Therapeutic benefit of aripiprazole-olanzapine combination in the treatment of senile Alzheimer’s disease complicated by mental disorders

Purpose: To determine the clinical efficacy of aripiprazole-olanzapine combination treatment in elderly Alzheimer’s disease complicated with mental disorders. Methods: Ninety-two elderly patients with Alzheimer’s disease and mental disorders who were admitted to Binzhou People's Hospital, were enrolled in the study. They were randomized into control and study groups. Control group was treated with olanzapine, while the study group was treated with aripiprazole as an adjuvant therapy in addition to olanzapine. The clinical efficacy, scores on different scales (MMSE, ADAS-cog, CDR, ADL, NPI and CMAI), and incidence of adverse reactions were determined. Results: The overall degree of response was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in MMSE, ADAS-cog, CDR, ADL, NPI and CMAI scores between the two groups before treatment (p > 0.05). The MMSE score of the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the scores in the other scales in the study group were significantly lower after treatment (p < 0.05). The study group had significantly lower incidence of adverse reactions than control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Aripiprazole-olanzapine combination has significant therapeutic benefit in the treatment of elderly Alzheimer’s disease patients complicated with mental disorders. It promotes recovery of neurological function, as well as produces a lower incidence of adverse reactions. Keywords: Aripiprazole, Olanzapine, Alzheimer’s disease, Mental disorder

Protective effect of ginsenoside Rb1 against intestinal ischemia-reperfusion induced acute renal injury in mice

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Raw Garlic Consumption and Risk of Liver Cancer: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in Eastern China.

Although the major risk factors for liver cancer have been established, preventive factors for liver cancer have not been fully explored. We evaluated the association between raw garlic consumption and liver cancer in a large population-based case-control study in Eastern China. The study was conducted in Jiangsu, China, from 2003 to 2010. A total of 2011 incident liver cancer cases and 7933 randomly selected population-controls were interviewed. Epidemiological data including raw garlic intake and other exposures were collected, and serum markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were assayed. Overall, eating raw garlic twice or more per week was inversely associated with liver cancer, with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 0.77 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.62-0.96) compared to those ingesting no raw garlic or less than twice per week. In stratified analyses, high intake of raw garlic was inversely associated with liver cancer among Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative individuals, frequent alcohol drinkers, those having history of eating mold-contaminated food or drinking raw water, and those without family history of liver cancer. Marginal interactions on an additive scale were observed between low raw garlic intake and HBsAg positivity (attributable proportion due to interaction (AP) = 0.31, 95% CI: -0.01-0.62) and heavy alcohol drinking (AP = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.00-0.57). Raw garlic consumption is inversely associated with liver cancer. Such an association shed some light on the potential etiologic role of garlic intake on liver cancer, which in turn might provide a possible dietary intervention to reduce liver cancer in Chinese population

Acupuncture for menstruation-related migraine prophylaxis:A multicenter randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture, an alternative medicine therapy, as a preventive treatment for menstruation-related migraine (MRM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective, multicenter, double-dummy, participant-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial conducted in China between 1 April 2013, and 30 April 2014. The participants were enrolled from four study centers and randomized to into either the acupuncture group, which received 24 sessions of acupuncture at traditional acupoints plus placebo, or the medication group, which received sham acupuncture plus naproxen. The primary endpoint was change from the baseline average number of migraine days per perimenstrual period over cycles 1−3. The secondary endpoints included changes from the baseline average number of migraine days outside the perimenstrual period, mean number of migraine hours during and outside the perimenstrual period, mean visual analog scale score during and outside the perimenstrual period, ≥50% migraine responder rate, and the proportion of participants who used acute pain medication over cycles 1−3 and 4−6. RESULTS: A total of 172 women with MRM were enrolled; 170 in the intention-to-treat analyses. Our primary outcome reported a significant between-group difference that favored the acupuncture group (95% CI, 0.17–0.50; P < 0.001), with the average reduction of migraine days per perimenstrual period from the baseline was 0.94 (95% CI, 0.82–1.07) in the acupuncture group and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.50–0.71) in the medication group over cycles 1−3. CONCLUSION: This study showed that compared to medication, acupuncture reduces the number of migraine days experienced by patients with MRM. For patients who received the acupuncture treatment over three cycles, the preventive effect of the therapy was sustained for six cycles. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: [https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN57133712], identifier [ISRCTN15663606]

