ObjectiveTo investigate bronchial provocation test (BPT) and small airway function in children with cough variant asthma (CVA).MethodsA total of 353 children with chronic cough whose mean age was (7.45±2.58) years from three hospitals of Pudong district were enrolled during May 2012 and February 2014. Conventional pulmonary function tests, BPT and questionnaire survey were performed and the difference in pulmonary function was analyzed between children with positive BPT and negative BPT.ResultsIn 353 children with chronic cough, there were 200 children (56.66%) diagnosed as CVA with posi-tive BPT. Compared with BPT negative group, the percentages of nighttime cough and severe dry cough in BPT positive group were signiifcantly higher while the percentages of morning/daytime cough and wet cough were signiifcantly lower (P<0.01). Fur-thermore, the rates of history of atopic dermatitis and rhinitis in BPT positive group were signiifcantly higher than those in BPT negative group (P<0.01). Forced expiratory lfow at 75% relfecting the small airway function was signiifcantly lower in BPT posi-tive group than that in BPT negative group (P=0.032).ConclusionsBronchial hyperresponsiveness and decreased small airway function are the important pathological features of CVA. BPT and spirometry have clinical signiifcances in the CVA diagnosis and the analysis of cause of chronic cough.

Objective To investigate the effect of Huangjiao granule on inflammatory factors and apoptosis-related proteins in rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.Methods A total of 40 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into sham operation group, model group and Huangjiao granule group, with ten rats in each group, and ten rats standby. The cerebral ischemia for two hours and reperfusion model was established by suture method. The sham operation group and the model group were given saline 10 ml/kg intragastrically 30 minutes before operation. The Huangjiao granule group was given Huangjiao granule solution 10 ml/kg (the content of crude drug was 1 g/ml) intragastrically 30 minutes before ischemia-reperfusion. Longa scoring method was used to evaluate the neurological function score 24 hours after reperfusion, while the percentage of cerebral infarction volume was detected by TTC staining, the pathological morphology of brain tissue was observed by HE staining, the cell apoptosis of brain tissue was detected with TUNEL, the levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in serum were detected by ELISA, the expression of cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, Bax and Bcl-2 proteins of brain tissue was evaluated by Western blotting.Results Compared with the model group, the neurological score decreased, the percentage of cerebral infarction volume and the apoptosis rate of the brain tissue decreased in Huangjiao granule group (P<0.05). The levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum and the expression of cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9 and Bax proteins of brain tissues significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the expression of Bcl-2 protein of brain tissues inreased in Huangjiao granule group (P<0.05).Conclusion The protective effect of Huangjiao granule on rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury may be related to the inhibition of inflammatory response and the reduction of apoptosis.