OBJECTIVETo evaluate the short-term and long-term effects on treatment of neck pain caused by cervical spondylosis with the combination of acupuncture and moxibustion with seed-size moxa cone.

METHODSOne hundred and forty-five patients of neck pain were randomly divided into an acupuncture-moxibustion group (49 cases), an acupuncture group (48 cases) and a moxibustion group (48 cases). Acupoints of Bailao (Extra), Dazhui (GV 14), Jianzhongshu (SI15) and Zhongzhu (TE 3) were adopted for all the 3 groups. Acupuncture was applied at all the acupoints with 20 min needling retention for the acupuncture group. Moxibustion with seed-size moxa cone was used with 5 cones on each point for the moxibustion group. And both acupuncture and moxibustion with seed-size moxa cone were adopted for the acupuncture-moxibustion group. The treatment was applied once every 3 days, and 10 treatments should be finished within 4 weeks. Follow-up should be carried out for 3 months. The short-term and long-term effects were evaluated with the scores of Northwick Park Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) and McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) as the indices of therapeutic effect.

RESULTSThe NPQ score and MPQ score of all the 3 groups after the treating course and the 3-month follow-up were both decreased when compared with those before the treatment (all P<0. 05). The scores of NPQ and MPQ the acupuncture-moxibustion group were lower than that of the other two groups. And the difference had obvious significance (P<0. 05). High efficiency of pain relieving for cervical spondylosis could be found in all the 3 groups, which showed that short-term and long-term effects were good for all the 3 groups. And the highest curative effect could be found in acupuncture-moxibustion group.

CONCLUSIONCombination of acupuncture and moxibustion with seed-size moxa cone has reached a superior effect in short-term and long-term for neck pain caused by cervical spondylosis.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; instrumentation ; Neck Pain ; etiology ; therapy ; Spondylosis ; complications ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To evaluate the value of SPECT/CT in differentiating malignancy from benign spinal disease. Methods Fifty-three patients with foci of abnormally increased uptake in the spine detected by 99Tcm-MDP planar whole body bone scan subsequently underwent bone SPECT/CT. The final diagnosis was determined by pathological examination or clinical follow-up ( ≥6 months), which was applied to calculate the diagnostic efficacy of bone SPECT/CT. Results A total of 25 patients were confirmed to have bone malignancy. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, false positive rate, false negative rate, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for 99Tcm-MDP bone SPECT/CT were 96.00% (24/25), 96.43% (27/28), 96.23% (51/53), 3.57% ( 1/28), 4.00% ( 1/25), 96.00% (24/25) and 96.43% (27/28), respectively. Conclusion 99Tcm-MDP bone SPECT/CT imaging provides good clinical value for the differential diagnosis of spinal diseases.

Objective To study the early expression of ca]pain Ⅱ and microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2) mRNA in the hippocampus of the lateral fluid percussion injury rats. Methods 18 Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups. The changes of Calpaln Ⅱ and MAP2 mRNA in hippocampus 3 h after injury were detected by real-time PCR. Results Compared to the control group (n = 6), the expression for Ca]pain Ⅱ mRNA increased obviously(P <0.01)in the lateral fluid percussion injury group(n=6) ,the expression for MAP2 mRNA degraded obviously(P <0.01). Compared with the lateral fluid percussion injury group(n =6) ,the expression for calpuin Ⅱ mRNA in the mild hypothermia group degraded obviously (n = 6), the expression for MAP2 mRNA increased obviously(P <0.01). Conclusion Mild hypothermia may act as neuroprotection by inhibiting the expression of Ca]pain Ⅱ and easing the degradation of cytoskeleton.

Objective To screen the altered gene expression profile of hippocampus after traumatic brain injury(TBI)in rats. Methods Rats(n=3)in experimental group underwent moderate fluid-percussion(F-P)brain injury and the hippoeampus sample in the injured hemisphere was removed and conserved in liquid nitrogen three hours later.The rats(n=5)of the control group underwent the same procedure except for injury.Mfymetrix rat genome 230 2.0 array was used to detect the gene expression profile of hippocampus in two groups and find the altered gene expression profile. Results A total of 159 genes in the experimental group changed significantly(≥2 folds)compared with the control group,of which 136 genes were up-regulated and 23 genes down-regulated. Conclusions The significant gene expression changes of hippocampus,especially a large mount of up-regulated genes,are detected after moderate TBI in rats,suggesting that the secondary injury following TBI is a procedure involving multiple factors.

