Exploration of the mechanism by which icariin modulates hippocampal neurogenesis in a rat model of depression

Icariin(ICA) has a significant capacity to protect against depression and hippocampal injury,but it cannot effectively cross the bloodbrain barrier and accumulate in the brain.Therefore,the mechanism by which ICA protects against hippocampal injury in depression remains unclear.In this study,we performed proteomics analysis of cerebrospinal fluid to investigate the mechanism by which ICA prevents dysfunctional hippocampal neurogenesis in depression.A rat model of depression was established through exposure to chronic unpredictable mild stress for 6 weeks,after which 120 mg/kg ICA was administered subcutaneously every day.The results showed that ICA alleviated depressive symptoms,learning and memory dysfunction,dysfunctional neurogenesis,and neuronal loss in the dentate gyrus of rats with depression.Neural stem cells from rat embryonic hippocampi were cultured in media containing 20% cerebrospinal fluid from each group of rats and then treated with 100 μM corticosterone.The addition of cerebrospinal fluid from rats treated with ICA largely prevented the corticosterone-mediated inhibition of neuronal proliferation and differentiation.Fifty-two differentially expressed proteins regulated by chronic unpredictable mild stress and ICA were identified through proteomics analysis of cerebrospinal fluid.These proteins were mainly involved in the ribosome,PI3 K-Akt signaling,and interleukin-17 signaling pathways.Parallel reaction monitoring mass spectrometry showed that Rps4 x,Rps12,Rps14,Rps19,Hsp90 b1,and Hsp90 aa1 were up-regulated by chronic unpredictable mild stress and down-regulated by ICA.In contrast,Htr A1 was down-regulated by chronic unpredictable mild stress and up-regulated by ICA.These findings suggest that ICA can prevent depression and dysfunctional hippocampal neurogenesis through regulating the expression of certain proteins found in the cerebrospinal fluid.The study was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine of China in March 2017.

Photoselective green-light laser vaporisation vs. TURP for BPH. meta-analysis

This study sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of photoselective vaporisation （PVP） vs. transurethral resection of the prostate （TURP） for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia （BPH）. Eligible studies were identified from electronic databases （Cochrane Library, PubMed and EMBASE）. The database search, quality assessment and data extraction were performed independently by two reviewers. Efficacy （primary outcomes： maximum urinary flow rate （Qmax）, international prostate symptom score （IPSS）, postvoid residual urine （PVR） and quality of life （QoL）; secondary outcomes： operative time, hospital time and catheter removal time） and safety （complications, such as transfusion and capsular perforation） were explored by using Review Manager 5.0. Six randomized controlled trials （RCTs） and five case-controlled studies of 1398 patients met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of the extractable data showed that there were no differences in I PSS, Qmax, QoL or PVR between PVP and TU RP （mean difference （MD）： prostate sizes 〈 70 ml, Qmax at 24 months, MD=0.01, P=0.97; IPSS at 12 months, MD=0.18, P=0.64; QoL at 12 months, MD=-0.00, P=0.96; PVR at 12 months, MD=0.52, P=0.43; prostate sizes 〉70 ml, Qmax at 6 months, MD=-3.46, P=0.33; IPSS at 6 months, MD=3.11, P=0o36; PVR at 6 months, MD=25.50,P=-0.39）. PVP was associated with a shorter hospital time and catheter removal time than TURP, whereas PVP resulted in a longer operative time than TURP. For prostate sizes 〈70 ml, there were fewer transfusions, capsular perforations, incidences of TUR syndrome and clot retentions following PVP compared with TURP. These results indicate that PVP is as effective and safe as TURP for BPH at the mid-term patient follow-up, in particular for prostate sizes 〈70 ml. Due to the different energy settings available for green-light laser sources and the higher efficiency and performance of higher-quality lasers, large-sample, long-term RCTs are required to verify whether different energy settings affect outcomes.

Silodosin is effective for treatment of LUTS in men wii BPH： a systematic review

The aim of this study was to systematically review the evidence on the efficacy and safety of silodosin treatments on lower urinary tract symptoms （LUTS） in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia （BPH） from randomized controlled trials. We searched PubMed （1966- December 2011）, Embase （1974-December 2011） and the Cochrane Library Database （2011, Issue 12）. The assessed outcome measures were the change from baseline for the International Prostate Symptom Score （IPSS）, quality of life （QoL） score, peak urine maximum flow rate （Qmax）, QoL related to urinary symptoms and adverse effects. Two authors independently assessed the study quality and extracted data. All data were analysed using RevMan 5.1. The meta-analysis included four randomized controlled trials with a total of 2504 patients. The study durations were each 12 weeks. At the follow-up end points, the pooled results showed that the change from baseline for the silodosin group was significantly higher than the placebo group for the IPSS, QoL score and Qmax（mean difference （MD）=-2.78, P〈O.O0001; MD=-O.42, P--O.O04; MD= 1.17, P〈O.OOOOl,respectively） and patients felt more satisfied with QoL related to urinary symptoms in the silodosin group than the placebo group. Ejaculation disorder was the most commonly reported adverse effect. The pooled results also showed that the silodosin group was superior to the 0.2 mg tamsulosin group with respect to the IPSS and QoL score （IPSS： MD=- 1.14, P=O.02; QoL score： MD=-0.26, P=O.02） and inferior to the 0.2 mg tamsulosin group with respect to Qmax （MD=-0.85, P=O.01）. In contrast, there was no significant difference in the incidence of ejaculation disorder and dizziness between the silodosin and 0.2 mg tamsulosin groups. The current meta-analysis suggested that silodosin is an effective therapy for LUTS in men with BPH and is not inferior to 0.2 mg tamsulosin.

