Electroacupuncture restores intestinal mucosal barrier through TLR4/NF-κB p65 pathway in functional dyspepsia-like rats.

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder with high morbidity. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been applied to treat FD for a long time. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of EA and its mechanism about intestinal mucosal barrier in rodent model of FD.

miR-1253, a novel tumor suppressor gene in colon cancer, is associated with poor patients prognosis.

MiR-1253 has been reported to play vital roles in a variety of cancers. However, its function in the progression and prognosis of colon cancer remains unclear. Here, the clinical significance and biological function of miR-1253 in the development of colon cancer was investigated.

Modified technique of extraperitoneal colostomy without incision of the posterior rectus sheath.

Extraperitoneal colostomy is a widely used technique during abdominoperineal resection (APR) operation for lower rectal cancer. This technique has been reported to be effective to prevent the postoperative parastomal hernia in some retrospective studies, however, there is still a certain incidence of parastomal hernia. A modification of the extraperitoneal colostomy technique is described in this paper that keeps posterior rectal sheath intact instead of having a conventional incision, to further reduce the risk of parastomal hernia.

[Electroacupuncture Reduces Body Fat by Down-regulating IL-6 and Vimentin in Abdominal White Adipose Tissue of Diet-induced Obesity Rats].

Objective: To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on IL-6 and vimentin protein expression in white adipose tissue (WAT) of diet-induced obesity (DIO) rats, so as to reveal its mechanism underlying losing weight.

Methods: Thirty-four Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal (control, ＝10), model, sham-EA and EA groups (＝8 in each of the latter 3 groups). The obesity model was established by feeding the rats with high fat diet.

[Effect of Electroacupuncture at "Zusanli" (ST 36) on Vimentin (A Kind of Cytoskeleton Protein Related to Smooth Muscle Contraction) in Rats with Diarrhea-predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Zusanli" (ST 36) on cytoskeleton protein-Vimentin (related to smooth muscle contraction) in rats with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).

Methods: Sixty female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into normal, model, EA and pinaverium bromide (PB) groups (=15/group). The IBS-D model was established by the method of high lactose feeding and chronic unpredictable mild stress.

Anterior transversalis fascia approach versus preperitoneal space approach for inguinal hernia repair in residents in northern China: study protocol for a prospective, multicentre, randomised, controlled trial.

Introduction: Many surgical techniques have been used to repair abdominal wall defects in the inguinal region based on the anatomic characteristics of this region and can be categorised as 'tension' repair or 'tension-free' repair. Tension-free repair is the preferred technique for inguinal hernia repair. Tension-free repair of inguinal hernia can be performed through either the anterior transversalis fascia approach or the preperitoneal space approach.

Role of RASSF1A promoter methylation in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis of 21 cohort studies.

We carried out the current meta-analysis aiming to comprehensively assess the potential role of RASSF1A aberrant promoter methylation in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A range of electronic databases were searched: Web of Science (1945-2013), the Cochrane Library Database (Issue 12, 2013), PubMed (1966-2013), EMBASE (1980-2013), CINAHL (1982-2013) and the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1982-2013) without language restrictions. Meta-analysis was conducted using the STATA 12.