Kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome is a common geriatric disease that underlies chronic conditions such as diabetic nephropathy, chronic kidney disease, and osteoporosis. As age progresses, the kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome showcases increasingly pronounced manifestations, emerging as a key factor in the comorbidities experienced by elderly patients and affecting their quality of life and overall health status. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has been extensively utilized in the treatment of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome, with Epimedii Folium, Cinnamomi Cortex, and Lycii Fructus widely used in clinical settings. Despite the complexity of the molecular mechanisms involved in treating kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome, the potential therapeutic value of TCM remains compelling. Delving into the mechanisms of TCM treatment of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome by regulating the neuro-endocrine-immune system can provide a scientific basis for targeted treatments of this syndrome and lay a foundation for the modernization of TCM. The pathophysiology of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome involves multiple systems, including the interaction of the neuro-endocrine-immune system, the decline in renal function, the intensification of oxidative stress responses, and energy metabolism disorders. Understanding these mechanisms and their interrelationships can help untangle the etiology of kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome, aiding clinicians in making more precise diagnoses and treatments. Furthermore, the research on the specific applications of TCM in research on these pathological mechanisms can enhance the international recognition and status of TCM, enabling it to exert a greater global influence.
Humans ; Yang Deficiency/physiopathology* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Kidney Diseases/physiopathology* ; Neurosecretory Systems/physiopathology* ; Animals ; Kidney/physiopathology* ; Endocrine System/physiopathology* ; Immune System/physiopathology*

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a type of heart failure characterized by left ventricular diastolic dysfunction with preserved ejection fraction. With the aging of the population and the increasing prevalence of metabolic diseases, such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes, the prevalence of HFpEF is increasing. Compared with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), conventional anti-heart failure drugs failed to reduce the mortality in HFpEF due to the complex pathophysiological mechanism and multiple comorbidities of HFpEF. It is known that the main changes of cardiac structure of in HFpEF are cardiac hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular hypertrophy, and HFpEF is commonly associated with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, renal dysfunction and other diseases, but how these comorbidities cause structural and functional damage to the heart is not completely clear. Recent studies have shown that immune inflammatory response plays a vital role in the progression of HFpEF. This review focuses on the latest research progress in the role of inflammation in the process of HFpEF and the potential application of anti-inflammatory therapy in HFpEF, hoping to provide new research ideas and theoretical basis for the clinical prevention and treatment in HFpEF.
Humans ; Heart Failure ; Stroke Volume/physiology* ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular/metabolism* ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left/metabolism* ; Inflammation/complications* ; Obesity ; Hypertension

OBJECTIVE: Here, we explored molecular changes that could potentially mediate healing effects of Gua Sha - a method employed by the Chinese traditional medicine with proven track records of safe and efficient applications dating back to ancient times as well as support from randomized controlled trials performed by modern medical studies - yet remaining almost entirely unexplored by the modern-day high-throughput methods of the -omics sciences. METHODS: We investigated transcriptome changes occurring shortly after Gua Sha treatment in the whole blood of healthy volunteers using bulk RNA-seq analysis. We applied various analytical tools to identify genes with consistent expression changes in multiple individuals in response to Gua Sha and their networks. RESULTS: We found that while the changes were very subtle and individual-specific, we could identify consistent upregulation of three histone genes. Further analysis of the potential regulatory networks of these histone genes revealed the enrichment of functions involved in the immune response and inflammation. CONCLUSION The significance of these results in the context of potential effects of Gua Sha and the next steps in exploring the molecular mechanisms of action of this technique are discussed.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Histones ; Gene Expression

