Tag: pubmed

Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 Jul 9:ntad117. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntad117. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco is a well-established risk factor for cancer, but its association with other morbidities needs consideration. The low-income and middle-income countries with unprecedented demographic transformation lack evidence on tobacco use and its impact on cognitive health.

METHODS: Using a propensity score matching approach, we utilized data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India. Study employed 1:1 nearest neighbor matching with the replacement methodology. We estimated the odds of poor cognitive score and tobacco use among older adults based on five different models for ever tobacco user, former tobacco user, current tobacco user, current smokers, and current smokeless tobacco users with reference to never tobacco users.

RESULTS: The estimated average treatment effect (ATT) for treated and the untreated group has shown a higher likelihood of cognitive decline among ever (OR -0.26; 95%CI -0.43 to -0.09), current (OR -0.28; 95%CI -0.45 to -0.10) and former (OR -0.53; 95%CI -0.87 to -0.19) tobacco users compared to never tobacco users compared to never tobacco users. Finding further suggests that odds of lower cognitive score among older adults who were smoker (OR -0.53; 95%CI -0.87 to -0.19) and smokeless tobacco user (OR -0.22; 95%CI -0.43 to -0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Interventions designed to prevent and prolong the incidence of cognitive impairment should focus on limiting the use of tobacco. Strategies under tobacco-free generation initiative should be amplified in order to prevent future generation from productivity loss and to promote healthy ageing and premature deaths.

IMPLICATIONS: Evidence of a definitive association between tobacco consumption and cognition among older adults is sporadic in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Though tobacco is a risk factor for various diseases including cancer, the extent of its impact on cognitive health among older population is limited. This study contributes to existing literature by highlighting poor cognitive outcomes among older adults who smoke tobacco and consume smokeless tobacco as compared to never tobacco users. Our findings emphasize the need to accelerate tobacco-free generation efforts in LMICs to reach a higher quality of life and active ageing in pursuit of achieving the sustainable development goal of ‘good health and well-being’.

PMID:37422916 | DOI:10.1093/ntr/ntad117

J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2023 Jul 9. doi: 10.1007/s00432-023-05096-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this meta-analysis is to systematically review the diagnostic performance of radiomic techniques in predicting peritoneal metastasis in patients with gastric cancer, and to evaluate the quality of current research.

METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Embase, and Cochrane databases for relevant studies up to April 3, 2023. Data extraction and quality evaluation were performed by two independent reviewers. Then we performed statistical analysis, including plotting the forest plot and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve, and source of heterogeneity analysis, through the MIDAS module in Stata 15. We performed meta-regression and subgroup analyses to analyze the sources of heterogeneity. Using the QUADAS-2 scale and the RQS scale to assess the quality of retrieved studies.

RESULTS: Ten studies with 6199 patients were finally included in our meta-analysis. Pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.66, 0.86), and 0.88 (95% CI 0.80, 0.93), respectively. The overall AUC was 0.89 (95% CI 0.86, 0.92). The heterogeneity of this meta-analysis was high, with I² = 88% (95% CI 75,100). The result of meta-regression showed that QUADAS-2 results, RQS results and machine learning method led to heterogeneity in sensitivity and specificity (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the image segmentation area and the presence or absence of combined clinical factors were associated with sensitivity heterogeneity and specificity heterogeneity, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Undoubtedly, radiomics has potential value in diagnosing peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer, but the quality of current research is inconsistent, and more standardized and high-quality research is still needed in the future to achieve the transformation of radiomics results into clinical applications.

PMID:37422882 | DOI:10.1007/s00432-023-05096-0

Transfusion. 2023 Jul 9. doi: 10.1111/trf.17469. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) treatment, mostly based on apheresis technology, is used for immunomodulation in various diseases such as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, graft versus host disease and other (auto)immune disorders. The aim of this study was to collect high cell counts and purity in shorter procedure times using an ECP off-line system with an increased collection flow rate of 2 mL/min to a target volume of 200 mL buffy coat.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In this prospective study, data of routinely performed off-line photopheresis treatments were collected and analyzed at the Central Institute for Blood Transfusion & Department of Immunology (ZIB) of the Tirol Kliniken, to assess absolute cell counts and procedure times and to calculate collection efficiencies (CE2).

