Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a central neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive decline and memory impairment in clinical. Currently, there are no effective treatments for AD. In recent years, a variety of therapeutic approaches from different perspectives have been explored to treat AD. Although the drug therapies targeted at the clearance of amyloid β-protein (Aβ) had made a breakthrough in clinical trials, there were associated with adverse events. Neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the onset and progression of AD. Continuous neuroinflammatory was considered to be the third major pathological feature of AD, which could promote the formation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. At the same time, these toxic substances could accelerate the development of neuroinflammation, form a vicious cycle, and exacerbate disease progression. Reducing neuroinflammation could break the feedback loop pattern between neuroinflammation, Aβ plaque deposition and Tau tangles, which might be an effective therapeutic strategy for treating AD. Traditional Chinese herbs such as Polygonum multiflorum and Curcuma were utilized in the treatment of AD due to their ability to mitigate neuroinflammation. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and indomethacin had been shown to reduce the level of inflammasomes in the body, and taking these drugs was associated with a low incidence of AD. Biosynthetic nanomaterials loaded with oxytocin were demonstrated to have the capability to anti-inflammatory and penetrate the blood-brain barrier effectively, and they played an anti-inflammatory role via sustained-releasing oxytocin in the brain. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells could reduce neuroinflammation and inhibit the activation of microglia. The secretion of mesenchymal stem cells could not only improve neuroinflammation, but also exert a multi-target comprehensive therapeutic effect, making it potentially more suitable for the treatment of AD. Enhancing the level of TREM2 in microglial cells using gene editing technologies, or application of TREM2 antibodies such as Ab-T1, hT2AB could improve microglial cell function and reduce the level of neuroinflammation, which might be a potential treatment for AD. Probiotic therapy, fecal flora transplantation, antibiotic therapy, and dietary intervention could reshape the composition of the gut microbiota and alleviate neuroinflammation through the gut-brain axis. However, the drugs of sodium oligomannose remain controversial. Both exercise intervention and electromagnetic intervention had the potential to attenuate neuroinflammation, thereby delaying AD process. This article focuses on the role of drug therapy, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, gut microbiota therapy, exercise intervention, and brain stimulation in improving neuroinflammation in recent years, aiming to provide a novel insight for the treatment of AD by intervening neuroinflammation in the future.

BACKGROUND:The reasonable implantation range of femoral prosthesis in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in patients with osteoporosis has not been investigated,and previous studies have often been based on unicompartmental knee arthroplasty models in normal bone,with fewer mechanical studies in models with non-normal bone.Complications after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty have been shown to be highly associated with osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the biomechanical effects of the coronal inclination of the Sled fixed platform femoral prosthesis on unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in patients with osteoporosis and to find the correlation between osteoporosis and mid-and long-term complications after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. METHODS:Based on the digital imaging technology to obtain the data of the knee joint and prosthesis,a normal bone knee model is then created by using specialized software such as Mimics and Geomagic studio.Based on a validated normal bone knee model,an osteoporotic knee model was created by changing the material parameters.Totally 14 unicompartmental knee arthroplasty finite element models were created using Sled fixed platform femoral prosthesis:standard position(0°),varus and valgus angles:3°,6°,9° in the normal bone and osteoporosis groups.Stress changes on the surface of polyethylene liner,cancellous bone under tibial prosthesis,and cortical bone were calculated and analyzed in all unicompartmental knee arthroplasty models. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)In the osteoporotic models,the high stress values of the polyethylene liner surface and the cancellous bone under the tibial prosthesis increased with the increase of the tilt angle of the femoral prosthesis,and the high stress values of the cortical bone surface under the tibial prosthesis increased with the increase of the prosthesis valgus angles and decreased with the increase of the varus angles.(2)For the polyethylene liner surface as well as the subcortical bone surface of the tibial prosthesis,the high stress values of the models for each inclination angle in the osteoporosis group were greater than those of the corresponding models in the normal bone group.For the surface of the cancellous bone under the tibial prosthesis,the high stress values of the tilt angle models of the osteoporosis groups were smaller than those of the normal bone groups.(3)Osteoporosis may cause biomechanical abnormalities in the internal structures of the knee after unicondylar replacement,increasing the potential risk of postoperative aseptic loosening of the prosthesis and periprosthetic fractures.Varus and valgus of the femoral prosthesis in the coronal plane should be avoided as much as possible when performing medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty with a Sled fixation platform in osteoporotic knees.

