Effectiveness of acupuncture in the governor vessel and Yangming meridian for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture of the governor vessel and Yangming meridian are widely used in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, the optimal meridian for acupuncture in the treatment of AIS remains uncertain. PURPOSE: This network meta-analysis study aimed to compare the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture at governor vessel and Yangming meridian in the treatment of AIS. METHODS: All relevant studies published in CNKI, WANFANG, VIP, Sinomed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Pub Med, and Embase before January 13, 2024 were systematically retrieved. The two researchers independently screened the studies and extracted the data. Cochrane ROB tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies, and Stata 14.0 software was used to conduct a network meta-analysis of neurological deficit score, activities of daily living (ADL), clinical effective rate and Fugl-meyer motor function evaluation (FMA). RESULTS: A total of 401 studies were obtained, and 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) values of the four outcome indexes were all ranked by "Governor vessel acupuncture + Conventional neurology treatment(GVAc+CT) > Yangming meridian acupuncture + Conventional neurology treatment(YMAc+CT) > Conventional neurology treatment (CT)". Compared to YMAc+CT and CT, GVAc+CT had the best effect in reducing the degree of neurological deficit score (SMD = -0.72, 95%CI = [-1.22,-0.21] and SMD = -1.07,95%CI = [-1.45,-0.69], respectively) and promoting the recovery of ADL((SMD = 0.59,95%CI = [0.31,0.88] and SMD = 0.96,95%CI = [0.70,1.21], respectively). Compared to CT, GVAc+CT also had a better clinical effective rate in the treatment of AIS (RR = 1.14,95%CI = [1.04,1.25]). CONCLUSIONS: Governor vessel acupuncture combined with conventional neurology treatment has the best effect in reducing the degree of neurological deficit score and promoting the recovery of ADL in AIS patientscompared to YMAc+CT and CT. Governor Vessel acupuncture is the most preferable acupoint scheme for clinical acupuncture treatment of AIS.

Efficacy of ferulic acid in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke injury in rats: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Intravenous thrombolysis is commonly used in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke damage. The existing thrombolytic drugs still suffer significant shortcomings, including a limited fibrin specificity and bleeding complications. Ferulic acid can directly bind the key thrombus enzymes and target to blood clots, suggesting its thrombolytic potency that may be beneficial with thrombolytic potency for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke damage. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of ferulic acid in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke injury in rats and its potential mechanism of action. Materials and methods: We conducted a literature search in six databases, including CNKI, up to July 2023. Results: Sixteen trials were included in the meta-analysis, which demonstrated that ferulic acid significantly reduced infarct size, neurological deficit score, apoptosis index, cleaved caspase-3, and cytochrome C levels (all p < 0.05). In addition, ferulic acid significantly increased the levels of phosphorylated Akt, mitochondrial Bcl-xL/Bax, phosphorylated astrocyte PEA15, hippocampal calcium binding protein, and mitochondrial Bcl-2/Bax ratio (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that ferulic acid protects against acute ischemic stroke injury in rats by inhibiting ischemia-induced excitotoxicity, inflammatory response, and apoptosis.

The protective effect of an extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen) on cerebral ischemic injury in animal models: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Cerebral ischemia is a common disease that seriously threatens the health of human beings. Tanshinone IIA (TSA) is a fat-soluble compound isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Danshen. Recent studies have shown that TSA plays a significant protective role in the animal models of cerebral ischemic injury. AIM OF THE STUDY: The meta-analysis was to evaluate the protective effect of Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge) extract (TSA) in cerebral ischemic injury, aiming at providing scientific evidence for clinical application of TSA in the treatment of cerebral ischemia in patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All relevant studies published in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Database (VIP) and Chinese Biomedicine Database (CBM) before Jan 2023 were systematically retrieved. The methodological quality was assessed by SYRCLE's risk of bias tool for the animal studies. Data was analyzed using Rev Man 5.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies were included. Compared with the control group, TSA significantly reduced the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (mean difference [MD], -1.78; 95% CI, [-2.13, -1.44]; P < 0.00001) and high mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) (MD, -0.69; 95% CI, [-0.87, -0.52]; P < 0.00001). TSA also inhibited the activation of brain nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) (MD, - 0.36; 95% CI, [-0.41, -0.32]; P < 0.00001), malondialdehyde (MDA) (MD, -0.90; 95% CI, [-1.66, -0.13]; P = 0.02), cysteine protease-3 (Caspase-3) (MD, -1.39; 95% CI, [-1.98, -0.81]; P < 0.00001), and reduced cerebral infarction volume(MD, -16.26; 95% CI, [-20.76, -11.77]; P < 0.00001), brain water content (MD, -4.89; 95% CI, [-7.06, -2.71]; P < 0.0001) and neurological deficit scores (MD, -1.19; 95% CI, [-1.48, -0.89]; P < 0.00001). Additionally, TSA increased the brain content of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (MD, 68.31; 95% CI, [10.41, 126.22]; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The result of this study showed that TSA had a protective effect on cerebral ischemic injury in animal models, and the mechanism is associated with the reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress, and the inhibition of cell apoptosis. However, the quality of included studies may affect the accuracy of positive results. Therefore, more high-quality randomized controlled animal experiments are need for meta-analysis in the future.