RESULTS: A total of 22 patients participated in this study. The processed blood volume was 4312 mL, the collection time 120 min, overall procedure time 157 min and the absolute cell counts of treated white blood cells (WBC) and mononuclear cells (MNC) were 5.0 and 4.3 × 10⁹ respectively (median values). The calculated CE2 for WBC and MNC was 21.1% and 58.5%, the proportion of treated MNCs of the total number of MNCs present was 55.0%.

CONCLUSION: The data presented in this study show high therapeutically effective cell counts collected with a high MNC purity within a shorter overall collection/procedure time due to an increased collection flow rate.

PMID:37422880 | DOI:10.1111/trf.17469

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2021 Nov;27(11):1017-1024.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the academic thought, medication experience and prescription rules of Academician Wang Qi in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) using the TCM inheritance support platform (V2.5).

METHODS: We collected and sorted out the medical records on the treatment of PE from Academician Wang Qi’s Clinic. We established a database of medical records on the TCM inheritance support platform, analyzed the drugs and prescriptions in the database and explored new prescriptions using “statistical reports” and “data analysis” systems on the platform.

RESULTS: A total of 91 effective prescriptions were recorded, involving 148 TCM drugs, with Phellodendron, Amomum Villosum, Polygala Tenuifolia, Tuckahoe, Lodestone, Oyster, Acanthopanax Senticosus, Uncaria, Tribulus, and Keel as the top 10 with the highest frequency of use, which were featured mainly by “warm” and “cold” concerning the four natures, “sweet”, “bitter” and “pungent” relating to the five flavors, and acting on “kidney meridian”, “liver meridian” and “heart meridian” in terms of the meridian tropisms. In addition, 5 new prescriptions were obtained through unsupervised entropy hierarchical clustering.

CONCLUSIONS: In the treatment of PE, Academician Wang Qi employs tranquilizing the mind and consolidating the kidney (An Zhi Gu Shen) as the primary strategy, taking into account the three organs of heart, liver and kidneys, focusing on the phase of calming the mind or regulating the liver or clearing the kidney or controlling fire, and adding or reducing drugs according to different conditions and syndromes, which conforms to his diagnosis and treatment mode of “body differentiation－disease differentiation－syndrome differentiation”. The analysis of the potential new prescriptions also accords with Academician Wang Qi’s rules of medication, which can provide some ideas for the clinical treatment of and scientific researches on premature ejaculation in the future.

PMID:37422875

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2021 Nov;27(11):995-1000.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of different filling method-related sperm counting chambers and the structural factors of Leja counting chambers on sperm motility using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA).

METHODS: Using drop-filled Makler, capillary-loaded Leja and structurally modified Leja sperm counting chambers, we measured sperm concentration, the percentages of progressively motile sperm (PMS) and non-progressively motile sperm (NPMS), total sperm motility, curvilinear velocity (VCL), average path velocity (VAP), straight line velocity (VSL), beat-cross frequency (BCF), linearity (LIN), wobble (WOB) and straightness (STR) in the semen samples of 76 males by CASA and compared them between different chambers.

RESULTS: The drop-filled Makler sperm counting chamber achieved remarkably higher PMS, NPMS, total sperm motility, VCL and VAP than the Leja chambers (P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in VSL, BCF, LIN, WOB and STR between the Makler and Leja chambers (P > 0.05), or in sperm concentration, PMS, NPMS and total sperm motility between the capillary-loaded and structurally modified Leja counting chambers (P > 0.05). The ground edge and thickness of the coverslip of the Leja counting chamber produced no significant inference on the kinetic sperm parameters (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The drop-filled sperm counting chamber achieves significantly higher sperm motility and kinetic parameters than the capillary-loaded Leja chamber. The structural factors such as the ground edge and thickness of the coverslip of the Leja counting chamber do not influence the analysis of sperm parameters.

