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To investigate the occurrence and development of gastric mucosal atrophy due toDetailed histological observations and immunohistochemical examinations were conducted via 197 endoscopic biopsies and endoscopic submucosal dissection specimens of gastric mucosal atrophic lesions with gastric Hp infection. Detailed observation was made of columnar cells in the proliferative region of the deep gastric pit and the isthmus of the gastric gland, as well as the upper part of the glandular cervix.The infection of the gastric mucosa by Hp firstly led to the proliferative disorder of stem cells in the normal proliferative region of the gastric mucosa. This caused substantial propagation of cells in the proliferative region of the deep gastric pit and the isthmus of the gastric gland, as well as the upper part of the glandular cervix, as a means to replenish the damaged surface mucus cells. However, the propagation of stem cells in the proliferative region was insufficient for downward migration, and the normal physiological process of differentiation into fundic/pyloric gland cells was disrupted, resulting in glandular atrophy of the intrinsic layer of the gastric mucosa. Persistent Hp infection and disruption of stem cell proliferation in the proliferative region subsequently resulted in extensive segmental hyperplasia of the gastric mucosa and glandular atrophy of the lamina propria.The occurrence, development, and histomorphological features of gastric mucosal atrophy due to gastric Hp infection provide a reliable pathological basis for precise treatment by clinicians and are of great significance for controlling the development of gastric cancer.

To identify topics attracting growing research attention as well as frontier trends of acupuncture-neuroimaging research over the past two decades.This paper reviewed data in the published literature on acupuncture neuroimaging from 2000 to 2020, which was retrieved from the Web of Science database. CiteSpace was used to analyze the publication years, countries, institutions, authors, keywords, co-citation of authors, journals, and references.A total of 981 publications were included in the final review. The number of publications has increased in the recent 20 years accompanied by some fluctuations. Notably, the most productive country was China, while Harvard University ranked first among institutions in this field. The most productive author was Tian J with the highest number of articles (50), whereas the most co-cited author was Hui KKS (325). Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (92) was the most prolific journal, while Neuroimage was the most co-cited journal (538). An article written by Hui KKS (2005) exhibited the highest co-citation number (112). The keywords "acupuncture" (475) and "electroacupuncture" (0.10) had the highest frequency and centrality, respectively. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) ranked first with the highest citation burst (6.76).The most active research topics in the field of acupuncture-neuroimaging over the past two decades included research type, acupoint specificity, neuroimaging methods, brain regions, acupuncture modality, acupoint specificity, diseases and symptoms treated, and research type. Whilst research frontier topics were "nerve regeneration", "functional connectivity", "neural regeneration", "brain network", "fMRI" and "manual acupuncture".