Effectiveness of acupuncture in migraine rats: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and potential underlying mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of experimental model of migraine in rats. METHODS: Nine electronic databases, including CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), WanFang, VIP (Chinese Scientific Journals Database), Sinomed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and EBSCO, were searched for randomized experimental studies on migraine in rats involving acupuncture intervention. The search period ranged from inception to June 2022. The methodological quality was assessed using the SYRCLE's risk of bias tool for animal studies. Data were analyzed using the Revman 5.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies were included in this analysis. Findings from the available experimental studies documented that acupuncture significantly reduced behavior scores of rats with migraine (MD = -15.01, 95%CI = [-18.01, -12.01], P<0.00001) and downregulated the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) (MD = -16.14, 95%CI = [-21.45, -10.83], P<0.00001), substance P (SP) (MD = -11.47, 95%CI = [-15.97, -6.98], P<0.00001) and nitric oxide (NO) (MD = -3.02, 95%CI = [-3.79, -2.26], P<0.00001) in serum, and stimulatory G protein (Gsa) (MD = -62.90, 95%CI = [-69.88, -55.92], P<0.00001) in brainstem. Acupuncture also significantly increased the content of inhibitory G protein (Gia) (MD = 24.01, 95%CI = [20.10, 27.92], P<0.00001) in brainstem and 50% paw withdrawal threshold (50%PWT) (MD = 1.96, 95%CI = [1.15, 2.77], P<0.00001). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture can effectively improve the behavioral performance of rates with migraine, and its mechanism of action might involve the inhibition of meningeal vasodilation and inflammatory factors, and the reduction of neurogenic inflammation.

Facile synthesis of rose-like composites of zeolites and layered double hydroxides: Growth mechanism and enhanced properties.

Excellent performances of various materials often depend on high specific surface areas. Therefore, increase of specific surface areas is one of the most important means to improve the properties and performances of materials. Herein, we report a facile strategy to prepare novel composite materials of zeolites and hydrotalcite-like layered double hydroxides, with high specific surface areas. The composites with a rose-like morphology were synthesized hydrothermally by adding synthetic zeolites to the raw materials used for the formation of hydrotalcite. The resultant composites were shown to contain two distinct layered double hydroxides with different Mg/Al molar ratios. Nitrogen (N2) adsorption-desorption measurements showed that the specific surface areas and the pore volumes of these composites increased by an order of magnitude in comparison with hydrotalcite. The new composites were shown to be capable of effectively removing Cr(VI), Cu(II) and methylene blue from aqueous environments and had better performances for the latter two contaminants than hydrotalcite. Moreover, this strategy potentially opens up the synthesis of new composite materials with tunable compositions and enhanced properties for environmental and other applications.

Effectiveness of gastrodin for migraine: A meta-analysis.

Background: Gastrodia elata Blume (GEB), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat dizziness, numbness of limbs, and infantile convulsion, among other issues. Gastrodin is the main component of GEB. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gastrodin in the treatment of migraine. Methods: Ten electronic databases, namely the Cochrane Library, Embase, EBSCO, PubMed, Web of Science, CENTRAL, CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), CBM (Chinese Biomedicine Database), WanFang, and VIP (Chinese Scientific Journals Database), were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of gastrodin for migraine published before September 2021. The data were analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software and evaluated by GRADEpro. Results: A total of 1,332 subjects were included in 16 RCTs. The meta-analysis showed that gastrodin was significantly effective in treating migraine (RR = 1.21, 95%CI = [1.17, 1.27]), reducing the pain degree (MD = -1.65, 95% CI = [-2.28, -1.02]), reducing the frequency of migraine attack (SMD = -2.77, 95% CI = [-3.92, -1.62]), shortening the duration of migraine attack (SMD = -1.64, 95% CI = [-2.35, -0.93]), and slowing average arterial cerebral blood flow velocity (SMD = -3.19, 95% CI = [-5.21, -1.17]), as well as being safe. Conclusions: This systematic review revealed gastrodin is effective and safe in the treatment of migraine. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=197094, identifier: CRD42020197094.

