The role of pre-onset hair hormone in predicting the prognosis of patients with severe pneumonia and acute COVID-19 outbreak.

Numerous research works have investigated the potential impact of endocrine hormones on the severity of COVID-19-related pneumonia in individuals. However, there are few studies on the effect of pre-onset neuroendocrine hormones on the prognosis of COVID-19 patients. This study looked into the prognostic value of pre-onset hair hormone levels in COVID-19 infected individuals. This study included 27 patients with COVID-19 and collected patient information and laboratory indicators. The hormone levels in hair were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Within 28 days, 63 % of the patients in this study passed away. With 28-day mortality as the outcome index, urea nitrogen, CURB-65 score and pneumonia severity score (PSI) of 2 groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Among all hormone levels detected in hair, only progesterone level was substantially correlated negatively with COVID-19 patients' 28-day mortality(P < 0.05). The level of progesterone in hair was substantially adversely connected with the death rate at 28 days of COVID-19 patients, according to correlation and logistic regression analysis(P < 0.05). Among patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, hair progesterone levels were strongly associated with 28-day mortality, which emphasizes hair progesterone's importance as a prognostic factor.

Characteristics of static balance performance in 4-stage balance test in the healthy older adults.

BACKGROUND: The 4-Stage Balance test is one of the most commonly used tests to assess balance for older adults. Although it is generally accepted that the four positions (including side-by-side (SBSS), semi-tandem (STS), tandem (TS), and single-leg stance (SLS)) in this test are progressively more difficult, there are no studies comparing the balance parameters of the four positions in older adults to prove this result. The purpose of this study is to determine the difficulty of 4 positions in the 4-Stage Balance test and the effect of the dominant and non-dominant lower extremities on static balance among healthy older adults. METHODS: A total of 115 community-dwelling healthy older adults were included. The postural parameters (including sway range standard deviation (SR), velocity of body sway (V), total sway area (TSA) and sway perimeter (TSP) of the center of pressure) were measured during 8 static postures (including SBSS, left STS, right STS, left TS, right TS, left SLS, right SLS and comfortable stance (CS)). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the postural parameters in 8 static postures. RESULTS: The static balance stability of the five stances in older adults can be ranked in the following sequence: CS > SBSS/STS > TS > SLS. Moreover, changing foot placement in STS, TS and SLS tasks has no influence on stability. This study has been registered in China Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200065803). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that it is feasible to simplify the 4-Stage Balance test to a 3-Stage Balance test in the older adults.

An antioxidation-responsive SERS-active microneedle for detecting the antioxidant capacity in living organisms.

To detect the antioxidant capacity in living organisms, an antioxidation-responsive SERS-active microneedle was fabricated by adsorbing resazurin on miniature SERS substrates, SERS-active microneedles. The SERS intensity ratio of characterized peaks of resazurin and its product, resorufin, was adopted and verified as an indicator of antioxidant capacity. The feasibility of detection of the antioxidant capacity in living organisms was proved by using the fabricated SERS-active microneedles to detect the antioxidant capacity of lipopolysaccharide-induce inflammatory animal models. The fabricated SERS-active microneedles can be inserted into target soft tissues with minimal invasion to detect their antioxidant capacity. The fabricated SERS-active microneedles would be a novel tool to bring the detection of antioxidant capacity from samplings ex vivo and cells to complex tissues to promote the researches on redox biology in living organisms.

Changes in serum levels of pain mediators in hemiplegic shoulder pain.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a new insight into the diagnosis and treatment of hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP) by investigating changes in serum pain mediators. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS/PATIENTS: Shoulder pain group (n = 34) and control group (n = 21). METHODS: Pain-free shoulder mobility, anxiety status, depression status, and shoulder pain were measured by passive range of motion (PROM), self-rating anxiety scale, self-rating depression scale (SDS), and visual analog scale, respectively. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to test the serum pain mediators, including interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, nerve growth factor (NGF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), substance P (SP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), bradykinin (BK), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). RESULTS: Shoulder pain group pain-free PROM significantly lower than control (p < .01), and SDS index score of shoulder pain group was significantly higher than control (p < .05). The rate of spasticity in the flexor elbow muscles is higher in shoulder pain group (p < .01). CGRP, IL-10, and IL-2 were significantly upregulated in shoulder pain group compared with control (p < .01), whereas NGF, TNF-α, IL-6, 5-HT, PGE2, SP, LPA, BK, and IL-1ß were significantly decreased (p < .01). CONCLUSION: Patients with HSP have a higher risk of joint mobility disorders and depression; spasticity may be an important factor in the development of shoulder pain; CGRP is thought to be the major pain mediator in HSP, and HSP may not be inflammatory.

