Objective To observe effects of four extracts (water, n-butanol, acetoacetate and petro-leum benzine extracts) from Hippocampus japonicus on kidney-yang deficiency mice induced by extradiol, and reveal the modern scientific connotation about sweet-flavor, warm-nature, meridian tropism in liver and kidney. Methods Kidney-yang deficiency mice was induced by intraperitoneal injection of estradiol benzoate. Effects of four extracts from H. japonicus were observed by measuring physical signs, rectal temperature, grip strength, swimming time, autonomic mobility, creatinine (Cr) and urea (UR) level in serum, haematological indexes, testis index and seminal vesicle index. Results All the four extracts from H. japonicus could markedly improve physical signs and increase seminal vesicle index, RBC, Hb and PLT in blood, and decrease UR level in serum of kidney-yang deficiency mice, water extract and petoleum benzine extract could increase rectal temperature, grip strength, swimming time, autonomic mobility, testis index, WBC, lymphocyte (LY), monocyte (MO), and neutrophilic granulocyte (NE), n-butanol extract could increase autonomic mobility and NE, acetoacetate extract could enhance grip strength and prolong swimming time. Conclusion All above effects of extracts from H. japonicus could be as the basic of improving kidney-yang deficiency, could be an important part of the modern scientific connotation about sweet-flavor, warm-nature, meridian tropism in liver and kidney. Effects of water extract and petroleum ether extract were closer and stronger, which offer enlightenment for searching the common effective substance groups of H. japoniacs.

Objective To compare the long term effectiveness of tonsillotomy(TT)vs. tonsillectomy (TE)by hypercator in treatment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS)in children. Methods 119 children with tonsil hypertrophy were diagnosed with OSAHS and included in the study. Among them,57 children underwent TT by hypercator and 62 TE only after preoperative laboratory polysomnography(PSG). All participants were interviewed 5 years after operation to assess the satisfaction of their caregivers,investigate the frequency of respiratory infections,the rate of tonsil regrowth and evaluate their quality of life by Obstructive Sleep Apnea-18(OSA-18). Results Some of them received postoperative PSG. All parents reported alleviation of breathing obstruction,but the postoperative satisfaction in TT group was higher than TE group mainly because of the shorter time return to normal diet. The rate of the respiratory tract infections was not increased in all cases after surgery. Four cases of children were observed with tonsillar regrowth,but no surgery was needed for further treatment. The rate of the dry throat symptoms in TT group was lower than TE group. Conclusions Tonsillotomy by hypercator can effectively eliminate the obstruction symptoms in children with OSAHS,superior to TE for its shorter recovery period and smaller oral mucosal injury and lower rate of tonsils regrowth and it is worth to clinical promotion.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of cortactin antibody in myasthenia gravis (MG).Methods Cortactin antibody in the serum of 100 MG patients, 40 normal controls and 40 other neuroimmune diseases patients was examined by Western blotting and ELISA using purified recombinant human protein cortactin as antigen .Acetylcholine receptor antibody ( AchR-ab ) and muscle specific kinase antibody (MuSK-ab) were parallely measured by ELISA.Results Antibodies to cortactin were found in nine (9％) serum samples of 100 MG patients.Four of the nine cortactin antibody positive sera were also positive for AChR-ab.The rest five MG patients only had antibodies against cortactin ( no detectable AChR-ab or MuSK-ab).None of the control subjects (including 40 normal controls and 40 other neuroimmune diseases patients ) had cortactin antibodies.Most (7/9) of the cortactin antibody positive MG patients presented with early-onset subgroup.Patients only with cortactin antibodies did not appear to have thymoma.Patients with MG who had both AChR and cortactin antibodies showed maximum involvement of muscles and severe Osserman's classification ( three cases of type ⅡB and one case of type Ⅳ) . Conclusion Cortactin antibody may be a new antibody for MG , which can provide clues for further exploring the potential pathogenic mechanisms of the disease .

