Objective To investigate the variations of serum levels of visfatin in pregnant women with different types of glucose intolerance and the associations with insulin resistance.metabolic parameters and newborn birth weight.Methods Totally,120 pregnant women in late trimester were divided into 3 groups according to the results of 50 g glucose challenge test(GCT)and 75 g oral glucose tolerance test:GDM group(n=45),GCT(+)group(n=20),and NGT group(n=55).Fasting levels of visfatin,insulin,total cholestrol and triglyceride were measured and the newborn birth weight was recorded.Results The serum visfatin level was significantly elevated in GDM group compared with the NGT group[(374.9±23.1)ng/ml vs(308.9±16.8)ng/ml,P＜0.05],but no significant difference was shown when compared with the GET(+)group[(346.5±23.1)ng/ml].Furthermore,serum visfatin levels had no relationship with insulin resistance,metabolic parameter and newbom birth weight.Conclusions Visfatin is elevated in GDM women and closely related with GDM,but not with insulin resistance,metabolic parameters and newborn birth weight.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy of warming-needle moxibustion on cervical headache.

METHODSSixty-one patients of cervical headache were randomly divided into a warming-needle moxibustion group (30 cases) and an acupuncture group (31 cases). Tianzhu (BL 10), Fengchi (GB 20), Wangu (GB 12), Tianyou (TE 16), Hegu (LI 4), Taichong (LR 3) and Zulinqi (GB 41) were selected in the two groups. Patients in the acupuncture group were treated with acupuncture; patients in the warming-needle moxibustion group were treated with warming-needle moxibustion at Tianzhu (BL 10), Fengchi (GB 20) and Wangu (GB 12) and acupuncture at the remaining acupoints. The treatment was given once every other day, 3 times a week, and totally 4-week treatment was given. The duration and frequency of headache, numerical rating scale (NRS) of headache and cervical range of motion (ROM) were compared before and after treatment in the two groups; also the efficacy of the two groups was evaluated.

RESULTSAfter treatment, the duration and frequency of headache, headache NRS.and cervical ROM score were improved in both groups (all P < 0.05), which were more significant in the warming-needle moxibustion group (all P < 0.05). The total effective rate was 84.3% (25/30) in the warming-needle moxibustion group, which was significantly superior to 61.3% (19/31) in the acupuncture group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe warming-needle moxibustion presents significant efficacy on cervical headache, which can obviously improve headache symptoms and cervical ROM.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Cervical Vertebrae ; physiopathology ; Female ; Headache ; etiology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Neck Pain ; complications ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the glucose and liplid metabolism changes of pregnant rats and the birth weight of their offsprings due to pregnancy malnutrition,including overnutrition and undernutrition.Methods Thirty pregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups on the day of conception,the high-fat-diet group,normal control group and 50％ food-restricted diet group.Increase of body weight and serum level of triglycerides,high-density lipoprotein,low-density lipoprotein,oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and insulin release test(IRT) levels during pregnancy were measured.The birth weight of offsprings was recorded within 12 h after birth.One-way ANOVA,LSD or Dunnett T3,and Chi-square test were applied for statistical analysis.Results The body weight at late pregnancy and the level of triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein were significantly increased in the high-fat-diet rats compared to normal control ones [(1.68±0.13) mmol/L vs (0.78±0.08) mmol/L,(0.57±0.04) mmol/L vs (0.35±0.07) mmol/L; both P＜0.01].While the level of high-density lipoprotein of high-fat-diet rats was lower than that of the normal control rats [(0.56±0.06) mmol/L vs (1.09±0.08) mmol/L,P＜0.05].The level of triglycerides,low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein in 50％ food restricted group [(0.47±0.06) mmol/L,(0.21±0.06) mmol/L and (0.42±0.05) mmol/L] were lower than the control group (all P＜0.05).Impaired glucose tolerance,abnormal OGTT and IRT results were found in both high-fat-diet and 50％ foodrestricted diet rats.The fasting plasma glucose level in high-fat-diet group was significantly increased in late pregnancy compared to the control [(6.63±0.53) mmol/L vs (4.90±0.26) mmol/L,P＜0.05],while there was no significant difference between rats in 50％ food-restricted diet [(4.18±0.26) mmol/L]and control group (P＞0.05).There was no statistical difference in fasting serum insulin level among the three groups.The average birth weight was significantly increased in high-fat-diet rats than in the control group [(6.14±0.31) g vs (5.73±0.26) g,P＜0.05],and the incidence of macrosomic newborn rats in the high-fat-diet group was also higher than that of the control group [19.2 ％ (19/99)vs 7.84％(8/102),P＜0.05].The birth weight of offspring in 50％ food-restricted diet group was decreased with their average birth weight of (4.54±0.23) g,which was lower than that of the control group (P＜0.05).The incidence of macrosomic [13.40％ (11/76)] and low birth weight newborn rats [15.90％ (13/76) vs 3.92％(4/102)] in food-restricted diet group were both higher than in the control group (P＜0.05); and smaller number of offsprings was obtained than the control group (76 vs 102,P＜0.05),the number of offsprings in high-fat-diet group was 99,which was less than the control group without statistical difference (P＞0.05).Conclusions Pregnancy malnutrition,including overnutrition and undernutrition,may affect the lipid metabolism and glucose tolerance of pregnant rats,leading to insulin resistance,and may also contribute to the abnormal birth weight of the offspring,including macrosomia and low birth weight.

Changes of glycosaminoglycans in cerebrum, brainstem and cerebellum were measured in rats with hepatic encephalopathy induced by thioacetamide. It was foundthat the contents of glycosaminoglycans in brainstem and cerebrum were lowered markedlythan that of the normal control, but no significant difference of glycosaminoglycans werefound in cerebellum. The results suggested that the metabolism of glycosaminoglycans incerebrum and brainstem was disturbed when hepatic encephalopathy occured, and thatthe pathogenic mechanism of hepatic encephalopathy was related to the alterations of gly-cosaminoglycans in brain as a result of hepatic insufficiency.

