ObjectiveTo explore the effect of cluster scalp acupuncture combined with Taijiquan training on depressive symptom, motor function, activities of daily living, serum markers, as well as brain functional connectivity (FC) and network topological properties in patients with post-stroke depression (PSD). MethodsA total of 40 PSD patients in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine from September, 2022 to September, 2023 were enrolled and randomly divided into control group (n = 20) and experimental group (n = 20). The control group received cluster scalp acupuncture alone, while the experimental group underwent Taijiquan training in addition, for four weeks. They were assessed with Hamilton Depression Scale-17 (HAMD-17), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Barthel Index (BI) before and after treatment, while the serum levels of dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was applied to assess brain FC, as well as the global efficiency (Eg) and small-world property (σ) of brain networks. ResultsThe scores of HAMD-17, FMA and BI improved in both groups (t > 2.922, P < 0.01) after treatment, and improved more in the experimental group than in the control group (t > 2.517, P < 0.05). The serum levels of DA and 5-HT increased in both groups (t > 2.637, P < 0.05), and increased more in the experimental group (t > 2.192, P < 0.05). The serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α decreased in the experimental group after treatment (t > 4.059, P < 0.001), and they were less than those in the control group (t > 2.154, P < 0.05). FC between left middle frontal gyrus and right anterior cingulate gyrus, as well as between left hippocampus and right precuneus were higher in the experimental group than in the control group after treatment (t > 3.867, P < 0.001), while Eg and σ increased in both groups (t > 2.828, P < 0.05), and they were higher in the experimental group (t > 2.675, P < 0.05). ConclusionCombination of Taijiquan training is more effective on depressive symptoms, motor function and activities of daily living in PSD patients, which may be related to up-regulation of serum DA and 5-HT, reduction of inflammatory factors, enhancement of prefrontal-limbic system functional connectivity and optimization of brain network topological properties.

Objective To analyze the clinical, imaging, pathological characteristics and prognosis of renal mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC), so as to provide preference for the differential diagnosis and clinical management of this disease.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical and follow-up data of 14 patients diagnosed with renal MTSCC at the Eastern Theater Command General Hospital during June 2021 and Aug.2025.Relevant literature was reviewed.Results Of the 14 patients, 10 were female (71.4%) and 4 were male (28.6%), with a mean age of 56.9 years. Pathological staging included pT1a in 6 cases, pT1b in 7 cases, and pT2b in 1 case.The median tumor diameter was 4.5 (range 2.0-11.0) cm.Twelve cases (85.7%) were asymptomatic and detected incidentally.On ultrasonography, most tumors exhibited well-defined margins and regular morphology (9/10, 90%) and appeared as homogeneous hypoechoic masses (7/10, 70%).All lesions demonstrated hypovascular features on imaging studies.Ten patients (71.4%) underwent laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, and 4(28.6%) received partial nephrectomy.Histologically, a distinctive architecture composed of tubular structures, spindle-shaped cells, and mucinous stroma was exhibited.Immunohistochemically, the positive rates of PAX-8, VIMENTIN and CK7 in tumor cells were 100% (13/13), 91.7% (11/12) and 84.6% (11/13), respectively.The Ki-67 proliferation index ranged from 2.0% to 40.0%.During a median follow-up of 25.0 (range4.9-0.0) months, no local recurrence or distant metastasis was observed.Conclusion Renal MTSCC is a rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma, typically lacking specific clinical symptoms and characterized by hypovascular imaging features.The tumor generally follows an indolent course with a favorable prognosis.For localized tumors, partial nephrectomy should be the primary consideration.For cases with high-risk pathological features such as sarcomatoid changes, due attention should be paid to the potential invasiveness and follow-up should be closely conducted.

