Objective: To investigate the rate of post-stroke depression and psychosocial factors related to it, and to provide the direction and the basis for clinical nursing. Methods: 69 patients with stroke were assessed by Zung Self-rating Depression Scale and Type A Behavior Pattern Scale. Their sex, age, behavior type, marital condition, level of education, supportor of medical expenses were collected and analysed statistically. Results: The rate of post-stroke depression was 59.42%, and the rate in type A behavior group was higher than that in the other behavior groups(P

AIM:To investigate the effect of activation of retinoid X receptor (RXR) on transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) induced collagen synthesis under hypoxic environment in rat cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and underlying molecular mechanisms .METHODS: CFs were cultured using myocardial tissue with dry method .Hypoxic environment was established for CFs by continuous nitrogen supplement .Type I and type III collagens in supernatants were detected by ELISA.Nuclear and cytoplasmic extractions were prepared using NE-PER nuclear and cytoplasmic extraction reagents .The protein levels of Smad2 and p-Smad2 were determined by Western blot and immunocytochemical staining .RESULTS:Un-der hypoxic condition , TGF-β1 (0.01~10 μg/L) increased the synthesis of type I and type III collagens in a dose-de-pendent manner in the CFs .At the concentration of 5μg/L, the synthesis of collagen I and III was significantly increased as compared with control group (P<0.01).RXR agonist 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis-RA;10 -9 ~10 -6 mol/L) decreased TGF-β1 (5μg/L)-induced synthesis of type I and III collagens in a dose-dependent manner in the CFs under hypoxic con-dition.The synthesis of type I and type III collagens was significantly inhibited by 9-cis-RA (P<0.01).Smad2 inhibitor ( 20 nmol/L) showed similar inhibitory effect on the synthesis of type I and III collagens induced by TGF -β1 under hypoxic condition.Compared with TGF-β1 intervention group, the cytoplasmic level of p-Smad2 in the CFs was significantly in-creased in TGF-β1+9-cis-RA group, but the nuclear p-Smad2 level was significantly decreased (P<0.05).CONCLU-SION:Retinoid X receptor agonist 9-cis-RA inhibits TGF-β1-induced synthesis of type I and type III collagens in the CFs by repressing p-Smad2 nuclear translocation under hypoxic condition .

[ABSTRACT]AIM:ToexploretheeffectofretinoidXreceptor(RXR)agonistbexarotene(Bex)andvitaminD receptor (VDR) agonist calcitriol (Cal) on the expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and the development of atherosclerosis in streptozotocin-induced diabetic apolipoprotein E knockout ( STZ-ApoE-/-) mice.METHODS: Male mice were treated for 12 weeks as follows:(1) C57+vehicle;(2) ApoE-/-+vehicle;(3) STZ-ApoE-/-+vehicle;(4) STZ-ApoE-/-+Bex (10 mg· kg-1· d-1);(5) STZ-ApoE-/-+Cal (10 μg/kg, twice a week);(6) STZ-ApoE-/-+Bex (10 mg· kg-1· d-1) +Cal (10 μg/kg, twice a week).Intraperitoneal injection of STZ was performed to establish the diabetic animal model .Western blotting and immunohistochemical method was used to detect NF-κB level in the thorac-ic aorta.Plaque area in the thoracic aorta was measured using HE staining .RESULTS:Compared with the C57 mice, the fasting blood glucose in the ApoE-/-mice was not remarkably changed .The levels of total cholesterol ( TC) and low-densi-ty lipoprotein ( LDL) were greatly increased .The fasting blood glucose and lipid levels in STZ-ApoE-/-group were much higher than those in ApoE-/-group.Compared with STZ-ApoE-/-group, the fasting blood glucose and lipid levels in Bex group and Cal group were not significantly changed .Compared with the C57 mice, the protein expression of NF-κB in the ApoE-/-mice and the STZ-ApoE-/-mice was remarkably increased .Compared with STZ-ApoE-/-group, the levels of NF-κB in Bex group, Cal group and combination group were greatly decreased .Compared with STZ-ApoE-/-group, the thoracic artery plaque areas in Bex group and Cal group were inhibited (both P<0.05).Compared with Bex group, the plaque area of the thoracic artery in combination group was significantly decreased (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Bexaro-tene or calcitriol decreases the development of atherosclerosis in streptozotocin -induced diabetic ApoE-/-mice.Bexarotene combined with calcitriol affords greater protection than monotherapy .The mechanism may be involved in down-regulating the expression of NF-κB.

