OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in promoting recovery of the facial function with the involvement of autophagy, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. METHODS: Seventy-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into the control, sham-operated, facial nerve injury (FNI), EA, EA+3-methyladenine (3-MA), and EA+GDNF antagonist groups using a random number table, with 12 rats in each group. An FNI rat model was established with facial nerve crushing method. EA intervention was conducted at Dicang (ST 4), Jiache (ST 6), Yifeng (SJ 17), and Hegu (LI 4) acupoints for 2 weeks. The Simone's 10-Point Scale was utilized to monitor the recovery of facial function. The histopathological evaluation of facial nerves was performed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The levels of Beclin-1, light chain 3 (LC3), and P62 were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Additionally, IHC was also used to detect the levels of GDNF, Rai, PI3K, and mTOR. RESULTS: The facial functional scores were significantly increased in the EA group than the FNI group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). HE staining showed nerve axons and myelin sheaths, which were destroyed immediately after the injury, were recovered with EA treatment. The expressions of Beclin-1 and LC3 were significantly elevated and the expression of P62 was markedly reduced in FNI rats (P<0.01); however, EA treatment reversed these abnormal changes (P<0.01). Meanwhile, EA stimulation significantly increased the levels of GDNF, Rai, PI3K, and mTOR (P<0.01). After exogenous administration with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA or GDNF antagonist, the repair effect of EA on facial function was attenuated (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS EA could promote the recovery of facial function and repair the facial nerve damages in a rat model of FNI. EA may exert this neuroreparative effect through mediating the release of GDNF, activating the PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway, and further regulating the autophagy of facial nerves.
Rats ; Male ; Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Electroacupuncture ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/metabolism* ; Facial Nerve Injuries/therapy* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Beclin-1 ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Signal Transduction ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Autophagy ; Mammals/metabolism*

Objective To explore clinical outcomes and bone resection of interlaminar fenestration decompression and u-nilateral biportal endoscopic(UBE)technique in treating lumbar disc herniation(LDH).Methods A retrospective study was performed on 105 patients with single-level LDH treated from December 2019 to December 2021.Fifty-four patients in UBE group,including 32 males and 22 females,aged from 18 to 50 years old with an average of(38.7±9.3)years old,were treated with UBE,29 patients withL4.5and 25 patients with L5S1.There were 51 patients in small fenestration group,including 27 males and 24 females,aged from 18 to 50 years old with an average of(39.9±10.0)years old,were treated with small fenestra-tion,25 patients with L4.5 and 26 patients with L5S1.Perioperative indexes,such as operation time,postoperative time of getting out of bed and hospital stay were observed and compared between two groups.Visual analogue scale(VAS)and Oswestry dis-ability index(ODI)were compared between two groups before operation and 1,3,6 and 12 months after operation,respective-ly;and modified MacNab evaluation criteria was used to evaluate clinical efficacy.Amount of bone resection and retention rate of inferior articular process laminoid complex were compared between two groups.Results All 105 patients were successfully completed operation.Both of two groups were followed up from 6 to 12 months with an average of(10.69±2.49)months.Oper-ation time,postoperative time of getting out of bed and hospital stay were(58.20±5.54)min,(2.40±0.57)dand(3.80±0.61)d in UBE group,and(62.90±7.14)min,(4.40±0.64)d and(4.40±0.64)d in small fenestrum group,respectively;and had sta-tistically difference between two groups(P＜0.05).Postoperative VAS of low back and leg pain and ODI in both groups were significantly lower than those before surgery(P＜0.05).VAS of lumbar pain in UBE group(1.37±0.49)score was lower than that of small fenestration group(2.45±0.64)score,and had statistically difference(t=9.745,P＜0.05).Postoperative ODI in UBE group at 1 and 3 months were(28.54±3.31)％and(22.87±3.23)％,respectively,which were lower than those in small fenestra group(36.31±9.08)％and(29.90±8.36)％,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).There were no significant difference in VAS and ODI between two groups at other time points(P＞0.05).According to the modified MacNab evaluation criteria at the latest follow-up,49 patients got excellent result,3 good,and 2 fair in UBE group.In small fenestration group,35 patients got excellent,12 good,and 4 fair.In UBE group,amount of bone resection on L4,5 segment was(0.45±0.08)cm3 and(0.31±0.08)cm3 on the segment of L5S1.In small fenestration group,amount of bone resection on L4.5 segment was(0.57±0.07)cm3 and(0.49±0.04)cm3 on the segment of L5S1,and amount of bone resection of lower articular process laminar complex on the same segment in UBE group was less than that in small fenestration group(P＜0.05).In UBE group,retention rate of laminoid complex on L4,5 segment was(0.73±0.04)and L5S1 segment was(0.83±0.03),whileL4,5segment was(0.68± 0.06)and L5S1 segment was(0.74±0.04)in small fenestration group,the lower articular process laminar complex retention rate in UBE group was higher than that in small fenestration group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Both unilateral double-channel endoscopy and small fenestration of laminae could achieve good clinical results in treating LDH,but UBE has advantages of less trauma,higher eficiency,faster postoperative recovery and less damage to bone structure.

