Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture in treating malignant pleural effusion (MPE).Method Eighteen MPE patients confirmed by histopathological and/or cytological examinations were treated by acupuncture by selecting Yunmen (LU 2), Qimen (LR 14), Zhangmen (LR 13), Jingmen (GB 25), Guanyuan (CV 4), Zhongji (CV 3), Shuidao (ST 28), and Guilai (ST 29) as the major points. The treatment was given once every other day, 3 times a week, 4 weeks as a treatment course, and the therapeutic efficacy was evaluated 1 course later.Result Of the 18 patients, 6 got complete remission, 9 got partial remission, 2 achieved stable condition, while 1 didn’t respond to the treatment, and the total effective rate was 83.3%. Of the 5 cases with encapsulated pleural effusion, 2 got complete remission and 3 got partial remission, and the total effective rate was 100.0%. The amount of pleural effusion (anteroposterior diameter of the fluid), comprehensive score of symptoms, item scores of the symptoms, and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score were changed significantly after treatment (P<0.01).Conclusion Acupuncture is an effective method in treating MPE of moderate volume, and it can swiftly improve the symptoms and promote the quality of life.

Objective To analyze the curative effects and complications of ventriculo-peritoneal shunt in treating hydrocephalus caused by different diseases in children. Methods The data of 289 children with hydrocephalus who were performed ventriculo-peritoneal shunt were examined and the incidence rate of complications was analyzed. Results Thirty-seven incidences of complications occurred in 24 patients with the total incidence rate of 12.46%.There was obstruction of proximate tube in five cases,distal end in two cases,with the obstruction rate of 2.42%.Postoperative infection happened in nine cases(3.11%).Bacterial culture was positive in three cases,two of which were Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacillus coli in the other one.Negative results were found in six patients for the bacterial culture.Subdural hematoma occured in one case,and tube break after injury in two cases.Slit ventricle syndrome broke out seven times in three cases,leakage of cerebrospinal fluid in two,exposure of pumps in three,and subcutaneous hydrops in two.Four cases(1.38%)were dead from infection. Conclusion Ventriculo-peritoneal shunt is preferred for hydrocephalus in children if the complications are well prevented and controlled.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics and significance of insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF- 1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) expressions in ankle cartilage of patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD).Methods:In this case-control study, 10 KBD patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Orthopedics of Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital from January 2010 to December 2016 were selected as KBD group, and 10 patients with ankle fracture caused by trauma but without talus injury during the same period were selected as control group, the cartilage tissues of the two groups were collected. IGF-1, IGFBP2 positive cells, the mRNA and protein expressions of IGF-1, IGFBP2 in the cartilage tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry, real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR and Western blotting, respectively. According to the expressions of IGF-1 and IGFBP2 in ankle cartilage of KBD patients, a patient with amputation caused by trauma was selected in Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, and ankle joint cartilage was taken to prepare chondrocytes for in vitro cell verification experiments. The chondrocyte were divided into control group (0 ng/ml T-2 toxin), T-2 treatment group (20 ng/ml T-2 toxin) and T-2+ IGFBP2 silenced group (20 ng/ml T-2 toxin+ 50 nmol/L IGFBP2 siRNA), the MTT method and dimethyl methylene blue staining were used to detect the activity of chondrocyte and the secretion of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG). Results:In the control group and the KBD group, the number of IGF-1[(47.26 ± 8.97), (68.15 ± 7.42) cells] and IGFBP2 positive cells [(27.56 ± 5.40), (71.85 ± 7.62) cells] in the cartilage tissues were significantly different ( t = 4.487, 9.402, P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the IGF-1, IGFBP2 mRNA and protein expression levels in KBD group were significantly higher, the differences were significantly different ( t = 3.340, 20.700, 4.684, 8.699, P < 0.05 or < 0.01). In cell experiment, the chondrocyte activitives and sGAG contents of the control group, T-2 treatment group, and T-2+ IGFBP2 silenced group were significantly different ( F = 226.70, 80.66, P < 0.01); among them, the cell activitives and sGAG contents of the T-2 treatment group and T-2+ IGFBP2 silenced group were lower than those of control group ( P < 0.05), and the T-2+ IGFBP2 silenced group were higher than those of the T-2 treatment group ( P < 0.05). Conclusions:The expressions of IGF-1 and IGFBP2 in the ankle cartilage of KBD patients are significantly higher. Silencing IGFBP2 gene can reduce the inhibitory effect of T-2 toxin on chondrocyte activity and the secretion of sGAG.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) on urodynamics indices in rats with overactive bladder (OAB) after cystostomy, and to explore its regulation mechanism on bladder function.

