Imaging Study of Electroconvulsive Modulation of Brain Markers of Emotional Processing and Activation of Various Brain Regions in Schizophrenic Patients.

Aims: An imaging study to investigate electroconvulsive modulation of brain markers of emotional processing and activity of various brain regions in patients with schizophrenia. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty patients with schizophrenia admitted to The Brain Hospital of Hunan Province from January 2020 to July 2022 were divided into a comparison group and a study group of 60 patients each according to the order of admission. The comparison group received conventional pharmacological interventions and the study group implemented conventional pharmacological and electroconvulsive modulation therapy to compare the neurotransmitter power, neuropsychological assessment, and efficacy evaluation between the two groups. Results: Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in neurotransmitter power between the two groups (P > .05); 30 min after treatment, GABA, Glu, 5-HT, Ach, NE, and DA were elevated in both groups and were higher in the study group than in the comparison group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < .05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in the neuropsychological measurements between the two groups (P > .05). Clinical efficacy evaluation after treatment revealed that the clinical efficacy rate of patients in the study group was 95.00% significantly higher than that of the comparison group, which was 83.33%, and the comparative difference was statistically significant (P < .05). Conclusion: Electroconvulsive therapy was found to significantly improve neuropsychological assessment and clinical outcomes in patients with psychiatric disorders.

Acupuncture and related therapies for atopic eczema: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Atopic eczema (AE) is a chronic relapsing dermatological disease characterized by pruritus, dryness, erythema, and lichenification. Acupuncture as an alternative treatment can relieve symptoms, reduce the recurrence, and improve the quality of life (QoL) with less adverse reactions in treating AE. This network meta-analysis (NMA) will comprehensively access the efficacy and safety of different acupuncture therapies for patients with AE, and rank the different acupuncture therapies, in order to present evidence-based medicine evidence for clinical application extensively. METHOD AND ANALYSIS: This study will search 8 electronic databases from the establishment of the database to August 30th, 2022. The screening of literature, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment will be conducted by 2 researchers, respectively. The quality of evidence will be judged by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. This NMA will be analyzed with Stata Version. 14.0 and WinBUGS Version.1.4.3. RESULTS: This study will comprehensively access the efficacy and safety of different acupuncture therapies for patients with AE on the severity, itch intensity, emotional symptoms, QoL, and recurrence rate. Moreover, it will further identify which acupuncture therapy is the most effective. CONCLUSION: The findings of this NMA may help patients and therapists choose the best acupuncture therapy in treating AE and furnish reliable evidence for guidelines. REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42020203437.

Anti-colon cancer activity tracking isolation of peptide from ginseng leaves and potential mechanisms evaluation in vitro and in vivo.

The ginseng has been used for over hundred years, in the belief of promoting longevity. However, the anticancer activity of ginseng leaf peptide (GP) has been never explored. In current study, we isolated the GPs and explored the anti-colon cancer activity in vitro and in vivo. MTT results showed that the GP-1 (GP-1~FKEHGY) performed most antiproliferative activity against colon cancer CT-26 cells with an IC50 of 86.4 ± 9.46 µM (48 h). Further study indicated that GP-1 activated the caspases, regulated the p53/murine double minute 2 (MDM2) state, and induced the CT-26 cells apoptosis in a mitochondrial pathway. Meanwhile, the GP-1 arrested the CT-26 cells in G0/G1 phase accompanied with cyclin expression regulation. In addition, GP-1 significantly suppressed the tumor growth and induced the tumor cells apoptosis in vivo. Notably, the GP-1 would be a potential anti-colon cancer candidate.

Identification Of Natural Compound Derivative For Inhibition Of XLF And Overcoming Chemoresistance In Colorectal Cancer Cells.

PURPOSE: A previous study has identified that XRCC4-like factor (XLF) is a potential target to overcome resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) and oxaliplatin (OXA) in colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of this study is to develop potent XLF inhibitors to chemoresistance in CRC. METHODS: Virtual screening was adopted to identify novel XLF-binding compounds by initially testing 6800 molecules in Chemical Entities of Biological Interest library. Hit compounds were further validated by Western blot assay. Cell sensitivity to 5-Fu and OXA was measured using sulforhodamine B assay. The effect of XLF inhibitor on DNA repair efficiency was evaluated by comet assay, fluorescent-based nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) reporter assays. DNA-binding activity of NHEJ key factors was examined by chromatin fractionation assay. RESULTS: We identified G3, a novel and potent XLF inhibitor (IC50 0.47±0.02 µM). G3 induced XLF protein degradation in CRC cells. Significantly, G3 improved cell sensitivity to 5-Fu and OXA in chemoresistant CRC cell lines. Mechanistically, G3 depleted XLF expression, severely compromised NHEJ efficiency by up to 65% and inhibited NHEJ key factor assembly on DNA. G3 also inhibited HR efficiency in a time-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that G3 overcomes 5-Fu and OXA resistance in CRC cells by inhibiting XLF expression. Thus, XLF is a promising target and its inhibitor G3 is a potential candidate for treatment of chemoresistant CRC patients.