BACKGROUND:Chondrocyte apoptosis is an important factor in the development of osteoarthritis,and Complanatoside A has a flavonoid effect,which can inhibit apoptosis of various cells,but its effect on chondrocyte apoptosis and the mechanism of action are not clear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the intrinsic association and mechanism of Complanatoside A in chondrocyte apoptosis based on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. METHODS:(1)The cartilage tissues of the femur and tibia transected during knee arthroplasty were collected,and chondrocytes were isolated,cultured in vitro,and identified.(2)Cell counting kit-8 was used to detect the optimal intervention concentration of Complanatoside A in the concentration range of 0-160 μmol/L.(3)Chondrocytes were divided into blank group,sodium nitroprusside(1.5 mmol/L)-induced group,and sodium nitroprusside(1.5 mmol/L)+Complanatoside A(5 μmol/L)group.The viability and apoptosis rate of the cells in each group were detected by cell counting kit-8 and flow cytometry.The expression of type Ⅱ collagen and SOX9 was detected by immunofluorescence staining.The expression of apoptosis-related proteins and Wnt/β-catenin pathway proteins was detected by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The cells extracted in vitro were cultured and stained,and were clearly identified as chondrocytes.Complanatoside A had no obvious cytotoxicity to chondrocytes in the concentration range of 0-80 μmol/L,and significantly improved the chondrocyte viability in the concentration range of 2.5-10 μmol/L,especially when the concentration was 5 μmol/L.The apoptotic rate of chondrocytes was higher in the sodium nitroprusside-induced group than the blank control group,while the apoptotic rate was lower in the sodium nitroprusside+Complanatoside A group than the sodium nitroprusside-induced group.The fluorescence intensity of type Ⅱ collagen and SOX9 in chondrocytes was weaker in the sodium nitroprusside-induced group than the blank control group,while the fluorescence intensity of type Ⅱ collagen and SOX9 in the sodium nitroprusside+Complanatoside A group was higher than that of the sodium nitroprusside-induced group.In the sodium nitroprusside-induced group,the protein expression of Bax,Caspase-3,matrix metalloproteinase 13,Wnt3a,Wnt5a and β-catenin was higher than that of the blank control group,while the protein expression of Bcl-2 was lower than that of the blank control group.In the sodium nitroprusside+Complanatoside A group,except for the protein expression of Bcl-2 which was higher than that of the sodium nitroprusside-induced group,the expression of the other aforementioned proteins was lower than that of the sodium nitroprusside-induced group.To conclude,Complanatoside A has a certain inhibitory effect on chondrocyte apoptosis,which could regulate apoptosis-related proteins and promote the expression of chondrocyte regulatory factors,and presumably might play a role through inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo explore the distribution pattern of tongue image characteristics in patients with glucolipid metabolic disorders and its main syndromes. MethodsA total of 841 patients with glucolipid metabolic disorders （disease group）， and 380 healthy subjects （control group） were included. The disease group was classified into three syndrome types： 283 cases of liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome， 311 cases of phlegm-dampness obstruction syndrome， and 247 cases of qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome. Tongue image data were collected using the TFDA-1 Tongue Diagnosis Instrument， and the TDAS V3.0 software was used to analyze the color， texture， and morphological features of the tongue body （TB） and tongue coating （TC） in patents with different syndromes of disease group （including lightness （L）， red-green axis （a）， yellow-blue axis （b）， luminance （Y）， difference between red signal and brightness （Cr）， difference between blue signal and brightness （Cb）， contrast （CON）， angular second moment （ASM）， entropy （ENT）， mean value （MEAN）， tongue coating area/tongue surface area （perAll）， and tongue coating area/non-coated area （perPart））. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify influencing factors for different syndrome types of glucolipid metabolic disorders. ResultsThe tongue body indicators TB-L， TB-Y， and TB-Cb in the disease group were significantly higher than those in the control group， while TB-a， TB-b， and TB-Cr were significantly lower. The tongue coating indicators TC-L， TC-Y， TC-Cb， perAll， and perPart in the disease group were significantly higher than those in the control group， while TC-a， TC-b， and TC-Cr were significantly lower （P＜0.05）. Comparing with the different syndromes in disease group， the TB-L and TB-Y of the liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome， and the phlegm-damp obstruction syndrome were higher than those of the qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome； the TB-a and TB-Cr of the phlegm-damp obstruction syndrome were lower than those of the qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome； the perAll of the phlegm-damp obstruction syndrome was higher than that of the qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome （P＜0.05）. In the analysis of the morphological characteristics of tongue signs， more spotted tongue in disease group compared with control group， more teeth-marked tongue in liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome than the other two