Tongqiao Huoxue Decoction for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke: A Systematic Review and meta-analysis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tongqiao Huoxue Decoction (TQHXT) in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS); Study Design: A total of 17 randomized controlled trials, involving 1489 AIS patients, were included for data analyses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of TQHXT in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke before September 2020 were retrieved from seven electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Central, CNKI, CBM, Wanfang, and VIP. Data were analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software, and quality was evaluated by GRADEpro; Results: Results showed that, while TQHXT demonstrated undeniable positive effects in clinical effective rate, neurological deficit scores, activities of daily living (ADL) scores, and hemorheology (including HCT; fibrinogen; plasma viscosity and platelet adherence rate), adverse events (AE) require further study; and Conclusions: This study provides evidence that TQHXT is an effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke. However, due to the limited quality of the included studies, the above conclusion needs to be further verified by stricter randomized controlled, double-blind, large-sample, high-quality trials.

Reproductive tract microbiota of women in childbearing age shifts upon gynecological infections and menstrual cycle.

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to discover whether the vaginal microbe of women at childbearing age is different among groups defined by urogenital tract infections, childbearing history and menstrual cycle, respectively. RESULTS: This was a multiple case-control study of women at childbearing age who were assigned to case or control groups according to their states of urogenital tract infections. The participants were also grouped by childbearing history and menstrual cycle. Vaginal swabs were collected and stored at - 70 °C until assayed. The V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was amplified using PCR and sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform. We tested the hypothesis of whether the relative abundance of microbial species in vaginal microbiota was varied with urogenital tract infections, childbearing history and menstrual cycle. The vaginal microbial richness (Alpha diversity measured by PD_whole tree) was decreased in normal women (without reproductive tract infections) than in those with bacterial vaginosis (BV), and decreased in pregnant women than in other groups of non-pregnancy. Similarly, women from groups of normal and in pregnancy had lower beta diversity on measure of unweighted_unifrac distance in comparison to those of infected and non-pregnant. The top 10 genus relative abundance, especially Lactobacillus, which was the most dominant genus with the relative abundance of 71.55% among all samples, did not differ significantly between groups of childbearing history and menstrual cycle analyzed by ANOVA and nonparametric kruskal_wallis. Lactobacillus iners and Lactobacillus helveticus have the most abundance, totally account for 97.92% relative abundance of genus Lactobacillus. We also found that a higher L.helveticus/L.iners ratio is more likely to present in normal women than in the infected and in pregnant than in non-pregnant, although these comparisons lack statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: The relative abundance of dominant bacterial taxa in vaginal microbial communities of women at childbearing age were not different among groups of childbearing history and menstrual cycle. Women from groups of in pregnancy and without reproductive tract infections had lower alpha and beta diversity. The composition of the main lactobacillus species may shift upon phases of a menstrual cycle and the status of reproductive tract infections.

A comparison of the prognosis between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma in stage IB-IIA cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To explore differences in prognosis between adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and to explore feasibility of ovarian preservation in stage IB-IIA cervical cancer (CC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of 810 patients (682 SCC + 128 AC) with stage IB-IIA CC were reviewed. Clinical and pathological characters of the two groups were compared using the chi-squared test. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used in univariate analysis of prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors was conducted by the Cox hazards regression model. RESULTS: The incidence of LVSI (lymphovascular space invasion) and poor cell differentiation in SCC patients was higher than that in AC patients (23.90% vs. 8.59%, P < 0.05; and 54.25% vs. 28.91%, P < 0.05). Results of univariate analysis showed that cell differentiation, clinical stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM), ovarian metastasis (OM), parametrial involvement (PI), LVSI, depth of stromal invasion, and tumor size were related to the prognosis of patients with stage IB-IIA CC (P < 0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that cell differentiation, clinical stage, and LNM were independent prognostic factors for patients with stage IB-IIA CC. There was no difference in 5-year survival rate between SCC patients and AC patients (87.3% vs. 82.4%; P > 0.05). In AC patients, there was no difference in the 5-year survival rate between patients with ovarian retention and patients with bilateral ovariectomy (75% vs. 86.6%; P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In stage IB-IIA CC, there is no difference in prognosis between AC and SCC. The ovaries of stage IB-IIA1 AC patients under age 45 might be preserved.

