OBJECTIVETo compare the difference in clinical efficacy on post-stroke motor aphasia among the combined therapy of acupoint application of jieyu plaster and acupuncture, simple acupuncture and simple acupoint application of jieyu plaster.

METHODSEighty-six patients of post-stroke motor aphasia were randomized into an acupuncture group (28 cases) , an acupoint application gruop (29 cases) and the combined therapy group (29 cases). In the acupuncture group, acupuncture was applied at the Speech No. 1 area and three-tongue needling points, once a day, 6 times a week. In the acupoint application group, jieyue plaster was applied to Yongquan (KI 1) and Laogong (PC 8), once a day, and the bilateral acupoints were selected alternatively. In the combined therapy group, the therapeutic methods of the first two groups were used in combination. The treatment lasted for 4 weeks in the three groups. The speech function score was observed and compared before and after treatment in the three groups and the efficacy was compared among the three groups.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 86.2% (25/29) in the combined therapy group, which was better than 67.9% (19/28) in the acupuncture group and 69.0% (20/29) in the acupoint application group (both P < 0.05). After treatment, the scores of spontaneous conversation, restatement and nomenclature in the speech function were all improved as compared with those before treatment in the three groups (all P < 0.01). The results in the combined therapy group were apparently better than those in the acupuncture group and the acupoint application group (all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe combined therapy of acupoint application of jieyu plaster and acupuncture apparently improves the speech function in the treatment of post-stroke motor aphasia and the efficacy is better than that of simple acupuncture or simple acupoint application.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Aphasia, Broca ; drug therapy ; etiology ; therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stroke ; complications ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the value of N-termind pro-B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-pro-BNP)in differential diagnosis of dyspnea in emergency department, and to investigate the rapid diagnosis cutoff of dyspnea due to acute congestive heart failure. Methods Ninety. one cases of dyspnea in emergency department recruited from January to June ,2008 were divided into two groups: acute cardiac dyspnea group and none acute cardiac dyspnea group. To evaluate the value of different parameters in differential diagnosis of dyspnea in emergency department and analysis the area under the receiver-operating characteristic of different parameters for the diagnosis of acute cardiac dyspnea. To achieve the best cutoff of different parameters for the diagnosis of dyspnea due to acute congestive heart failure finally. Results Among two groups, NT-pro-BNP (acute cardiac dyspnea vs. none acute cardiac dyspnea,6203.50 ng/L vs. 1410.00 ng/L,P ＜ 0.01), Troponin Ⅰ (acute cardiac dyspnea vs. none acute cardiac dyspnea,0.12 μg/L vs. 0.03 μg/L,P ＜0.01) ,left ventricular ejection fraction(acute cardiac dyspnea vs. none acute cardiac dyspnea,46.25% vs. 65.60%, P ＜ 0.01), left atrial diameter (acute cardiac dyspnea vs. none acute cardiac dyspnea,42.75 mm vs. 36.00 mm,P ＜0.01) had significant difference. NT-pro-BNP at cutoff of ≥3715 ng/L was highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of acute cardiac dyspnea. Receiver-operating characteristic analyses demonstrated that NT-pro-BNP and left ventricular ejection fraction was the best diagnostic indices of acute cardiac dyspnea. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of Nt-pro-BNP was 0.828 ± 0.045 (P ＜ 0.01),and left ventricular ejection fraction was 0.829 ± 0.049 (P ＜ 0.01). Correlation analysis showed that NT-pro-BNP was correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (P ＜ 0.01). The combined test of NT-pro-BNP and left ventricular ejection fraction was performed. Specificity increased to 96.50%, total consistent rate increased to 83.50% ,positive predictive value increased to 91.30%, positive likelihood ratio 17.60, faulse diagnostic rate decreased to 3.50%. Conclusions NT-pro-BNP examination in emergency department was helpful to rapid differential diagnosis of dyspnea. It helped to differentiate the patients with acute congestive heart failure and none acute congestive heart failure causes of dyspnea.

