Objective To study the clinical effect of the treatment for knee osteoarthritis by dissolving the phlegm-stasis.Methods The 100 cases of knee osteoarthritis were randomized into the treatment group and control group with 50 in each.The former was treated by oral administration of Chinese herbal medicine while the latter by oral administration of Votalin and vitamin C.One week as one course,two courses in succession.The comparative analysis on symptom score and therapeutic effect of two groups before and after treatment was carried out.Results After treatment,the symptom scores of both groups were significantly lowered(P

ObjectiveTo evaluate the fourth-generation ultrasonic lithotripsy system for treating the urinary tract stones.Methods243 cases of urinary tract stones who received treatment of fourth-generation EMS ultrasonic lithotripsy system were analyzed retrospectively.ResultsImmediate phase I lithotrotrisy was performed successfully in 227 cases and the successful rate of phase I was 93.3％ (227/243).Delayed phase Ⅱ lithotripsy was performed for 16 patients.Complications happened in 2 cases,one case occurred hydropneumothorax during operation,required indwelling thoracic drainage tube processing,the other had severe bleeding which conservative treatment was ineffective,cured by the intervention of super-selective renal artery embolization.Conclusion Fourth generation of ultrasonic lithotripsy for treating stones on different anatomical locations of urinary system was safe,practical and efficient,worthy of clinical application.

BACKGROUND:Tougu Xiaotong Capsule has pretty good clinical therapeutic effect on osteoarthritis of early and middle periods. However, the mechanism of Tougu Xiaotong Capsule is not ful y clarified. The RhoA GTPases can regulate chondrocyte apoptosis and hypertrophy.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the Tougu Xiaotong Capsule on the expression of Rac1and Cdc42 in tumor necrosis factor-α-induced in vitro cultured rat articular chondrocytes, and to explore its mechanism of action for combating osteoarthritis.
METHODS:Knee cartilage of the 4-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats was used to stably establish in vitro culture system of chondrocytes. Passage 3 chondrocytes were identified by toluidine blue staining. Chondrocyte apoptosis was successful y induced by 20μg/L tumor necrosis factor-αand then Tougu Xiaotong Capsule at different dosage (500, 100, 20 mg/L) was given after 24-hour incubation. MTT assay was used to detect cellsurvival, flow cytrometry to measure mitochondrial membrane potential, and western blot assay to determine the protein expression of Rac1, Cdc42, Bax and Bcl-2.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Tougu Xiaotong Capsule could reduce tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes to improve the survival rate of the cells, and at the same time, could down-regulate the protein expression of Rac1, Cdc42 and Bax and increase the protein expression of Bcl-2 significantly (P<0.05). Tougu Xiaotong Capsule possibly plays a therapeutic efficacy on osteoarthritis by reducing promote apoptosis Rac1, Cdc42 and Bax expression and increasing apoptosis inhibiting gene Bcl-2 expression, thereby to inhibit apoptosis of chondrocytes.

Background and Objectives The relationship between left atrial (LA) size and congestive heart failure (CHF) is well recognized;however, there is little information on the association of pulmonary vein (PV) diameter and CHF.The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of PV and LA sizes in CHF patients by multislice computed tomography (MSCT) angiography using a new 64-slice scanner. Methods and Results We assessed diameters of PVs ostium and LA by 64-slice MSCT with three-dimensional reconstruction in 25 CHF patients and in 26 age- and sex-matched non-CHF controls. Compared with controls, CHF patients showed significant greater diameters of left superior pulmonary vein (LSPV) and right inferior pulmonary vein (RIPV) in both anteriorposterior(AP) and superior-inferior (SI) directions (P＜0.01), significant dilation of right superior pulmonary vein (RSPV) in AP direction (P＜0.05), as well as significant increase of LA transverse, AP, and SI diameters (P＜0.01). Conclusion Significant dilation of PVs with simultaneous LA enlargement was demonstrated in CHF patients. This anatomic and geometric changes may participate in the perpetuation of AF.

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow stromal stem cel s have multilineage differentiation capacity and can differentiate into transparent chondrocytes under certain conditions, which can provide new thoughts for treatment of osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of Tougu Xiaotong Granule containing serum on the cartilage differentiation of bone marrow stromal stem cel s. METHODS:Bone marrow stromal stem cel s from Sprague-Dawley rat limbs were cultured in vitro, and those cel s at passage 3 were used in the study. Cel s were divided into six groups:saline serum group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule water extract group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule alcohol extract group, chondroinductive group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule water extract and chondroinductive group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule alcohol extract and chondroinductive group. The Sox9, col agen Ⅱ, and col agen X mRNA and protein expression levels were tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:After cel s were intervened with drug-containing serum for 14 days, the Sox9, col agen Ⅱ, and col agen X mRNA and protein expression in Tougu Xiaotong Granule water extract group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule alcohol extract group, chondroinductive group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule water extract and chondroinductive group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule alcohol extract and chondroinductive group were significantly higher than that in saline serum group (P<0.05, P<0.01). In addition, the chondroinductive group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule water extract serum and chondroinductive group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule alcohol extract and chondroinductive group showed significantly higher expression levels than Tougu Xiaotong Granule water extract serum group, Tougu Xiaotong Granule alcohol extract group (P<0.01). Sox9 expression in Tougu Xiaotong Granule water extract serum and chondroinductive group were significantly higher than that in the chondroinductive group. Experimental findings indicate that, Tougu Xiaotong Granule containing serum can accelerate bone marrow stromal stem cel s differentiate into cartilage cel s by up-regulation of Sox9 expression.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have found that electroacupuncture can delay articular cartilage degeneration mediated by JAK-STAT signaling pathway through upregulating the expression level of transforming growth factor β1 as well as mRNA expression levels of STAT3, Smad3 and LepR. In the meanwhile, electroacupuncture can inhibit the mRNA expression of p38 and Fas mRNA mediated by MAPK signaling pathways, further inhibiting the apoptosis of chondrocytes. OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of electroacupuncture on the degeneration of articular cartilage in rats with knee osteoarthritis based on Ras-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. METHODS:120 male healthy Sprague-Dawley rats aged 2 months olds were selected and randomly divided into normal, model, 15-minite electroacupuncture and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups (n=30 per group). The rats in the latter three groups received the intra-articular injection of 4% papain bilaterally, and the remaining rats received no intervention. At 2 weeks after modeling, the latter two groups were respectively given 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture, five times weekly for consecutive 12 weeks. The morphology of the cartilage was observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, the expression level of interleukin-1β in the synovium was detected by ELISA assay, and the protein expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, C-MYC, C-FOS, and C-JUN were detected by western blot analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that: in the model group, the cartilage surface was rough, the cartilage layer became thinner, and the cartilage structure was damaged with incomplete tidal line; in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups, the cartilage structure was complete with clear layers and complete tidal line. ELISA showed that the expression level of interleukin-1β in the model group was significantly higher than that in the normal group (P< 0.01), and the level in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups was significantly lower than that in the model group (P < 0.05). Western blot assay found that compared with the normal group, the protein expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2, ERK1/2, C-MYC, C-FOS, and C-JUN were increased in the model group. However, all above protein levels except ERK1/2 in the 15- and 30-minute electroacupuncture groups were significantly lower than those in the model group (P < 0.01,P < 0.05). To conclude, electroacupuncture inhibits the degeneration of articular cartilage in osteoarthritisvia Ras-Raf-MEK1/2-ERK1/2 signaling pathway and downregulating the expression level of interleukin-1β.