No abstract

Efficacy of electroacupuncture combined with probiotics for depression and chronic diarrhea in patients, and its effect on the levels of serum inflammatory cytokines, norepinephrine (NE) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were investigated. A total of 104 patients with depression and chronic diarrhea admitted to The First Clinical Faculty, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from July 2014 to June 2018 were randomly divided into the observation group (n=56) and the control group (n=48). The observation group was treated with electroacupuncture combined with probiotics, and the control group was given conventional drugs for depression and chronic diarrhea. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) score and the abdominal symptom score were evaluated before treatment and at 3 weeks after treatment. Changes in the levels of serum inflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)-6, IL-2 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α] as well as the levels of NE and BDNF in the two groups of patients before and after treatment were determined using radioimmunoassay. Compared with those in the control group, the symptoms of depression and diarrhea in the observation group were remarkably alleviated (p<0.05). After treatment, the serum cytokine levels in the two groups of patients were decreased, and the decreased level of serum inflammatory cytokines in the observation group was not obviously different from that in the control group. Besides, the serum BDNF level in the observation group was also reduced (p<0.05). The overall efficacy of the observation group was superior to that of the control group, showing a statistical difference. Electroacupuncture combined with probiotics brings good efficacy to patients with depression and chronic diarrhea, which is worthy of clinical promotion and development.

Background: Endometriosis (EMT) is one of the common diseases of women of childbearing age. EMT destroys the anatomical structure of the pelvis, which leads to abnormal ovulation and endocrine abnormalities. It also affects embryo implantation and makes patients infertile. Recently, it is confirmed that Chinese medicine also have an excellent clinical efficacy on EMT. Compared with the conventional western medicine treatment, it effectively relieve pain and other concomitant symptoms. Methods and analysis: The following databases will be searched for relevant information before July 2020: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and CNKI. Major results: the overall effective rate, VAS score. Secondary outcomes: blood serum estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), adverse events. Data will be collected independently by 2 researchers, and the risk of bias in meta-analysis will be evaluated according to “Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions”. All data analysis will be conducted using Review Manager V.5.3. and Stata V.12.0. Results: The curative effect and safety of Chinese herbal compound prescription treatment for EMT patients will be evaluated systematically. Conclusion: The systematic review of this study will summarize the currently published evidence of Chinese herbal compound prescription treatment for EMT to further guide its promotion and application. Ethics and dissemination: The private information from individuals will not be published. This systematic review also will not involve endangering participant rights. Ethical approval is not required. The results may be published in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated in relevant conferences. Open Science Framework (OSF) registration number: https://osf.io/p5nrk .

Objective This study aimed to explore the relationship between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and osteoporosis (OP) based on bioinformatics. Methods The expression profiles of SLE and OP gene chips were searched through the GEO database, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out to obtain the intersection. Then, the Funrich software was used to predict the upstream miRNAs of the intersection genes, and the miRNA–mRNA relationship network was constructed. Afterward, the String database and Cytoscape software were used to construct the protein interaction network of the intersection genes to screen out the key genes. Finally, the functions and related pathways of key genes were analyzed by using the DAVID database. Results ①A total of 140 intersection genes of SLE and OP were obtained; ②There were 217 miRNAs regulating the intersection genes; ③IL-4, FOS, TLR1, TLR6, CD40LG, CCR1 were the key genes in the protein interaction network; ④The DAVID enrichment analysis mainly covered the positive regulation of cytokine production, the regulation of osteoclast differentiation, macrophage activation and other biological processes, involving Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells Differentiation, IL-17 signaling pathway. Conclusions SLE and OP still have some highly overlapping differential gene expressions under the background of complex gene networks. The gene functions and signaling pathways involved can simultaneously regulate the two diseases, suggesting that there is a close relationship between the molecular mechanisms of the two diseases, and that it may be a target of drugs that interfere with two diseases at the same time.