Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with acupoint catgut embedding therapy on back-shu and front-mu points and external application on shenque(RN8)point for premature ovarian failure(POF).Methods A total of 62 patients with POF were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group,with 31 patients in each group.The observation group was treated with acupuncture combined with acupoint catgut embedding therapy on back-shu and front-mu points and external application on shenque point,and the control group was treated with hormone replacement therapy.After three months of treatment,the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated,and the changes in the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores,as well as the ovarian volume,number of antral follicle,and antral follicle diameter of the patients in the two groups before and after treatment were observed.The changes of serum follicle stimulating hormone(FSH),luteinizing hormone(LH)and estradiol(E2)levels before and after treatment were compared between the two groups.Results(1)The total effective rate was 93.55%(29/31)in the observation group and 80.64%(25/31)in the control group.The efficacy of the observation group was significantly superior to that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,the serum FSH,LH and E2 levels of patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P＜0.05),and the improvement in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).(3)After treatment,ovarian volume,number of antral follicle,and antral follicle diameter were significantly improved in the two groups(P＜0.05),and the improvement in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion The treatment of POF with acupuncture combined with acupoint catgut embedding therapy on back-shu and front-mu points and external application on shenque point can significantly improve the clinical symptoms of the patients,conducive to the recovery of ovarian function,and significantly improve the sex hormone levels of the patients,with precise clinical efficacy.

Humans ; Clinical Relevance ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Transcription Factors ; Neoplasm Proteins ; Antigens, CD ; GPI-Linked Proteins

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the difference of therapeutic effects on children with thalassemia at different age after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. METHODS: The clinical data of children with thalassemia treated in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The children were divided into 2-5 years old group and 6-12 years old group. The success rate of implantation, transplant-related mortality, GVHD incidence, and other transplant-related complications, as well as thalassemia-free survival (TFS) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The incidence of GVHD, hemorrhagic cystitis and severe oral mucositis after transplantation in the 2-5 years old group were significantly lower than those in the 6-12 years old group, while there was no statistically significant difference in the TFS between the two groups. CONCLUSION Children in the low age (2-5 years old) group show fewer complications and higher quality of life after transplantation, therefore, stem cell transplantation at 2-5 years old is more conducive to rehabilitation of the children with thalassemia.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Graft vs Host Disease/complications* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Thalassemia/therapy* ; beta-Thalassemia/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the quantitative expression of immunophenotype of CD34 METHODS: Multi-parameter flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect the proportion and mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of each antigen of bone marrow CD34 RESULTS: Bone marrow blast cell proportion (P<0.01), RBC level (P<0.01), and Hb level (P<0.05) of high-risk MDS patients were higher, while EPO level (P<0.05) was lower than those of low-risk patients. The proportion of CD34 CONCLUSION The immunophenotype of CD34
Antigens, CD34 ; Bone Marrow ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Objective:To discuss the efficacy of Bushen Huoxue decoction for recovery in patients with intra uterine adhesions （IUA） after trans cervical resection adhesions （TCRA） operation， and to investigate its effect on fibrosis factor. Method:The 110 patients were randomly divided into two groups by random number table （55 cases for control group and 55 cases for observation group）. The patients in both groups got TCRA， and after the operation， they got estradiol valerate tablets+progesterone capsules. The patients in control group additionally got Jinfengwan before meals， 10 g/time， 2 times/day. Patients in observation additionally got syndrome differentiation and treatment by Bushen Huoxuetang， 1 dose/day. The treatment course was 3 months in both groups， and 6 months' follow-up was recorded. Before and after treatment， menstrual volume， period and cycle were recorded. During the follow-up， pregnancy， ectopic pregnancy and abortion were also recorded. Endoscopy and vagina color Doppler ultrasound were conducted to detect endometrial thickness， uterine volume， resistance index （RI）， pulsation index （PI） and blood flow index （FI）. Scores of IUA and syndrome of kidney deficiency and blood stasis were graded. At the 6^th months after treatment， rate of intrauterine re-adhesion was recorded. Levels of transforming growth factor-β₁ （TGF-β₁）， connective tissue growth factor （CTGF）， matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor-1 （TIMP-1）， platelet-derived growth factor （PDGF）， insulin-like growth factor-1 （IGF-1） and matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9） were detected， and safety was evaluated. Result:Total effective rate of clinical efficacy was 96.36% （53/55） in observation group， higher than 83.64% （46/55） in control group （χ²=4.959， P<0.05）. Recovery rate of menstrual volume， period and cycle were 92.73% （51/55）， 90.91% （50/55）， and 94.55% （52/55） in observation group， higher than 72.73% （40/55）， 76.36% （42/55）， and 76.36% （42/55） in control group（χ²=7.698，χ²=4.245，χ²=7.313，P<0.05， P<0.01）. During the follow-up， rate of intrauterine re-adhesions was 23.64% （13/55） in observation group， lower than 43.64% （24/55） in control group （χ²=4.927，P<0.05）. Pregnancy rate was 45.45% （25/55）， higher than 25.45% （14/55） in control group（χ²=4.807，P<0.05）. Score of syndrome of kidney deficiency and blood stasis and IUA scores in observation group were lower than those in control group （P<0.01）. Endometrial thickness， uterine volume， and FI were higher than those in control group （P<0.01）. Levels of RI， PI， TGF-β₁， CTGF， PDGF， IGF-1 and TIMP-1 were lower than those in control group （P<0.01）， while level of MMP-9 was higher than that in control group （P<0.01）. No adverse reactions related to traditional Chinese medicine were found. Conclusion:Bushen Huoxue decoction can promote the recovery of menstruation， increase the thickness of endometrium， improve the blood circulation of uterus， regulate the expression of fibrogenic factors in vivo， prevent and treat intrauterine adhesions， reduce the rate of intrauterine re-adhesions， and improve the rate of pregnancy， with a good comprehensive effect and high safety for clinical use.

