Meta-analysis of acupuncture and moxibustion for the therapeutic effect on postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction of gastric cancer / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To systematically review the therapeutic effect of acupuncture and moxibustion on postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID) of gastric cancer with meta-analysis.@*METHODS@#The articles of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for postoperative GID of gastric cancer were retrieved from the following databases from the time of database establishment to December 31, 2020, including PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, VIP database and China Biomedical Literature Database (SinoMed). RevMan5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Using Stata16.0 software, sensitivity analysis and publication bias test were performed.@*RESULTS@#A total of 16 RCTs were included finally, including 1 360 patients, of which, there were 681 cases in the intervention group and 679 cases in the control group. Meta-analysis results showed that acupuncture and moxibustion shortened the time of first flatus (P<0.000 01, MD =-14.52, 95%CI = [-17.31, -11.74]), the time of first bowel sound (P<0.000 01, MD =-10.50, 95%CI =[-13.99, -7.01]) and the time of first defecation (P<0.000 1, MD =-13.79, 95%CI =[-20.09, -7.50]). Meanwhile, acupuncture and moxibustion shortened the time of the first food intake (P<0.000 1, MD =-3.23, 95%CI = [-3.45, -3.00]) and the hospital stay (P<0.000 01, MD =-1.94, 95%CI =[-2.20, -1.69]) after gastric cancer operation, and reduced the incidences of postoperative adverse reactions, i.e. nausea and vomiting (P =0.000 3, RR =0.43, 95%CI =[0.28, 0.68]) and abdominal distention (P =0.000 5, RR =0.41, 95%CI =[0.25, 0.68]).@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture and moxibustion can promote the recovery of postoperative gastrointestinal function in the patients with gastric cancer. But, for the comparison among different measures of acupuncture and moxibustion intervention, it needs more high-quality trials for a further verification.

Advances in researches on inhibin B and male reproduction / 中华男科学杂志

Inhibin B, a dimeric glycoprotein, is directly secreted by the testis and responses to a diversity of exogenic hormones. Serum inhibin B levels will be influenced by different factors, such as age, testis volume, the time of puberty, the time of sample collection, varied groups of people and so on. Inhibin B is directly relevant to spermatogenesis of the testis and can be viewed as a valuable marker to assess male fertility. The determination of serum inhibin B has an applicable value in diagnosing the etiology of male infertility, assessing the damage to spermatogenesis in men after radiotherapy or chemiotherapy, and evaluating therapeutic effect on cryptorchidism and varicocele. Moreover, as far as assisted reproductive technology is concerned, the investigation of serum inhibin B has a predictive value in testicular sperm extraction.