Polycystic Ovary Syndrome-Related Infertility Based on the Theory of“Liver and Kidney Homology”

Polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS)is an endocrine disorder caused by hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian(HPO)axis dysfunction.In the field of gynecology and reproduction,PCOS has emerged as both a research hot spot and a challenging area of study.According to Chinese medicine,this disease is related to kidney deficiency,phlegm and dampness obstruction,blood stasis and interconnection,Chong pulse impassability,the lack of Ren pulse,and the loss of uterine nourishment,all of which affect the normal development and maturation of eggs as well as the duration at which menstrual blood stores.In this paper,based on the theoretical basis of“liver collects blood,regulates the flow of qi,and is the master of drainage,”we explore the rationality of the treatment of this disease from the perspective of“liver and kidney have the same origin”and the development of PCOS-related infertility in relation to dysfunctional internal organs.We also explore the feasibility of treatment from the perspective of“liver and kidney homology,”expand the ideas for treatment,as well as develop and innovate the application of organ identification in PCOS in relation to infertility.

Acute kidney injury in acute-on-chronic liver failure is different from in decompensated cirrhosis

AIM To evaluate the differences in acute kidney injury(AKI) between acute-on-chronic liver failure(ACLF) and decompensated cirrhosis(DC) patients. METHODS During the period from December 2015 to July 2017, 280 patients with hepatitis B virus(HBV)-related ACLF(HBV-ACLF) and 132 patients with HBV-related DC(HBV-DC) who were admitted to our center were recruited consecutively into an observational study. Urine specimens were collected from all subjects and the levels of five urinary tubular injury biomarkers were detected,including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL), interleukin-18(IL-18), liver-type fatty acid binding protein(L-FABP), cystatin C(CysC), and kidney injury molecule-1(KIM-1). Simultaneously, the patient demographics, occurrence and progression of AKI, and response to terlipressin therapy were recorded. All patients were followed up for 3 mo or until death after enrollment. RESULTS AKI occurred in 71 and 28 of HBV-ACLF and HBV-DC patients, respectively(25.4% vs 21.2%, P = 0.358). Among all patients, the levels of four urinary biomarkers(NGAL, CysC, L-FABP, IL-18) were significantly elevated in patients with HBV-ACLF and AKI(ACLF-AKI), compared with that in patients with HBV-DC and AKI(DC-AKI) or those without AKI. There was a higher proportion of patients with AKI progression in ACLF-AKI patients than in DC-AKI patients(49.3% vs 17.9%, P = 0.013). Fortythree patients with ACLF-AKI and 19 patients with DC-AKI were treated with terlipressin. The response rate of ACLFAKI patients was significantly lower than that of patients with DC-AKI(32.6% vs 57.9%, P = 0.018). Furthermore, patients with ACLF-AKI had the lowest 90 d survival rates among all groups(P < 0.001).CONCLUSION AKI in ACLF patients is more likely associated with structural kidney injury, and is more progressive, with a poorer response to terlipressin treatment and a worse prognosis than that in DC patients.

Clinical trial with traditional Chinese medicine intervention ''tonifying the kidney to promote liver regeneration and repair by affecting stem cells and their microenvironment'' for chronic hepatitis B-associated liver failure

