Based on the pathogenesis of erectile dysfunction (ED) from the meridian-zangfu relationship and the "brain-heart-kidney-essence chamber" axis, it proposes that dysfunction of the "brain-heart-kidney-essence chamber" axis is closely related to the occurrence of ED. Among these, brain-heart disharmony is the key pathogenic factor, kidney deficiency and essence depletion constitute an important basis, and essence chamber stasis is a critical mechanism. The treatment approach emphasizes harmonizing the brain and heart, regulating the mind, tonifying the kidney and replenishing qi, unblocking qi and blood to harmonize the essence chamber. The primary acupoints include Baihui (GV20)-Neiguan (PC6)-Shenmen (HT7), Taixi (KI3)-Guanyuan (CV4)-Sanyinjiao (SP6), and Zhongji (CV3)-Dahe (KI12)-Gongsun (SP4), with additional acupoints selected based on syndrome differentiation. This approach aims to restore the clarity of the brain and heart, replenish kidney qi, and unblock the essence chamber, thereby facilitating the restoration of normal functions of the brain, heart, kidney, and essence chamber, and alleviating ED symptoms and improving overall clinical efficacy.
Humans ; Male ; Meridians ; Erectile Dysfunction/physiopathology* ; Kidney/physiopathology* ; Brain/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Acupuncture Points ; Heart/physiopathology*

Research on IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), an autoimmune condition recognized to be a unique disease entity only two decades ago, has processed from describing patients' symptoms and signs to summarizing its critical pathological features, and further to investigating key pathogenic mechanisms. Challenges in gaining a better understanding of the disease, however, stem from its relative rarity-potentially attributed to underrecognition-and the absence of ideal experimental animal models. Recently, with the development of various high-throughput techniques, "omics" studies at different levels (particularly the single-cell omics) have shown promise in providing detailed molecular features of IgG4-RD. While, the application of omics approaches in IgG4-RD is still at an early stage. In this paper, we review the current progress of omics research in IgG4-RD and discuss the value of machine learning methods in analyzing the data with high dimensionality.
Humans ; Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease/metabolism* ; Immunoglobulin G/metabolism* ; Machine Learning ; Animals ; Proteomics/methods*

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of artemisinin （ART） on histopathological damage and salivary secretion in the submandibular gland （SMG） of mice with Sjögren's syndrome （SS） model，and on the expression of aquaporin 5 （AQP5） in SMG cells. MethodsThe NOD/Ltj mice were used as a model of SS and randomly divided into the SS model group，the ART group，and the hydroxychloroquine sulfate （HCQ） group，with six mice per group. Another 6 female BALB/c mice at the same week were selected as the control group. Mice in the ART group was fed with the ART solution daily in the dosage of 50 mg·kg^-1，and mice in the HCQ group was given with the HCQ solution （1 300 mg·kg^-1）. Mice in the SS model and control groups were given saline daily. The treatment lasted for 8 weeks. The 24-hour average water intake，salivary flow rate，SMG pathology scores of mice in each group were measured，as well as the expression levels of AQP5 protein and gene in the SMG tissues. ResultsCompared with the control group，the 24-hour average water intake of mice in the model group was significantly increased （P<0.01），and the saliva flow rate was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Compared to the SS model group，the 24-hour average water intake of mice in the ART and HCQ groups was significantly reduced （P<0.01），and the salivary flow rate was significantly increased in the ART group（P<0.01），comparisons between groups showed that the ART was superior to the HCQ in reducing water intake and improving saliva flow rate in SS model mice （P<0.05）. The HE staining results showed that，compared with the normal group，the number of lymphocyte infiltration foci in SMG tissue in the model group increased，and the pathological score increased （P<0.01）. Compared to the SS model group，after the intervention of the ART and HCQ，the number of lymphocytic infiltration foci in the SMG tissue decreased，the area of the lymphocytic infiltration foci was reduced，and the pathology score of the SMG tissues was lowered in the ART group（P<0.01）. However，there was no difference in pathological scores between the ART and HCQ groups . The results of IHC，Western blot，and Real-time PCR showed that，compared with the normal group，the expression levels of AQP5 protein and gene in SMG tissue in the model group significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Comparing with the SS model group，the ART and HCQ groups could significantly up-regulated the expression levels of AQP5 protein and mRNA in the SMG tissue，and the treatment effect was better than that of HCQ. ConclusionART was able to ameliorate SMG structural damage and salivary secretion function in SS model mice，and its mechanism of action may be related to the up-regulation of AQP5 protein and gene expression levels in SMG cells.

