The distance between the medial border of the two articular processes was measured by CT and MRI. At the level of C5-6-7 it was 23-25 mm(24mm on average). If the distance is 24 mm at C5-6 a tuohy needle is inserted 10 mm(24?2-2) lateral to the midline. When the needle touches vertebral lamina, withdraw the needle 2mm and redirect it cephalad at 45-60, Resistance is encountered when the needle touches ligament flavum. When the resistance disappears, the tip of the needle has entered the lateral recess via tuohy needle. This approach was used in 45 patients with satisfactory results. In ten patients the position of the cathter was confirmed with contrast medium by CT and MRI.

[ Objective ] To observe the effects of acupuncture in treating extraweight rats and on morphology of brown adipocytes. [ Methods ] Sixty SD rats were randomized into normal group ( group A), model group ( group B) and acupuncture group (group C). Group A was fed with common forage and groups B and C with high-fat diet for 12 weeks. After then group C was given acupuncture of Zusanli (ST36) and Neiting (ST44) points for 15 days. Body weight, body length and Lee's index were compared before and after treatment in the three groups; wet weight of perirenal fat was detected and the ultrastructure of interscapular brown adipose tissue was observed under transmission electron microscope after treatment. [Results] After treatment, body weight, Lee's index and wet weight of perirenal fat were decreased in group C (P

The new approaches were designed to have anti-inflammatory analgetics act concentratively on the surrounding of pathological nerve roots or to inject collagenase directly to the protruding lumbar intervertebral disc for more simple and effective treatment of the low back pain. Method: The approaches to epidural lateral recess via incisura margo lateralis of lamina arcus vertebrae or margo medialis of joint processus artieularis were supposed and applied in clinic after study of anatomy and analysis of lumbar vertebra X-ray and CT photographes. The safety and feasibility of the approaches were evaluated according to the test of block region, measurement of therapeutic effect and monitoring of CT during the whole procedures in some cases. Result: A total of 170 cases via the incisura margo lateralis of lamina areus vertebrae were tested, 168 cases turned out to be successful and 2 cases failing. Another 15 cases via margo medialis of joint proeessus articularis, all punctures were successful. Conclusion: The approaches can lead to epidural lateral recess precisely to obtain a better treatment. When the technique is applied to discolysis, no X-ray machine will be needed and therefore no injury of X-ray occurs to both doctors and patients.

Objective To evaluate the analgesic effect and safety of subarachnoid chromaffin cell allograft for terminal cancer pain Methods Ten patients with intractable cancer pain despite traditional treatments were randomly divided into two groups In test group(n=4), 2ml of the suspension chromaffin cells cultured in vitro for 3 days was injected into the subarachnoid space through lumber puncture The same amount of cell free culture solution was injected intrathecally in control group(n=6) Opioids were administered continuously after transplantation The intensity of pain was assessed by VAS, the dose of opioids taken was recored,and the catecholamine and enkephalin concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid and immune function were measured before and after transplantation Results The VAS scores declined markedly in both groups after transplantation (P

Objective To investigate the toxic effects of ozone on rat astrocytes in vitro. Methods Twelve 1-2 day old Wistar rats were anesthetized with ether. Their brains were removed. Astrecytes were enzymatically isolated with trypsin and cultured. After different-speed cultivation and serial passage, astrocytes were seeded into 24 well plates and divided into 4 groups (n = 7 each): group Ⅰ normal control (group C) and group Ⅱ , Ⅲ , Ⅳ (group O2-O340, 60, 80) were exposed to ozone 40, 60 and 80 μg/ml respectively. After 2 and 4 h incubation, the astroeytes were examined under microscope. Supernatant was collected and cells were broken for determination of SOD activity and MDA content in the cells and LDH leaking ratio. Results Cells in group O2-O3 60 and 80 exhibited hypertrophy, vacuoles and black denatured grains in the cytoplasm and increase in proceses. SOD activity and MDA content were significantly increased at the end of 2 h incubation in group O2-O340, 60 and 80 as compared with blank control group. LDH leaking ratio and MDA content were increased in a concentration dependent manner at the end of 2 h and 4 h incubation, while SOD activity was decreased concentration dependently at the end of 4 h incubation. SOD activity was signifieandy decreased, while LDH leaking ratio was increased at 4 h as compared with that at 2 h in group O2-O360 and 80. Conclusion Ozone has toxic effects on cultured rat astroeytns in a concentration and time dependent manner.

Objective To investigate the alteration of nuclear factor kappa B( NF-κB) and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-α) mRNA and protein in hippocampus in chronic constrictive injury (CCI) model of rats. Methods Seventy-six male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 2 groups ( n = 38): the CCI group which received the chronic constriction injury and the sham group which received the sham operation as control. The mechanical and thermal nociceptive thresholds were assessed with paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to von Frey filaments and radiant heat at 1d before and ld,4d,7d,14d and 28d after CCI operation. Five animals were sacrificed at each time point for real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) and another three animals sacrificed at 7d postoperation for immunofluorescence histochemical staining. Results The thresholds to mechanical and thermal stimuli decreased obviously after operation in CCI group. The expressions of TNF-α and NF-κB mRNA began to increase at ld( (2.079 ±0. 104)times and 4d( ( 1.640 ± 0.064) times) after operation and reached the peak at 7d ((2.748 ±0.147)times, (2.010 ±0.096)times) ,then the expressions of TNF-a mRNA began to decrease,while the expressions of NF-kB mRNA maintained at a high level throughout the experiment. The result of immunofluorescence histochemical staining revealed that NF-kB and TNF-α protein expressions at 7 day increased significantly on the hippocampus,which was consisted with NF-κB and TNF-a mRNA levels. Conclusion The activation NF-κB and TNF-α in hippocampus may be involved in the procession of neuropathic pain.