syndromes， more greasy coating in phlegm-damp obstruction syndrome， and more stasis spots of tongue in qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome （P＜0.05）. Logistic regression analysis identified that greasy coating， spotted tongue， stasis spots of tongue， tooth-marked tongue， perAll， and TB-Cb are the influencing factors of liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome； greasy coating， tooth-marked tongue， TC-Cb， and TC-Cr are the influencing factors of phlegm-damp obstruction syndrome； cracked tongue， stasis spots of tongue， tooth-marked tongue， and TB-Y are the influencing factors of qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome （P＜0.05）. ConclusionCompared to healthy individuals， patients with glycolipid metabolic disorder have darker tongue color and thicker， greasy tongue coating. Glycolipid metabolic disorder patients of liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome exhibit a reddish tongue with finer textures and more tooth marks； patients of phlegm-damp obstruction syndrome have lighter tongue coating with a coarser texture and a higher prevalence of greasy coating； patients of qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome display lower tongue brightness with a higher prevalence of blood stasis spots.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a congenital malformation resulting from abnormal embryonic development of the heart and great vessels, accounting for approximately 25% of all congenital malformations. Children with CHD are often complicated by short stature. Although surgical treatment can improve their growth and development to a certain extent, some children still experience growth retardation after surgery. Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is the main drug for treating short stature, but its efficacy and safety in the treatment of patients with concomitant CHD warrant further investigation. This article reports six cases of children with CHD and short stature who were treated with rhGH. Through a literature review, we summarize and discuss the therapeutic efficacy, follow-up experiences, and adverse reactions of rhGH treatment, aiming to provide references for clinicians in applying rhGH to treat patients with CHD and short stature.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and abundant infiltration of non-malignant lymphocytes, which renders patients potentially suitable candidates for immune checkpoint blockade therapies. Palate, lung, and nasal epithelium clone (PLUNC) inhibit the growth of NPC cells and enhance cellular apoptosis and differentiation. Currently, the relationship between PLUNC (as a tumor-suppressor) and PD-L1 in NPC is unclear. Methods: We collected clinical samples of NPC to verify the relationship between PLUNC and PD-L1. PLUNC plasmid was transfected into NPC cells, and the variation of PD-L1 was verified by western blot and immunofluorescence. In NPC cells, we verified the relationship of PD-L1, activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), and β-catenin by western blot and immunofluorescence. Later, we further verified that PLUNC regulates PD-L1 through β-catenin. Finally, the effect of PLUNC on β-catenin was verified by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Results: We found that PLUNC expression was lower in NPC tissues than in paracancer tissues. PD-L1 expression was opposite to that of PLUNC. Western blot and immunofluorescence showed that β-catenin could upregulate ATF3 and PD-L1, while PLUNC could downregulate ATF3/PD-L1 by inhibiting the expression of β-catenin. PLUNC inhibits the entry of β-catenin into the nucleus. Co-IP experiments demonstrated that PLUNC inhibited the interaction of DEAD-box helicase 17 (DDX17) and β-catenin. Conclusions PLUNC downregulates the expression of PD-L1 by inhibiting the interaction of DDX17/β-catenin in NPC.

Background: s/Aims: Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy (DPS) is a common surgical procedure for pancreatic body cancer.However, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) utilizing the Warshaw technique (WT) in malignancies is generally not favored due to concerns about inadequate resection. This study aims to assess the feasibility and oncologic outcomes of employing SPDP with WT in pancreatic body cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing 21 SPDP patients with 63 DPS patients matched by propensity score from January 2018 to November 2022. Clinical outcomes and follow-up data were analyzed using R. Results: Both groups exhibited similar demographic, intraoperative, and pathological characteristics, with the exception of a reduced number of total lymph nodes (p = 0.006) in the SPDP group. There were no significant differences in the rates of postoperative complications, recurrence, or metastasis. Local recurrence predominantly occurred in the central region as opposed to the spleen region.There were no cases of isolated recurrences in the splenic region. Median overall survival and recurrence-free survival times were 51.5 months for SPDP vs 30.5 months for DPS and 18.7 months vs 16.8 months, respectively (p > 0.05). The incidence of partial splenic infarction and left-side portal hypertension in the SPDP group was 28.6% (6/21) and 9.5% (2/21), respectively, without necessitating splenic abscess puncture, splenectomy, or causing bleeding from perigastric varices. Conclusions SPDP did not negatively impact local recurrence or survival rates in selected pancreatic body cancer patients. Further studies are necessary for validation.

