Impact of Moriamin Forte on Testicular and Epididymal Damage in Rats with Oligoasthenospermia.

To investigate the effect and mechanism of action of Moriamin Forte (MF) on oligoasthenospermia (OA) in rats exposed to multiglycosides of (GTW), forty male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups. Rats in the control group were treated with 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.

The Use of Delphi Method and Analytical Hierarchy Process in the Establishment of Assessment Tools in Premature Ejaculation: The Scoring System for Premature Ejaculation Treatment Outcomes.

There is a lack of objective tools to comprehensively evaluate premature ejaculation (PE) treatment results clinically. We aimed to describe the development of a novel scoring system for PE treatment results as an example of using the Delphi method and an analytical hierarchy process for complex decision-making in the field of sexual medicine. A Delphi question survey was adopted to collect expert opinions from 47 Chinese specialists in andrology/urology on the assessment of PE treatment outcomes based on four primary properties, that is, the improvement in intravaginal ejaculation latency time, a couple's mental status, the ability to control ejaculation, and sexual intercourse satisfaction.

[Efficacy and safety of lycopene in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with lower urinary tract symptoms].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of lycopene in the treatment of BPH with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

Methods: Totally, 127 BPH patients with LUTS were treated with oral lycopene tablets at 500 mg bid in the Department of Andrology of Jinling Hospital from January 2018 to January 2019. At 8 and 16 weeks of medication, we compared the IPSS, quality of life (QOL) score, prostate volume, PSA level, maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) and the incidence of adverse reactions before and after treatment.

Effects of Qilin pills on spermatogenesis, reproductive hormones, oxidative stress, and the TSSK2 gene in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia.

Background: Qilin pills (QLPs), a classic Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formula for treating male infertility, effectively improve semen quality in clinical trials. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of QLPs on spermatogenesis, reproductive hormones, oxidative stress, and the testis-specific serinekinase-2 (TSSK2) gene in a rat model of oligoasthenospermia.

Methods: Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups.

The autophagic-lysosomal and ubiquitin proteasome systems are simultaneously activated in the skeletal muscle of gastric cancer patients with cachexia.

Background: Cancer cachexia is characterized by weight loss, especially ongoing skeletal muscle loss, and is associated with poor patient outcomes. However, the molecular mechanism of skeletal muscle wasting is not fully understood.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate muscle fiber morphology and proteolysis system activity changes that may account for cancer cachexia and to relate these changes to patients' clinical phenotypes.

Computed tomography-quantified body composition predicts short-term outcomes after gastrectomy in gastric cancer.

Background: Malnutrition is a common and critical problem that influences outcome in cancer patients. Body composition reflects a patient's metabolic profile and physiologic reserves, which might be the true determinant of prognosis. In the present study, which aimed to identify valuable new prognostic indicators, we investigated the association between computed tomography-quantified body composition and short-term outcomes after gastrectomy for gastric cancer.

The Effect of Capsule on Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common among elderly men, of which inflammation, oxidative stress, proliferative, and apoptotic changes play important roles. () capsule, a traditional Chinese herbal formula, is used as a potential drug in treating BPH. This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic effect of capsule on testosterone propionate- (TP-) induced BPH in rats.

CFTR variants and renal abnormalities in males with congenital unilateral absence of the vas deferens (CUAVD): a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Purpose: CFTR variant is the main genetic contributor to congenital (unilateral/bilateral) absence of the vas deferens (CAVD/CUAVD/CBAVD). We performed a systematic review to elucidate the genetic link between CFTR variants, CUAVD, and the associated risk of renal abnormality (RA).

Methods: We searched relevant databases for eligible articles reporting CFTR variants in CUAVD.

[Fosfomycin tromethamine inhibits the expressions of TNF-α, IL-8 and IL-6 in the prostate tissue of rats with chronic bacterial prostatitis].

Objective: To investigate the effects of fosfomycin tromethamine (FT) on the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the prostate tissue of the rats with chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP).