Background: With the publication of Sepsis-3 definition, epidemiological data based on Sepsis-3 definition from middle-income countries including China are scarce, which prohibits understanding of the disease burden of this newly defined syndrome in these settings. The purpose of this study was to describe incidence and outcome of Sepsis-3 in Yuetan sub-district of Beijing and to estimate the incidence rate of Sepsis-3 in China. Methods: The medical records of all adult residents hospitalized from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014 in Yuetan sub-district of Beijing were reviewed. Patients with sepsis-3 and severe sepsis/septic shock were identified. The incidence rates and mortality rate of sepsis-3 and sepsis/septic shock were calculated, incidence rates and in-hospital mortality rates were normalized to the population distribution in the 2010 National Census. Population incidence rate and case fatality rate between sexes were compared with the Z test, as the data conformed to Poisson distribution. Results: Of the 21,191 hospitalized patients, 935 patients were diagnosed with Sepsis-3, and 498 cases met severe sepsis/septic shock criteria. The crude annual incidence rate of Sepsis-3 in Yuetan sub-district was 363 cases per 100,000 population, corresponding to standardized incidence rates of 236 cases per 100,000 population per year, respectively. The overall case fatality rate of Sepsis-3 was 32.0%, the crude population mortality rates of Sepsis-3 was 116 cases per 100,000 population per year, the standardized mortality rate was 67 cases per 100,000 population per year, corresponding to a speculative extrapolation of 700,437 deaths in China. The incidence rate and mortality rate of Sepsis-3 were significantly higher in males, elderly people, and patients with more comorbidities. The 62.1% of patients with Sepsis-3 had community-acquired infections, compared with 75.3% of infected patients without Sepsis-3 (P < 0.001). The most common infection in patients with Sepsis-3 was lower respiratory tract infection. When compared with patients with Sepsis-3, patients diagnosed as severe sepsis/septic shock were more likely to have higher case fatality rate (53.4% vs. 32.0%, P < 0.001) Conclusions: This study found the standardized incidence rate of 236 cases per 100,000 person-year for Sepsis-3, which was more common in males and elderly population. This corresponded to about 2.5 million new cases of Sepsis-3 per year, resulting in more than 700,000 deaths in China. Clinical trial registration NCT02285257, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT02285257.

BackgroundA beneficial memory effect of acute fornix deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been reported in clinical studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute changes in glucose metabolism induced by fornix DBS.

