Effects of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation Training on Limb Movement and Living Ability of Patients with Hemiplegia after Stroke.

Stroke is a disease with a high disability rate, having a serious impact on that patient's working and daily survival quality and bringing economic burden to the family and society. Patients with stroke hemiplegia are mostly tetraplegic and have difficulty regulating their balance, and their long-term symmetry has been destroyed. The application in the rehabilitation process of acupuncture in patients with hemorrhagic stroke may produce unexpected effects. It is very effective to study the effect of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation training on limb movement and patient survival. It is very helpful in improving normal motor function and normal life, increasing joint mobility and muscle strength, and reducing muscle tension. In this paper, it is found that the observational group has a complication rate of 2.13%, in contrast to 17.02% as in the group of control, and the pin-prick combined with a rehabilitative training makes a significant improvement to the patients. This study provides suggestions for the study to investigate acupuncture combined with recovery exercise on limb movement and living capacities of people with stroke paraparesis.

An Updated Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy and Safety of Prostatic Artery Embolization vs. Transurethral Resection of the Prostate in the Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Background: Prostatic artery embolization (PAE) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been introduced into clinical practice, but conclusive evidence of efficacy and safety has been lacking. Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) vs. transurethral resection of prostate (TURP), we performed a meta-analysis of clinical trials. Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from Pubmed, Embase, Wanfang, and CNKI from January 2000 to December 2020 and used RevMan 5.0 to analyze the data after five RCTs were included. Results: The reducing of prostate volume (PV) [Median mean (MD) 14.87; 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.52-22.22; P < 0.0001] and the increasing of maximum flow rate in free uroflowmetry (Qmax) (MD 3.73; 95% CI 0.19-7.27; P = 0.004) were more obvious in TURP than in PAE; however, the rate of lower sexual dysfunction [odds ratio (OR) 0.12; 95% CI 0.05-0.30; P < 0.00001] was lower in PAE compared with TURP. Meanwhile, no conspicuous difference in International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS) score (MD 1.42; 95% CI -0.92 to 3.75; P = 0.23), quality of life (Qol) score (MD 0.21; 95% CI -0.31 to 0.73; P = 0.43), post void residual (PVR) (MD 21.16; 95% CI -5.58 to 47.89; P = 0.12), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) (MD 0.56; 95% CI -0.15 to 1.27; P = 0.12), and complications (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.20-4.05; P = 0.89) between PAE and TURP group was shown. Conclusion: PAE may replace TURP as an alternative treatment for Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients who do not want to have surgery or with operational contraindications.

Health Effects of Alternate-Day Fasting in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Alternate-day fasting (ADF) method is becoming more and more popular among adults. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effects of ADF on adults. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ADF were searched using PubMed (1988 to March 2020), EMBASE (1995 to March 2020), and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register. A systematic review was carried out using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. The datum was calculated by RevMan version 5.3.0. The original references for relating articles were also reviewed. Results: Seven randomized controlled trials involving 269 participants (152 in the ADF group and 117 in the control group) were studied. In this meta-analysis, compared with the control group, the ADF group showed statistically significant reductions in weight (p < 0.00001) and body mass index (p < 0.00001). Besides, the ADF group showed significant differences in terms of total cholesterol (p = 0.001), low-density lipoprotein (p = 0.01), triglycerides (p = 0.02), fat mass (p = 0.002), lean mass (p = 0.002), systolic blood pressure (p = 0.003), diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.007), and total calorie intake (p = 0.007). At the same time, the analysis demonstrated that the ADF group had a same effect compared with control group in aspects of high-density lipoprotein (p = 0.27), homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (p = 0.55), and fasting blood sugar (p = 0.09). Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that ADF is a viable diet strategy for weight loss, and it has a substantial improvement in risk indicators for diseases in obese or normal people.