Oral microbiota:A new view of body health

Oral microbiota is an important part of the human microbiota.Oral microbes can be colonized into the intestine in various ways.Oral microbiota is associated with a variety of oral diseases.Recently,increasing evidence has shown that the oral microbiota is closely related to the physical state of humans,such as diabetes,obesity,and cancer.In the future,oral microbiota will become a new target for improving the physical state of humans.

Double balloon enteroscopy in the old: Experience from China

AIM: To evaluate the safety, efficacy and management of double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) carried out in those aged individuals with suspicious small intestine diseases. METHODS: DBE is a wonderful invention of the past decade and is widely used as an examination tool for the gastrointestinal tract. From January 2003 to July 2011, data from patients who were ≥ 65 years old and underwent DBE examination in the Nanfang Hospital were included in a retrospective analysis.RESULTS: Fifty-nine individuals were found and subsequently analyzed. The mean age was 69.63 ± 3.89 years (range 65-84), 34 were males. Indications for DBE were melena/hematochezia (36 cases), abdominal pain (15 cases), diarrhea (3 cases), stool change (1 case), weight loss (1 case), vomiting (2 cases), and debilitation (1 case). The average duration of symptoms was 33.34 ± 64.24 mo. Twenty-seven patients suffered from age-related diseases. Severe complications were not found during and after DBE. Comparison between systolic and diastolic blood pressure before and after DBE was statistically significant (mean ± SD, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively). Small bowel pathologies were found by DBE in 35 patients, definite diagnoses were made in 31 cases, and detection rate and diagnostic yield for DBE were 68.6% and 60.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: DBE is a safe and effective method for gastrointestinal examination in the aged population. Aging alone is not a risk factor for elderly patients with suspicious gastrointestinal diseases and thorough preparation prior to the DBE procedure should be made for individuals with multiple diseases especially cardiopulmonary disorders.

Traditional Chinese Medicine for Diminished Ovarian Reserve: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）for women with diminished ovarian reserve（DOR）.Methods A literature search was conducted in eight electronic databases for randomized controlled trials.Results Seventeen randomized controlled trials involving 1174 patients were included.Meta-analysis indicated that TCM was superior to Western medicine（WM）in reducing basal serum FSH level[MD=-1.70,95%CI（-2.63,-0.77）;P=0.0004]and FSH/LH（MD=-0.43,95%CI[-0.56,-0.30];P=0.0001）,and the effect was more obvious two months after the last treatment（MD=-4.60,95%CI[-6.26,-2.90],P〈0.000 01 and MD=-0.56,95%CI[-0.85,-0.28],P=0.0001）,and increasing antral follicle count（AFC）（MD=0.44,95%CI[0.04-0.83];P=0.03）.The review also revealed the positive role of CMM as an adjuvant to IVF-ET in improving pregnancy rate（PR=1.75,95%CI[1.25,2.46];P=0.001）.Conclusion TCM,with its unique way of replenishing the kidney,may provide an effective and safe alternative therapy to patients with DOR.

Oral microbiomes： more and more importance in oral cavity and whole body

Microbes appear in every corner of human life, and microbes affect every aspect of human life. The human oral cavity contains a number of different habitats. Synergy and interaction of variable oral microorganisms help human body against invasion of undesirable stim- ulation outside. However, imbalance of microbial flora contributes to oral diseases and systemic diseases. Oral microbiomes play an important role in the human microbial community and human health. The use of recently developed molecular methods has greatly expanded our knowledge of the composition and function of the oral microbiome in health and disease. Studies in oral microbiomes and their interactions with microbiomes in variable body sites and variable health condition are critical in our cognition of our body and how to make effect on human health improvement.