Objective To evaluate the consistency of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT), Digital Radiography (DR) and fat-suppression MRI in detecting occult knee joint injury. Method Clinical data from 150 patients with suspected occult knee injuries who presented to the Department of imaging at the General Hospital of Ordnance Industry between August 2022 and August 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent MSCT, DR, and fat-suppression MRI for diagnostic evaluation. Arthroscopic or surgical findings served as the gold standard. We analyzed and compared the detection rates of specific types of occult knee injuries (ligament, meniscus, occult fracture, etc.) across the three modalities, as well as their ability to assess the degree of collapse and horizontal displacement in patients with knee fractures, and their overall diagnostic performance. Result According to the gold standard, among the 150 patients with suspected occult knee injury, 103 tested positive and 47 negative. Statistically significant differences were observed among MSCT, DR, and fat-suppression MRI in detecting occult fractures(P<0.05). The detection rates ranked in descending order asfollows: fat-suppression MRI>MSCT>DR. However, no significant difference were found in the detection rates of joint effusion and patellar cartilage injuries among the three techniques (P>0.05). Statistically differences were also note among the three techniques in detecting the degree of collapse and horizontal displacement in patients with knee fractures (P<0.05). Specifically fat-suppression MRI identified a higher proportion of grade 1 and 2 lesions than both MSCT and DR. Statistically significant differences were observed among the three techniques in diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy for occult knee injuries (P<0.05). Fat-suppression MRI demonstrated superior sensitivity (99.03%) and accuracy (96.67%) compared with MSCT (75.73%, 79.33%) and DR (61.17%, 68.00%). However, no significant difference was found in diagnostic specificity among the three techniques (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with MSCT and DR, fat-suppression MRI offers higher diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy for occult knee injuries, particularly in identifying ligament injuries, meniscus injuries, and occult fractures.

AIM:To explore the toxicological mechanisms of benzalkonium chloride(BAC)as a preservative in ophthalmic preparations leading to corneal injury in dry eye.METHODS:Network toxicology was employed to obtain the chemical structure of BAC, its toxic targets, and targets associated with dry eye-related corneal injury from databases including PubChem, CTD, ChEMBL, and STITCH. The protein-protein interaction(PPI)networks were constructed using the STRING database to screen key toxicity targets. Gene ontology(GO)functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analyses were performed to elucidate the potential biological processes and signaling pathways affected by BAC. Furthermore, molecular docking techniques were employed to validate the binding affinity of BAC to its key targets(IL-6, IL-1β, TNF, and EGF).RESULTS:BAC had a toxicity grade of 4 and exhibited significant eye irritation. A total of 85 common targets of BAC and dry eye corneal damage were screened out, of which 49 were key toxic targets, including TNF, IL-6, TP53, IL-1β, BCL2, etc. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that BAC mainly acted on 7 corneal injury pathways closely associated with corneal injury, such as IL-17, TNF, NF-κB, JAK-STAT, PI3K-Akt, Rap1, and MAPK. The results of molecular docking showed that BAC had stable binding ability to IL-6, IL-1β, TNF, EGF, and other targets(binding energy <0).CONCLUSION:BAC may induce corneal damage in dry eye through multi-target and multi-pathway mechanisms, involving processes such as inflammatory response, apoptosis, disruption of tear film stability, and delayed corneal repair, which suggests that long-term use of ophthalmic preparations containing BAC may aggravate ocular surface damage.

Objective To evaluate the consistency of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT), Digital Radiography (DR) and fat-suppression MRI in detecting occult knee joint injury. Method Clinical data from 150 patients with suspected occult knee injuries who presented to the Department of imaging at the General Hospital of Ordnance Industry between August 2022 and August 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent MSCT, DR, and fat-suppression MRI for diagnostic evaluation. Arthroscopic or surgical findings served as the gold standard. We analyzed and compared the detection rates of specific types of occult knee injuries (ligament, meniscus, occult fracture, etc.) across the three modalities, as well as their ability to assess the degree of collapse and horizontal displacement in patients with knee fractures, and their overall diagnostic performance. Result According to the gold standard, among the 150 patients with suspected occult knee injury, 103 tested positive and 47 negative. Statistically significant differences were observed among MSCT, DR, and fat-suppression MRI in detecting occult fractures(P<0.05). The detection rates ranked in descending order asfollows: fat-suppression MRI>MSCT>DR. However, no significant difference were found in the detection rates of joint effusion and patellar cartilage injuries among the three techniques (P>0.05). Statistically differences were also note among the three techniques in detecting the degree of collapse and horizontal displacement in patients with knee fractures (P<0.05). Specifically fat-suppression MRI identified a higher proportion of grade 1 and 2 lesions than both MSCT and DR. Statistically significant differences were observed among the three techniques in diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy for occult knee injuries (P<0.05). Fat-suppression MRI demonstrated superior sensitivity (99.03%) and accuracy (96.67%) compared with MSCT (75.73%, 79.33%) and DR (61.17%, 68.00%). However, no significant difference was found in diagnostic specificity among the three techniques (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with MSCT and DR, fat-suppression MRI offers higher diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy for occult knee injuries, particularly in identifying ligament injuries, meniscus injuries, and occult fractures.

