Objective To investigate the effects of EGB on hepatic fibrosis and expression of Activin A in rats with fibrosis.Methods From Oct.2004 to Apr.2005,the study was conducted in 30 adult male rats in the pepartment of Gastroenterology,the people's Hospital of Wuhan University.The rats were randomized into 3 groups:control group,model group and treatment group.Except the rats in the control group,others were induced to hepatic fibrosis by intraperitoneal injection of CCl_4 twice a week for 8 weeks.Those rats in the treatment group were intragastrically administered with EGB establish model of everyday.At the end of the 8th week,all rats were sacrificed.The samples of liver was staining with HE.The expression of Activin A was determined by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR.Results The grade of fibrosis in EGB-treated groups were lower than that in the model group(P

Objective To analyze the X-ray appearances of esophageal mucosal hematoma, and to improve the diagnostic accuracy rate. Methods The X-ray appearances of barium meal examination of 23 cases with esophageal mucosal hematoma confirmed by follow up or gastroscopy were analyzed retrospectively.Results The typical X-ray appearances of esophageal mucosal hematoma were filling defect, fluid-barium levels, and deformation of local mucosa. The X-ray appearances were disappear mostly after a short-term followed up examination.Conclusion barium meal examination and short-term followed up can demonstrate esophageal mucosal hematoma are very useful for clinical therapy.

Objective To investigate the correlations of serum adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (AFABP),adiponectin (APN) and A-FABP/APN ratio with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and its subtypes.Methods The consecutive patients with AIS (AIS group) of having complete data admitted within 24 hours of onset were enrolled,and at the same time,the healthy subjects of age,sex and body mass index matched with the AIS group were selected as a control group.The demographic characteristics and general clinical data of the AIS group and control group were collected.The serum A-FABP and APN levels were detected by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay.The patients in the AIS group were further divided into large artery atherosclerosis (LAA),small artery occlusion,(SAO),cardioembolism (CE),and stroke of other determined etiology (SOE) according to the TOAST classification criteria.Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between all factors and AIS and its subtypes.Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations of the A-FABP and APN levels and the NIHSS scores.Results The serum A-FABP level (P =0.017) and A-FABP/APN ratio (P =0.002) in the AIS group were significantly higher than those in the control group,and the serum APN level was significantly lower than that in the control group (P =0.011).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the increased serum A-FABP level (odds ratio [OR] 1.48,95％ confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.93; P =0.009) and the A-FABP/APN ratio (OR 1.59,95％ CI 1.10-2.34; P =0.002) as well as the decreased APN level (OR 0.36,95％ CI 0.14-0.65; P =0.011) were independently associated with AIS.And the A-FABP/APN ratio was better than the correlation of both separately.The serum A-FABP level and A-FABP/APN ratio in the LAA,SAO and CE groups were significantly higher than those in other subtype groups (all P ＜0.05),and the APN level was significantly lower than that in other subtype groups (P ＜0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the increased serum A-FABP level and A-FABP/APN ratio as well as the decreased APN level were independently associated with LAA,SAO and CE,and the A-FABP/APN ratio was better than the correlation of both separately.The baseline NIHSS score was positively correlated with the serum A-FABP level (r =0.236,P =0.019),it was negatively correlated with the serum APN level (r =0.307,P =0.002),and the correlation of the serum AFABP/APN ratio was higher than that of A-FABP or APN (r =0.326,P =0.001).Conclusions The increased serum A-FABP level and the decreased APN level may serve as the new risk factors for AIS,especially LAA,SAO and CE subtypes,and they can reflect the severity of AIS.

Objective To investigate the effect of Shanzha Xiaozhi capslue on intima-media thickness(IMT) and plaques score of carotid artery in patients with non-acute phase coronary heart disease and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome of phlegm and blood stasis. Methods A prospective study was conducted to carry out a research on 102 patients with non-acute phase coronary heart disease and TCM syndrome of phlegm and blood stasis. They were randomly divided into two groups:a control group(50 cases)treated with conventional western medicine alone and a observation group(52 cases)which was treated by both conventional western medicine and Shanzha Xiaozhi capslue(the main TCM ingredients:Shanzha,Dahuang)0.7 g,3 times a day,the therapeutic course being 6 months in both groups. The cardiocerebral vascular incidences of the two groups were observed,in the mean time,the carotid artery IMT and plagues score were registered,the scores of phlegm stagnation syndrome and blood-stasis syndrome were measured,adverse reaction was observed and compared in both groups before and after treatment. Results After treatment,the occurrence of major adverse acute cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in observation group were reduced significantly compared with those in the control group(5.77%vs. 20.00%,P<0.05). The IMT and plaques score of carotid artery and the scores of phlegm stagnation syndrome and blood-stasis syndrome were all decreased obviously compared to those before treatment,and the effect was more remarkable in the treatment group〔IMT of carotid artery(mm):0.80±0.13 vs. 0.95±0.12,the plaques score:1.35±0.65 vs. 1.75±0.88, phlegm syndrome score:20.98±6.42 vs. 35.55±9.22,blood-stasis syndrome score:23.23±5.12 vs. 28.95±6.38, P<0.05 or P<0.01〕. Abdominal pain appeared in 2 patients of observation group without other adverse reactions. Conclusion Shanzha Xiaozhi capsule can stabilize atherosclerotic plaque and reduce the occurrence of acute adverse cardiocerebral vascular events in patients with non-acute phase coronary heart disease and phlegm and blood stasis syndrome possibly by removing phlegm and blood stasis to decrease the IMT and plaques score of carotid artery.

Objective To investigate the nutritional status of elderly patients with diabetic foot ulcers and to explore its influencing factors and relationship.Methods Convenience sampling method was used to recruit 182 elderly patients with diabetic foot ulcers.The mini nutritional assessment (MNA) was adopted to assess nutritional status,and patients' clinical information,hemoglobin A1c,hemoglobin,serum albumin,C-reactive protein were also collected.Results The average score of MNA was 16.36±3.68 for 182 patients,and 121 patients suffered from malnutrition(66.48％),while 61 patients suffered from potential malnutrition(33.52％).The occurrence of malnutrition was positively correlated with age,course of diabetes,classification of foot ulcer,infection,C-reactive protein,hemoglobin A1c and food intake (P＜0.05);the incidence of malnutrition and C-reactive protein for patients with Wagner grade 3 and above were higher than those for patients with low Wagner grades,and hemoglobin A1c and hemoglobin were lower for patients with Wagner grade 3 and above(P＜0.05).Conclusion There was high incidence rate of malnutrition in elderly patients with diabetic foot ulcers,closely related to inflammatory state.Health care providers should provide targeted interventions in time,improve condition of malnutrition,and promote rehabilitation.

Objeetive To investigate the changes of kidney cortex hemoperfusion before and after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) with contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and time-intensity curve.Methods Thirty patients of renal calculi were treated with ESWL and examined with CEUS before and after ESWL.Renal cortex blood perfusion parameters of the lithotriptic areas,including the contrast agent arrival time (AT) ,time to peak (TTP) .peak intensity (PI) and velocity parameters (β) were quantitatively measured with ACQ software.Results The value of AT,TTP and β were not significantly different before and after ESWL (P＞0.05) .PI value after ESWL was lower than that before ESWL (P＜0.05) . Conclusion CEUS can quantitatively evaluate the changes of kidney cortex hemoperfusion after ESWL,and reflect the minor renal damage resulted from ESWL.CEUS can be used as a new method of observing and evaluating the renal damage caused by ESWL.