Several studies reported that Tai Chi showed potential effects for chronic pain, but its role remains controversial. This review assessed the evidence regarding the effects of Tai Chi for chronic pain conditions. 18 randomized controlled trials were included in our review. The aggregated results have indicated that Tai Chi showed positive evidence on immediate relief of chronic pain from osteoarthritis (standardized mean difference [SMD], −0.54; 95% confidence intervals [CI], −0.77 to −0.30; P < 0.05). The valid duration of Tai Chi practice for osteoarthritis may be more than 5 weeks. And there were some beneficial evidences regarding the effects of Tai Chi on immediate relief of chronic pain from low back pain (SMD, −0.81; 95% CI, −1.11 to −0.52; P < 0.05) and osteoporosis (SMD, −0.83; 95% CI, −1.37 to −0.28; P = 0.003). Therefore, clinicians may consider Tai Chi as a viable complementary and alternative medicine for chronic pain conditions.

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BackgroundIn recent years, the choice of ceramic-on-ceramic (COC) and metal-on-polyethylene (MOP) in primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare the reliability and durability of COC with that of MOP bearing surfaces in THA.MethodsBased on prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) searched from Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane central database, we performed a meta-analysis for comparing clinical and radiographic outcomes of COC with those of MOP. Two investigators independently selected studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. Relative risks and weighted mean differences from each trial were pooled using random-effect or fixed-effect models depending on the heterogeneity of the included studies.ResultsFive RCTs involving 897 patients with 974 hips met predetermined inclusion criteria. Our results demonstrated COC significantly decreased the risks of revision, osteolysis and radiolucent line, aseptic loosening, and dislocation and increased the risks of squeaking and intraoperative implant fracture compared with MOP. There was no significant difference between the two groups in postoperative hip function, deep infection, and heterotopic ossification.ConclusionsGenerally, despite more squeaking and intraoperative implant fracture, our findings support the use of COC bearing surface which has lower rates of revision, osteolysis and radiolucent line, aseptic loosening, and dislocation compared with MOP.

ABSTRACT. Recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSAs) occur in approximately 15 to 20% of all clinically recognizable pregnancies. Structural chromosome abnormalities result in increased risk of pregnancy loss. Parental chromosomal abnormalities are an important genetic cause of RSAs. Some cytogenetic investigations have been performed in various countries and regions to determine the pattern of chromosomal abnormalities in parents with RSAs. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence and type of structural chromosomal abnormalities in couples in cases of RSAs in Jilin Province, China. The prevalence of structural chromosomal abnormalities in these couples was 2.98%. The number of female carriers with balanced chromosomal aberrations significantly exceeded that of such male carriers, and the ratio of female/male carriers was approximately 2:1. The number of abortions in the case of female carriers was more than that for male carriers before the structural chromosome abnormality was diagnosed. This indicates that genetic counseling for couples with structural chromosomal abnormalities should consider the gender of the carriers.

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Objective. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence on the effect of Tai Chi for Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods. Six electronic databases up to June 2014 were searched. The methodological quality was assessed with PEDro scale. Standardised mean difference and 95% confidence intervals of random-effects model were calculated. Results. Nine studies were included in our review. The aggregated results are in favor of Tai Chi on improving motor function (P = 0.002) and balance (P < 0.00001) in patients with PD. However, there is no sufficient evidence to support or refute the value of Tai Chi on improving gait velocity (P = 0.11), stride length (P = 0.21), or quality of life (P = 0.40). And there is no valid evidence in follow-up effects of Tai Chi for PD. Conclusion. The current results suggest that Tai Chi can significantly improve the motor function and balance in patients with PD, but there is indeed not enough evidence to conclude that Tai Chi is effective for PD because of the small treatment effect, methodological flaws of eligible studies, and insufficient follow-up. Consequently, high-quality studies with long follow-up are warranted to confirm current beneficial findings.

Genetic abnormalities could account for 10% to 15% of male infertility cases, so increasing attention is being paid to gene mutations in this context. DNAH1 gene polymorphisms are highly correlated with astheno-teratozoospermia, but limited information has been reported on pathogenic variations in DNAH1 in the Chinese population. We explored 4 novel variations of the DNAH1 gene in Chinese infertile patients. Mutation screening of the DNAH1 gene was performed on 87 cases of asthenozoospermia with targeted high-throughput sequencing technology; another 200 nonobstructive azoospermia cases were further analyzed to investigate the prevalence of DNAH1 variations. The effects of the variations on protein function were further assessed by bioinformatic prediction. For carriers of DNAH1 variations, genetic counseling should be considered. Assisted reproductive technologies should be performed for these individuals and microsurgery should be considered for patients with azoospermia. DNAH1 variations were identified in 6 of 287 patients. These included 8 heterozygous variations in exons and a splicing site. Among these, 4 variations (g.52400764G>C, g.52409336C>T, g.52430999_52431000del, g.52412624C>A) had already been registered in the 1000 Genomes and Exome Aggregation Consortium databases. The other 4 novel variations (g.52418050del, g.52404762T>G, g.52430536del, g.52412620del) were all predicted to be pathogenic by in silico analysis. The variations g.52418050del and g.52430999_52431000del were detected in 1 patient who was more severe than another patient with the variation g.52430999_52431000del. Physicians should be aware of genetic variants in male infertility patients and DNAH1 mutations should be considered in patients with asthenospermia or azoospermia.

For infertile men in Northeast China, chromosome analysis is a necessary part of routine genetic testing, and the contributing effects of high smoking and alcohol consumption rates of this population should be discussed during genetic counseling.