OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of Wenshen Chushi Decoction combined with low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by renal deficiency and phlegm-dampness syndrome. METHODS: One hundred and twenty ED patients were included from the Department of Andrology in the First Hospital of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The patients in control group were treated with Wenshen Chushi Decoction. While the patients in observation group were treated with Wenshen Chushi Decoction combined with LIPUS for 8 consecutive weeks. After the treatment, the efficacy was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) score, Penile Flow Index (PFI), Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Score, Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) score, and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score. Safety was also observed. And the efficacy was followed up 4 weeks after the end of treatment. RESULTS: Fifty-seven cases were enrolled into control group finally with 55 cases in the treatment group. After the treatment, all the patients in both of groups showed an improvement in IIEF-5 scores (P<0.01). Compared with the control group (19.09 ± 2.22), the IIEF-5 score in observation group (20.42 ± 2.39) increased significantly (P<0.01). After the treatment, the scores of PFI, TCM syndrome and SDS in both groups decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the control group (［3.77 ± 1.21］, ［9.91 ± 1.71］ and ［39.88 ± 2.63］ points), the observation group (［2.92 ± 1.08］, ［4.78 ± 1.45］, and ［34.51 ± 2.09］ points） showed a more significant decrease (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in total effective rate between the two groups (P>0.05). During follow-up, the IIEF-5 scores of both groups of patients were higher than those before (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the observation group score was higher than that in the control group (［17.15 ± 3.37］ vs ［13.63 ± 1.96］, P<0.01). No adverse reaction and abnormality of indicators occurred in both of two groups. CONCLUSION Wenshen Chushi Decoction has a significant therapeutic effect on ED caused by renal deficiency and phlegm-dampness syndrome. It can not only improve the quality of erection, but also improve the physical and mental symptoms associated with ED， which makes therapeutic effect lasting longer.
Humans ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Erectile Dysfunction/etiology* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Ultrasonic Therapy ; Phytotherapy

Separation and determination of chiral and achiral impurities in glimepiride tablets by supercritical fluid chromatography. Chiral and achiral impurities were separated on a ACQUITY UPC² Trefoil^TM CEL1 column (150 mm × 3.0 mm, 2.5 μm) maintained at 30 ℃ with the mobile phase containing a mixture of CO₂ and methanol-isopropanol (1∶1) at 1 mL·min^-1, and the detection wavelength was set at 228 nm. The back pressure was set at 13.8 MPa. The injection volume was 5 μL. In the chromatogram of the system suitability solution, the peaks elute in the following order: impurity Ⅳ, impurity Ⅴ, glimepiride, impurity Ⅲ, impurity Ⅰ and impurity Ⅱ. The six substances were separated successfully in 6 min using the proposed method with a resolution factor of 2.9, 1.6, 3.0, 2.0, 6.4. The impurity Ⅰ-Ⅴ detection limit (S/N = 3) was 0.17, 0.10, 0.06, 0.15, 0.10 μg·mL^-1, respectively. Good linear relationship was established between the peak response and the concentration in the range of 0.48-51.30 μg·mL^-1 for all impurities. The spiked recovery of impurity Ⅰ-Ⅴ was found to be acceptable for 99.9%, 98.9%, 102.1%, 100.1%, 96.3% (n = 9), respectively. The related substance and assay results of 11 sample batches are consistent with the results obtained using the HPLC method in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Compared to the two HPLC methods in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the established supercritical fluid chromatography method can simultaneously separate glimepiride and its 5 impurities in a single run, and it has the following advantages: simplified sample preparation, greatly reducing the volumes of organic solvents, environmentally friendly, high accuracy and good reproducibility. It can be employed for the quality control of the chiral and achiral impurities in glimepiride tablets.