Objective:To investigate the current status of the implementation of home-based phototherapy (HBPT) in patients with vitiligo, and to analyze management needs among patients receiving HBPT.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted on the application of HBPT among patients with vitiligo who visited the outpatient clinic of the Hospital for Skin Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from December 2021 to November 2022. Additionally, the popularization and usage of HBPT as well as needs of patient management were investigated and analyzed in these vitiligo patients.Results:A total of 496 valid questionnaires were collected from 496 patients with vitiligo (241 males [48.5%] and 255 females [51.5%]) . Their ages at visit ranged from 2 to 67 (30.87 ± 12.36) years. The most commonly affected sites were the head and face (52.2%) , followed by hair (32.1%) , hands and feet (31.4%) , trunk (30.2%) , limbs (24.3%) , neck (19.5%) , and perineum (9.9%) . Among the participants, 320 (64.5%) were currently using or had used HBPT, and 352 (70.8%) expressed a willingness to learn more about HBPT usage guidelines and health education. Regarding the repigmentation outcomes after HBPT: among 312 patients, 54 (17.3%) reported complete recovery, 64 (20.5%) were markedly improved, 142 (45.5%) experienced improvement, and 52 (16.7%) showed no response. Adverse reactions occurred in 223 patients (71.5%) , of whom 28 (9.0%) experienced severe adverse reactions. The most desired guiding information was the adjustment method for phototherapy dosage and treatment duration (184/352, 52.3%) ; the most effective way to receive health education information was through verbal education by medical staff (177/352, 50.3%) .Conclusion:For vitiligo patients who were willing to accept and use HBPT, the most desired guiding information was the adjustment method for phototherapy dosage and treatment duration, and verbal health education by medical staff appeared to be the main way to obtain health education information.

Objective:To investigate the application and clinical efficacy of customized, 3D-printed femoral bone marrow stems in the revision of tumor prostheses.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed for the data of 11 patients (7 males and 4 females) aged 53.1±11.7 years (range, 38-75 years), who underwent 3D-printed customized revision of femoral intramedullary stems due to loosening of femoral tumor prostheses at the 960th Hospital of the Joint Support Force of the PLA from June 2021 to June 2023. The pathological types of tumors associated with the initial surgeries included 4 cases of giant cell tumor of bone, 5 cases of osteosarcoma, 1 case of chondrosarcoma, and 1 case of plasma cell tumor. The tumor was located at the distal femur in 8 cases and the proximal femur in 3 cases. The procedures included 3 initial revisions, 7 secondary revisions, and 1 tertiary revision. The average limb shortening measured 4.6±2.2 cm (range, 2.5-9.0 cm). Prior to revision, all prostheses were fixed with bone cement, revealing enlargement of the femoral medullary cavity and cortical bone thinning. Among them, 5 cases had intramedullary stems permeabilizing the femoral cortex, and 1 case had femoral cleavage fractures. All 11 patients received personalized data for the design and 3D printing of femoral bone marrow stems.Results:The lengths and diameters of the 3D-printed porous femoral bone marrow stems ranged from 80 to 160 mm and 20 to 22 mm, respectively. Ten patients were fitted with cylindrical intramedullary handles, while one received a conical intramedullary handle. A successful revision with the 3D-printed stems was achieved in 10 patients; however, 1 case failed to accommodate the conical handle and was instead revised with a bone cement prosthesis. During the implantation of the intramedullary stems, three patients experienced minor cortical splitting, which was managed with bundling and fixation during the procedure. Immediate stability was attained for all prostheses during surgery, yet postoperative limb shortening did not undergo significant correction. All patients exhibited normal healing of their postoperative incisions. The visual analog scale for limb pain decreased significantly from 8.0±0.8 points before surgery to 1.0±0.4 points three months postoperatively ( t=25.957, P<0.001). By six months after the surgery, none of the patients reported any limb pain. Follow-up data for all 11 patients indicated an average follow-up duration of 25.2±7.5 months (range, 16-36 months), during which limb function improved satisfactorily. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score increased from 7.9±1.4 points preoperatively to 20.9±2.7 points at the last follow-up, with this change also being statistically significant ( t=14.229, P<0.001). Imaging evaluations revealed normal lower limb force lines, no rotation or longitudinal displacement of the prosthetic stem, and successful integration with the femur. Conclusion:Personalized intramedullary stems produced through 3D printing demonstrate significant clinical effectiveness in femoral tumor prosthesis revision surgery, making them a viable option for such procedures.

