BACKGROUND: There has been increasing attention in the study of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (ALS)and bone metabolism, which is accompanied by osteopenia and osteoporosis. Interleukin(IL) -6, a cytokine that strongly promotes bone resorption, participates in the regulation of bone metablism.OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between changes of bone mineral density(BMD) and serum IL-6 content in AIS.DESIGN: A controlled non-randomized concurrent study involving patients with AIS and and healthy volunteers.SETTING: The clinic and wards of the department of spinal surgery of a university-affiliated hospital.PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-six patients with AIS(6 males and 30 females aged 12 to 18 years) were treated in the Department of Spinal Surgery, Drum Tower Hospital, Medical College of Nanjing University from July to October 2003, who had a Cobb angle ranging from 34° - 109° and curvature of the thoracic spine. Thirty-six healthy adolescent volunteers(7 males and 29 females within the range of 13 - 18 years old) served as the control group.METHODS: The BMD was measured at L2- L4 and the proximal femur;(including the femoral neck, greater trochanter and Ward' s triangle) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and serum IL-6 determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① BMD of the lumbar spine and femur ② Comparison of serum IL-6 content of all the subjects.RESULTS: The BMD of AIS patients at L2- L4, femoral neck, greater trochanter and Ward' s triangle was 0.79±0. 12, 0.78±0. 12, 0.65± 0. 10, and 0. 69 ± 0. 13 g/cm2, respectively, all significantly lower than the corresponding measurements of the control group(1.09 ± 0. 11, 0.95 ± 0. 11,0. 78 ± 0. 10, and 0. 88 ± 0. 11 g/cm2, respectively, P ＜ 0. 001), whereas the serum IL-6 content in the patients was significantly higher than that in the control subjects ( P ＜ 0. 005). The changes of BMD at the lumbar spine and the three sites of femur were negatively correlated with serum IL-6 in AIS patients( P ＜ 0. 001 ), but not so in the control group( P ＞ 0.05).CONCLUSION: The BMD is decreased and serum IL-6 elevated in patients with AIS, and excessive secretion of IL-6 might be one of the important factors of osteopenia in AIS.

Dystonia is a common movement disorder characterized by abnormal gestures and involuntary movement as a result of incoordinate contraction of agonistic and antagonistic muscles.The underlying pathogenesis is very complicated and there are various clinical manifestations.The recent findings in genetics and clinical features of primary dystonia,dystonia-plus syndrome and heredodegenerative dystonia are introduced in this paper.

A vernier optometer, based on the Scheiner principle, that makes use of polarized light, is designed and developed. It is specialized in measurement of tonic accommodation, accommodation and accommodation response. The vernier optometer has been proved by chinical testing results, to be a reliable and effective instrument with fine stabilily, good repeatability and sensitivity for short sight study relating to oculogyral parameters.
Accommodation, Ocular ; Adult ; Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological ; instrumentation ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Myopia ; diagnosis ; Optometry ; instrumentation ; Refraction, Ocular ; Reproducibility of Results ; Visual Acuity

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Connexin 43 ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of human lipoxin A4 (LXA4) on N2a cell damage induced by β-amyloid protein 25-35 (Aβ25-35) and the underlying mechanism. Methods: Aβ25-35 was used to treat N2a cells to establish Alzheimer's disease (AD) cell injury model. Meanwhile, LXA4 was added to the experimental group at different concentrations (50, 100 and 200 nmol·L-1 ). MTT assay was used to detect the activity of N2a cells. The apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33258-PI staining, the expression of P62 and TRAF6 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR, and the expression of P62 and TRAF6 protein was detected by Western blot. Results: Compared with that of the model group, the cell survival rate of LXA4 protective group (50,100 and 200 nmol·L-1 ) increased (P <0. 01) and the apoptosis of N2a cells induced by Aβ25-35 was reduced by LXA4 (100 and 200 nmol·L-1 ) . Compared with that of the model group, the expression of P62-mRNA and protein-P62 of N2a cells treated with Aβ25-35 increased (P <0. 05 or P <0. 01) and the expression of TRAF6-mRNA and protein-TRAF6 of N2a cells treated with Aβ25-35 were reduced (P <0. 05 or P <0. 01). Conclusion: LXA4 has protective effect on N2a cell damage induced by Aβ25-35 , and its mechanism may be related to the up-regulation of P62 gene and down-regulation of TRAF6 gene.