PMID:37422871

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2021 Nov;27(11):991-994.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of sperm from different sources in intrauterine insemination on clinical and neonatal outcomes.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and follow-up data on 1,071 cases of singleton pregnancy by IUI at the Center of Assisted Reproduction of our hospital from January 2015 to December 2017. According to the sources of sperm, 658 of the pregnancies were achieved by artificial insemination by donor (AID) and the other 413 by artificial insemination by husband (AIH). We compared the clinical parameters between the two groups.

RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were observed between the AID and AIH groups in spontaneous abortion (76 ［11.55%］ vs 60 ［14.53%］, P > 0.05), <37 wk premature delivery (20 ［3.48%］ vs16 ［4.65%］, P > 0.05), mean birth weight (［3.33 ± 0.46］ vs ［3.30 ± 0.48］ kg, P > 0.05), <2.5 kg low birth weight (15 ［2.61%］ vs 13 ［3.78%］, P > 0.05), ≥4.0 kg fetal macrosomia (41 ［7.13%］ vs 31 ［9.01%］, P > 0.05), or fetal defects (6 ［1.04%］ vs 4 ［1.16%］, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Artificial insemination by donor does not increase the risk of adverse clinical and neonatal outcomes and therefore is considered as a safe and reliable assisted reproductive technique.

PMID:37422870

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2021 Nov;27(11):986-990.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect and safety of Yun’s modified pelvic floor exercise (PFE) in the treatment of female sexual dysfunction (FSD).

METHODS: We enrolled 80 FSD patients from the Outpatient Department of Shanghai Fifth People’s Hospital from August 2018 to January 2021 and randomized them into an experimental (n = 40) and a control group (n = 40), the former treated by Yun’s modified PFE and the latter by traditional PFE, both for 8 weeks. After 0, 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, we evaluated the clinical effect by comparing the female sexual function indexes (FSFI), including sexual desire, sexual arousal, vaginal lubrication, orgasm, sexual satisfaction and sexual intercourse pain, the male partners’ sexual satisfaction, and the pelvic floor muscle strength between the two groups of patients.

RESULTS: Thirty-four of the patients in the experimental group and 36 in the control completed the treatment. There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline data between the two groups (P > 0.05). The FSFIs were significantly improved in both the experimental and control groups after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment compared with the baseline (P < 0.05), even more significantly in the experimental than in the control group at 8 weeks (P < 0.05). The effectiveness rate was remarkably increased from 52.8% at 4 weeks to 72.2% at 8 weeks in the experimental group (P < 0.05) and from 29.4% to 44.1% in the control (P < 0.05), even more significantly in the former than in the latter group (P < 0.05). Statistically significant differences were found in muscle tone and type I muscle strength between the two groups at 8 weeks (P < 0.05) but not at 4 weeks (P > 0.05). Type II muscle strength and partners’ satisfaction were markedly higher in the experimental than in the control group at 4 and 8 weeks (P < 0.05). No adverse events were observed in either of the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Yun’s modified pelvic floor exercise can improve the symptoms of female sexual dysfunction, more effective than the traditional pelvic floor muscle exercise, and with no serious adverse reactions.

PMID:37422869

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2021 Nov;27(11):980-985.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of the functional polymorphisms in the non-coding regions of folate metabolism-related genes in the reproductive-aged population of Hubei Province.

METHODS: Using Sanger sequencing, we examined the polymorphisms of the genes MTR (rs28372871 and rs1131450), MTRR (rs326119) and CBS (rs2850144) in 790 subjects before and during pregnancy from April 2020 to March 2021. We compared the distributions of the four loci between different populations.