AIM:To observe the effect of micronised fenofibrate(lipanthyl)on lipotoxicity and insulin sensitivity(IS)in spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR)with high-fat diet.METHODS:Twenty-seven SHR were randomly divided into three groups:normal chow group(n=9),high-fat diet group(n=9)and micronised fenofibrate treatment group(n=9).Micronised fenofibrate 100 mg?kg-1?d-1 was given orally to SHR,which diet on high-fat diet for three months.Intramuscular lipids were observed and lipids accumulation index(LAI)was calculated.Nonesterified fatty acid,glucose and insulin were determined in all rats.RESULTS:(1)Compared to SHR in normal chow diet group,body weight and the level of serum TG and TC increased significantly and the level of HDL-C decreased significantly in SHR fed with high-fat diet(P

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of puerarin on bone mineral density around the femoral prosthesis of el-derly women after osteoporotic fracture artificial hip joint replacement. METHODS:99 elderly women after osteoporotic fracture artificial hip joint replacement were divided into control group(49 cases)and test group(50 cases)according to random number table. Control group received conventional treatment:calcium carbonate and vitamin D3+alendronate sodium+salmon calcitonin;test group was additionally given Puerarin injection 200-400 mg dissolved in Glucose injection 500 ml intravenously,qd,on the basis of control group. A treatment course lasted for 20 d,and both groups received 2 courses of treatment. The hip joint function score and bone mineral density around the femoral prosthesis of 2 groups were observed and compared after surgery,and the oc-currence of ADR was also observed. RESULTS:3 and 2 patients withdrew from control group and test group,respectively. 18 months after surgery,the patients with hip joint function score ranged 70-79 in test group was significantly less than in control group;the rate of excellent hip joint function score in test group was significantly higher than in control group,with statistical significance (P<0.05). 15 and 18 months after surgery,bone mineral density in R1-R5 range of Gruen range in test group was slightly higher than in control group,without statistical significance(P>0.05);bone mineral density in R6-R7 range was signifi-cantly higher than control group(89.58% vs. 69.57%),with statistical significance(P<0.05). The prosthesis loosening was not found in both groups,and ADR was also not found as fever,erythra,nausea,vomiting,headache,dizziness,etc. CONCLU-SIONS:For the use of puerarin in elderly women after osteoporotic fracture artificial hip joint replacement,puerarin can increase the periprosthetic femur bone mineral density with good safety.

BACKGROUND:In recent years, there are many animal studies and osteoblast studies on the anti-osteoporotic effects of puerarin, a kind of phytoestrogen. But few of them are reported on the effects of puerarin on osteoblasts in older patients with osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE: To observe the influence of puerarin on the proliferation ofin vitro cultured osteoblasts from older female patients with osteoporosis. METHODS:The older female patients with osteoporotic femoral neck fractures who underwent artificial femoral head replacement were included in this study. The femoral neck cancelous bone removed during the operation was colected. Primary cancelous bone osteoblasts were cultured using explant culture method. The cels were sub-cultured to the required amounts. Osteoblasts from the control group were cultured with culture medium without puerarin. Osteoblasts from the 0.01, 0.1, and 1 μmol/L puerarin groups were cultured with culture medium containing the corresponding concentrations of puerarin. After in vitro co-culture with different concentrations of puerarin for 1, 3, 5 days, the proliferation of osteoblasts was observed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:With the increase in the concentration of puerarin, the proliferative activity of
osteoblasts constantly increased at different time points (P < 0.05). At 3 days of culture, cel absorbance value in each group reached the peak level. These results suggest that 0.01, 0.1, 1μmol/L puerarin promotes the proliferation of osteoblasts in older patients with osteoporosis in a concentration-dependent manner.

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of intraoperative image fusion assisted contrastenhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in real-time assessing the curative effect on radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods From November 2010 to August 2011,the patients with HCC which would accept radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in our hospital were divided into image fusion assisted CEUS group and conventional CEUS group.The HCC lesion in each group was named as difficult lesion if it was invisible in B-mode ultrasound,larger than 50 mm in diameter or the puncuture route was affected by lung,ribs or blood vessels.Ten minutes after RFA,two groups of patients were performed intraoperative image fusion assisted CEUS examination and conventional CEUS examination respectively.All the patients received CT/MRI one month after ablation to decide whether the HCC had been completely ablated.Difference of complete ablation rate of HCC was compared between the two groups as well as between the difficult lesions in each group.Results Forty-eight lesions in 39 patients were enrolled in image fusion assisted CEUS group including 19 difficult lesions.Sixty-eight lesions in 53 patients were enrolled in conventional CEUS group including 18 difficult lesions.No statistical difference was found between the two groups in lesion size,proportion of difficult lesions,proportion of lesions received TACE or RFA plus PEIT (P =0.052,P =0.136,P =0.185,P =1.000).Postoperation following-up results demonstrated that complete ablation rate of HCC in navigation assisted CEUS group(100 ％,48/48) was not statistically higher than that in conventional CEUS group(92.6％,63/68) (P =0.145).But the difficult lesions in navigation assisted CEUS group (100％,19/19) had statistically higher complete ablation rate than that in conventional CEUS group(72.2％,13/18) (P =0.020).Conclusions Intraoperative navigation assisted CEUS could real-time assess the curative effect on RFA of HCC,especially in the difficult lesions,and could be used as the beneficial supplement of the conventional CEUS.