AIM:To study the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)intervention"tonifying the kidney to promote liver regeneration and repair by affecting stem cells and their microenvironment"("TTK")for treating liver failure due to chronic hepatitis B.METHODS:We designed the study as a randomized controlled clinical trial.Registration number of Chinese Clinical Trial Registry is Chi CTR-TRC-12002961.A total of 144 patients with liver failure due to infection with chronic hepatitis B virus were enrolled in this randomized controlled clinical study.Participants were randomly assigned to the following three groups:(1)a modern medicine control group(MMC group,36patients);(2)a"tonifying qi and detoxification"("TQD")group(72 patients);and(3)a"tonifying the kidney to promote liver regeneration and repair by affecting stem cells and their microenvironment"("TTK")group(36patients).Patients in the MMC group received general internal medicine treatment;patients in the"TQD"group were given a TCM formula"tonifying qi and detoxification"and general internal medicine treatment;patients in the"TTK"group were given a TCM formula of"TTK"and general internal medicine treatment.All participants were treated for 8 wk and then followed at 48 wk following their final treatment.The primaryefficacy end point was the patient fatality rate in each group.Measurements of various virological and biochemical indicators served as secondary endpoints.The one-way analysis of variance and the t-test were used to compare patient outcomes in the different treatment groups.RESULTS:At the 48-wk post-treatment time point,the patient fatality rates in the MMC,"TQD",and"TTK"groups were 51.61%,35.38%,and 16.67%,respectively,and the differences between groups were statistically significant(P<0.05).However,there were no significant differences in the levels of hepatitis B virus DNA or prothrombin activity among the three groups(P>0.05).Patients in the"TTK"group had significantly higher levels of serum total bilirubin compared to MMC subjects(339.40μmol/L±270.09μmol/L vs 176.13μmol/L±185.70μmol/L,P=0.014).Serum albumin levels were significantly increased in both the"TQD"group and"TTK"group as compared with the MMC group(31.30 g/L±4.77g/L,30.72 g/L±2.89 g/L vs 28.57 g/L±4.56 g/L,P<0.05).There were no significant differences in levels of alanine transaminase among the three groups(P>0.05).Safety data showed that there was one case of stomachache in the"TQD"group and one case of gastrointestinal side effect in the"TTK"group.CONCLUSION:Treatment with"TTK"improved the survival rates of patients with liver failure due to chronic hepatitis B.Additionally,liver tissue was regenerated and liver function was restored.

Polycystic liver disease: Classification, diagnosis, treatment process, and clinical management

Polycystic liver disease(PLD)is a rare hereditary disease that independently exists in isolated PLD,or as an accompanying symptom of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease with complicated mechanisms.PLD currently lacks a unified diagnostic standard.The diagnosis of PLD is usually made when the number of hepatic cysts is more than 20.Gigot classification and Schnelldorfer classification are now commonly used to define severity in PLD.Most PLD patients have no clinical symptoms,and minority with severe complications need treatments.Somatostatin analogues,mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor,ursodeoxycholic acid and vasopressin-2 receptor antagonist are the potentially effective medical therapies,while cyst aspiration and sclerosis,transcatheter arterial embolization,fenestration,hepatic resection and liver transplantation are the options of invasion therapies.However,the effectiveness of these therapies except liver transplantation are still uncertain.Furthermore,there is no unified strategy to treat PLD between medical centers at present.In order to better understand recent study progresses on PLD for clinical practice and obtain potential directions for future researches,this review mainly focuses on the recent progress in PLD classification,clinical manifestation,diagnosis and treatment.For information,we also provided medical treatment processes of PLD in our medical center.

Acute kidney injury and hepatorenal syndrome in cirrhosis

Acute kidney injury(AKI)in cirrhosis,including hepatorenal syndrome(HRS),is a common and serious complication in cirrhotic patients,leading to significant morbidity and mortality.AKI is separated into two categories,non-HRS AKI and HRS-AKI.The most recent definition and diagnostic criteria of AKI in cirrhosis and HRS have helped diagnose and prognosticate the disease.The pathophysiology behind non-HRS-AKI and HRS is more complicated than once theorized and involves more processes than just splanchnic vasodilation.The common biomarkers clinicians use to assess kidney injury have significant limitations in cirrhosis patients;novel biomarkers being studied have shown promise but require further studies in clinical settings and animal models.The overall management of non-HRS AKI and HRS-AKI requires a systematic approach.Although pharmacological treatments have shown mortality benefit,the ideal HRS treatment option is liver transplantation with or without simultaneous kidney transplantation.Further research is required to optimize pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches to treatment.This article reviews the current guidelines and recommendations of AKI in cirrhosis.

Renal aspergillosis after liver transplantation: Clinical and imaging manifestations in two cases

Renal aspergillosis(RAsp)is a rare complication in liver transplant(LT)recipients.Here we report RAsp in two LT recipients.In both patients,RAsp occurred more than 90 d after allogenetic orthotropic LT,and all the clinical findings were unspecific.RAsp involved unilateral kidney in Case one and bilateral kidneys in Case two.Both computed tomography(CT)and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)revealed renal abscesses,with progressively enhanced walls and separationsand unenhanced alveolate areas after contrast agent administration.On unenhanced CT images they showed inhomogeneous hypo-attenuation.On fat-suppressed T2-weighted images(T2WIs),the walls and separations of the abscesses showed slightly low signal intensity and the central parts of the lesions showed slightly high signal intensity.Both on CT and MRI,there were some hints of renal infarction or chronic ischemia.Both cases were treated by radical nephrectomy followed by adjuvant antifungal treatment.They all recovered well.

