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Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced injury is a common phenomenon of stroke, and the effective treatment for I/R-induced brain tissue damage is limited. Breviscapine has been widely used in China as herbal medicine to treat cardiovascular diseases for hundreds of years and has been demonstrated to possess potent cardiovascular pharmacological effects. This study aims to investigate the neuroprotective effect of breviscapine on cerebral I/R-induced injury. The rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was applied in our study. The cerebral I/R rats received multiple injections of breviscapine. All rats were subject to neurological behavior tests by open field test and Morris water maze test. The pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress marker levels were determined by ELISA and colorimetric analysis, respectively. We demonstrated that administration of breviscapine dose-dependently ameliorated cerebral I/R-induced injury and improved the neurological performance of cerebral I/R rats. Further studies illustrated that breviscapine treatment effectively attenuated inflammatory cytokine expression, reduced oxidative stress, and pro-apoptosis protein expression and inhibited the activation of NF-κB signaling and microglia in the I/R injury tissues. Breviscapine may serve as a single drug or a promising adjuvant that can be used in conjunction with other medicine for the treatment of cerebral I/R-induced injury.

Introduction: The implantation of a gestational sac within the scar of a previous caesarean delivery is defined as caesarean scar pregnancy (CSP), which is classified into two types: CSP I and CSP II. CSP II is life threatening, and no clear consensus for CSP II management exists. Patient concerns: A 31-year-old woman, gravida 1, para 1, with a previous caesarean delivery due to macrosomia, presented with an estimated 45 days of amenorrhea. The patient presented to the emergency department with vaginal bleeding for 1 day and no abdominal pain. Diagnoses: An ultrasound examination was performed demonstrating a viable fetus that was embedded in the caesarean scar area and was bulging through the wall of the uterus into the bladder without contact with the uterine cavity or cervical canal. A diagnosis of type II caesarean scar pregnancy was made. Interventions: Local lauromacrogol was used to reduce the gestational sac blood supply. Suction curettage was performed under the guidance of abdominal ultrasound 24 h later, and the amount of bleeding was 20 mL. The response to the treatment was monitored by serial beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG). Outcomes: Patient was followed up with β-hCG weekly levels which became <10 mIU/mL after 4 weeks of treatment. Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided local lauromacrogol injection combined with suction curettage may be a safer and novel therapeutic method.

Background Isolated fallopian tube torsion (IFTT) is a rare cause of gynecological acute abdomen, is easily misdiagnosed and often has a delay in diagnosis. IFTT with paraovarian cysts is most frequently reported in studies. Here, we reported a patient diagnosed with IFTT associated with a paraovarian cyst, and we conducted a literature review for IFTT, aiming to identify valuable information that will be helpful for diagnosis and treatment for fallopian tube torsions. Case presentation A 13-year-old girl presented with a 10-day history of right lower abdominal pain that worsened 2 days before presentation. On presentation, ultrasound showed a 5.8 * 5.5 cm hypoechoic cyst adjacent to the right ovary, and between the cyst and ovary, a tortuous thickened tube was visualized. Laparoscopy revealed a triple torsion of the right fallopian tube with a 6-cm paraovarian cyst, and tubal conservation surgery was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. Histopathological diagnosis revealed serous papillary cystadenoma. Conclusion Paraovarian cystic dilatation often occurs in adolescence and can induce fallopian torsion when the size of the cyst reaches 5-cm. In our review, the median age of patients diagnosed with IFTT with paraovarian cysts was 15 years old, and the main clinical manifestation was emergency abdominal pain. The associated symptoms were variable, and vomiting was the most commonly associated symptom. Salpingectomy was the most common procedure performed; however, timely surgical intervention can effectively avoid salpingectomy.

Objective  To compare the diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal sonography and hysteroscopy for intrauterine disorders. Design  300 patients were investigated by transvaginal sonography for abnormal vaginal bleeding. Of these, 112 had subsequent hysteroscopic examination and then had concomitant surgery. Results  The accuracy of findings at hysteroscopy and transvaginal ultrasonography were compared with the histopathological and surgical results as the gold standard diagnosis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of transvaginal ultrasonography were 77.4%, 50%, 49% and 78.1%, respectively, for transvaginal ultrasonography, and those of hysteroscopy were 92.3%, 97.4%, 97.3% and 92.6% respectively. Conclusion  Hysteroscopy is quick, well tolerated, and more accurate in detecting intrauterine pathology than transvaginal ultrasonography. The uterine cavity can be observed directly under hysteroscopy and this examination can provide a high diagnostic accuracy. Biopsy and treatment can be done at the time of the hysteroscopic examination. Thus it is preferable to transvaginal ultrasound examination.