MethodsFirst, the Morris water maze test and novel object recognition memory test were used to confirm declined memory in aged mice (C57BL/6, 20-22 months old). Then, four groups of mice were used as follows: aged mice with stimulation (n = 12), aged mice with sham-stimulation (n = 8), adult mice (3-4 months old) with stimulation (n = 12), and adult mice with sham-stimulation (n = 8). Ipsilateral hippocampal glucose metabolism and glutamate levels were measured in vivo by microdialysis before, during, and after fornix DBS treatment. Histological staining was used to verify the localization of electrodes and mice with inaccurate placement were excluded from subsequent analyses. The effects of fornix DBS on extracellular glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and glutamate levels over time were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance followed by Fisher's least significant difference post hoc test.

ResultsThe aged mice had a higher basal lactate/pyruvate ratio (LPR) and lactate/glucose ratio (LGR) than the adult mice (LPR: 0.34 ± 0.04 vs. 0.13 ± 0.02, t = 4.626, P < 0.0001; LGR: 6.06 ± 0.59 vs. 4.14 ± 0.36, t = 2.823, P < 0.01). Fornix DBS decreased the ipsilateral hippocampal pyruvate and lactate levels (P < 0.05), but the glucose levels were not obviously changed in aged mice. Similarly, the LGR and LPR also decreased in aged mice after fornix DBS treatment (P < 0.05). Glucose metabolism in adult mice was not significantly influenced by fornix DBS. In addition, fornix DBS significantly decreased the ipsilateral hippocampal extracellular levels of glutamate in aged mice (P < 0.05), while significant alterations were not found in the adult mice.

ConclusionsThe present study provides experimental evidence that fornix DBS could significantly improve hippocampal glucose metabolism in aged mice by promoting cellular aerobic respiration activity.

OBJECTIVEThis study aimed to investigate the expression and correlation of secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1) and β-catenin in gingival tissues of patients with chronic periodontitis (CP). The role of the classical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the development of periodontitis was also explored.

METHODSTwenty-eight patients with CP (CP group) were enrolled in this study. Among them, 16 cases were moderate CP, and 12 demonstrated severe CP. Twelve healthy cases comprised the controls (normal group). Gingival tissue was collected, and the probing depth, bleeding index, and clinical attachment loss were recorded. The expression levels of SFRP1 and β-catenin were detected by immunohistochemistry, and staining intensity was evaluated by double scoring method. SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTSThe staining strength scores of SFRP1 and β-catenin were 2.16±0.65 and 1.12±0.51 in the normal group, 3.57±0.45 and 2.36±0.49 in the CP group, 3.61±0.40 and 2.30±0.44 in the moderate CP group, and 3.52±0.52 and 2.45±0.55 in the severe CP group, respectively. The expression of SFRP1 and β-catenin in the CP group was higher than that in the normal group (P<0.01). A significant difference was noted between the normal group and the moderate and severe CP groups (P<0.01) but none between the moderate and severe CP groups (P>0.05). A positive correlation was found between the expression of SFRP1 and β-catenin (r=0.657, P<0.01). The expression levels of β-catenin and SFRP1 were related to periodontal indexes. The correlation between the expression of SFRP1 and probing depth was most significant (r=0.723, P<0.01), as well as that between β-catenin and bleeding index (r=0.697, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSPatients with CP exhibit elevated expression of SFRP1 and β-catenin in gingival tissues, and this event is related to the degree of periodontal destruction. Abnormal expression of SFRP1 and β-catenin may promote the development of periodontitis.

OBJECTIVEShellfish are recognized as important vehicles of norovirus-associated gastroenteritis. The present study aimed to monitor norovirus contamination in oysters along the farm-to-fork continuum in Guangxi, a major oyster production area in Southwestern China.

METHODSOyster samples were collected monthly from farms, markets, and restaurants, from January to December 2016. Norovirus was detected and quantified by one-step reverse transcription-droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-ddPCR).

RESULTSA total of 480 oyster samples were collected and tested for norovirus genogroups I and II. Norovirus was detected in 20.7% of samples, with genogroup II predominating. No significant difference was observed in norovirus prevalence among different sampling sites. The norovirus levels varied widely, with a geometric mean of 19,300 copies/g in digestive glands. Both norovirus prevalence and viral loads showed obvious seasonality, with a strong winter bias.

CONCLUSIONThis study provides a systematic analysis of norovirus contamination 'from the farm to the fork' in Guangxi. RT-ddPCR can be a useful tool for detection and quantification of low amounts of norovirus in the presence of inhibitors found particularly in foodstuffs. This approach will contribute to the development of strategies for controlling and reducing the risk of human illness resulting from shellfish consumption.