Metabolomics Analysis Discovers Estrogen Altering Cell Proliferation via the Pentose Phosphate Pathway in Infertility Patient Endometria

Estrogen therapy is widely used as a supplementary treatment after hysteroscopy for female infertility patients owing to its protective function that improves endometrial regeneration and menstruation, inhibits recurrent adhesions, and improves subsequent conception rate. The endometrial protective function of such estrogen administration pre-surgery is still controversial. In the current study, 12 infertility patients were enrolled, who were treated with estrogen before hysteroscopy surgery. Using cutting-edge metabolomic analysis, we observed alterations in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) intermediates of the patient’s endometrial tissues. Furthermore, using Ishikawa endometrial cells, we validated our clinical discovery and identified estrogen–ESR–G6PD–PPP axial function, which promotes estrogen-induced cell proliferation.

Is the gluten-free and casein-free diet efficacious in the treatment of childhood autism spectrum disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions, characterized by early-onset difficulties in social communication as well as repetitive and unusually restricted behaviors and interests. The treatment of ASD is based primarily on psychoeducational and behavioral interventions. Since the effectiveness of available treatments for ASD is limited, many families search for alternative therapies, such as the gluten-free and casein-free (GFCF) diet. Despite the popularity of the GFCF diet as a supplementary treatment in children with ASD, several rigorous evaluations have failed to confirm its effectiveness. The majority of the available studies examining the efficacy of the GFCF diet are seriously flawed and allow no firm conclusions. The available evidence regarding the effectiveness of the GFCF diet in the treatment of childhood ASD is very weak and cannot be considered promising. The GFCF diet should be used only if an allergy or intolerance to nutritional gluten or casein has been established. The identification of a hypothetical diet-related ASD phenotype may help in selecting children who could benefit from a GFCF dietary intervention. An important consideration is that potentially ineffective therapies may imply considerable opportunity costs, with other possibly more effective treatment approaches remaining unutilized.

Ambulatory COVID-19 Patients Treated with Lactoferrin as a Supplementary Antiviral Agent: A Preliminary Study

SARS-CoV-2, an enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus causing COVID-19, exerts morbidity and mortality especially in elderly, obese individuals and those suffering from chronic conditions. In addition to the availability of vaccines and the limited efficacy of the first dose of vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants, there is an urgent requirement for the discovery and development of supplementary antiviral agents. Lactoferrin (Lf), a pleiotropic cationic glycoprotein of innate immunity, has been proposed as a safe treatment combined with other therapies in COVID-19 patients. Here, we present a small retrospective study on asymptomatic, paucisymptomatic, and moderate symptomatic COVID-19 Lf-treated versus Lf-untreated patients. The time required to achieve SARS-CoV-2 RNA negativization in Lf-treated patients (n = 82) was significantly lower (p < 0.001) compared to that observed in Lf-untreated ones (n = 39) (15 versus 24 days). A link among reduction in symptoms, age, and Lf treatment was found. The Lf antiviral activity could be explained through the interaction with SARS-CoV-2 spike, the binding with heparan sulfate proteoglycans of cells, and the anti-inflammatory activity associated with the restoration of iron homeostasis disorders, which favor viral infection/replication. Lf could be an important supplementary treatment in counteracting SARS-CoV-2 infection, as it is also safe and well-tolerated by all treated patients.

Social Work as a Supplementary Treatment Option for Narcissistic Personality Disorders

This paper discusses selected scientific aspects of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The main purpose of this research paper is to examine the extent to which patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder can be supported and treated within the framework of social work-based community psychiatry. To this end, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will be used to address the problem of invisible distress and the difficulties of differential diagnosis. Furthermore, psychodynamic and behavioural treatment calculations are outlined. Based on this, differentiated and systematised considerations on concrete possibilities for social work-community psychiatric activities are made. In doing so, a model was developed which can guarantee a solid and goal-oriented orientation on the basis of the lifeworld of patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Finally, possible problems in the effectiveness of social work in the context of Narcissistic Personality Disorder are discussed. The article is presented in the following order: Introduction and problem statement, Theoretical classification and research question, Methodological approach and model, Discussion and conclusions, and Limitations and directions for further research. The findings of this article may be useful for psychologists and social workers to identify and harness the potential of social work as a supplementary treatment option for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Rumen dry matter degradability of Yankasa rams fed Brachiaria ruziziensis (Congo grass) hay with different supplements