METHODSForty-eight Sprague-Dawley female rats which received cystostomy were randomly divided into a blank group (group A), a blank Sanyinjiao group (group B), a blank non-acupoint group (group C), a model group (group D), a model Sanyinjiao group (group E) and a model non-acupoint group (group F), 8 rats in each one. The model of OAB was established with 1% acetic acid solution perfused into the bladder in the group D, group E and group F. No treatment was given to the group A and group D. Acupuncture was applied at bilateral "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) in the group B and group E, followed by EA after the arrival of qi. Acupuncture was applied at bilateral non-acupoint in the group C and group F, followed by EA with continuous wave, 2 Hz of frequency for 30 min. The treatment was given for continuous 5 urination cycles. The BL-420 E+ biological function experiment system was used to measure and record the changes of indices of bladder pressure and urodynamics.

RESULTSCompared with the group A, the bladder capacity and urine output in the group B were significantly increased (both P<0.05), and the urination rate was increased in the group C (P<0.05); the differences of each index between group C and group B were not statistically significant (all P>0.05). Compared with the group D, the capacity pressure, bladder capacity, detrusor pressure, urinary output and urination rate in the group E were all increased (all P<0.05). Compared with the group F, the capacity pressure and detrusor pressure in the group E were increased (both P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe EA at "Sanyinjiao" (SP 6) could significantly improve urine function in rats with OAB after cystostomy, but its regulation effect on urination is not obvious in rats with non-OAB.

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Cystostomy ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Urinary Bladder ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive ; physiopathology ; surgery ; therapy

Brain Abscess ; surgery ; Epilepsy ; etiology ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence

Good medicinal herbs, good drugs. Good evaluation method and indices are the prerequisite of good medicinal herbs. However, there exist numerous indices for quality evaluation and control in Chinese medicinal materials. However, most of these indices are non-interrelated each other, as well as having little relationship with efficiency and safety. The results of different evaluatior methods may not be consistent, even contradictory. Considering the complex material properties of Chinese medicinal materials, single method and index is difficult to objectively and comprehensively reflect the quality. Therefore, it is essential to explore the integrated evaluation methods. In this paper, oriented by the integrated evaluation strategies for traditional Chinese medicine quality, a new method called integrated quality index (IQI) by the integration of empirical evaluation, chemical evaluation, and biological evaluation was proposed. In addition, a study case of hypertoxic herb Aconitum carmichaelii Debx. was provided to explain this method in detail. The results suggested that in the view of specifications, the average weight of Jiangyou aconite was the greatest, followed by Weishan aconite, Butuo aconite, Hanzhong aconite, and Anxian aconite; from the point of chemical components, Jiangyou aconite had the characteristic with strong efficacy and weak toxicity, next was Hanzhong aconite, Butuo aconite, Weishan aconite, and Anxian aconite; taking toxicity price as the index, Hanzhong aconite and Jiangyou aconite have the lower toxicity, while Butuo aconite, Weishan aconite, and Anxian aconite have the relatively higher one. After the normalization and integration of evaluation results, we calculated the IQI value of Jiangyou aconite, Hanzhong aconite, Butuo aconite, Weishan aconite, and Anxian aconite were 0.842 +/- 0.091, 0.597 +/- 0.047, 0.442 +/- 0.033, 0.454 +/- 0.038, 0.170 +/- 0.021, respectively. The quality of Jiangyou aconite is significantly better than the others (P < 0.05) followed by Hanzhong aconite, which is consistent with the traditional understanding of genuineness. It can be concluded that IQI achieves the integrated control and evaluation for the quality of Chinese medicinal materials, and it is an exploration for building the good medicinal herbs standards. In addition, IQI provides technical supports for the geoherbalism evaluation, selective breeding, the development of precision decoction pieces, high quality and favourable price in market circulation, and rational drug use.
Aconitum ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; standards ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; standards

