Objective: To approach a better solution for enhancing the therapeutic results of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of Tourette syndrome, by observing the clinical results of combined scalp with body acupuncture and mono-body acupuncture. Methods: Fifty-seven patients were randomized into a treatment group (31 cases) and a control group (26 cases). The patients in the treatment group all received combined scalp-body acupuncture treatment, while the patients in the control group were given mono-body acupuncture treatment, for 1 month as a treatment session. At the end of the third treatment session, the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) would be compared between pre- and post-treatment. Results: In the treatment group, 2 patients were clinically cured, 4 showed markedly effective, 18 showed effective, and 7 failed, making a total therapeutic rate of 77.4%. In the control group, 0 were clinically cured, 3 showed markedly effective, 9 showed effective, 14 failed, making a total therapeutic rate of 46.2%. There was a significant difference between the two total therapeutic rates (P<0.05). Conclusion: The combination of scalp and body acupuncture had a better therapeutic result than the mono-body acupuncture therapy in the treatment Fifty-of Tourette syndrome.

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of FU's subcutaneous needling on acute lumbar sprain. Method: One hundred acute lumbar sprain cases were randomly allocated into a treatment group and control group, 50 cases in each. FU's subcutaneous needling on tenderness were employed in the treatment group, whereas voltaren was administered to the cases in the control group. The changes in symptoms and signs were then observed in the two groups. Results: The total effective rates in the treatment group and control group were 94.0% and 70.0% respectively, showing a statistical difference (P<0.01). Conclusion: FU's subcutaneous needling is better than voltaren for acute lumbar sprain.

OBJECTIVETo assess the association of S447X mutation and Hind III polymorphism in the lipoprotein lipase gene with dyslipidemia of the metabolic syndrome in patients with essential hypertension.

METHODSA total of 983 patients were randomly selected from those with hypertension (diagnosed in the Community-based Comprehensive Studies on Prevention and Control of Hypertension Project in China) and those not treated with anti-hypertensive medications for at least in 2 weeks immediately before blood collection. Among them were 389 subjects with dyslipidemia and 594 subjects without dyslipidemia. The definition of dyslipidemia in patients with hypertension was used only when triglyceride or HDL-cholesterol was at abnormal level. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to determine Ser447stop mutation and Hind III polymorphism in LPL gene.

RESULTSLinkage disequilibrium between the two sites was observed, with three major haplotypes identified: H+S, H-S, and H-X. The LPL gene S447X mutation and H-X haplotype were significantly associated with dyslipidemia (OR=0.547, 95%CI: 0.348-0.859 for S447X mutation; OR=0.537, 95%CI: 0.328-0.880 for H-X haplotype) in male, both by themselves and after adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, education and serum glucose. The LPL H- carriers and H-S haplotype were significantly associated with dyslipidemia (OR=0.575, 95%CI: 0.358-0.923) in female after multivariate adjustment. Moreover, compared with the H+S haplotype, the H-X haplotypes were associated with significantly lower TG and Log (TG/HDL-C) levels in both men and women, and with higher HDL-C levels in women; whereas no significant difference was observed between the H-S and H+S haplotype. Compared with the H-S haplotype, the H-X haplotypes had significant effect on the HDL-C levels in women.

CONCLUSIONThe LPL H-X haplotype was one of the protective factors of dyslipidemia of metabolic syndrome in hypertensive patients. It is significantly associated with low triglyceride, log triglyceride-to-HDL-cholesterol ratio and high HDL-cholesterol levels. S447X mutation does not explain all the effect associated with the Hind III polymorphism, although the effect on serum lipids associated with the H-X haplotype appeared to be mainly mediated by the S447X mutation. It is possible that some functional mutations in the LPL gene besides the S447X mutation are in linkage disequilibrium with the Hind III polymorphism.

Aged ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Dyslipidemias ; blood ; complications ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Lipoprotein Lipase ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Triglycerides ; blood