Objective To study the change rule of serum brain natriurectic peptide (BNP)and uric acid(UA)in the patients with heart failure and its clinical significance.Methods Serum BNP and UA levels in 84 patients with heart failure (observation group)and 30 controls were determined and the detection results were performed the comparative analysis.Results The serum BNP and UA levels in the observation group were significantly higher than those in control group with statistical difference between them(P <0.05),the serum BNP and UA levels were in turn progressively incereased as the cardiac function deterioration from NY-HA Ⅱ to NYHA Ⅳ,the differences from each other had statistical significance (P<0.05).The correlation analysis found that ser-um BNP level had good positive correlation with the cardiac functional grading,at the same time,serum UA level was also positively correlated with the cardiac failure severity.The further analysis found that serum BNP level in the acute left heart failure was sig-nificantly higher than that in the chronic heart failure and serum UA level also had the same results(P <0.05),serum BNP level in the left heart failure relief was significantly decreased and serum UA level was also significantly decreased.Conclusion Serum BNP and UA levels are correlated with the heart failure severity.Dynamic monitoring serum BNP and UA levels in the patients with heart failure is helpful to judge the heart failure severity.

Objective:To explore any effect of repeated application of low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on depression and the cognition of depressed elderly persons.Methods:Eighty-six elderly persons with depression were randomly divided into an rTMS group and a control group, each of 43. In addition to anti-depressant treatment, the rTMS group was given 20 minutes of 1Hz rTMS daily applied over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, five times a week for 4 weeks. The control group was given sham treatment on the same schedule. Before the experiment and after 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of the treatment, depression in both groups was evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24). At the 4- and 8-week evaluations the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Trail Making Test Part A (TMT-A) were also administered.Results:Before the treatment there were no significant differences in the 2 groups′ average HAMD or WCST scores. At each subsequent evaluation both groups′ average HAMD score had decreased significantly. After 3 weeks the average HAMD score of the rTMS group consistently remained significantly lower than the control group′s average. At the 4- and 8-week evaluations both groups′ WCST and TMT-A scores had improved significantly compared with before the treatment, with significantly greater improvement in the rTMS group′s average WCST result, though not in their TPT-A result. There was no signi-ficant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the 2 groups.Conclusion:As a supplement to antidepressant treatment, right-side low-frequency rTMS can relieve depressive symptoms and improve the cognitive functioning of depressed elderly persons. It is well tolerated with few adverse reactions.