Yangxin decoction for the treatment of angina pectoris of coronary heart disease: A systematic review of randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This study assessed the effectiveness of Yangxin Decoction (YXD) in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients with angina pectoris (AP). METHODS: In this study, we systematically and comprehensively searched the PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, WANGFANG, and VIP databases from their establishment to June 1, 2022. Clinical randomized controlled trials of YXD for the management of AP in patients with CHD were considered for inclusion. The outcomes included the response rate of AP, response rate based on electrocardiogram, and the rate of nitroglycerin use. Two authors independently performed literature selection, data extraction, and methodological quality assessment. Any differences were resolved by a third author through a discussion. RESULTS: Nine trials involving 819 patients were included. The meta-analysis results showed that YXD significantly improved the response rate of AP (OR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.96-4.55, I2 = 0%, P < .01) and the response rate based on the electrocardiogram (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.28-2.78, I2 = 26%, P < .01), and significantly reduced the rate of nitroglycerin use (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.19-3.52, I2 = 0%, P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that YXD was effective in the treatment of patients with AP of CHD. Further studies are required to confirm these results.

Function-related asymmetry of the specific cardiolipin binding sites on the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier.

The ADP/ATP carrier (AAC) transports matrix ATP and cytosolic ADP across the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). It is well known that cardiolipin (CL) plays an important role in regulating the function of AAC, yet the underlying mechanism still remains elusive. AAC is composed of three homologous domains, and three specific CL binding sites are located at the domain-domain interfaces near the matrix side. Here we report an in-depth investigation on the dynamic properties of the bound CL within the three specific sites through all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of up to 13 µs in total. Our results highlight the importance of the basic and polar residues in CL binding. The basic residues from the linker helix and/or the [Y/W/F][K/R]G motif enable the bound CL to form an intra-domain binding mode, and the canonical inter-domain binding mode only forms when these basic residues are occupied by an additional phospholipid. Of special significance, differences in the basic and polar residues lead to remarkable asymmetry among the three specific CL binding sites. We found that the bound CL at the interface of domains 2 and 3 predominantly adopts inter-domain binding mode, while CLs at the other two sites have much more intra-domain populations. This is consistent with the asymmetric crystal structure of the matrix state (m-state) AAC which implies an asymmetric transport mechanism. The dynamic equilibrium between the inter-domain and intra-domain binding modes observed in our simulations could be highly important for the bound CLs to adapt to the movements during state transitions.

Serum and urinary thioredoxin concentrations are associated with severity of children hydronephrosis.

BACKGROUND: Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) is the most common cause of hydronephrosis in children. This study was to assess the relationship between serum thioredoxin (S-Trx) and urinary thioredoxin (U-Trx) concentrations and severity of children hydronephrosis caused by UPJO. METHODS: This study included 156 hydronephrosis children with unilateral UPJO and 80 healthy children. S-Trx and U-Trx concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. U-Trx/creatinine (cr) ratio was calculated. RESULTS: S-Trx and U-Trx concentrations and U-Trx/cr ratio were significantly higher in hydronephrosis children than in healthy children. They were significantly correlated with split renal function, anterior-posterior diameter and Society for Fetal Urology classification, as well as were independently related to the split renal function <39.2%, anterior-posterior diameter>30mm and Society for Fetal Urology grade IV. Under receiver operating characteristic curves, U-Trx/cr ratio showed the higher predictive value compared to S-Trx and U-Trx concentrations. CONCLUSION: Increased S-Trx and U-Trx concentrations, especially U-Trx/cr ratio, are closely associated with the severity of children hydronephrosis, substantializing Trx as a promising biomarker for the progression of children hydronephrosis.

Twelve-year prevalence of common neonatal congenital malformations in Zhejiang Province, China.

BACKGROUND: One of the challenges that pediatricians face when examining birth defects is to understand the trends in its occurrence and provide clues to etiology. This study was undertaken to retrospectively assess the prevalence of 10 common neonatal congenital malformations by reviewing a database of all deliveries from 28 weeks up until 7 days of birth from January 1998 to December 2009 in Zhejiang Province, China. METHODS: Ten common neonatal congenital malformations were selected for analysis. The incidence and the Cochran-Armitage Trend were assessed via SAS9.2. A P value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Of 83 888 perinatals, 374 (4.46‰) suffered from congenital heart diseases (CHD), 77 (0.92‰) from congenital hydrocephalus, 32 (0.38‰) from intestinal atresia/stenosis, 36 (0.43‰) from anorectal malformations, 149 (1.78‰) from kidney malformations, 139 (3.31‰) from hypospadias (male), 178 (2.12‰) from orofacial clefts (OFC), 188 (2.24‰) from polydactyly, 62 (0.74‰) from syndactyly, and 269 (3.21‰) from accessory auricle anomaly. Their trend of prevalence varied as follows: CHD, P=0.0026; hydrocephalus, P=0.0042; intestinal atresia/stenosis, P=0.0103; anorectal malformations, P=0.4332; kidney malformations, P<0.0001; hypospadias, P=0.0021; OFC, P=0.005; polydactyly, P=0.0867; syndactyly, P=0.1941; and accessory auricle anomaly, P=0.0011. The upward trend was as follows: CHD (P=0.0026), intestinal atresia/stenosis (P=0.0103), kidney malformations (P<0.0001), hypospadias (P=0.0021), OFC (P=0.005), and accessory auricle anomaly (P=0.0011). The incidence of hydrocephalus (P=0.0042) showed a downward trend. No statistical significant trend was found in anorectal malformations (P=0.4332), polydactyly (P=0.0867) and syndactyly (P=0.1941). CONCLUSIONS: The incidences of CHD, intestinal atresia/stenosis, kidney malformations, hypospadias, OFC, and accessory auricle anomaly have increased in the last 12 years, but the incidences of anorectal malformations, polydactyly and syndactyly remain stable. The incidence of hydrocephalus shows a downward trend.

[Testicular dysgenesis syndrome: an update].

Researches on the testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) have flourished in the recent decade, and a widely accepted view on its pathogenesis is that environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) act on Leydig cells and/or testicular Sertoli cells, resulting in abnormal development of the testis and leading to the symptoms of TDS. Molecular biological studies suggest a correlation of TDS etiology with insulin-like factor 3 (INSL-3), androgen receptor (AR), P27kip, WT-1 and Müllerian inhibiting substance (MIS). This review focuses on the progress in current researches on the etiology and mechanism of TDS.