Objective To investigete the effect of low-concentration ozone (O3) on voltage-gated calcium channels in fetal rat spinal cord neurons in vitro. Methods The spinal cord neurons were cultured in vitro and identified by immunohistochemistry staining. Then the cells were seeded into the culture dish and randomly divided into 3 groups: control group (group C, n = 5), O3 15 μg/ml (group O3-15, n = 4) and O3 20 μg/ml group (group O3-20, n = 8). The cells were exposed to O3 15 and 20 μg/ml in group O3-15 and O3-20 respectively, while the cells were exposed to air in group C. After 20 min incubation, the electrophysiological activity of calcium channels in neurons was recorded using whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Results Peak calcium current density was significantly increased in group O3-15 and O3-20 compared with group C ( P ＜ 0.05). Half-activation voltage was significantly lower in group O3-15 and O3-20 than in group C ( P ＜ 0.05). Peak calcium current density was significantly higher in group O3 -20 than in group O3-15 ( P ＜ 0.05) . There was no significant difference in half-inactivation voltage among the three groups ( P ＞ 0.05). Conclusion Low concentration of O3 can make the activation of the calcium ion channel easy in fetal rat spinal cord neurons in vitro.

【Objective】To observe the effect of Huangqi Sijunzi Decoction(HSD) combined with parenteral nutrition in promoting postoperative recovery of gastric cancer patients.【Methods】Eighty gastric cancer patients were randomized into two groups.On the 3rd day after operation,the two groups received parenteral nutrition,and the treatment group(group A) was given HSD additionally.The anal exsufflation time,incision infection rate,biochemical indexes and immune indexes of the two groups were observed.【Results】The anal exsufflation time was(2.40?0.33) days in the treatment group and(3.82?0.26) days in the control group,the difference being significant(P0.05).The increase of pre-albumin in the treatment group was obvious as compared with that in the control group(P0.05).The increase of immune indexes was not obvious in the control group(P

AIM: To investigate the role of fluoxetine in the hippocampal synaptic plasticity in chronic unpre-dictable mild stress (CUMS) depression rats and its effect on mTOR and autophagy signaling pathways.METHODS:Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n =60) were randomly divided into normal control group, CUMS group and fluoxetine group. The CUMS rat model was established through CUMS combined with solitary raising, and fluoxetine (20 mg? kg -1? d -1 ) was administered via intragastric gavage.The changes of body weight, the ratio of sugar intake and the results of the behav-ioral test were recorded to identify the modeling.Moreover, the expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins glial fibril-lary acidic protein (GFAP) and synaptophysin (SYP), apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and caspase-3, mTOR signaling proteins mTOR and 4EBP1, and autophagy-related proteins beclin 1 and LC3 were examined by RT-PCR and Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with control group, the body weight, sucrose intake, and total distance and intermediate residence time in the open field test were significantly decreased in CUMS group.The results of RT-PCR and Western blotting showed that the mRNA and protein levels of SYP and GFAP in CUMS group were significantly down-regulated compared with con-trol group.The expression of Bcl-2 in CUMS group was downregulated, while the protein level of cleaved caspase-3 in-creased.Decreased phosphorylation levels of mTOR and its downstream target molecule 4EBP1 were observed in CUMS group.Besides, the autophagy-related proteins beclin 1 and LC3 were significantly upregulated at mRNA and protein lev-els.All these results(upregulation or downregulation) were attenuated by the treatment with fluoxetine, and the difference was statistically significant.CONCLUSION: Fluoxetine might improve hippocampal synaptic plasticity and alleviate symp-toms of depression by supressing apoptosis/autophagy signaling pathways and upregulating mTOR signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the effects of ozone (O3) on Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the articular cartilage of rats with osteoarthritis (OA).Methods Eighteen male SPF Wistar rats,aged 3 months,weighing 200-250 g,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n =6 each) using a random number table:control group (group C),group OA,and O3 group (group O).OA was induced by injection of monosodium iodoacetate 3 mg (50 μl) into the right knee joint cavity.On 7th day after the model was established successfully,25 μg/ml O3 1 ml were injected into the knee joint cavity,once a week for 3 consecutive weeks in group O.Behavioral changes were observed after establishment of the model.At 1 day before establishment of the model,and 1,4,7,14,21 and 28 days after establishment of the model,the mechanical paw withdrawal threshold (MWT) was measured.At 28 days after establishment of the model,the total knee joint was removed and stained with haematoxylin and eosin for examination of the pathological changes of the cartilage (under light microscope) and for determination of the expression of β-catenin and matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) in the cartilage (by immunohistochemistry).Results The signs of OA such as hind-limb motor dysfunction,knee joint swelling,or decreased joint motion,and signs of hyperalgesia such as lickings were observed after establishment of the model in rats.Compared with group C,the MWT was significantly decreased at each time point after establishment of the model,and the ex pression of β-catenin and MMP-13 in the cartilage was significantly up-regulated in the other two groups(P＜0.05).Compared with group OA,the MWT was significantly increased at 7-28 days after establishment of the model,and the expression of β-catenin and MMP-13 in the cartilage was significantly down-regulated in group O (P＜0.05).The pathological changes of the cartilage were significantly reduced in group O as compared with group OA.Conclusion The mechanism by which O3 mitigates OA is probably related to inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway activation in the articular cartilage in rats.