Tunable luminescence and energy transfer in Ca3 SiO4 Cl2: Ce3+ ,Li+ ,Mn2+ ,Eu2+ phosphors.

A series of color-tunable Ca3-2x-y-z SiO4 Cl2 (CSC):xCe3+ ,xLi+ ,yMn2+ ,zEu2+ phosphors with low temperature phase structure was synthesized via the sol-gel method. An energy transfer process from Ce3+ to Mn2+ in CSC:0.01Ce3+ ,0.01Li+ ,yMn2+ (y = 0.03-0.09) and the mechanism was verified to be an electric dipole-dipole interaction. The Ce3+ and Mn2+ emission intensities were greatly enhanced by co-doping Eu2+ ions into CSC:0.01Ce3+ ,0.01Li+ ,0.07Mn2+ phosphors due to competitive energy transfers from Eu2+ /Ce3+ to Mn2+ , and Ce3+ to Eu2+ . Under 332 nm excitation, CSC:0.01Ce3+ ,0.01Li+,0.07Mn2+ ,zEu2+ (z = 0.0005-0.002) exhibited tunable emission colors from green to white with coexisting orange, green and violet-blue emissions. These phosphors could have potential application in white light-emitting diodes.

Significance of the Factors Associated With Parametrial Involvement in Stage IB to IIA Cervical Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to explore the factors associated with parametrial involvement (PI) in patients with stage IB to IIA cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of 507 patients were reviewed. Nine factors were analyzed by univariate analysis using χ test and multivariate analysis using logistic regression analysis to screen for factors associated with PI. RESULTS: There were 46 patients with PI. Result of univariate analysis suggested depth of stromal invasion, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), and lymph node metastasis, and uterine involvement was associated with PI (P < 0.05 for all). The multivariate analysis model included factors that could be diagnosed by a cone biopsy, and the result suggested nonsquamous histological type and LVSI was the independent factor of PI. The incidence of PI in the patients with no LVSI and squamous cancer was 6.97%. When the patients with inner 1/3 stromal invasion were stratified into those with squamous cancer and no LVSI, the incidence of PI was 1.17%. The incidence of PI in the patients with LVSI and nonsquamous cancer was 33.33%. CONCLUSIONS: The patients with inner 1/3 stromal invasion, no LVSI, and squamous histological type may be considered for less radical surgery. The patients with nonsquamous histological type and LVSI may be considered for radical hysterectomy including a complete resection of parametrium.

Novel cancer-targeting SPECT/NIRF dual-modality imaging probe (99m)Tc-PC-1007: synthesis and biological evaluation.

Synthesis, characterization, in vitro and in vivo biological evaluation of a heptamethine cyanine based dual-mode single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/near infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging probe (99m)Tc-PC-1007 is described. (99m)Tc-PC-1007 exhibited preferential accumulation in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Cancer-specific SPECT/CT and NIRF imaging of (99m)Tc-PC-1007 was performed in a breast cancer xenograft model. The probe uptake ratio of tumor to control (spinal cord) was calculated to be 4.02±0.56 at 6 h post injection (pi) and 8.50±1.41 at 20 h pi (P<0.0001). Pharmacokinetic parameters such as blood clearance and organ distribution were assessed.

Heptamethine cyanine based (64)Cu-PET probe PC-1001 for cancer imaging: synthesis and in vivo evaluation.