Objective To evaluate the consistency of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT), Digital Radiography (DR) and fat-suppression MRI in detecting occult knee joint injury. Method Clinical data from 150 patients with suspected occult knee injuries who presented to the Department of imaging at the General Hospital of Ordnance Industry between August 2022 and August 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent MSCT, DR, and fat-suppression MRI for diagnostic evaluation. Arthroscopic or surgical findings served as the gold standard. We analyzed and compared the detection rates of specific types of occult knee injuries (ligament, meniscus, occult fracture, etc.) across the three modalities, as well as their ability to assess the degree of collapse and horizontal displacement in patients with knee fractures, and their overall diagnostic performance. Result According to the gold standard, among the 150 patients with suspected occult knee injury, 103 tested positive and 47 negative. Statistically significant differences were observed among MSCT, DR, and fat-suppression MRI in detecting occult fractures(P<0.05). The detection rates ranked in descending order asfollows: fat-suppression MRI>MSCT>DR. However, no significant difference were found in the detection rates of joint effusion and patellar cartilage injuries among the three techniques (P>0.05). Statistically differences were also note among the three techniques in detecting the degree of collapse and horizontal displacement in patients with knee fractures (P<0.05). Specifically fat-suppression MRI identified a higher proportion of grade 1 and 2 lesions than both MSCT and DR. Statistically significant differences were observed among the three techniques in diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy for occult knee injuries (P<0.05). Fat-suppression MRI demonstrated superior sensitivity (99.03%) and accuracy (96.67%) compared with MSCT (75.73%, 79.33%) and DR (61.17%, 68.00%). However, no significant difference was found in diagnostic specificity among the three techniques (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with MSCT and DR, fat-suppression MRI offers higher diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy for occult knee injuries, particularly in identifying ligament injuries, meniscus injuries, and occult fractures.

BACKGROUND:With the continuous advancement of medical technology,stem cell therapy has been used to treat a variety of diseases,including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. OBJECTIVE:To review the research progress of stem cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,and prospect the development trend of this field. METHODS:PubMed,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),and WanFang Data were searched for articles published from 1995 to 2024 using the key words"amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,mesenchymal stem cells,neural stem/progenitor cells,pluripotent stem cells."A total of more than 1 700 articles were retrieved,and 58 articles were finally included in this review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that affects lower motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord and upper motor neurons in the motor cortex.The related research of stem cells in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has become a research hotspot.In this review,we summarize the application of different types of stem cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research,including mesenchymal stem cells,neural stem progenitor cells,and induced pluripotent stem cells,and evaluate the key points of preclinical research such as stem cell source,cell volume,stem cell modification methods,and drug delivery routes,which lays the foundation for the future application of stem cell therapy.

Objective To study the compliance and influencing factors of inhalation therapy in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),and carry out patient education and management accordingly. Methods COPD patients were selected from respiratory clinic of Luodian Hospital of Baoshan District of Shanghai from June to December in 2021. Compliance and inhalation techniques were assessed with the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and the ten-step inhalation technique, and the factors influencing compliance were analyzed. Results A total of 58 outpatients with COPD were included, in which 25 cases (43.1%) with moderate or above compliance. Univariate analysis showed that the patients with course of disease ≥5 years, COPD assessment test(CAT)≥10 points, used 2 inhalation devices and inhalation technique score ≥8 points had better compliance when compared with other patients (P<0.05). Conclusion Patient education and management should be carried out actively. The patients with course of disease<5 years, CAT<10 points should be highly concerned. The inhalation devices should be chosen according to the patients' condition. Training on the use of devices should be strengthened and regularly follow-up evaluation should be carried out.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the mechanism by which Pulsatilla saponin D (PSD) inhibits invasion and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). METHODS: The public databases were used to identify the potential targets of PSD and the invasion and metastasis targets of TNBC to obtain the intersection targets between PSD and TNBC. The "PSD-target-disease" interaction network was constructed and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis was performed to obtain the core targets, which were analyzed for KEGG pathway and GO functional enrichment. Molecular docking study of the core targets and PSD was performed, and the therapeutic effect and mechanism of PSD were verified using Transwell assay and Western blotting in cultured TNBC cells. RESULTS: Network pharmacology analysis identified a total of 285 potential PSD targets and 26 drug-disease intersection core targets. GO analysis yielded 175 entries related to the binding of biomolecules (protein, DNA and RNA), enzyme activities, and regulation of gene transcription. KEGG analysis yielded 46 entries involving pathways in cancer, chemical carcinogenesis-receptor activation, microRNAs in cancer, chemical carcinogenesis-reactive oxygen species, PD-L1 expression and PD-1 checkpoint pathway in cancer. Molecular docking showed high binding affinities of PSD to MTOR, HDAC2, ABL1, CDK1, TLR4, TERT, PIK3R1, NFE2L2 and PTPN1. In cultured TNBC cells, treatment with PSD significantly inhibited cell invasion and migration and lowered the expressions of MMP2, MMP9, N-cadherin and the core proteins p-mTOR, ABL1, TERT, PTPN1, HDAC2, PIK3R1, CDK1, TLR4 as well as NFE2L2 expressionin the cell nuclei. CONCLUSIONS The inhibitory effects of PSD on TNBC invasion and metastasis are mediated by multiple targets and pathways.
Humans ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Saponins/pharmacology* ; Pulsatilla/chemistry* ; Female ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Cell Movement/drug effects*

