ObjectiveSpinal cord injury (SCI) directly impairs the regulatory function of the autonomic nervous system, induces intestinal dysfunction, and significantly reduces patients’ quality of life. Preclinical studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) therapy can regulate the brain-gut axis and is used to treat central nervous system diseases such as major depressive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Recent research has established that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from EA-treated SCI rats restored intestinal motility and colonic morphology. However, it remains unclear whether the regulation of gut microbiota by EA therapy directly contributes to neural repair after SCI. This study aims to explore whether gut microbiota mediates the neuroprotective effect of EA in the treatment of SCI and its possible mechanism. MethodsThe study employed RNA transcriptome analysis of spinal cord tissue to characterize gene expression profiles and to identify key signaling pathways following EA treatment for SCI. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining and Nissl staining were used to observe the morphological changes in spinal cord tissue. Western blot (WB) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were applied to detect the effects of EA on the expression of proteins related to nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing receptor 3 (NLRP3) -dependent pyroptosis. Using 16S rDNA sequencing, the study observed alterations in gut microbiota diversity and community composition in SCI rats. Prior to establishing SCI models, rats were pretreated with an antibiotic cocktail to induce gut dysbiosis, and the effects on intestinal function and spinal cord neural repair were evaluated. FMT was performed to investigate the regulatory effects of post-EA FMT on motor function, general status, liver and spleen indices, and NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis in SCI rats. ResultsEA improved motor function and reduced regulated neuronal cell death in SCI rats. Transcriptomic analysis demonstrated the activation of immune- and inflammation-related pathways post-SCI, including NOD-like receptors, nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB), and Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways. EA primarily influenced intestinal inflammation and autoimmune functions. 16S rDNA sequencing illustrated that EA did not alter the diversity of gut microbiota. However, EA altered the gut microbiota composition in SCI rats, increasing Lactobacillus and Akkermansia genera while rebalancing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. Furthermore, depletion of gut microbiota by antibiotics disrupted the intestinal barrier, reduced the expression of intestinal barrier proteins Zonula Occludens-1 (ZO-1) and Occludin, elevated serum lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) levels, exacerbated spinal cord tissue damage, and hindered motor function recovery in SCI rats. FMT from donors treated with EA reduced LBP levels in the intestine, blood, and spinal cord of rats, inhibited the TLR4 myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88)-NF‑κB pathway and NLRP3-dependent pyroptosis, and improved motor function. On the other hand, FMT treatment resulted in decreased body weight and food intake, whereas FMT using EA-treated donors effectively alleviated these alterations. ConclusionEA effectively alleviated neuroinflammatory responses in rats with SCI, primarily through regulating the gut microbiota and suppressing the NLRP3-dependent pyroptosis signaling pathway.

