OBJECTIVETo explore the analgesic mechanism of small knife needle for treating transverse process syndrome of the third vertebra (TPSTV) by observing peripheral and central changesof β-endorphin (β-EP) and enkephalin (ENK) contents.

METHODSTotally 30 Japanese white big-ear rabbits of clean grade were divided into 5 groups according to random digit table, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the small knife needle group, the electroacupunture (EA) group, and the small knife needle plus EA group, 6 in each group. The TPSTV model was established by inserting a piece of gelatin sponge into the left transverse process of 3rd lumbar vertebrae. Rabbits in the small knife needlegroup were intervened by small knife needle. Those in the EA group were intervened by EA at bilateralWeizhong (BL40). Those in the small knife needle plus EA group were intervened by small knife needleand EA at bilateral Weizhong (BL40). Contents of β-EP and ENK in plasma, muscle, spinal cord, and hypothalamus were determined after sample collection at day 28 after modeling.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, contents of β-EP and ENK in plasma and muscle increased significantly, and contents of β-EP and ENK in spinal cord and hypothalamus decreased significantly in the model group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Contents of β-EP and ENK approximated normal levels in the three treatment groups after respective treatment. Compared with the model group, the content of β-EP in muscle decreased, and contents of β-EP and ENK in hypothalamus increased in the three treatment groups after respective treatment (P < 0.05). There were no significant difference among the three treatment groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSmall knife needle treatment and EA had benign regulation on peripheral and central β-EP and ENK in TPSTV rabbits. Small knife needle treatment showed better effect than that of EA.

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; Enkephalins ; metabolism ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; pathology ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; Needles ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation ; Spinal Cord ; metabolism ; Spinal Diseases ; therapy ; beta-Endorphin ; metabolism

Objective To invesgate the effect of P-glycoprotein(PGP)inhibitor,verapamil,on electrobiological activity and seizure behavior in phenytoin-carbamazepine(PHT-CBZ)resistant rats.Methods The model of medically intractable epilepsy was established by kindling of amygdale. Verapamil was applied to PHT-CBZ resistant rats,followed by the observation on after discharge threshold (ADT),after discharge duration(ADD)and seizure activity.Results Compared with the control group, the ADT was higher in PHT-CBZ resistant rats peritoneally injected with verapamil((238.0?32.2)?A vs (177.0?23.3)?A,P

Objective The aim of this study was to explore the regulatory effects and mechanism of autophagy on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition(EMT) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF). Methods The experiment was divided into two group: control group and experimental group(IPF group, autophagy induction group, autophagy inhibition group). A549 cells were cultivated by the conventional method in control group. The A549 cells of the experimental group were induced by TGF-β1(5 ng/mL). Then, no further treatment was given to IPF group. Rapamycin(10 μg/L) or 3-Methyladenine(10mmol/L) was given to autophagy induction group or autophagy inhibition group respectively. The hydroxyproline content of lung tissue was measured, and the mRNA and protein levels of α-SMA, LC3-Ⅱ or LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ, Beclin1, E-cadherin and Vimentin were tested by Realtime PCR and Western blot. Results At each time point, the hydroxyproline content of lung tissue and the mRNA and protein levels of α-SMA and Vimentin in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group（all P<0.05）. The above detections in autophagy induction group or autophagy inhibition group were significantly lower or higher than those in the IPF group（all P<0.05）. The mRNA and protein levels of LC3-Ⅱor LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ, Beclin1 and E-cadherin in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group（all P<0.05）. Moreover, the same detections in autophagy induction group or autophagy inhibition group were significantly higher or lower than those in the IPF group（all P<0.05）. Conclusion The autophagy and EMT played an important role in IPF. Induction of autophagy might inhibit the development of IPF by inhibiting EMT, and Inhibition of autophagy could promote the development of IPF by activating EMT.