Aim To explore the effects of chrysin on endothelial dysfunction induced by acute high glucose.Methods ① The effects of chrysin on normal isolated aortic at contraction induced by PE and on endothelial dysfunction induced by high glucose were tested in the following medium: normal group,chrysin group;normal-glucose group: glucose 11mmol·L-1 in Krebs' solution;high-glucose group: glucose 44 mmol·L-1 in Krebs' solution;mannitol group: mannitol 33 mmol·L-1 in Krebs' solution and chrysin group: 44 mmol·L-1 Glu+chrysin 1.0 μmol·L-1 in Krebs' solution.② The effects of chrysin on HUVEC cell viability after incubated in high glucose were observed in the following groups: normal-glucose group: glucose 5.5 mmol·L-1 in culture solution;high-glucose group: glucose 33.3 mmol·L-1 in culture solution;mannitol group: mannitol 27.8 mmol·L-1 in culture solution and chrysin group: chrysin(25,50 μmol·L-1)in culture solution.And the NO release was also testd in these groups.Results ① Chrysin could induce vaso-dilation in a dose-dependent manner at normal glucose.The Emax was(58.94±9.61)％,and the EC50 value was 51.9 μmol·L-1.After incubating the aortic rings with high glucose(44 mmol·L-1)for 4 h,there were significant differences in ACh-induced vascular relaxation between the normal glucose group and the high glucose group.The Emax was(32.12±3.92)％and the EC50 value was 78.0 μmol·L-1 of high glucose group(P<0.01).The endothelium-independent relaxation induced by SNP was not significantly different between the two groups.And chrysin(1.0 μmol·L-1)could reverse the decline of ACh-induced vasorelaxation response induced by high glucose(44 mmol·L-1).The Emax was(70.7±3.87)％and the EC50 value was 0.852 μmol·L-1.② The cell viability of HUVEC was depressed after incubated in high glucose,and chrysin could reverse the decline in a concentration-dependent way.And chrysin in defferent concentrations could increase the cell NO release.Conclusion Chrysin could prevent the acute high glucose-induced vascular endothelial dysfunction and could increase the NO release.

The peeled stem of Syringa pinnatifolia is a Mongolia folk medicine, mainly distributed in Helan mountain, inner Mongolia and Ningxia provinces of China. It has been used for the treatment of cardiopalmus, angina pectoris, and cardiopulmonary diseases for a long history. Contemporary research revealed the presence of major lignans, sesquitepenes, and essential oils, and showed myocardial ischemia related diseases. This review summarizes the plant origins, taxonomic disputes, phytochemical and pharmacological research progress, hopefully to provide reference for full medicinal utilization, clarification of biological effective substance, and drug development.
Animals ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Mongolian Traditional ; Molecular Structure ; Syringa ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo explore an ideal program for acupuncture treatment of Tourette's syndrome (TS).

METHODSOne hundred and two cases of TS were randomly divided into a treatment group of 68 cases and a control group of 34 cases. The treatment group were treated with acupuncture at Taichong (LR 3) and Hegu (LI 4) as main, and the control group with oral administration of heloperidol. Their therapeutic effects were compared, and changes of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) before and after treatment were investigated in the treatment group.

RESULTSAfter treatment for 3 courses, 56 cases were cured, 10 improved and 2 ineffective with an effective rate of 97.1% in the treatment group; and 15 cases were cured, 11 improved and 8 ineffective with an effective rate of 76.5% in the control group, with a very significant difference in the effective rate between the two groups (P < 0.001); after treatment, the abnormal rate of SEP decreased by 41.1% in the treatment group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture is a very effective therapy for TS and has a certain restoring action on mild abnormal change of SEP.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Tourette Syndrome ; physiopathology ; therapy

Objective To explore the possibility of basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF)and epidermal growth factor(EGF)combined with striatal conditioned medium promoting the directional differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMMSCs)into dopaminergie neurons.Methods 1.Separation and culture of BMMSCs:BMMSCs were harvested from healthy adult Wistar rats for serial subcultivation.2.Preparation of Striatal conditioned medium:newborn Wistar rats within 24 hours were selected,and their brain tissues were removed to prepare striatal conditioned medium.3.Induced differentiation of BMMSCs:the 5th passage BMMSCs were collected and pre-induced in low glucose-Dulbecco's modified eagle medium(L-DMEM)containing bFGF and EGF.Twenty-four hours later,pre-induction liquor was replaced with striatal conditioned medium for further induced differentiation.4.Result assessment:the morphological changes of stem cells were observed under inverted phase microscope.The expression of neuron specific enolage(NSE)and tyrosine hydmxylage(TH)were identified by immunocytochemical technique.Results The cell body of rat BMMSCs contracted into round and spindle shape after induction by bFGF and EGF combined with striatal conditioned medium.Partial neuron-like cells with prominence could be found.Immunocytochemieal detection showed that the percentages of NSE and TH positive cells were(72.70±14.81)% and(34.50±15.93)%,respectively.Conclusion BMMSCs can be induced directionally into dopaminergiC neurons by bFGF and EGF combined with striatal conditioned medium in vitro.

Objective To evaluate the value of 64-slice spiral CT angiography based on pre- contrasted raw data in diagnosing pulmonary arteriovenous fistula.Methods 64-slice spiral CT plain scan and enhanced scan was performed in 16 patients with pulmonary arteriovenous fistula,pulmonary angiography based on pre-contrast and post-contrast raw data was performed respectively,including maximum intensity projection(MIP),shaded-surface display(SSD),and volume rendering(VR).According to the results of angiocardiography and surgical findings,comparson of the three methods was made in the display of PAVF in pre-contrast and post-contrast phase images.Results 8 of the 16 PAVF cases were single lesion,8 cases were multi-lesions.30 PAVF lesions were found in all the patients.MIP,SSD and VR based on pre-contrast raw data displayed PAVF lesions in 20,14,and 22,respectively.The combination of the 3 methods based on pre-contrast raw data could show 26 PAVF lesions.MIP,SSD,and VR based on post-contrast raw data displayed PAVF lesions in 24,18,and 30,respectively.The combination of the 3 methods based on post- contrast raw data could show 30 PAVF lesions.Conclusion 64-slice spiral CT angiography based on pre- contrasted raw data can clearly show the position,number,and shape of PAVF lesions,which is of great value in diagnosing PAVF.