ObjectiveSpinal cord injury (SCI) directly impairs the regulatory function of the autonomic nervous system, induces intestinal dysfunction, and significantly reduces patients’ quality of life. Preclinical studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) therapy can regulate the brain-gut axis and is used to treat central nervous system diseases such as major depressive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Recent research has established that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from EA-treated SCI rats restored intestinal motility and colonic morphology. However, it remains unclear whether the regulation of gut microbiota by EA therapy directly contributes to neural repair after SCI. This study aims to explore whether gut microbiota mediates the neuroprotective effect of EA in the treatment of SCI and its possible mechanism. MethodsThe study employed RNA transcriptome analysis of spinal cord tissue to characterize gene expression profiles and to identify key signaling pathways following EA treatment for SCI. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining and Nissl staining were used to observe the morphological changes in spinal cord tissue. Western blot (WB) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were applied to detect the effects of EA on the expression of proteins related to nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing receptor 3 (NLRP3) -dependent pyroptosis. Using 16S rDNA sequencing, the study observed alterations in gut microbiota diversity and community composition in SCI rats. Prior to establishing SCI models, rats were pretreated with an antibiotic cocktail to induce gut dysbiosis, and the effects on intestinal function and spinal cord neural repair were evaluated. FMT was performed to investigate the regulatory effects of post-EA FMT on motor function, general status, liver and spleen indices, and NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis in SCI rats. ResultsEA improved motor function and reduced regulated neuronal cell death in SCI rats. Transcriptomic analysis demonstrated the activation of immune- and inflammation-related pathways post-SCI, including NOD-like receptors, nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB), and Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathways. EA primarily influenced intestinal inflammation and autoimmune functions. 16S rDNA sequencing illustrated that EA did not alter the diversity of gut microbiota. However, EA altered the gut microbiota composition in SCI rats, increasing Lactobacillus and Akkermansia genera while rebalancing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. Furthermore, depletion of gut microbiota by antibiotics disrupted the intestinal barrier, reduced the expression of intestinal barrier proteins Zonula Occludens-1 (ZO-1) and Occludin, elevated serum lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) levels, exacerbated spinal cord tissue damage, and hindered motor function recovery in SCI rats. FMT from donors treated with EA reduced LBP levels in the intestine, blood, and spinal cord of rats, inhibited the TLR4 myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88)-NF‑κB pathway and NLRP3-dependent pyroptosis, and improved motor function. On the other hand, FMT treatment resulted in decreased body weight and food intake, whereas FMT using EA-treated donors effectively alleviated these alterations. ConclusionEA effectively alleviated neuroinflammatory responses in rats with SCI, primarily through regulating the gut microbiota and suppressing the NLRP3-dependent pyroptosis signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the gut microbiota and metabolic profiles of patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), and to identify potential microbial biomarkers with diagnostic values.Methods:A total of 16 NMOSD patients, 6 MOGAD patients, and 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited from Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology since June 2024. Fecal samples were subjected to metagenomic sequencing and untargeted metabolomics. Differential microbes were identified using LEfSe (linear discriminant analysis effect size), and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to evaluate diagnostic potential. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess relationships between key microbes, metabolites, and serum antibody titers.Results:Distinct alterations in gut microbiota were observed in both disease groups compared with healthy controls. Ligilactobacillus salivarius was significantly enriched in both NMOSD and MOGAD patients and exhibited robust diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve=0.779 P=0.005). Metabolomics revealed that levels of ethosuximide and lysine-proline were elevated, while free fatty acids (15∶1) and 5, 6-dihydrothymine were reduced in the disease groups. Analysis results indicated that Ligilactobacillus salivarius abundance was positively correlated with aquaporin 4 antibody titers in NMOSD patients ( r=0.522, P=0.046). Conclusions:Patients with NMOSD and MOGAD have characteristic alterations in gut microbial and metabolic profiles.

Objective:To explore the effect of Simo decoction improving the low duodenal inflammation and protecting the du-odenal mucosal barrier in rats with functional dyspepsia(FD).Methods:Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into control group(10 rats)and model group(50 rats),and the modeling rats were prepared by multivariate intervention method.After successful modeling,the modeling rats were randomly divided into model group,Simo decoction high-dose,medium-dose,low-dose group and mosapride group,with 10 rats in each group.The high-dose,medium-dose,and low-dose groups of Simo decoction were ga-vage given 5.62 g/kg,2.81 g/kg,and 1.40 g/kg,respectively,and the mosapride group was gavage given 0.305 mg/kg of mosapride,and the control group and model group were gavage given the same amount of distilled water for 14 days.The body weight of rats was observed;gastric emptying rate and small bowel propulsion rate were measured;transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the morphology of duodenal epithelial cells;ELISA detected serum levels of IL-17A and IL-22;Western blot and immunohistochemis-try were used to detect the expressions of protease-activated receptor 2(PAR-2)and tight junction protein(ZO-1,claudin-1)in the duodenum.Results:Compared with the control group,the body weight,gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate of the model group were significantly reduced(P<0.01),transmission electron microscopy showed widening of the duodenal epithelial cell space,serum IL-17A and IL-22 levels were significantly increased(P<0.01),the expression of PAR-2 in duodenal tissue was in-creased,and the expressions of ZO-1 and claudin-1 were downregulated(P<0.01).Compared with model group,the gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate in Simo decoction high-dose,medium-dose and mosapride group were increased(P<0.05,P<0.01),the contents of IL-17A and IL-22 in serum decreased(P<0.05,P<0.01),and the expression of PAR-2 in duodenal tissues was down-regulated,the expressions of ZO-1 and claudin-1 was significantly increased(P<0.01).The low-dose group of Simo soup could improve weight loss(P<0.01),reduce IL-17A content and PAR-2 expression,and increase ZO-1 and claudin-1 expression(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the effect on other indexes was not obvious.Conclusion:Simo decoction may reduce low-grade duodenal in-flammation to repair the mucosal barrier by down-regulating the levels of IL-17A and IL-22 and the expression of PAR-2,and up-regu-lating the expression of ZO-1 and claudin-1,so as to exert the effect of FD treatment.

