Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy: Effects of Multisensory Stimulation Training on Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: Patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy can experience chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). OBJECTIVES: This study observed the interventional effects of multisensory stimulation training on CRCI in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. METHODS: Eighty patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy at a grade A tertiary hospital in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, China, were divided into two intervention groups (audiovisual and multisensory) by random sampling (40 patients per group). FINDINGS: After four intervention cycles, participants' cognitive and executive function scores were higher in the multisensory group than in the audiovisual group. Multisensory stimulation training had stronger effects than audiovisual training and effectively attenuated CRCI and executive dysfunction caused by breast cancer chemotherapy. Given the convenience and ease of use, multisensory stimulation has good potential for application in clinical practice.

Evaluation on the effect of hydrogen sulfide on the NLRP3 signaling pathway and its involvement in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: As a common disease, the incidence of atherosclerosis (AS) in the world is high. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the involvement of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S)/cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) in the pathogenesis of AS as well as their possible signaling pathways. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis were used to detect the effect of CSE on the expression of inflammatory cytokines, ie, H 2 S, thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), caspase-1, and interleukin (IL)-1ß. In addition, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis were performed to detect the levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1ß, and IL-18 among different groups. RESULT: Knockdown of CSE by the transfection of CSE small interfering RNA upregulated the levels of two inflammatory cytokines, ie, IL-1ß and IL-18. In addition, the downregulation of CSE promoted the expression of TXNIP, NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, and IL-1ß in THP-1 cells. Meanwhile, treating the cells with sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) inhibited the productions of IL-1ß and IL-18. Furthermore, upregulation of H 2 S synthesis by treating the cells with NaHS also reduced the protein levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, and IL-1ß. Finally, the protein levels of TXNIP and NLRP3 in the AS group were much higher than those in the AS + H 2 S group, which in turn was higher than the sham group. In addition, the AS group displayed the highest protein levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1ß, and IL-18, while the levels of these proteins in the AS + H 2 S group were higher than those in the sham group. CONCLUSION: In summary, the present finding suggested a possible linkage between H 2 S metabolism and AS through the H 2 S/CSE-TXNIP-NLRP3-IL-18/IL-1ß-nitric oxide (NO) signaling pathway.