Association between depression and endometriosis using data from NHANES 2005-2006.

Studies on the association between depression and self-reported endometriosis are limited, and further studies are required to investigate this association. Data were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database (2005-2006). Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 100 participants with self-reported endometriosis and 1295 participants without self-reported endometriosis were included, representing a total population of 64,989,430. Depression severity was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ9). A survey-weighted logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the association between depression and endometriosis. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore heterogeneity. The prevalence of endometriosis was 7.17%. A significant positive association was found between the PHQ9 score and endometriosis. After adjusting for all covariates, the PHQ9 score positively correlated with endometriosis. Furthermore, compared with the participants without depression, those with moderate depression were more prone to have endometriosis both in unadjusted and fully adjusted model. However, the relationship between severe depression and endometriosis was not significant in all models (P > 0.05). Our findings highlight the influence of depression on the prevalence of self-reported endometriosis. Further studies are required to elucidate the causal relationship between depression and self-reported endometriosis.

The association between dietary inflammatory index with endometriosis: NHANES 2001-2006.

Endometriosis is a common chronic inflammatory and estrogen-dependent disease that mostly affects people of childbearing age. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a novel instrument for assessing the overall inflammatory potential of diet. However, no studies have shown the relationship between DII and endometriosis to date. This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between DII and endometriosis. Data were acquired from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2006. DII was calculated using an inbuilt function in the R package. Relevant patient information was obtained through a questionnaire containing their gynecological history. Based on an endometriosis questionnaire survey, those participants who answered yes were considered cases (with endometriosis), and participants who answered no were considered as controls (without endometriosis) group. Multivariate weighted logistic regression was applied to examine the correlation between DII and endometriosis. Subgroup analysis and smoothing curve between DII and endometriosis were conducted in a further investigation. Compared to the control group, patients were prone to having a higher DII (P = 0.014). Adjusted multivariate regression models showed that DII was positively correlated with the incidence of endometriosis (P < 0.05). Analysis of subgroups revealed no significant heterogeneity. In middle-aged and older women (age ≥ 35 years), the smoothing curve fitting analysis results demonstrated a non-linear relationship between DII and the prevalence of endometriosis. Therefore, using DII as an indicator of dietary-related inflammation may help to provide new insight into the role of diet in the prevention and management of endometriosis.

Clinical Research into Treating Unexplained Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion during Early Pregnancy with the Qing Yi Tiao Mian Formula.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to analyze the clinical effect of the Qing Yi Tiao Mian (QYTM) formula on unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) during early pregnancy and the immune balance of T lymphocytes. METHODS: With their consent, 45 patients with URSA in weeks 4-9 of pregnancy were separated into three groups, i.e., the conventional fetal protection (n = 15), prednisone treatment (n = 10), and QYTM formula treatment (n = 20) groups. These patients received treatment once they had been diagnosed with an intrauterine pregnancy. The conventional fetal protection group was given progesterone (20 ∼ 40 mg daily injection) for four weeks. The prednisone treatment group was given progesterone (20 ∼ 40 mg daily injection) + prednisone (5 mg/d) for four weeks. The QYTM formula treatment group was given progesterone (20 ∼ 40 mg daily injection) + QYTM formula (one dose per day) for four weeks. In addition, women who had previously had a normal pregnancy were enrolled as a control group (n = 18). The success rate of the pregnancy in the first trimester was observed in each group, and the proportion of T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood before and after treatment was recorded. RESULTS: Among the 20 patients with URSA in the QYTM formula treatment group, 19 remained pregnant. Thus, the success rate during early pregnancy was 95%, which was significantly higher than the conventional fetal protection (53.33%) and prednisone treatment (70%) groups. The CD8+ T and natural killer (NK) cells population in the URSA groups was higher compared with the control group (P < 0.01). The QYTM formula treatment significantly decreased the ratio of CD8+ T lymphocytes (P < 0.01) and NK cells (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The QYTM formula significantly decreased the spontaneous abortion rate in patients with URSA during early pregnancy. The mechanism may be closely related to the inhibition of the killer lymphocytes' proliferation by CD8+ T lymphocytes and NK cells.

In Situ Construction of Dye-Sensitized BiOCl/Rutile-TiO2 Nanorod Heterojunctions with Highly Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Treating Persistent Organic Pollutants.

The construction of efficient and stable heterojunction photocatalysts with a controllable close contact interface and visible-light response is a challenging research topic in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, a series of BiOCl/rutile-TiO2 (R-TiO2) nanorod heterojunctions were constructed using R-TiO2 nanorods as supporting frameworks followed by selective adsorption of Cl- on R-TiO2(110) facets and in situ growth of BiOCl on the surface of TiO2 nanorods. The strong affinity of rhodamine B (RhB) as a photosensitizer for BiOCl allowed the prepared BiOCl/R-TiO2 heterojunctions to work efficiently under visible-light irradiation. The dye-sensitized BiOCl/R-TiO2 nanorod heterojunctions displayed promising photocatalytic performance for simultaneously treating RhB and the persistent organic pollutant 2-sec-butyl-4,6-dinitrophenol (DNBP). The highly enhanced photodegradation activity of the BiOCl/R-TiO2 system was mainly attributed to the efficient RhB-photosensitization effect, the enhanced heterojunction effect, and the suitable conduction band match between BiOCl and R-TiO2, which facilitated electron transfer from the excited RhB to the catalyst surface and charge separation across the BiOCl/R-TiO2 interface, thus promoting the formation of •O2- and h+ as dominant active species in the reaction system for degradation of pollutants. The results demonstrate that the construction of a dye-sensitized BiOCl/R-TiO2 heterojunction system is an effective strategy for improving the photocatalytic potential.

