OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupuncture on the neurotransmitter levels and gut microbiota in a mouse model of Tourette syndrome (TS). METHODS: Thirty-six male C57/BL6 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups using a random number table method: 3,3'-iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) group, control group, acupuncture group, and tiapride group, with 9 mice in each group. In the IDPN group, acupuncture group, and tiapride group, mice received daily intraperitoneal injections of IDPN (300 mg/kg body weight) for 7 consecutive days to induce stereotyped behaviors. Subsequently, in the acupuncture intervention group, standardized acupuncture treatment was administered for 14 consecutive days to IDPN-induced TS model mice. The selected acupoints included Baihui (DU 20), Yintang (DU 29), Waiguan (SJ 5), and Zulinqi (GB 41). In the tiapride group, mice were administered tiapride (50 mg/kg body weight) via oral gavage daily for 14 consecutive days. The control group, IDPN group, and acupuncture group received the same volume of saline orally for 14 consecutive days. Stereotypic behaviors were quantified through behavioral assessments. Neurotransmitter levels, including dopamine (DA), glutamate (Glu), and aspartate (ASP) in striatal tissue were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Dopamine transporter (DAT) expression levels were additionally quantified through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Gut microbial composition was analyzed through 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, while metabolic profiling was conducted using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). RESULTS: Acupuncture administration significantly attenuated stereotypic behaviors, concurrently reducing striatal levels of DA, Glu and ASP concentrations while upregulating DAT expression compared with untreated TS controls (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Comparative analysis identified significant differences in Muribaculaceae (P=0.001), Oscillospiraceae (P=0.049), Desulfovibrionaceae (P=0.001), and Marinifilaceae (P=0.014) following acupuncture intervention. Metabolomic profiling revealed alterations in 7 metabolites and 18 metabolic pathways when compared to the TS mice, which involved various amino acid metabolisms associated with DA, Glu, and ASP. CONCLUSIONS Acupuncture demonstrates significant modulatory effects on both central neurotransmitter systems and gut microbial ecology, thereby highlighting its dual therapeutic potential for TS management through gut-brain axis regulation.
Animals ; Tourette Syndrome/metabolism* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Neurotransmitter Agents/metabolism* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice

Infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells in the synovial tissue of rheumatoid arthritis(RA)promotes vascu-lar neovascularisation and the formation of aggressive pannus,which ultimately lead to bone erosion and cartilage destruction,causing irreversible damage to the joints.Numerous studies have demonstrated the role of proangiogenic factors such as growth factors,adhesion factors,angiopoietin 2,matrix metalloproteinas-es,and macrophage migration inhibitory factors in stimulating vascular opacification formation during RA progression.In re-cent years,a variety of traditional Chinese medicines have dem-onstrated inhibitory effects on the formation of pannus.In this paper,we elucidate the mechanism of pro-angiogenic factors in RA and review the latest research results on traditional Chinese medicines that inhibit the formation of pannus through the above mechanisms,so as to provide more research ideas for the treat-ment of RA.

Infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells in the synovial tissue of rheumatoid arthritis(RA)promotes vascu-lar neovascularisation and the formation of aggressive pannus,which ultimately lead to bone erosion and cartilage destruction,causing irreversible damage to the joints.Numerous studies have demonstrated the role of proangiogenic factors such as growth factors,adhesion factors,angiopoietin 2,matrix metalloproteinas-es,and macrophage migration inhibitory factors in stimulating vascular opacification formation during RA progression.In re-cent years,a variety of traditional Chinese medicines have dem-onstrated inhibitory effects on the formation of pannus.In this paper,we elucidate the mechanism of pro-angiogenic factors in RA and review the latest research results on traditional Chinese medicines that inhibit the formation of pannus through the above mechanisms,so as to provide more research ideas for the treat-ment of RA.

Objective To explore the clinical effect of percutaneous pedicle screw anchored vertebral augmentation(PP-SAVA)in the treatment of asymptomatic Kümmell disease without neurological symptoms.Methods The clinical data of 20 patients with Kümmell disease without neurological symptoms treated with PPSAVA in our hospital from January 2019 to De-cember 2021 were analyzed retrospectively,including 5 males and 15 females,aged 56 to 88(74.95±9.93)years old.and the course of disease was 7 to 60 days with an average of(21.35±14.46)days.All patients were treated with PPSAVA.The time of operation,the amount of bone cement injected and the leakage of bone cement were recorded.The visual analogue scale(VAS),Oswestry disability index(ODI),vertebral body angle(VBA),anterior edge height and midline height of vertebral body were compared among the before operation,3 days after operation and during the final follow-up.The loosening and displace-ment of bone cement were observed during the final follow-up.Results All the 20 patients completed the operation successfully.The operation time was 30 to 56 min with an average of(41.15±7.65)min,and the amount of bone cement injection was 6.0 to 12.0 ml with an average of(9.30±1.49)ml.Bone cement leakage occurred in 6 cases and there were no obvious clinical symp-toms.The follow-up time was 6 to 12 months with an average of(8.43±2.82)months.The VBA,anterior edge height and mid-line height of of injured vertebral body were significantly improved 3 days after operation and the final follow-up(P＜0.05),and the VBA,anterior edge height and midline height of of injured vertebral body were lost in different degrees at the final follow-up(P＜0.05).The VAS and ODI at 3 days after operation and at the final follow-up were significantly lower than those at preopera-tively(P＜0.05),but the VAS score and ODI at the final follow-up were not significantly different from those at 3 d after opera-tion(P＞0.05).At the last follow-up,no patients showed loosening or displacement of bone cement.Conclusion PPSAVA is highly effective in treating Kümmell disease without neurological symptoms,improving patients'pain and functional impair-ment,and reducing the risk of cement loosening and displacement postoperatively.