Objective To set up a rat model with acute traumatic coma and identify the variation of microRNA in mesencephalon. Methods After rats were injured moderately by central fluid percussion system, tissues of the mesencephalon were removed one hour after injury. RNA of brain tissue of the mesencephalon was isolated for microRNA array by using the exiqon microarray system. The data were analyzed statistically by Genepix Pro 6.0 after hybridization results were scanned and fluorescence intensity standardized. Resets Hybridization results showed 33 microRNAs with up-regulated expressions but 38 microRNAs with down-regulated activity. Conclusion Expression of microRNA array shows marked changes in the tissues of the mesencephalon in rats with traumatic coma, as may be injury mechanism of traumatic coma and also a way of neurobiological protection of coma.

OBJECTIVETo develop a transparent, non-toxic, non-irritating anti-fogging agent with long-lasting effect for nasal endoscopy.

METHODSThe anti-fogging agent was prepared by mixing ethanol, propylene glycol, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether, sodium dodecyl sulfate, polyethylene glycol 400 and deionized water at different proportions based on an orthogonal test design. Twenty-seven test samples of the anti-fogging agents were obtained, which were colorless, transparent, and non-irritating, with a pH value of 7-8. Storz00 nasal endoscopy and its imaging system were used to test the anti-fogging time of the 27 samples, and each agent was tested for 3 times with medical Seoul iodine and 95% ethanol as control.

RESULTSThe optimal composition of the anti-fogging agent was 20% ethanol, 10% propylene glycol, 20% polyoxyethylene lauryl ether, 4% sodium dodecyl sulfate, 4% polyethylene glycol, 42% deionized water. The anti-fogging time of this agent reached 15 min, significantly longer than that of medical Seoul iodine (4 min) and 95% ethanol (18 s).

CONCLUSIONThis anti-fogging agent for nasal endoscopes is colorless and safe and has a long anti-fogging time by forming a homogenous transparent membrane over the endoscopic lens.

Endoscopes ; Endoscopy ; methods ; Ethanol ; Nose ; surgery ; Polyethylene Glycols ; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate ; Solutions ; chemistry

Objective:To detect the expression of BTLA on Treg cells of HIV-infected patients and investigate the role of BTLA in HIV infection.Methods: Forty-four HIV-1-infected patients (twenty-four early HIV infection,fourteen chronic HIV-infected patients with CD4+ T counts> 200 cells/μl,AIDS patients with CD4+T counts<200 cells/μl) and nine healthy people served as normal controls were selected to detect the expression of BTLA on Treg cells by flow cytometry.The correlations between BTLA expression on Treg cells and disease progression or immune activation were studied.Results: There was a higher percentage of BTLA on Treg cells in chronic HIV patients and AIDS patients than that in early HIV infected patients(P<0.05,P<0.01),and the expression of BTLA on Treg cells in AIDS patients was higher than that in normal controls(P<0.05).The expression of BTLA on Treg cells was negatively correlated with CD4+T lymphocyte counts and positively correlated with viral load (P<0.001,P<0.01).The percentage of BTLA on Treg cells was positively correlated with CD4+CD38+T lymphocytes and CD4+HLA-DR+T lymphocytes(P<0.001,P<0.001).Conclusion: Increased BTLA expression on HIV-infected Treg cells is associated with disease progression,suggesting that it may accelerate disease progression by enhancing Treg cells inhibitory function and may provide intervention information for HIV infection in the future.

