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Background Body temperature is an important indicator of health and illness. However, a single temperature measurement is not always reliable. Such measurements can be made using meridians, which are energy channels with acupoints being the nodes. To date, there is no published reference of meridian acupoint temperatures applicable to human health, and there is no clear digitalized indicator that could be utilized to evaluate human health by way of meridian acupoints up to now. Methods Our study recruited 100 healthy medical college students for the measurement of acupoint temperature. The temperatures of 135 acupoints of 14 main meridians were measured using infrared thermometers in order to provide a comprehensive body temperature reading of each study participant. Results The degree of the acupoint temperature consistently ranged from 34.88°C to 36.14°C. The gross thermograph was concentric, with high degree readings around the heart and low degree readings originating from the feet. The left and right body sides had significant correlation between the degrees of bilateral same name acupoint temperatures of 12 regular meridians (correlation coefficient, 0.367–0.985; p < 0.0001). There was also a significant correlation between the acupoint temperature for the governor vessel and the conception vessel (correlation coefficient, 0.083; p = 0.006). Conclusion These findings indicate that meridian acupoint temperature is characterized by a consistently narrow range, as well as concentricity and symmetry in body temperature degree readings in college students. Meridian acupoint temperature may be a sensitive and valuable indicator to assist in the accurate evaluation of meridian and general human health, and the significance and changes of acupoint temperature in clinical conditions warrants future exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in stroke is increasing worldwide. Here we report the existing clinical evidence of the Pinellia Ternata containing formula Wen Dan Decoction (WDD) for the treatment of ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.Methods: PubMed, CNKI, Wan Fang database, Cochrane Library and online Clinical Trial Registry were searched up to 26 February 2013 for randomized, controlled clinical trials (RCTs) using WDD as intervention versus Western conventional medicine as control to treat stroke. Clinical outcomes were improvement of the Neurological Functional Deficit Scores (NFDS) and overall therapeutic efficacy rates including rate of cure. Meta-regression analysis using Hedges'g was performed for RCTs with significant heterogeneity.Results: A total of 22 RCTs of ischemic stroke and 4 RCTs of hemorrhagic stroke, involving 2214 patients (1167 used WDD), met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of the 13 RCTs reporting NFDS improvement favored WDD over the control (mean difference=-3.40, 95% confidence intervals [CI]=[-4.64, -2.15]). Rate of overall therapeutic efficacy (odds ratio [OR]=3.39, 95%CI=[1.81, 6.37]) for hemorrhagic stroke were significantly higher in WDD treated patients than the control subjects. In the 1898 patients with ischemic stroke, WDD medication also achieved higher rates of cure (OR=2.22, 95%CI=[1.66, 2.97]) and overall therapeutic efficacy (OR=3.31, 95%CI=[2.54, 4.31]) than the conventional treatment.Conclusions: WDD displays benefits on improvement of neurological function and overall therapeutic efficacy in post-stroke patients. TCM such as WDD may serve as a therapeutic tool of dual actions to explore the common mechanisms underlying cerebral hemorrhage and ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amyloid hypothesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus postulates that elevated levels of normally expressed monomeric proteins of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) trigger oligomerization that independently causes fibril formation and disease progression. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the existence of amyloid oligomers in human pancreatic islets. Human pancreas tissues were obtained at autopsy of 8 nondiabetic control subjects (mean age = 75.8 ± 11.7 years, 4 males), 8 type 2 diabetic cases without islet amyloid (mean age = 78.8 ± 8.5 years, 4 males), and 8 type 2 diabetic patients with islet amyloid (mean age = 73.7 ± 14.2 years, 4 males). Several markers for insulin, IAPP, amyloid fibrils (thioflavin T), and apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3) were used in combination with an oligomer-specific antibody. Two distinct forms of oligomers were found in pancreatic islets. Small spherical puncta were found in approximately 3% to 20% of the islet cells of nondiabetic subjects, and large curvilinear structures as extracellular oligomers were identified frequently in diabetic islets. Large oligomers were spatially localized adjacent to amyloid fibrils and were associated with apoptosis. This report demonstrates the presence of 2 morphologic classes of amyloid oligomers in human pancreatic islets. The observations warrant function studies to investigate the clinical implications of the amyloid oligomerization in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Obesity is common in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The effects of obesity on clinical outcomes of COVID-19 warrant systematical investigation. This study explores the effects of obesity with the risk of severe disease among patients with COVID-19. Body mass index (BMI) and degree of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) accumulation were used as indicators for obesity status. Publication databases including preprints were searched up to August 10, 2020. Clinical outcomes of severe COVID-19 included hospitalization, a requirement for treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU), invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and mortality. Risks for severe COVID-19 outcomes are presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for cohort studies with BMI-defined obesity, and standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95%CI for controlled studies with VAT-defined excessive adiposity. A total of 45, 650 participants from 30 studies with BMI-defined obesity and 3 controlled studies with VAT-defined adiposity were included for assessing the risk of severe COVID-19. Univariate analyses showed significantly higher ORs of severe COVID-19 with higher BMI: 1.76 (95%: 1.21, 2.56, P = 0.003) for hospitalization, 1.67 (95%CI: 1.26, 2.21, P <0.001) for ICU admission, 2.19 (95%CI: 1.56, 3.07, P <0.001) for IMV requirement, and 1.37 (95%CI: 1.06, 1.75, P = 0.014) for death, giving an overall OR for severe COVID-19 of 1.67 (95%CI: 1.43, 1.96; P <0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed increased ORs of severe COVID-19 associated with higher BMI: 2.36 (95%CI: 1.37, 4.07, P = 0.002) for hospitalization, 2.32 (95%CI: 1.38, 3.90, P = 0.001) for requiring ICU admission, 2.63 (95%CI: 1.32, 5.25, P = 0.006) for IMV support, and 1.49 (95%CI: 1.20, 1.85, P <0.001) for mortality, giving an overall OR for severe COVID-19 of 2.09 (95%CI: 1.67, 2.62; P <0.001). Compared to non-severe COVID-19 patients, severe COVID-19 cases showed significantly higher VAT accumulation with a SMD of 0.49 for hospitalization (95% CI: 0.11, 0.87; P = 0.011), 0.57 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.81; P <0.001) for requiring ICU admission and 0.37 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.71; P = 0.035) for IMV support. The overall SMD for severe COVID-19 was 0.50 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.68; P <0.001). Obesity increases risk for hospitalization, ICU admission, IMV requirement and death among patients with COVID-19. Further, excessive visceral adiposity appears to be associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes. These findings emphasize the need for effective actions by individuals, the public and governments to increase awareness of the risks resulting from obesity and how these are heightened in the current global pandemic. • Obesity increases risk for hospitalization among patients with COVID-19. • Obesity increases risk for needing ICU admission among patients with COVID-19. • Obesity increases risk for requiring IMV support among patients with COVID-19. • Obesity increases risk for death among patients with COVID-19. • Excessive visceral adiposity appears to be associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]