Methods: We randomly divided 70 male SD rats into 7 groups of equal number: blank control, CBP model control, positive control, 14 d low-dose FT, 7 d low-dose FT, 14 d high-dose FT, and 7 d high-dose FT. The CBP model rats in the latter five groups were treated intragastrically with levofloxacin at 100 mg/kg/d for 30 days and FT at 200 mg/kg/d for 14 and 7 days and at 300 mg/kg/d for 14 and 7 days, respectively.

Qilin pills alleviate oligoasthenospermia by inhibiting Bax-caspase-9 apoptosis pathway in the testes of model rats.

At present, the treatment of oligoasthenospermia with western medicine is ineffective. Qilin pill (QLP) is a Chinese traditional medicine for treating male infertility. Recent multicenter clinical studies in China reported that QLPs markedly improved sperm quality.

[Ningmitai Capsule for the treatment of andrological diseases: Advances in studies].

Ningmitai Capsule is a classical patent medicine prepared from multiple effective ingredients of Chinese herbal medicine, with a wide range of biological activities and a significant efficacy in the treatment of urogenital diseases. Ningmitai Capsule has been widely applied in the management of urological and andrological diseases, with a particularly ideal effect on chronic prostatitis, since its first introduction nearly 20 years ago. With no obvious adverse effect on the male reproductive system, it has also been gaining a gradual application in the treatment of such diseases as urinary tract infections, diabetes, non-gonococcal urethritis, seminal vesiculitis, acute epididymitis, overactive bladder, hematuria, and semen non-liquefaction.

[Protective effect of Qilin Pills on the reproductive function of oligoasthenospermia rats].

Objective: To study the protective effect of Qilin Pills (QLP) on the reproductive function of rats with oligoasthenospermia (OAS) induced by tripterygium glycosides.

Methods: Twenty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal control, an OAS model control, a low-dose QLP, and a high-dose QLP group of equal number. OAS models were made in the latter three groups by intragastrical administration of tripterygium glycosides at 40 mg per kg of the body weight per day, and meanwhile the animals in the low- and high-dose QLP groups were treated with QLP at 1.

[Effects of Xialiqi Capsules on the expressions of PCNA and caspase-3 in rats withbenign prostatic hyperplasia].

Objective: To explore the effects of Xialiqi Capsules(XLQ) on the expressions of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and caspase-3 in the prostate tissue of the BPH rat model.

Methods: Fifty male SD ratswereequally randomized into groups A (sham operation control), B (BPH model control), C (high-dose XLQ), D (low-dose XLQ), and E (finasteridecontrol) andthe BPH modelswere established by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate at 0.5 mg per kilogram of the body weight per day for 30 days after castration.

[RNA simultaneous and amplification testing versus the culture method for detecting Ureaplasma urealyticum infection].

Objective: To investigate the value of real-time RNA simultaneous amplification and testing (SAT) in the detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) in the semen of infertile males and its clinical significance.

Methods: We collected semen samples from 542 infertility patients and 120 normal fertile men as controls in the Andrology Clinic of Nanjing General Hospital from March to September 2015. We detected UU infection in the samples using the culture method and SAT technology, respectively.

[Correlation of serum anti-Müllerian hormone with semen parameters].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level and semen parameters.

Methods: We collected the data about 726 outpatients at the Male Infertility Clinic of Jinling Hospital from September 2015 to November 2016, including 72 with non-obstructive azoospermia, 123 with oligospermia, and 531 with normal sperm concentration. We obtained the semen volume, total sperm count, sperm concentration, sperm motility, the percentages of progressively motile sperm (PMS) and morphologically normal sperm (MNS), and the levels of serum AMH, inhibin B (INH-B), total testosterone (TT) and follicle - stimulating hormone (FSH) of the patients, analyzed the correlation of the serum AMH level with the other parameters, and compared the AMH level among different groups.

Gut Microbiota as a Modulator of Paneth Cells During Parenteral Nutrition in Mice.

Background: Parenteral nutrition (PN) leads to decreased production of Paneth cell-derived antimicrobial peptides and is accompanied by dysbiosis of the gut. The role of gut microbiota in regulating Paneth cell function during PN is unknown.

Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice received either an antibiotic cocktail (Abx) or nothing (Normal) in their drinking water for 2 weeks before being fed either standard laboratory chow (Abx-Chow and Normal-Chow) or a continuous infusion of PN solution (Abx-PN and Normal-PN) for 7 days.

