Stem cell treatment may enhance erectile dysfunction (ED) in individuals with cavernous nerve injury (CNI). Nevertheless, no investigations have directly ascertained the implications of varying amounts of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HUC-MSCs) on ED. We compare the efficacy of three various doses of HUC-MSCs as a therapeutic strategy for ED. Sprague-Dawley rats (total = 175) were randomly allocated into five groups. A total of 35 rats underwent sham surgery and 140 rats endured bilateral CNI and were treated with vehicles or doses of HUC-MSCs (1 × 10 6 cells, 5 × 10 6 cells, and 1 × 10 7 cells in 0.1 ml, respectively). Penile tissues were harvested for histological analysis on 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 28 days, 60 days, and 90 days postsurgery. It was found that varying dosages of HUC-MSCs enhanced the erectile function of rats with bilateral CNI and ED. Moreover, there was no significant disparity in the effectiveness of various dosages of HUC-MSCs. However, the expression of endothelial markers (rat endothelial cell antigen-1 [RECA-1] and endothelial nitric oxide synthase [eNOS]), smooth muscle markers (alpha smooth muscle actin [α-SMA] and desmin), and neural markers (neurofilament [RECA-1] and neurogenic nitric oxide synthase [nNOS]) increased significantly with prolonged treatment time. Masson's staining demonstrated an increased in the smooth muscle cell (SMC)/collagen ratio. Significant changes were detected in the microstructures of various types of cells. In vivo imaging system (IVIS) analysis showed that at the 1 st day, the HUC-MSCs implanted moved to the site of damage. Additionally, the oxidative stress levels were dramatically reduced in the penises of rats administered with HUC-MSCs.
Male ; Animals ; Erectile Dysfunction/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation/methods* ; Rats ; Penis/pathology* ; Humans ; Disease Models, Animal ; Umbilical Cord/cytology* ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries/complications* ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III/metabolism* ; Actins/metabolism* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I/metabolism*

In recent years， the incidence of colorectal cancer has been rising in China， and with the promotion of early screening and early diagnosis， most colorectal cancers are able to achieve long-term survival through timely diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless， 30%-70% of patients with early to mid-stage colorectal cancer after radical surgery still have psychological problems such as anxiety， depression， and fear of recurrence and metastasis， and they hope to seek help from traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） treatment. In order to further standardize the integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine psychological rehabilitation interventions of stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ colorectal cancer after radical surgery， and to improve the diagnosis and treatment level， under the support of the pilot project of clinical collaboration between Chinese and western medicine for major and difficult diseases of National Administration of TCM， experts in oncology， integrated Chinese and western medicine， psychology， surgery， nursing， evidence-based medicine and other disciplines from 10 units nationwide participated in the work， led by Xiyuan Hospital，China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Beijing Cancer Hospital. Based on the methodology and process of guideline development of the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development and the Regulations for Group Standards of China Association of Chinese Medicine， the Guidelines for Psychological Rehabilitation Intervention Combined Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine After Radical Surgery for Early and Middle Stage Colorectal Cancer have been developed according to the current best evidence， extensive consultation with clinical experts and following the situation of current clinical practice. The guideline provides the psychological characteristics， the needs and willingness to accept psychological rehabilitation， the interventions for psychological rehabilitation， evaluation of efficacy， follow-up review， educational guidance and others of patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ colorectal cancer after radical surgery. It can provide guidance for TCM（integrated Chinese and western medicine） clinicians and psychologists engaged in the psychological rehabilitation of integrated Chinese and western medicine oncology， especially for doctors in primary medical institutions.

