OBJECTIVETo estimate the effectiveness of inactivated influenza vaccine in elderly population.

METHODSAn quasi-experimental study was used. 590 elderly people who volunteered to receive the influenza vaccine were served as vaccine group, while 602 persons who did not want to receive the inoculation but could match the vaccine group were served as controls. One baseline and three follow-up surveys were carried out.

RESULTSThe protective rates of influenza like ill (ILI) as 52.38%, 36.84% and 37.89% with the decreasing rates of visits to ILI clinic as 45.16%, 50.54% and 50.54% were found after 1 month, 3 month and 6 month of inoculation of influenza vaccine; The protective rates of common cold, other respiratory tract or chronic disease were 49.54%, 64.54%, and 38.82%, respectively. The benefit-cost ratio was 4.98:1 in elderly population.

CONCLUSIONInfluenza vaccination could decrease ILI incidence and recurrence rates of related chronic diseases on elderly population to provide better economic benefits for the elderly.

Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza Vaccines ; economics ; immunology ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Vaccination

OBJECTIVEThe present study describes an improved in vitro culture method for obtaining high purity, vital and fully functional cardiomyocytes from neonatal rat.

METHODSAfter cutting ventricular tissue with improved method, ventricular tissues were digested with low concentrations of trypsin overnight at 4 °C, and then underwent collagenase II digestion. Thereafter, cardiomyocytes were purified by combined differential adhesion and chemical inhibition methods.

RESULTSAdherent cardiomyocytes were seen at 12 h after culture, spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes were observed at 24 h after culture, crosslinked cardiomyocytes were found at 48 h after culture, adhesion clustered cardiomyocytes were seen at 72 h after culture, dense network formed from inter-connected was evidenced together with radial arranged cell clusters and cell pseudopodia 96 h the mutual contact woven into and formed radically ordering cell clusters and island-like beating cardiomyocytes at 96 h after culture. The cell survival rate and purity were more than 98%.

CONCLUSIONFully functional spontaneous beating cardiomyocytes can be obtained by the use of this improved primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes culture method.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Cells, Cultured ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; cytology ; Primary Cell Culture ; methods ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; epidemiology ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Humans ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; Herpesvirus 4, Human

OBJECTIVE: To detect the effects of metformin on the depressive-like behaviors in rats. METHODS: Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (CON group), metformin group (MET group), model group (CUMS group), model + metformin group (CUMS + MET group), 10 rats in each group. Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) method was used to establish rat depression model in three weeks. After the model was established successfully, two metformin groups were intraperitoneally injected with metformin (100 mg/kg), while the control group and the model group were injected with the same amount of saline once a day for two weeks. After that, the changes of weight gain, sucrose water preference experiment, forced swimming test, tail suspension immobility test and open field test were detected. The morphological changes of hippocampus were observed by Nissl staining. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the weight gain of rats in CUMS group was significantly slowed down (P＜0.05), the sucrose preference rate and the spontaneous activity were significantly reduced (P＜0.05), and the immobility time in forced swimming and tail suspension immobility test was significantly prolonged (P＜0.05), and the morphological structure of hippocampus was changed, which confirmed the success of CUMS depression model. Compared with CUMS group, metformin treatment had no significant effect on body weight of rats, but it could significantly improve sucrose water intake, immobility time and spontaneous activity of CUMS depression model rats (P＜0.05), and improve the abnormal morphological changes of hippocampus in CUMS rats. CONCLUSION Metformin has a therapeutic benefit against CUMS-induced depression, which provides a new treatment for patients with diabetes mellitus complicated with depression.
Animals ; Depression ; drug therapy ; Hippocampus ; anatomy & histology ; drug effects ; Male ; Metformin ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stress, Psychological