ters:pathogenic strains were in one cluster,and strains from patients were found in all three clusters.In conclusion,the Y.enterocolica strains from patients were primarily non-patho-genic.Non-pathogenic strains showed richer epigenetic and ge-netic diversity than pathogenic strains.The monitoring of these strains should be strengthened to decrease the risk of human infection.

【Objective】 To investigate the application of different ureteral length measurement methods in the indwelling of double-J stent. 【Methods】 Clinical data of 260 patients with double-J stent indwelling after ureteroscopic surgery during Jul.2018 and Dec.2020 were prospectively analyzed. The patients were randomly divided into height calculation group, CT measurement group, KUB group and ureteroscopic measurement group. The length of ureter was calculated accordingly and the appropriate length of double-J stent was selected. KUB was performed on the first day after operation and before extubation to determine the position of double-J stent. The patients completed the ureteral stent-related symptom questionnaire (USSQ), urinary symptom score, lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS) score, pain score, hematuria score, and quality of life score before and after double-J catheter placement. 【Results】 There were no significant differences in age, gender, height, side of stent and urinary symptom score among the four groups (P>0.05). The average lengths of the ureters measured by the four methods were (21.5±1.0) cm, (21.5±1.8) cm, (23.8±1.3) cm and (21.7±1.8) cm, respectively. There were no significant differences among the height calculation group, CT measurement group and ureteroscope group, but there was significant difference between the three groups and the KUB group. The ideal ureteral stent length indwelling ratio in the ureteroscopic group was 76.9%, which was better than that in the other three groups. Postoperative indwelling time was 7-42 d (mean 29.8 d). The USSQ score of the ureteroscopic group before extubation was (14.1±1.5), which was lower than that of the other three groups (P<0.05). The ureteroscopic group was better than the other three groups in the comparison of frequency and urgency of urination, nocturia, hematuria, quality of life score, and pain score (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Intraoperative ureteroscopic measurement of the ureteral length is a simple and feasible method in guiding the indwelling of double-J stent to reduce ureteral stent related symptoms.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effect of different frequency of acupoint thread-embedding on weight loss in subjects with overweight/obesity of spleen deficiency and dampness retention. METHODS: A total of 126 subjects with overweight/obesity of spleen deficiency and dampness retention were randomized into a 2-week group(63 cases, 13 cases dropped out)and a 3-week group(63 cases, 11 cases dropped out, 1 case was eliminated). The two groups were treated with acupoint thread-embedding once every 2 weeks and once every 3 weeks respectively, Zhongwan(CV 12), Shuifen(CV 9), Qihai(CV 6), Guanyuan(CV 4) and bilateral Zhangmen(LR 13), Tianshu(ST 25), Liangmen(ST 21), Daheng(SP 15), Fujie(SP 14), Pishu(BL 20), Yinlingquan(SP 9)were selected. Four times were required in the two groups. Before and after treatment, follow-up after 2 months of treatment completion, the body mass index(BMI), body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, obesity degree, fat percentage(F%), skin fold thickness were observed in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment and in follow-up, the BMI, body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, obesity degree, F%, skin fold thickness in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.001, P<0.01), the changes of BMI, body weight, obesity degree, F%, skin fold thickness in the 2-week group were larger than those in the 3-week group(P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The effect of acupoint thread-embedding once every 2 weeks on weight loss in subjects with overweight/obesity of spleen deficiency and dampness retention is superior to that once every 3 weeks.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Overweight/therapy* ; Spleen ; Obesity/therapy* ; Body Weight ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Weight Loss

OBJECTIVE: To derive the Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome classification and subgroup syndrome characteristics of ischemic stroke patients. METHODS: By extracting the CM clinical electronic medical records (EMRs) of 7,170 hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke from 2016 to 2018 at Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Province, China, a patient similarity network (PSN) was constructed based on the symptomatic phenotype of the patients. Thereafter the efficient community detection method BGLL was used to identify subgroups of patients. Finally, subgroups with a large number of cases were selected to analyze the specific manifestations of clinical symptoms and CM syndromes in each subgroup. RESULTS: Seven main subgroups of patients with specific symptom characteristics were identified, including M3, M2, M1, M5, M0, M29 and M4. M3 and M0 subgroups had prominent posterior circulatory symptoms, while M3 was associated with autonomic disorders, and M4 manifested as anxiety; M2 and M4 had motor and motor coordination disorders; M1 had sensory disorders; M5 had more obvious lung infections; M29 had a disorder of consciousness. The specificity of CM syndromes of each subgroup was as follows. M3, M2, M1, M0, M29 and M4 all had the same syndrome as wind phlegm pattern; M3 and M0 both showed hyperactivity of Gan (Liver) yang pattern; M2 and M29 had similar syndromes, which corresponded to intertwined phlegm and blood stasis pattern and phlegm-stasis obstructing meridians pattern, respectively. The manifestations of CM syndromes often appeared in a combination of 2 or more syndrome elements. The most common combination of these 7 subgroups was wind-phlegm. The 7 subgroups of CM syndrome elements were specifically manifested as pathogenic wind, pathogenic phlegm, and deficiency pathogens. CONCLUSIONS There were 7 main symptom similarity-based subgroups in ischemic stroke patients, and their specific characteristics were obvious. The main syndromes were wind phlegm pattern and hyperactivity of Gan yang pattern.
Humans ; Syndrome ; Ischemic Stroke ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Liver ; Phenotype

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of insulin degludec and insulin glargine U100 in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study. The subjects were patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were hospitalized in 13 3A-level general hospitals in Shandong Province from September 2018 to December 2021. According to the type of basal insulin used, the patients were divided into insulin degludec group and insulin glargine U100 group. The basic information and laboratory test results in patients in the 2 groups were collected, the differences of fasting blood glucose level and incidence of hypoglycemia between the 2 groups were compared. The patients with complete blood glucose monitoring data in the 2 groups were selected and their blood glucose fluctuations were compared.Results:A total of 1 152 patients were entered in the study, including 552 patients in the insulin degludec group and 600 patients in the insulin glargine U100 group. The difference in the basic conditions in patients in the 2 groups was not statistically significant (all P>0.05). After treatment, the fasting blood glucose levels in patients in the 2 groups were lower than those before treatment, with statistically significant differences [10.2 (8.8, 12.5) mmol/L vs. 7.5 (6.6, 8.7) mmol/L, Z=-19.443, P<0.001; 10.0 (8.6, 11.7) mmol/L vs. 7.8 (6.6, 9.0) mmol/L, Z=-15.449, P<0.001], but the difference in fasting blood glucose levels between the 2 groups after treatment was not statistically significant ( Z=-1.427, P>0.05). The incidence of hypoglycemia in the insulin degludec group was lower than that in the insulin glargine U100 group [1.09% (6/552) vs. 2.83% (17/600), Z=4.481, P=0.032]. The intraday blood glucose standard deviation, maximum blood glucose fluctuation range, postprandial blood glucose fluctuation range, and average blood glucose fluctuation range in patients with complete blood glucose monitoring data in the insulin degludec group were significantly lower than those in the insulin glargine U100 group [(1.7±0.6) mmol/L vs. (2.4±1.0) mmol/L, (4.5±1.6) mmol/L vs. (6.7±2.9) mmol/L, (1.8±1.0) mmol/L vs. (3.3±1.2) mmol/L, (2.9±1.3) mmol/L vs. (4.6±2.1) mmol/L; all P<0.001]. Conclusion:The efficacy of insulin degludec in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus is equivalent to that of insulin glargine U100, but the risk of hypoglycemia and blood glucose fluctuation is lower.