OBJECTIVETo develop a life quality scale suitable for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients, objectively reflecting its changes.

METHODSAuthors first put forward a theoretical structure model of a scale according to patient-reported outcome (PRO) scale formulation principle by combining basic theories of Chinese medicine (CM). Then authors developed an initial scale on the basis of various life quality scales for respiratory disease patients by using structural decision making. Totally 34 patients with confirmed diagnosis of IPF were tested by questionnaire. Items were screened using expert importance scoring method, factor analysis, correlation coefficient method, Cronbach's alpha coefficient method. IPF patient reported outcomes (IPF PRO, IP) were finally defined.

RESULTSA new IP scale was developed covering three areas and 38 items. Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation analysis of clinical symptom scores in ST-George Respiratory Questionnaire and IP scale was 0.828 (P < 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation analysis of activity ability scores was 0.929 (P < 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation analysis of total scores was 0.862 (P < 0.01). By reliability of IP scale itself (reliability) analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.713. By using factor analysis method for data analysis, KMO statistics was 0.902.

CONCLUSIONIP scale fully reflected the connotation of IPF patients' quality of life, so it could be used as CM clinical therapeutic effect evaluation tool.

Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; Metabolic Syndrome ; complications ; physiopathology

Objective To analyse the tongue characteristics of cancer patients during chemotherapy ,in order to guide the TCM treatment. Methods 42 patients' tongue figure was collected respectively before and after chemotherapy by Canon digital camera, then to analyse the characteristics. Results Purple tongue was the most common in tongue color, account for 38.10%;meanwhile the tongue with stasis patch or with toothmark were common in tongue shape, account for respectively 26.19% and 21.43%;white thick or greasy tongue fur was the most common, especially in the central of tongue. Conclusion Deficience of Qi and blood stasis syndrome is common in cancer patients after chemotherapy, it is helpful to provide tasis for treatment of tonifying Qi and activating blood during chemotherapy.

Objective To investigate the effect of the time factor on acupuncture effects by observing the changes of nitric oxide (NO) content at the acupuncture points in different times. Method The experimental study was done on 20 cases of healthy volunteers who provide informed consent. Among 10 cases of acupuncture group, 5 cases were male, 5 cases were female. Among 10 cases of non-acupuncture group, 5 cases were male, 5 cases were female. The age was around 25 to 45 years. Jianshi on Pericardium Meridian of Hand Jueyin and Weizhong on Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang was acupunctured. "Active"/"silent" time of points were projected with Ziwuliuzhu Najia method. Acupuncture was done at the points "active"/"silent" respectively. The changes of NO content at the body points were detected. The difference of acupuncture in different time at the body points was compared. Result NO content in acupuncture group was higher at the "active" than at the "silent", while there was no significant difference at non-acupuncture group. NO content was higher in acupuncture group than that in non-acupuncture group. Conclusion NO content at the points can be increased by acupuncture. Effect of acupuncture at acupoints "active" was more significant than at acupoints "silent". It was proved that the therapeutic effect of acupuncture can be increased by using time acupuncture.

Serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP) , osteocalcin (OC) , C-telopeptides of type-1 collagen (CTx) , osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels, and bone mineral density (BMD) were evaluated in 62 hyperthyroid patients and 60 healthy subjects matched for sex and age. In hyperthyroid patients, the biochemical evaluations and bone density were performed before and after 6 months of methimazole ( MMI) treatment. Results showed that the BMD in lumbar spine L2 - L4, neck of femur, Ward's triangle and greater trochanter of patients before treatment were all significantly lower than those in healthy controls, and improved markedly after MMI treatment. The serum bone turnover parameters BAP, OC and CTx in patients before treatment were all significantly higher than those in control group, and were decreased markedly after treatment. The serum OPG level in patients with hyperthyroidism was significantly higher than that in healthy controls, and decreased markedly after treatment. The serum OPG levels were significantly correlated with bone turnover parameters ( BAP, OC, CTx) and BMD, which indicates that serum OPG level can reflect the abnormality of bone metabolism in patients with hyperthyroidism.

Natural products especially flavonoids are being explored for their therapeutic potentials in reducing bone loss and maintaining bone health. The present study is to investigate the effects of isoquercitrin from Craibiodendron yunnanense with different concentrations at 1 x 10(-4), 1 x 10(-5), 1 x 10(-6), 1 x 10(-7) mol x L(-1) on proliferation, differentiation and mineralization of MC3T3-E1. Cell proliferation was assessed by CCK-8 kit at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days of culture. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were performed qualitatively and quantitatively on day 7, and alizarin red S staining was employed to access the mineralization of cells on day 21. The osteogenic markers ALP, collagen type I (COL 1A1), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx-2) and Osterix were detected to analysis early osteogenic differentiation of cells on day 3 by RT-PCR. The results showed that isoquercitrin had a dose-dependent effect on the proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, mineralization and gene expression of MC3T3-E1 in the range from 1 x 10(-7) to 1 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1). At concentrations above 1 x 10(-4) mol x L(-1) isoquercitrin showed cytotoxicity, while 1 x 10(-6) mol x L(-1) is the optimal concentration of isoquercitrin to improve the osteoblastic activity. All these results implied that isoquercitrin might be the major composition of traditional Chinese medicine C. yunnanense to treat bone fractures.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Cell Line ; Collagen Type I ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Ericaceae ; chemistry ; Mice ; Osteoblasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Osteogenesis ; drug effects ; Quercetin ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology

Objective: To investigate the possible mechanism of neuroprotection produced by taurine supplement on brain in young rats. Methods: In vitro, taurine treatment or co-treatment with sodium selenite that produced significant neuronal apoptosis was used in cultured cortical neurons to examine the neuroprotection effect using MTT assay and DNA fragmentation electrophoresis. In vivo, female weanling Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups, eight rats per group. The treated groups were fed on diets with different contents of taurine respectively, and the control group was fed on taurine unsupplemented diets. The experiment lasted five weeks. Results: Taurine significantly increased neuronal survival in dose-dependent manner. The typical DNA ladder pattern could be prevented by taurine. Taurine could elevate brain wet weight, and significantly increased the level of taurine, protein and AChE in brain. Conclusion: It is proposed that the neuroprotection effect of taurine could be achieved by modulating expression of related genes and blocking neuronal apoptosis.

Objective To explore the surgical manipulation of inferior vena cava(IVC) invaded by retroperitoneal tumors(RPT) in order to raise the resection rate and improve the operative safety. Methods The clinical data of 41 cases undergoing resection of retroperitoneal tumor along with the reconstruction of IVC in our hospital from January 1990 to April 2003 were retrospectively analyzed. ResultsAll the patients were cured by operation. Management of IVC included partial excision and repairement(17 cases), partial IVC resection and right kidney excision(11 cases), partial excision and ligation(10 cases), partial excision and artificial vascular grafting(3 cases). ConclusionBUS, CT, MRI and selective angiography were essential for diagnosis and helpful for treatment. It is not an operative contraindication for RPT cases in which IVC was invaded. Resection and reconstruction of IVC is safe, effective and practical to raise the excision rate and decrease the recurrence rate.

For all the time the book Symptomatic Figures of Lip and Tongue(Chunshe Zhenghou Tu)was described as written by Li Jun of Qing dynasty. We made studies on historical records on Li Jun and the features and contents of this book, and proved that Symptomatic Figures of Lip and Tongue was not written by him, but a Chinese medical book written by Japanese.