Changes of pulmonary vascular permeability and blood gas were measuredin rats of experimental fulminant hepatic failure induced by thioacetamide. The resultsshowed that the pulmonary vascular permeability to Evans Blue in rats of fulminant he-patic failure with hepatic enphalopathy was markedly increased than that of normalcontrols (P

Objective To investigate whether insulin resistance is a cause of pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH). Methods All patients who had abnormal 50g glucose screening test accepted 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and insulin sensitive index (ISI) was calculated. These patients were followed up and divided into two groups (PIH group and normal pregnancy group) at third trimester of pregnancy. The difference of ISI between the PIH group and normal pregnancy group was compared. Results Fast blood glucose, fast blood insulin and ISI were (4.2?0.7)mmol/L vs. (3.8?0.7)mmol/L, (107.8?48.8)pmol/L vs. (50.4?40.5)pmol/L, and -3.25?0.27 vs. -2.58?0.66 in PIH group and normal group, respectively ( P 0.05). Conclusions Insulin resistance during second trimester of pregnancy may be one of the causes of pregnancy induced hypertension.

Objective To investigate the relationship between maternal serum lipid levels and newborn weight in pregnant women with single positive diabetic screening test. Methods On the basis of 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), 406 pregnant women during 24-28 gestational week whose 50 glucose challenge test (GCT)≥7.8 mmol/L were separated to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) group with 115cases, gestational impaired glucose tolerant (GIGT) group with 60 cases,and GCT (+) group with 231 cases.The serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) were measured at the same time. Results Serum TG concentration was significantly higher in GDM group than that in GIGT group and GCT(+) group(P＜0.01).The level of HDL-C, ApoB in GDM group were lower than those in GIGT group and GCT(+) group (P＜0.01). In the 231 women with positive diabetic screening but normal glucose tolerance who delivered at term, the incidence of macrosomia was significantly higher in those with TG levels higher than 3.5 mmol/L (25.0%, 11/44) than in mothers who TG levels were lower than 3.5mmol/L (11.2%, 21/187) (P=0.017). Multiple regression analysis (stepwise) showed that the independent risk factors of macrosomia was the level of TG and ApoB (F=7.677,P=0.006;F = 7.842,P = 0.001 ).Conclusion Among pregnant women with single positive diabetic screening test,maternal serum TG and ApoB are independently associated with neonatal birth weight.

Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment of different durations on the expressions of AQP4 and CLN5 in the blood-brain barrier after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion Methods Sixty-four male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a model group,a sham operation group,a 7-day EA-pretreatment group (EAP-7 group) and a 15-day EA-pretreatment group (EAP-15 group),each of 16.After EA-pretreatment on the baihui and shuigou acupoints for 7 days or 15 days,a model of unilateral middle cerebral artery embolism (MCAO) model was induced in the rats of the model,EAP-7 and EAP-15 group using a modified Longa method.In the sham operation group the carotid artery was separated without middle cerebral artery embolism.The reperfusion was begun 90 min after the MCAO modeling.Immunohistochemical methods and fluorescence quantitative PCR were applied to detect the expression of AQP4,CLN5 and their mRNAs expression in the blood brain barrier (BBB) 24h after the operation.Results Compared with the sham operation group,the expression of AQP4 positive cells and AQP4 mRNA in the BBB in the other three groups had increased significantly,while the expression of CLN5 positive cells and CLN5 mRNA was significantly less.Compared with the model group,the expression of AQP4 positive cells and AQP4 mRNA in the EAP-7 and EAP-15 groups was significantly reduced,while the expression of CLN5 positive cells and CLN5 mRNA was significantly increased.Moreover,the expression of AQP4 positive cells and AQP4 mRNA in the EAP-15 group were significantly higher than in the EAP-7 group,while the expression of CLN5 positive cells and CLN5 mRNA were significantly lower.Conclusions EA-pretreatment on the baihui and shuigou acupoints can restrain the expression of AQP4-positive cells and AQP4 mRNA and promote that of CLN5-positive cells and CLN5 mRNA in the BBB after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion,at least in rats.The BBB protection effect is better when the EA-pretreatment lasts longer.The mechanisms of cerebral ischemia tolerance may be related to the regulation of AQP4,CLN5 and their mRNAs in the blood-brain barrier after cerebral injury.

Objective To investigate the relationship between impaired glucose test and insulin resistance in pregnancy. Methods Ninety-three pregnant women who had one abnormal result among 4 of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and 179 pregnant women who had normal results of OGTT from 11 hospitals of Shanghai during May 1999 to Aug 1999 were included. Insulin release test were performed at the same time. Insulin sensitive index (ISI), islet secretive function index (IFI) were calculated. Area under sugar curve (SAUC)?area under insulin curve (IAUC)?ISI? IFI?fast plasma sugar(PGO) and fast plasma insulin (INO) were compared between two groups. Results PGO, INO, SAUC, IAUC and ISI of the IGT group and control group were(5.1?1.0)mmol/L vs(4.3?0.4)mmol/L?(142?77) pmol/L vs (114?40)pmol/L?(1186?437) pmol/L vs (1058?407)pmol/L?(23?4) mmol/L vs (18?3)mmol/L and 30?20 vs 22?24 respectively, the differences were significant(P0.05). Conclusions Insulin resistance is one of the causes of impaired glucose test in pregnancy.

(0.05,) respectively). Conclusions OGTT ignoring the third-hour plasma specimen is easy to be administered, has a low rate of undiagnosis and can be used in the diagnosis of GDM.