ObjectiveTo examine the clinical features of fractures and related risk factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA) in China.MethodsSix hundred and eighty-one RA patients were randomly selected from department of rheumatology of 18 hospitals of China.Data were obtained from the questionnaire,including age,sex,disease duration,the involvement of joints,treatment regimen,features of fractures etc.The possible risk factors of fracture in patients with RA were analyzed with a multi-variate Logistic regression analysis.Results① In 681 RA patients of the survey,48 patients had 54 fractures,and the incidence of fractures was about 8％.② Fractures occurred at various sites.Foot/ankle,femur,spine and wrist were the mostfrequent sites.③ The Logistic regression analysis showed that several factors increased the risk of fracture in RA patients,including long disease duration (OR:1.245,95％CI:0.987-1.570,P=0.065),male gender(OR:0.433,95％CI:0.199-0.942,P=0.035),more deformed joints(OR:1.042,95％CI:1.006-1.079,P=0.023),family history of RA (OR:2.201,95％CI:0.984-4.923,P=0.055),and high scores of SF-36(OR:1.017,95％CI:1.002-1.033,P=0.028).④ According to the degree of correlation from strong to weak,the risk factors of fracture were disease duration,SF-36,sex,number of deformed joints and family history of rheumatoid arthritis.ConclusionThe incidence of fracture is high in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Several factors could increase the risk of fractures in RA patients,including long disease duration,male gender,more deformed joints,and family history of RA.In order to prevent the occurrence of fractures,cautions should be taken to prevent the development of fractures and treat the disease aggressively to suppress the disease activity of RA.

Objective To describe the distribution of medication costs of rheumatoid arthritis patients, and to analyze the factors that may affect the costs. Methods Data were obtained from a 12-month retrospective investigation of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) across China. Department of Rheuma-tology of 18 hospitals were randomly selected. The data about their social conditions, clinical conditions, medications associated with RA such as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), non -steroidal anti -inflammtory drugs (NSAIDs), steroids, biologic agents were collected, and the costs of drugs were calculated. A non-parameter test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed. Results Six hundred and forty six patients were enrolled into the study, 435 completed data were chosen for analysis. The results demonstrated that the average costs per patient for medications in the past year was 8018 . The total medication costs were further subdivided into the following parts: DMARDs, (represented 20% of the total costs), biologic drugs (49%), NSAIDs (4%), herbal drugs (22%), steroids (1%). Data analysis showed that patients with higher education and higher incomes, with medical insurance,better health function status and outpatients paid more on DMARDs. Extra-articular manifestations increased the odds of the high-cost group (OR: 2.180, 95%CI: 1.335～3.558, P=0.002), while poor health function status increased the probability of paying high costs (OR: 1.373, 95%CI: 1.012～1.863, P=0.041). Conclusion High medication costs in RA do exist in RA patients. The costs of medication is associated with health function status and the presence of extra-articular manifestations.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Yunkang oral liquid on postpartum kidney deficiency in mice. MethodPostpartum mice were randomized into model and low-dose （6 mL·kg^-1）， medium-dose （9 mL·kg^-1）， and high-dose （12 mL·kg^-1） Yunkang oral liquid groups. The mouse model of postpartum kidney deficiency was established by sleep deprivation combined with forced swimming. Another 9 female ICR mice were selected as the normal control group. The mice were administrated with Yunkang oral liquid during the period of modeling. The levels of estradiol （E₂）， progesterone （P）， follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， and luteinizing hormone （LH） in the serum were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The morphological changes of ovaries and uterus were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and the expression of transforming growth factor （TGF）-β and Smad2/3 was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. ResultThe mice in the model group showed prolonged estrous cycle， reduced voluntary activity， dorsal temperature， grip strength， and bone strength， and whitening tongue coating. Compared with the model group， Yunkang oral liquid shortened the estrous cycle， increased the voluntary activity， dorsal temperature， grip strength， and bone strength， and alleviated the whitening of tongue coating. Moreover， it elevated the E₂ and P levels and lowered the FSH and LH levels in the serum， decreased ovarian follicular atresia rate， promoted uterine repair， and down-regulated the expression of TGF-β and Smad2/3 in the ovarian and uterine tissues. ConclusionYunkang oral liquid can ameliorate postpartum kidney deficiency in mice by regulating the TGF-β/Smads signaling pathway.