In mammals, the two main types of adipose tissues, white and brown adipose tissues, exert different physiological functions. White adipose tissue (WAT) is for storing energy, while brown adipose tissue (BAT) is for energy consumption. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are abundant in WAT and BAT, have multipotent characteristics, and are easily extracted. ADSCs can be differentiated into several cell lineages, including adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes (cartilage cells), myocytes, and neuronal cells. Therefore, ADSC could be considered as a strategy for future regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

This meta-analysis demonstrated that severe coronary disease-that is, LMD or 3VD-is more common in patients with ACS or stable coronary disease than generally perceived, and that simple and low-cost tools may help in the selection of the most appropriate therapeutic approach.

Background. Postoperative pain management remains a significant challenge for all healthcare providers. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the adjuvant effects of auricular acupressure on relieving postoperative pain and improving the passive range of motion in patients with total knee replacement (TKR). Method. Sixty-two patients who had undergone a TKR were randomly assigned to the acupressure group and the sham control group. The intervention was delivered three times a day for 3 days. A visual analog scale (VAS) and the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire were used to assess pain intensity. Pain medication consumption was recorded, and the knee motion was measured using a goniometer. Results. The patients experienced a moderately severe level of pain postoperatively (VAS 58.66 ± 20.35) while being on the routine PCA. No differences were found in pain scores between the groups at all points. However, analgesic drug usage in the acupressure group patients was significantly lower than in the sham control group (P < 0.05), controlling for BMI, age, and pain score. On the 3rd day after surgery, the passive knee motion in the acupressure group patients was significantly better than in the sham control group patients (P < 0.05), controlling for BMI. Conclusion. The application of auricular acupressure at specific therapeutic points significantly reduces the opioid analgesia requirement and improves the knee motion in patients with TKR.

IGF-IIR plays important roles as a key regulator in myocardial pathological hypertrophy and apoptosis, which subsequently lead to heart failure. Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen) is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb used to treat cardiovascular diseases. Tanshinone IIA is an active compound in Danshen and is structurally similar to 17[Formula: see text]-estradiol (E[Formula: see text]. However, whether tanshinone IIA improves cardiomyocyte survival in pathological hypertrophy through estrogen receptor (ER) regulation remains unclear. This study investigates the role of ER signaling in mediating the protective effects of tanshinone IIA on IGF-IIR-induced myocardial hypertrophy. Leu27IGF-II (IGF-II analog) was shown in this study to specifically activate IGF-IIR expression and ICI 182,780 (ICI), an ER antagonist used to investigate tanshinone IIA estrogenic activity. We demonstrated that tanshinone IIA significantly enhanced Akt phosphorylation through ER activation to inhibit Leu27IGF-II-induced calcineurin expression and subsequent NFATc3 nuclear translocation to suppress myocardial hypertrophy. Tanshinone IIA reduced the cell size and suppressed ANP and BNP, inhibiting antihypertrophic effects induced by Leu27IGF-II. The cardioprotective properties of tanshinone IIA that inhibit Leu27IGF-II-induced cell hypertrophy and promote cell survival were reversed by ICI. Furthermore, ICI significantly reduced phospho-Akt, Ly294002 (PI3K inhibitor), and PI3K siRNA significantly reduced the tanshinone IIA-induced protective effect. The above results suggest that tanshinone IIA inhibited cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, which was mediated through ER, by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway and inhibiting Leu27IGF-II-induced calcineurin and NFATC3. Tanshinone IIA exerted strong estrogenic activity and therefore represented a novel selective ER modulator that inhibits IGF-IIR signaling to block cardiac hypertrophy.

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