Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for patients with fibromyalgia: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Fibromyalgia (FM) is an unexplained chronic condition characterised by generalised pain, sleep disturbances, autonomic disturbances, anxiety, fatigue and cognitive impairment. FM is a prevalent chronic disease worldwide that imposes a significant burden on individuals and society. Emerging evidence suggests that environmental interventions, such as exposure to hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), can relieve pain and improve the quality of life in patients with FM. This study will systematically and comprehensively assess the effectiveness and safety of HBOT in patients with FM and provide evidence to support its implementation. We hope that the final review will be helpful in supporting the decision-making processes related to treatment programmes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol is reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guidelines. Ten key databases, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE (Excerpt Medica Database), PsycINFO, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), PEDro, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WANFANG and VIP (Chinese Scientific Journal Database), will be searched from inception through December 2022 to identify relevant randomised controlled trials examining the effectiveness of HBOT in patients with FM published in English or Chinese. Two reviewers will independently complete the study screening, selection, and data extraction and assess the risk of bias in the included studies using the 0-10 PEDro Scale. Narrative or quantitative syntheses will be performed and a systematic review and meta-analysis will be performed using Review Manager V.5.3 statistical software. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was not required for this protocol. The results of the final review will be disseminated in a peer--reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022363672.

Changes of nitrogen and phosphorus removal pattern caused by alternating aerobic/anoxia from the perspective of microbial characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of different numbers of alternating aerobic/anoxic (A/O) cycles on pollutant removal. Three sequential batch reactors (SBRs) with varying numbers of alternating A/O cycles were established. Under the tertiary anoxic operating conditions, the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) were 88.73%, 89.56%, 72.15%, and 77.61%, respectively. Besides, alternating A/O affected the dominant microbial community relative abundance (Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes) and increased microbial richness and diversity. It also increased the relative abundance of aerobic denitrifying, heterotrophic nitrifying, and denitrifying phosphorus removal bacteria to change N and P removal patterns. Furthermore, the abundance of carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism was improved by alternating A/O to improve organic matter and TN removal.

Polydatin alleviates traumatic spinal cord injury by reducing microglial inflammation via regulation of iNOS and NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.

Polydatin is a glucoside of resveratrol with lots of functional properties in the central nervous system, such as anti-edema, anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of polydatin on traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and explore the relative mechanisms. SCI models were established using the weight-drop method in rats, additionally, single polydatin administration (20, 40 mg/kg body weight) remarkably improved motor function of SCI rat, along with decreased nitric oxide (NO) generation and inflammatory factor (IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α) production in spinal cord tissues. Similar to the results of in vivo experiments, the inflammatory response was aggravated with the intervention of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in BV2 microglia. However, polydatin treatment (1, 2 and 4 µM) inhibited iNOS expression, decreased NLRP3 inflammasome activation, which subsequently relieved microglial inflammation. Above all, our data indicated that polydatin possessed neuroprotective effects in SCI rats, possibly by suppressing iNOS expression and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in microglia.

Long-term total sleep deprivation reduces thalamic gray matter volume in healthy men.

Sleep loss can alter extrinsic, task-related functional MRI signals involved in attention, memory, and executive function. However, the effects of sleep loss on brain structure have not been well characterized. Recent studies with patients with sleep disorders and animal models have demonstrated reduction of regional brain structure in the hippocampus and thalamus. In this study, using T1-weighted MRI, we examined the change of regional gray matter volume in healthy adults after long-term total sleep deprivation (~72 h). Regional volume changes were explored using voxel-based morphometry with a paired two-sample t-test. The results revealed significant loss of gray matter volume in the thalamus but not in the hippocampus. No overall decrease in whole brain gray matter volume was noted after sleep deprivation. As expected, sleep deprivation significantly reduced visual vigilance as assessed by the continuous performance test, and this decrease was correlated significantly with reduced regional gray matter volume in thalamic regions. This study provides the first evidence for sleep loss-related changes in gray matter in the healthy adult brain.