Hepatorenal syndrome: Update on diagnosis and treatment

Acute kidney injury(AKI) is a common complication in patients with end-stage liver disease and advanced cirrhosis regardless of the underlying cause. Hepatorenal syndrome(HRS), a functional form of kidney failure, is one of the many possible causes of AKI. HRS is potentially reversible but involves highly complex pathogenetic mechanisms and equally complex clinical and therapeutic management. Once HRS has developed, it has a very poor prognosis. This review focuses on the diagnostic approach to HRS and discusses the therapeutic protocols currently adopted in clinical practice.

Primary testicular neuroendocrine tumor with liver lymph node metastasis: A case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND Primary testicular neuroendocrine tumors(TNETs)are sporadic,accounting for only 0.23%of all testicular tumors.Few cases have been reported in the literature,and no uniform treatment protocol exists.We report a case of a primary TNET with liver lymph node metastasis diagnosed at the age of 24 years and discuss its clinicopathological features,diagnosis,differential diagnosis,treatment,and prognosis.CASE SUMMARY We report the case of a 24-year-old patient with a primary TNET with liver lymph node metastasis.The patient was found to have a right testicular swelling of about 3 cm×4 cm in size with unclear borders and no testicular pressure pain seven years ago without any examination or treatment.One month ago,an ultrasound examination was performed for persistent enlargement of the right testis,which showed an occupying lesion of the right testis approximately 110 mm×102 mm×82 mm in size.Magnetic resonance imaging scan of the testis(plain scan)showed that the right testis was an occupying lesion with inhomogeneous density and mixed signal,the boundary was still clear,and the possibility of seminoma was considered;chest X-ray and computed tomography did not show any apparent abnormalities.The patient underwent radical orchiectomy,and the pathological examination suggested a right TNET with a typical carcinoid tumor histological type.One month after the surgery,the patient received nine cycles of lanreotide chemotherapy at a dose of 90 mg/mo without adverse effects.No distant lymph node or other organ metastases were detected at follow-up.He is in good physical condition and attends regular follow-up visits.CONCLUSION Neuroendocrine tumors are rare in clinical practice,and the diagnosis mainly relies on the characteristics of microscopic tumor cells and immunohistochemical features.Treatment involves radical orchiectomy.If it is accompanied by distant lymph node metastasis and the metastatic lesion can be resected,it should be surgically removed;if it cannot be resected,growth inhibitor analog octreotide or lanreotide chemotherapy can be administered to obtain good results,with close postoperative follow-up to prevent recurrence and metastasis.

Treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome from the Theory of "Yigui Homology"

Traditional medicine believes that emotional,room labor and other factors lead to the lack of blood circulation after the weather,and the consumption of Yin blood is too much,which can lead to the deficiency of blood essence.Over time,the deficiency of menstrual blood can not nourish the kidney essence,leading to abnormal pregnancy.The liver is congenital for women,and the kidney is congenital.The disharmony of liver and kidney is the key factor of women's disease.Starting from the"homology of Yi and GUI",this paper analyzes the main etiology and pathogenesis of the disease from three aspects:deficiency of blood essence,imbalance of Zang and Xie,and Yin not controlling Yang.Following the principle of simultaneous treatment of liver and kidney,starting from the three methods of "regulating and tonifying liver and kidney,tonifying kidney and activating blood circulation,and balancing yin and Yang",the liver and kidney are reconciled,and pregnancy is sometimes the best choice.The main purpose is to benefit PCOS patients.

Identifying Biomarkers for Diabetic Kidney Disease Using GraphSAGE Neural Network

Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) is a common chronic complication of diabetes. Despite advancements in accurately identifying biomarkers for detecting and diagnosing this harmful disease, there remains an urgent need for new biomarkers to enable early detection of DKD. In this study, we modeled publicly available transcriptome datasets as a graph problem and used GraphSAGE Neural Networks (GNNs) to identify potential biomarkers. The GraphSAGE model effectively learned representations that captured the intricate interactions, dependencies among genes, and disease-specific gene expression patterns necessary to classify samples as DKD and Control. We finally extracted the features of importance;the identified set of genes exhibited an impressive ability to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy samples, even though these genes differ from previous research findings. The unexpected biomarker variations in this study suggest more exploration and validation studies for discovering biomarkers in DKD. In conclusion, our study showcases the effectiveness of modeling transcriptome data as a graph problem, demonstrates the use of GraphSAGE models for biomarker discovery in DKD, and advocates for integrating advanced machine-learning techniques in DKD biomarker research, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to unravel the intricacies of biological systems.