This umbrella review aimed to summarize and provide a general evaluation of the effectiveness of current treatments for male infertility and assess the quality of evidence and possible biases. An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses available in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, covering studies published up to October 2023, was conducted. Sperm concentration, morphology, and motility were used as endpoints to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments. Of 2998 studies, 18 published meta-analyses were extracted, yielding 90 summary effects on sperm concentration ( n = 36), sperm morphology ( n = 26), and sperm motility ( n = 28) on 28 interventions. None of the meta-analyses were classified as having low methodological quality, whereas 12 (66.7%) and 6 (33.3%) had high and moderate quality, respectively. Of the 90 summary effects, none were rated high-evidence quality, whereas 53.3% ( n = 48), 25.6% ( n = 23), and 21.1% ( n = 19) were rated moderate, low, and very low, respectively. Significant improvements in sperm concentration, morphology, and motility were observed with pharmacological interventions (N-acetyl-cysteine, antioxidant therapy, aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators, hormones, supplements, and alpha-lipoic acid) and nonpharmacological interventions (varicocele repair and redo varicocelectomy). In addition, vitamin supplementation had no significant positive effects on sperm concentration, motility, or morphology. Treatments for male infertility are increasingly diverse; however, the current evidence is poor because of the limited number of patients. Further well-designed studies on single treatment and high-quality meta-analysis of intertreatment comparisons are recommended.
Humans ; Male ; Antioxidants/therapeutic use* ; Infertility, Male/therapy* ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Systematic Reviews as Topic

This research is to predict anti-Alzheimer's disease active constituents on the target of acetylcholinesterase(AChE) from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma with the help of pharmacophore and molecular docking. AChE ligand-based pharmacophore model was set up and the molecular library of the constituents from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma were established by collecting literature. Then the constituents from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma were screen for the potential AChE inhibitory potency in silico through matching with the best pharmacophore model. The flexible docking was used to evaluate the interactions between compounds screened from pharmacophore model and AChE protein(PDB ID:4 EY7). The interactions were expressed including but not limited to CDOCKER interaction energy, hydrogen bonds and non-bonding interactions. The molecular library of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma contains 44 chemical constituents. As for the pharmacophore model, six kinds of potential AChE inhibitory constituents from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma were considered to be the promising compounds according to the results of searching 3 D database of pharmacophore model. The molecular docking was possessed and the interaction patterns were given to show the detail interactions. The compounds screening from the pharmacophore model were consistent with the existing studies to some degree, indicating that the virtual screen protocols of AChE inhibitory constituents from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma based on pharmacophore and molecular docking was reliable.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Glycyrrhiza ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Rhizome ; Triterpenes

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of T-SPOT.TB for tuberculous lymphadenitis. Methods Suspected tuberculous lymphadenitis patients between September 2010 and September 2018 who had both peripheral blood T-SPOT.TB test and lymph node biopsy were retrospectively enrolled in this study. The cutoff value of T-SPOT.TB test for peripheral blood was set as 24 spot forming cell (SFC)/10 ⁶ periphreral blood monocyte cell (PBMC) according to the instruction of testing kits. The gold standard for diagnosis of TBL was the combination of microbiology results, histopathology results and patient's response to anti-TB treatment. Diagnostic efficacy of T-SPOT.TB was evaluated, including sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, predictive values, and likelihood ratio. Results Among 91 patients who met the inclusion criteria, we excluded 8 cases with incomplete clinical information and 6 cases who lost to follow-up. According to the gold standard, there were 37 cases of true TBL (9 confirmed TBL and 28 probable TBL), 30 cases of non-TBL, and 10 cases of clinically indeterminate diagnosis who were excluded from the final analyses. The T-SPOT.TB tests yielded 43 cases of positive response and 24 cases of negative response. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) of peripheral blood T-SPOT.TB for diagnosing TBL were 89.2%, 66.7%, 79.1%, 76.7%, 83.3%, 2.68 and 0.16, respectively. The number of SFCs of T-SPOT.TB in TBL patients [432(134-1264)/10 ⁶ PBMCs] was higher than that in non-TBL patients [0 (0-30) /10 ⁶PBMCs] with a significant difference (Z=-5.306, P <0.001). Conclusion T-SPOT.TB is a rapid and simple diagnostic test for TBL with a high sensitivity and negative predictive value.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma Release Tests ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/physiology* ; T-Lymphocytes/immunology* ; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node/diagnosis* ; Young Adult