OBJECTIVE: Based on the PTEN-induced hypothetical kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin pathway, the effect of acupuncture pretreatment on the expression of mitochondrial autophagy-related proteins in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of rats with exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) was observed, and the underlying mechanism of acupuncture pretreatment for the prevention and treatment of EIMD was explored. METHODS: Of 88 SD male rats, aged 6 weeks, 8 rats were randomly selected as a blank group, and the remaining 80 rats were randomized into a model group and an acupuncture pretreatment group, with 40 rats in each group. Either the model group or the acupuncture pretreatment group was subdivided randomly into 5 subgroups with 8 rats in each one according to the time points of sample collection, 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after modeling. An intermittent downhill running centrifugal exercise was carried out on an animal experimental treadmill to establish the EIMD model in the model group and the acupuncture pretreatment group. The rats in the acupuncture pretreatment group received acupuncture at "Guanyuan" (CV6) and bilateral "Zusanli" (ST36), once a day for 20 min each time, for 7 consecutive days before EIMD model preparation. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of gastrocnemius muscle tissue in each group. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in serum were detected by ELISA. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of PINK1, Parkin, sequestosome 1 (p62) and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3B (LC3B) in rat gastrocnemius muscle tissue. Real-time PCR was adopted to detect the mRNA expression of PINK1, Parkin, p62 and LC3B in rat gastrocnemius muscle tissue. RESULTS: Compared with the blank group, the mitochondria of gastrocnemius muscles showed obvious swelling in the 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h model subgroups , autophagosomes were formed in the 12 h and 24 h model subgroups, and the mitochondrial morphology returned to normal gradually in the 72 h model subgroup. The serum MDA contents of rats in 5 model subgroups increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). The contents of SOD and CAT in the subgroups of 0 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein and mRNA expression levels of PINK1, Parkin and LC3B in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of rats in 0 h, 12 h and 24 h subgroups were elevated (P<0.01); and the protein and mRNA expression levels of p62 in the 0 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h subgroups were reduced (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the model subgroup at the same time point, the myofibril damage and the degree of mitochondrial swelling were mild in each acupuncture pretreatment subgroup, and the numbers of autophagosomes were fewer. The contents of MDA in the acupuncture pretreatment subgroups decreased at 0 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h (P<0.05, P<0.01). The contents of SOD and CAT in the 12 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroup increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). The protein and mRNA expression levels of PINK1 and Parkin in the 0 h, 12 h, and 24 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroups decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05). The protein and mRNA expression levels of LC3B in the 12 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroup decreased (P<0.01), and that of p62 in the 0 h and 24 h acupuncture pretreatment subgroups increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION The intermittent downhill running centrifugal exercise induces the excessive mitochondrial autophagy. Acupuncture pretreatment may attenuate EIMD, and the underlying mechanism is related to the regulation of PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway expression, reducing oxidative stress damage in skeletal muscle cells, and inhibiting mitochondrial autophagy overactivation.
Animals ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases/genetics* ; Male ; Rats ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Mitophagy ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal/metabolism* ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Muscular Diseases/physiopathology* ; Signal Transduction