Objective To observe the effects of action observation therapy based on mirror neuron theory on upper-extremity motor function and performance in activities of daily living(ADL) after stroke.Methods Eightyone stroke patients were randomly assigned to an observational group (41 cases) or a control group (40cases).Both groups received conventional rehabilitation,and the observational group also received action observation therapy for 16 weeks,10 times per week.Upper-extremity motor function and ADL performance were assessed before treatment using the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and the Barthel index (BI) and then again after 4,8 and 16 weeks of treatment.Results The average FMA scores and BI scores in the observational group at the 4th week (32.50 ± 9.32 and 67.41 ± 16.81),the 8th week (36.35 ± 8.32 and 78.74 ± 15.63) and the 16 th week (41.32 ± 13.45 and 93.85 ± 13.45) had increased significantly compared with the pre-treatment assessment and were significantly better than at the same time point for the control group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Action observation therapy based on mirror neuron theory can promote the recovery of upper-extremity motor function and ADL performance after stroke.

OBJECTIVETo develop a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of rutin, hyperoside, isoquercetin, astragulin, quercetin, and kaempferol in Apocynum venetum and its extracts.

METHODThe separation was carried out on a Shim pack ODS (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) colum eluted with in mobile phases of water containing 0.2% phosphoric acid and acetonitrile containing 0.2% phosphoric acid in acetonitrile gradient mode. The column temperature was 40 degrees C, and the flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1). The detection wavelength was set at 360 nm.

RESULTThe good seperation of six flavonoids was achieved within 40 min, with the relative standard deviations (RSD) of intra- and inter-day precision < or = 2.0%. Calibration curves of rutin, hyperoside, isoquercetin, astragulin, quercetin, and kaempferol showed good linear relationship (R2 > 0.999 7, n = 6). The average recoveries of the six flavonoids were within 97.30% - 105.8% (RSD 2.6%). Three batches of A. venetum and 2 batches of its extracts were determined.

CONCLUSIONThe developed method is simple, accurate, and repeatable, and can be readily used as a powerful tool for the quality control of A. venetum and its extracts.

Apocynum ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results