林谦教授从肝肾论治老年高血压的临床经验

现代中医学者大多从“眩晕”“头痛”“痰饮”的角度进行辨证论治来探讨高血压病。头为“诸阳之会”“清阳之府”,五脏六腑之精气皆上注于头,若气虚亏虚、阴阳失调、痰浊内阻、瘀血阻滞,致清窍失养,均可发为眩晕。林谦教授认为,本病的病因病机大约有4种:情志过极,忧思恼怒,致肝气郁结气滞化火;饮食不节,损伤脾胃,致湿浊中阻;先天不足或年老体衰致肝肾阴虚,阴不潜阳肝阳上亢;年老体虚或久病失养,损伤脾肾之阳,水湿不运,痰湿泛溢。林谦教授通过大量的临床实践经验,得出肝肾功能失调是老年高血压病的最常见基本病因病机,兼顾心、脾、肾、全身血管,以及情、气、血、瘀、痰等病理因素。治疗上以调肝补肾为主,兼顾“益气”“活血”“通络”“化痰”为辅,林谦教授自拟调肝补肾汤,临证兼顾个体辨证论治,临床治疗效果显著,病案举例2例。

肝胃不和胃脘痛辨治经验

胃脘痛包括现代医学的各种急慢性胃炎和消化性溃疡,是消化系统常见病、多发病。在中医学藏象学说和病因病机理论中,肝胃不和是导致胃脘痛发作的主要病机之一,若肝的疏泄功能失职,导致气滞、气郁、化火、克脾等皆可直接或间接影响胃之通降,形成肝病及胃或肝胃同病,均可导致胃脘痛。笔者根据肝胃不和的临床表现将肝胃不和病机归纳总结为肝气郁结、胃失和降,肝郁化火、肝胃郁热,肝郁气滞、肝胃阴虚,肝胃气滞、气滞血瘀,肝郁脾虚、胃失和降,胆胃不和、气逆不降,胆胃郁热、痰湿中阻7个证型。现就肝胃不和辨证和治法方药进行梳理分析,以期对临床辨治胃脘痛有一定的借鉴。

血热型寻常性银屑病辨治思考

在审证求机的中医思维指导下,发现血热型寻常性银屑病的“血热”只是表象,其背后隐藏着不同的病因病机,风热蕴毒入血、肝经郁热入血是其主要的两种证候,故确立以解毒和疏肝解郁治本、以清热凉血治标的总原则,可选翘根犀角地黄汤解毒凉血、丹栀逍遥散疏肝解郁,随证治之。

从“肝与大肠相通”理论辨治代谢相关脂肪性肝病的应用与中医实践

代谢相关脂肪性肝病(MAFLD)是一种除酒精或其他明确肝损伤因素导致的肝脏病理综合征,随着近年饮食及生活习惯的改变,MAFLD的流行率以前所未有的速度上升,已成为我国慢性肝病及肝酶异常的第一大原因。MAFLD具有起病隐匿、发病率高及肝外不良影响等特点,发病与胰岛素抵抗、脂质代谢紊乱等因素密切相关。中医学将MAFLD命名为“肝癖”,认为因肝体用失调、脾肾亏虚等,最终出现痰瘀互结,阻滞肝脏经络最终导致MAFLD。“肝与大肠相通”理论是目前治疗MAFLD的新思路,通畅肠腑、降浊升清,可协调肠腑、肝脏气机,从而辅助提高MAFLD治疗效果。遂从“肝与大肠相通”理论的内涵、应用及医案举例等入手,剖析“肝与大肠相通”理论,为临床治疗MAFLD提供一种新的治疗思路。