Objective:To perform harmonization based on the ComBat method for PET brain imaging scanned by different types of scanners from the same manufacturer and explored its effect on center effect.Methods:The three-dimensional (3D) Hoffman brain model was scanned by two different PET/CT instruments (Siemens Biograph64 TruePoint and Biograph128 mCT). Fourteen healthy subjects (8 males, 6 females, age: (57.7±9.5) years) underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT on Siemens Biograph64 TruePoint and 12 healthy subjects (9 males, 3 females, age: (55.8±10.5) years) underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT on Siemens Biograph128 mCT (all from Huashan Hospital, Fudan University; from November 2020 to March 2023). The whole brain was divided into 116 brain regions based on the anatomical automatic labeling (AAL) brain template. The ComBat method was applied to harmonized the PET data from brain model and healthy subjects. Mann-Whitney U test was performed on the radioactive counts and SUV ratios (SUVR) before and after homogenization acquired by both PET/CT instruments. Voxel-based statistical parametric mapping (SPM) independent-sample t test was also performed on data of healthy subjects. Results:In 3D Hoffman brain model, radioactivity counts (5 590.33(4 961.67, 6 102.95) vs 6 116.03(5 420.97, 6 660.66); z=-9.35, P<0.001) and SUVR (1.35(1.19, 1.47) vs 1.37(1.21, 1.49); z=-3.63, P<0.001) were significantly different between the two PET/CT scanners before harmonization and not after harmonization (radioactivity counts: 5 845.95(5 192.68, 6 378.63) vs 5 859.17(5 193.84, 6 380.52); SUVR: 1.35(1.20, 1.48) vs 1.36(1.20, 1.49); both z=-0.68, both P=0.498). In the healthy subjects, radioactive counts in 19 brain regions (12 422.78(11 181.60, 13 424.28)-18 166.40(15 882.80, 18 666.27); z values: from -3.24 to -2.06, all P<0.05) and SUVR in 40 brain regions (1.46(1.41, 1.52)-2.28(2.16, 2.36); z values: from -3.65 to -1.70, all P<0.05) were significantly different between the two scanners before harmonization, while after homogenization there were no statistical differences for all 116 brain regions (radioactivity counts: 9 243.55(8 502.38, 9 854.87)-20 419.60(19 931.51, 21 179.43); z values: from -0.72 to 0, all P>0.05; SUVR: 1.04(1.01, 1.09)-2.32(2.24, 2.40); z values: from -0.82 to 0, all P>0.05). SPM showed that significant differences of glucose metabolism in the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, midbrain and cerebellum were found in healthy subjects between the two PET/CT scanners before homogenization, and brain regions with obvious differences reduced after homogenization. Conclusion:ComBat harmonization method is efficient at removing the center effect among different types of PET/CT scanners from the same manufacturer and may provide a simple and easy-to-implement homogenization for multicenter brain imaging studies.

This article aims to analyze the therapeutic effect and probe into the mechanism of Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction in treating chronic kidney disease(CKD) based on metabolomics and bioinformatics. The patients with stage 3-4 CKD diagnosed and treated in the Changzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2023 to March 2024 were enrolled in this study. The patients were treated with Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated. The serum samples were collected before and after treatment. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography was employed to detect metabolites in the serum, and multivariate statistical analysis was performed. Bioinformatics was employed to screen the active components and targets of the decoction and the potential targets of CKD. The protein-protein interaction(PPI) network of the common targets shared by the decoction and CKD and the drug-component-target network were constructed. The core components and targets were screened according to the correlation degree of the network. The binding between core components and targets was verified by molecular docking. The results showed that Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction improved the renal function and reduced proteinuria. Compared with the healthy population, the post-treatment population showed recovery of 54 up-regulated metabolites and 43 down-regulated metabolites. Enrichment analysis results showed that the key pathways included adenosine triphosphate binding cassette(ABC) transport, tryptophan metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism. The results of bioinformatics analysis showed that the core components of Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction in treating CKD included kaempferol, β-sitosterol, luteolin, 7-O-methylisolingol, and tanshinone Ⅱ_A. The core targets included TP53, PTGS2, JUN, AKT1, and TNF. Molecular docking results showed that the core components bound well to the target genes. The results of joint pathway analysis suggested that both differential metabolites and key targets were involved in galactose metabolism, nicotinamide metabolism, and other pathways. This study suggests that Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction is effective for CKD, and it can regulate multiple abnormal metabolites and participates in multiple metabolic pathways involving amino acids and sugars. The active components such as kaempferol in the decoction may regulate related targets such as TP53 and PTGS2. This study provides a basis for the prevention and treatment of CKD with traditional Chinese medicine.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/genetics* ; Humans ; Computational Biology ; Male ; Metabolomics ; Protein Interaction Maps/drug effects* ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Female ; Adult ; Aged

