Medicine Insufficient Evidence for the Efficacy of Massage as Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.

The efficacy of massage therapy in the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains unclear. This study systematically reviewed the impact of massage therapy on children with ASD according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) declaration guidelines. A literature search of the PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) electronic databases from inception to December 20, 2020, was conducted using the term "autistic/autism" along with one of the following terms, "massages," and "Tui na." The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias Tool. Eight randomized controlled trials examining the impact of massage on children with ASD were included. Interventions combining Qigong massage or Tui na with the control group treatments from once a day to twice a week, for a duration of 15-30 mins, and lasting for six weeks to five months were the main interventions. All reviewed studies reported significant improvement in children with ASD who received massage, especially in the sensory domain, and that massage in combination with control treatment was superior to control treatment alone. However, the overall quality of the available studies is poor with a high degree of heterogeneity. The majority of studies showed a high risk of bias with poor study design, inconsistency in massage protocols, and subjective outcome measures. Assessment bias was a common weakness of these studies. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that massage is effective for ASD. Future studies should include large sample sizes, incorporate double-blind designs, employ appropriate outcome measures, and allow for long observation and follow-up periods. Furthermore, consensus must be reached on standardized treatments and additional therapies in order to provide better quality evidence for the treatment of ASD.

Serum amyloid protein (SAA) as a healthy marker for immune function in Tridacna crocea.

Serum amyloid protein (SAA) is known as an acute reactive protein of innate immunity in mammals. However, in invertebrates, the role of SAA in innate immunity is still unclear. In this study, a full-length cDNA of the SAA gene (named TcSAA) was cloned from Tridacna crocea, mollusca. The gene includes a 193 bp 5' untranslated region (UTR) and a 129 bp 3' UTR sequence, and the open reading frame (ORF) with 393 bp nucleotides encodes a polypeptide of 130 amino acids. TcSAA contains a typical signal peptide and an SAA functional domain. The mRNA expression of TcSAA was detected in all 12 selected tissues and 7 different developmental stages. Furthermore, the expression of TcSAA was increased quickly in hemocytes after challenge with V. coralliilyticus or LPS. Furthermore, rTcSAA could bind V. coralliilyticus and V. alginolyticus, and the protein could reduce the lethality rate of the clams from 80% to 55% which caused by V. coralliilyticus about 48 h after injection. In summary, these results indicate that TcSAA may act as a marker for monitoring health and protecting T. crocea.

MDM2 is involved in the regulation of p53 expression in the immune response of oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis.

MDM2 (mouse double-minute) and p53 form a negative feedback loop and play a prominent role in preventing the induction of uncontrolled apoptosis. To better understand their potential roles in oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis, MDM2 and p53 homologs were first isolated and cloned in C. hongkongensis (named ChMDM2 and Chp53), and their mRNA expression patterns in tissues and developmental stages were analyzed. Multiple sequence alignment analysis and phylogenetic analysis of ChMDM2 and Chp53 displayed a high degree of homology and conservation. In addition, exposure to Vibrio coralliilyticus resulted in DNA damage and apoptosis in the hemocytes of C. hongkongensis, and found that the mRNA expression level of ChMDM2 was decreased, while the relative expression of Chp53 was significantly increased in the hemocytes and gills. Furthermore, fluorescence from ChMDM2-EGFP and Chp53-Red were found to be distributed in the nucleus of HEK293T cells. Besides, dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that ChMDM2 antagonized with Chp53 and participates in p53 signaling pathway. In addition, the interaction between ChMDM2 and Chp53 was confirmed strongly by Co-immunoprecipitation assays. Furthermore, the results of RNAi showed that ChMDM2 and Chp53 participated in apoptosis which induced infection of V. coralliilyticus. Taken together, our results characterized the features of ChMDM2 and Chp53, which played a critical role in apoptosis of C. hongkongensis.