Differences in non-suicidal self-injury behaviors between only-child and non-only-child adolescents with mood disorders: a cross-sectional study / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the differences in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors between only-child and non-only-child adolescents with mood disorders.@*METHODS@#A three-stage sampling method was used to perform a cross-sectional survey of 529 adolescents, aged 12-18 years, who had mood disorders and NSSI behaviors. These adolescents were sampled from the outpatient service of 20 mental hospitals in 9 provinces of China from August to November 2020. A self-made questionnaire was used to collect general demographic data. The Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation, Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Stress Mindset Measure-General, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scales, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used to collect the information on self-injury behaviors and psychological factors in these adolescents.@*RESULTS@#A total of 529 adolescents with mood disorders and NSSI behaviors were surveyed, among whom 375 were only-child adolescents and 154 were non-only-child adolescents. Compared with the non-only-child group, the only-child group had a significantly higher total score of Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (P<0.05) .The type and frequency of self-injury in the only-child group were significantly higher than those in the non-only-child group (P<0.05). Psychological analysis showed that compared with the non-only-child group, the only-child group had a significantly lower score of self-esteem (P<0.05) and significantly higher scores of psychological distress and depressive symptoms (P<0.05). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that the score of suicidal ideation was positively correlated with the frequency of NSSI behaviors in both only-child and non-only-child adolescents with mood disorders (P<0.05); in the only-child adolescents, the level of self-esteem was negatively correlated with the frequency of NSSI behaviors (P<0.05), and the score of stress perception was positively correlated with the frequency of NSSI behaviors (P<0.05); in the non-only-child adolescents, the score of anxious emotion was positively correlated with the frequency of NSSI behaviors (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Among the adolescents with mood disorders and NSSI behaviors, the only-child adolescents tend to have a higher frequency of self-injury and poorer mental health, and therefore, the only-child adolescents with mood disorders and NSSI behaviors need more attention.

Alterations of Thymic Epithelial Cells in Lipopolysaccharide-induced Neonatal Thymus Involution / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the thymus was mainly produced by the thymic epithelial cells (TECs), the predominant component of the thymic microenvironment. The progression of TECs and the roles of VEGF in the neonatal thymus during sepsis have not been reported. This study aimed to explore the alterations of TECs and VEGF level in the neonatal thymus involution and to explore the possible mechanisms at the cellular level.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>By establishing a model of clinical sepsis, the changes of TECs were measured by hematoxylin-eosin staining, confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry. Moreover, the levels of VEGF in serum and thymus were assessed based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The number of thymocytes and TECs was significantly decreased 24 h after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, (2.40 ± 0.46)×10 7 vs. (3.93 ± 0.66)×10 7 and (1.16 ± 0.14)×10 5 vs. (2.20 ± 0.19)×10 5 , P < 0.05, respectively. Cortical TECs and medullary TECs in the LPS-treated mice were decreased 1.5-fold and 3.9-fold, P < 0.05, respectively, lower than those in the controls. The number of thymic epithelial progenitors was also decreased. VEGF expression in TECs was down-regulated in a time-dependent manner.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>VEGF in thymic cells subsets might contribute to the development of TECs in neonatal sepsis.</p>

Clinical study on effect of Jianwei Yuyang Granule in treating patients with gastric ulcer / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical effects of Jianwei Yuyang Granule (JYG) in treating patients with gastric ulcer and its influence on interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) mRNA expression in gastric mucosa for exploring the therapeutic mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-six patients with confirmed gastric ulcer unader gastroscope and differentiated as Gan-stagnant Pi-deficient syndrome were randomly assigned to two groups, the treated group (26 cases) treated with JYG and the control group (30 cases) treated with famotidine and sucralfate, 4 weeks as one therapeutic course. The changes before and after treatment in clinical compliance, symptom integral, ulcer-healing rate, clinical effective rate, and HP-clearance rate were observed. And the gastric mucosa biopsy was fetched for morphological examination and IL-1beta and bFGF mRNA expression detection by RT-PCR as well.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The clinical compliance rate in the treated group was 100 %, which was obviously better than that in the control group (86.7 %, P< 0.01); the improvement on symptom integral in the former was also better (P < 0.01); no statistical significance was shown in ulcer-healing rate, clinical effective rate and HP-clearance rate between the two groups. Morphological observation showed markedly decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, epithelial cell regeneration and rather regular glandular arrangement in both groups. The IL-1beta mRNA expression level decreased and that of bFGF increased in both groups after treatment significantly ( P < 0.01), but showed insignificant difference between the two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>JYG, with its good clinical compliance, has favorable effects in relieving clinical symptoms, promoting endoscopic ulcer healing and HP clearance, decreasing the expression of IL-1beta mRNA and increasing the expression of bFGF, therefore, it could promote the recovering of gastric ulcer.</p>