Objective: To explore the diagnosis, surgical management and outcome of jugular foramen chondrosarcoma (CSA). Methods: Fifteen patients with jugular foramen CSA hospitalized in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of Chinese PLA General Hospital from December 2002 to February 2020 were retrospectively collected,of whom 2 were male and 13 were female, aging from 22 to 61 years old. The clinical symptoms and signs, imaging features, differential diagnosis, surgical approaches, function of facial nerve and cranial nerves IX to XII, and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results: Patients with jugular foramen CSA mainly presented with facial paralysis, hearing loss, hoarseness, cough, tinnitus and local mass. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) could provide important information for diagnosis. CT showed irregular destruction on bone margin of the jugular foramen. MR demonstrated iso or hypointense on T1WI, hyperintense on T2WI and heterogeneous contrast-enhancement. Surgical approaches were chosen upon the sizes and scopes of the tumors. Inferior temporal fossa A approach was adopted in 12 cases, inferior temporal fossa B approach in 2 cases and mastoid combined parotid approach in 1 case. Five patients with facial nerve involved received great auricular nerve graft. The House Brackmann (H-B) grading scale was used to evaluate the facial nerve function. Preoperative facial nerve function ranked grade Ⅴ in 4 cases and grade Ⅵ in 1 case. Postoperative facial nerve function improved to grade Ⅲ in 2 cases and grade Ⅵ in 3 cases. Five patients presented with cranial nerves Ⅸ and Ⅹ palsies. Hoarseness and cough of 2 cases improved after operation, while the other 3 cases did not. All the patients were diagnosed CSA by histopathology and immunohistochemistry, with immunohistochemical staining showing vimentin and S-100 positive, but cytokeratin negative in tumor cells. All patients survived during 28 to 234 months' follow-up. Two patients suffered from tumor recurrence 7 years after surgery and received revision surgery. No complications such as cerebrospinal fluid leakage and intracranial infection occurred after operation. Conclusions: Jugular foramen CSA lacks characteristic symptoms or signs. Imaging is helpful to differential diagnosis. Surgery is the primary treatment of jugular foramen CSA. Patients with facial paralysis should receive surgery in time as to restore the facial nerve. Long-term follow-up is necessary after surgery in case of recurrence.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Facial Paralysis/etiology* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Jugular Foramina ; Retrospective Studies ; Cough ; Hoarseness ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Chondrosarcoma/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to high intensity, low frequency noise (HI-LFN) causes vibroacoustic disease (VAD), with memory deficit as a primary non-auditory symptomatic effect of VAD. However, the underlying mechanism of the memory deficit is unknown. This study aimed to characterize potential mechanisms involving morphological changes of neurons and nerve fibers in the hippocampus, after exposure to HI-LFN. METHODS: Adult wild-type and transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 4 knockout (TRPV4^-/-) mice were used for construction of the HI-LFN injury model. The new object recognition task and the Morris water maze test were used to measure the memory of these animals. Hemoxylin and eosin and immunofluorescence staining were used to examine morphological changes of the hippocampus after exposure to HI-LFN. RESULTS: The expression of TRPV4 was significantly upregulated in the hippocampus after HI-LFN exposure. Furthermore, memory deficits correlated with lower densities of neurons and neurofilament-positive nerve fibers in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) hippocampal areas in wild-type mice. However, TRPV4^-/- mice showed better performance in memory tests and more integrated neurofilament-positive nerve fibers in the CA1 and DG areas after HI-LFN exposure. CONCLUSION TRPV4 up-regulation induced neurofilament positive nerve fiber injury in the hippocampus, which was a possible mechanism for memory impairment and cognitive decline resulting from HI-LFN exposure. Together, these results identified a promising therapeutic target for treating cognitive dysfunction in VAD patients.
