Human orofacial clefts (OFCs) are congenital anomalies that result from the breakdown of normal mechanisms that regulate the formation of the human face. They could be syndromic or non-syndromic, with a global inciden...Human orofacial clefts (OFCs) are congenital anomalies that result from the breakdown of normal mechanisms that regulate the formation of the human face. They could be syndromic or non-syndromic, with a global incidence of 1:700 per live births. Environmental and genetic factors are thought to play various roles in the aetiology of OFCs. This study seeks to establish the diversity, distribution and pattern of inheritance of OFCs as well as environmental and other risk factors associated with OFCs in a Ghanaian population. A family-based, descriptive cross-sectional study that employed an interview-based survey questionnaire was used to obtain information from 467 families with history of OFCs. We employed chi-square statistics to analyse the data and used graphs to interpret the data. All previously reported subphenotypes of OFCs were observed by the present study. Clinically, about 12% of clefts in the study population were syndromic. The most common syndromic forms observed were Pierre Robin Sequence, cleft-with-club foot abnormalities and Van der Woude Syndrome. Only about 5% of clefts in the study cohort were familial. The study also established that lower level of education of parents, poverty, late antenatal care and dietary folate deficiency are major environmental factors associated with clefts in the Ghanaian population. In conclusion, OFCs are non-randomly distributed in Ghana and folate deficiency could likely be a source of genetic mutations and “epimutations” that cause OFCs, since folate is essential for DNA methylation, replication and repair as well as histone modification.展开更多
Objective:Acute ischemic stroke(AIS)is characterized by high morbidity and high mortality.In recent years,complementary and alternative medicine has gradually been widely accepted and applied.At present,traditional Ch...Objective:Acute ischemic stroke(AIS)is characterized by high morbidity and high mortality.In recent years,complementary and alternative medicine has gradually been widely accepted and applied.At present,traditional Chinese medicine therapy and standard treatments are used for the treatment of AIS.Xingnao-Jianshen prescriptions(XNJS)is an effective prescription for the clinical treatment of AIS,but there is a lack of large-scale clinical evidence to confirm its clinical efficacy.Therefore,our team designed this protocol to evaluate the initial therapeutic effect of XNJS.Methods:The protocol for a non-randomized controlled trial is designed in which 72 eligible patients will be allocated to one of two groups.The control group(n=36)will receive standard treatment for AIS,the test group(n=36)will receive XNJS and standard treatment.Patients will be recruited after stroke onset and will receive the intervention continuously over 10±1 days,with a follow-up period of 90 days.The primary outcome will be the change in the NIHSS,BI,mRS scores.All outcome measures will be assessed at inception,after the intervention(10±1 days),and at the follow-up(90 days).The results will be disseminated to the public through peerreviewed journals and academic conferences.Discussion:The study will provide evidence of the preliminary effects.展开更多
Objective: To evaluate the effect and safety of acupuncture therapy on patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis. Methods: A non-randomized controlled design was used to compare between the acupuncture grou...Objective: To evaluate the effect and safety of acupuncture therapy on patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis. Methods: A non-randomized controlled design was used to compare between the acupuncture group and the medication group. The acupuncture group received 8-week acupuncture therapy, and the medication group received budesonide nasal spray with cetirizine tablets for 8 weeks. The clinical symptoms and signs were analyzed before treatment, at 4 and 8 weeks after the start of treatment, and at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Furthermore, the clinical efficacy and safety indicators were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 76 participants consisting of 38 in each of the two groups were enrolled. The scores of each clinical symptom and sign, including sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose, nasal itching, and turbinate edema, and the total scores decreased over time in both groups (all P〈0.05); and no difference was found in the scores between the two groups (P〉0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the effective rates of the acupuncture group at 4 and 8 weeks after the start of treatment as well as at 12-week follow-up compared with those of the medication group (83.3% vs. 91.2%, and 94.4 % vs. 85.3%; and 80.6 % vs. 82.4%, all P〉0.05). Experimental items including blood routine, urine routine, aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransferase, urea nitrogen and creatinine were all in the normal reference ranges during the treatment in the acupuncture group. Conclusions: Acupuncture therapy has a comparable effect to the medication treatment on patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis, and it is safe with no severe adverse effects.展开更多