Objective:To summarize the clinical manifestations, gene variations,and treatment of cases with SPTAN1 gene variations characterized by global developmental delay or epileptic encephalopathy. Methods:Three patients with SPTAN1 gene mutations which caused developmental epileptic encephalopathy type 5 admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University from August 2019 to September 2021 were collected. The studies till December 2021 were searched with keywords of " SPTAN1" and "developmental and epileptic encephalopathy 5" in both English and Chinese databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, and PubMed. The clinical manifestations, genetic variations, treatments and prognosis of patients with SPTAN1 gene variations were summarized. Results:All 3 patients presented with global developmental delay, infant onset. Patient 1 showed early-onset epileptic encephalopathies and microcephaly. Patient 2 had an atrial septal defect. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patient 3 showed cerebellar hypoplasia.Antiepileptic seizure therapy was partially effective, but failed to control the spasm. Development was slightly improved after rehabilitation training and other treatments, but still lagged behind the children of the same age. The SPTAN1 gene mutations of the 3 cases were heterozygous mutations, c.6923_6928dup, c.6619_6621delGAG and c.6749T>C, respectively. c.6749T>C was not reported in the previous literature. Thirteen case reports, including 69 patients, were collected. Sixty-seven patients had heterozygous mutations, inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, including 35 missense mutations, 12 deletion mutations, 11 repetition mutations, 9 nonsense mutations, and the rest 2 patients had compound heterozygous missense mutations. A total of 38 different variation sites were reported. The phenotypes of 69 patients from the previous studies mainly included intellectual impairment (32/69), seizures (30/69), developmental delay (28/69), progressive microcephaly (27/69), hypotonia (23/69), poor visual attention (15/69), spastic quadriplegia (9/69), and gastrointestinal abnormalities (7/69). The primary type of seizures was epileptic spasm. Cranial MRI abnormalities mainly included cerebellar and brainstem atrophy, corpus callosum dysplasia, myelin dysplasia, and brain atrophy. Previous reports showed that a variety of anti-seizure drugs were effective for epileptic seizures. The prognosis varied greatly. Severe cases could be fatal, and mild cases only manifested as mild mental retardation or movement disorders. Conclusions:SPTAN1 gene mutation leads to developmental epileptic encephalopathy type 5, the phenotypes of which include intellectual impairment, global developmental delay, infantile spasms, and head deformity.Antiepileptic drugs and functional training can improve the symptoms, but the prognosis is still poor. This study expands the SPTAN1 gene variant spectrum, enriches the mutant spectrum of SPTAN1 gene associated with developmental epileptic encephalopathy type 5.

Objective: To understand the changes in pain and its effects in patients with the diagnosis of herpes zoster. Methods: A total of 3 487 patients diagnosed with herpes zoster (HZ) for the first time at the outpatient department of Miyun District Hospital from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019, were included in the study. The information of patients was registered and issued with a record card. Patients were required to record the time of pain and rash by themselves. Telephone follow-up was conducted at 21, 90, 180 and 365 days after the onset of rashes, including hospitalization, location of rash and pain, and the time of start and end. The impact of pain on life was evaluated by the Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI). Results: The age of 2 999 HZ patients included in the analysis were (53±16) years old, including 1 377 (45.91%) males and 1 903 (63.45%) patients aged 50 years and older. After 21 days of rash, mild, moderate and severe pain accounted for 20.87% (626 cases), 37.98% (1 139 cases) and 33.81% (1 014 cases), respectively. Only 5.07% (152 cases) had no pain or discomfort, and 2.27% (68 cases) had no pain but discomfort. Most of the pain sites were consistent with the rash sites. The chest and back and waist and abdomen were the most common, accounting for 35.58% (1 067 cases) and 29.18% (875 cases), respectively, followed by the limbs and face and neck, accounting for 16.74% (502 cases) and 16.40% (492 cases), respectively. The M (Q₁, Q₃) of pain days in the HZ patients was 14 (8, 20) days, and the incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) was 6.63% (171/2 580) (excluding 419 patients who refused to visit or lost to visit on 90 days after the onset of rash). The pain score of HZ patients within 21 days after the rash was (5.19±2.73) points, and the pain score of PHN patients was (7.61±2.13) points, which was significantly higher than that of non-PHN patients [(5.04±2.69) points] (P<0.001). Daily activities, emotions, walking ability, work, social interaction, sleep and recreation were affected for 21 days after the rash in HZ patients, ranging from 60.79% to 83.83%, with sleep being the most affected (83.83%). The impact scores of pain and life dimensions in PHN patients ranged from 4.59 to 7.61 points on the ZBPI scale, which were higher than those in non-PHN patients (2.49-5.04) (t values ranged from 8.86 to 11.67, all P values <0.001). Conclusion: The proportion of pain in HZ patients after the diagnosis is high, and the pain is more obvious in patients with PHN and HZ patients aged 50 and older, which has a greater impact on their daily lives.
Male ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Adult ; Female ; Beijing ; Follow-Up Studies ; Herpes Zoster/epidemiology* ; Pain/epidemiology* ; Exanthema