Adverse effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is one of the common clinical treatments, but adverse effects have hampered and limited the clinical application and promotion of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the adverse effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy have conducted by our group to provide a theoretical basis for clinical treatment. Methods: Three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library) were comprehensively searched for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) from March 2012 to October 2022. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts for eligibility and assessed the quality of the included studies. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3. Results: A total of 24 RCTs involving 1,497 participants were identified. ① The HBOT group reported more adverse effects (30.11% vs. 10.43%, p < 0.05). ② The most frequent side effect of HBOT is ear discomfort (113 cases). ③ When the course of hyperbaric oxygen was >10 sessions, the incidence of adverse effects was higher than that of the control group; when the course of HBOT was ≤10 sessions, the adverse effects caused by hyperbaric oxygen were comparatively lower. ④ When the chamber pressure is above 2.0 ATA, the incidence of adverse effects is higher than that of the control group. While the chamber pressure is lower than 2.0 ATA, HBOT is relatively safe compared with the previous one. Conclusion: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is more likely to cause adverse reactions when the chamber pressure is above 2.0 ATA. More attention should be paid to the possible occurrence of related adverse effects if the treatment course is >10 sessions. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42022316605.

Chinese expert consensus on prevention and control interventions for older adults with physical functional impairment (2022).

Older adults are at high risk for functional impairment, which is closely related to sarcopenia, falls, and frailty. This seriously affects their quality of life and health, and places a heavy burden on society and families. Although domestic and foreign sports recommendations and prevention and control guidelines/expert consensus have been issued for healthy older adults and functional impairment-related diseases, there is no guidance on prevention and control interventions for older adults with physical functional impairment. In China, there is insufficient understanding of the importance of prevention and control interventions for functional impairment in older adults, and there are many drawbacks, such as unstandardized diagnosis and treatment, and relatively simple intervention methods. Therefore, the consensus expert group formulated a consensus based on domestic and foreign guidelines related to functional impairment in older adults to provide guidance for Chinese medical professionals working in the field of geriatrics.

Ultrasensitive detection of multiple Alzheimer's disease biomarkers by SERS-LFA.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the top public health crises in the 21st century, especially in an aging society. Early diagnosis, prevention, and intervention can significantly reduce the risk of AD. Detection of multiple AD biomarkers in blood is an effective strategy and has drawn more and more attention in recent years. However, the concentration of AD biomarkers is very low, therefore, point-of-care testing (POCT) techniques are needed for sensitive detection. Herein, a lateral flow assay, based on Surface-enhanced Raman scattering nanotags (SERS-LFA), is proposed for the simultaneous quantification of multiple AD biomarkers including Amyloid-beta 42, Amyloid-beta 40, tau proteins, and neurofilament light chain. The limit of detection for four AD biomarkers is 138.1, 191.2, 257.1, and 309.1 fg mL-1, respectively, which are two orders of magnitude lower than their concentrations in blood. Compared with the existing detection technology, SERS-LFA has the advantages of high specificity, high sensitivity, low cost, multiple detection, and rapid detection. Therefore, SERS-LFA has a broad application prospect in the early diagnosis and monitoring of AD in the future.

Impaired Cognitive Empathy in Outpatients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: In recent years, a growing number of researchers showed significant interest in psychological and social interventions to manage chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. Cognitive and emotional empathy is an attractive and valuable sociopsychological factor that may provide protection and resilience against chronic MSK pain. However, its effect on outpatients remains underexplored. Objective: To compare the empathy ability between chronic MSK pain outpatients and healthy controls and explore the relationship between cognitive/emotional empathy and chronic pain. Methods: Patients with chronic MSK pain (n = 22) and healthy controls (n = 26) completed the pain assessment and empathy ability task, utilizing a multidimensional empathy assessment tool with satisfactory reliability and validity (i.e., the Chinese version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET-C)). Results: The data indicated that the chronic MSK pain outpatients had impaired cognitive empathy (i.e., lower squared cognitive empathy accuracy: Student's t = -2.119, P = 0.040, and longer task completion time: Student's t = 3.382, P = 0.002) compared to healthy controls, and cognitive empathy was negatively correlated with pain intensity (r = -0.614, P = 0.002). Further, the impaired cognitive empathy was present in identifying positive, but not negative emotions. Conclusion: These results indicate that chronic MSK pain is associated with impaired empathy ability. Our studies contribute to offering a potential direction for developing psychosocial interventions to treat chronic MSK pain.

Polymorphism of PARP-1 indicates an increased risk and a worse initial severity of ischemic stroke.