Objective:To investigate the clinical manifestations, treatment, and outcomes of Barth syndrome (BTHS).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 21 pediatric patients diagnosed with BTHS between January 2010 and December 2023 at Beijing Children′s Hospital, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, and Beijing JingDu Children′s Hospital. Clinical data including gender, age at onset, initial symptoms, clinical manifestations, personal history, family genetic history, and laboratory tests (neutrophil count, echocardiography, electrocardiogram and genetic testing) were reviewed.Results:All the 21 patients were male, with the age of onset at 4.1 (1.1, 9.3) months. Main clinical manifestations included heart failure (18 cases), neutropenia (16 cases), respiratory symptoms (15 cases), 3-methylpentenediuria (7 cases),develop retardation (8 cases), gastrointestinal symptoms (7 cases), fatigue and anorexia (6 cases), and recurrent infection (2 cases). Electrocardiogram abnormalities included ST changes (18 cases), flattened T wave and low voltage of limb leads (2 cases), and abnormal Q waves in lead Ⅰ and avL (1 case). Echocardiographic features showed increased trabeculation, interventricular septum and left ventricular wall thickening, and left ventricular enlargement with reduced ejection fraction. Genetic testing identified TAZ gene variations in all 21 patients: 11 missense mutations, 2 nonsense mutations, 2 frameshift mutations, 2 whole code mutations, 2 exon deletions, 1 splicing mutation, and 1 synonymous mutation. Fifteen mutations were maternally inherited, 2 were de novo, and 4 lacked verified variant origin.In terms of treatment, all 18 patients with heart failure received routine heart failure treatment, of whom 11 patients also received intravenous immunoglobulin and corticosteroids. After the follow-up of 91.0 (75.5, 109.5) months, 15 of the 18 patients showed restoration of cardiac function after 4.5 (3.0, 9.8) months of treatment, with one case of significant improvement, while 2 cases suddenly died.Conclusions:BTHS predominantly affects males with early onset, mainly characterized by abnormal cardiac structure and function, along with clinical features including fatigue, delayed growth and development, and neutropenia. Early diagnosis and intervention, including heart failure treatment, intravenous immunoglobulin, and corticosteroids, can lead to significant improvement in cardiac function, though sudden death remains a risk.

Objective:To explore the application value of deep learning reconstruction(DLR)of magnetic resonance(MR)on the image quality and lesion diagnostic efficacy of three-dimensional liver acceleration volume acquisition(3D-LAVA)sequences.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the image data of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)of 45 patients who underwent MR contrast-enhanced examinations on abdomen at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from June 2023 to September 2023.For the venous phase of the LAVA sequence,conventional reconstruction and DLR were performed respectively to obtain conventional LAVA images and DLR-LAVA images at the venous phase.Two radiologists conducted subjective evaluation for the overall image quality,image clarity,artifacts,and diagnostic confidence of the two groups of images by using a 5-point scale.And then,the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)of the images of liver,spleen,and lesion,as well as the contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR)of the liver,spleen to fat,muscle,and lesions were objectively evaluated.The two radiologists measured respectively the maximum and minimum diameters of the largest layer of the largest lesion,and compared the diagnostic efficacy of conventional LAVA and DLR-LAVA for lesions.The diagnostic efficacies of conventional LAVA and DLR-LAVA were respectively assessed by using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results:The consistency of the two radiologists'subjective evaluations for the image quality of the conventional LAVA and DLR-LAVA sequences was moderate and above moderate,with Kappa values ranging from 0.553 to 0.902,and P<0.001.Both radiologists found that the subjective image quality,image clarity,artifacts,and diagnostic confidence of the DLR-LAVA sequence were higher than those of the conventional LAVA sequence(Z Physician 1=4.24,5.49,3.50,4.47,Z Physician 2=4.15,3.12,3.77,4.26,P<0.05).The SNR values of the liver,spleen,and lesions in the DLR-LAVA images were all higher than those in the conventional LAVA sequence(t=-20.45,-18.58,-5.51,P<0.001).The CNR values between liver and fat,between liver and muscle,between liver and spleen,between spleen and fat,between spleen and muscle,and between lesion and liver in DLR-LAVA sequence were higher than those in the conventional LAVA sequence(t=-20.49,-19.94,-18.05,-16.74,P<0.001).There were no statistically significant differences in the measured values of the maximum and minimum diameters of the largest lesions between the conventional LAVA and DLR-LAVA sequences(P>0.05).The area under curve(AUC)values of physician 1 who used respectively the conventional LAVA and DLR-LAVA sequences were 0.897 and 0.916 in diagnosing lesions,while those of physician 2 were respectively 0.851 and 0.890.Conclusion:DLR can improve the image quality of the LAVA sequence for liver,and has a higher diagnostic value for lesions.

