Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment of senile patients with lumbar disc protrusion . Methods The clinical data of 56 cases of senile lumbar disc protrusion from 1990 to 2000 were reviewed retrospectively. Results 48 patients had been followed for 6 months to 7.5 years with average 4 years. Excellent and good results were 41 cases (85.4%).Conclusions There was atypical symptom in the senile patients with lumbar disc protrusion. CT was an important methods for diagnosis. The after concomitant diseases were controlled, resecting half vertebral lamina and enlarging fenestration were performed. The therapeutic results were satisfactory.

Objective To investigate the impact of polyclonal neural cell adhesion molecule antibody (P-NCAM-Ab) on the potency of botulinum toxin A (BTX-A).Methods Ninety male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 equal groups:a normal control group,a BTX-A group and a P-NCAM-Ab group.The rats in the normal control group were injected with 100 μl of saline solution in their right gastrocnemius,while those in the BTX-A and P-NCAM-Ab groups were injected with 100 μl of BTX-A (0.5 U).In addition,the rats in the P-NCAM-Ab group were also injected with 100 μl of P-NCAM-Ab (the dosage was 20 U) at the same site on the 3rd day after the BTX-A injection.The rats' gastrocnemius muscle strength was evaluated with a self-made system for evaluating neuromuscular function before and after the toxin injection,on the 3rd day,as well as 1,2,4,6,8,10 and 12 weeks after the BTX-A injection.Any wet weight changes in the muscles were observed,and immunochemistry methods were employed to observe any structural changes in the motor endplates and nerve fibers at the different time points.Results After the saline injection,the average gastrocnemius muscle strength of the control group increased with time,while strength in the BTX-A and P-NCAM-Ab groups demonstrated a decrease in strength followed by a gradual increase.The average gastrocnemius muscle strength of the rats in the BTX-A and P-NCAM-Ab groups was significantly lower than that of the control group at all time points.Compared with the BTX-A group,the muscle strength of the P-NCAM-Ab group rats decreased further.Strength recovery in the BTX-A and P-NCAM-Ab groups was significantly slower than in the control group.The wet weight percentage in the BTX-A and P-NCAM-Ab groups at first decreased and then recovered with time.After the BTX-A injection,the average wet weight percentage of the P-NCAM-Ab group rats was significantly lower than that of the BTX-A group after 3 days,and 1,2 and 4 weeks.Karnovsky-Roots AchE staining showed that the motor endplates' color in the BTX-A and P-NCAM-Ab groups deepened gradually,though the color of the P-NCAM-Ab group was lighter than that of the BTX-A group at each time point.The mean optical density of the motor endplates' positive reaction area increased with time in both groups,but the P-NCAM-Ab group was lower than that of the BTX-A group at 1,2,4,8 and 12 weeks.Counting the nerve fibers dyed by gold chloride showed similar trends with both experimental groups significantly different from the control group.Conclusion P-NCAM-Ab can increase the potency of BTX-A and prolong its action.

Objective To develop a method for dynamically observing the biological efficacy of botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) and to investigate the dose-effect relationship between BTX-A dosage and muscle strength.MethodsFifty-four male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 9 groups.Groups 1-7 were injected intramuscularly with 0.1 ml BTX-A (0.01 U to 4.0 U) into the gastrocnemius on the right side.Rats in group 8 were injected intramuscularly with an equal volume of saline solution as the control group,and group 9 was used to determine the location of injection.Gastrocnemius muscle strength was evaluated using a self-made evaluation system before and after the toxin injection and on the 3rd,7th,14th,21st,30th,45th,60th and 75th day following.ResultsMuscle strength reached its lowest level on days 3 to 7,with a significant difference in the decline of muscle strength between the test groups and the control group up to day 60.With the lower BTX-A doses (0.01 U,0.1 U,0.5 U,1.0 U),muscle strength had decreased significantly on the 21st day,but recovered to its initial levels in all groups at the same time.There was no significant difference among the 1.0 U,1.5 U,2.0 U and 4.0 U groups.ConclusionsStandardized gastrocnemius injection combined with neuromuscular functional evaluation can establish a model of BTX-A dosage and muscle paralysis which can be used to assess the evolution of the biological efficacy of BTX-A.