Aims Acupuncture is frequently recommended as a complementary therapy for infertility. However, whether acupuncture can prevent early ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome has not been examined and its potential mechanisms are not well understood. Main methods Forty rats were randomized into four groups: Control, Ovarian Stimulation Model, Acupuncture, and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG). Serum estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Pituitary ER mRNA and ERβ expression were detected by real-time PCR and western blotting respectively. The pathology of rat ovaries were observed by light microscopy. Key findings We observed significantly lower estradiol levels in the Acupuncture group than in the Model group and increased LH levels in the HCG group than in Model and Acupuncture groups. Testosterone and FSH levels were significantly lower in the Acupuncture group than in the HCG group. Western blotting showed significantly lower pituitary ERβ expression in the Model group than in the Control group and higher expression in the Acupuncture group than in the Model group. Real-time PCR showed lower pituitary ER mRNA expression in the Acupuncture group than in the Model group. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed a lower proportion of atretic follicles in Acupuncture and HCG groups than in Model and Control groups. Instead, Acupuncture and HCG groups showed growing and mature follicles. Significance Our results demonstrate a relationship between acupuncture and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, and the potential mechanism underlying the preventative effects of acupuncture on the incidence of early ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and change of bowel habit without organic disease. A global perspective given by the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) points out that IBS can impact the quality of an individual’s daily life, cause socioeconomic problems and potentially impair the patient-physician relationship. It remains a problem to treat IBS due to the complicated pathophysiology. Acupuncture is an alternative therapy recommended for IBS. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy for patients with IBS. We also want to explore the correlation between IBS-gene subtypes and acupuncture effect. Methods/design A multicenter randomized controlled trial will be performed in seven hospitals. Six hundred participants will be stratified into two strata (IBS-C or IBS-D). Then, patients within each stratum will be divided into an experimental group and a control group randomly. The experimental group is treated with acupuncture while the control group is treated with Western medicine. All the patients will receive a 6-week treatment and a 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome is the IBS-Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS), the secondary outcome is the score of the IBS-Quality of Life (IBS-QoL).The correlation between IBS-gene subtypes and acupuncture effect will be detected based on polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Outcome measures (including primary and secondary outcome measures) are collected at baseline,1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks of the intervention, and 12 weeks after the intervention. Discussion This is a multicenter randomized controlled trial for IBS in China. It may clarify the efficacy of acupuncture as an alternative therapy for IBS. This is the first time ever that the potential mechanism of IBS based on genomics has been investigated. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trials Register, ID: ChiCTR-IOR-15006259. First registered on 14 April 2015. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2922-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Tianshu" (ST 25) on visceral pain and colonic mast cell (MCs) number and tryptase and SP expression in post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) rats, so as to reveal its mechanisms underlying improvement of PI-IBS.Forty-five female Wistar rats were randomly divided into control, model and EA groups (15 rats/ group, 3 rats/group used for H. E. staining, and 12 rats/group for immunohistochemistry). The PI-IBS model was established by intra-anal injection of mixed liquor of 50% ethyl alcohol and trinitro-benzene-sulfonic acid (TNBS). EA (2 Hz/15 Hz, 0.5-1.0 mA) was applied to bilateral "Tianshu" (ST 25) for 30 min, once every day for 14 days. The visceral pain was measured by abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR), for which the rectal implanted air balloon was dilated by infusion of normal saline. The histopathological changes of the colon tissue were observed after H. E. staining, and the colonic MCs were displayed by Toluidine blue staining. The expression of tryptase and SP proteins in the colon specimens were detected by immunohistochemistry.The AWR threshold was significantly lowered in the model group relevant to the control group (EA of "Tianshu" (ST 25) can inhibit visceral pain in PI-IBS rats, which may be associated with its effects in activating MCs and down-regulating the expression of tryptase and SP proteins in the colonic tissues.

Background. The role of protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) in the analgesic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on visceral hypersensitivity (VH) in postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) has yet to be elucidated. Aim. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the analgesic effect of EA in a rat model of PI-IBS. Methods. Visceral hypersensitivity was evaluated by the abdominal withdrawal reflex test before and after administration of the PAR2 agonist, PAR2-AP, and/or EA. The protein expression and mRNA levels of PAR2, CGRP, SP, and TPSP in colon tissues were measured by immunofluorescence, western blot, and RT-PCR. Results. We found that EA could alleviate VH and significantly decrease protein and mRNA levels of PAR2, TPSP, CGRP, and SP in PI-IBS rats. The analgesic effect of EA on VH was slightly reduced in the presence of PAR2-AP. Conclusions. These results suggest that EA alleviates VH symptoms through downregulation of the levels of the TPSP/PAR2/SP/CGRP signaling axis in colon tissues in PI-IBS rats. Together, our data suggests that PAR2 plays a critical role in the analgesic effect of EA on VH in PI-IBS.

Objective To compare the difference in the therapeutic effects on diarrhea-type irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) between acupuncture based on soothing the liver and strengthening the spleen and western medicine. Methods Seventy cases were randomized into an acupuncture group and a western medicine group, 35 cases in each one. In the acupuncture group, the conventional acupuncture was applied at Tiānshū ( ST 25), Zusānli ( ST 36), Shangjuxū ( ST 37), Sānyīnjiāo ( SP 6), Taichōng ( LR 3) and so on. Electric Stimulation was supplemented at bilateral ST 25. The treatment was given once a day, 3–4 treatments in a week. In the western medicine group, pinaverium bromide (dicetel) was prescribed for oral administration, 50 mg each time, three times a day. Four weeks made one session in the two groups. Separately, before treatment and after 1 session treatment, the integral of clinical symptom and the score in the scale of the quality of life measure for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-QOL) were observed for the patients in the two groups. The efficacy and recurrence rate were assessed in the two groups. Results The symptom integral and IBS-QOL score in the two groups were improved significantly after treatment (all P P P P Conclusion Acupuncture therapy based on soothing the liver and strengthening the spleen achieves the superior efficacy on D-IBS as compared with western medication, pinaverium bromide. This therapy improves apparently the quality of life of the patients and is lower in recurrence rate.

