Objective: To analyze the atrial fibrillation(AF) and the burden of illness(BOI) led by AF, to scientifically recognize the current situation of management and treatment for AF, to provide scientific references for designing the AF prevention and control strategy for Chinese people and effectively improve the reasonable allocation of medical resources. Methods: The disability adjusted life years(DALY)was used to evaluate the BOI of AF. The method of population attributable risk percent-age was applied to estimate the treatment cost of AF cerebral apoplexy. Results: In China, the loss of DALY brought by AF was 4 599 687 yuan, which is higher than the loss of DALY brought by hypertensive heart disease(3 348 925 yuan)and close to the loss of DALY brought by diabetes(4 769 127 yuan). The DALY of group over 30 is 7.15/1000 person. Cerebral apoplexy is the main reason for the BOI of this disease. It is estimated that the annual treatment cost of AF cerebral apoplexy is 4.9 billion yuan(about 800 million dollars), 89%of treatment cost come from patients over 60 years old with AF and cerebral apoplexy. Conclusion: AF brought heavy BOI to Chinese society. Cerebral apoplexy is the main reason for the burden of this disease. The loss of DALY led by AF cerebral apoplexy is more than the BOI of many chronic disease in India and European countries. The diagnosis and treatment cautious of AF need to be strengthened. The correct treatment results in restoring sinus thymes, so as to decrease complication like cerebral apoplexy. That would be the target of AF treatment in future China.

Objective To observe the characteristics of the images of optical coherence tomography (OCT) performed on the patients with vitreomacular traction syndrome and its clinical significance. Methods The clinical data of 25 patients with vitreomacular traction syndrome diagnosed by OCT, fundus fluorescein angiography, and B-scan ultrasonography and confirmed by surgical treatment were retrospectively analyzed. The features of images of OCT in vitreomacular traction syndrome were observed. Results Five types were found in the images of OCT in the patients with vetreomacular traction syndrome. The main characteristic of the images of OCT in the patients with vitreomacular traction was the highly reflective band of the vitreous posterior cortex inservion at fovea. In 25 patients, vitreomacular traction associated with macular edema was found in 10, macular hole in 3, macular epiretinal membrane in 6, retinoschisis in 1, and retinal detachment in 5. Conclusion OCT is a potential powerful toll for detecting and monitoring vitreomacular traction syndrome.

Objective: To explore the application of extensive pterional approach combined with cutting of the zygomatic arch for the resection of large sphenoid ridge meningioma. Methods: Thirty-three patients with large sphenoid ridge meningioma underwent operation using the extensive pterional approach combined with cutting of the zygomatic arch. Twenty patients with large sphenoid ridge meningioma received operation with the traditional pterional approach as the control. The resection rate, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications were compared between the groups. Results: Two groups of patients underwent craniotomy under microscope. The Simpon grade I resection and grade Ⅱ resection rate was 93.9％ in the cutting of the zygomatic arch approach group and 60.0％ in the control group (P<0.01). The operative time was (325.2±121.3) min in the cutting of the zygomatic arch approach group, which was significantly shorter than that in the control group with (406.4±182.9) min (P<0.05). The intraoperative blood loss was (502.5±101.8) mL and (697.7±115.4) mL in the two groups (P<0.05). In addition, postoperative complication rate was 15.2％ and 45.0％ in the cutting the zygomatic arch approach group and the control group, respectively (P<0.05). No death was reported in both groups. Conclusion: Extensive pterional approach combined with cutting of the zygomatic arch can fully expose the anatomical structures of the skull base and the sellar region to eliminate the influence of temporal muscle in the exposure of the surgical area. The operative field is exposed to reduce the stretch injury to only the frontotemporal brain tissue, which might be helpful for the complete resection of large sphenoid ridge meningioma, and is more conducive to neurovascular anatomy and relevant functional protection.

Background Atrial electrical remodeling(AER)plays an important role in the pathogenesis and maintenance of atrialfibrillation.However,little is known about modulation of vagal activilty to AER.This study aimed to investigate the relationshipbetween vagal moduation and AER. Methods Twenty four adult mongrel dogs under general anesthesia were randomized into 3groups.Sympathetic activity was blocked by administration of metoprolol in 3 groups.The changes in vagal modulation to atria afterAER were observed in 10 dogs without vagal interruption in group A.The effects of vagal intervention on AER were investigated in 8dogs with administration of atropine in group B.The impact of aggressively vagal activity on AER was studied in 6 dogs with bilateralcervical vag sympathetic trunLks stimulation during AER in group C.Bilateral cervicall vagosympathetic trunks were decentralized.Multipolar catheters wereplaced into high right atria(RA),coronary sinus(CS)and rightventricle(RV).AER was induced by 600 bpmpacing through RA catheter for 30 minutes.Attial effective refractory period(ERP)and vulnerability window (VW)of atrial fibrillationwere measured with and without vagal stimulation before and after AER.Results In group A,ERP decreased significantly at baselineand during vagal stimulation after AER compared with that beforeAER(all P＜0.05).In group B,ERP remaind unchanged at baselineand vagal stimulation after AER compared with tbat before AER (all P＞0.05).In group C,ERP shortened significantly at baseline andvagal stimulation after AER compared with that before AER(all P＜0.05).ERP shortening after AER in Groups A and C increasedsignificantly than that in group B (all P＜0.05).Atrial fibrillation could not be induced at baseline(VW close to 0) before and after AERin three groups.VW became widen significantly during vagal stimulation after AER compared with that before AER in Groups A and C(all P＜0.05),while VW remained unchanged in group B (VW close to 0).Conclusions Short-term AER results in the decrease inERP.AER is accompanied by the increases in atrial vagal modulation.The increased vagal activity and vagal stimulation promote AER,thereby increase the susceptibility to atrial fibrillation.The interrupted vagal activity attenuates AER.thereby suppresses the atriaIfibrillation mediated by vagal stimutlation.

Effective methods for visualizing neurovascular morphology are essential for understanding the normal spinal cord and the morphological alterations associated with diseases. However, ideal techniques for simultaneously imaging neurovascular structure in a broad region of a specimen are still lacking. In this study, we combined Golgi staining with angiography and synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (SRμCT) to visualize the 3D neurovascular network in the mouse spinal cord. Using our method, the 3D neurons, nerve fibers, and vasculature in a broad region could be visualized in the same image at cellular resolution without destructive sectioning. Besides, we found that the 3D morphology of neurons, nerve fiber tracts, and vasculature visualized by SRμCT were highly consistent with that visualized using the histological method. Moreover, the 3D neurovascular structure could be quantitatively evaluated by the combined methodology. The method shown here will be useful in fundamental neuroscience studies.

Effective methods for visualizing neurovascular morphology are essential for understanding the normal spinal cord and the morphological alterations associated with diseases. However, ideal techniques for simultaneously imaging neurovascular structure in a broad region of a specimen are still lacking. In this study, we combined Golgi staining with angiography and synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (SRμCT) to visualize the 3D neurovascular network in the mouse spinal cord. Using our method, the 3D neurons, nerve fibers, and vasculature in a broad region could be visualized in the same image at cellular resolution without destructive sectioning. Besides, we found that the 3D morphology of neurons, nerve fiber tracts, and vasculature visualized by SRμCT were highly consistent with that visualized using the histological method. Moreover, the 3D neurovascular structure could be quantitatively evaluated by the combined methodology. The method shown here will be useful in fundamental neuroscience studies.
Animals ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Mice ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Spinal Cord/diagnostic imaging* ; Synchrotrons ; X-Ray Microtomography