Structural and functional changes of anterior cingulate cortex subregions in migraine without aura: relationships with pain sensation and pain emotion.

Migraine without aura is a multidimensional neurological disorder characterized by sensory, emotional, and cognitive symptoms linked to structural and functional abnormalities in the anterior cingulate cortex. Anterior cingulate cortex subregions play differential roles in the clinical symptoms of migraine without aura; however, the specific patterns and mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, voxel-based morphometry and seed-based functional connectivity were used to investigate structural and functional alterations in the anterior cingulate cortex subdivisions in 50 patients with migraine without aura and 50 matched healthy controls. Compared with healthy controls, patients exhibited (1) decreased gray matter volume in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, (2) increased functional connectivity between the bilateral subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and right middle frontal gyrus, and between the posterior part of anterior cingulate cortex and right middle frontal gyrus, orbital part, and (3) decreased functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and left anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri. Notably, left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex was correlated with the duration of each attack, whereas the right subgenual anterior cingulate cortex was associated with migraine-specific quality-of-life questionnaire (emotion) and self-rating anxiety scale scores. Our findings provide new evidence supporting the hypothesis of abnormal anterior cingulate cortex subcircuitry, revealing structural and functional abnormalities in its subregions and emphasizing the potential involvement of the left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex-related pain sensation subcircuit and right subgenual anterior cingulate cortex -related pain emotion subcircuit in migraine.

Depression severity mediates stigma and quality of life in clinically stable people with schizophrenia in rural China.

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms associated with schizophrenia are closely related to stigma and quality of life(QOL). There is, however, no thorough research on the connection between the three. This study sought to investigate the possible factors influencing depressive symptoms in people with schizophrenia (PWS) in rural Chaohu, China, and to further explore the role of depression severity in stigma and lifestyle quality. METHODS: Eight hundred twenty-one schizophrenia patients accomplished the entire scale, including the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Social Impact Scale (SIS), and the World Health Organization on Quality of Life Brief Scale(WHOQOL-BREF). A straightforward mediation model was employed to determine if the intensity of the depression could act as a mediator between stigma and QOL. RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-nine schizophrenia patients (34%) had depressive symptoms (PHQ ≥ 10), and 542 patients (66%) did not (PHQ < 10). Logistic regression showed that marital status, job status, physical exercise, standard of living, and stigma contributed to the depressed symptoms of schizophrenia. Depression severity partially mediated the effect between stigma and QOL, with a mediating effect of 48.3%. CONCLUSIONS: This study discovered a significant incidence of depressed symptoms associated with schizophrenia, with depression severity serving as a mediator variable connecting stigma and QOL and partially moderating the association.

The role of diet in diabetes gastroparesis treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Diabetic gastroparesis is a common complication in patient with diabetes. Dietary intervention has been widely used in the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of diet in the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. Methods: This systematic review was conducted a comprehensive search of randomized controlled trials using dietary interventions for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis up to 9 November 2023. The primary outcomes were gastric emptying time and clinical effect, while fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin were secondary outcomes. Data analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software, and publication bias test was performed using Stata 15.1 software. Results: A total of 15 randomized controlled trials involving 1106 participants were included in this review. The results showed that patients with diabetic gastroparesis benefit from dietary interventions (whether personalized dietary care alone or personalized dietary care+routine dietary care). Compared with routine dietary care, personalized dietary care and personalized dietary care+routine dietary care can shorten the gastric emptying time, improve clinical efficacy, and reduce the level of fasting blood glucose, 2-hour postprandial blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin. Conclusions: Limited evidence suggests that dietary intervention can promote gastric emptying and stabilize blood glucose control in patients with diabetic gastroparesis. Dietary intervention has unique potential in the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis, and more high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to further validate our research results. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023481621.

