Introduction:Women with infertility who have a poor ovarian responder (POR), characterized by a low number of retrieved oocytes after ovulation induction, often have a significantly reduced pregnancy rate after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET), due to the few transferred embryos. Acupuncture is a form of Korean Traditional Medicine. It involves the insertion of a microscopic needle at a specific point in the body, known as an acupuncture point or an acupoint. In this study, our purpose is to investigate how acupuncture affects the retrieval of mature oocytes after ovulation induction in patients with POR.Methods and analysis:This study will be a randomized clinical trial comprising an IVF-ET trial and an IVF-ET trial after acupuncture. Seventy patients will by enrolled and randomly assigned to either of the 2 groups. The study subjects will be required to be diagnosed as having POR. Participants will be divided into 2 groups: IVF-ET single treatment group, and acupuncture and IVF-ET combined treatment group. The study subjects will be required to participate in a 15-week trial involving 16 acupuncture treatments over a period of approximately 2 months before ovulation induction for oocyte retrieval. The primary assessment of all participants will be comparing the number of oocytes.Result:This treatment will be a therapeutic model for POR.Discussion:Our results will provide patients with POR as well as complementary and alternative medicine professionals, such as Korean medicine doctors, about the potential role of acupuncture in the treatment of POR. This will improve the quality of life in women with infertility and provide an important treatment option for patients with POR. Further studies can be performed to determine the optimal treatment for POR.
This study demonstrated the role of G-alb in stimulating cultured monocytic cells to secrete inflammatory cytokines. The stimulation was found to be greater when cells were incubated with LPS in addition to G-alb. The over-expression of inflammatory cytokines as a result of the combined effects of G-alb and bacterial LPS may contribute to the severity of periodontal disease in diabetic subjects.
Strengthening of immunodominance hierarchy of influenza subtype-specific neutralizing antibody response by annual polyvalent vaccinations could increase the variation of vaccine effectiveness by subtype. Therefore, we suggest the assessment of neutralizing antibody titer prior to seasonal vaccination and recommend the inoculation of only strains lower than protective levels.
Sobokchukeo-Tang (ST) is a well-known formula that is used for treating primary dysmenorrhea caused by blood stasis syndrome (BSS) in Korea and China. The current study investigated the anti-inflammatory and anti-adipogenesis effects of ST on adipocytes and macrophages. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of ST was evaluated in RAW 264.7 cells and differentiated THP-1 cells. To induce inflammation, the cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 1 µg/ml). Following the induction of inflammation, the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the cell supernatant were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. 3T3-L1 preadipocytes differentiated into adipocytes in response to insulin, isobutyl-1-methylxanthine and dexamethasone (MDI). To confirm the anti-adipogenesis efficacy of ST, we investigated Oil Red O staining was performed, triglyceride (TG) and leptin secretion were measured, and the protein expression of lipid metabolism-associated factors was determined. ST significantly inhibited TNF-α and IL-6 production in the LPS-treated RAW 264.7 cells compared with LPS stimulation alone. In addition, the concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly inhibited by ST in LPS-treated THP-1 cells. Lipid accumulation was reduced by ST, similarly to the positive control treatment, SB203580. In the ST-treated group, the TG and leptin concentrations were inhibited by up to 50 and 83%, respectively, compared with MDI induction only. The ST-treated group reduced the protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α compared with MDI induction only. The results of the present study demonstrated that ST exerts anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-treated mouse and human macrophage cell lines. ST inhibited adipogenesis in MDI-induced 3T3-L1 adipocytes, as indicated by the significant reduction in TG and leptin concentrations without cytotoxicity. Thus, ST may be useful as a therapeutic agent for preventing lipid-associated diseases, including obesity and atherosclerosis.
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