Sixty patients with piriformis syndrome were treated mainly by electroacupunture, Tuina plus TDP irradiation. After 10 treatments, among 60 patients, 41 cases were cured and 19 cases were improved.

Objective To investigate the repair and reconstruction mechanism of stromal cell derived factor-1(SDF-1) on rat abdominal aorta grafts.Methods Male Sprague-Darley rats received abdominal aorta grafts from male Wistar abdominal arteries.Immunohistochemical staining(IHC) was performed to detect the SDF-1 expression.The expression of CXCR4,the receptor of SDF-1,was demonstrated by RT-PCR.(Results) SDF-1 was expressed on the endothelium all the time during the course of the abdominal aorta grafts in the bodies of recipients.Furthermore,it was found that there was a significant relationship between the expression of SDF-1 on the endothelia and the thickness of the neointima of the rat abdominal aorta grafts.On the other hand,CXCR4 was detected within the abdominal aorta grafts.Conclusions Stem cells could be mobilized by SDF-1 to the abdominal aorta grafts and differentiated into smooth-muscle like cells.Furthermore,SDF-1 is predictive of grafts arteriosclerosis and the subsequent development of chronic graft dysfunction(CGD).

According to the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of modafinil, a therapeutic drug of hypnolepsy, we designed and synthesized two series of compounds 2-[(diphenylmethane)sulfinyl] acetamides and 2-[(diphenylmethyl)thio] acetamides, and measured their biological activities. The target compounds (6a-6o) were synthesized beginning with diphenyl carbinol by substitution, oxidation, acylation and so on. Their structures were confirmed by ESI-MS, 1H NMR and elemental analysis. The central stimulatory effects of the target compounds were determined by the independent activity assay on mice. Compounds 6c, 6f and 6n have considerable activities, while the central stimulative effect of 6h is slightly better than the positive control modafinil.

Objective To explore the application of submental ultrasonongraphy (SUS) in the assessment of oropharyngeal swallowing disorders in children with cerebral palsy.Methods Seventeen children with cerebral palsy and oropharyngeal swallowing difficulties (7 on nasal feeding,10 on oral feeding) constituted the treatment group while 20 normal counterparts formed the control group.SUS was applied to measure any changes in the thickness of the tongue muscle and the range of hyoid bone displacement when they swallowed 5 ml of water.The results were compared with those assessed using the functional oral intake scale to decide the best cut-off point for detecting tube-feeding-dependent dysphagia.The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of the 20 children in the control group was calculated to evaluate the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of SUS.Results The average tongue muscle thickness change and hyoid bone displacement amplitude of the children on nasal feeding were significantly smaller than those of the children without nasal feeding and the normal children.The best cut-off point for the tongue muscle thickness change data was 1.0 cm,and that of the hyoid bone displacement amplitude was 1.5 cm.All of the ICCs were above 0.4,indicating good intra-rater and inter-rater reliability for the SUS examination.Conclusion Submental ultrasonongraphy can help assess the swallowing function of children with oropharyngeal swallowing disorders.

Objective To investigate the clinical feature,treatment and prognosis of both themother and the fetus with gestational diabetes insipidus.Methods A total of 7 cases of gestational diabetes insipidus collected in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College,Wen'zhou Combination ofTraditional Chinese Medicine with Western Medicine Hospital,and Zhejiang Taizhou Hospital from June 1993to June 2006 were analyzed retrospectively.Resuits Seven cases symptoms all characterized by excessive thirst polydipsia and polyuria.The average 24 h urinary output was between 11 L to 13 L and manifested of hypobaricuria.After effective treatment(three cases were treated with 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin,another three patients were managed with hydrochlorothiazide,and the last one was cured with antisterone),seven patients with gestational diabetes insipidus did not have any severe consequences.Their symptoms of excessive thirst,polyuria,and polydypsia disappeared from 7 days to 3 months after parturition.Urinary volume returned to normal standard of 1000-2000 ml during 24 hours.Specific gravity of urine recovered normally between a range 1.015-1.025 and serum sodium recovered between 135-147 mmol/L Theaverage duration of illness was 52 days.Eight newborn infants survived.Two of them were sent to neonatal intensive care unit for treatment.One was because of premature delivery caused by antepartum eclampsia,and the other case was one of the twins who had hydronephrosis.The baby of the first case left hospital after 3 weeks'treatment.The latter one's symptom disappeared 2 weeks after delivery.No obvious symptom was discovered among all the babies through follow-up telephone calls 42 days after childbirth.Conclusion Gestational diabetes insipidus is a rare endocrinopathy complicating pregnancy.This disorder is characterized by excessive thirst,polydypsia,polyuria,hypobaric urine and electrolyte disturbances usually manifesting in the third trimester of pregnancy or puerperium.This is a transient syndrome.The first treatment of choice in patients with gestational diabetes insipidus is 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin and the second-choice is hydrochlorothiazide.Early diagnosis and appropriate management of the disease may reduce the hazard forboth the mother and the fetus during perinatal period.