This study was carried out to determine rumen dry matter degradability of Brachiaria ruziziensis (Congo grass) by cannulated Yankasa rams fed different supplements (maize offal, wheat offal, groundnut hay). The research was carried out at Polycon Research farm, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi. Four (4) cannulated Yankasa rams were used for the study, each animal was replicated three times. In-sacco method involving small nylon bags containing experimental diets were inserted into the rumen of the cannulated rams at 0 hour, with inspection at 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours. Three (3) nylon bags marked with different colours containing different treatment diets were inserted into the cannula of the rumen to test for degradability, the small nylon bags were removed at different hours (6, 12, 18 and 24 hours, respectively) to test their degradability. The supplementary treatment diets were wheat offal (WO), Maize Offal (MO) and Groundnut Hay (GH) while Brachiaria ruziziensis was fed as basal diet. The rumen degradability showed significant difference (P<0.05) across the treatments at different hours. Results from this study showed that MO had the highest value (P<0.05) at 0 (27.20%), 6 (36.75%), 12 (38.62%) and 18 (46.15%) hours. However, WO had the highest value (64.72%) at 24 hours, but the value obtained was similar with 61.32% obtained for rams fed maize offal supplement. It was concluded from the result of this study that treatment T2 (Brachiaria ruziziensis + Maize offal) had the best rumen degradability. Itis therefore, recommended that maize offal should be supplemented with Brachiaria ruziziensis hay at 370g/day for better rumen degradabilit y in ruminant animals.

Evaluating the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Officially Recommended in China for COVID-19 Using Ontology-Based Side-Effect Prediction Framework (OSPF) and Deep Learning

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbroke in Wuhan has imposed a huge influence onto the society in term of the public heath and economy. However, so far, no effective drugs or vaccines have been developed. Whereas, the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been considered as a promising supplementary treatment for the disease owing to its clinically proven performance on many diseases even like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Meanwhile, many side-effect (SE) reports suggest the SE of the TCM prescriptions cannot be ignored in curing the COVID-19, especially because COVID-19 always simultaneously leads to dramatic degradation of the patients&rsquo; physical condition. How to evaluate the TCM regarding to their latent SE is a urgent challenge. Aim of the study: In this study, we use an ontology-based side-effect prediction framework (OSPF) developed in our previous work and Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based deep learning to evaluate the TCM prescriptions that are officially recommended in China for novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Materials and methods: Firstly, we adopted the OSPF developed in our previous work, where an ontology-based model separate all the ingredients in a TCM prescription into two categories: hot and cold. Then, we established a database by converting each TCM prescription into a vector containing the ingredient dosage and the according hot/cold attribution as well as the safe/unsafe label. And, we trained the ANN model using this database, after which a safety indicator (SI), as the complementary percentage of side-effect (SE) possibility, is then given for each TCM prescription. According to the proposed SI from high to low, we re-organize the recommended prescription list. Secondly, by using this method, we also evaluate the safety indicators of some other famous TCM prescriptions that are not in the recommended list but are used traditionally to cure flu-like diseases for extending the potential treatments. Results: Based on the SI generated in the ANN model, FTS, PMSP, and SF are the safest ones in recommended list, which all own a more-than-0.8 SI. Whereas, JHQG, LHQW, SFJD, XBJ, and SHL are the prescriptions that are most likely unsafe, where the indicators are all below 0.2. In the extra list, the indicators of XC, XQRS, CC, and CHBX are all above 0.8, and at the meantime, XZXS, SJ, QW, and KBD&rsquo;s indicators are all below 0.2. Conclusions: In total, there are seven TCM prescriptions which own the indicators more than 0.8, suggesting these prescriptions should be considered firstly in curing COVID-19, if suitable. We believe this work will provide a reasonable suggestion for the society to choose proper TCM as the supplementary treatment for COVID-19. Besides, this work also introduces a pilot and enlightening method for creating a more reasonable recommendation list of TCM to other diseases.

A Case of Paraphilia with Osteoporosis and Administered with Depot Leuprorelin

Paraphilia is a complex psychological and psychiatric disorder that has been difficult to treat. Leuprorelin has been used as one of the therapeutic methods for paraphilia. Leuprorelin administration could change insulin resistance and accelerate bone loss. The case study in this work was a 59-year-old man who visited a hospital with the chief complaints of frotteuristic behaviors in public places, a continuous increase in sexual desire, and sexual molestation behavior that started in 2007. We injected leuprorelin (3.6 mg) intramuscularly every month for this patient with paraphilia and comorbidities of osteoporosis and hyperthyroidism. The clinical global impression (CGI), Sex Addiction Screening Test (SAST), Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire (WSFQ), physical examination, and laboratory tests were performed. After 12 months of leuprorelin injection for paraphilia, we found a significant improvement in abnormal sexual behavior/desire without aggravation of osteoporosis/hyperthyroidism. Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) analogs could be used as alternative or supplementary treatment methods for paraphilia with osteoporosis/hyperthyroidism.