Medicine
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Prostatitis is a common urinary infectious disease. Acupoint therapies, including massage, acupuncture, acupoints injection, acupressure, and moxibustion, showed clinical and long-lasting benefits for prostatitis, but the efficiency of acupoint therapies was poorly evaluated. The current review is attempted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the different acupoint-based therapies for prostatitis. ⋯ DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/H7KQJ.
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Observational Study
Aspirin and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma development in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.
Aspirin therapy has shown protective effects against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in preclinical studies. However, it is unclear whether aspirin therapy lowers the risk of HCC in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. A retrospective analysis of data from 949 consecutive patients with alcoholic cirrhosis who abstained from alcoholic drinking was performed. ⋯ In propensity score-matched pairs, aspirin therapy significantly reduced the risk of HCC (aHR: 0.14; 95% CI: 0.09-0.22; P < .001). In bleeding risk, treatment with aspirin alone was not significantly associated with a higher bleeding risk (aHR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.45-1.44; P = .46). Aspirin therapy was associated with the lower risk of HCC in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.
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Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is the third most common muscular dystrophy, which is associated with facial, shoulder girdle, and paraspinal muscle atrophy. Most of the patients develop hypokyphosis and hyperlordosis in the course of the disease, to preserve standing posture. Corrective fusion is contraindicated in these patients as the surgery results with loss of compensatory hyperlordosis and leads to loss of trunk balance while standing. Although spinal fusion in neuromuscular scoliosis is a known treatment option, there are no studies in the literature on the spinal fusion of this specific patient group. ⋯ This case suggests that spinal fusion may provide functional improvement in carefully selected patient groups. Patient stratification considering spinal disability is required for further studies in this specific indication.
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Observational Study
Functional health literacy among left-behind students in senior high schools in an ethnic minority area: A cross-sectional study.
To verify the validity of functional health literacy scale and analyze what influences functional health literacy. Using convenience sampling method based on cross-sectional data to select 589 left-behind senior high-school students in an ethnic minority area, using the functional health literacy scale. ⋯ Gender(t = 2.40, P < .05), ethnicity (t = 4.28, P < .001), place of residence (t = = 4.51, P < .001), mother's education level (F = 3.608, P < .05), self-assessment of grades for 1 year (F = 25.781, P < .001), and whether the participant liked the health education content (F = 9.416, P < .001) had impacts on overall functional health literacy. The study results show that relatively satisfactory reliability and validity and can be applied further analysis for improving students functional health literacy levels.
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The stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) gene contributes essentially to Ca transport, thus it is functionally related to neurodegenerative disorders. The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the non-coding region of STIM1 gene and the risk for Parkinson disease (PD) in a Chinese Han population. In a cohort composed of 300 PD patients and 300 healthy individuals from a Chinese Han population, we analyzed genotypes for five novel SNPs, rs7934581, rs3794050, rs1561876, rs3750994 and rs3750996 in the non-coding region of STIM1 gene. ⋯ Moreover, PD risk was significantly elevated only in subjects with age ≥60 years or females who carry the STIM1 rs3794050 minor allele. There was a significant difference in plasma STIM1 protein levels between subjects with different genotypes of STIM1 rs7934581, rs3794050, rs1561876, and rs3750996. STIM1 gene rs7934581, rs3794050, rs1561876, rs3750996 SNPs are associated with increased PD risk, and its mechanism may be related to abnormal STIM1 gene expression.