RESULTS: The distributions of the four genotypes of rs28372871, rs1131450, rs326119 and rs2850144 all conformed to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Statistically significant differences were observed in the polymorphism distribution of rs28372871 between Hubei and Jiangsu (P < 0.05), in that of rs1131450 between Hubei and Shanghai (P < 0.05), and in that of rs2850144 between Hubei and Yazd, Iran (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: This was the first investigation on the distribution of MTR, MTRR and CBS gene polymorphisms in the reproductive-aged population of Hubei Province. The effects of the functional loci in both encoding and non-coding regions of folate metabolism-related genes have to be comprehensively considered so as to formulate an appropriate folate-supplementary protocol.

PMID:37422868

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2021 Nov;27(11):969-973.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of mahogunin ring finger-1 (MGRN1) on the mitophagy of the spermatogonial stem cells (SSC) in mice.

METHODS: SSCs cultured in vitro were divided into three groups: empty vector control, MGRN1 (MGRN1 in SSCs knocked down by RNAi), and MGRN1 + FCCP (inducing mitophagy with carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone ［FCCP］ in the SSCs with down-regulated MGRN1). The expressions of mitochondrial function-related proteins (Cytochromo c and COX IV) and mitophagy-related proteins (LC3, P62, FUNDC1 and CK2) and the phosphorylation of FUNDC1 were detected by Western blot. Mitochondria and mitochondrial autophagosomes in the SSCs were observed under the electron microscope.

RESULTS: Compared with the empty vector control group, the MGRN1 and MGRN1 + FCCP groups showed significantly down-regulated expressions of Cytochromo c, Cox IV, LC3 and P62, increased phosphorylation level of FUNDC1, and up-regulated expression of CK2 in the SSCs (P < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found in the expressions of Cytochromo c, Cox IV, LC3, P62 and CK2 or in the phosphorylation level of FUNDC1 between the MGRN1 and MGRN1 + FCCP groups (P > 0.05). Electron microscopy manifested increased mitochondrial damage and reduced mitochondrial autophagosomes in the SSCs in the MGRN1 and MGRN1 + FCCP groups compared with those in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS: MGRN1 affects mitophagy in the SSCs of mice, which may be associated with the effect of CK2 on the phosphorylation of FUNDC1, and its molecular mechanism needs to be further studied.

PMID:37422866

Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2021 Nov;27(11):963-968.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of monobromobiphenyl ether (4-BDE) on the expression of γH2AX in the rat testis, and the possible mechanism of 4-BDE affecting the reproductive function of the male rats.

METHODS: Twenty-four SD male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control and low-, medium- and high-dose 4-BDE, the control rats treated intragastrically with olive oil, and the animals in the latter three groups with 4-BDE at 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/d, respectively, all for 30 consecutive days. Then all the rats were killed and the testis tissues harvested for HE staining, examination of the apoptosis of the cells by TUNEL and determination of the expressions of H2AX mRNA and γH2AX by q-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTS: HE staining manifested occasional reduction or absence of spermatogonial and Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules in the medium- and high-dose 4-BDE groups. Compared with the controls, the rats exposed to 4-BDE showed a significant dose-dependent increase in the apoptosis of the testis tissue (P < 0.05), even more significant in the medium- and high-dose 4-BDE groups than in the low-dose group (P < 0.05). There was a dose-effect relationship in the apoptosis index, but with no statistically significant difference between the medium- and high-dose 4-BDE groups (P > 0.05). The results of q-PCR exhibited no statistically significant difference in the expression level of H2AX mRNA either between the control and 4-BDE-exposed rats (P > 0.05) or among the three 4-BDE groups (P > 0.05). The expression of the γH2AX protein was remarkably higher in the 4-BDE groups than in the control (P < 0.05), but not significantly different among the 4-BDE groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to 4-BDE at 100 or 200 mg/kg/d damages the structure of seminiferous tubules, increases the apoptosis of testicular cells, significantly up-regulates the expression of the γH2AX protein, and consequently increases DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) in the rat testis. The apoptosis of testicular cells may be related to DSB./.

PMID:37422865