Objective To observe the real-time and short-term therapeutic efficacies of fire-needle acupuncture and warm needling in treating cervical vertigo due to upward disturbance of phlegm-turbidity, and compare the two treatment methods. Method Eighty-four patients with cervical vertigo due to upward disturbance of phlegm-turbidity were randomized into a fire-needle acupuncture group and a warm needling group, 42 cases in each group. The two groups received treatment once a day, respectively for 10 sessions. The symptoms, functions and total score were evaluated by adopting the modified Cervical Vertigo Symptoms and Functions Assessment Scale before the second treatment session and after 10 treatment sessions; the therapeutic efficacy was evaluated based on the traditional Chinese medicine symptoms scale. Result The scores after 10 treatment sessions were significantly different from that before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05);before the 2nd treatment session, the improvements of the symptoms and total scores in the fire-needle acupuncture group were more significant than that in the warm needling group (P<0.05);after 10 sessions, there were significant differences in comparing the symptoms, functions and total scores between the two groups (P<0.05);the clinical control rate was 26.2%and total effective rate was 95.2%in the fire-needle acupuncture group, versus 9.5%and 90.5%in the warm needling group, and there was a significant difference in comparing the therapeutic efficacy between the two groups. Conclusion Fire-needle acupuncture and warm needling both are effective in treating cervical vertigo due to upward disturbance of phlegm-turbidity, while fire-needle acupuncture can improve the vertigo symptoms in a real-time manner, and its short-term therapeutic efficacy is also superior to that of warm needling.

Objective To explore the expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor -3( HER3) in human epidermal growth factor receptor-2(HER2)-positive breast cancer and its relationship with the therapeutic effect of trastuzumab and clinical prognosis .Methods Clinicopathological characteristics of 235 HER2-positive breast cancer patients undergoing surgery in Jiangsu Cancer Hospital from Jan .2007 to Jun.2012 were analyzed retrospectively.The expression of HER3 was detected using immunohistochemisty staining .The expression of HER3 and its correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed .All patients were followed-up to find out the impact of HER3 on the disease free survival and the therapeutic effect of trastuzumab .Results The positive rate of HER3 in Luminal B ( HER2 +) and HER2-overexpressing breast cancer was 100/135 (74.1%), and 85/100(85%)respectively.The difference had statistical significance (P<0.05).The histolog-ical grading and the lymph node metastasis were significantly different in Luminal B ( HER2+) breast cancer .The tumor volume , histological grading and lymph node metastasis were significantly different in HER 2-overexpressing breast cancer .The 5-year disease free survival of HER 2-positive breast cancer patients with negative HER 3 was higher than that with positive HER3.The non-relapse survival time was not significantly different between the pos-itive and negative HER 3 expression in Luminal B ( HER2+) breast cancer patients receiving trastuzumab treat-ment , but was significantly different in HER 2-overexpressing breast cancer patients .Conclusions HER3 is cor-related with unfavourable prognosis in HER 2-positive breast cancer .The treatment targeting HER3 may improve the clinical prognosis of both HER 2-positive and HER3-positive breast cancer patients .The HER2-overexpressing breast cancer patients with negative HER 3 may benefit more from trastuzumab treatment .

Objective To observe the serum VEGF/ES ratios before and after operation and at clinical relapse in patients with breast cancer, and to discuss the potential effect of tumor surgery and postoperative relapse on the angiogenesis balance. Methods The serum VEGF and ES levels of 59 cases of breast cancer before and after operation and at clinical relapse were determined using competitive enzyme immunoassays and ELISA, (respectively), and compared with the results of 30 cases of benign breast tumors and 59 cases of normal (controls). Results (1) Preoperatively, the serum ES and VEGF levels of breast cancer patients were (significantly) elevated, as compared to the other 2 groups, and the VEGF/ES ratio was 9.1. Postoperatively, at 3 weeks, VEGF level decreased significantly and ES remained at a high level. The VEGF/ES ratio was (3.3). (2)At the time of clinical relapse, serum VEGF level was followed by marked elevation, and the VEGF/ES ratio increased up to 14.2. Multivariate analyses showed that the postoperative VEGF/ES ratio was an independent factor related to the postoperative recurrence of breast cancer. Conclusions Breast cancer surgery may affect the balance between serum VEGF and ES, and the determination of VEGF/ES ratio can have auxiliary value in the assessment of prognosis of breast cancer patients.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of pricking anti-Ashi points with fire needles in treating acute lumbar sprain.Method Seventy-six patients with acute lumbar sprain were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 38 cases in each group. The treatment group was intervened by pricking anti-Ashi points with fire needles, while the control group was by warm needling. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Roland-Morris Dysfunction Questionnaire (RMDQ) were adopted to evaluate lumbar pain and dysfunction after 1-day and 5-day treatment, and the clinical efficacies were compared between the two groups.Result Respectively after the first treatment session and 5 treatment sessions, the VAS and RMDQ scores were significantly changed in both groups (P<0.01). Respectively after the first treatment session and 5 treatment sessions, the VAS and RMDQ scores in the treatment group were significantly different from that in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate and recovery rate were respectively 94.7% and 63.2% in the treatment group, versus 86.8% and 42.1% in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01).Conclusion Pricking anti-Ashi points with fire needles is an effective method in treating acute lumbar sprain, and it can produce a significant real-time analgesic effect.

