Cordyceps cicadae (Cc), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been shown to possess immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities, and is regarded as having effects in vision improvement, but with no reported evidence. This study investigated the effects of Cordyceps cicadae fermented mycelia extracts (Cc extracts) in a benzalkonium chloride (BAC)-induced mouse dry eye model. Female ICR mice aged 6 weeks were randomly divided into four groups: blank, BAC-damaged without Cc extracts, BAC-damaged with 10 mg/kg bodyweight of Cc extracts, BAC-damaged with 100 mg/kg bodyweight of Cc extracts. The results showed that tear volume, tear film breakup time, and cornea surface indexes, including smoothness, opacity, topography, and the extent of lissamine green staining, were all improved with intake of Cc extracts intake, when compared to the status of the BAC-damaged group without Cc extracts. Immunohistochemical assays showed moderate change of Ki-67 + and Np63 + epithelial cell populations, while apoptotic epithelial cells, as detected by TUNEL assay, were decreased. PAS stain showed that the conjunctival goblet cell number and total cell area were decreased in the BAC-damaged group with Cc extracts at 10 mg/kg bodyweight. This study demonstrated that Cc extracts effectively ameliorate BAC-induced dry eye symptoms through enhancement of cornea resilience against BAC-induced damages and maintenance of conjunctival goblet cells.

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Background: Detecting early predictors of acute pyelonephritis (APN) is essential for the prognosis, but few studies have focused on young infants specifically. Objectives: The aim of our research was to determine the relationship between APN and laboratory parameters in the age group less than 4 months. Methods: This retrospective study included patients aged less than 4 months with first time febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) between January 2012 and December 2018. White blood cells (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), and blood neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of renal defects on dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scans. Results: In total, 205 patients were screened; 107 patients were in the APN group, and 98 patients were in the non-APN group. Compared with the non-APN group, the APN group showed significant differences in therapeutic response time (TRT), CRP, and NLR (all P values < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that CRP, NLR, and TRT were independent risk factors for APN (P ≤ 0.001, 0.003, and 0.004, respectively). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.774 for CRP (P < 0.001). The optimum cut-off value for CRP was 4.27 mg/dL, with the highest sensitivity and specificity (70.1% and 73.5%, respectively). Conclusions: In the age group less than 4 months, without the image diagnosis, we could treat the patients as APN for longer antibiotic duration if CRP ≥ 4.27 mg/dL.