In order to investigate the sleep quality and influencing factors in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), 201 PD patients were enrolled and underwent extensive clinical evaluations. Subjective sleep evaluation was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). It was found that poor sleep quality (77.11%) and excessive daytime sleepiness (32.34%) were commonly seen in PD patients and positively correlated with disease severity. Then 70 out of the 201 PD patients and 70 age- and sex-matched controls underwent a polysomnographic recording. The parameters were compared between PD group and control group and the influencing factors of sleep in PD patients were analyzed. The results showed that sleep efficiency (SE) was significantly decreased (P<0.01), and sleep latency (SL) and the arousal index (AI) were increased (P<0.05) in the PD group as compared with those in the control group. SE and total sleep time (TST) were positively correlated with the Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage. There was significant difference in the extent of hypopnea and hypoxemia between the PD group and the control group (P<0.05). Our results indicate that PD patients have an overall poor sleep quality and a high prevalence of sleep disorder, which may be correlated with the disease severity. Respiratory function and oxygen supply are also affected to a certain degree in PD patients.
Central nervous system (CNS) diseases threaten the health of people all over the world. However, due to the structural and functional particularities of the brain and spinal cord, CNS-targeted drug development is rather challenging. Exosomes are small cellular vesicles with lipid bilayers that can be secreted by almost all cells and play important roles in intercellular communication. The advantages of low immunogenicity, the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and the flexibility of drug encapsulation make them stand out among CNS drug delivery tools. Herein, we reviewed the research on exosomes in CNS drug delivery over the past decade and outlined the impact of the drug loading mode, administration route, and engineered modification on CNS targeting. Finally, we highlighted the problems and prospects of exosomes as CNS drug delivery tools.
Objective To confirm the effect and safety of Xiao'er Biantong (XEBT) granules for treating chronic constipation in children. Methods This randomized, double-blind, multicenter study enrolled 480 children with age of 1–14 years who had FC. All of them were randomly assigned to receive either XEBT granules or its placebo in the ratio of 3 : 1. The primary efficacy outcome was the frequency of spontaneous bowel movements (SBM) for 14 days, and secondary outcomes were effectual time, score of main symptoms, effect of constipation, disappearance rate of accompanying symptoms, and recurrence rate. We also observed the adverse event (AE) and adverse drug reaction (ADR) to evaluate safety. Results The sociodemographic characteristics and efficiency data were comparable in the two groups at baseline. The mean values of SBM for 14 days were 8.89 and 5.63 in the XEBT group and the placebo group, respectively, and there were 86.87% and 30.91% subjects in two groups up to SBM ≥ 3/week, respectively. There were significant differences between the two groups. The effects in the XEBT group on median effectual time of defecation, main symptom score, disappearance rate of symptoms, and the differences were significant. The conclusions based on full analysis set (FAS) and per protocol set (PPS) were consistent. Nine AEs were reported, of which 7 were in the XEBT group (2.02%) while 2 were in the placebo group (1.77%). There were no significant differences in the occurrence rate of AE and ADR between the two groups. Conclusions Xiao'er Biantong granules have superior efficacy compared to the placebo for the treatment of functional constipation in children and are well tolerated.
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