Objective To analyze the clinical and immunological features of 45 pediatric patients with lupus nephritis (LN). Methods Forty-five LN patients were included in this study. Clinical, pathological data and immunological parameters were retrospectively analyzed. Results Forty-five LN patients had 6 males and 39 females, with the mean onset age of (10.9 ± 2.8) years. Acute nephritis was the most common type, accounting for 42.2%. Nephrotic syndrome accounted for 31.1%. Renal biopsy showed class II (17.8%), III (4.4%), IV (48.9%), V (2.2%), V+III (6.7%)and V+IV (13.3%)in 42 cases. The remis-sion rate reached 91.1%in the early therapeutic stage, and 15.0%patients recurred after 24-month follow-up. Conclusions The clinical manifestations of LN children are diverse. The renal pathology is complex. The clinical manifestations in part of the chil-dren are not consistent with renal pathology.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of dermatosis affecting pilots in different areas. Methods From Oct. 2007 to Sep. 2008,epidemiological investigation and clinical examination were carried out in 255 pilots stationed at Beijing,Tianjin,Hubei and Shaanxi regions. In order to get the correct diagnosis of dermatosis and the accurate number of infection cases/time,same medication and management were applied for the treatment of those skin disorders. The epideomology of dermatosis in pilots of different troops and age groups were then compared,and the correlation factors affecting the epidemics were analyzed with Chi-square test. Results Among 255 pilots,430 cases (times) were found to suffer from 47 kinds of dermatosis,of whom 72% suffered from two or more kinds of dermatosis. The incidence of superficial mycosis (69.8%) took ranked the highest. The incidence of dermatosis was different among the pilots stationed in different regions. The prevalence of lichen simplex chronicus was higher in the pilots stationed in Beijing,Tianjin and Shaanxi regions than in those in Hubei region,while the prevalence of tinea manuum and tinea pedis showed the opposite status (P 7 year enlistment (P

Objective To investigate the effect of partial sleep deprivation (PSD) on cardiac electric activity and function of vascular endothelium. Methods Eighteen Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups (9 each):PSD group and control group. PSD lasted 10 days,20 hours each day. Body weight and surface electrocardiogram (S-ECG) were examined and recorded 1d before PSD,and 1d,4d,7d and 10d after PSD. Serum concentrations of glucose,total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C),creatin kinase (CK),creatin kinase-MB (CK-MB),high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP),nitric oxide (NO),von Willebrand factor (vWf),endothelin-1 (ET-1) and E-selectin were determined the next day after 10d of PSD. Results Compared to that 1d before PSD,body weight in PSD groups decreased significantly,while increased obviously in control group. Compared to that in control group,the body weight of rats decreased significantly (P

AIM: To investigate the role of CD2AP and F-actin in the pathogenesis of puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis in rats. METHODS: Puromycin aminonucleoside nephrosis was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN). Renal tissues were studied at 3, 7, 10 and 20 days after PAN injection by means of immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, Western blotting and fluorescence. RESULTS: At day 3, CD2AP expression in podocytes began to decrease, and significantly decreased at day 7 and 10 (P

Objective To evaluate antimicrobial effect and mechanism of meropenem in the model of PA infection by C.elegans.Methods To evaluate drug effects of PA infection with caenorhabditis elegans by different concentrations of culture medium, determinate the lethal rate of C.elegans.Western blot detected mitogen activated protein kinase ( Mitogen-activated protein kinase MAPK ) activity change, and PCR detected antimicrobial peptide genes expression in C.elegans after PA infection,the effect of meropenem on MAPK activity change and antimicrobial peptide genes expression.Results Compared with the control group (OP-50), the death rate of C.elegans in PA infection group changed significantly (P<0.01). Meropenem showed protective effect after C.elegans infection ( P <0.01 ) .Detection of MAPK kinase activity showed that PA infection caused PMK-1 kinase activation, further study showed that antibiotics meropenem did not affect the activation of PMK-1 kinase (no significant difference).C.elegans antimicrobial peptide gene Lys-1, clec-85, F55G11.7, K08D8.5 activity increased in PA infection (P<0.01).Meropenem promoted the expression of the antimicrobial peptide gene increased (P<0.01),with synergistic effects.Conclusion Our results show that a C.elegans pathogenicity model can be applied screening drug susceptible to pathogens infection quickly and easily.

