Background: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of anisodine hydrobromide (Ani) injection in the treatment of AIS.Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) based on Ani injection for the treatment of AIS were retrieved from both Chinese and English databases. The retrieval period was from the databases’ inception to May 2023. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess the methodological quality. The outcome indicators were analyzed using RevMan 5.3 software.Results: We included the findings of 11 RCTs encompassing 1,337 patients with AIS. Our meta-analysis revealed that Ani injection supplementation significantly reduced the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [MD = −1.53, 95%CI = (−1.94, −1.12), p < 0.00001], modified Rankin Scale [MD = −0.89, 95%CI = (−0.97, −0.81), p < 0.00001], and the relative time to peak [SMD = −0.81, 95%CI = (−1.08, −0.55), p < 0.00001] significantly. Additionally, Ani injection significantly increased the Barthel Index [MD = 10.65, 95%CI = (4.30, 17.00), p = 0.001], relative cerebral blood volume [SMD = 0.28, 95%CI = (0.02, 0.53), p = 0.03], and clinical efficacy [RR = 1.2, 95%CI = (1.08, 1.34), p = 0.001]. No statistically significant difference in the rate of adverse events was observed between the Ani injection supplemental group and the control group.Conclusion: Based on currently published evidence, Ani injection was found to be effective and safe in improving AIS outcome. Nevertheless, limitations of the included RCTs still exist, and thus, more multi-center, large-sample, high-quality RCTs are required to further verify the efficacy and safety of Ani injection in patients with AIS.Systematic Review Registration: [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023427591], identifier [PROSPERO 2023 CRD42023427591].

Spatholobus plants are the valuable edible-medicinal herb which are mainly distributed in Asia, with complex chemical compositions and a wide spectrum of bioactive effects.

Background. Although hypothyroidism during pregnancy may develop grave outcomes for both mothers and offspring, management of which is still a challenge due to the insufficient understanding of this disease. The close correlation between hypothyroidism and preeclampsia is well documented, suggesting that preeclampsia is a potential risk factor for the development of maternal hypothyroidism. However, the exact role of preeclampsia in gestational hypothyroidism is still obscure. Objective. In this study, we explored the possible mechanisms of the effect of preeclampsia on thyroid function of maternal rats. Methods. Thirty pregnant rats were randomly divided into normal pregnancy control (NOP), preeclampsia (PE), and preeclampsia supplemented with amlodipine besylate (PEAml). NG‐Nitro‐L‐arginine‐methyl ester was used to induce preeclamptic symptoms. On gestational day 21, rats were sacrificed, and then, the ultrastructure of the thyroid gland, type 1 iodothyronine deiodinase (Dio1) expression, and serum‐free thyroxine (FT₄), free triiodothyronine (FT₃), and thyroid stimulation hormones (TSH) were assessed. Results. Compared to NOP rats, results of PE rats showed that thyroid follicular cells’ ultrastructure was damaged; both hepatic Dio1 mRNA and protein levels were decreased. Interestingly, these changes were ameliorated in PEAml rats. Additionally, FT₄, FT₃, and TSH levels have no significant differences among groups. Conclusion. These findings indicated that preeclampsia could disrupt synthesis, secretion, and metabolism function of thyroid hormones by damaging thyroid follicular cells and interfering Dio1 expression.

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is one of the most common mental disorders in women following childbirth with heightened prevalence across the globe. Both pharmacotherapy and non-pharmacological interventions are effective for PPD. However, due to the concerns about the side effect on the mother and child of pharmacological treatments, most of women with PPD choose non-pharmacological therapies as their first line option. Prescription of these non-drug approaches should be guided by high quality evidence. Therefore, this network meta-analysis aims to compare, rank and interpret existed non-pharmacological evidence for the effective treatment of women with PPD. Methods: Electronic bibliographic databases including EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI),VIP Database, Wanfang Database and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database will be searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of non-pharmacological interventions for PPD. Heterogeneity and inconsistencies will be analyzed by I² statistic and Z test, respectively. We will assess the quality of evidence by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) and evaluate the risk of bias according to Cochrane risk of bias tool. R software 3.6.1 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria) will be used to conduct a network meta-analysis. Results: Formal ethical approval is not required, because the present study is a meta-analysis based on existed studies. The findings of this research will be reported in a recognized journal. Conclusion: The review results will ascertain the hierarchy of effectiveness of different non-pharmacological approaches for PPD, and systematically provide suggests for physicians and patients. Trial registration number: PROSPERO CRD42020166801