Objective To study the clinical presentations of Kennedy disease (KD) and compare the neurophysiological features between KD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS). Methods Nine patients with KD, 13 patients with ALS and 26 normal control subjects were recruited. The clinical presentations of KD were analyzed, and the results of nerve conduction studies and electromyography were compared among the 3 groups. Results The rates of tongue atrophy and facial fasciculation were 100% and 88.9%, respectively, in the early course and mid-course of KD, sensory damages might be perceived. 2)The sural nerve sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) was not elicited in 56.3% of the patients with KD, and sural nerve SNAP amplitudes were significantly lower in KD (7.9±3.4μV) than in ALS patients (20.0±5.2μV) and normal control subjects (26.1± 16.8 μV) (P<0.05). Conclusion The onset of clinical presentations mimicking motor neuron disease, appearance of tongue atrophy and facial fasciculation in the early and mid-course, and presence of sensory impairment with a decreased sural nerve SNAP amplitude may suggest the diagnosis of KD and should prompt a genetic test for KD.

Objective To study the clinical presentations of Kennedy disease (KD) and compare the neurophysiological features between KD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS). Methods Nine patients with KD, 13 patients with ALS and 26 normal control subjects were recruited. The clinical presentations of KD were analyzed, and the results of nerve conduction studies and electromyography were compared among the 3 groups. Results The rates of tongue atrophy and facial fasciculation were 100% and 88.9%, respectively, in the early course and mid-course of KD, sensory damages might be perceived. 2)The sural nerve sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) was not elicited in 56.3% of the patients with KD, and sural nerve SNAP amplitudes were significantly lower in KD (7.9±3.4μV) than in ALS patients (20.0±5.2μV) and normal control subjects (26.1± 16.8 μV) (P<0.05). Conclusion The onset of clinical presentations mimicking motor neuron disease, appearance of tongue atrophy and facial fasciculation in the early and mid-course, and presence of sensory impairment with a decreased sural nerve SNAP amplitude may suggest the diagnosis of KD and should prompt a genetic test for KD.

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical presentations of Kennedy disease (KD) and compare the neurophysiological features between KD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS).

METHODSNine patients with KD, 13 patients with ALS and 26 normal control subjects were recruited. The clinical presentations of KD were analyzed, and the results of nerve conduction studies and electromyography were compared among the 3 groups.

RESULTSThe rates of tongue atrophy and facial fasciculation were 100% and 88.9%, respectively, in the early course and mid-course of KD, sensory damages might be perceived. 2)The sural nerve sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) was not elicited in 56.3% of the patients with KD, and sural nerve SNAP amplitudes were significantly lower in KD (7.9. ± 3.4 µV) than in ALS patients (20.0 ± 5.2 µV) and normal control subjects (26.1 ± 16.8 µV) (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONB The onset of clinical presentations mimicking motor neuron disease, appearance of tongue atrophy and facial fasciculation in the early and mid-course, and presence of sensory impairment with a decreased sural nerve SNAP amplitude may suggest the diagnosis of KD and should prompt a genetic test for KD.

Objective To investigate the effect of insulin-like growth factor 1 antibody (IGF-1Ab) on motor endplate function after injection ofbotulinum toxin A (Btx-A).Methods The total 90 male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:control group,Btx-A group and 2 ug and 20 ug IGF-1Ab groups.In Btx-A and IGF-1Ab groups,a volume of 0.5 U (0.1 mL) Btx-A was intramuscularly injected into a site in the fight gastrocnemius muscle;on day 3,equal volumes (0.1 mL) of IGF-1Ab with a dosage of 2 ug and 20 ug were injected to the 2 ug and 20 ug IGF-1Ab groups respectively at the same site.The gastrocnemius muscle strength and the mean optical density (MOI) value of the positive reaction zone of acetylcholine esterase staining were evaluated at different time points.Results The gastrocnemius muscle strength increased from 12.34±0.16 g before injection to 7.70±0.90 g after injection in the Btx-A group;the gastrocnemius muscle strength decreased in other groups after injection of Btx-A;on day 14,28,42,56 and 70,the muscle strength oflGF-1Ab groups was significantly lower than that of Btx-A group (P＜0.05),and on day 42-70,the value of muscle strength of 20 ug IGF-1Ab group was signficantly lower than that of 2 μg IGF-1Ab group (P＜0.05).The MOI values of the positive reaction zone changed with the same trend.Conclusion IGF-1Ab can suppress the restore of motor endplate function after injection of Btx-A.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between the volume ratio of ischemic leukoaraiosis (LA) and cognitive level and arterial perfusion.Methods:Fifty-four patients, who was hospitalized in Dalian Central Hospital and diagnosed as LA clinically during the time of March to December in 2012, were selected to collect the information of the volume ratio of white matter disease, MoCa score and the average flow rate of carotid artery. The correlation between the volume ratio of white matter disease and MoCa score, cognitive impairment and the average flow rate of carotid artery were analyzed.Results:The volume ratio of LA lesions was negatively correlated with MOCA score ( r = -0.59, P<0.01); the volume ratio of LA lesions was negatively correlated with the mean flow rate of internal carotid artery ( r = -0.37, P<0.01). Quantity order of the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of MoCA cognitive subgroup was as following: delayed memory (1.000)> visual space/executive function (0.970) = abstract force (0.970)> language ability (0.960)> attention (0.888). Conclusions:The larger the volume ratio of leukopathy in LA patients, the more serious the cognitive impairment, especially the cognitive impairment of impairment of memory delay, visual space/executive function, abstract ability and language ability.