Protein disulfide isomerase A6 (PDIA6) is closely related to inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress. To obtain the glycosyl derivatives of benzophenone polyphenols targeting PDIA6 with strong anti-inflammatory effects, twenty-five target glycosyl derivatives were synthesized by Friedel-Crafts acylation and deacetylation reaction, starting from the substituted benzophenone and α-bromoacetyl saccharide, and their interactions with PDIA6 were quantitatively investigated by bio-layer interferometry (BLI) technique. Their in vitro anti-inflammatory properties were also evaluated. The results showed that target compounds 4b, 10b, 17b, 18b, and 25b not only exhibit high affinity with PDIA6, but also present strong anti-inflammatory abilities. Above results suggest that this class of compounds can affect the signaling pathways related to inflammation by directly acting on PDIA6. In particular, such compounds exhibit the strong inhibitory effects on IL-1β and IL-6 release, suggesting the potential development prospect in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Objective:To analyze the prognostic nutritional index(PNI),controlling nutritional status(CONUT)and fibrinogen/albumin ratio(FAR)levels in elderly patients with multiple myeloma(MM)and their prognostic impact.Methods:The clinical data of 74 elderly MM patients diagnosed in Gansu Provincial Hospital from January 2020 to July 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.The optimal cut-off values for PNI,CONUT score and FAR were obtained by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve,which were used for grouping patients.The correlation of above three indexes with clinical parameters such as sex,serum calcium(Ca),β2-microglobulin(β2-MG),serum creatinine(Cr)in elderly MM patients were analyzed.The survival rates of patients with different levels of each index were compared.Univariate and multivariate analysis of the impact of clinical indicators on the prognosis of patients were performed.Results:The optimal cut-off values for PNI,CONUT score and FAR were 39.775,3.5 and 0.175,respectively,according to which the patients were divided into high and low group.Statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences in albumin level among different groups(all P＜0.05).In addition,there was a significant difference in hemoglobin between high-PNI group and low-PNI group(P＜0.05),while in sex distribution between high-FAR and low-FAR group(P＜0.05).The survival rate of elderly MM patients with increased PNI,decreased CONUT score and FAR was higher(all P＜0.05).Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that β2-MG,Cr,PNI,CONUT score and FAR were independent prognostic factors for elderly MM patients.Conclusion:PNI,CONUT score and FAR are related to some clinical indicators of elderly MM patients,and have an impact on the prognosis.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with CD5+diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods:The clinical data of 161 newly treated DLBCL patients in Gansu Provincial Hospital from January 2013 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.According to CD5 expression,the patients were divided into CD5+group and CD5-group.The clinical characteristics and prognosis of the two groups were statistically analyzed.Results:The median age of patients in CD5+group was 62 years,which was higher than 56 years in CD5-group(P=0.048).The proportion of women in CD5+group was 62.96％,which was significantly higher than 41.79％in CD5-group(P=0.043).The proportion of patients with IPI score＞2 in CD5+group was 62.96％,which was higher than 40.30％in CD5-group(P=0.031).Survival analysis showed that the median overall survival and progression-free survival time of patients in CD5+group were 27(3-77)and 31(3-76)months,respectively,which were both shorter than 30(5-84)and 32.5(4-83)months in CD5-group(P=0.047,P=0.026).Univariate analysis showed that advanced age,positive CD5 expression,triple or double hit at initial diagnosis,high IPI score and no use of rituximab during chemotherapy were risk factors for the prognosis of DLBCL patients.Further Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that these factors were also independent risk factors except for advanced age.Conclusion:CD5+DLBCL patients have a worse prognosis than CD5-DLBCL patients.Such patients are more common in females,with advanced age and high IPI score,which is a special subtype of DLBCL.