OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of pachymic acid on renal injury in pregnancy induced hypertension （PIH） rats by regulating the silent information regulator transcript 1/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α （Sirt1/PGC-1α） pathway. METHODS Pregnant SD rats were prepared by co-caging and PIH model was induced using N-nitro-L- arginine methyl ester （L-NAME） method. PIH rats were randomly divided into model group， L-pachymic acid （low-dose pachymic acid， 10 mg/kg） group， H-pachymic acid （high-dose pachymic acid， 20 mg/kg） group， and H-pachymic acid+EX527 （20 mg/kg pachymic acid+10 mg/kg EX527） group， with 6 rats in each group. Another 6 normal pregnant rats were selected as blank group. Each group was given relevant medicine or solvent intragastrically or intraperitoneally daily， once a day， for 28 consecutive days. After the last administration， 24 h urinary protein and tail artery systolic blood pressure （SBP） were measured in pregnant rats from each group， along with the levels of serum creatinine （Scr）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN），uric acid （UA）， and cystatin C （Cys-C）. The contents of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px）， and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine （8-OHdG） in renal tissue， as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of Sirt1 and PGC-1α， were also determined. Meanwhile， renal histopathological changes in rats from each group were evaluated using hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and periodic acid-Schiff （PAS） staining. RESULTS Compared with model group， L-pachymic acid group and H-pachymic acid group exhibited significant decreases in 24 h urine protein quantification， tail artery SBP， Scr， BUN， UA， Cys-C levels， glomerulosclerosis index score of renal tissue， renal tubular injury score， the percentage of PAS positive area， MDA and 8-OHdG （P＜0.05）. Conversely， the contents of SOD and GSH-Px， along with the mRNA and protein expression levels of Sirt1 and PGC-1α， were significantly increased （P＜0.05）. Moreover， these improvements were more pronounced in H-pachymic acid group （P＜0.05）. Compared with H-pachymic acid group， the aforementioned indicators in pregnant rats from the H-pachymic acid+EX527 group showed significant reversal （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Pachymic acid significantly ameliorates renal injury induced by PIH in rats， potentially through activation of the Sirt1/PGC-1α pathway.

Neurocritical care involves complex pathophysiological mechanisms, and its incidence is higher, injuries are more severe, and treatment is more challenging in high-altitude environments. This consensus, based on the latest domestic and international evidence-based medical data, establishes a standardized, goal-oriented framework for neurocritical care management applicable in high-altitude regions and nationwide. The consensus was developed following international standards for evidence quality assessment and underwent two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, resulting in 32 recommendation statements covering three parts: management systems, monitoring and assessment, and core strategies. Key updates include: advocating for the establishment of independent neurocritical care units and implementing precise tiered diagnosis and treatment based on the "Five Differences in Critical Care" concept; constructing a "trinity" multimodal brain monitoring system centered on cerebral blood flow, cerebral oxygenation, and brain function, emphasizing routine bedside transcranial Doppler ultrasound, cerebral oximetry, and continuous electroencephalography monitoring; shifting management strategies from mild hypothermia therapy to targeted temperature management, and defining the "446" target management pathway for the supercritical stage; emphasizing the assessment of static and dynamic cerebrovascular autoregulation functions through multimodal methods to achieve individualized optimal mean arterial pressure management; elevating cerebrospinal fluid management goals to the level of "glymphatic system" function maintenance; implementing a multidisciplinary collaborative, whole-process management model focusing on patients' long-term neurological functional outcomes; de-escalation criteria include multidimensional indicators such as recovery of brain structure, restoration of cerebrovascular autoregulation, improvement in cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, and reduction in biomarker levels; and integrating cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence into post-critical care management and rehabilitation planning. This consensus systematically integrates the entire process of neurocritical care management, reflecting the modern connotation of goal-oriented, dynamic, and multimodal integration in neurocritical care medicine. It aims to adapt to new trends such as deepening understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms, the integration of medicine and engineering, and the empowerment of artificial intelligence, thereby further advancing the discipline of critical care medicine.