Animals ; Mice ; TRPV Cation Channels/metabolism* ; Intermediate Filaments/metabolism* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Neurons/metabolism* ; Memory Disorders/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: The leukemia cells from patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) were inoculated into NCG mice to establish a stable human T-ALL leukemia animal model. METHODS: Leukemia cells from bone marrow of newly diagnosed T-ALL patients were isolated, and the leukemia cells were inoculated into NCG mice via tail vein. The proportion of hCD45 positive cells in peripheral blood of the mice was detected regularly by flow cytometry, and the infiltration of leukemia cells in bone marrow, liver, spleen and other organs of the mice was detected by pathology and immunohistochemistry. After the first generation mice model was successfully established, the spleen cells from the first generation mice were inoculated into the second generation mice, and after the second generation mice model was successfully established, the spleen cells from the second generation mice were further inoculated into the third generation mice, and the growth of leukemia cells in peripheral blood of the mice in each group was monitored by regular flow cytometry to evaluate the stability of this T-ALL leukemia animal model. RESULTS: On the 10th day after inoculation, hCD45⁺ leukemia cells could be successfully detected in the peripheral blood of the first generation mice, and the proportion of these cells was gradually increased. On average, the mice appeared listless 6 or 7 weeks after inoculation, and a large number of T lymphocyte leukemia cells were found in the peripheral blood and bone marrow smear of the mice. The spleen of the mice was obviously enlarged, and immunohistochemical examination showed that hCD3⁺ leukemia cells infiltrated into bone marrow, liver and spleen extensively. The second and third generation mice could stably develop leukemia, and the average survival time was 4-5 weeks. CONCLUSION Inoculating leukemia cells from bone marrow of patients with T-ALL into NCG mice via tail vein can successfully construct a patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDTX) model.
Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Heterografts ; Bone Marrow ; Disease Models, Animal ; T-Lymphocytes ; Mice, SCID

Recently, the number of children with asthma reported after thunderstorm weather in China has increased rapidly, which has aroused the public concern.At present, there are 28 documented episodes of epidemic thunderstorm asthma in the world, which can be life-threatening in severe cases.Children with allergic rhinitis or uncontrolled asthma were more susceptible to thunderstorm asthma.This article introduces the epidemiology, mechanism, risk factors, manifestations, management strategies and prevention of thunderstorm asthma, in order to improve pediatricians′ understanding of thunderstorm asthma and reduce the impact of it.

Aim To explore the effect of Suanzaoren decoction(SZRD) on mitochondrial dysfunction in AD model of APP/PS1 mice via AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway and to reveal the possible mechanism. Methods Thirty APP/PS1 mice were randomly divided into app /PS1 group, low-dose SZRD group(L-SZRD) and high-dose SZRD group(H-SZRD). Ten C57BL/6JNju mice were set as control group(WT). Morris water maze test was used to detect the learning and memory ability of mice. Thioflavin T staining was used to observe senile plaques hippocampus. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression level of Aβ in hippocampus. Transmission electron microscope was used to observe the mitochondrial morph hology in hippocampus. Kits were employed to detect the contents of ATP and ROS in hippocampus; Western blot was employed to detect the expression levels of AMPK, p-AMPKThrK172, SIRT1, PGC-1α, NRF1, NRF2 and TFAM in hippocampus. Results Compared to the APP/PS1 group, L-SZRD and H-SZRD induced mouse cognitive impairment, reduced the deposition of senile plaques, inhibited the expression of Aβ, improved the damage of mitochondrial structure, increased the content of ATP in the hippocampus, reduced the expression level of ROS in hippocampus and increased the expression of p-AMPK-ThrK172, SIRT1, PGC-1α, NRF1, NRF2, TFAM Conclusions SZRD could improve the cognitive impairment, senile plaque deposition and mitochondrial dysfunction of AD mice, and its mechanism may be involved in the up-regulation of the expression of AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway.Reduced the Deposition of Senile Plaques, Inhibited the Expression of Aβ, Improved The Damage of Mitochondric Structure, Increased the Content of At in TH. E hippocampus, Reduced the Expression level of Ros in Hippocampus and Increased The Expression of P-Ampk-Thrk172, SIRT1, SIRT1 PGC-1α, NRF1, NRF2, TFAM. Conclusions SZRD could improve the cognitive impairment, senile plaque deposition and mitochondrial dysfunction of AD mice, and its mechanism may be involved in the up-regulation of the expression of AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway.Reduced the Deposition of Senile Plaques, Inhibited the Expression of Aβ, Improved The Damage of Mitochondric Structure, Increased the Content of At in TH. E hippocampus, Reduced the Expression level of Ros in Hippocampus and Increased The Expression of P-Ampk-Thrk172, SIRT1, SIRT1 PGC-1α, NRF1, NRF2, TFAM. Conclusions SZRD could improve the cognitive impairment, senile plaque deposition and mitochondrial dysfunction of AD mice, and its mechanism may be involved in the up-regulation of the expression of AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway.Senile plaque deposition and mitochondrial dysfunction of AD mice, and its mechanism may be involved in the up-regulation of the expression of AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway.Senile plaque deposition and mitochondrial dysfunction of AD mice, and its mechanism may be involved in the up-regulation of the expression of AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the diversity and composition of microflora in laboratory-reared Aedes albopictus at different developmental stages and larval habitat waters. Methods The larval habitat waters and different developmental stages of laboratory-reared A. albopictus were collected, and the V3 and V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene were sequenced using Illumina Miseq next-generation sequencing. The abundance and diversity of the microflora were examined using alpha diversity index in A. albopictus at different developmental stages, and the difference in the microflora compositions was compared in A. albopictus at different developmental stages using principal component analysis (PCA). In addition, the species composition and relative abundance of microflora in A. albopictus at different developmental stages were described using histograms and Venn diagrams. Results A total of 16 phyla, 30 classes, 72 orders, 129 families and 224 genera of bacteria were detected in larval habitat waters and different developmental stages of A. albopictus. The highest bacterial diversity was seen in larval A. albopictus, with Chao index of 125.20 ± 30.48 and Shannon diversity index of 2.04 ± 0.39, which were comparable to those (Chao index of 118.52 ± 15.07 and Shannon diversity index of 2.15 ± 0.30) in larval habitat waters (t = 0.35 and -0.41, both P values > 0.05). The bacterial abundance and evenness were significantly greater in female adults than in male adults (Chao index: 42.50 ± 3.54 vs. 18.50 ± 2.13, t = 8.23, P < 0.05; Shannon diversity index: 1.25 ± 1.67 vs. 0.50 ± 0.05, t = 6.00, P < 0.05). Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota and Finnicutes were four common phyla of bacteria at each developmental stage of A. albopictus, with Proteobacteria dominated at the pupal stage (90.36%), Bacteroidota dominated at the adult stage (46.01% in female adults and 86.11% in male adults), and Actinobacteriota dominated at the larval stage (32.10%). Elizabethkingia and Rahnella 1 were common dominant genera of bacteria at each developmental stage of A. albopictus, with Rahnellal as the major component at the pupal stage (87.56%), Elizabethkingia as the main component at the adult stage (46.01% in female adults and 86.11% in male adults, respectively), and Microbacteria as the dominant bacterial genus at the larval stage (12.11%). In addition, Delftia, Elizabethkingia, Romboutsia, Serratia, Rahnella 1, Enterococcus and Microbacterium were common genera of bacteria at each developmental stage of A. albopictus, with Edaphobaculum dominated at the larval stage (17.54%) and Sphingobacterium dominated in larval habitat waters (13.93%). Conclusions There are differences in the composition of symbiotic bacteria at different developmental stages of A. albopictus; however, similar microflora diversity is maintained at the phylum level. The microflora diversity is comparable in larvae and larval habitat waters of A. albopictus.