Background: s/Aims: Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy (DPS) is a common surgical procedure for pancreatic body cancer.However, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) utilizing the Warshaw technique (WT) in malignancies is generally not favored due to concerns about inadequate resection. This study aims to assess the feasibility and oncologic outcomes of employing SPDP with WT in pancreatic body cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing 21 SPDP patients with 63 DPS patients matched by propensity score from January 2018 to November 2022. Clinical outcomes and follow-up data were analyzed using R. Results: Both groups exhibited similar demographic, intraoperative, and pathological characteristics, with the exception of a reduced number of total lymph nodes (p = 0.006) in the SPDP group. There were no significant differences in the rates of postoperative complications, recurrence, or metastasis. Local recurrence predominantly occurred in the central region as opposed to the spleen region.There were no cases of isolated recurrences in the splenic region. Median overall survival and recurrence-free survival times were 51.5 months for SPDP vs 30.5 months for DPS and 18.7 months vs 16.8 months, respectively (p > 0.05). The incidence of partial splenic infarction and left-side portal hypertension in the SPDP group was 28.6% (6/21) and 9.5% (2/21), respectively, without necessitating splenic abscess puncture, splenectomy, or causing bleeding from perigastric varices. Conclusions SPDP did not negatively impact local recurrence or survival rates in selected pancreatic body cancer patients. Further studies are necessary for validation.

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is characterized by high programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression and abundant infiltration of non-malignant lymphocytes, which renders patients potentially suitable candidates for immune checkpoint blockade therapies. Palate, lung, and nasal epithelium clone (PLUNC) inhibit the growth of NPC cells and enhance cellular apoptosis and differentiation. Currently, the relationship between PLUNC (as a tumor-suppressor) and PD-L1 in NPC is unclear. Methods: We collected clinical samples of NPC to verify the relationship between PLUNC and PD-L1. PLUNC plasmid was transfected into NPC cells, and the variation of PD-L1 was verified by western blot and immunofluorescence. In NPC cells, we verified the relationship of PD-L1, activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), and β-catenin by western blot and immunofluorescence. Later, we further verified that PLUNC regulates PD-L1 through β-catenin. Finally, the effect of PLUNC on β-catenin was verified by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP). Results: We found that PLUNC expression was lower in NPC tissues than in paracancer tissues. PD-L1 expression was opposite to that of PLUNC. Western blot and immunofluorescence showed that β-catenin could upregulate ATF3 and PD-L1, while PLUNC could downregulate ATF3/PD-L1 by inhibiting the expression of β-catenin. PLUNC inhibits the entry of β-catenin into the nucleus. Co-IP experiments demonstrated that PLUNC inhibited the interaction of DEAD-box helicase 17 (DDX17) and β-catenin. Conclusions PLUNC downregulates the expression of PD-L1 by inhibiting the interaction of DDX17/β-catenin in NPC.

Background: s/Aims: Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy (DPS) is a common surgical procedure for pancreatic body cancer.However, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) utilizing the Warshaw technique (WT) in malignancies is generally not favored due to concerns about inadequate resection. This study aims to assess the feasibility and oncologic outcomes of employing SPDP with WT in pancreatic body cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing 21 SPDP patients with 63 DPS patients matched by propensity score from January 2018 to November 2022. Clinical outcomes and follow-up data were analyzed using R. Results: Both groups exhibited similar demographic, intraoperative, and pathological characteristics, with the exception of a reduced number of total lymph nodes (p = 0.006) in the SPDP group. There were no significant differences in the rates of postoperative complications, recurrence, or metastasis. Local recurrence predominantly occurred in the central region as opposed to the spleen region.There were no cases of isolated recurrences in the splenic region. Median overall survival and recurrence-free survival times were 51.5 months for SPDP vs 30.5 months for DPS and 18.7 months vs 16.8 months, respectively (p > 0.05). The incidence of partial splenic infarction and left-side portal hypertension in the SPDP group was 28.6% (6/21) and 9.5% (2/21), respectively, without necessitating splenic abscess puncture, splenectomy, or causing bleeding from perigastric varices. Conclusions SPDP did not negatively impact local recurrence or survival rates in selected pancreatic body cancer patients. Further studies are necessary for validation.