OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of bloodletting pricking, cupping and surrounding acupuncture on blood inflammation-related indices in patients with acute herpes zoster (HZ), and to explore the mechanism of pain control and treatment.

METHODSA total of 60 patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the observation group, the patients were treated with bloodletting pricking at herpes, followed by cupping treatment; also the surrounding acupuncture was performed at injured skin. The treatment was given once a day and once every other day after the first 3 days; totally one-week treatment was given. In the control group, the patients were treated with intravenous drip of acyclovir and oral administration of vitamin B1 and B12, once a day for total one week. The visual analogue scale (VAS) and percentages of neutrophil, lymphocyte in peripheral and local blood were observed before and after treatment in the two groups.

RESULTSAfter treatment, the score of VAS was significantly reduced in both groups (both P < 0.05); compared with the control group, the score of VAS and the time of pain relieve were significantly improved in the observation group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Compared before treatment, the percentages of lymphocyte in peripheral and local blood were reduced after treatment (both P < 0.05) and the percentages of neutrophil in local blood were increased (both P < 0.05). The lymphocyte in local blood was also reduced after treatment in the control group (P < 0.05); compared with peripheral blood in the observation group and local blood in the control group, the percentages of lymphocyte in local blood were reduced (both P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe efficacy of bloodletting pricking, cupping and surrounding acupuncture on acute herpes zoster is positive, and it can significantly lower the number of lymphocytes in the local blood and increase the number of neutrophil, which is likely to be one of the anti-virus mechanisms.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bloodletting ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Herpes Zoster ; blood ; immunology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neutrophils ; immunology ; Pain Management ; Young Adult

Objective To analysis the correlation factors which influence the prognosis and relationship of molecular subtypes on young patients.Methods Clinical data of 108 cases young breast cancer patients (≤ 35 years old) who were treat in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2007 to October 2014 were retrospective analyzed.According to immunohistochemistry such as estrogen receptor (ER),progesterone receptor(PR),human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her-2/neu),Ki-67 index,patients were divided into molecular subtypes and follow up.Results LuminalA subtype,LuminalB subtype,human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 overexpression subtype and basal-like accounted for 22％ (24/108),33％ (36/108),20％ (21/108) and 25％ (27/108) respectively,and there's 5-year disease-free survival rate were74.1％,62.8％,.56.8％,58.5％ respectively.Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the disease-free survival curves through.There was no significant difference in the 5-year disease-free survival rate of each subtype (x2 =0.318,0.802,0.876,0.277,0.239,0.074,P＞0.05).Univariate analysis of prognostic factors of Log-rank showed that there were significant differences between recurrence with tumor size,age,lymph node metastasis and surgical methods in young patients with breast cancer(x2 =9.612,12.099,51.345,5.928,P＞0.05),while no significant difference with adjuvant chemotherapy,radiotherapy,endocrine therapy and molecular typing(x2 =2.381,1.958,0.027,2.612,P＞0.05).Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis showed that tumor size (RR =5.487,95％ CI 1.519-19.822,P =0.009) and lymph node metastasis (RR =5.655,95％ CI 2.939 -10.884,P＜0.001) were independent risk factors for disease recurrence.Conclusion Tumor size and lymph node metastasis are important factors of prognosis on young patients.Young patients need the screening and therapy in the early time.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the phenotypes and the patterns of genetic mutations in the corresponding resistance genes (rpoB, katG, inhA, ahpC, rrs, rpsL, embB and gyrA) in resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates. Methods Rifampicin-resistant gene (rpoB), isoniazid-resistant genes (katG, inhA, ahpC), streptomycin-resistant genes (rrs, rpsL), ethambutol-resistant gene (embB) and quinolinone-resistant gene (gyrA) were amplified by PCR with sequence-specific primers, then mutants screened by single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) were sequenced. Results rpoB mutation with predominant Ser450Trp pattern was 94. 9% (56/59) in 59 rifampicin-resistant isolates;katG mutation rate was 38. 9% (35/90) and the main pattern was Ser315Thr, but only 3 inhA mutants and no ahpC mutation were determined in 90 isoniazid-resistant isolates;gyrA mutation with main Asp94Gly then Ala90Val pattern was 82.4% (28/34) in 34 quinolinone-resistant isolates;the total mutation rate was 77.4% in 31 streptomycin-resistant isolates, of which 15 isolates mutated in rrs with main pattern A514C or A1041G, 10 isolates mutated in rpsL Lys88Arg;and embB mutation with main Met306Val accounted for 19.4% (6/31) in 31 ethambutol-resistant isolates. Conclusions The results showed that resistance of resistant MTB may be complicated, and DNA sequencing-based mutation analysis could efficiently detect the molecular makers such as rpoB, katG, gyrA, rrs, rpsL and embB in resistant MTB isolates. Meanwhile, it is notable that the rpoB mutation pattern in our isolates is different from previous report, further effort are needed to confirm the characteristics. The spectrum of potential resistance-related mutations in MTB clinical isolates may lay substantial foundation for the rapid molecular diagnosis and rational use of drug to MTB patients.

Objective:To analyze variant patterns and characteristics of focal physiological uptake (FPU) in the tongue on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT imaging in patients without a history of oral tumor surgery and radiotherapy. Methods:A total of 6 233 consecutive patients who underwent routine whole-body PET/CT scan between January 2013 and December 2017 in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University were investigated retrospectively, and 324 patients with a history of oral surgery and radiotherapy were excluded, the remaining 5 909 patients (3 418 males, 2 491 females, age range: 2-95 (average: 58) years) were enrolled. A part of the patients underwent local PET/CT scan and CT scan with diagnostic dose, covering the oral cavity on mouth-opening position. The morphological characteristics of FPU patterns were analyzed, and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) was measured. Results:Seventy-six FPUs in 76 patients (49 males, 27 females, age range: 40-83 (average 64) years) identified by routine whole-body PET/CT scan were confirmed by clinical examination from a specialist in stomatology or follow-up for more than 6 months. Forty-one of the 76 patients subsequently underwent local PET/CT scan and diagnostic CT scan on mouth-opening position. The incidence of FPU in the tongue was 1.29%(76/5 909). The FPU patterns could be classified into three types: type Ⅰ with FDG uptake involved only anterior part of the tongue body in the midline (near the tip of the tongue), which showed as a " dotted" shape( n=68; 1.15%, 68/5 909); type Ⅱ with FDG uptake involved mainly middle part of the genioglossus muscle, which showed as a " bar-shorted" shape ( n=5; 0.08%, 5/5 909); type Ⅲ with FDG uptake involved large part of the tongue body and the genioglossus, which showed as a " T" shape( n=3; 0.05%, 3/5 909). The SUV max in patients with type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ were 5.53(4.53, 7.30), 19.50(17.10, 22.74) respectively. The SUV max in 3 patients with type Ⅲ were 23.34, 27.50 and 35.14, respectively. Conclusion:In patients without a history of oral tumor surgery and radiotherapy, the FPU in the tongue has its specific pattern, and PET/CT scan on mouth-opening position helps to reveal the detailed features.