To provide insights into the mechanism for the attenuate-synergistic effect of Zuota to Tibetan medicine Renqing Mangjue, a contrasted study was carried out on the pharmacokinetics of brucine and strychnine in mice plasm, which are active and toxicant ingredient in the Tibetan medicine Renqing Mangjue. LC-MS/MS was used to detect simultaneously the concentrations of brucine and strychnine in mice plasm at-different time intervals after administration parallelly and randomly, and the pharmacokinetic software Kinetica 5. 0 was selected to non-compartmental analysis (NCA) for data, and statistical analysis software SPSS 19. 0 was used for significance test on the pharmacokinetic parameters. A reliable LC-MS/MS method was established for the determination of brucine and strychnine in blood plasma, which are consistent with the requirements of the preclinical pharmacokinetic study confirmed by the methodology. The linear concentration ranges of brucine and strychnine were 0.301-104.4 µg · L(-1) (r = 0.999 5) and 0.305-106 µg · L(-1) (r = 0.999 7), respectively; The intra-day and inter-day variable coefficients were both less than 10.0% with good precision; The average extraction recoveries of brucine and strychnine were 116.23% and 112.82%, and RSD were 3.2% and 2.3% separately;The average matrix effects of brucine and strychnine were 122.48% and 116.36%, and RSD were 7.7% and 4.4%, respectively. The pharmacokinetic results showed that AUCtot of brucine and strychnine in Zuota group were both increased remarkably (P < 0.05), and the Cmax of brucine in Zuota group was about 5.25-fold higher than that of brucine in non-Zuota group (P < 0.05). The Tmax of brucine and strychnine reduced to one-eighth and one-quarter respectively compared with those in Non-Zuota group. In addition, the eliminations of brucine and strychnine in vivo were accelerated after the compatibility of Zuota. A significant difference (P < 0.05) occurred at the MRT0-t, of brucine, while the MRT0-∞ and Lz of strychnine were statistically significant upon the inspection level α = 0.1. It was found that the absorption degree of brucine and strychnine in Zuota group increased in the range of the safe dose (or concentration), while their elimination rates were accelerated, which may be one of the mechanisms for attenuate-synergistic effect of Zuota to Tibetan medicine Renqing Mangjue.
Animals ; Female ; Male ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Mice ; Strychnine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacokinetics

Aging ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Testis ; drug effects ; metabolism

The stable and controllable quality of decoction pieces is an important factor to ensure the efficacy of clinical medicine. Considering the dilemma that the existing standardization of processing mode cannot effectively eliminate the variability of quality raw ingredients, and ensure the stability between different batches, we first propose a new strategy for Chinese medicine processing technologies that coupled with individuation processed and cybernetics. In order to explain this thinking, an individual study case about different grades aconite is provided. We hope this strategy could better serve for clinical medicine, and promote the inheritance and innovation of Chinese medicine processing skills and theories.
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; standards ; Cybernetics ; standards ; Drug Therapy ; standards ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; standards ; toxicity ; Humans ; Quality Control

Quality control is one of the key scientific tissues in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). In order to overcome the deficiencies of assessment indexes, including little systematization and quantification, as well as loose association with clinical efficacy and dosage, a new integrated method named controllability pyramid ( CP) is first proposed in this paper. In addition, some study cases are used to explain how this model is constructed. We hope the establishment of CP could promote the clinical-orien- ted integrated innovation research of TCM, and provide control strategy and technology examples for improving the quality of Chinese medicines and clinical efficacy.
China ; Drug Evaluation ; methods ; standards ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; standards ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; standards ; Quality Control