[Regulative effects of regulatory T cells on dendric cells in peripheral blood and deciduas from unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion patients].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of CD(4)(+)CD(25)(+) regulatory T(Tr) cells on dendric cells (DC) in peripheral blood and deciduas from unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) patients. METHODS: Four URSA patients (abortion group) and 4 normal early pregnant women (control group) were enrolled in this study. Tr cells and DC in the peripheral blood and deciduas were isolated using Ficoll density gradient centrifugation and magnetic cell sorting (MACS). DC were cultured alone (DC alone) or in combination with Tr cells (DC + Tr) for 6 days, during which the release of interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-10 in the medium was subsequently measured by enzyme linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: (1) Peripheral blood: there was no significant difference in IFN-gamma level between DC alone (23.2 +/- 0.7) ng/L and DC + Tr (22.5 +/- 3.0) ng/L in abortion group (P > 0.05). The similar level of IL-10 was observed between DC alone (37 +/- 7) ng/L and DC + Tr (35 +/- 4) ng/L in abortion group (P > 0.05). IL-10 level, but not IFN-gamma, was significantly higher in DC alone (54 +/- 20) ng/L than that in DC + Tr (36 +/- 9) ng/L in control group (P < 0.01). (2) Deciduas: there was no significant difference in IFN-gamma level between DC alone (23.4 +/- 2.6) ng/L and DC + Tr (24.4 +/- 2.5) ng/L in abortion group (P > 0.05). Moreover, Similar IL-10 level was found between DC alone (28 +/- 7) ng/L and DC + Tr (25 +/- 5) ng/L in abortion group (P > 0.05). IFN-gamma level in DC alone (30.7 +/- 4.6) ng/L was significantly higher than that in DC + Tr (22.6 +/- 3.8) ng/L in control group (P < 0.01); whereas IL-10 level was much lower in DC alone (27 +/- 6) ng/L than that in DC + Tr (31 +/- 9) ng/L in control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The decreasing of immunosuppressive function of Tr cell of URSA patients affect its regulation on DC, resulting in imbalance of Th1/Th2 and abnormality of maternal-fetal immuno-tolerence in URSA.

[Inhibitory control deficit in patients with panic disorder: an event-related potentials study].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the electrophysiological evidence of inhibitory control deficit in panic disorder patients using a visual simple Go/Nogo task. METHOD: Sixteen patients with panic disorder and 13 healthy volunteers received a visual simple Go/Nogo task. The stimuli were single or double English letters and appeared with equal probability. The subjects were instructed to press a button as quickly as possible when the double letter was presented (i.e., Go), but make no response to the single letter (i.e., Nogo). 32 channel EEG data were recorded. RESULT: All subjects displayed a distinct Go/Nogo effect in the N2 component (PD group:F(1,30) = 8.00, P = 0.008; NC group: F(1,24) = 4.60, P = 0.042) and P3 component (PD group: F(1,30) = 7.85, P = 0.009; NC group: F(1,24) = 13.57, P = 0.000) at frontocentral sites, but the amplitudes of Nogo-N2 and Nogo-P3 were significantly reduced in panic disorder patients as compared to the healthy subjects (Fz: F = 9.135, P = 0.005; F = 8.511, P = 0.006, respectively). There was no significant differences between the latencies of Nogo-N2 and Nogo-P3. CONCLUSION: Panic disorder may consist inhibitory control deficit which may assist in offering new objective evidence to understand the etiology of panic disorder.

[Perinatal management and pregnancy outcome in pregnant women with pulmonary hypertension complicating cardiac disease].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pregnancy outcome of women with pulmonary hypertension complicating cardiac disease. METHODS: Clinical data of 61 cases of pregnant women with pulmonary hypertension from Jan 1996 to Aug 2004 were analyzed and they were divided into three groups: 32 cases of slight group [pulmonary hypertension from 30 mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) to 49 mm Hg], 23 cases of moderate group (pulmonary hypertension from 50 mm Hg to 79 mm Hg) and 6 cases of severe group (pulmonary hypertension equal to or higher than 80 mm Hg). The types of heart disease, cardiac functional status (New York heart association, NYHA), gestational weeks of pregnancy termination, mode of delivery and outcomes of infants were compared between the groups. RESULTS: (1) The occurrence rate of NYHA class III - IV was 5/6 in severe group. The rate of NYHA class I - II was 72% (23/32) in slight group. (2) The rate of moderate and severe pulmonary hypertension was 53% (11/21) and of NYHA class IV 43% (9/21) in rheumatic heart disease. The rate of slight pulmonary hypertension was 97% (35/36) and NYHA class I - II 81% (29/36) in congenital heart disease. (3) The rate of term delivery was 75% (24/32) and the birth weight was 2744 g on average in slight group. The rate of term delivery was 48% (11/23), preterm labor 35% (8/23), abortion 17% (4/23) in moderate group. The rate of term delivery was 1/6, preterm labor occurred in 3 cases, and abortion in 2 cases in severe group. The rates of neonatal complications between the three groups had no significant difference. (4) Caesarean section rate was 79% (48/61) among all patients. (5) Overall maternal mortality was 2% (1/61). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of heart failure increases gradually with the severity of pulmonary hypertension. The severity of pulmonary hypertension in rheumatic heart disease is higher than in congenital heart disease. The rate of maternal mortality and fetal loss increases in pregnant women with pulmonary hypertension complicating cardiac disease. Perinatal morbidity is higher than normal. Cesarean section is more suitable for those women.