To observe the clinical effect of Yisui decoction plus western medicine in treating multiple system atrophy patients, totally 65 patients from China-Japan Friendship hospital during 2008-2012 with complete clinical data and received consecutive traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine treatment for more than 3 months were observed changes of traditional Chinese medicine symptom score, part 1 of unified multiple system atrophy rating scale, orthostatic hypotension before treatment and after 3 months treatment. After 3 months treatment, total effective rate of traditional Chinese medicine symptom was 70.8%. Compared with before treatment, score of part 1 of unified multiple system atrophy rating scale was obviously reduced after 3 month treatment (P < 0.001). Ex- cept swallow function without significant improvement, the remaining projects of unified multiple system atrophy rating scale were im- proved obviously (P < 0.05), of which the most obvious differences were orthostatic symptoms, falls and intestinal function (P < 0.001). Orthostatic hypotension after 1 month treatment and 3 month treatment was obviously better than before treatment (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in orthostatic hypotension between 1 month treatment and 3 month treatment. The research results show that Yisui decoction plus western medicine has a certain effect on improving clinical symptoms of multiple system atrophy patients, especially has a significant effect on orthostatic hypotension, and can maintain a stable clinical effect in a certain period of time.
Adult ; Aged ; Humans ; Hypotension, Orthostatic ; drug therapy ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; adverse effects ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Multiple System Atrophy ; drug therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes of the spinal cord during neck flexion in Hirayama disease for diagnosis.Methods MRI examinations in neutral neck position and a fully flexed neck position were performed on 18 cases of Hirayama disease and 31 young normal control subjects.We measured an antero-posterior diameter(APD)and transverse diameter(TD)of the cervical cord at the superior margin of the C6 vertebral body for each position,and investigate the dynamic changes.The different in frequency of these findings between the control and patient groups was examined by means of the x~2 test.The group means were compared by independent-sample t-test.Significance was defined as P

Objective To propose an evaluation and screening indicator for the reliability of emergency ventilators.Methods Firstly,a regression model was used to clean the data and remove noise to ensure the accuracy of regression analysis.Then,four groups of highly correlated data combinations,including inspiratory tidal volume-minute expiratory volume,peak airway pressure-minute expiratory volume,peak airway pressure-inspiratory tidal volume and positive end-expiratory pressure(PEEP)-mean airway pressure,were determined with the methods of curve fitting and transfer function,and the difference between the theoretical output and the actual output of the data combinations was regarded as an indicator to judge whether the ventilator functioned well or not;finally,the indicator proposed was applied to single and multiple ventilators,and the feasibility of the indicator was determined by the proportion of the ventilators functioning well.Results The evaluation results with a single ventilator showed the four groups of data combinations had the actual output fitted well with the theoretical output,and all the differences between the theoretical output and the actual output were lower than the threshold;the results with multiple ventilators indicated there were 71.49％ventilators functioning well,which was very close to the actual result that 72％ventilators behaved well.Conclusion The evaluation and screening indicator for emergency ventilators has high feasibility,and theoretical support is provided for reliability assessment and selection of series of emergency treatment equipment.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(7):8-16]

OBJECTIVETo investigate Caspase-3 expression and its role in neuronal apoptosis.

METHODSThe T13-L2 spinal cord of rats was injured by traction after the amplitude of P1-N1 wave, monitored by a cortical somatosensory evoked potential (CSEP) monitor, decreased to seventy percent of that before operation. Then rats were killed in 6 h, 1 d, 4 d, 7 d, 14 d and 21 d respectively after operation. Flow cytometer terminal deoxynucleotldyl transferease-mediated biotinylated deoxynuridine triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL), Caspase-3 activity assay and immunohistochemical method were applied to investigate Caspase-3 expression in the spinal cord tissue and to study neuronal apoptosis in rats.

RESULTSAfter spinal cord injury, apoptotic cells detected by flow cytometry and TUNEL-positive cells were significantly more, and positive immunohistochemical staining of Caspase-3 and Caspase-3 activity were significantly higher in Group injury than in Groups control and laminectomy, respectively (P > 0.05, P > 0.01). Similar trend of changes was noticed in apoptotic cells, TUNEL-positive cells and positive immunohistochemical staining of Caspase-3, all of which reached their respective peak 7 days after operation. Caspase-3 activity reached its peak, however, 4 days postoperatively.