Anticipatory anxiety is a negative emotion that arises when individuals encounter potential threats or uncertainties in the future. It is the core symptom of a variety of anxiety disorders, and is closely associated with the occurrence, severity, treatment outcome, and prognosis of anxiety disorders, which has garnered a growing amount of focus in clinical practice. Nevertheless, scientific research on anticipatory anxiety continues to face obstacles such as unclear pathological mechanisms, the absence of simple and consistent self-assessment tools, and effective interventions. To improve understanding of the role of anticipatory anxiety in the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders, this study reviews pertinent domestic and international literature, and briefly introduces the concept, assessment and measurement, activation paradigm, pathological mechanisms, and interventions of anticipatory anxiety.

In this paper, near-infrared spectroscopy(NIRS) was employed to analyze 129 batches of commercial products of Reduning Injection. The batch reporting rate was estimated according to the report of Reduning Injection in the direct adverse drug reaction(ADR) reporting system of the drug marketing authorization holder of the Center for Drug Reevaluation of the National Medical Products Administration(National Center for ADR Monitoring) from August 2021 to August 2022. According to the batch reporting rate, the samples of Reduning Injection were classified into those with potential risks and those being safe. No processing, random oversampling(ROS), random undersampling(RUS), and synthetic minority over-sampling technique(SMOTE) were then employed to balance the unbalanced data. After the samples were classified according to appropriate sampling methods, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling(CARS), successive projections algorithm(SPA), uninformative variables elimination(UVE), and genetic algorithm(GA) were respectively adopted to screen the features of spectral data. Then, support vector machine(SVM), logistic regression(LR), k-nearest neighbors(KNN), naive bayes(NB), random forest(RF), and artificial neural network(ANN) were adopted to establish the risk prediction models. The effects of the four feature extraction methods on the accuracy of the models were compared. The optimal method was selected, and bayesian optimization was performned to optimize the model parameters to improve the accuracy and robustness of model prediction. To explore the correlations between potential risks of clinical use and quality test data, TreeNet was employed to identify potential quality parameters affecting the clinical safety of Reduning Injection. The results showed that the models established with the SVM, LR, KNN, NB, RF, and ANN algorithms had the F1 scores of 0.85, 0.85, 0.86, 0.80, 0.88, and 0.85 and the accuracy of 88%, 88%, 88%, 85%, 91%, and 88%, respectively, and the prediction time was less than 5 s. The results indicated that the established models were accurate and efficient. Therefore, near infrared spectroscopy combined with machine learning algorithms can quickly predict the potential risks of clinical use of Reduning Injection in batches. Three key quality parameters that may affect clinical safety were identified by TreeNet, which provided a scientific basis for improving the safety standards of Reduning Injection.
Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Machine Learning ; Algorithms ; Humans ; Quality Control

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), when released extracellularly, plays a pivotal role in the development of spinal cord synapses and exacerbates autoimmune diseases within the central nervous system. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a condition that models multiple sclerosis, the levels of extracellular HMGB1 and interleukin-33 (IL-33) have been found to be inversely correlated. However, the mechanism by which IL-33 deficiency enhances HMGB1 release during EAE remains elusive. Our study elucidates a potential signaling pathway whereby the absence of IL-33 leads to increased binding of P300/CBP-associated factor with HMGB1 in the nuclei of astrocytes, upregulating HMGB1 acetylation and promoting its release from astrocyte nuclei in the spinal cord of EAE mice. Conversely, the addition of IL-33 counteracts the TNF-α-induced increase in HMGB1 and acetylated HMGB1 levels in primary astrocytes. These findings underscore the potential of IL-33-associated signaling pathways as a therapeutic target for EAE treatment.
Animals ; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/metabolism* ; Astrocytes/metabolism* ; Interleukin-33/metabolism* ; HMGB1 Protein/metabolism* ; Acetylation ; Mice, Knockout ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; p300-CBP Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Mice ; Spinal Cord/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Signal Transduction