Objective To investigate the role of oxidative stress-dependent Rasextracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) signaling in aldosterone (ALDO)-induced mesangial cell proliferation. Methods The incorporation of 3H-thymidine (3H-TdR) and cell count were used as the measure of mesangial cell (MC) proliferation.Western blotting was used to detect the activation of Ki-RasA,c-Raf,MEK1/2,ERK1/2 and PI3K. Results Aldosterone significantly induced human mesangial cell proliferation,and anti-oxidant N-Acetylcysteine (NAC),catalase,and super oxide dismutase (SOD) significantly inhibited ALDO-induced mesangial cell proliferation (P＜0.01,respectively).Stimulation by ALDO for 3 h,Ki-RasA,c-Raf,MEK1/2,and ERK1/2 activity increased by 4.05-, 3.62-, 4.52-, and 3.40-fold compared with control group (P ＜0.01,respectively).NAC almost completely blocked ALDO-induced Ki-RasA,c-Raf,MEK1/2,and ERK1/2 activation (P＜0.01,respectively).Ki-RasA siRNA dose-dependently inhibited Ki-RasA expression, ALDO-induced Ki-RasA activation, and mesangial cell proliferation (P ＜0.01,respectively).c-Raf inhibitor GW5074 and MEK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 also reduced ALDO-induced mesangial cell proliferation by 65％ respectvely (P＜0.01).Ki-RasA siRNA had no effect on ALDO-induced PI3K phosphorylation.Combining LY294002 and PD98059 completely blocked ALDO-induced mesangial cell proliferation (P＜0.01). Conclusions ALDO-induced Ki-RasA-c-Raf-MEK-ERK signaling activation is dependent on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production,which mediates ALDO-induced mesangial cell proliferation.Inhibition of both ERK1/2 and PI3K signaling simultaneously completely blocks ALDO-induced mesangial cell proliferation.

OBJECTIVE: To observe whether curcumin could inhibit the accumulation of the collagen IV and fibronectin in the glomeruli in nephrotoxi sera nephritis rats. METHODS: Seventy-two healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups, with 24 animals in each group. For normal control group, normal saline (0.5 ml/d) was injected through intra-caudal-vein for two days, and at the same time normal saline (0.5 ml/kg) was also daily administered intraperitoneally. For nephrotoxic sera nephritis group, nephrotoxic sera (0.5 ml/d) was injected through the tail vein for two days and dimethyl sulfoxide (0.5 ml/kg) was given intraperitoneally daily. For curcumin group, nephrotoxic sera was injected as above and meanwhile curcumin (50 mg.kg(-1).d(-1)) was administered intraperitoneally every day. Six rats in each group were killed on the 3rd, 7th, 14th and 28th day. Their renal tissue was fixed in 10% formalin for examining the expression of collagen IV and fibronectin. RESULTS: Minimal staining of collagen IV and fibronectin was detected in the basement membrane of normal control rats glomeruli. In the nephrotoxic sera nephritis rats and curcumin treated nephrotoxic sera nephritis rats, the accumulation of collagen IV and fibronectin was increased progressively, with significant difference in the accumulation of collagen IV (P<0.01) between these two groups at the same time points, while the significant difference in fibronectin accumulation (P<0.05) appeared only after the 7th days. CONCLUSION: Curcumin can reduce the accumulation of collagen IV and fibronectin in the glomeruli. Hence we postulated that curcumin might have beneficial effect for retarding glomerulosclerosis.

AIM: To investigate the role of NF-?B/I?B signal pathway in the regulation of (cyclooxygenase-2) (COX-2) expression in human mesangial cells (HMC). METHODS: The PGE_2 concentration in supernatants of HMC was measured by radioimmunoassay. COX-2 mRNA and protein expression were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and Western blot were used to detect the activity of NF-?B and degradation of I?B. RESULTS: IL-1? significantly upregulated COX-2 expression and PGE_2 production in HMC. Significant up-regulation of NF-?B activation, nuclear translocation of p65 subunit, and degradation of I?B ? and I?B ? were observed in IL-1?-induced HMC. CONCLUSION: Expression of COX-2 in IL-1?-induced HMC is mediated by NF-?B/I?B signal pathway. [