Objective To analyze the quality of life among adults with chronic suppurative otitis media,and to research the chan-ges of the life quality between preoperative and postoperative.Methods We modified the chronic ear survey(CES)through inter-view adults with chronic suppurative otitis media.The modified scale (Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media Outcome Survey)was ad-ministered to 110 patients in a prospective manner,and then was validated according to established criteria for reliability and validi-ty.Then we assessed the outcomes of surgeries for chronic suppurative otitis media.Results The chronic suppurative otitis media outcome survey includes 17 entries,and was divide into four dimensions.Excellent test-retest reliability was obtained for the survey score (R=0.967).Cronbach′s α correlation coefficient were calculated as 0.864 for the total survey.Criterion validity showed a high correlation between scores on chronic suppurative otitis media outcome survey and scores on CES (R=0.977,P <0.01).U-sing principal components extraction with orthogonal rotation,it was performed on the composite data set,and this yielded a four-factor solution that explained 70.394% of the variance.The average score of patients before surgery was 51.660±10.762,post-op-erative scores was 75.893 ± 7.734.The total score wasn′t significantly changed after the surgery,and the average value was 24.23±7.67 (t=24.653,P <0.01).Conclusion The chronic suppurative otitis media outcome survey is a reliable and valid meas-ure of quality of life for adults with chronic suppurative otitis media,and it is more suitable than the CES in outcomes studies and clinical trials.

OBJECTIVETo study the role of microfilament polymerization in menchanotransduction by human periodontal ligament fibroblast (hPDLFs).

METHODSIn tension-force group, hPDLFs were treated by tension-force values of 18% for 8 h, 16 h, 24 h. In tension-force and inhibitor group, the sample was treated with 5 microg/mL cytochalasin B before using tension-forece. Each sample was collected and the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 was measured by using immunohistoche staining.

RESULTSIn tension-force group, the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 enhanced with the extension of loading time. In tension-force and inhibitor group, cyclooxygenase-2 expression was depressed and had no relation with loading time.

CONCLUSIONTension-force induced cyclooxygenase-2 expression is mediated by microfilament, disruption of the microfilament polymerization will destroy mechanotransduction in hPDLFs.

Objective To explore the efficacy of triple therapy and sequential therapy in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) in patients receiving long-term non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) treatment.Methods Patients receiving long-term NSAID treatment were enrolled in this study.Patients diagnosed as Hp infection were divided into triple therapy and sequential therapy groups.The patients in triple therapy group received omeprazole,clarithromycin and amoxicillin theray for 10 days.The patients in sequential group received esomeprazole with amoxicillin for five days,and then esomeprazole with clarithromycin and metronidazole for another five days.All patients were given mucosal protective therapy as maintenance treatment after eradication therapy and followed up for 12 weeks.Patients underwent endoscopy examination and Hp testing before and after follow-up.Hp eradication rates were compared with the intention-to-treat (ITT) and per protocol (PP) analysis.Results According to ITT analysis,the eradication rates of Hp in triple therapy group and sequential therapy group were 78.4 ％ (40/51) and 80.0 ％ (40/50) respectively,there was no significant difference between these two groups (x2 =0.038,P=0.846).According to PP analysis,the eradication rates of Hp in triple therapy group and sequential therapy group were 84.4％ (38/45) and 87.0％ (40/46) respectively,there was no significant difference between these two groups either (x2=0.117,P=0.732).Conclusion There was no significant difference in Hp eradication between triple therapy and sequential therapy in patients receiving long-term NSAID treatment.

This study examined the expression pattern of programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) in cochlear hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) and its association with age-related hearing loss in mice. Sixty C57BL/6J (C57) mice at different ages were divided into four groups (3, 6, 9 or 12 months). PDCD5 expression was detected by using immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR and Western blot. Morphological change of the cochleae was also evaluated by using immunoassay. The results showed that the expression of PDCD5 had a gradual increase with ageing in both protein and RNA levels in C57 mice, as well as gradually increased apoptosis of cochlear hair cells and SGNs. In addition, we also found that caspase-3 activity was enhanced and its expression was enhanced with ageing. It is implied that overexpression of PDCD5 causes the increase in caspase-3 activity and the subsequent increase of apoptosis in cochlear hair cells and SGNs, and thereby plays a role in the pathogenesis of presbycusis. Thus, PDCD5 may be a new target site for the treatment and prevention of age-related hearing loss.

AIM:To study the dynamic alteration of low-density lipoprotein receptor ( LDLr) expression after exposure to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in human Tenon's capsule fibroblasts (HTFs).METHODS: HTFs were stimulated with HGF at different concentrations (0, 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160μg/L) for 12, 24, and 48 h.The viability of HTFs was analyzed by MTT assay .The expression of LDLr at mRNA and protein levels were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blot .RESULTS:The expression of LDLr at mRNA and protein levels was positively correlated with the viability of HTFs.HGF promoted the viability of HTFs in a time-and concentration-dependent manner .At the same time , HGF pro-moted the expression of LDLr in the same manner .CONCLUSION:Exposure of HTFs to HGF induces LDLr expression at high level , suggesting that over-expression of LDLr on the HTFs may be a target receptor for controlled drug delivery , par-ticularly in anti-scarring therapy after glaucoma filtration surgery .