The clinical experiences and proven cases of distinguished doctor of TCM, professor WU Xu, on acupuncture for acute upper abdominal pain is introduced. Professor WU's manipulation characteristics of acupuncture for acute upper abdominal pain, including acute cholecystitis, kidney stone, acute stomach pain, are one-hand shape but both hands in nature, moving like Tai Chi, force on the tip of needle, movement of qi mainly. The main technique posture is one-hand holding needle with middle finger for pressing, the needle is hold by thumb and index finger, and is assisted by middle finger. The special acupuncture experience of emergency is treatment according to syndrome differentiation, combination of acupuncture and moxibustion, selecting acupoint based on experience, blood-letting acupuncture therapy and so on.

To evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome and discuss its action mechanism.Fifty-seven cases were randomly divided into two groups. The acupuncture group (29 cases) was treated with acupuncture at Taichong (LR 3), Zusanli (ST 36) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) etc., once a day and 5 times per week. The medication group (28 cases) was treated with oral administration of pinaverium (50 mg each time, 3 times a day) and live combined bifidobacterium and lactobacillus tablet (4 tablets each time, 3 times a day). Four weeks were taken as a treatment course in both groups. Before and after treatment ELISA method was applied to measure the level of serum 5-HT of the patients in two groups. The scores of clinical symptoms were observed before treatment, after one and four weeks of treatment and 3 months after treatment, respectively.The level of serum 5-HT was significantly reduced in the acupuncture group and medication group (P0.01, P0.05), which had no statistical difference between two groups (P0.05). Compared with the medication group, the scores of clinical symptoms were obviously improved in the acupuncture group after one and four weeks of treatment and 3 months after treatment (P0.01, P0.05). The total effective rate was 89.66% (26/29) in the acupuncture group, which was superior to 67.85% (19/28) in the medication group (P0.05).The efficacy of acupuncture is superior to that of medicine in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. The acupuncture treatment could reduce the visceral sensitivity, improve the intestinal motility and regulate the imbalance of brain-intestine interactive function.

To observe clinical therapeutic effects of acupuncture for pattern of liver-stagnation and spleen-deficiency in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) and its impact on cell factors.Forty cases were selected and divided into an acupuncture group (21 cases) in which acupuncture was applied and a medicine group (19 cases) in which oral administration of dicetel and bifidobacterium lactobacillus triple viable capsules were applied. The symptom scores, level of Th1-type cytokine (IFN-gamma, IL-2) and Th2-type cytokine (IL-4, IL-10) and ratio of IFN-gamma to IL-4 were compared in two groups before and after treatment to analyze acupuncture effect.The clinical symptoms were improved after one-week treatment in the acupuncture group (P0.05), which had faster onset than the medicine group (P0.05). The total effective rate was 90.48% (19/21) in the acupuncture group, which was superior to 78.95% (15/19) in the medicine group (P0.05). Compared with medicine treatment, imbalanced condition of Th1/Th2 was turning towards the direction of Th2 after acupuncture, indicating a tendency to recover the balance.The clinical efficacy of acupuncture for D-IBS has close relationship with effectively improving balance of Th1/Th2 in patients with liver-stagnation and spleen-deficiency.

To compare the efficacy difference in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome between acupuncture in terms of soothing liver and strengthening spleen and western medication.Seventy cases were randomized into an acupuncture group and a western medication group, 35 cases in each one. In the acupuncture group, the conventional acupuncture was applied to Tianshu (ST 25), Zusanli (ST 36), Shangjuxu (ST 37), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Taichong (LR 3), etc. The electric stimulation was added at bilateral Tianshu (ST 25). The treatment was given once a day, 3 to 4 treatments required a week. In the western medication group, Pinaverium (Dicetel) was prescribed for oral administration, 50 mg each time, 3 times a day. The treatment of 4 weeks was taken as one session. Separately, before treatment and after one session of treatment, the clinical symptom score and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL) score were observed for the patients in two groups. The efficacy and the recurrence rate were assessed in two groups.The symptom score and IBS-QOL score were all improved significantly after treatment in two groups (all P0.01). The improvements in the acupuncture group were superior to those in the western medication group (all P0.01). The effective rate was 94.3% (33/35) in the acupuncture group, which was better than 77.1% (27/35) in the western medication group (P0.01). In 3 months, the recurrence rate was 36.4% (12/33) in the acupuncture group, which was remarkably lower than 72.0% (18/25) in the western medication group (P0.01).Acupuncture in terms of soothing liver and strengthening spleen achieves the superior efficacy on diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome as compared with western medicine Pinaverium. It remarkably improves the quality of life for the patients and reduces the recurrence rate of the disease.

Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor that has been confirmed to exert inhibitory effect on the platelet derived growth factor PDGF receptor (PDGFRα and PDGFRβ) activity.To investigate the protective effect of imatinib on the myocardial fibrosis in deoxycorticosterone-acetate (DOCA)/salt induced hypertensive rats.Sixty male uninephrectomized Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to three groups: control rats (CON group); deoxycorticosterone group (DOCA group); deoxycorticosterone and imatinib group (DOCA+IMA group). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured biweekly. The apical portion of the left ventricle was studied. Sirius-Red staining, Hematoxylin-Eosin staining, immunohistochemistry and Western blot assay were employed.SBP in the DOCA group and DOCA+IMA group was higher than that in the CON group on day 14 and 28. Animals in the DOCA group showed severe interstitial and perivascular fibrosis on day 28, and the expressions of PI, PIII, tenascin-C and fibronectin were significantly higher than those in the DOCA+IMA group and CON group. When compared with the CON group, myocardial tissue inflammatory response and monocyte/macrophage infiltration of different degrees were observed in the DOCA group and DOCA+IMA group. Protein expressions of PDGF-A, PDGF-C and PDGFRα were significantly higher in the DOCA and DOCA+IMA groups than those in the CON group, but the p-PDGFRα protein expression in the DOCA+IMA group was lower than that in the DOCA group.Imatinib can exert inhibitory effects on myocardial fibrosis in DOCA/salt induced hypertensive rats, which may be attributed to the inhibition of PDGFR-α activity.

The morphological changes of autophagy in rat hepatic parenchymal cells treated with colchicine by intraperitoneal injection were observed ultrastructurally and cytochemically. Thirty min to 4 hr after injection, the double membrane limiting autophagic vacuoles (AV) increased and then the inner limiting membrane disappeared. Various organelles could be found in the AV. Many irregularly shaped lysosomes such as rod-, C-, tadpole- and ring-shaped lysosomes could be observed. The acid phosphatase (AcPase) activity was clearly positive in the matrix of AV and irregularly shaped lysosomes. All these lysosomes were situated in different stages of the lysosomal wrapping mechanism. Besides the mitochondria, endoplasmic reticula and ribosomes, several lysosomes were also segregated by these irregular lysosomes. This phenomenon was named lysosomophagy. The reason for this phenomenon seemed to be due to microtubule disassembling. The AV, the lysosomal wrapping mechanism (LWM), the lysosomphagy, and the exocytosis of residues are discussed.

To develop a method for determining urinary citrate and oxalate using high-performance capillary electrophoresis.Capillary electrophoresis with indirect ultraviolet (UV) detection was performed for determining urinary citrate and oxalate. Sodium hromate was used as the UV-absorbing background electrolyte.Citrate and oxalate had a migration time of 3.76 min and 3.14 min respectively. The calibration curves were linear within a limit of about 2 microg/ml for citrate and about 1 microg/ml for oxalate. The recovery rates of citrate and oxalate were 97.53% and 99.11% respectively.This method is simple, accurate and at low cost for determining citrate and oxalate in the urine.

To explore a new method for detecting cellular apoptosis.Using routine electrophoresis assisted by computerized gel documentation analysis system(GDAS), apoptosis of the macrophages treated with dexamethasone was qualitatively and then quantitatively detected.Apoptosis occurred in the macrophages treated with dexamethasone, and DNA fragmentation of the apoptotic macrophages was visualized on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. The apoptosis rates as determined by computerized GDAS were consistent with the results obtained from flow cytometry that showed typical apoptosis peak.Agarose gel electrophoresis assisted by computerized GDAS was relatively simple and less costly in qualitative and quantitative detection of apoptosis with precision.