AIM: Polymorphisms of DNA repair enzyme gene may alter the ability to repair damage and in turn may contribute to ischemic stroke susceptibility and outcome. METHODS: We selected 316 ischemic stroke patients and 302 healthy controls. Then we genotyped SNPs of PARP-1 rs3219119, rs2271347 and APE1 rs1130409 in patient and control groups. RESULTS: Polymorphism in PARP-1 rs2271347 was significantly associated with increased ischemic stroke risk (additive model: OR: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.03-2.93; p = 0.037). Patients harboring the PARP-1 rs2271347 GA/AA genotype had a worse initial stroke (additive model: OR: 1.85; 95% CI: 1.10-3.11; p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that genetic variant of rs2271347 may contribute to the etiology of ischemic stroke.

The Interactions Between Aligned Poly(L-Lactic Acid) Nanofibers and SH-SY5Y Cells In Vitro.

Aligned nanofibers have been regarded as promising nanomaterials in facilitating nerve regeneration. Investigating the interactions between aligned nanofibers and neuronal cells will be critically important for the design and application of aligned nanofibers in nerve tissue engineering. In this study, we explored the effects of electrospun Poly(L-Lactic Acid) (PLLA) aligned nanofibers on SH-SY5Y cells (a type of human neuroblastoma cell line) and specifically focused on the role of integrin in the PLLA aligned nanofiber-SH-SY5Y cell interaction. We found that PLLA aligned nanofibers could significantly guide the neurite outgrowth of SH-SY5Y cell, and promote the viability, proliferation, glucose and lactic acid metabolism of SH-SY5Y cell. This promotion effect could be alleviated when the functions of integrins on the SH-SY5Y cell membrane were hampered by pentapeptide GRGDS. Moreover, we found that PLLA aligned nanofibers could enhance the expression of phosphorylated-ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) in the SH-SY5Y cells and blocking the integrins would decrease p-ERK1/2 expression. These results suggested that PLLA aligned nanofibers might affect many cellular behaviors of SH-SY5Y cells via integrin mediated ERK pathway. Our findings provided more insights for understanding the interaction between aligned nanofibers and neuronal cells.

Acupuncture in subacute stroke: no benefits detected.

BACKGROUND: There is debate concerning the effect of acupuncture on rehabilitation following stroke, with key reviews unable to find evidence of benefit. This lack of evidence may be due to poor study design, small sample size, and insufficient theoretical background. OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to determine whether acupuncture combined with conventional physical therapy improves motor function and activities of daily living in patients with subacute stroke compared with conventional physical therapy alone. DESIGN: A multicenter, single-blinded, randomized study was conducted. SETTING: Four rehabilitation centers in the Jiangsu province of China participated in this study. PATIENTS: One hundred eighty-eight patients with subacute stroke admitted to the hospital were randomized into an acupuncture group and a conventional rehabilitation group. INTERVENTIONS: A combination of body and scalp acupuncture was used for 3 months in the acupuncture group. All patients underwent conventional stroke rehabilitation. MEASUREMENTS: The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Barthel Index (BI) were performed at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months after inclusion in the study. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were found at baseline between the groups. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups using the FMA motor scores and the BI scores at baseline or at 1, 3, or 6 months. Significant improvements were found in each group following treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with subacute stroke, the addition of body and scalp acupuncture to a regimen of conventional physical therapy does not result in further improvement in either motor function or ADL beyond the effect of conventional physical therapy alone.

[The application of three dimensional analysis system in measuring rotation angles of thumb carpometacarpal joints].

OBJECTIVE: To measure the axial rotation angles of the carpometacarpal joints during the digital opposition of thumb-index finger, thumb-medial finger, thumb-ring finger, thumb-little finger and the thumb's maximal opposition, then the application of these parameters were studied. METHODS: Twenty neutrality-occupation volunteers (female 10, male 10) with no history of hand injuries or related diseases were involved in the study. First, all the markers' 3-D coordinates were obstained using the 3D motion analysis system (EVaRT4.1) during the digital opposition movements of thumb. Then, the axial rotation angles were calculated. RESULTS: The average rotation angles of carpometacarpal joints during all kinds of digital oppositions were 29.1 degrees +/- 9.4 degrees (male), 24.8 degrees +/- 10.2 degrees (female), while the maximal rotation angles are: 35.3 degrees (male), 28.8 degrees (female). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of video-based 3-D analysis system and mathematics make it possible to measure the axial rotation angles of thumb in vivo, as a result, the rotation angles of thumb carpometacarpal joints are measured precisely for the first time. These results can provide a few parameters for treatment and rehabilitation of carpometacarpal arthrositis.