Objective:To analyze the predictive value of platelet parameters and prognostic nutritional index(PNI)in activity of ulcerative colitis(UC).Methods:This retrospective study included 158 UC patients from the Department of anorectal medicine of our hospital from January 2020 to June 2022.Mayo total score and Truelove-Witts score were used to evaluate clinical activity.Patients with Mayo score>2 was defined as clinically active UC,and patients with Mayo score≤2 was defined as clinically remission.The histological activity was evaluated by Riley score.Evaluation of endoscopic activity of UC patients by Mayo endoscopic score.Results:Among the 158 patients included in the analysis,111 were in remission phase and the remaining 47 were in clinical active phase.Compared with the remission group,the levels of albumin,lymphocytes,and PNI in the clinically active group reduced significantly(P<0.05),while the levels of CRP,fecal calprotectin,neutrophils,white blood cells,NPR,and NLR increased significantly(P<0.05).Fecal calprotectin,CRP,NPR,NLR were significantly positively correlated with Mayo endoscopic score,Riley score,Truelove Witts score,and Mayo total score(P<0.05),while PNI was significantly negatively correlated with Mayo endoscopic score,Truelove Witts score,and Mayo total score(P<0.05).The ROC curve analysis results showed that fecal calprotectin and NPR had similar performance in predicting clinical activity in UC patients(AUC=0.868,0.850),followed by PNI(AUC=0.770)and NLR(AUC=0.756);Fecal calprotectin had the highest performance in predicting endoscopic activity in UC patients(AUC=0.840),followed by NPR(AUC=0.731),NLR(AUC=0.677),and PNI(AUC=0.671).Conclusions:NPR has demonstrated sufficient diagnostic utility in identifying UC patients with clinical and endoscopic activity,and is comparable in diagnostic performance to the fecal biomarker calprotectin.However,PNI has lower performance as a monitoring tool for UC disease activity.

Heat stroke is a heat-related illness caused by an imbalance between the body's heat production and heat dissipation,which could lead to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome with a high mortality rate.Rapid and effective reduction of core body temperature is key to successful treatment.This article reviews recent progress in the treatment of heat stroke,including new understandings of organ injury mechanisms,the timing,velocity and goals of cooling treatment,evaluation and selection of traditional cooling techniques(such as cold water immersion),and scientific evaluation of new cooling technologies(such as blood purification technology and intravascular heat exchange cooling technology),aiming to promote understanding and treatment of heat stroke.

Objective To evaluate the effects of Yiqi Huayu Jiedu Decoction combined with chemotherapy on disease-free survival rate and disease-free survival(DFS)of patients with stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ postoperative gastric cancer.Methods Totally 102 patients with stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ postoperative gastric cancer treated by Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine and Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were selected.The patients were divided into control group(52 cases)and test group(50 cases)with block random method.The control group received conventional postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for 4-6 cycles.The test group was treated with Chinese materia medica for 6 months on the basis of chemotherapy.Continue follow-up until the patients had recurrence,metastasis or death.DFS was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method,and the average DFS of the two groups was estimated.Log Rank test was used to test the significance of differences in survival distribution between groups.Univariate and multivariate analyses of variables affecting prognosis were conducted using the Cox regression model.Adverse reactions of both groups were monitored.Results The recurrence and metastasis rate of the test group was 12.0%(6/50),while that of the control group was 34.6%(18/52),which was lower in the test group than in the control group(P<0.05).The 1-year and 2-year DFS rates and DFS of the control group were 86.5%,72.2%and 25.8 months respectively,while those of the test group were 95.6%,84.1%and 33.9 months respectively,with statistical significance(P=0.012).Cox-regression analysis suggested:The independent factors influencing the disease-free survival time of patients with gastric cancer were the test group(P=0.022),surgical methods of subtotal gastrectomy(P=0.038)and clinical stages Ⅱ(P=0.040).No adverse reactions related to Chinese materia medica were reported in the two groups.Conclusion Yiqi Huayu Jiedu Decoction combined with chemotherapy can improve the 1-year and 2-year DFS rate,prolong DFS,reduce the recurrence and metastasis rate,and improve the prognosis.