Medicine
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Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) has became 1 of most prevalent bone disorders with aging population. Liuwei Dihuang (LWDH) Pill, a classical kidney-tonifying prescription, is extensively used to treat PMOP in China. The aim of this study is to explore the pharmacological mechanisms of LWDH Pill against PMOP via network pharmacological strategy. ⋯ Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed several pathways, such as PI3K-AKT pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, hypoxia-inducible factors-1 pathway, tumor necrosis factor pathway, interleukin-17 (IL-17) pathway and FoxO pathway that might be involved in modulating the above BP. Through network pharmacological approach, we investigated the potential therapeutic mechanism of LWDH Pill against postmenopausal osteoporosis in a systemic perspective. These identified multi-targets and multi-pathways provide promising directions for further revealing more exact mechanisms.
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Although thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) is widely used for facial nerve palsy (FNP) in Korea, it lacks clinical evidence. Therefore, a large-scale and long-term clinical trial is needed. It is necessary to standardize and optimize TEA treatment for clinical study. ⋯ The most frequent sequelae of FNP for which TEA was used as contracture around the mouth (75.3%). The most preferred treatment method was insertion of 6-10 monofilament threads using a 29-gauge needle at intervals of 2.2 ± 1.59 weeks in the sequelae period. The results of this survey can be used to standardize and optimize the procedure of TEA for FNP for further clinical research.
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The association between periodontitis and diabetes have been assessed by many cross-sectional studies, in which controlling confounding factors is important. Propensity score matching (PSM) may help address this issue. Therefore, we evaluated this relationship in a (PSM) analysis of individuals representing the general Korean population. ⋯ We included 9508 adults who were aged ≥ 19 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VII (2016-2018) and performed logistic regression analyses before and after PSM. The PSM was based on periodontal disease (yes or no) using a 1:1 match ratio and included 5858 individuals (2929 per group). Confounding variables, such as age, sex, marital status, occupation, education, income, smoking and drinking habits, obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia, were matched and adjusted in the logistic regression analysis.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), evolved into a global pandemic. As ACE2 on the surface of alveolar cells of the lung epithelium is one of the potential target receptors for SARS-CoV-2, the respiratory symptoms are the most common presentation of COVID-19. The aim of our study was to investigate the morphological findings in lung tissue after being infected by SARS-CoV-2 and compare histopathologic changes in patients with COVID-19 infection history who died to those who survived. ⋯ As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, new complications following SARS-CoV-2 infection are identified. Newly observed entity in patients with COVID-19 infection history who survived is pulmonary pneumo-hematocele. The appearance of these lesion has become increasingly frequent.
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Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a world-wide leading cause of blindness among adults and may be associated with the influence of genetic factors. It is significant to search for genetic biomarkers of PDR. In our study, we collected genomic data about PDR from gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. ⋯ The expression of hub genes in GEO datasets was verified and a diagnostic model was constructed by LASSO as follows: index = IFI44L * 0.0432 + C1QTNF5 * 0.11246. IFI44L and C1QTNF5 might affect the disease progression of PDR by regulating metabolism-related and inflammatory pathways. IFI44L and C1QTNF5 may play important roles in the disease process of PDR, and a LASSO regression model suggested that the 2 genes could serve as promising biomarkers of PDR.