Objective: To understand the changes in pain and its effects in patients with the diagnosis of herpes zoster. Methods: A total of 3 487 patients diagnosed with herpes zoster (HZ) for the first time at the outpatient department of Miyun District Hospital from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019, were included in the study. The information of patients was registered and issued with a record card. Patients were required to record the time of pain and rash by themselves. Telephone follow-up was conducted at 21, 90, 180 and 365 days after the onset of rashes, including hospitalization, location of rash and pain, and the time of start and end. The impact of pain on life was evaluated by the Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI). Results: The age of 2 999 HZ patients included in the analysis were (53±16) years old, including 1 377 (45.91%) males and 1 903 (63.45%) patients aged 50 years and older. After 21 days of rash, mild, moderate and severe pain accounted for 20.87% (626 cases), 37.98% (1 139 cases) and 33.81% (1 014 cases), respectively. Only 5.07% (152 cases) had no pain or discomfort, and 2.27% (68 cases) had no pain but discomfort. Most of the pain sites were consistent with the rash sites. The chest and back and waist and abdomen were the most common, accounting for 35.58% (1 067 cases) and 29.18% (875 cases), respectively, followed by the limbs and face and neck, accounting for 16.74% (502 cases) and 16.40% (492 cases), respectively. The M (Q₁, Q₃) of pain days in the HZ patients was 14 (8, 20) days, and the incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) was 6.63% (171/2 580) (excluding 419 patients who refused to visit or lost to visit on 90 days after the onset of rash). The pain score of HZ patients within 21 days after the rash was (5.19±2.73) points, and the pain score of PHN patients was (7.61±2.13) points, which was significantly higher than that of non-PHN patients [(5.04±2.69) points] (P<0.001). Daily activities, emotions, walking ability, work, social interaction, sleep and recreation were affected for 21 days after the rash in HZ patients, ranging from 60.79% to 83.83%, with sleep being the most affected (83.83%). The impact scores of pain and life dimensions in PHN patients ranged from 4.59 to 7.61 points on the ZBPI scale, which were higher than those in non-PHN patients (2.49-5.04) (t values ranged from 8.86 to 11.67, all P values <0.001). Conclusion: The proportion of pain in HZ patients after the diagnosis is high, and the pain is more obvious in patients with PHN and HZ patients aged 50 and older, which has a greater impact on their daily lives.
Male ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Adult ; Female ; Beijing ; Follow-Up Studies ; Herpes Zoster/epidemiology* ; Pain/epidemiology* ; Exanthema

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Draconis Sanguis petroleum ether fraction （DSPEF） on the proliferation， apoptosis， migration， and autophagy of human gastric cancer HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells， and preliminarily elucidate its molecular mechanism. MethodCell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） assay was used to detect the effect of DSPEF at different concentrations （0， 20， 40， 60， 80 mg·L^-1） on the proliferation of HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells after 24， 48， 72 h. Hoechst staining and flow cytometry were used to explore the effects of DSPEF at different concentrations on the apoptosis and apoptosis rate of HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells after 48 h treatment， respectively. The wound healing assay and acridine orange staining were used to investigate the effects of DSPEF on the migration and autophagy of HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells， respectively. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of signaling pathway-related proteins in HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells treated with DSPEF for 48 h. ResultCompared with the control group， DSPEF（30 mg·L^-1） inhibited the proliferation and migration of HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner （P<0.05）， and induced the apoptosis （P<0.01） and autophagy of HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells. DSPEF （60 mg·L^-1） down-regulated the protein levels of phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin （p-mTOR） （P<0.05， P<0.01） and down-regulated phospho-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （p-STAT3） in HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells （P<0.01）， suggesting that DSPEF presumedly inhibited the proliferation and migration of human gastric cancer HGC-27 and MGC-803 cells and induced their apoptosis and autophagy by inhibiting the mTOR/STAT3 signaling pathway. ConclusionThe down-regulation of the mTOR/STAT3 signaling pathway may be involved in the anti-gastric cancer effect of DSPEF. This study is expected to provide a reference for the investigation of the anti-tumor effect of Draconis Sanguis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical, imaging and genetic features of patients with global developmental delay combined with epilepsy and striatal degeneration caused by POLR3A gene mutations.Methods:A total of three patients from two families with non-consanguineous marriages admitted to the Department of Pediatric Neurology of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in 2020 were examined in detail. Peripheral blood DNA was extracted, and whole-exome sequencing was performed on the patients, combined with Sanger sequencing for verification. The mutation and protein function predictor softwares were applied to analyze the mutation sites.Results:All three patients presented with global developmental delay, seizures, dystonia. Head magnetic resonance imaging of all patients suggested basal ganglia atrophy and striatal degeneration. All had compound heterozygous mutations of c.1980 G>C; c.1771-6 C>G and c.2044C>T; c.1771-7 C>G in POLR3A gene as indicated by whole-exome sequencing. Sanger sequencing validation confirmed that the compound heterozygous mutations were originated from the parents of probands from the two families, respectively. Bioinformatic analysis suggested pathogenic features of the mutations.Conclusions:Compound heterozygous mutations in POLR3A gene , including a splice site mutation result in global developmental delay combined with epilepsy, striatal degeneration. Clinicians should promote the awareness of POLR3 related spectrum disorders, thus make early recognition and diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical features of the diseases associated with aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARS) deficiency. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of the clinical and gene mutation data of 10 children who were diagnosed with ARS gene mutations, based on next-generation sequencing from January 2016 to October 2019. RESULTS: The age of onset ranged from 0 to 9 years among the 10 children. Convulsion was the most common initial symptom (7 children). Clinical manifestations included ataxia and normal or mildly retarded intellectual development (with or without epilepsy; n=4) and onset of epilepsy in childhood with developmental regression later (n=2). Some children experienced disease onset in the neonatal period and had severe epileptic encephalopathy, with myoclonus, generalized tonic-clonic seizure, and convulsive seizure (n=4); 3 had severe delayed development, 2 had feeding difficulty, and 1 had hearing impairment. Mutations were found in five genes: 3 had novel mutations in the AARS2 gene (c.331G>C, c.2682+5G>A, c.2164C>T, and c.761G>A), 2 had known mutations in the DARS2 gene (c.228-16C>A and c.536G>A), 1 had novel mutations in the CARS2 gene (c.1036C>T and c.323T>G), 1 had novel mutations in the RARS2 gene (c.1210A>G and c.622C>T), and 3 had novel mutations in the AARS gene (c.1901T>A, c.229C>T, c.244C>T, c.961G>C, c.2248C>T, and Chr16:70298860-70316687del). CONCLUSIONS A high heterogeneity is observed in the clinical phenotypes of the diseases associated with the ARS deficiency. A total of 14 novel mutations in 5 genes are reported in this study, which enriches the clinical phenotypes and genotypes of the diseases associated with ARS deficiency.
Amino Acyl-tRNA Synthetases ; genetics ; Child ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Mutation ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies

The research of anti-hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) drug has attracted more and more attention. Natural products are the important source of active compounds for cancer treatment. A biflavonoid HIS-4 was isolated from Resina draconis in our previous study. MTT assay, hoechst staining, and flow cytometry analysis were used to investigate the effects of HIS-4 on the proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatoma HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells. Moreover, the effects of HIS-4 on the migration and invasion ability of HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells were evaluated by wound healing assay and Transwell assay. In addition, MTT assay, flow cytometry analyses, Hoechst staining, wound healing assay, Transwell assay, and tube formation assay were used to explore the anti-angiogenic activity of HIS-4 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs). Mechanistically, the HIS-4 regulatory of signal pathways in H9 epG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells were analyzed by Western blot. This results showed that HIS-4 suppressed the proliferation of human hepatoma HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells. Moreover HIS-4 induced their apoptosis of HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells. HIS-4 inhibited the migration and invasion of HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells. Additionally, HIS-4 exhibited angiogenesis effects. Mechanistically, up-regulation of MAPK signaling pathway and down-regulation of mTOR signaling pathway may be responsible for anti-hepatoma activity of HIS-4. Therefore, HIS-4 may be a promising candidate drug for HCC treatment.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; Biflavonoids ; pharmacology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Dracaena ; chemistry ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Phytochemicals ; pharmacology

Hereditary angiopathy with nephropathy, aneurysms and muscle cramps (HANAC) syndrome is an autosomal dominant genetic disease caused by COL4A1 gene mutation, with major clinical manifestations of white matter lesion, aneurysm, retinal artery tortuosity, polycystic kidney, microscopic hematuria and muscle cramps. This article reports the clinical features and genotype of one toddler with HANAC syndrome caused by COL4A1 gene mutation. The boy, aged 1 year and 8 months, had an insidious onset, with the clinical manifestations of pyrexia and convulsion, white matter lesions in the periventricular region and the centrum semiovale on both sides, softening lesions beside the left basal ganglia, retinal arteriosclerosis, microscopic hematuria and muscle cramps. Whole exome sequencing revealed a pathogenic de novo heterozygous mutation in the COL4A1 gene, (NM_001845) c.4150+1(IVS46)G>T, and therefore, the boy was diagnosed with HANAC syndrome. COL4A1 gene mutation detection should be performed for children with unexplained white matter lesion, stroke, hematuria, polycystic kidney, cataract and retinal artery tortuosity or families with related history.
Aneurysm ; Collagen Type IV ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Muscle Cramp ; genetics ; Mutation ; Syndrome