Acupuncture and sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease: A systematic evaluation with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients commonly suffer from sleep disorders, significantly impacting their quality of life. Western treatments often entail adverse effects, while acupuncture (ACU) presents a safe, nonaddictive alternative. METHODS: A thorough literature search was performed across PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases. Eligible studies underwent statistical analysis via RevMan 5.4 software. RESULTS: This study synthesized data from 19 randomized controlled trials involving 1300 patients. The ACU cohort showed notable improvement in Parkinson's disease sleep scale (PDSS) scores (mean difference [MD] = 10.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.64, 15.98) relative to controls. Subgroup analysis revealed significance for ACU treatments beyond 6 weeks (MD = 15.39, 95% CI: 11.70, 19.09) but not for those 6 weeks or shorter (MD = 3.51, 95% CI: -1.20, 8.23). Notably, electroacupuncture resulted in significant PDSS score enhancements (MD = 12.39, 95% CI: 6.06, 18.71), with sensitivity analysis verifying result stability. However, without electroacupuncture, PDSS score differences were insignificant (MD = 7.83, 95% CI: -2.33, 17.99) and had lower result stability. Additionally, increased ACU session frequency may yield better improvements in PDSS scores. The ACU group also observed Improved Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores (MD = -4.52, 95% CI: -6.36, -2.67). However, no significant variation was identified in Epworth Sleepiness Scale score improvement between groups (MD = -0.90, 95% CI: -3.67, 1.88). CONCLUSION: ACU therapy effectively improves nighttime sleep quality in PD patients. A treatment duration extending beyond 6 weeks is highly recommended. Additionally, increasing the frequency of ACU sessions and incorporating electroacupuncture in the treatment regimen may be essential for optimal results.

One-time relieving of frozen shoulder motor dysfunction with pure acupotomy: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Frozen shoulder (FS) is characterized by shoulder pain and restricted movement of the shoulder joint. While it tends to resolve on its own, it significantly affects an individual quality of daily life. The pure acupotomy technique employs needle-knife manipulation as the sole treatment, without the use of medications, such as steroids or vitamins, and local anesthesia if necessary. It aims to restore soft tissue mechanical balance and circulation through techniques such as cutting and stripping, creating a "gap effect." This technique can rapidly, safely, and effectively relieve functional impairments in patients with FS. This article presents a case study of the successful treatment of FS using a purely needle-knife technique. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient, aged 57 years, presented with chronic pain in the right shoulder, which was particularly aggravated at night, and moderate limitations in joint mobility. DIAGNOSES: The patient was diagnosed with periarthritis of the right shoulder (moderate FS, frozen period), type 2 diabetes, and supraspinatus tendinitis of the right shoulder. INTERVENTIONS: Conventional treatments, such as topical analgesics and acupuncture, produced insignificant improvements in symptoms. So, the patient chose acupotomy treatment and signed the treatment consent form. OUTCOMES: After undergoing one minimally invasive acupotomy treatment, the patient experienced immediate restoration of normal shoulder joint mobility and a significant reduction in pain intensity 3 days post-treatment. LESSONS: We believe that utilizing a purely acupotomy treatment for passive functional impairments in FS not only yields good results but also saves patients time and reduces their financial burden. This is worth promoting extensively in clinical practice.

Hyperoside protects human kidney­2 cells against oxidative damage induced by oxalic acid.

The majority of renal calculi (kidney stones) are calcium stones. Oxidative damage to renal tubular epithelial cells induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is the predominant cause of calcium oxalate stone formation. Hyperoside (Hyp) is a flavonol glycoside extracted from medicinal plants and appears to exhibit potent antioxidant activity in various cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of Hyp on renal cells exposed to oxidative stress simulated by oxalic acid (OA), and to determine whether the underlying mechanism involves the nuclear factor E2­related factor2 (Nrf2)­antioxidative response element signaling pathway. The study determined the indicators of high oxidative stress, including ROS and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in human kidney­2 cells and the results demonstrated that the levels of ROS, as evaluated by flow cytometry, and H2O2 were significantly increased following treatment with OA (5 mmol/l) for 24 h (OA group), compared with those in the untreated control group. The increased activity of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase in these cells explained this observation, as it is a major source of ROS. The results demonstrated that, in the OA group, the adhesion of calcium oxalate crystals and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly increased, and MTT assay demonstrated that cell viability was inhibited, compared with the control, which indicated that severe injury of cells was induced by OA. However, when the cells were pre­treated with Hyp prior to treatment with OA (drug group), the levels of ROS and H2O2, and the activities of NADPH oxidase and LD were increased, and the adhesion of calcium oxalate crystals to cells was reduced, compared with the OA group. Western blot analysis and reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that the protein and mRNA expression levels of Nrf2, heme oxygenase­1 (HO­1) and NAD(P)H: quinineoxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in the Hyp groups were significantly increased, compared with those in the OA group, with the exception of Nrf2 mRNA. These results suggested that Hyp had a marked protective effect on renal cells against the oxidative damage and cytotoxicity simulated by OA. This is the first report, to the best of our knowledge, demonstrating that the ability of Hyp to enhance the endogenous functions of antioxidation and detoxification in cells may involve the Nrf2/HO­1/NQO1 pathway.