PURPOSE: Development of a heptamethine cyanine based tumor-targeting PET imaging probe for noninvasive detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. METHODS: Tumor-specific heptamethine-cyanine DOTA conjugate complexed with Cu-64 (PC-1001) was synthesized for breast cancer imaging. In vitro cellular uptake studies were performed in the breast cancer MCF-7 and noncancerous breast epithelial MCF-10A cell lines to establish tumor specificity. In vivo time-dependent fluorescence and PET imaging of breast tumor xenografts in mice were performed. Blood clearance, biodistribution, and tumor-specific uptake and plasma binding of PC-1001 were quantified. Tumor histology (H&E staining) and fluorescence imaging were examined. RESULTS: PC-1001 displayed similar fluorescence properties (ε=82,880cm(-1)M(-1), Ex/Em=750/820nm) to the parental dye. Time-dependent cellular accumulation indicated significantly higher probe uptake (>2-fold, 30min) in MCF-7 than MCF-10A cells and the uptake was observed to be mediated by organic anion transport peptides (OATPs) system. In vivo studies revealed that PC-1001 has desirable accumulation profile in tumor tissues, with tumor versus muscle uptake of about 4.3 fold at 24h and 5.8 fold at 48h post probe injections. Blood half-life of PC-1001 was observed to be 4.3±0.2h. Microscopic fluorescence imaging of harvested tumor indicated that the uptake of PC-1001 was restricted to viable rather than necrotic tumor cells. CONCLUSIONS: A highly efficient tumor-targeting PET/fluorescence imaging probe PC-1001 is synthesized and validated in vitro in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and in vivo in mice breast cancer xenograft model.

Analysis of clinicopathological factors associated with bone metastasis in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women today. Once breast cancer metastasizes to bone, mortality increases. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify patients with high risk of bone metastasis, and to find predictive factors for the occurrence of bone metastasis at an earlier stage of breast cancer. Three hundred and sixty patients with pathologically proved breast cancer visiting the Department of Nuclear Medicine for whole body bone scan from January 2006 and January 2009 were investigated in this study. Clinicopathological information was obtained, which consisted of age, menopausal status, clinical staging, lymph node stage, histological grade, the expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Correlation between bone metastasis and the associated factors was tested by using the Chi-square test. A Cox multivariate analysis was used to assess the factors which independently contributed to survival after bone metastasis in breast cancer patients. Survival curves were drawn for metastasis-free interval and the independent factors which contributed to survival, using the Kaplan-Meier method. Twenty-four patients were excluded from subsequent analysis. Three hundred and thirty-six enrolled patients ranged in age from 22 to 77 years (mean, 47.8 years). ER/PR status [ER(+) vs. ER(-), χ (2)=4.328, P=0.037; ER(+)PR(+) vs. ER(+)PR(-), χ (2)=4.425, P=0.035] and histological grade (χ (2)=7.131, P=0.028) were significantly associated with bone metastasis. ER status (x (2)=8.315, P=0.004) and metastasis-free interval (χ (2)=6.863, P=0.009) were independent prognostic factors for survival in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis. Our study suggested that ER/PR status and histological grade are risk factors for the development of bone metastasis in breast cancer patients. However, ER status and metastasis-free interval are independent prognostic factors for survival in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis. Breast cancer bone metastasis has its unique characteristics, which is helpful to choose the appropriate treatment for breast cancer patients with bone metastasis.

Clinical and pathological factors related to the prognosis of chinese patients with stage Ib to IIb cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective study is to analyze the clinical and pathological factors related to the prognosis of Chinese patients with stage Ib to IIb cervical cancer. METHODS AND RESULTS: 13 clinical pathological factors in 255 patients with stage Ib to IIb cervical cancer undergoing radical hysterectomy and systematic lymphadenectomy were analyzed to screen for factors related to prognosis. The cumulative 5-year survival of the 255 patients was 75.7%. The result of the univariate analysis suggested that clinical stage, cell differentiation, depth of cervical stromal invasion, parametrial tissue involvement, and lymph node metastasis were prognostic factors for patients with stage Ib to IIb cervical cancer (P<0.05). Compared with cases with involvement of iliac nodes, obturator nodes, or inguinal lymph nodes, cases with metastasis to the common iliac lymph nodes had a poorer prognosis (P<0.05). Cases with involvement of four or more lymph nodes had a poorer prognosis than those with involvement of three or fewer lymph nodes (P<0.05). Using multivariate Cox proportional hazards model regression analysis, non-squamous histological type, poor differentiation, parametrial tissue involvement, and outer 1/3 stromal invasion were found to be independently related to patients poor prognosis (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Non-squamous histological type, poor cell differentiation, parametrial tissue involvement, and outer 1/3 stromal invasion are the independent poor prognostic factors for patients with stage Ib to IIb cervical cancer.