Purpose: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most prevalent endocrine disorders among women of reproductive age. This study aims to assess the current burden of PCOS in East and Southeast Asia and analyze its spatiotemporal trends over the past three decades. Patients and Methods: Data on the prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) due to PCOS from 1990 to 2021 were extracted from the GBD 2021. The spatiotemporal trends of PCOS were comprehensively analyzed across multiple levels. Age-Period-Cohort (APC) models were utilized to assess the influence of age, period, and birth cohort on the burden of PCOS, and the future burden of PCOS in the next 10 years was predicted using the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. Results: In 2021, the estimated number of prevalent cases of PCOS was approximately 10,490,358.5 (95% UI: 7,423,407.5– 14,808,757.1) in East Asia and 10,520,027.7 (95% UI: 7,378,813.9– 14,809,823.5) in Southeast Asia. The age-standardized prevalence rates (ASPR) of PCOS in East and Southeast Asia were 1548.4 per 100,000 women (95% UI: 1085.5– 2170.7) and 2842.7 per 100,000 women (95% UI, 1993.2– 3997.5), respectively. Moreover, the ASPR of PCOS exhibited an upward trend from 1990 to 2021. The burden of PCOS varied substantially between countries and age groups, and was positively correlated with SDI levels. PCOS burden showed an increased trend with age, and the period and cohort risk also showed a significant upward trend when compared to the reference groups. Additionally, the burden of PCOS is expected to continue to increase in East Asia by 2031, while it remains stable in Southeast Asia. Conclusion: The increasing burden of PCOS has become a public health problem in the East and Southeast Asia region. The development of appropriate health measures and strategies to prevent and manage PCOS has become extremely urgent.

This study aimed to identify the ultrastructural features of sperm in Chinese asthenozoospermia patients and to evaluate their clinical implications. A total of 139 individuals, including 106 asthenozoospermia patients and 33 fertile controls, were recruited from multiple centers across China. Sperm ultrastructural defects were examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), while conventional sperm quality was assessed by light microscopy. Compared with the control group, the asthenozoospermia group showed significant ultrastructural defects, particularly in the sperm tail, including mitochondrial and axonemal defects. Based on tail ultrastructure, participants were further categorized into four groups (normal ultrastructure, simple abnormal axonemes, simple abnormal mitochondria, and both abnormality in axonemes and mitochondria). All three abnormal groups indicated significantly lower value in sperm (motile/kinematic) quality compared to the normal group. However, no statistically significant differences in sperm quality were observed among the three abnormal groups. These nationwide findings indicated that TEM could remedy the limitations of conventional light microscopy, which is difficult to localize organelle-specific defects. This capability may ultimately inform individualized diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Millions of people chew areca nut to boost work efficiency and relieve stress. Areca nut contains arecoline, which adversely affects reproductive function, although the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we evaluated arecoline-mediated reproductive toxicity using Sprague–Dawley (SD) rat models and an in vitro GC-1 cell model. Molecular docking, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), Western blot, cell-based assays, and functional rescue experiments were used to investigate the mechanisms involved. Dose-dependent spermatogenic damage was observed in male rats receiving 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg arecoline, with reduced sperm counts and quality, higher testicular MDA and lower activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Molecular docking predicted a possible interaction between arecoline and Notch1. qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses showed that the expression of Notch1 and its ligands, Jagged-1 and Dll-1, was downregulated in testicular tissues and GC-1 cells following arecoline exposure. Notch1 expression was strongly positively correlated with seminiferous tubule diameter and seminiferous epithelium height. In vitro, arecoline induced ROS accumulation, inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis in GC-1 cells. Rescue experiments showed that the Notch activator valproic acid, used to enhance Notch signaling, alleviated arecoline-induced toxicity, whereas Notch inhibitor FLI-06 worsened cell injury. These findings support a role for altered Notch signaling and oxidative stress in arecoline-induced spermatogenic injury and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of its reproductive toxicity.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a heterogeneous condition with limited ideal therapeutic options. Acupuncture has shown clinical benefits for CP/CPPS, yet its molecular basis remains insufficiently characterized. To elucidate potential molecular mechanisms of acupuncture in CP/CPPS using a network acupuncture strategy. Acupuncture-induced bioactive substances relevant to CP/CPPS were identified through a systematic literature search, and their putative high-affinity targets were predicted using the STRING database. CP/CPPS-associated genes were collected from GeneCards and DisGeNET with integrated screening. Overlapping targets were obtained via Venn analysis. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and an “Acupuncture-Active Substance-Target-CP/CPPS” network were constructed in Cytoscape, and key targets were prioritized using the Maximal Clique Centrality (MCC) algorithm. Functional enrichment analyses were performed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), which is commonly used for gene functional annotation and enrichment analysis. We identified 655 shared targets between acupuncture-related components and CP/CPPS. PPI analysis highlighted IL6, IL1B, IFNG, TNF, IL10, CD4, IL4, CXCL10, IL2, and CXCL8 as the top hub targets, and enrichment yielded 1878 significant Gene Ontology (GO) terms, including 214 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Acupuncture may exert therapeutic effects in CP/CPPS through coordinated network-level regulation of immune inflammation, tissue repair, and central nervous system remodeling.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common surgical complication, especially in breast and gynecologic surgery, with a high incidence despite prophylactic treatment. There is uncertainty about the effective dose and therapeutic effect of drug therapy, leading to unsatisfactory results. This study aims to investigate the effect of preoperative whey protein (WP) supplementation on postoperative recovery and PONV in gynecologic tumor patients with good nutritional status, so as to optimize postoperative rehabilitation strategies. This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective trial involving 52 patients undergoing gynecologic tumor surgery. The experimental group received WP liquid daily for 3 days before surgery, while the R-M group received rice-milk (R-M) liquid daily. The primary endpoint was incidence of PONV and the secondary endpoints included postoperative recovery indicators such as length of hospital stay, time to first flatus and defecation, time to first ambulation, and nutritional indicators such as hemoglobin, total protein, albumin and prealbumin. Statistical analysis was performed using Python, and a P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The results of the study showed that preoperative WP supplementation reduced the incidence of PONV within 24 h after surgery, and accelerated postoperative recovery, including shorter hospital stay and early exhaust, defecation, and ambulation time (P < 0.05). Preoperative WP supplementation reduced the incidence of PONV in the first 24 h after surgery and was associated with accelerated early postoperative recovery. This intervention may have clinical relevance in improving postoperative recovery.Clinical trial registration: Clinical trial registration number: ChiCTR2200059673; Clinical trial registration time: 06/05/2022.