Effect of Ningmitai capsule plus sertraline on patients with premature ejaculation and enlarged seminal vesicles: A randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Ningmitai capsule combined with sertraline on patients with premature ejaculation (PE) and an increased anterior-posterior diameter (APD) of the seminal vesicles (SVs).

Methods: Sixty men with acquired PE were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups. The combined group was treated with Ningmitai capsule and sertraline, while the control group was treated with sertraline alone.

[Ubiquitin-proteasome system and sperm DNA repair: An update].

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is a proteasome system widely present in the human body, which is composed of ubiquitin (Ub), ubiquitin activating enzymes (E1), ubiquitin conjugating enzymes (E2), ubiquitin protein ligases (E3), 26S proteasome, and deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) and involved in cell cycle regulation, immune response, signal transduction, DNA repair as well as protein degradation. Sperm DNA is vulnerable to interference or damage in the progression of chromosome association and homologous recombination. Recent studies show that UPS participates in DNA repair in spermatogenesis by modulating DNA repair enzymes via ubiquitination, assisting in the identification of DNA damage sites, raising damage repair-related proteins, initiating the DNA repair pathway, maintaining chromosome stability, and ensuring the normal process of spermatogenesis.

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-enriched lipid emulsion improves Paneth cell function via the IL-22/Stat3 pathway in a mouse model of total parenteral nutrition.

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is a life-saving therapy for patients with gastrointestinal dysfunction or failure. Long-term TPN impairs gut barrier function and contributes to infections and poor clinical outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms of TPN-related gut barrier damage have not been fully elucidated, and effective measures are still rare.

Increased incidence of prolonged ileus after colectomy for inflammatory bowel diseases under ERAS protocol: a cohort analysis.

Background: Postoperative ileus is a common problem after colorectal surgery. The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence and risk factors for prolonged postoperative ileus (POI) after colectomy for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent colorectal resection for IBD versus colorectal cancer (CRC) patients under enhanced recovery after surgery protocol were retrospectively analyzed.

Fecal calprotectin as an alternative to ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity to predict the response to corticosteroids of acute severe ulcerative colitis: A prospective observational study.

Background: Fecal calprotectin (FC) might be an alternative to ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS) to predict the response to corticosteroids (CS) in acute severe colitis (ASC).

Methods: One hundred and seventeen ASC patients were prospectively enrolled. Demographic, clinical, laboratory and sigmoidoscopic data were documented.

PU.1 serves a critical role in the innate defense against Aspergillus fumigatus via dendritic cell-associated C-type lectin receptor-1 and toll-like receptors-2 and 4 in THP-1-derived macrophages.

Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) is one of the most common fungal pathogens of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), which may be life threatening in immunocompromised individuals. The dendritic cell-associated C-type lectin receptor (Dectin-1), toll‑like receptor (TLR)-2 and TLR-4 are major pattern recognition receptors in alveolar macrophages that recognize A.

[Advances in the studies of lipoic acid in male infertility].

Lipoic acid (LA) is widely present in the body as a disulfide compound with an extensive biological activity and a strong antioxidant capacity. LA plays an antioxidant role by removing oxygen free radicals, chelating metal ions, and regenerating other antioxidants in the body. Recent studies have shown the effects of LA in the prevention or treatment of male reproductive disorders, such as idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia, diabetes mellitus-induced erectile dysfunction and infertility, serious infection in the reproductive system, and reproductive system injuries caused by chemotherapeutic agents, ionizing radiation, environmental toxins, testicular ischemia reperfusion, excessive exercise, and so on.

Sodium Butyrate Reduces Colitogenic Immunoglobulin A-Coated Bacteria and Modifies the Composition of Microbiota in IL-10 Deficient Mice.

High levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA)-coated bacteria may have a role in driving inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We therefore investigated the effect of sodium butyrate on microbiota in IBD prone interleukin (IL)-10 mice. At 8 weeks of age, mice were allocated into three groups ( = 4/group): normal (C57BL/6), IL-10, and IL-10 treated with sodium butyrate (100 mM).