ABSTRACT
This article reviews the major advances in acupuncture research in 2022, including clinical reports, basic research, and reviews. In terms of the type of literature, most of them are systematic reviews and clinical trials, while high-quality basic studies can also be found. The innovative inventions and researches in this field are of increasing quality and in a wide range of fields, acupuncture is attracting more and more attention in the international arena. In particular, some acupuncture combined sensors such as H2 -EC/SD co-therapy, precise positioning, and vivo monitoring of neurotransmitter has been used for oncological diseases and neuropathic pain. Acupuncture has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of pain, stroke, psychiatric disorders, cancer, COVID-19 and others. Most of the studies show that acupuncture can play a positive role in various diseases and provide evidence for clinical applications and mechanism research.Copyright © 2023 By Author(s). Published by TMR Publishing Group Limited.
ABSTRACT
Background: The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant which was first identified in the United Kingdom (U.K.) has increased sharply in numbers worldwide and was reported to be more contagious. On January 17, 2021, a COVID-19 clustered outbreak caused by B.1.1.7 variant occurred in a community in Daxing District, Beijing, China. Three weeks prior, another non-variant (lineage B.1.470) COVID-19 outbreak occurred in Shunyi District, Beijing. This study aimed to investigate the clinical features of B.1.1.7 variant infection. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted on COVID-19 cases admitted to Ditan hospital since January 2020. Data of 74 COVID-19 cases from two independent COVID-19 outbreaks in Beijing were extracted as study subjects from a Cloud Database established in Ditan hospital, which included 41 Shunyi cases (Shunyi B.1.470 group) and 33 Daxing cases (Daxing B.1.1.7 group) that have been hospitalized since December 25, 2020 and January 17, 2021, respectively. We conducted a comparison of the clinical characteristics, RT-qPCR results and genomic features between the two groups. Findings: Cases from Daxing B.1.1.7 group (15 [45.5%] male; median age, 39 years [range, 30.5, 62.5]) and cases from Shunyi B.1.470 group (25 [61.0%] male; median age, 31 years [range, 27.5, 41.0]) had a statistically significant difference in median age (P =0.014). Seven clinical indicators of Daxing B.1.1.7 group were significantly higher than Shunyi B.1.470 group including patients having fever over 38 (14/33 [46.43%] in Daxing B.1.1.7 group vs. 9/41 (21.95%) in Shunyi B.1.470 group [P = 0 .015]), C-reactive protein ([CRP, mg/L], 4.30 [2.45, 12.1] vs. 1.80, [0.85, 4.95], [P = 0.005]), Serum amyloid A ([SAA, mg/L], 21.50 [12.50, 50.70] vs. 12.00 [5.20, 26.95], [P = 0.003]), Creatine Kinase ([CK, U/L]), 110.50 [53.15,152.40] vs. 70.40 [54.35,103.05], [P = 0.040]), D-dimer ([DD, mg/L], 0.31 [0.20, 0.48] vs. 0.24 [0.17,0.31], [P = 0.038]), CD4+ T lymphocyte ([CD4+ T, mg/L], [P = 0.003]) , and Ground-glass opacity (GGO) in lung (15/33 [45.45%] vs. 5/41 [12.20%], [P =0.001]). After adjusting for the age factor, B.1.1.7 variant infection was the risk factor for CRP (P = 0.045, Odds ratio [OR] 2.791, CI [1.025, 0.8610]), SAA (0.011, 5.031, [1.459, 17.354]), CK (0.034, 4.34, [0.05, 0.91]), CD4+ T ( 0.029, 3.31, [1.13, 9.71]), and GGO (0.005, 5.418, [1.656, 17.729]) of patients. The median Ct value of RT-qPCR tests of the N-gene target in the Daxing B.1.1.7 group was significantly lower than the Shunyi B.1.470 group (P=0.036). The phylogenetic analysis showed that only 2 amino acid mutations in spike protein were detected in B.1.470 strains while B.1.1.7 strains had 3 deletions and 7 mutations. Interpretation: Clinical features including a more serious inflammatory response, pneumonia and a possible higher viral load were detected in the cases infected with B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant. It could therefore be inferred that the B.1.1.7 variant may have increased pathogenicity.