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) and its risk factors in very preterm infants (VPIs) during hospitalization in China. METHODS: A prospective multicenter study was performed on the medical data of 2 514 VPIs who were hospitalized in the department of neonatology in 28 hospitals from 7 areas of China between September 2019 and December 2020. According to the presence or absence of EUGR based on the evaluation of body weight at the corrected gestational age of 36 weeks or at discharge, the VPIs were classified to two groups: EUGR group (n=1 189) and non-EUGR (n=1 325). The clinical features were compared between the two groups, and the incidence of EUGR and risk factors for EUGR were examined. RESULTS: The incidence of EUGR was 47.30% (1 189/2 514) evaluated by weight. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher weight growth velocity after regaining birth weight and higher cumulative calorie intake during the first week of hospitalization were protective factors against EUGR (P<0.05), while small-for-gestational-age birth, prolonged time to the initiation of total enteral feeding, prolonged cumulative fasting time, lower breast milk intake before starting human milk fortifiers, prolonged time to the initiation of full fortified feeding, and moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia were risk factors for EUGR (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS It is crucial to reduce the incidence of EUGR by achieving total enteral feeding as early as possible, strengthening breastfeeding, increasing calorie intake in the first week after birth, improving the velocity of weight gain, and preventing moderate-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in VPIs.
Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: As COVID-19 spreads globally and affects people's health, there are concerns that the pandemic and control policies may have psychological effects on young people (age from 17 to 35 years). This psychological impact might vary in different countries, and thus we compared the prevalence of self-reported psychological distress, loneliness and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among young people in the United Kingdom (UK) and China at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Data of this study came from two sources. One source was the first wave of COVID-19 study in Understanding Society, a special wave of the UK household longitudinal study, which provided the high-quality, national-wide representative panel data. The sample comprised 1054 young people. The other source was an online survey on the mental health of 1003 young people from Shanghai, a highly developed area in China. The questionnaire included questions on the prevalence of common mental disorders (cut-off score ≥ 4), loneliness and potential PTSS (cut-off ≥ 33). Univariable analyses were conducted to test the differences in the self-reported prevalence of psychological distress and loneliness between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were run to explore the predictors of psychological distress and loneliness among all the young people from England and Shanghai. RESULTS: Among the samples with self-reported psychological distress, the UK sample accounted for 34.4% (n=1054) and the Chinese sample accounted for 14.1% (n=1003). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Additionally, 57.1% of people in the UK and 46.7% in China reported that they sometimes or often felt lonely, of which the difference is statistically significant (p < 0.001). Regression analysis of the entire samples showed that nationality, gender, psychotherapy and loneliness were significant predictors of 12-item General Health Questionnaire scores, while the variables of age and living alone were not. Significant predictors of self-reported loneliness were the nationality, gender, age, living alone and psychotherapy. In China, 123 (12.3%) young people, 49 men (11.3%) and 74 women (13.0%), met the criteria of PTSS symptoms (cut-off scores ≥ 33). These scores were only collected in China. CONCLUSION This evidence suggests that mental health and loneliness reported by young people were lower in China than that in the UK during the studied period. More research is needed to understand these differences. If the differential negative psychological impacts are confirmed, country-specific measures of prevention and intervention should be adopted to improve the mental health of young people under the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
Adult ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Loneliness/psychology* ; Male ; Mental Health ; Prevalence ; Psychological Distress ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology* ; United Kingdom/epidemiology* ; Young Adult

Optimal vision and ergonomics are essential factors contributing to the achievement of good results during microsurgery. The three-dimensional (3D) digital image microscope system with a better 3D depth of field can release strain on the surgeon's neck and back, which can improve outcomes in microsurgery. We report a randomized prospective study of vasoepididymostomy and vasovasostomy using a 3D digital image microscope system (3D-DIM) in rats. A total of 16 adult male rats were randomly divided into two groups of 8 each: the standard operating microscope (SOM) group and the 3D-DIM group. The outcomes measured included the operative time, real-time postoperative mechanical patency, and anastomosis leakage. Furthermore, a user-friendly microscope score was designed to evaluate the ergonomic design and equipment characteristics of the microscope. There were no differences in operative time between the two groups. The real-time postoperative mechanical patency rates were 100.0% for both groups. The percentage of vasoepididymostomy anastomosis leakage was 16.7% in the SOM group and 25.0% in the 3D-DIM group; however, no vasovasostomy anastomosis leakage was found in either group. In terms of the ergonomic design, the 3D-DIM group obtained better scores based on the surgeon's feelings; in terms of the equipment characteristics, the 3D-DIM group had lower scores for clarity and higher scores for flexibility and adaptivity. Based on our randomized prospective study in a rat model, we believe that the 3D-DIM can improve surgeon comfort without compromising outcomes in male infertility reconstructive microsurgery, so the 3D-DIM might be widely used in the future.