Objective It is not yet clear whether 1,25-(OH)2D3acts on endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS)and autoph-agy in pulmonary fibrosis(PF).This study aimed to investigate the roles of ERS and autophagy in the development and progression of pulmonary fibrosis in rats and the effects of 1,25-(OH)2D3on the expressions of ERS-related molecules and autophagy-related gene 12 (ATG12). Methods Ninety male SD rats were randomly divided into a control, a PF model and a treatment group of equal number.Bleomycin was injected into the tracheas of the latter two groups of rats to induce PF.On the second day after modeling, the rats of the treatment group were injected intraperitoneally with 1,25-(OH)2D3at 2 μg/kg,those of the PF model group with 1,25-(OH)2D3solvent at 200 μL,and those of the control group with iso-tonic saline at 200 μL,all once 2 days.Then the mRNA expressions of PERK,ATF4 and ATG12 were measured by real-time PCR and the protein expressions of PERK and ATF4 detected by immunohistochemistry. Results At 14, 21 and 28 days after treat-ment,the expression levels of PERK were significantly higher in the PF model group(2.30±0.19, 3.59±0.27, and 4.63±0.19) and treatment group(1.44±0.34,1.92±0.17,and 2.52±0.15)than in the control(1.01±0.23,1.05±0.09,and 1.04±0.08)(P<0.05), and so were the expression levels of ATF4 in the PF models(2.10±0.12, 3.91±0.14, and 6.20±0.28)and treated rats (1.49±0.27,2.52±0.42, and 4.02±0.31)than in the controls(1.04±0.07,1.05±0.08,and 1.03±0.10)(P<0.05).Compared with the control group,the PF model and treatment groups showed markedly increased expression levels of ATG 12 mRNA at 14 days (P<0.05), but decreased at 21 and 28 days(P<0.05).Both the expressions of PERK and ATF4 proteins were remarkably higher in the model and treatment groups than in the control at 14,21 and 28 days(P<0.05), increasing in a time-dependent manner. Conclusion By suppressing the PERK -eIF2α-ATF4 signaling pathway,1,25-(OH)2D3inhibits the development and progression of pulmonary fibrosis.

Through summarization and analysis on etiology, pathology and acupoint selection in chapters about acupuncture in Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Febrile Diseases), written by ZHANG Zhong-jing, famous physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty, five features of acupuncture in the book are concluded: to cut off the pathway of pathogenic factors to prevent progress of diseases; to adopt both acupuncture and herbal medicine to give full play to their respective advantages in treatment; to distinguish pathogenesis carefully and select the proper acupoints; to observe the progressing tendency of diseases to give treatment accordingly; and to understand that yang channels are appropriate for acupuncture, while yin channels can also be selected in treatment. In this way, the law of acupuncture of ZHANG Zhong-jing is expected to be better understood.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; China ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine in Literature

OBJECTIVEThe beta-thalassemia major is a common hereditary hematology disease in southern China. The combination of blood transfusion and iron chelation is now the reference treatment. The allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only curative therapy for beta-thalassemia major. In this study the investigators observed and evaluated the effects of umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) for patients with beta-thalassemia major.

METHODSTwelve cases of beta-thalassemia major aged from 1.3 to 8.3 years (8 male and 4 female) received UCBT. Eleven of the twelve donors were siblings and one was unrelative. Eight patients received no antigen and four patients received two antigen disparate grafts. According to the Pesaro's classification for thalassemia, 10 patients were at grade I or II, and 2 were at grade III. The HLA-identical patients accepted the conditioning regimen consisting of busulfan, cyclophosphamide and antithymocyteglobulin. The HLA-mismatched patients accepted the conditioning regimen consisting of hypertransfusions, continuous iv desferrioxamine, hydroxyurea, fludarabine, busulfan, cyclophosphamide and antithymocyteglobulin. The harvest stem cells contained 3.63 - 16.0 x 10(7)/kg of nucleated cells, 0.11 - 1.03 x 10(6)/kg of CD(34)(+) cells and 0.17 - 1.18 x 10(5)/kg of colony-forming-unit-granulocyte macrophages. Cyclosporine alone or in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was given for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) prophylaxis.

RESULTSOf the 12 patients, 10 were engrafted. Ten patients had neutrophil recovery (> 0.5 x 10(9)/L) and seven patients had platelet recovery (> 50 x 10(9)/L). The median time was 18.1 and 57.3 days, respectively. Seven patients had disease-free survival (DFS) at a median follow up of 23 months (range 4 - 63 months). Three patients had rejection and autologous hematopoitic reconstitution. Two patients were not engrafted. One patient acquired severe aplastic anemia, another patient died of severe infection. The incidences of grade I and grade II aGVHD were 60% (6/10) and 40% (4/10), respectively. There were no long-term complications in the disease free survivors.

