Effects of staged rehabilitation training on inflammatory factor levels and red blood cell distribution width followingcardiac valve replacement.

BACKGROUND: The current study was conducted aimed atexploring the effects of staged rehabilitation training on the levels of inflammatory factors and red blood cell distribution in patients who underwent cardiac valve replacement. METHODS: A total of 140 patients who underwent cardiac valve replacement at The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University between April 2021 and November 2022 were included in this study. During the postoperative rehabilitation phase, the patients were randomly assigned to either the control group or the experimental group. The experimental group received staged rehabilitation training (n = 70), while the control group received conventional care and rehabilitation suggestions without specialized staged rehabilitation training (n = 70). Informed consent was obtained from all patients prior to theirinclusion in the study. Clinical data of the patients were collected andanalyzed. RDW was measured using an automated blood cell analyzer on postoperative day 1, 14, and 28. Levels ofTNF-α, IL-6 and CRP were measured using ELISA. Quality of life was evaluated usingthe WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. The effects of postoperative rehabilitation were assessed using the 6MWD test. The occurrence of adverse events in the postoperative periodwas alsoanalyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the general characteristics of the two groups of patients (P > 0.05). On the first day after surgery, no significant differences were seen in RDW between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, on the 14th and 28th day after surgery, the experimental group exhibited a significant reduction in RDW compared to the control group (P < 0.05). On the first day after surgery, the levels of serum TNF-α, IL-6 and CRP were comparable between the two groups (P > 0.05). However, on the 14th and the 28th after surgery, the experimental group showed evidently lower levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and CRP compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The experimental group demonstrated higher scores in the domains of physical health, psychological state, social relationships, and environment in the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the experimental group exhibited increased average,minimum,maximum walking distances in the6-minute walking test compared to the control group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidence of postoperative adverse events between the two groups of patients (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Staged rehabilitation training exerteda positive effect on the levels of inflammatory factors and red blood cell distribution in patients following cardiac valve replacement. This type of rehabilitation training facilitated the patient's recovery process by reducing the inflammatory response and improving the condition of red blood cells. Additionally, it enhanced the quality of life and rehabilitation outcomes for patients.

The effect of phased written health education combined with healthy diet on the quality of life of patients after heart valve replacement.

BACKGROUND: To observe the effect of phased written health education combined with healthy diet on the quality of life of patients after heart valve replacement. METHODS: One hundred-thirty patients who underwent heart valve replacement surgery in our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were enrolled as the research subjects. They were randomly divided into study group (65 patients, phased written health education combined with health Diet) and control group (65 cases, routine health education). The drug compliance and the degree of anticoagulant drugs knowledge were compared between the two groups in the first and second stage rehabilitation and the recovery stage. The health behavior ability and quality of life at different phases were also observed. RESULTS: During the first and the second stage rehabilitation, and the recovery stage, the drug compliance of the study group was superior to that of the control group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the knowledge of anticoagulant drugs in the study group was better than that in the control group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Before intervention, there was no significant difference in health behavior ability and quality of life between the two groups (P > 0.05). The healthy behavior ability of study group for each stage was superior to the control group, the difference was significant (P < 0.05). The healthy behavior ability and quality of life showed the same results with statistical significance (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of phased written health education combined with healthy diet in patients after heart valve replacement can effectively improve patients' medication compliance, anticoagulant drugs knowledge, healthy behavior ability and quality of life at different stages, and is worthy of clinical application.

Retracted: Emodin protects H9c2 cells against hypoxia-induced injury via regulation of miR-26a/survivin and the JAK1/STAT3 pathway.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a catastrophic disease. Emodin possesses biological properties in protecting against some diseases. Our study investigated to explore the effects of emodin on hypoxia-stimulated cardiomyocytes, which mimicked CHD in vitro. METHODS: H9c2 cells were stimulated with hypoxia and then the cells were treated with or without emodin, and/or transfected with miR-26a mimic, pcDNA-survivin and their corresponding negative control (NC). Cell viability and cell apoptosis were detected by Cell Counting kit-8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. In addition, the expression of apoptotic proteins, Janus kinase 1 (JNK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway factors, and survivin were evaluated by using Western blot analysis. The expression of miR-26a was analyzed by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Moreover, the target of miR-26a was verified by using a luciferase report assay. RESULTS: Hypoxia significantly decreased cell viability and increased cell apoptosis, and the accumulated levels of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved-caspase-9 were upregulated by hypoxia compared with the control. However, emodin administration led to the opposite result. A further result showed that emodin increased the phosphorylation of JNK/STAT3 pathway-related proteins and the pathway inhibitor AG490 impaired the protective effects of emodin on hypoxia-induced injury. In addition, emodin negatively regulated the miR-26a expression, and overexpression of miR-26a enhanced cell apoptosis and upregulated the expression of cleaved-caspase-3 and cleaved-caspase-9 compared with the NC. Moreover, emodin statistically upregulated the expression of survivin, and overexpression of miR-26a decreased the expression of survivin. The luciferase of miR-26a overexpression was decreased in the wild type of the survivin group. CONCLUSION: Emodin protects hypoxia-induced cell injury as evidenced by increasing cell viability and decreasing apoptosis through downregulation of miR-26a as well as activation of the JNK/STAT3 pathway.

The Preclinical Research Progress of Stem Cells Therapy in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a type of degenerative disorder of the basal ganglia, causing tremor at rest, muscle rigidity hypokinesia, and dementia. The effectiveness of drug treatments gradually diminishes because the conversion to dopamine within the brain is increasingly disrupted by the progressive degeneration of the dopaminergic terminals. After long-term treatment, most patients with PD suffer from disability that cannot be satisfactorily controlled. To solve these issues, stem cells have recently been used for cell therapy of PD. In this review, the characteristics of different stem cells and their therapeutic effects on PD treatment will be discussed.