Comparison of the clinical efficacy of craniotomy and craniopuncture therapy for the early stage of moderate volume spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage in basal ganglia: Using the CTA spot sign as an entry criterion.

OBJECTIVES: Surgical treatment is widely used for haematoma removal in spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) patients, but there is controversy about the selection of surgical methods. The CT angiography (CTA) spot sign has been proven to be a promising factor predicting haematoma expansion and is recommended as an entry criterion for haemostatic therapy in patients with ICH. This trial was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of two surgical methods (haematoma removal by craniotomy and craniopuncture combined with urokinase infusion) for patients in the early stage (≤6h from symptom onset) of spontaneous ICH with a moderate haematoma volume (30 ml - 60 ml). PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 2012 to July 2017, 196 eligible patients treated in our institution were enrolled according to the inclusion criteria. The patients were divided into the CTA spot sign positive type and CTA spot sign negative type according to the presence or absence of the CTA spot sign. For each type, the patients were randomly assigned to two groups, i.e., the craniotomy group, in which patients underwent craniotomy with haematoma removal, and the craniopuncture group, in which patients underwent minimally invasive craniopuncture combined with urokinase infusion therapy. Neurological function was evaluated with the Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS) at day 14. The disability level and the activities of daily living were assessed using a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI) at day 90. Case fatalities were recorded at day 14 and 90. Complications were recorded during hospitalization. RESULTS: For the CTA spot sign positive type, the craniotomy group had a higher SSS than that in the craniopuncture group (P < 0.05) at day 14. The rebleeding rate was higher in the craniopuncture group than that in the craniotomy group (P < 0.05) during hospitalization. The craniotomy group had a lower mRS than that in the craniopuncture group (P < 0.01) and had a higher BI than that in the craniopuncture group (P < 0.05) at day 90. There was no statistically significant difference in the fatality rate between the two groups. For the CTA spot sign negative type, there were no significant differences in the SSS, mRS, BI, fatality rate and complication rate between the two groups. CONCLUSION: ICH can be divided into the CTA spot sign positive and negative type according to the presence or absence of the CTA spot sign. For the CTA spot sign positive type, patients can benefit from craniotomy with haematoma removal, which can reduce the postoperative rebleeding rate and improve the prognosis. For the CTA spot sign negative type, both craniotomy and craniopuncture are applicable. Considering simple procedure and minor surgical injury, craniopuncture can be a more reasonable choice.

Quantitative cerebral blood flow mapping and functional connectivity of postherpetic neuralgia pain: a perfusion fMRI study.

This article investigates the effects of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) on resting-state brain activity utilizing arterial spin labeling (ASL) techniques. Features of static and dynamic cerebral blood flow (CBF) were analyzed to reflect the specific brain response to PHN pain. Eleven consecutive patients suffering from PHN and 11 age- and gender-matched control subjects underwent perfusion functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scanning during the resting state. Group comparison was conducted to detect the regions with significant changes of CBF in PHN patients. Then we chose those regions that were highly correlated with the self-reported pain intensity as "seeds" to calculate the functional connectivity of both groups. Absolute CBF values of these regions were also compared across PHN patients and control subjects. Significant increases in CBF of the patient group were observed in left striatum, right thalamus, left primary somatosensory cortex (S1), left insula, left amygdala, left primary somatomotor cortex, and left inferior parietal lobule. Significant decreases in CBF were mainly located in the frontal cortex. Regional CBF in the left caudate, left insula, left S1, and right thalamus was highly correlated with the pain intensity, and further comparison showed that the regional CBF in these regions is significantly higher in PHN groups. Functional connectivity results demonstrated that the reward circuitry involved in striatum, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus and the circuitry among striatum, thalamus, and insula were highly correlated with each element in PHN patients. In addition, noninvasive brain perfusion imaging at rest may provide novel insights into the central mechanisms underlying PHN pain.