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and occurrence of thrombotic/bleeding events of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm(MPN),and explore the main influencing factors,and create a risk prediction.Methods:The clinical data of 126 MPN patients with BCR-ABL fusion gene negative in the Department of Hematology of Gansu Provincial Hospital from January 2016 to September 2021 were collected,and their clinical characteristics,occurrence of thrombotic/bleeding events and main influencing factors were analyzed and summarized retrospectively.Then,a risk prediction model for thrombotic/bleeding events in MPN patients was constructed.Results:Among 126 MPN patients,50 patients(39.7％)had experienced thrombotic/bleeding events,including 44 patients(34.9％)with thrombotic events and 6 patients(4.8％)with bleeding events.Among thrombotic diseases,cerebral thrombosis was the most common(23/44,52.3％),followed by 9 cases of limb artery thrombosis mainly characterized by finger and toe tip artery ischemia,occlusion and gangrene(9/44,20.5％).Bleeding events included intracerebral hemorrhage and gastrointestinal hemorrhage.Univariate analysis showed that hypertension,hyperhomocysteinemia,white blood cell(WBC)≥10 × 109/L,hematocrit(HCT)≥49％,platelet(PLT)≥600 × 109/L and JAK2V617F gene mutation were risk factors for thrombotic/bleeding events in MPN patients,while CALR gene mutation was a protective factor.Multivariate analysis showed that hypertension and PLT ≥ 600 × 109/L were independent risk factors for thrombotic/bleeding events in MPN patients.The goodness of fit of the constructed risk prediction model was 0.872,and the area under the ROC curve was 0.838.The model was validated with clinical data,the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy was 78.85％,87.83％and 84.13％,respectively.Conclusion:The risk of thrombotic/bleeding events in MPN patients with high WBC count,hypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia is higher.Controlling hypertension and hyperhomocysteinemia and reducing WBC and PLT counts are helpful to prevent thrombotic/bleeding events and improve the life quality of patients.

Objective To explore characteristics of co-infection of Chlamydia pneumoniae(Cpn)and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),and identify their effect on SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammatory response.Methods Patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)who received treatment in a hospital in Chenzhou City from December 20,2022 to February 20,2023 were selected.According to the severity of COVID-19,severe and critical cases were classified as the severe symptom group,while mild and moderate cases were classified as the mild symptom group.Meanwhile,according to the age of patients(≥18 years old as adults,＜18 years old as juveniles),they were divided into the adult severe symptom group,adult mild symptom group,juvenile severe symptom group,and juvenile mild symptom group.Propensity score was adopted to match age,gender,and under-lying diseases of patients in severe symptom and mild symptom group in a 1∶1 ratio.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF),throat swabs,and serum specimens of patients were collected.Cpn IgG/IgM antibody was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),levels of 12 common cytokines(including interleukin-8[IL-8])in BALF were detected by flow cytometry,differences among groups were compared.Results A total of 102 patients were included,with 61 severe and critical(severe symptom)patients,as well as 41 mild and moderate(mild symp-tom)patients.There were 71 patients aged ≥18 years and 31 juvenile patients aged＜18 years.There were 39 pa-tients in the adult severe symptom group and 32 in the adult mild symptom group,and 30 pairs were successfully matched through propensity score analysis.There were 22 patients in the juvenile severe symptom group and 9 in the juvenile mild symptom group,and 8 pairs were successfully matched through propensity score analysis.Among COVID-19 patients,the positive rates of Cpn IgG and IgM were 36.27％(n=37)and 8.82％(n=9),respective-ly,with 1 case positive for both Cpn IgG and IgM.The level of interferon(IFN)-α in serum specimens from adult patients with severe symptom combined with positive Cpn IgG was higher than that of IgG negative patients(P=0.037).There was no statistically significant difference in the levels of other cytokines in BALF and serum speci-mens between the two groups of patients(all P＞0.05).The levels of IL-8 and IL-17 in serum specimens of patients with positive Cpn IgG in the adult mild symptom group were both higher than those in Cpn IgG negative patients(both P＜0.05).The levels of IL-8 in both BALF and serum specimens from Cpn IgM positivity patients in the ju-venile mild symptom group were higher than those from patients with negative Cpn IgM(both P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis results showed that Cpn IgG and IgM positivity were not risk factors for the development of se-vere COVID-19.Conclusion Combined Cpn infection is not a risk factor for the development of severe symptom in COVID-19 patients,and Cpn infection has limited impact on the secretion of inflammatory factors caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides in the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression.Methods An open,single-arm,multi-center design was adopted in our study.Adult patients with mild and moderate depression who had received acute treatment of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides were enrolled and continue to receive Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules for 24 weeks,the dose remained unchanged during continuation treatment.The remission rate,recurrence rate,recurrence time,and the change from baseline to endpoint of Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA),Clinical Global Impression-Severity(CGI-S)and Arizona Sexual Experience Scale(ASEX)were evaluated.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was reported.Results The scores of HAMD-17 at baseline and after treatment were 6.60±1.87 and 5.85±4.18,scores of HAMA were 6.36±3.02 and 4.93±3.09,scores of CGI-S were 1.49±0.56 and 1.29±0.81,scores of ASEX were 15.92±4.72 and 15.57±5.26,with significant difference(P＜0.05).After continuation treatment,the remission rate was 54.59％(202 cases/370 cases),and the recurrence rate was 6.49％(24 cases/370 cases),the recurrence time was(64.67±42.47)days.The incidence of treatment-related adverse events was 15.35％(64 cases/417 cases).Conclusion Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides capsules can be effectively used for the continuation treatment of mild and moderate depression,and are well tolerated and safe.

AIM To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous content determination of spinosin,ferulic acid,rosmarinic acid,salvianolic acid B,schisandrin A,schizandrin B and schisandrol A in Anshen Capsules.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 30℃thermostatic Inertsustain C18 column(5 μm,4.6 mm×250 mm),with the mobile phase comprising of methanol-acetonitrile-0.1%phosphoric acid flowing at 1.0 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelengths were set at 203,270 nm.Subsequently,principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were made.RESULTS Seven constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(r＞0.999 0),whose average recoveries were 96.12%-102.70%with the RSDs of 0.31%-1.83%.Ten batches of samples were divided into two categories according to manufacturers,and peaks 5(schisandrol A),4(salvianolic acid B)were quality difference markers.CONCLUSION This simple,sensitive,specific and reproducible method can be used for the quality control of Anshen Capsules.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical features and prognosis of patients with Castleman's disease (CD) and improve the diagnosis and treatment of CD. METHODS: Clinical data of patients diagnosed with CD by pathological biopsy in Gansu Provincial Hospital from January 2009 to November 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to clinical classification, the patients were divided into two groups: UCD (unicentric CD) group (n=20) and MCD (multicentric CD) group (n=9). The clinical manifestations, laboratory examination, treatment regimens, pathological examination and follow-up data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in average age and gender ratio between UCD group and MCD group. In UCD patients, 80.0% were hyaline vascular type, and 20.0% were plasma cell type. In MCD patients, 33.3% were hyaline vascular type, 55.6% were plasma cell type, and 11.1% were mixed type. There was significant difference in pathological classification between the two groups (P=0.039). The UCD patients usually presented asymptomatic single lymph node enlargement with mild clinical symptoms, while the MCD patients were characterized by multiple superficial and deep lymph node enlargement throughout the body. The incidences of asthenia, splenomegaly, serous effusion in MCD group were higher than those in UCD group (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the incidences of anemia, hypoproteinemia, increased ESR, elevated serum globulin and elevated β₂-microglobulin were significantly higher than those in UCD group too (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidences of abnormal WBC, PLT and elevated LDH between the two groups (P>0.05). Among 20 patients with UCD, 13 cases reached complete remission (CR), 1 case achieved partial remission (PR). Among 9 patients with MCD, 3 cases received CR and 4 cases received PR. CONCLUSION Patients with CD requires pathological examination for diagnosis. Patients with UCD show mild clinical symptoms, good surgical treatment effect and good prognosis. Patients with MCD have diversified clinical manifestations and relatively poor prognosis, and these patients require comprehensive treatment.
Humans ; Castleman Disease/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Prognosis ; Splenomegaly ; Anemia