文摘Human orofacial clefts (OFCs) are congenital anomalies that result from the breakdown of normal mechanisms that regulate the formation of the human face. They could be syndromic or non-syndromic, with a global incidence of 1:700 per live births. Environmental and genetic factors are thought to play various roles in the aetiology of OFCs. This study seeks to establish the diversity, distribution and pattern of inheritance of OFCs as well as environmental and other risk factors associated with OFCs in a Ghanaian population. A family-based, descriptive cross-sectional study that employed an interview-based survey questionnaire was used to obtain information from 467 families with history of OFCs. We employed chi-square statistics to analyse the data and used graphs to interpret the data. All previously reported subphenotypes of OFCs were observed by the present study. Clinically, about 12% of clefts in the study population were syndromic. The most common syndromic forms observed were Pierre Robin Sequence, cleft-with-club foot abnormalities and Van der Woude Syndrome. Only about 5% of clefts in the study cohort were familial. The study also established that lower level of education of parents, poverty, late antenatal care and dietary folate deficiency are major environmental factors associated with clefts in the Ghanaian population. In conclusion, OFCs are non-randomly distributed in Ghana and folate deficiency could likely be a source of genetic mutations and “epimutations” that cause OFCs, since folate is essential for DNA methylation, replication and repair as well as histone modification.
基金Changchun Science and Technology Development Project(No.21ZGM32)Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province(No.20200201412JC).All funds conflict-free.
文摘Objective:Acute ischemic stroke(AIS)is characterized by high morbidity and high mortality.In recent years,complementary and alternative medicine has gradually been widely accepted and applied.At present,traditional Chinese medicine therapy and standard treatments are used for the treatment of AIS.Xingnao-Jianshen prescriptions(XNJS)is an effective prescription for the clinical treatment of AIS,but there is a lack of large-scale clinical evidence to confirm its clinical efficacy.Therefore,our team designed this protocol to evaluate the initial therapeutic effect of XNJS.Methods:The protocol for a non-randomized controlled trial is designed in which 72 eligible patients will be allocated to one of two groups.The control group(n=36)will receive standard treatment for AIS,the test group(n=36)will receive XNJS and standard treatment.Patients will be recruited after stroke onset and will receive the intervention continuously over 10±1 days,with a follow-up period of 90 days.The primary outcome will be the change in the NIHSS,BI,mRS scores.All outcome measures will be assessed at inception,after the intervention(10±1 days),and at the follow-up(90 days).The results will be disseminated to the public through peerreviewed journals and academic conferences.Discussion:The study will provide evidence of the preliminary effects.
基金Supported by the Key Project of Zhejiang Province Pharmaceutical Administration,China(No.2010ZZ001)Key Disciplines in Integrative Medicine of Zhejiang Province,China(No.2012-XK-A04)
文摘Objective: To evaluate the effect and safety of acupuncture therapy on patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis. Methods: A non-randomized controlled design was used to compare between the acupuncture group and the medication group. The acupuncture group received 8-week acupuncture therapy, and the medication group received budesonide nasal spray with cetirizine tablets for 8 weeks. The clinical symptoms and signs were analyzed before treatment, at 4 and 8 weeks after the start of treatment, and at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Furthermore, the clinical efficacy and safety indicators were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 76 participants consisting of 38 in each of the two groups were enrolled. The scores of each clinical symptom and sign, including sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose, nasal itching, and turbinate edema, and the total scores decreased over time in both groups (all P〈0.05); and no difference was found in the scores between the two groups (P〉0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the effective rates of the acupuncture group at 4 and 8 weeks after the start of treatment as well as at 12-week follow-up compared with those of the medication group (83.3% vs. 91.2%, and 94.4 % vs. 85.3%; and 80.6 % vs. 82.4%, all P〉0.05). Experimental items including blood routine, urine routine, aspartate transaminase, alanine aminotransferase, urea nitrogen and creatinine were all in the normal reference ranges during the treatment in the acupuncture group. Conclusions: Acupuncture therapy has a comparable effect to the medication treatment on patients with moderate to severe allergic rhinitis, and it is safe with no severe adverse effects.