Objective To observe the changes and significance of the activity of nuclear factor kappa B(NF-?B)in peripheral blood mononuclear cell(PBMC)of the critical patients with hyperglycemia,who were treated by intensive insulin therapy.Methods One hundred and twelve critical patients with hyperglycemia were randomly assigned to receive intensive insulin therapy(maintenance of blood glucose at a level between 4.4~6.1mmol/L,57 patients)or to receive conventional treatment(maintenance of blood glucose at a level between 8.0~11.1mmol/L,55 patients).2ml venous blood was collected to extract nucleoprotein in PBMC,and the NF-?B activity of PBMC was detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA)on 24h,4d and 10d.NF-?B oligonucleotide probe was labeled by digoxin.The Gel-Imaging system(UVP company)was used to record optical density values(OD)which represented the NF-?B activity.Results NF-?B activities in PBMC of the patients who received intensive insulin therapy(44.69?10.46,34.47?14.32 and 25.95?11.50 at the 24th hour,4th day and 10th day,respectively)were significantly lower than that of the patients who received conventional treatment(50.37?11.54,43.76?10.27 and 35.87?9.97 at 24th hour,4th day and 10th day,respectively,P