Objective To explore the feasibility of using high-definition thoracoscopy to identify sympathetic ganglia during thoracic sympathicotomy for primary palmar hyperhidrosis. Methods The clinical data of patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis who underwent high-definition thoracoscopic sympathicotomy in Taikang Xianlin Drum Tower Hospital from June to July 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Intraoperative visualization rates and anatomical variations of sympathetic ganglia were recorded, and the consistency between white-light thoracoscopy and near-infrared fluorescence imaging was compared. Additionally, surgical videos from previous fluorescence-guided procedures were reviewed. Results Finally 100 patients were collected, including 54 females and 46 males, with an average age of (21.92±6.56) years. All patients underwent endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy at R3 level. The overall intraoperative ganglion visualization rate was 92.5% (740/800), with G2-G5 rates of 95.5% (191/200), 94.0% (188/200), 94.0% (188/200), and 86.5% (173/200), respectively. Ganglion variations occurred in 32.0% (237/740), predominantly at G3 (29.8%) and G4 (42.6%). In 5 indocyanine green-enhanced patients, the concordance rate between white-light and near-infrared fluorescence imaging was 100.0% (38/38). Video analysis of 14 near-infrared fluorescence-guided surgeries demonstrated a 99.1% (107/108) consistency rate. Postoperative palmar hyperhidrosis improvement reached 100.0% (100/100) with no Horner’s syndrome. Conclusion With the wide clinical application of high-definition thoracoscopy, accurate thoracic sympathicotomy has the feasibility of clinical application.

ObjectiveTo explore effect of the ankle soft robotic exosuits (ASRE) on gait function in stroke patients. MethodsDatabases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP were searched for researches evaluating the impact of ASRE on gait function in stroke patients with hemiplegia, covering the period from January 1st, 2020 to May 1st, 2025. The PEDro scale and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool were used to assess the quality of the included researches, and data were extracted for a scoping review. ResultsA total of twelve researches were finally included, consisting of three randomized controlled trials (RCT), three cross-over controlled trials and six pre-post controlled trials, which came from three countries of China, the United States and South Korea, involving 256 patients. The three RCT were rated as high-quality, while the remaining researches were presented moderate to serious risk of bias. Five researches employed a single-session intervention; and seven used multiple-session intervention, with 30 to 60 minutes a session, two to five sessions a week, for five to 20 sessions. ASRE was effective on walking speed, walking distance, propulsive force of the hemiplegic side, gait parameters and spatiotemporal symmetry, joint range of motion, as well as the scores of scales related to lower limb motor function, balance and gait, with favorable safety and reliability. ConclusionASRE may improve the gait function in stroke patients.

ObjectiveTo unveil the mechanism of Jianpi Huogu prescription （JPHGP） in ameliorating the dyslipidemia of steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femur head （SONFH） by oxylipidomics combined with transcriptomics. MethodsSixty SD rats were assigned into normal， model， low-， medium-， and high-dose （2.5， 5， 10 g·kg^-1， respectively） JPHGP， and Jiangushengwan （1.53 g·kg^-1） groups. Lipopolysaccharide was injected into the tail vein at a dose of 20 μg·kg^-1 on days 1 and 2， and methylprednisolone sodium succinate was injected at a dose of 40 mg·kg^-1 into the buttock muscle on days 3 to 5. The normal group received an equal volume of normal saline. Drug administration by gavage began 4 weeks after the last injection， and samples were taken after administration for 8 weeks. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was conducted to reveal the histopathological changes of the femoral head， and the number of adipocytes， the rate of empty bone lacunae， and the trabecular area were calculated. Micro-computed tomography was used for revealing the histological and histomorphometrical changes of the femoral head. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the serum levels of triglyceride （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， low-density lipoprotein （LDL）， high-density lipoprotein （HDL）， apolipoprotein A1 （ApoA1）， and apolipoprotein B （ApoB）. At the same time， the femoral head was collected for oxylipidomic and transcriptomic detection. The differential metabolites and differential genes were enriched and analyzed， and the target genes regulating lipid metabolism were predicted. The predicted target proteins were further verified by molecular docking， immunohistochemistry， and Western blot. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group showcased thinning of the femoral head， trabecular fracture， karyopyknosis， subchondral cystic degeneration， increases in the number of adipocytes and the rate of empty bone lacunae （P<0.01）， a reduction in the trabecular area （P<0.01）， decreases in BMD， Tb.Th， Tb.N， and BV/TV， and increases in Tb.Sp and BS/BV （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the JPHGP groups showed no obvious thinning of the femoral head or subchondroidal cystic degeneration. The high- and medium-dose JPHGP groups presented declines in the number of adipocytes and the rate of empty bone lacunae， an increase in the trabecular area （P<0.05， P<0.01）， rises in BMD， Tb.Th， Tb.N， and BV/TV， and decreases in Tb.Sp and BS/BV （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the normal group， the model group showcased raised serum levels of TG， TC， LDL， and ApoB and lowered serum levels of HDL and ApoA1 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the JPHGP groups had lowered serum levels of TG， TC， LDL， and ApoB （P<0.05， P<0.01） and a risen serum level of ApoA1 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Moreover， the serum level of HDL in the high-dose JPHGP group increased （P<0.01）. A total of 19 different metabolites of disease set and drug set were screened out by oxylipidomics of the femoral head， and 119 core genes with restored expression were detected by transcriptomics. The enriched pathways were mainly concentrated in inflammation， lipids， apoptosis， and osteoclast differentiation. Molecular docking， immunohistochemistry， and Western blot results showed that compared with the normal group， the model group displayed increased content of 5-lipoxygenase （5-LO） and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ （PPARγ） in the femoral head （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， medium- and high-dose JPHGP reduced the content of 5-LO and PPARγ （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionJPHGP can restore the levels of oxidized lipid metabolites by regulating the 5-LO-PPARγ axis to treat SONFH in rats. Relevant studies provide experimental evidence for the efficacy mechanism of JPHGP in the treatment of SONFH.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its effect on gut microbiota. METHODS: A total of 62 MCI patients were randomly divided into an experimental group (31 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a control group (31 cases). Both groups received exercise and cognitive training. In addition, the experimental group underwent acupuncture treatment at acupoints including Baihui (GV20), Sishencong (EX-HN1), and bilateral Fengchi (GB20), Xuanzhong (GB39), Zusanli (ST36), Yanglao (SI6), Xinshu (BL15), and etc., once every other day, three times per week, for a total of 12 weeks. Before and after treatment, the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores were evaluated in the two groups, changes in gut microbiota were detected using 16S rDNA sequencing technology. The clinical efficacy was assessed after treatment. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, MoCA and MMSE scores were increased in both groups after treatment (P<0.001), with higher scores in the experimental group than those in the control group (P<0.001, P<0.05). After treatment, the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium, Clostridia, and Ruminococcaceae was increased in the experimental group compared with that before treatment (P<0.05). Moreover, the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 82.8% (24/29) in the experimental group, which was higher than 61.3% (19/31) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture could improve cognitive dysfunction in patients with MCI, and its mechanism may be related to increasing the relative abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria such as Faecalibacterium, Clostridia, and Ruminococcaceae, maintaining the intestinal barrier, and inhibiting related inflammatory responses.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Cognitive Dysfunction/psychology* ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Points ; Treatment Outcome ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cognition

Testicular histology based on testicular biopsy is an important factor for determining appropriate testicular sperm extraction surgery and predicting sperm retrieval outcomes in patients with azoospermia. Therefore, we developed a deep learning (DL) model to establish the associations between testicular grayscale ultrasound images and testicular histology. We retrospectively included two-dimensional testicular grayscale ultrasound from patients with azoospermia (353 men with 4357 images between July 2017 and December 2021 in The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China) to develop a DL model. We obtained testicular histology during conventional testicular sperm extraction. Our DL model was trained based on ultrasound images or fusion data (ultrasound images fused with the corresponding testicular volume) to distinguish spermatozoa presence in pathology (SPP) and spermatozoa absence in pathology (SAP) and to classify maturation arrest (MA) and Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) in patients with SAP. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were used to analyze model performance. DL based on images achieved an AUC of 0.922 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.908-0.935), a sensitivity of 80.9%, a specificity of 84.6%, and an accuracy of 83.5% in predicting SPP (including normal spermatogenesis and hypospermatogenesis) and SAP (including MA and SCOS). In the identification of SCOS and MA, DL on fusion data yielded better diagnostic performance with an AUC of 0.979 (95% CI: 0.969-0.989), a sensitivity of 89.7%, a specificity of 97.1%, and an accuracy of 92.1%. Our study provides a noninvasive method to predict testicular histology for patients with azoospermia, which would avoid unnecessary testicular biopsy.
