BACKGROUND: Having the advantages of safety, non-invasion and no side-effects, functional magnetic stimulation (FMS) has been applied in central nervous system (CNS) neurotransmission, recovery from nervous exhaustion, bone healing, treatment of neural disorders and research of brain function, and so on.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of FMS on voiding dysfunction.DESIGN: In this study, sacral third nerve root (S3) and bladder FMS was applied in treatment on patients with voiding dysfunction.SETTING: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Tongji Hospital,Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technique. PARTICIPANTS: Eight patients with voiding dysfunction in Department of Urinology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technique were recruited from June 2003 to june 2004. Of them, 3 had occult spinal dysraphism in lumbar-sacral vertebra, 4 had frequent micturition and urgency syndrome. All these three patients received long-term comprehensive treatment but had no satisfied effect. One patient had autistic disorder and underwent surgery on Hirschsprung's disease.METHODS: Eight patients with voiding dysfunction underwent S3 nerve root and bladder FMS by MagLite magnetic stimulation system (product of Dantec Company, Denmark), twice a day, five days a week and in a duration of 4-8 weeks. Quality of life (QOL) in patients with voiding dysfunction were assessed before and after treatment using the lower urinary tract syndrome (LUTS) score and QOL score (grade 0-6, lower grade represented higher QOL)as subjective measures (grade 0-5, lower grade represented better therapeutic effect).mean voided volume and the maximum voided volume before and after assessed.RESULTS: All of the 8 patients with a diagnosis of voiding dysfunction in the Department of Urology received FMS treatment and entered the statistition and urgency syndrome were improved significantly, with the urine frequency decreased, the mean voided volume increased and the urgency alleviated. Among them 3 were completely recovered and one has no thera273 and the post-treatment score was 52. Before treatment, the QOL score affected by LUTS and after treatment, the score decreased to 11.CONCLUSION: FMS can partly improve the symptoms of refractory voiding dysfunction and improve the quality of life.

Objective To observe the inhibitory effects of sub-MIC matrine alone and in combination with erythromycin on Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms and their influences on morphological changes of the biofilms.Methods Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of matrine and erythromycin against Staphylococcus epidermidis were determined by the serial dilution method,antibacterial activity of matrine combined with erythromycin against planktonic S.epidermidis was evaluated by the checkerboard method.S.epidermidis biofilms were constructed in vitro,XTT reduction assay was used to evaluate influences of sub-MIC matrine alone and in combination with erythromycin on metabolism and adhesion of S.epidermidis biofilms,and scanning electronic microscope(SEM) was applied to observe the morphological and the structural changes of the biofilms.Results The MIC of erythromycin to S.epidermidis was 7.8125 μg/ml,while the MIC of matrine was greater than 1000 μg/ml,besides,a synergistic effect between erythronmycin and matrine on planktonic S.epidermidis was shown (FIC＜0.5).The sub-MIC matrine had no significant inhibitory effect on adhesion of S.epidermidis,and also the combination of the two agents was better than was used alone.However,the sub-MIC matrine had inhibitory effects on metabolism and morphology of S.epidermidis biofilms,and the combination of the two agents was weaker than was used alone.Conclusion Both the sub-MIC matrine and erythromycin had a significant inhibitory effect on S.epidermidis biofilm formation.Combination of the two agents showed synergistic effects on plankton and adhesion of S.epidermidis,but showed no synergistic effect on metabolism and morphology of the biofilms.

The endoplasmic reticulum is an important organelle for eukaryotic cell protein synthesis, folding and secretion. Perturbation of endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis causes endoplasmic reticulum stress. It has been considered as one of important ways and new strategies to regulate endoplasmic reticulum stress in the treatment of multiple diseases. This paper mainly reviews the advances in the research on traditional Chinese medicines for modulating endoplasmic reticulum stress related to cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, diabetes and other complex diseases in recent years, aiming to provide some clues and references for exploring the characteristics and possible mechanism of traditional Chinese medicines treating related diseases.