ObjectiveTo clarify the graded quantitative diagnostic characteristics of lung qi deficiency syndrome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） based on latent class analysis combined with a hidden structure model. MethodsClinical data， including the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， were collected from 745 COPD patients with lung qi deficiency syndrome. Latent class modeling was performed using R 4.1.2 software， and each patient was classified into one of three severity categories （mild， moderate， or severe） based on probabilistic parameterization， parameter estimation， and model fitting. A database was established for different severity levels of lung qi deficiency syndrome. Based on this， Lantern 5.0 software was used to construct hidden structure models for mild， moderate， and severe lung qi deficiency syndrome， and syndrome differentiation rules were developed through comprehensive clustering. ResultsA latent class model was constructed using 28 symptoms and signs with a frequency greater than 10%. Considering TCM theory and model simplicity， the optimal model was determined when the number of latent classes was three， categorizing lung qi deficiency syndrome into mild （298 cases）， moderate （164 cases）， and severe （283 cases）. Hidden structure models were separately developed for each severity level， and syndrome differentiation rules were established. A comparison of common symptoms in the syndrome differentiation rules for mild and moderate lung qi deficiency syndrome showed no statistically significant differences in diagnostic values and weights （P＞0.05）， leading to their combined analysis and the development of a unified syndrome differentiation rule. Value and weight of quantitative diagnosis of mild-to-moderate lung qi deficiency syndrome were as followed： shortness of breath （diagnostic value 9.3， diagnostic weight 86.92%）， dyspnea on exertion （8.2， 76.64%）， low voice and reluctance to speak （6.7， 62.62%）， poor appetite （4.0， 37.38%）， loose stools （4.0， 37.38%）， weak cough sound （2.9， 27.10%）， wheezing （2.3， 21.50%）， fatigue （1.8， 16.82%）， spontaneous sweating （1.7， 15.89%）， susceptibility to colds （1.6， 14.95%）， swollen tongue （1.4， 13.08%）， teeth marks on the tongue edge （1.2， 11.21%）， deep pulse （1.6， 14.95%）， with a diagnostic threshold of 10.3. Value and weight of quantitative diagnosis of severe lung qi deficiency syndrome were as followed： weak cough sound （15.1， 61.13%）， soreness and weakness of the waist and knees （12.6， 51.01%）， shortness of breath （11.1， 44.94%）， low voice and reluctance to speak （8.3， 33.60%）， frequent nocturia （6.1， 24.70%）， spontaneous sweating （3.7， 14.98%）， susceptibility to colds （3.5， 14.17%）， teeth marks on the tongue edge （7.8， 31.58%）， pale tongue body （1.9， 7.69%）， white tongue coating （5.5， 22.27%）， thin pulse （1.5， 6.07%）， with a diagnostic threshold of 23.7. ConclusionThe combination of latent class analysis and a hideen structure model effectively clarified the graded quantitative diagnostic characteristics of lung qi deficiency syndrome， providing a reference for the quantitative diagnosis of other fundamental syndromes in TCM.