Acupuncture for postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction in cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction (PGD) in cancer is the commonest and most severe postoperative complication in patients with cancer. Acupuncture has been widely used for PGD in cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for PGD in cancer. Methods: We comprehensively searched eight randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for PGD in cancer published until November 2022. Time to first flatus (TFF) and time to first defecation (TFD) were the primary outcomes, and time to bowel sound recovery (TBSR) and the length of hospital stay (LOS) were the secondary outcomes. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess the quality of the RCTs, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) system was used to evaluate the certainty of the evidence. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4, and a publication bias test was performed using Stata 15.1. Results: Sixteen RCTs involving 877 participants were included in this study. The meta-analysis indicated that acupuncture could effectively reduce the TFF, TFD, and TBSR compared with routine treatment (RT), sham acupuncture, and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). However, acupuncture did not shorten the LOS compared with RT and ERAS. The subgroup analysis revealed that acupuncture could significantly reduce the TFF and TFD. Acupuncture effectively reduced the TFF and TFD in all cancer types included in this review. Besides, local acupoints in combination with distal acupoints could reduce the TFF and TFD, and distal-proximal acupoints could significantly reduce the TFD. No trial reported adverse events of acupuncture. Conclusions: Acupuncture is an effective and relatively safe modality for treating PGD in cancer. We anticipate that there will be more high-quality RCTs involving more acupuncture techniques and cancer types, focusing on combining acupoints for PGD in cancer, further determining the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for PGD in patients with cancer outside China. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier CRD42022371219.

Acupuncture and moxibustion in patients with cancer-related insomnia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Objectives: Cancer-related insomnia (CRI) is one of the most common and serious symptoms in patients with cancer. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been widely applied in the treatment of CRI. Nevertheless, the comparative efficacy and safety of different acupuncture and moxibustion techniques remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the efficacy and safety of different acupuncture and moxibustion techniques in the treatment of CRI. Methods: Eight medical databases were comprehensively searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as of June 2022. Two independent reviewers assessed the risk of bias and conducted the research selection, data extraction, and quality assessment of the included RCTs. A network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed using frequency models, combining all available direct and indirect evidence from RCTs. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was set as the primary outcome, and adverse events and effective rates were set as the secondary outcomes. The efficacy rate was calculated as the ratio of patients with insomnia symptom relief to the total number of patients. Results: Thirty-one RCTs with 3,046 participants were included, including 16 acupuncture- and moxibustion-related therapies. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation [surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) 85.7%] and acupuncture and moxibustion (SUCRA 79.1%) were more effective than Western medicine, routine care, and placebo-sham acupuncture. Furthermore, Western medicine showed significantly better effects than placebo-sham acupuncture. In the NMA, the acupuncture and moxibustion treatments with the best therapeutic effects for CRI were transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (SUCRA 85.7%), acupuncture and moxibustion (SUCRA 79.1%), auricular acupuncture (SUCRA 62.9%), routine care combined with intradermal needling (SUCRA 55.0%), and intradermal needling alone (SUCRA 53.3%). No serious acupuncture- or moxibustion-related adverse events were reported in the included studies. Conclusion: Acupuncture and moxibustion are effective and relatively safe in treating CRI. The relatively conservative recommended order of acupuncture- and moxibustion-related therapies for CRI is as follows: transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, acupuncture and moxibustion, and auricular acupuncture. However, the methodological quality of the included studies was generally poor, and further high-quality RCTs are needed to strengthen the evidence base.

Changes in forest soil properties in different successional stages in lower tropical China.

BACKGROUND: Natural forest succession often affects soil physical and chemical properties. Selected physical and chemical soil properties were studied in an old-growth forest across a forest successional series in Dinghushan Nature Reserve, Southern China. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The aim was to assess the effects of forest succession change on soil properties. Soil samples (0-20 cm depth) were collected from three forest types at different succession stages, namely pine (Pinus massoniana) forest (PMF), mixed pine and broadleaf forest (PBMF) and monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest (MEBF), representing early, middle and advanced successional stages respectively. The soil samples were analyzed for soil water storage (SWS), soil organic matter (SOM), soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), pH, NH4(+)-N, available potassium (K), available phosphorus (P) and microelements (available copper (Cu), available zinc (Zn), available iron (Fe) and available boron (B)) between 1999 and 2009. The results showed that SWS, SOM, SMBC, Cu, Zn, Fe and B concentrations were higher in the advanced successional stage (MEBF stage). Conversely, P and pH were lower in the MEBF but higher in the PMF (early successional stage). pH, NH4(+)-N, P and K declined while SOM, Zn, Cu, Fe and B increased with increasing forest age. Soil pH was lower than 4.5 in the three forest types, indicating that the surface soil was acidic, a stable trend in Dinghushan. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrated significant impacts of natural succession in an old-growth forest on the surface soil nutrient properties and organic matter. Changes in soil properties along the forest succession gradient may be a useful index for evaluating the successional stages of the subtropical forests. We caution that our inferences are drawn from a pseudo-replicated chronosequence, as true replicates were difficult to find. Further studies are needed to draw rigorous conclusions regarding on nutrient dynamics in different successional stages of forest.