Purpose: Anisodine hydrobromide (Ani) is isolated from the medicinal plant Anisodus tanguticus (Maxim.) Pascher for clinical use. Although considerable research regarding Ani has been reported, the safety profiles of Ani are currently unknown. This study investigated the cardiorespiratory effects of Ani in conscious dogs to provide clinicians a detailed safety profile of Ani on the cardiorespiratory system. Materials and Methods: Using the Latin square design, the study was divided into six phases, where in each phase, six telemetered beagle dogs received one dose of normal saline or sotalol hydrochloride or Ani (0.1, 0.4, 1.6, or 6.4 mg/kg). Electrocardiogram, blood pressure (BP) and respiratory parameters were collected before and after administration for 24 hours. Statistical comparisons were performed at scheduled time-points. Results: The heart rate was significantly increased, PR and QT(C)V intervals were significantly shortened in Ani 0.4, 1.6, 6.4 mg/kg treatment group after drug administration. Compared with the saline group, a significant increase in heart rate and shortening of PR, QT(C)V intervals were observed in the Ani 1.6, 6.4 mg/kg treatment groups from 5 min to 4 h time-points. Diastolic and mean BP were significantly increased in Ani 1.6, 6.4 mg/kg from 1 h to 2 h time-points compared to those of the saline control. Accelerated breathing was observed in the first 20 min after Ani 0.4, 1.6, and 6.4 mg/kg treatment, although not statistically significant. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed in any of the corresponding indexes of Ani 0.1 mg/kg treatment group at different time-points compared to those of the saline group. Conclusion: Ani may have adverse effects on the cardio-respiratory systems of dogs at doses above 0.4 mg/kg, whereas Ani 0.1 mg/kg was devoid of potentially deleterious effects on cardiorespiratory function.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture as an adjunct to lifestyle interventions on weight loss in simple obesity. Methods: Potentially eligible studies that assessed anthropometric outcomes as well as glucose and lipid metabolism following acupuncture combined with lifestyle interventions in simple obesity patients were searched from eight databases from inception to October 2023. All analyses were performed using the Review Manager software v5.4 and Stata software v17.0. Results: Herein, 25 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 2018 patients were included. Generally, acupuncture combined with lifestyle interventions outperformed lifestyle interventions alone in terms of body weight (MD = − 4.73, 95% CI [− 6.32, − 3.13], p < 0.00001), body mass index (BMI) (MD = − 2.11, 95% CI [− 2.75, − 1.48], p < 0.00001), waist circumference (WC) (MD = − 4.96, 95% CI [− 6.89, − 3.03], p < 0.00001), body fat percentage (BF %) (MD = − 2.61, 95% CI [− 4,51, − 0.71], p = 0.007), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (SMD = − 0.66, 95% CI [− 1.02, − 0.31], p = 0.0002), fasting serum insulin (FINS) (SMD = − 1.12, 95% CI [− 1.44, − 0.81], p < 0.00001), homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (MD = − 1.22, 95% CI [− 1.50, − 0.94], p < 0.00001), total cholesterol (TC) (SMD = − 1.14, 95% CI [− 1.83, − 0.45], p = 0.001), triglyceride (TG) (SMD = − 1.31, 95% CI [− 2.07, − 0.56], p = 0.0006), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (SMD = − 1.81, 95% CI [− 3.11, − 0.51], p = 0.006). Subgroup analysis based on three subgroup variables (types of acupuncture and lifestyle interventions as well as treatment durations) could partially explain the heterogeneity of the results. Conclusion: Acupuncture demonstrated an enhancing effect on the benefits of lifestyle interventions for weight loss in patients with simple obesity, including reducing body weight and improving glucose and lipid metabolism. This finding suggests its potential value as a complementary therapy alongside lifestyle interventions in a clinical setting. However, further validation with rigorously designed and high-quality RCTs is still needed in the future.