CONCLUSIONSGrade I-II beta-thalassemia major patients receiving sibling UCBT had high DFS. UCBT is an effective way to treat beta-thalassemia major.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease ; epidemiology ; Hematopoiesis ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; beta-Thalassemia ; mortality ; therapy

There have been several epidemiological studies evaluating the potential association between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) A1298C polymorphism and the risk of male infertility.However,the results obtained were inconsistent.Therefore,we performed a meta-analysis to further examine the association between the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and male infertility.A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all eligible studies from the online literature databases published prior to January 15th,2016.A total of 20 studies with 4293 cases and 4507 controls were included.An odds ratio (OR) and a 95％ confidence interval (95％ CI) were calculated to assess the strength of the association.A cumulative meta-analysis,sensitivity analysis and assessment of the publication bias were also performed in this study.The results showed that in the overall analysis,the association between the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism and male infertility was not significant.A stratified analysis by ethnicity revealed a significant increase in the risk of male infertility in the Asian population with the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism (especially in the heterozygote model:OR=l.20,95％ CI=1.01-1.44,P=0.994;the dominant model:OR=1.23,95％ CI=1.04-1.45,P=0.996;and the allele model:OR=l.20,95％ CI=1.04-1.39,P=0.985) but not in the Caucasian population.In the stratified analyses,no significant association was observed between the different types of male infertility.This meta-analysis suggests the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism may be a potential risk factor for male infertility,especially in the Asian population.

OBJECTIVETo study the analgesia mechanism of needle-knife lysis in spinal cord and other parts of central nervous system by comparing the changes of Leu-Enkephalin (L-ENK) content in different parts of centrium of rats undergone needle-knife lysis and electro-acupuncture respectively.

METHODSSixty healthy SD rats were randomly devided into normal control group, model group, needle-knife lysis (NKL) group and electro-acupuncture (EA) group. 4% papain solution mixed with 0.3 mol/L cysteine solutin in the ratio of 1:1, paused for 0.5 h,injected the mixture, 20 microl each time,into the left knee joint cavities of rats in model, NKL, EA groups at the 1st, 4th, 7th day. After 4 weeks in NKL group and EA group were treated with needle-knife lysis and electro-acupuncture, respectively. Three weeks after treatment, samples of spinal cord of the swollen part of rat waists and rat brains were taken from and the content of L-ENK of medulla oblongata, midbrain, pituitary gland, and hippocampus were measured.

RESULTSL-ENK content of model group increased higher than that of normal control group in spinal cord, hippocampus and midbrain (P < 0.01); there were no significant difference between normal control group and modle group on L-ENK in medulla oblongata and thalamus (P > 0.05). After intervening of NKL or EA, L-ENK content of NKL group increased higher in hippocampus than that of model group and EC group (P < 0.05); but L-ENK content of NKL group in midbrain was lower than that of model group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONNeedle-knife lysis has characteristic of regulation for the L-ENK content in different parts of central nervous system of rats with knee osteoarthritis, and analgesic effect of needle-knife was possibly related with regulation of center L-ENK.

Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Animals ; Central Nervous System ; chemistry ; Electroacupuncture ; Enkephalin, Leucine ; analysis ; Female ; Male ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; metabolism ; therapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo investigate the survival benefit of cytoreductive surgery in gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis.

METHODSClinicopathological data of 151 advanced gastric adenocarcinoma patients with extensive peritoneal metastasis who were identified by surgical exploration between May 2008 and April 2015 in Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases were analyzed retrospectively. Of all the patients, 32 cases were treated by cytoreductive surgery with local radical tumor resection and regional lymph node cleaning, combined with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery (cytoreductive surgery combined with chemotherapy group); 39 caseswere only treated by cytoreductive surgery group(cytoreductive surgery group);23 caseswere treated bysurgical exploration combined with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery(surgical exploration combined with chemotherapy group) and 57 cases were only treated bysurgical exploration (surgical exploration group). The overall survival of four groups were analyzed and compared.

RESULTSAmong the 151 patients, 148 (98.0%) patients were followed up. The median follow up time was 7.2 months (range 1.4-61.2). The median survival of cytoreductive surgery combined with chemotherapy group, cytoreductive surgery group, surgical exploration combined with chemotherapy group and surgical exploration group was 11.9(95% CI: 8.8-15.1) months, 7.1(95% CI: 3.2-11.1) months, 8.2(95% CI:4.6-11.8) and 5.4(95% CI:4.4-6.4) months, respectively(P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSCytoreductive surgery can prolong the survival of gastric adenocarcinoma patients with extensive peritoneal metastasis. Cytoreductive surgery combined with chemotherapy may provide more benefit for patients, and can be used as a choice of treatment in these patients.

Adenocarcinoma ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cytoreduction Surgical Procedures ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Peritoneal Neoplasms ; secondary ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms