Construction of a clinical prediction model for the impact of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes in poor ovarian response (POR) patients based on a patient registry research platform / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVES@#To construct a clinical prediction model for the impact of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes in poor ovarian response (POR) patients, providing insights and methods for predicting pregnancy outcomes in POR patients undergoing acupuncture treatment.@*METHODS@#Clinical data of 268 POR patients (2 cases were eliminated) primarily treated with "thirteen needle acupuncture for Tiaojing Cuyun (regulating menstruation and promoting pregnancy)" was collected from the international patient registry platform of acupuncture moxibustion (IPRPAM) from September 19, 2017 to April 30, 2023, involving 24 clinical centers including Acupuncture-Moxibustion Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. LASSO and univariate Cox regression were used to screen factors influencing pregnancy outcomes, and a multivariate Cox regression model was established based on the screening results. The best model was selected using the Akaike information criterion (AIC), and a nomogram for clinical pregnancy prediction was constructed. The prediction model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration curves, and internal validation was performed using the Bootstrap method.@*RESULTS@#(1) Age, level of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), and total treatment numbers of acupuncture were independent predictors of pregnancy outcomes in POR patients receiving acupuncture (P<0.05). (2) The AIC value of the best subset-Cox multivariate model (560.6) was the smallest, indicating it as the optimal model. (3) The areas under curve (AUCs) of the clinical prediction model after 6, 12, 24, and 36 months treatment were 0.627, 0.719, 0.770, and 0.766, respectively, and in the validation group, they were 0.620, 0.704, 0.759, and 0.765, indicating good discrimination and repeatability of the prediction model. (4) The calibration curve showed that the prediction curve of the clinical prediction model was close to the ideal model's prediction curve, indicating good calibration of the prediction model.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The clinical prediction model for the impact of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes in POR patients based on the IPRPAM platform has good clinical application value and provides insights into predicting pregnancy outcomes in POR patients undergoing acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture for premature ovarian insufficiency: a systematic review and meta-analysis / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To analyze the effect of acupuncture versus hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). Methods: China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang), Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP), China Biology Medicine Disc (CBM), Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE) were searched up to January 31st, 2019 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of acupuncture for POI. The primary outcome was the level of basal serum follicle- stimulating hormone (FSH). Secondary outcomes included serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH). Two authors extracted data independently and assessed the risk of bias and the methodological quality using the Cochrane's tool. Meta-analysis was conducted by RevMan version 5.3. Results: Eight eligible RCTs with a total of 496 POI patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that there was a significant reduction in the basal serum FSH level (MD=-5.82, 95％CI:-9.76 to -1.87, I2=82％, P=0.004) and a remarkable elevation in the basal E2 level (SMD=0.93, 95％CI: 0.34 to 1.52, I2=88％, P=0.002) in the acupuncture group when compared with the control. Subgroup analysis showed that compared with HRT, a significant decrease in the FSH level was observed in both acupuncture alone (MD=-4.53, 95％CI:-8.96 to -0.10, I2=73％, P=0.04) and acupuncture plus HRT (MD=-9.60, 95％CI:-17.60 to -1.61, I2=50％, P=0.02), while a remarkable elevation of E2 was only found in acupuncture plus HRT (SMD=1.43, 95％CI: 1.03 to 1.82, I2=0％, P<0.00001). There was no significant difference in the LH level between acupuncture and HRT (MD=-3.16, 95％CI:-9.41 to 3.10, I2=0％, P=0.32), only one trial reported AMH, and no significant difference was found between acupuncture and HRT. Conclusion: The present study indicated that acupuncture had an advantage over HRT in reducing serum FSH level and increasing serum E2 level in women with POI. However, evidence supporting the finding is limited due to the small sample size, potential methodological flaws and significant heterogeneity. Hence, this conclusion still needs to be verified by high-quality RCTs.

Effect of artemisia burning products on antioxidant enzymes in serum of SAMP8 mouse / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the anti-aging effect of artemisia burning products (ie. smoke of moxibustion) and its proper intervention parameters.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to factorial experiment design, 70 SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into one model group (group M) and 6 intervention groups: low concentration with 15 min group (group A1), low concentration with 30 min group (group A2), middle concentration with 15 min group (group B1), middle concentration with 30 min group (group B2), high concentration with 15 min group (group C1), high concentration with 30 min group (group C1). There were 10 cases in each group. Ten age-matched SAMR1 mice were used as normal group (group Z). All the mice in the 6 intervention groups were fumed with artemisia burning products of different concentration and time. The content of serum malondialdehyde (MDA), the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione reductase (GSH-Px) were tested.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>MDA content in group M was significantly higher than that in group Z (both P < 0.05), while SOD and GSH-Px activity were significantly lower in group M than that in group Z (both P < 0.05). Results of MDA, SOD and GSH-Px in 6 intervention groups were either of no statistically significant differences, or better than that in group M. Among 6 intervention groups, results of MDA and GSH-Px were better in group B1, while the result of SOD was better in group B2. Time factor didn't make any difference, while concentration of artemisia burning products is meaningful. As to SOD and GSH-Px, there's a strong interaction between the two factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>With certain concentration and time period, the intervention of artemisia burning products can exert anti-aging effect by increasing antioxydative capability and reducing metabolites of free radicals. Middle concentration and 30 minutes are recommended when intervened with artemisia burning products.</p>