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of Guidezilla TM guide extension catheter in retrograde technique for chronic total occlusion (CTO) recanalization. Methods We retrospectively collected 119 CTO cases from the 2nd Cardiology Department of Guangdong General Hospital who had received retrograde percutaneous coronary intervention( PCI). The Guidezilla TMguide extension catheters were applied in 39 cases from October 2015 to November 2016. 80 CTO cases without using the Guidezilla TMguide extension catheter during PCI admitted between January 2015 and October 2015 were collected as the control. Results The overal success rate of the 2 group was 84.0%. The group using the Guidezilla TMguide extension catheter had a higher success rate(100% vs.76.2%,P<0.05).The baseline clinical characteristics of the two groups showed no statistical diff erence. In terms of CTO crossing diffi culty by J-CTO score, patient in the Guidezilla TMguide extension catheter group had higher percentage of diffi cult lesions(35.9% vs.15.0%,P<0.001)and very difficult lesions(61.5% vs.32.5%,P<0.001).Patients in the Guidezilla TMguide extension catheter group had more longer lesions(89.7% vs.72.5%,P=0.035),blunt proximal occlusion(53.8% vs.32.5%,P=0.030)and tortuosity lesions(84.6% vs.63.8%,P=0.020). More cases in the control group needed a second operation(63.8% vs.25.6%,P<0.001)and more ostial/bifurcation lesions(62.5% vs.30.8%,P=0.002).All cases had no target vessel revascularization or in-hospital death. Conclusions Guidezilla TMguide extension catheter is convenient and safe for complicated CTO retrograde PCI.

Objective To compare the clinical effect of nasal intubation with domestic video intubationscope and Macintosh direct laryngoscope. Methods One hundred patients scheduled for oro-maxillo-facial operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade I or II, aged 19 ~ 67 years, were randomly divided into the domestic video intubationscope group (group V) and the Macintosh direct laryngoscope group (group M), with 50 cases in each group. Nasal intubation was respectively performed with domestic video intubationscope (Group V) and Macintosh direct laryngoscope (group M). Cormark-Lehane grade (C-L classification), tracheal intubation time, first-time intubation success rate and tracheal intubation complications were recorded.Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) of before induction of anesthesia (T0), after induction of anesthesia (T1), at glottic exposure (T2), at intubation (T3), 1 min after intubation (T4) and 3 min after intubation (T5) were recorded. Results C-L classification in group V was significantly lower than that in group M (P < 0.05), intubation time in group V was significantly shorter than that in group M (P < 0.05), first-time intubation success rate in group V was significantly higher than that in group M (P < 0.05). Compared with T1, MAP was significantly higher at T3~ T4and HR was significantly faster at T3in group V, MAP was significantly higher at T2~ T4and HR was significantly faster at T2~ T3in group M (P < 0.05). Compared with group M, MAP and HR in group V were significantly lower at T2~ T4 (P < 0.05). The incidence of tracheal intubation complications in group V was significantly lower than that in group M (P < 0.05). Conclusions Compared with Macintosh direct laryngoscope,domestic video intubationscope in nasal intubation is better in glottic exposure,it could shorten tracheal intubation time ,increase first-time intubation success rate, maintain stable hemodynamics, has fewer tracheal intubation complications and is worthy of clinical application.

OBJECTIVETo explore the association of the androgenic receptor (AR) CAG repeats with the risks of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa).

METHODSWe searched the major databases at home and abroad for the literature addressing the correlation of the AR gene CAG repeats with BPH and PCa. Based on the results of heterogeneity tests, we used the M-H fixed effect model and random effect model to pool the odds ratio (OR) effect size. We evaluated publication bias by Begg and Egger bias analysis, investigated the association of CAG repeats with the risks of BPH and PCa by systematic review, and stratified their relationship according to the races of the patients.

RESULTSBased on the selection criteria, 4 of the 29 identified studies were included, with 485 cases of BPH, 767 cases of PCa, and 709 controls. There was no heterogeneity between the BPH and control groups, and no correlation between short CAG repeats and BPH after pooling the odds ratio (OR) effect size. Heterogeneity was found among the BPH, PCa and control groups. Random effects model suggested an association of short CAG repeats with the risk of PCa (OR(PCa/control) = 1.45, OR(PCa/BPH) = 1.86, OR(PCa/(BPH + control)) = 1.66), while subgroup analysis with racial stratification indicated inter-ethnic differences between the two. Begg and Egger bias analysis showed no significant publication bias.

CONCLUSIONShorter CAG repeats are positively correlated with the risk of PCa but not with that of BPH.

Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; genetics ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; genetics ; Receptors, Androgen ; genetics ; Trinucleotide Repeats