Objective To investigate the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on aphasia recovery after stroke. Meth-ods From April, 2012 to January, 2013, 20 aphasic patients after stroke were enrolled in an A-B experiment design. During phase A, ten times of sham tDCS and language training (five days a week) were implemented, then ten times language training combined with tDCS (five days a week) were implemented in phase B. The treatment lasted for four weeks. Picture naming was measured for all patients before and af-ter treatment both in phase A and phase B. Results The D-value scores of picture naming before and after treatment were significantly more in phase B than in phase A in both treatment items and non-treatment items (t>3.030, P<0.05). Conclusion tDCS could raise the accuracy of picture naming in patients with aphasia after stroke.

AIM:To explore the effects of atorvastatin (Atorv) on atherosclerosis in streptozotocin (STZ)-in-duced diabetic apolipoprotein E knockout ( ApoE-/-) mice with fat-rich diet and the possible mechanism .METHODS:C57 mice served as control.ApoE-/-mice (n=34) fed with high-fat diet were randomly divided into ApoE-/-group, STZ-ApoE-/-group and STZ-ApoE-/-+Atorv group.Intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin was performed to create di-abetic animal model .Blood glucose was determined by glucose oxidase method .Blood lipid levels were detected by enzymic method or selective homogeneous method .The plaque area in the thoracic aorta was measured by HE staining .The protein level of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate ( NADPH) oxidase subunit gp91phox in the thoracic aorta was deter-mined by Western blotting .The levels of reactive oxygen species ( ROS) in blood and thoracic aorta homogenates were de-tected by Fenton reaction and Griess reagent .Human umbilical vein endothelial cells ( HUVECs ) were isolated from healthy umbilical cords by collagenase I and cultured .ROS production was detected by flow cytometry .NADPH oxidase ac-tivity was measured using lucigenin assay .Effects of retinoid X receptor α( RXRα) on inhibition of oxidative stress by ator-vastatin were evaluated by RNA interference and plasmid transfection .RESULTS: (1) Compared with C57 group, the plaque areas of the thoracic aorta in ApoE-/-group were increased .No difference of the fasting glucose between the 2 groups was observed.The levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), thoracic aorta gp91phox protein and ROS in blood and thoracic aorta homogenates were higher in ApoE-/-group than those in C57 group.(2) Compared with ApoE-/-group, the plaque areas of the thoracic aorta in STZ-ApoE-/-group were further enlarged [(314.13 ±35.72) μm2 vs (215.88 ±34.19) μm2, P<0.05].The levels of blood glucose, TG, TC and LDL-C, thoracic aorta gp91phox protein and ROS in blood and thoracic aorta homogenates were higher in STZ-ApoE-/-group than those in ApoE-/-group (P<0.05).(3) Compared with STZ-ApoE-/-group, the plaque areas of the thoracic aorta in STZ-ApoE-/-+Atorv group were reduced [(217.47 ±24.56) μm2 vs (314.13 ±35.72) μm2, P<0.05].The levels of blood glucose , LDL-C, TC, HDL-C and TG showed no significant difference between the 2 groups.Thoracic aorta gp91phox protein level and ROS production in blood and thoracic aorta homogenates were lower in STZ -ApoE-/-+Atorv group than those in STZ-ApoE-/-group (P<0.05).(4) High glucose-induced increases in NADPH oxidase activity and gp91phox expression were significantly inhibited by atorvastatin (10-6 mol/L) in HUVECs.The inhibitory effects of atorvasta-tin on high glucose-induced ROS production and NADPH oxidase activation were largely impaired when the cells were trans -fected with RXRαsiRNA.However , the effect of atorvastatin was significantly strengthened when RXRαwas over-expressed in the HUVECs transfected with RXRαplasmid.CONCLUSION: Atorvastatin inhibits atherogenesis by depressing high glucose-induced oxidative stress in diabetic ApoE-/-mice with fat-rich diet.The anti-oxidative stress effect of atorvastatin is mediated by RXRα.