CONCLUSIONSIncreased expression and activity of Caspase-3 protein in neurons after tractive spinal cord injury is the biochemical signal of early spinal cell apoptosis. It is of great significance for understanding the mechanism of spinal cord injury.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Caspases ; analysis ; physiology ; Flow Cytometry ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; enzymology ; pathology

In terms of management of Paget's disease of bone (PDB), early diagnosis and proper management achieving remission is essential with lifelong specialist follow-up. We present the case of a 40-year-old woman with PDB affecting mainly the distal extremities (ankle and wrist). The patient visited our hospital in 2012 with heel pain. Plain radiography revealed osteoporosis, and a bone scan revealed hot uptake. Initial laboratory investigations showed normal serum calcium, 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, and parathyroid hormone levels; however, osteocalcin, C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, and bone alkaline phosphatase levels were elevated. A bone mineral density scan showed T- and Z-scores of −2.5 and −2.7, respectively, and bisphosphonate treatment was initiated. Biopsy performed on the calcaneal lateral wall revealed inconclusive findings. Follow-up biopsy on the left distal radius was performed 7 years later to investigate wrist pain, and this examination led to a final diagnosis as PDB. We suggest inconclusive biopsy result during the early phase of PDB and highly recommend follow-up evaluation in osteoporosis with atypical behavior.

Objective To improve first aid and mutual aid skills and quality of life in the elderly through the comprehensive community interventions and provide the theoretical basis for the establishment of the standardized education system and effectiveness evaluation study of first aid knowledge and skills in the elderly in community.Methods On the principle of convenience sampling,180 elderly people from 4 communities of Yuhang District in Hangzhou were selected,and all of them were investigated with the first aid knowledge questionnaire and self-efficacy scale for the elderly in community on the levels of first aid knowledge and selfefficacy.All participants received six-month community-based comprehensive interventions,and the levels of first aid knowledge and self-efficacy were compared between before the intervention,and 3 and 6 months after the intervention.In addition,the emergency situation and implementation effects of community-based comprehensive interventions within six-month interventions were investigated with the first-aid skills training followed up questionnaire.Results A total of 184 questionnaires were distributed and 184 valid questionnaires were returned,resulting in a response rate of 100％,and four elderly people were lost to follow up,180 valid questionnaires were finally obtained.Before the intervention,there were 77.8％ in 180 elderly people in the community who had not previously received training in first aid knowledge and skills,and 87.2％ elderly people who could not perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).Six months after the intervention,the score of first aid knowledge of the elderly in community increased from (48.06 ± 16.17) to (82.50 ± 15.28),the score of self-efficacy increased from (24.07 ± 6.62) to (30.86 ± 5.21),and there were significant differences between before and after the intervention (F =303.475,264.404,respectively; P ＜ 0.05).The scores of first aid knowledge and self-efficacy in each dimension in the elderly,who had different gender,age,educational level,living style,previous history of occupation and chronic diseases,increased when the intervention time was prolonged.Conclusions The first aid baseline survey finds that the level of first aid knowledge in community elderly is still far from satisfactory.The application of community-based comprehensive interventions can strengthen the first aid knowledge and improve the level of self-efficacy in the elderly.

Objective To investigate the effects of blue light on the thickness of corneal epithelium and full-thickness of the cornea in mice by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).Methods Totally 40 mice were collected and randomly divided into experimental group and control group,with 20 mice in each group,and the experimental mice were raised in the blue light environment from 8 to 16 hours per day,while the controls were reared in normal environment.Then the thickness of corneal epithelium and full-thickness of the cornea in both groups were measured by OCTA before irradiation and one week,two weeks,one month,two months and three months after irradiation,respectively.Results Compared with pre-irradiation,the thickness of corneal epithelium of all regions did not change significantly in both groups at 1 week,2 weeks,and 1 month after irradiation,and the differences were not statistically significant (all P ＞ 0.05).Compared with before irradiation,the corneal epithelium thickness of the control group at 2 months and 3 months after irradiation did not change significantly,and there was no significant difference (both P ＞ 0.05).Compared with the control group,the corneal epithelium at central,nasal 5 mm,inferior 5 mm,and temporal 5 mm regions in the experimental group were significantly thickened,and the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜0.05).Three months after irradiation,compared with the control group,the thickness of corneal epithelium in the central and inner regions of the cornea and nasal 6 mm and temporal 6 mm regions of the experimental group were significantly thickened,and the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant change in the corneal full thickness between the experimental group and the control group before irradiation and 1 week,2 weeks,1 month,2 months,and 3 months after irradiation,and the differences were not statistically significant (all P ＞ 0.05).Furthermore,the difference in the extremum value of corneal epithelial thickness,namely the maximum and the minimum,was significantly different in both groups (P ＜ 0.05),but the difference in the extremum value of the full-thickness of the cornea was not significant in the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion The blue light can change the thickness of corneal epithelium in mice,and the change of the central region is obvious,but the full-thickness of the cornea do not significantly change in a short term.

OBJECTIVESTo study the different expression of miRNA between pediatric and adult types of brainstem gliomas, and to provide the target miRNAs for explore the mechanism and miRNA interference of the malignant progression of pediatric BSG.

METHODSmiRNA expression profiles in orthotopic models which could simulate the BSG heterogeneity were examined by microarray and analyzed to obtain the aberrantly expressed miRNAs. The two types of human BSG tissue were utilized to verify the microarray data by qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization for the putative causative miRNAs.

RESULTSThere were 216 miRNAs detected in both the pediatric BSG group and the adult BSG group, 39 miRNAs to be differential expressed in the pediatric BSG group versus adult group, including 10 up-regulated and 29 down-regulated. qRT-PCR and in situ hybridization indicated good consistency with that of the microarray method.