The present study was aimed to investigate the role of GluN2B-BDNF pathway in the cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus (CSF-CN) in neuropathic pain. Intra-lateral ventricle injection of cholera toxin subunit B conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (CBHRP) was used to label the CSF-CN. Double-labeled immunofluorescent staining and Western blot were used to observe the expression of GluN2B and BDNF in the CSF-CN. Chronic constriction injury of sciatic nerve (CCI) rat model was used to duplicate the neuropathic pain. Pain behavior was scored to determine the analgesic effects of GluN2B antagonist Ro 25-6981 and BDNF neutralizing antibody on CCI rats. GluN2B and BDNF were expressed in the CSF-CN and their expression was up-regulated in CCI rats. Intra-lateral ventricle injection of GluN2B antagonist Ro 25-6981 or BDNF neutralizing antibody notably alleviated thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia in CCI rats. Moreover, the increased expression of BDNF protein in CCI rats was reversed by intra-lateral ventricle injection of Ro 25-6981. These results suggest that GluN2B and BDNF are expressed in the CSF-CN and alteration of GluN2B-BDNF pathway in the CSF-CN is involved in the modulation of the peripheral neuropathic pain.
Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Hyperalgesia ; Neuralgia ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Nerve

Background: The development of auditory and speech perception ability of children with hearing loss is affected by many factors after they undergo cochlear implantation (CI). Age at CI (CI age) appears to play an important role among these factors. This study aimed to evaluate the development of auditory and speech perception ability and explore the impact of CI age on children with prelingual deafness present before 3 years of age. Methods: Two hundred and seventy-eight children with pre-lingual deafness (176 boys and 102 girls) were included in this study, and the CI age ranged from 6 to 36 months (mean age, 19 months). Categorical auditory performance (CAP) was assessed to evaluate auditory ability, and the speech intelligibility rating was used to evaluate speech intelligibility. The evaluations were performed before CI and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months after CI. Results: The auditory ability of the pre-lingually hearing-impaired children showed the fastest development within 6 months after CI (k = 0.524, t = 30.992, P < 0.05); then, the progress started to decelerate (k = 0.14, t = 3.704, P < 0.05) and entered a plateau at the 24th month (k = 0.03, t = 1.908, P < 0.05). Speech intelligibility showed the fastest improvement between the 12th and 24th months after CI (k = 0.138, t = 5.365, P < 0.05); then, the progress started to decelerate (k = 0.026, t = 1.465, P < 0.05) and entered a plateau at the 48th month (k = 0.012, t = 1.542, P < 0.05). The CI age had no statistical significant effect on the auditory and speech abilities starting at 2 years after CI (P < 0.05). The optimal cutoff age for CI was 15 months. Conclusions Within 5 years after CI, the auditory and speech ability of young hearing-impaired children continuously improved, although speech development lagged behind that of hearing. An earlier CI age is recommended; the optimal cutoff age for CI is at 15 months.

With the development of social economy,people's demand for health services is growing rapidly. As health resource with Chinese characteristics,health food containing Chinese materia medica have broad prospect and great market space for development.However,at present,there are still many problems of health food containing Chinese materia media in the research,development,evaluation and market application. In addition,due to lack of theoretical support of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in the research and development of health food containing Chinese materia media,blurred boundaries between health food containing Chinese materia media and other health products as well as TCM are present,lacking of TCM characteristics. In the evaluation process of health food containing Chinese materia media,the construction of functional food laws,regulations and evaluation norms is relatively lagging behind,which can't meet the needs of health food containing Chinese materia media research and development,severely restricting the development of health food containing Chinese materia media. Based on the research and evaluation of health food containing Chinese materia media,the existing problems were reviewed and the reasons for the deficiencies were analyzed in this paper. Guided by the theory of TCM,based on the constitution identification in TCM,and combined with modern scientific and technological means,a new research and development mode of functional food was put forward in this paper to distinguish health food containing Chinese materia media from TCM as well as general health products. Nevertheless,we should ensure the vitality of Chinese medicine health products with original thinking and scientific and technological connotations,and accelerate the harmonious,rapid and sustainable development of Chinese medicine health industry.
Functional Food ; Industry ; Materia Medica ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Research