Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders. Although the available evidence for its efficacy is inconclusive, acupuncture is used as an alternative therapy for KOA. The aim of this trial is to determine the efficacy of electro-acupuncture and manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture for KOA. This is a study protocol for a randomised, three-arm, multicentre, clinical trial. A total of 480 patients with KOA will be randomly assigned to the electro-acupuncture group, the manual acupuncture group or the sham acupuncture group in a 1:1:1 ratio. All patients will receive 24 sessions over 8 weeks. Participants will complete the trial by visiting the research centre at week 26 for a follow-up assessment. The primary outcome is the success rate: the proportion of patients achieving a minimal clinically important improvement, which is defined as ≥2 points on the numerical rating scale and ≥6 points on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) function score at week 8 compared with baseline. Secondary outcomes include the numerical rating scale, WOMAC score, global patient assessment and quality of life at weeks 4, 8, 16 and 26 after randomisation. This trial may provide high-quality evidence for the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of KOA. The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03274713 . Registered on 20 November 2017.

This study aims to determine whether 3 sessions per week of acupuncture treatment is superior to 1 session per week of acupuncture treatment for symptomatic outcomes in knee osteoarthritis. This is a two parallel-group, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Sixty patients with knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren–Lawrence grade II or III) will be recruited and randomly allocated to receive 24 or 8 sessions (group M or group L) of acupuncture treatment in a 1:1 ratio. Patients in group M will receive 3 sessions per week of acupuncture for 8 weeks. Patients in group L will receive acupuncture once per week for 8 weeks. The primary outcome is the response rate—the percentage of patients achieving a decrease ≥ 2 points on a numerical rating pain scale and a decrease ≥ 6 points in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index function score at 8 weeks compared with baseline. Secondary outcomes include pain, function, overall effect, quality of life, and treatment credibility and expectancy. Three sessions per week of acupuncture treatment may be superior to 1 session per week of acupuncture treatment for symptomatic outcomes in knee osteoarthritis. Results of the study will be of great importance for the guidelines of clinical therapy. Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03359603 . Registered on 1 December 2017.

Objective: To assess the viability of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in decreasing orthodontic-related pain after different orthodontic procedures. Methods: A computerized literature search was conducted within the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM databases to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which used PBMT to relieve pain during orthodontic treatment. Particular inclusion and exclusion criteria were connected to recognize relevant articles. The information was extricated autonomously by two reviewers, and a quality assessment was carried out by utilizing the Cochrane Collaboration “risk of bias” tool. Meta-analysis was conducted with fixed- or random-effects models as suitable. Statistical heterogeneity was also examined. The RevMan 5.4 software was utilized for data analysis. Results: Of 1024 recognized articles, 25 RCT were at long last included. Within the risk-of-bias assessments, 1 study displayed a high risk, 22 an unclear risk, and 2 a low risk. The meta-analysis appeared that in patients treated with photobiomodulation (PBM) versus control there was a distinction in support of PBMT in placement of elastomeric separators, canine retraction, and archwire placement during 1 week. Conclusions: PBMT demonstrated to be effective in advancing a reduction pain after elastomeric separators placement, canine retraction, and archwire placement within 1 week. In the future, more high-quality research with consistency in research design is needed for further evaluation.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other motor neuron diseases (MNDs) are major global causes of death. However, their global incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years remain largely unknown, despite their importance for disease prevention and resource allocation. We therefore examined the global epidemiology of ALS/MNDs.

Objective. A Chinese herbal prescription, Yiqi Jiedu (YQJD) decoction, is used for injuries caused by radiotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the dynamic protective effects of YQJD decoction in mice on radiation damage at different time points of the testis. Methods. The 200 male Balb/c mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (blank, model, Anduolin, low-dose YQJD, and high-dose YQJD groups). Blank and model groups were all given stomach deionized water. Anduolin group and high and low dose of Chinese herb groups were treated with Chinese material medical decoction compound for 2 weeks before being irradiated. Except for the blank group, other groups were given whole-body one-time irradiation of 5.5Gy ⁶⁰Co gamma rays. Histopathology examination of testes was conducted on the 1st, 7th, 21st, and 35th day after irradiation, respectively. Indexes of sperm motility rate, sperm count, serum levels of testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were also measured correspondingly. Result. Compared to 1 day and 7 days after irradiation, most of the indexes, including testis index, sperm motility, and count, were decreased on the 21st and 35th day in all irradiated groups. However, compared with the model group, the indexes to assess sperm quality and the morphological structures of testis in low-dose and high-dose YQJD groups were significantly recovered on the 21st and 35th days. Additionally, reproductive hormones, including testosterone and estradiol, were recovered more in low-dose and high-dose YQJD groups on the 21st and 35th days. Conclusion. The YQJD decoction is able to accelerate the recovery of sperm indexes, testosterone, and estradiol levels of sex hormones in mice after irradiation and demonstrated good protective effects on the testis.