Post-stroke cognitive impairment(PSCI)is a prevalent functional impairments following stroke that seriously affects patients'quality of life and daily activities.Studies indicate a close relationship between intestinal microflora dysbiosis and central nervous system diseases.Intestinal microflora profoundly impacts on human physiological health,contributing to the stability of nervous,metabolic and immune systems through regulation of the gut-brain axis.An increasing number of studies confirmed the important role of the gut microbiome-gut-brain axis in the occurrence and development of stroke and its associated PSCI,and regulation of microbiome-gut-brain could be potential target to treatment of PSCI.This review summarizes research progress on gut microbiome-gut-brain axis and PSCI to provide a reference for exploration of related mechanisms and clinical prevention and treatment strategies.

Chronic lumbar and back pain caused by degenerative vertebral endplates presents a challenging issue for pa-tients and clinicians.As a new minimally invasive spinal treatment method,radiofrequency ablation of vertebral basal nerve in bone can denature the corresponding vertebral basal nerve through radiofrequency ablation of degenerative vertebral endplate.It blocks the nociceptive signal transmission of the vertebral base nerve,thereby alleviating the symptoms of low back pain caused by the degenerative vertebral endplate.At present,many foreign articles have reported the operation principle,opera-tion method,clinical efficacy and related complications of radiofrequency ablation of the vertebral basal nerve.The main pur-pose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current relevant research,and provide a reference for the follow-up clinical research.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of needle retaining after electroacupuncture combined with cognitive training and electroacupuncture combined with cognitive training in the treatment of post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). METHODS: A total of 206 patients with PSCI were randomized into a needle retaining group (103 cases, 9 cases dropped out) and an electroacupuncture group (103 cases, 6 cases dropped out). In addition to the conventional basic medical treatment and the rehabilitation treatment, in the needle retaining group, electroacupuncture at Shenting (GV 24) and Baihui (GV 20) was applied, with continuous wave of 50 Hz in the first 15 min and with disperse-dense wave of 2 Hz/50 Hz in the last 15 min, the needles were continuously retained for 1 h after electroacupuncture, during which cognitive training was adopted; in the electroacupuncture group, cognitive training was performed after the same electric stimulation exerted for 30 min, without additional needles retaining. The treatment was given once a day, 5 times a week for totally 8 weeks in the two groups. Before and after 8-week treatment, the TCM syndrome score was observed; before and after 4,8-week treatment, the scores of mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and ability of daily living were observed in the two groups. The clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated after 8-week treatment. RESULTS: After 8-week treatment, the TCM syndrome scores were increased compared with those before treatment in both groups (P<0.05); the TCM syndrome score in the needle retaining group was higher than that in the electroacupuncture group (P<0.05).After 4,8-week treatment, the scores of MMSE, MoCA and ability of daily living were increased compared with those before treatment in both groups (P<0.05); MMSE, MoCA scores after 4,8-week treatment and ability of daily living score after 8-week treatment in the needle retaining group were higher than those in the electroacupuncture group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 90.4% (85/94) in the needle retaining group, which was superior to 82.5% (80/97) in the electroacupuncture group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Both needle retaining after electroacupuncture combined with cognitive training and electroacupuncture combined with cognitive training can effectively treat PSCI, improve the clinical symptom, cognitive function and ability of daily living in PSCI patients. Needle retaining after electroacupuncture combined with cognitive training has a better therapeutic effect.
Humans ; Electroacupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Cognitive Training ; Acupuncture Points ; Cognitive Dysfunction/therapy* ; Stroke/complications* ; Treatment Outcome

Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) is a common reproductive endocrine disease in women of childbearing age. While it can be affected by a variety of factors,its pathophysiology remains unclear. Its clinical features mainly include anovulation,hyperandrogenism,and hyperinsulinemia,which are closely related with abnormal neuroendocrine system. Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis(HPG) plays a crucial regulatory role in various life activities in mammals. In particular,hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA) axis and hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary(HPO) axis can be abnormal in PCOS patients. The corresponding abnormalities include abnormal gonadotropin releasing hormone pulse frequency,increased luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone ratio,and excessive excretion of adrenal and ovarian androgens. Meanwhile,insulin and leptin also play key roles in endocrine dysfunction in PCOS patients. This article systematically reviews the role of HPA axis and HPO axis in the neuroendocrine dysfunction in PCOS patients.