On account of the dense cuticles of the fresh stem and the light, hard and pliable texture of the dried stem, Dendrobii Caulis is difficult to dry or pulverize. So, it is very important to the ancient doctors that Dendrobii Caulis should be properly treated and applied to keep or evoke its medicinal effects. The current textual research results about the preliminary processing, processing and usage methods of Dendrobii Caulis showed that: (1) In history the clinical use of fresh or processed Dendrobii Caulis as teas and tinctures were very common. (2) Its roots and rhizomes would be removed before using. (3) Some ancillary approaches were applied to shorten drying times, such as rinsing with boiling mulberry-ash soup, washing or soaking with liquor, mixing with rice pulp and then basking, etc. (4) According to the ancients knowledge, the sufficient pulverization, by means of slicing, rasping, hitting or pestling techniques, was necessary for Dendrobii Caulis to take its effects. (5) The heat processing methods for Dendrobii Caulis included stir-baking, stir-frying, steaming, decocting and stewing techniques, usually with liquor as an auxiliary material. Among above mentioned, steaming by pretreating with liquor was most commonly used, and this scheme was colorfully drawn in Bu Yi Lei Gong Pao Zhi Bian Lan (Ming Dynasty, 1591 CE) ; moreover, decocting in advance or long-time simmering so as to prepare paste products were recommended in the Qing Dynasty. (6) Some different processing programs involving stir-baking with grit, air-tightly baking with ondol (Kangs), fumigating with sulfur, which appeared in modern times and brought attractive outward appearance of the drug, went against ancients original intentions of ensuring drug efficacy.
Dendrobium ; History, Ancient ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; history

Objective To detect the mutations of ATP2C1 gene in patients with Hailey-Hailey dis- ease (HHD).Methods PCR and direct sequencing were performed in 17 patients and 120 healthy controls to screen the mutations in the exons of ATP2C1 gene.Results Eight mutations were identified in nine probands, including three deletion mutations (nt1464-1487 del/nt1462-1485del,1523delAT,2375delTTGT),three splice site mutations (360—2A→G,1415—2A→T,2243+2T→C) and two missence mutations (C920T and G1942T).None of the above mutations was found in the controls.Conclusion Eight specific novel mutations were identified in nine probands of HHD,which could be causative factors of the disease.

Background Researches showed that multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) is able to assess the retinal function in the eyes with acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada ( VKH ) syndrome. But the mfERG characteristics of convalescence stage of VKH are still below clear. Objective Present study was to compare and follow up the variation process of visual acuity and mfERG in acute and recovery stages of VKH syndrome. Methods This was a clinic-based retrospective study. Visual acuity, mfERG and fundus fluorescence angiography ( FFA ) were recorded from 35 eyes of 18 acute VKH cases. The period of follow-up in recovery stage lasted about 18 months with the repetitive recording results for 4 times. Results In this study, the visual acuity range in acute stage VKH was 0. 01 to 1.0, and 91.4% (32/35 eyes) was below 0.6. Compared with normal control group, the visual acuity was significantly decreased (P＜0.01). The response densities (amplitudes) of N1 ,P1 waves of the first-order kernel were significantly lowed in all the 6 rings,and the implicit times of 1-4 rings of both waves were significantly prolonged in acute VKH eyes(P＜0. 05). The abnormalities of retinal function showed a regional difference at the posterior pole retina with the dominant change in the first ring,showing a cutting off78% in the P1 amplitude. The abnormal degree of mfERG was more serious as the the increase of retinal eccentricity. In 2 months of convalescence after glucocorticosteroids therapy,the range of visual acuity were 0. 1-1.2 ,and the amplitudes of N1, P1 of 1-2 rings were greatly elevated in comparison with acute on-set (P＜0. 05 ). However, there was still a remarkable difference in the amplitudes of from 1 through 6 rings,comparing with normal. The response density of P1 wave from whole recording region was only 44% of normal. Though the visual acuity was stable during the follow-up duration, a decreasing tendency in N1 and P1 amplitudes were seen. The implicit times of both wave shortened only in 1-3 rings in recovery stages of VKH (P＜0.05). Conclusion VKH syndrome cause serious damage of posterior retinal function.Macular region is the site with greater retinal functional lesion and restore before and after medication. This hardly recovery of retinal function can last over one and half year,even satisfied visual acuity is stable after proper treatment.