Deep learning-based radiomics based on contrast-enhanced ultrasound predicts early recurrence and survival outcome in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common primary liver malignancy.AIM To predict early recurrence(ER)and overall survival(OS)in patients with HCC after radical resection using deep learning-based radiomics(DLR).METHODS A total of 414 consecutive patients with HCC who underwent surgical resection with available preoperative grayscale and contrast-enhanced ultrasound images were enrolled.The clinical,DLR,and clinical+DLR models were then designed to predict ER and OS.RESULTS The DLR model for predicting ER showed satisfactory clinical benefits[area under the curve(AUC=0.819 and 0.568 in the training and testing cohorts,respectively)],similar to the clinical model(AUC=0.580 and 0.520 in the training and testing cohorts,respectively;P>0.05).The C-index of the clinical+DLR model in the prediction of OS in the training and testing cohorts was 0.800 and 0.759,respectively.The clinical+DLR model and the DLR model outperformed the clinical model in the training and testing cohorts(P<0.001 for all).We divided patients into four categories by dichotomizing predicted ER and OS.For patients in class 1(high ER rate and low risk of OS),retreatment(microwave ablation)after recurrence was associated with improved survival(hazard ratio=7.895,P=0.005).CONCLUSION Compared to the clinical model,the clinical+DLR model significantly improves the accuracy of predicting OS in HCC patients after radical resection.

Effect of V on high-temperature mechanical properties of Al-5Cu-1.5Ni alloy

The effects of V on microstructure,room temperature,and high-temperature(350℃)mechanical properties of Al-5Cu-1.5Ni alloy were investigated.The results show that Al-5Cu-1.5Ni-xV alloys mainly compriseα-Al,Al_(2)Cu,Al_(3)(Ni,Cu)_(2),Al_(3)Ni,Al7Cu4Ni,and Al_(10)V phases.The addition of V can signally refineα-Al dendritic structure,which improves the mechanical properties of the as-cast alloys at room and high temperatures.After T6 heat treatment(540℃/12 h/WC+170℃/8 h/AC),α-Al,network skeleton structure Al_(3)(Ni,Cu)_(2),and Al_(10)V phases all show coarsening,while the fine nano-θ'-Al_(2)Cu precipitated from the matrix and dispersed distributed.The introduction of V promotes the quantity of precipitatedθ'-Al_(2)Cu particles.The ultimate tensile strength of the heat-treated alloys at room and high temperatures is greatly improved compared to that of the as-cast alloy.The highest high-temperature ultimate tensile strength of the alloys with V is 111.8 MPa,21.5%higher than that of the base alloy.The analysis shows that the improvement of high-temperature mechanical properties after heat treatment is mainly due to the introduction of V,increasing the precipitated quantity of nano-θ'-Al_(2)Cu particles and improving its thermal stability.The dispersion strengthening effect ofθ'-Al_(2)Cu particles exceeds the weakening effect of other adverse microstructures on the mechanical properties.

Transrectal microwave thermotherapy causing a short-time influence on sperm quality in Chinese chronic nonbacterial prostatitis patients

Chronic prostatitis can affect the sperm＇s quality. Previous studies have shown that transrectal microwave thermotherapy （TRMT） results in symptomatic relief in patients with chronic prostatitis, but the effects on sperm have not been carefully investigated. This study evaluates the impact of TRMT on the relief or decrease of symptoms and quality of sperm when used to treat patients with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis. Sixty patients were enrolled in the study. TRMT treatment was administered over 5 days, 1 h per day. Semen examination was carried out pretreatment and immediately at the conclusion of the 5-day treatment. Also, it was repeated 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months later. The treatment＇s symptom relief efficacy was evaluated using the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index （NIH-CPSI）. After the treatment, the overall NIH-CPSI scores were lower compared to those of pretreatment. In addition, the white blood cells and lecithin in expressed prostatic secretion were normal after the treatment. The sperm count was decreased by 23.8% 3 months after the treatment, sperm motility was reduced by 10.3% immediately after treatment, and sperm deformity was increased by 17.2%. The sperm volume and PH were not affected. However, the sperm quality recovered after treatment and the malformation rate was also lower at 6 months after treatment. TRMT is a favorable and safe treatment option for patients with nonbacterial chronic prostatitis. It could relieve the patient＇s symptoms and impact on sperm quality in the short-term.