Humans ; Male ; Azoospermia/diagnostic imaging* ; Deep Learning ; Testis/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Ultrasonography/methods* ; Sperm Retrieval ; Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome/diagnostic imaging*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differential efficacy and safety profiles of oral mucosa (OM) grafts compared with acellular dermal matrix (ADM) grafts in the surgical management of long-segment urethral strictures. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 27 patients who underwent graft urethroplasty for long-segment urethral strictures in Peking University First Hospital, spanning from May 2010 to September 2023. The patient cohort comprised 14 individuals who received OM grafts and 13 who underwent ADM grafts. The participants were stratified into two groups based on the type of grafts material utilized during surgery. The demographic and clinical baseline characteristics included an average age of (43.3±14.0) years in the OM group and (54.2±15.9) years in the ADM group. The mean body mass index (BMI) for the respective groups were (24.7±4.3) kg/m² for OM and (25.4±4.8) kg/m² for ADM. Etiological differences were noted, with idiopathic causes predominantly in the OM cohort and lichen sclerosus in the ADM cohort. RESULTS: The surgical interventions were successfully executed for all the patients. The median stricture length was 4.5 (2.5, 9.0) cm for the OM group and 5.0 (2.0, 14.0) cm for the ADM group (P=0.555). The median operative duration was 160 (71, 221) min for the OM group and 134 (112, 274) min for the ADM group (P=0.065). The catheterization durations was 1.5 (1.0, 6.0) months for the OM group and 3.0 (1.0, 3.0) months for the ADM group. The median postoperative follow-up duration was 12.5 (1.0, 170.0) months for the OM group and 59.0 (3.0, 142.0) months for the ADM group. The surgical success rates were 50.00% in the OM group and 53.85% in the ADM group. No statistically significant differences were observed in postoperative quality of life (QoL) or international prostate symptom score (IPSS) at the final follow-up. The stricture-free survival rates did not differ significantly (HR=0.875, 95%CI: 0.507-1.511, P=0.6). In terms of safety, three patients in the OM group experienced sexual dysfunction, and two had oral complications, whereas the ADM group had one case of postoperative infection. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that ADM grafts are comparable to OM grafts in terms of efficacy and safety for the treatment of long-segment urethral strictures, including complex cases attributed to lichen sclerosus. However, given the small sample size of this study, the above conclusions may have certain limitations. Larger cohort studies will be needed in the future to further validate these findings.
Humans ; Urethral Stricture/surgery* ; Acellular Dermis ; Mouth Mucosa/transplantation* ; Retrospective Studies ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Skin Transplantation/methods* ; Aged

BACKGROUND: Quantitative flow ratio (QFR) holds significant value in guiding drug-coated balloon (DCB) treatment and enhancing outcomes. However, the predictive capability of post-angioplasty QFR for long-term clinical events in patients with de novo lesions who receive DCB treatment remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to explore the potential significance of post-angioplasty QFR measurements in predicting clinical outcomes in patients underwent DCB treatment for de novo lesions. METHODS: Patients who underwent DCB-only intervention for de novo lesions were enrolled. QFR was conducted after DCB treatment. The patients were then categorized based on post-angioplasty QFR. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), encompassing all-cause death, cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and target vessel revascularization. RESULTS: A total of 553 patients with 561 lesions were included. The median follow-up period was 505 days, during which 66 (11.8%) MACEs occurred. Based on post-procedural QFR grouping, there were 259 cases in the high QFR group (QFR > 0.93) and 302 cases in the low QFR group (QFR ≤ 0.93). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significantly higher cumulative incidence of MACE in the low QFR group (log-rank P = 0.004). The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model demonstrated a significant inverse correlation between QFR and the occurrence of MACEs (HR = 0.522, 95%CI: 0.289-0.942, P = 0.031). Landmark analysis indicated that high QFR had a significant reducing effect on the cumulative incidence of MACEs within 1 year (log-rank P = 0.016) and 1-5 years (log-rank P = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS In patients who underwent DCB-only treatment for de novo lesions, higher post-procedural QFR values (> 0.93) were identified as an independent protective factor against adverse prognosis.