李京涛三期辨治慢加急性肝衰竭经验探析

该文对李京涛教授中西医治疗慢加急性肝衰竭经验进行探析和分享。慢加急性肝衰竭是临床难治性肝病之一,多属中医“急黄”范畴,其病机主要为正虚邪盛,虚证多以气、血、阴、阳虚为主;邪实多以湿、热、瘀、毒为主;李京涛教授辨治本病,注重分三期辨治,内治以解毒祛邪、健脾祛湿、益气温阳为法组方遣药,辅以外治灌肠和药膳饮食等,疗效显著。

基于“肝-血-心-脉”整体观探析慢性心力衰竭的辨治规律

慢性心力衰竭(chronic heart failure, CHF)是由于各种病因导致心脏功能和(或)结构异常,致使心脏收缩或舒张功能受损的心脏疾病的终末期表现。慢性心力衰竭5年生存率与恶性肿瘤相当,患者一旦患有慢性心衰,不但严重影响生存质量,且与其家庭经济关联巨大。慢性心力衰竭的临床主要表现为呼吸困难、水液潴留、活动受限等。慢性衰竭在中医学中属于“喘证”“心悸”“水肿”等疾病范畴。中医治疗多以“心病治心”的思想为主,常忽略与之关系密切的肝及血脉的预防诊疗。文章基于肝、血、心、脉的生理联系,即“肝心相连,和合为用”“心主血脉,营润周身”“肝血心脉,相互为用”与病理联系,即“肝气阻络,发为心衰”“血虚脉滞,心气不行”“肝心不合,心衰日甚”“神魄失养,加重心衰”及其相互之间的作用关系,阐述“肝-血-心-脉”一体观理论与慢性心力衰竭的相关性,从“肝-血-心-脉”整体观浅谈慢性心力衰竭的辨治规律。

基于《治肝三十法》探析从肝论治间质性肺疾病咳嗽

清代医家王旭高以肝气、肝火、肝风、肝虚为纲,总结创立了《治肝三十法》。以《治肝三十法》为立足点探析肝气、肝火、肝风、肝虚的源流及内涵,并探讨间质性肺疾病的病机变化与其相似之处,从而提出从肝论治间质性肺疾病咳嗽,分析并探索间质性肺疾病相关咳嗽的临床用药规律及有效方剂,并应用典型案例验证其临床疗效,希望能对中医辨治间质性肺疾病相关咳嗽提供新的思路及方法。

基于“新八纲”辨治慢性肝病

对唐旭东教授“脾胃病辨证新八纲”(简称“新八纲”)在慢性肝病领域的应用进行总结,认为慢性肝病当从“脏腑-气血-虚实-寒热”4个维度次第辨证:脏腑之辨,调肝理脾为主,兼顾他脏他腑;气血之辨,知其有余不足,病位深浅轻重;虚实之辨,正虚血瘀为本,损益邪正偏盛;寒热之辨,肝胆湿热多见,勿忘厥阴肝寒。在此基础上以通降理论为治疗立法,执简驭繁,全阶段指导慢性肝病遣方用药,可取得较好疗效。

徐莲薇运用膏方从肝脾论治多囊卵巢综合征经验介绍

介绍徐莲薇教授运用膏方从肝脾论治多囊卵巢综合征的临床经验。徐莲薇教授认为多囊卵巢综合征的病机本质为本虚标实,应从肝、脾、肾论治,健脾填精养血以资其“本”,化痰疏肝消瘀以祛其“实”。冬令膏方依辨证化裁用药严谨,剂型易服方便可坚持,故临床可收良效。

从两例验案探讨中医治疗肝癌的临床优势

通过报道治疗两例肝癌的成功案例,探讨肝癌的中医辨证论治特色与临床疗效优势。周岱翰教授认为“肝火盛、脾气虚、肾水亏”是肝癌的核心病机,临床论治强调“熄肝火、益脾气、养肝阴、滋肾水”。“验案一”中医辨证为肝肾阴虚证,初期治疗予滋水涵木,攻补兼施;病程中期肝肾阴津得充,增加活血化瘀药,侧重攻邪;后期减少攻邪药物,中病即止,预防复发。“验案二”中医辨证为肝热血瘀证,治以清肝凉血,兼以健脾益气;同时予清肝祛瘀利胆法治疗门静脉高压以及滋阴补阳法缓解双乳疼痛。周岱翰教授结合“辨证论治”的原则,按照肝癌发病规律实施中医治疗全病程管理,应用“异法方宜,杂合以治”的理论,充分发挥中医治疗肝癌的独特优势,获得较好的临床疗效。