Relative importance of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Rhizophagus intraradices) and root hairs in plant drought tolerance.

Both arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and root hairs play important roles in plant uptake of water and mineral nutrients. To reveal the relative importance of mycorrhiza and root hairs in plant water relations, a bald root barley (brb) mutant and its wild type (wt) were grown with or without inoculation of the AM fungus Rhizophagus intraradices under well-watered or drought conditions, and plant physiological traits relevant to drought stress resistance were recorded. The experimental results indicated that the AM fungus could almost compensate for the absence of root hairs under drought-stressed conditions. Moreover, phosphorus (P) concentration, leaf water potential, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency were significantly increased by R. intraradices but not by root hairs, except for shoot P concentration and photosynthetic rate under the drought condition. Root hairs even significantly decreased root P concentration under drought stresses. These results confirm that AM fungi can enhance plant drought tolerance by improvement of P uptake and plant water relations, which subsequently promote plant photosynthetic performance and growth, while root hairs presumably contribute to the improvement of plant growth and photosynthetic capacity through an increase in shoot P concentration.

Effect of Yiguanjian decoction on cell differentiation and proliferation in CCl4-treated mice.

AIM: To investigate the cellular mechanisms of action of Yiguanjian (YGJ) decoction in treatment of chronic hepatic injury. METHODS: One group of mice was irradiated, and received enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-positive bone marrow transplants followed by 13 wk of CCl4 injection and 6 wk of oral YGJ administration. A second group of Institute for Cancer Research mice was treated with 13 wk of CCl4 injection and 6 wk of oral YGJ administration. Liver function, histological changes in the liver, and Hyp content were analyzed. The expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), F4/80, albumin (Alb), EGFP, mitogen-activated protein kinase-2 (PKM2), Ki-67, α fetoprotein (AFP), monocyte chemotaxis protein-1 and CC chemokine receptor 2 were assayed. RESULTS: As hepatic damage progressed, EGFP-positive marrow cells migrated into the liver and were mainly distributed along the fibrous septa. They showed a conspicuous coexpression of EGFP with α-SMA and F4/80 but no coexpression with Alb. Moreover, the expression of PKM2, AFP and Ki-67 was enhanced dynamically and steadily over the course of liver injury. YGJ abrogated the increases in the number of bone marrow-derived fibrogenic cells in the liver, inhibited expression of both progenitor and mature hepatocyte markers, and reduced fibrogenesis. CONCLUSION: YGJ decoction improves liver fibrosis by inhibiting the migration of bone marrow cells into the liver as well as inhibiting their differentiation and suppressing the proliferation of both progenitors and hepatocytes in the injured liver.

[Characteristics of available P in the rhizosphere soil in pure Juglans mandshurica and Larix gmelinii and their mixed plantation].

The rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils were sampled in the pure and mixed plantations of Juglans mandshurica and Larix gmelinii by peeling the adhering soil of the roots, and the available P content were analyzed. The results showed that the available P content in the rhizosphere soil in the pure Larix gmelinii was 55.8% higher than that in the non-rhizosphere soil, while the available P content in the pure Juglans mandshurica was higher than that in the non-rhizosphere soil by 10.1%. The roots of Larix gmelinii had important effect on mobilizing P in the rhizosphere soil. The available P content in rhizosphere soil of Juglans mandshurica in the mixed plantation was higher than that in the pure plantation by 45.2% due to the effects of the roots of Larix gmelinii. The mechanism by which the available P content in the rhizosphere soil of Larix gmelinii was much higher was elucidated by means of P absorption, P desorption, and inorganic P gradation.