CONCLUSIONSAberrantly expressed miRNA may serve as putative causative involvement of malignant progression of pediatric BSG, thereby might be potentially novel targets for therapy.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Animals ; Brain Stem ; Brain Stem Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Child ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Glioma ; metabolism ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Rats

OBJECTIVEUsing infant and child feeding index (ICFI) to evaluate the relationship between infant feeding and physical development indicators in rural areas of Lhasa.

METHODSIn July and August 2010 in the rural areas of Lhasa, the multi-stage cluster random sampling method was adopted to select 540 Tibetan children who were between 6 to 35 months of age. There were 70, 79 and 391 cases in 6 to 8, 9 to 11 and 12 to 35-month-old group respectively. The basic status of infants, information about breastfeeding and complementary feeding were collected by using designed questionnaires. Their height and weight were measured to calculate the children's weight for age Z-score (WAZ), height for age Z-score (HAZ) and weight for height Z-score (WHZ) and assess feeding index score (out of 17 scores) and analyze the relationship between feeding index and HAZ, WAZ and WHZ.

RESULTSThe mean ICFI score of 540 cases was 8.90 ± 2.82.It was 6.84 ± 3.16, 8.16 ± 2.78 and 9.41 ± 2.55 for 6 to 8, 9 to 11 and 12 to 35-month-old infants respectively. There was significant difference between the different month group (F = 30.99, P < 0.05).For the three month groups, the scores of WAZ were 0.10 ± 1.18, -0.09 ± 1.20 and -0.38 ± 0.96; HAZ were -0.60 ± 1.68, -1.02 ± 1.72 and -1.30 ± 1.30; WHZ were 0.62 ± 1.23, 0.69 ± 0.96 and 0.43 ± 0.95 respectively. The ICFI scores of 9 to 11, 12 to 35 and 6 to 35-month-old infants were positively correlated with HAZ (correlation coefficients were 0.25,0.12 and 0.09 respectively, all P values <0.05). There was no correlation with WAZ (correlation coefficients were 0.15,0.08 and 0.03 respectively, all P values >0.05) and WHZ (correlation coefficients were -0.08, -0.02, and -0.07 respectively, all P values >0.05). There were no correlation between ICFI score with HAZ, WAZ and WHZ for 6 to 8 month-old infants (correlation coefficient were 0.06,0.16 and -0.07 respectively, all P values >0.05).

CONCLUSIONTo some extent, the feeding index can effectively reflect the growth status of these infants and can serve as a comprehensive assessment of feeding situations among Tibetan children in rural areas of Lhasa.

Breast Feeding ; Child Development ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Food ; Male ; Nutritional Status ; Rural Population ; Somatotypes

OBJECTIVETo understand the growth and malnutrition status of Tibetan children aged 0 to 35 months in rural Lhasa in 2010.

METHODSCross-sectional study and multistage sampling design were used to randomly select sampling units. A total of 640 children were studied. Height and weight were measured and nutritional status was evaluated with WHO reference in 2006 using Z-scores. Z-scores of weight-for-age (WAZ), Z-scores of height-for-age (HAZ) and Z-scores of weight-for-height (WHZ) were analyzed.

RESULTSAt the age of 18 - 35 months, the children in rural Lhasa were 3.0 cm shorter as compared to the China national length reference. At the age of 6 - 11, 12 - 17 months, weight ((8.84 ± 1.23) and (10.20 ± 1.08) kg) and length ((70.45 ± 4.46) and (76.73 ± 4.78) cm) of boys were significantly higher than girls (weight: (8.42 ± 1.30) and (9.59 ± 1.26) kg; length: (67.61 ± 3.98) and (74.25 ± 4.50) cm) (all P values < 0.05). WAZ and HAZ were -0.17 ± 1.11 and -1.11 ± 1.46, respectively. The HAZ of 18 - 23 months children (-1.51 ± 1.24) was significantly different from the HAZ of 0 - 5, 6 - 11, 12 - 17 months children (HAZ: -0.75 ± 1.50, -0.83 ± 1.72, -1.07 ± 1.55, respectively) (all P values < 0.05), comparison with the HAZ of 24 - 29, 30 - 35 months children (HAZ: -1.41 ± 1.25, -1.24 ± 1.05), the results showed that there were no significant difference (all P values > 0.05), HAZ of 18 - 23 months children was the lowest. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting were 24.6% (155/630), 5.4% (33/616) and 1.0% (6/608), respectively. The malnutrition of boys was more serious than that of girls, the stunting of 18 - 23 and 24 - 29 months children had reached 35.0% (36/103) and 29.1% (25/86), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe growth and development status of children in rural Lhasa under 3 years old was poor, and the malnutrition of local children should not be ignored with variations by gender and months of age.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Growth Disorders ; epidemiology ; ethnology ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Malnutrition ; epidemiology ; ethnology ; Nutritional Status ; Rural Population