Objective:To study the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme(ACE),extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK),and the changes of atrial fibrosis in patients with rheumatic heart disease(RHD) and atrial fibrillation(AF) treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor(ACEI).Methods:Atrial tissues were obtained from the right appendage during open surgery in 35 patients with RHD.The mRNA of ACE and ERK2 were semi-qualified by reverse transcription-ploymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and normalized to the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH).Western blotting analysis was employed to examine the expressions of ACE and phosphorylated ERK(pERK).Atrial collagen volume fraction(CVF) was detected by Masson's stain.Results:The mRNA of ACE and ERK2 or the protein of ACE and pERK were significantly increased,and CVF was significantly increased in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation(CAF) compared with sinus rhythm group(SR)( P 0.05).Conclusion:The expressions of ACE,ERK2 and pERK increase,and fibrosis is more severe in RHD patients with CAF as compared with those with SR.Compared with CAF patients treated without ACEI,the expressions of ERK2 and pERK significantly decrease( P 0.05)in CAF patients treated with ACEI.This suggests that the increasing expression of ERK2 and pERK resulting from local renal angiotensin-converting enzyme system activation mediates the development of atrial fibrosis,and ACEI may contribute to lesser atrial fibrosis in RHD patients with AF.

According to the sera aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) can be classified into two types as AQP4 antibody positive (AQP4+) and negative (AQP4-). However, the NMO patients with AQP4- are prone to delayed treatment, and may have a different pathogenesis compared to that in patients with AQP4+. Scientific researches and the clinical trials on NMO with AQP4- will deepen the understanding of NMO pathogenesis and help to make an early accurate diagnosis and rational therapy for NMO with AQP4-. This review aims to summarize the progress in clinic diagnosis for NMO patients with AQP4-.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive disorder characterized by abnormally elevated blood pressure of the pulmonary circulation. PH progresses rapidly to right ventricular (RV) failure and even death without treatment. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is an accurate and reproducible tool for the assessment of RV morphology and function, which plays an important role in the prognosis of patients with PH. The aim of this study is to review the clinical application and research progress of CMR in evaluation of PH.

Acupuncture scientization was a consensus of most of acupuncture scholars who had long-term perspectives in the 20th century, among them Ms. ZHULian was the important one. Ms. ZHU Lian built a systemic new acupuncture" academic structure in practice and theory aspects. At the same time, as the main architect of Institute of Acupuncture-moxibustion of China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ms. ZHU Lian was the first one who began to carry out the acupuncture clinical trail and laboratory experiment in modern way, which meant "acupuncture therapy" was transformed into "acupuncture science" by Ms. ZHULian's endeavor.
Acupuncture ; education ; history ; standards ; Acupuncture Therapy ; history ; methods ; standards ; China ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Science ; history

The acupuncture medical literature during the Republic of China is divided into four categories, including theoretical literature, acupuncture channels and acupoints drawing literature, translations, and teaching materials and medical cases. It is found that the theoretical literature focuses on inheriting the traditional theories as well as combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine. The drawings are becoming more and more precise, and in these drawing works anatomy begins to appear at that time. Translations are the achievements of communication between TCM and Western medicine, which promote the scientization of acupuncture greatly. Teaching materials are also influenced by Western medicine, presenting a rough frame of modern acupuncture disciplinary system. As important clinic data, medical cases have great clinical value. Overall, acupuncture medical literature during the Republic of China is widely published, which is influenced greatly by the Western medicine and presents a significant tendency of scientization.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; history ; Books ; history ; China ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Translations

Objective To investigate the relationship of serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) level and primary hypertension target organ damage.Methods According to target organ damage,essential hypertension patients were divided into 3 groups:primary hypertension with coronary artery disease,primary hypertension with cerebral infarction and primary hypertension with kidney injury.There were 60 subjects in each complication group.There were 60 healthy adults in the normal control group.Serum ACE level was detected and compare among the 4 groups.Results Serum ACE level in normal control group was (21.36 ± 6.86) U/L,while that in primary hypertension with coronary artery disease,primary hypertension with cerebral infarction and primary hypertension with kidney injury were (36.09 ±4.87) U/L,(39.15 ±7.03) U/L and (28.34 ±7.23) U/L respectively.Serum ACE level was higher in each complication group than in normal control group (F =343.997,P ＜ 0.01).In the complication groups,serum ACE level was the lowest in the group of primary hypertension with kidney injury.Conclusion High active ACE is associated with target organ damage in primary hypertension,especially kidney injury.

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) has been a recent concern given the high incidence of tumors. Increasing amounts of re-search report that PLA2 is an inflammatory factor that is closely associated with tumor incidence. Moreover, it displays high specificity, minimal biological variation, is rarely affected by other inflammation markers, and has a definite relation with the differentiation in tu-mors of the digestive tract, such as intestinal and gastric cancers. PLA2 is also related to the invasion mechanisms, metastasis, and apop-tosis of tumors. In addition, PLA2 can be applied to the scoring and to the clinical and medicinal treatment of the Gleason tumor, which is found in prostatic cancers of the genital system. It is also closely related to the proliferation and infiltration of ovarian cancer cells. Therefore, PLA2 can be used as a new test index for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of tumors, which may generate a new research direction with respect to the forecasting of tumor incidence and progression. The bionomics of PLA2 facilitate the use of inflammatory factors in the detection procedures utilized by clinical laboratories, which can monitor the conditions of cancer patients in advance and effectively customize treatment regimens for such patients.

Small GTP binding protein Rho and its downstream Rho-kinase pathway play an important role in the various cellular functions, including contraction, migration, proliferation, adhe-sion and apoptosis, etc. This article reviews the role of Rho/Rho-kinase pathway in the pain generation and development and clinical application of Rho/Rho-kinase inhibitors. It discusses the feasibility of Rho/Rho-kinase as a target for analgesics. Ac-cumulating experimental and clinical evidences indicate that Rho/Rho-kinase pathway is involved in the neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, diabetic painful neuropathy, cerebral vaso-spasm, vasospastic angina and cancer pain, etc. Therefore, Rho/Rho-kinase is a potential drug target of the pain, and it provides new therapeutic treatments and strategies for pain in clinic.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; therapy ; Young Adult

AIM:To explore the regulating mechanism of microglia transplantation in treating cerebral infarction.METHODS:Focal cerebral infarction model was established by photochemistry. The histological and immunohistochemical methods were used to observe the effects of microglia transplantation on cerebral infarction. The expressions of nerve growth factor(NGF) and interleukin-10(IL-10) were detected by double fluorescent immunohistochemistry and Western blotting.RESULTS:Microglia marked with green fluorescence was observed in ischemic penumbra,indicating that microglia can be transplanted across the blood-brain barrier. Infarct volumes and death number of cells were significantly reduced compared to non-transplantation animals. The expressions of NGF and IL-10 were markedly increased in microglia in transplantation group.CONCLUSION:Microglia can be transplanted across the blood-brain barrier. The cells have protective effects in ischemic penumbra by secreting NGF and IL-10,which might serve as therapeutical method for treating cerebral infarction.