Objective To examine the expression of Noggin in CNS of the developing rat. Methods In situ hybridization histochemistry(ISHH) was performed using digoxigenin-labeled cRNA as probes. Results It was revealed that densely and deeply stained noggin positive cells were detected in cortex,hippocampus,cerebellum,and nucleus of hypothalamus and thalamus in embryonic day(E)16 rats.The number of noggin positive cells was increased in the thalamus and medulla oblongata at postnatal day(P)1-2,whereas decreased in the hippocampus and cortex.The number of noggin positive cells was decreased significantly in brain at 1 week postnatal(P1W),and began to increase at P2W,especially in the cortex and hippocamps.Strong positive signal can be detected in the frontal cortex,parietal cortex,cingulated cortex,hippocampus,olfactory and cerebellum at 1 month postnatal(P1M).The expression of noggin begins to decline at P3M,only sparse noggin positive cells can be seen in CNS at P18M.Furthermore,there is no noggin positive cells seen in the spinal cord of rats during development.Conclusion Our results indicated that noggin could play an important role in CNS development of rats.

Objective To examine the expression of BMP4 in CNS of the developing rat. Methods In situ hybridization histochemistry(ISHH) was carried out on tissue sections using specific digoxigenin\|labeled oligonucleotide probe. Results It showed that BMP4 mRNA positive cells were located mainly in cerebellum and olfactory at E16.Strong positive signal was seen in hypoglossal nucleus,and moderate signal also seen in spinocerebellar tract and spinal lemniscus at P1\|2.The number of BMP4 mRNA positive cells was increased in the frontal cortex,parietal cortex,and hippocampus subiculum at P1W.The peak of BMP4 expression was in cortex and periamydaloid cortex.Widely distributed BMP4 mRNA positive cells were detected in cortex and hippocampus of rats at P1M,strong positive signal was observed in temporal CNS at P3M,strong positive signal was observed in hippocampus,temporal corex and periamydaloid cortex,lateral nucleus of thalamus and paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus.BMP4 mRNA positive cells were also found in corex,hippocampus,hypothalamus and thalamus at P18M.Conclusion\ These results indicated that BMP4 could play an important role in CNS development of rats.

Objective To investigate the effect of noggin on BrdU labeled cells in the adult rat hippocampus. Methods The expressions of noggin and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) in rat hippocampus were detected using in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISHH) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR). By using antisense technique combined with bromodeoxyuridine!(BrdU) labeling, the effect of noggin on hippocampal neurogenesis in adult rats was explored. Results The number of noggin mRNA positive cells in the adult rat hippocampus decreased significantly after treatment with antisense noggin but no change was found in the number of BMP4 mRNA positive cells. In addition, the number of BrdU labeled cells decreased significantly in the adult rat hippocampus after treatment with antisense noggin, but the sense noggin had no such effect. Conclusion Noggin can promote proliferation of neural precursor cells in adult rat hippocampus.

Objective To observe the expression changes of noggin mRNA and BMP4 mRNA in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of rats at different stages. Methods The expressions of noggin mRNA and BMP4 mRNA were analyzed by the method of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR).Results It was revealed that the level of noggin mRNA in the frontal cortex decreased significantly in P1W rats but high level of BMP4 mRNA was detected in P1M and P3M rats. The expressions of noggin mRNA and BMP4 mRNA in the hippocampus showed the opposite expression pattern. The peak of noggin mRNA expression in the hippocampus was found in E13 and E16 rats. The expression of noggin mRNA decreased gradually but that of BMP4 mRNA in hippocampus increased gradually during the developmental stage. The peak of the expression of BMP4 mRNA was found in P1M rats. Conclusion There are expressions of noggin mRNA and BMP4 mRNA in the frontal cortex and hippocampus in rats at different developmental stages. The expression level is closely correlated with the developmental age. This indicates that noggin and BMP4 play important roles in the development of rat frontal cortex and hippocampus.

Objective To investigate the effect of stoma skin care powde combined with skin protective mem-brane in prevention and treatment of secondary eczema after anal fistula surgery. Methods Eighty-three patients after anal fistula operation were divided into test group and control group. On the basis of routine treatment,the pa-tients in test group were used stoma skin care powder combined with skin protective membrane to protect the peri-anal skin. While the patients in control group were treated routinely. The degree of pruritus,the onset time,the number of skin lesions,the area of eczema and the healing time of eczema were observed in two groups 4 d,14 d and 24 d post-operation. Results Patients in test group had lowerdegree of pruritus,later onset time after dressing, less skin lesions,samller area of eczemaand shorter healing time of eczema than patients in control group in the 3 time nodes (all P<0.05). Conclusion Stoma skin care powder combined with skin protective membrane could effec-tively isolatepostoperative wound secretions and anus polyrrhea,and have preventive and therapeutic effects on sec-ondary perianal eczema after anal fistula surgery.

Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Receptors, Progesterone ; metabolism