Advances in intermittent fasting and neurodegeneration

Intermittent fasting is a kind of diet that extends the fasting time every day or several days per week.It mainly includes time-limited eating,alternate day fasting and periodic fasting.Intermittent fasting triggers evolutionary indications and conserved cellular responses to protect and improve body status by triggering a"metabolic switch"from hepatogenic glucose to adipocyte-derived ketone bodies.Gut microbiota and circadian rhythms have also been linked to intermittent fasting.This article focuses on the research progress of intermittent fasting and neurodegenerative diseases in order to provide a theoretical basis for nutritional treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Retrospective analysis of the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen Capsule for the treatment of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia

Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen Capsule(LQC)for the treatment of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia by a retrospective analysis of confirmed COVID-19 cases,thereby providing a reference for clinical treatment.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients with confirmed NCIP treated at the Hanchuan Hospital of People’s Hospital of Wuhan University of China between January 21 and January 30,2020.A total of 32 patients were included in the treatment group,who received routine treatment plus LQC(1 packet,tid),and 32 patients were included in the control group,who received routine treatment alone.The data about response rate of respiratory symptoms were compared and analyzed between the two groups.Results:No significant between-group difference was observed in baseline data.The response rates for fever were 84.4%in the treatment group and 56.3%in the control group;for cough,the response rates were 47.8%and 7.4%in the treatment group and the control group,respectively(P<0.05).The response rates for expectoration were 71.4%in the treatment group and 11.8%in the control group;for shortness of breath,the response rates were 78.6%and 0%in the treatment group and the control group,respectively(P<0.05).The average duration of symptoms like fever,cough,fatigue and expectoration in the treatment group were shorter than that in the control group(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence rate between LQC and control group.Conclusion:Traditional Chinese medicine LQC significantly improved fever,cough,expectoration,and shortness of breath in patients with confirmed COVID-19,thereby providing preliminary evidence for clinical treatment.

Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Oxycodone Versus Fentanyl for Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia in Postoperative Pain Management:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Backgroud:Intravenous opioid patient-controlled analgesia(IV-PCA)has been suggested as an effective method in postoperative pain management.There are several randomized controlled trials(RCTs)of comparison of oxycodone and fentanyl for IV-PCA in surgical patients.The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of oxycodone and fentanyl for IV-PCA in surgical patients from current data.Methods:The RCTs of oxycodone versus fentanyl for IV-PCA were gathered from PubMed,Embase,Cochrane library,CNKI and VIP data.After data extraction and quality assessment of the included RCTs,the RevMan 5.3 software was applied for meta-analysis of numerical rating scale(NRS)scores,accumulated IV-PCA consumption of oxycodone and fentanyl,patient satisfaction,postoperative nausea and vomiting(PONV),and other adverse events(AEs).Results:Results reported from eight RCTs involving 600 patients are included in the meta-analysis.The NRS score at rest and upon movement of group oxycodone was significantly lower than that of group fentanyl(WMD=-3.85,95%CI-4.93^-2.76,P<0.00001;WMD=-4.31,95%CI-5.79^-2.84,P<0.00001);however,the incidence of PONV and dizziness was obviously increased in group oxycodone than in group fentanyl(OR=2.41,95%CI 1.60~3.63,P<0.0001;OR=3.69,95%CI 2.17~6.26,P<0.00001).Accumulated IV-PCA consumption in group oxycodone was less than in group fentanyl overall the 48 hours postoperatively(WMD=-12.11,95%CI-18.42^-5.80,P=0.0002).There was no significant difference in patient satisfaction between oxycodone and fentanyl(OR=0.73,95%CI 0.11~5.04,P=0.75).Conclusion:According to the evidence,this meta-analysis suggest that oxycodone for IV-PCA is superior to fentanyl in postoperative pain relief,whereas the higher incidence of PONV and dizziness was accompanied with oxycodone.Further large-scale,prospective,observational studies are needed to summarize and analyse the data to draw a fair conclusion.