Genome-Wide Screening for Novel Candidate Virulence Related Response Regulator Genes in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola

Two-component regulatory system (TCS), a major type of cellular signal transduction system, is widely used by bacteria to adapt to different conditions and to colonize certain ecological niches in response to environmental stimuli. TCSs are of distinct functional diversity, genetic diversity, and species specificity (pathovar specificity, even strain specificity) across bacterial groups. Although TCSs have been demonstrated to be crucial to the virulence of Xanthomonas, only a few researches have been reported about the studies of TCSs in Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzicola (hereafter Xoc), the pathogen of rice bacterial streak disease. In the genome of Xoc strain GX01, it has been annotated 110 TCSs genes encoding 54 response regulators (RRs), 36 orthodox histidine kinase (HKs) and 20 hybrid histidine kinase (HyHKs). To evaluate the involvement of TCSs in the stress adaptation and virulence of Xoc, we mutated 50 annotated RR genes in Xoc GX01 by homologous vector integration mutagenesis and assessed their phenotypes in given conditions and tested their virulence on host rice. 17 RR genes were identified to be likely involved in virulence of Xoc, of which 10 RR genes are novel virulence genes in Xanthomonas, including three novel virulence genes for bacteria. Of the novel candidate virulence genes, some of which may be involved in the general stress adaptation, exopolysaccharide production, extracellular protease secretion and swarming motility of Xoc. Our results will facilitate further studies on revealing the biological functions of TCS genes in this phytopathogenic bacterium

Reconciling discrepancies in the source characterization of VOCs between emission inventories and receptor modeling

Emission inventory (EI) and receptor model (RM) are two of the three source apportionment (SA) methods recommended by Ministry of Environment of China and used widely to provide independent views on emission source identifications. How to interpret the mixed results they provide, however, were less studied. In this study, a cross-validation study was conducted in one of China's fast-developing and highly populated city cluster- the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. By utilizing a highly resolved speciated regional EI and a region-wide gridded volatile organic compounds (VOCs) speciation measurement campaign, we elucidated underlying factors for discrepancies between EI and RM and proposed ways for their interpretations with the aim to achieve a scientifically plausible source identification. Results showed that numbers of species, temporal and spatial resolutions used for comparison, photochemical loss of reactive species, potential missing sources in EI and tracers used in RM were important factors contributed to the discrepancies. Ensuring the consensus of species used in EIs and RMs, utilizing a larger spatial coverage and longer time span, addressing the impacts of photochemical losses, and supplementing emissions from missing sources could help reconcile the discrepancies in VOC source characterizations acquired using both approaches. By leveraging the advantages and circumventing the disadvantages in both methods, the EI and RM could play synergistic roles to obtain robust SAs to improve air quality management practices

Spesolimab treatment for the prevention of flares in people with generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP): a plain language summary of the Effisayil ™ 2 study

What is this study about?: Generalized pustular psoriasis (shortened to GPP) is a rare, potentially life-threatening disease in which pus-filled blisters or pustules may suddenly form all over the body. The drug spesolimab has been approved to treat worsening GPP (known as flares) in many countries. However, it was not known if spesolimab could prevent the symptoms of GPP. This summary reports the results from a clinical study called Effisayil™ 2, that was done to understand if spesolimab was a safe and effective way to prevent flares in people with GPP. In the study, 123 participants, recruited in 20 different countries, were given one of three different doses of spesolimab (low, medium, or high) or a non-active medicine (placebo) over 48 weeks. What were the results?: Participants who received spesolimab had fewer GPP flares over the course of the 48-week study. Different doses of the drug were tested and compared to placebo, and a high dose of spesolimab worked better than low and medium doses. Using spesolimab also reduced the chance of developing skin symptoms, such as redness or pustules, and prevented quality of life getting worse over 48 weeks. While some participants experienced unwanted effects, they were mostly mild or moderate and most did not appear to be caused by spesolimab, or the dose at which it was given. What do the results of the study mean?: The results indicate that a high dose of spesolimab works well to prevent GPP flares and stop the disease getting worse. Health authorities are looking at the results of this study to decide if spesolimab can also be prescribed for the prevention of GPP flares