The complement component 4 binding protein alpha(C4BPA)gene is the alpha chain of complement binding protein 4.As a plasma protein involved in the complement and coagulation systems,it can influence immune responses and lipid metabolism.In order to study the polymor-phism of C4BPA gene and its correlation with milk quality traits in Chinese Holstein cows,genom-ic DNA was extracted from blood samples of 92 Chinese Holstein cows,and the target fragment of C4BPA gene was amplified by PCR,and the association analysis was performed by using direct se-quencing to obtain the SNP loci and milk quality traits.The results showed that among the four SNPs found at the third intron of the C4BPA gene,I3-11 G＞A was highly significantly correlated with milk protein and urea nitrogen(P＜0.05),I3-291 T＞G was significantly correlated with lac-tose(P＜0.05),I3-374 C＞T was highly significantly correlated with lactose and urea nitrogen(P＜0.05),and I3-375 T＞G was highly significantly correlated with lactose(P＜0.05),milk pro-tein and urea nitrogen.The chi-square test values for each point indicated that the population was in genetic equilibrium.Individuals of haplotype combination H1 H1 had the highest lactose content,and haplotype combination H1H2 can be used as the best haplotype combination in the molecular selection work of dairy cows.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of different urinary diversions,specifically exploring whether the flap embedding technique can improve bladder cancer patients'quality of life and reduce the incidence of related complications.Methods 63 bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy with urinary diver-sion,between December 2022 and December 2023,were divided into three groups:Ileal conduit group(n=21),flap embedding technique group(n=21),and traditional cutaneous ureterostomy group(n=21).General clini-cal data,surgical data,preoperative and postoperative renal function indicators,incidence of complications within 6 months postoperatively,and quality of life scores were compared among the groups.Results The operative time in the ileal conduit group was longer than that in the other two groups(P<0.05).The quality of life scores in the flap embedding technique group were superior to those in the traditional cutaneous ureterostomy group(P<0.05),but no significant difference was found compared to the ileal conduit group(P>0.05).In terms of postoperative complications,the incidence of intestinal obstruction in the flap embedding technique group was lower than that in the ileal conduit group(P<0.05),and the rate of reinsertion of a single-J stent for hydronephrosis in the flap embedding technique group was lower than that in the traditional cutaneous ureterostomy group(P<0.05).Postop-erative serum creatinine levels in the traditional cutaneous ureterostomy group were significantly higher than preop-erative levels(P<0.05),while no significant differences in renal function indicators were observed in the other two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion The flap embedding technique significantly improves patients'quality of life and reduces the incidence of postoperative complications.It is worthy of further promotion in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Despite some studies identifying a potential association between obesity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk, previous research had overlooked the dynamic nature of body weight over time, leading to inconsistent findings. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the relationship between adult weight change and COPD risk by adjusting for potential confounding factors. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis using data from ten NHANES cycles (1999-2018), including adults aged 40-74 years. Weight change patterns were assessed using BMI at three time points and classified into five categories per period. Absolute weight change was also grouped into five levels. Multivariate logistic regression models, incorporating sampling weights, were used to examine associations between weight change and COPD, adjusting for demographic and lifestyle covariates. RESULTS: Compared with participants who maintained normal weight, stable obesity participants had increased risk of COPD from age 25 years to 10 years before the survey (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.15 to 1.83), in the 10 years period before the survey (OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.47 to 2.08), and from age 25 years to survey (OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.46 to 2.31). Three periods indicate that weight gain in adulthood was associated with risk of COPD. In addition, substantial weight gain of more than 20 kg was associated with a higher risk of COPD. In stratified analyses, we also observed a more significant association between weight change and the risk of COPD in never smokers compared to former smokers. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggested that stable obesity and weight gain in adulthood were associated with an increased risk of COPD compared to those who maintain a normal weight, and that the association between weight gain and the incidence of COPD appears closer in patients who have never smoked.
Humans ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/etiology* ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Weight Gain ; Obesity/complications* ; Risk Factors ; United States/epidemiology* ; Nutrition Surveys ; Body Mass Index