Altitude ; Altitude Sickness ; prevention & control ; Health Services Administration ; Humans

Objective To study the chemical constituents of the inflorescence of Echinops latifolius as a Mongolia herbal medicine. Methods The compounds were and purified by column chromatography on silica gel, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods, including MS and NMR. Results Fourteen compounds were isolatied from the inflorescence of E. latifolius Tausch, and identified as ψ-taraxasteryl acetate (1), apigenin (2), daucosterol (3), 13-propyl-pentacosane (4), apigenin 7-O-(4″-O-p-coumaroyl)-β-glucoside (5), apigenin-7-O-glucoside (6), caffeic acid (7), 1,5-O-dicaffeoylquinic acid (8), 3,5-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid (9), methyl 3,4-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid (10), methyl 3,5-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid (11), apigenin 7-O-β-D-(4″-p-coumaroyl) glucoside (12), 3,4-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid (13), and methyl-1-O-methyl 3,5-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid (14). Conclusion Compounds 1, 4, 5, and 12 are isolated from this plant for the first time. Compound 7-11, 13, and 14 are isolated from the genus Echinops for the first time.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of fluoxetine (FLX) on the expressions of BDNF and Bcl-2 in the hippocampus, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex of conditioned fear (CF) model mice. Forty eight mice were randomly divided into three groups, normal control group, CF stress group and FLX-pretreated CF group. The FLX-pretreated CF group was given FLX (10 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) for 7 days before CF stress. After CF stress model was established, all mice were given behavioral experiments to test whether FLX impaired or improved the auditory and contextual fear conditioning. Then mice were sacrificed. The expressions of BDNF and Bcl-2 were detected by Western blotting. The results showed that the freezing time of FLX-pretreated CF group was significantly lower than that of CF group; FLX pretreatment up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2 in the hippocampus at 1 d after CF stress (P < 0.001), but no significant differences was observed at 7 d; BDNF significantly increased in the hippocampus at 7 d (P < 0.001), but no differences at 1 d; the expressions of BDNF and Bcl-2 in the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex were of no obvious differences between CF group and FLX-pretreated CF group at 1 d or 7 d after CF stress. Parallel to these changes, pretreatment with FLX could affect histopathologic changes induced by CF stress. Furthermore, the results indicated that FLX pretreatment could protect against CF stress-induced neurological damage via the activation of BDNF and Bcl-2 in hippocampus.
Amygdala ; metabolism ; Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; metabolism ; Fear ; drug effects ; Fluoxetine ; pharmacology ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Prefrontal Cortex ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Stress, Psychological ; metabolism

Objective To study the clinical features and surgical strategies of thoracic spinal stenosis caused by ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament(OPLL).Methods From January 2004 to March 2009,21 cases of thoracic spinal stenosis casued by OPLL,including 13 males and 8 females,received surgical treatments.Those cases aged from 34 to 71 years,with an average of 51.2 years old.The courses of disease were from 2 to 50 months,averaged 11 months.The lesions located in upper thoracic(T1-T4)for 4 cases,in middle thoracic(T5-T8)for 7 cases,in lower thoracic(T9-T12)for 10 cases.Nine cases were associated with ossification of ligamentum flavum(OLF),and 8 cases combined with cervical OPLL.Eleven cases received laminectomy and 10 cases received anterolateral decompression.Results The operation time was 90 to 240 min for posterior laminectomy with an average of 140 min,and 110 to 360 min for anterolateral decompression with an average of 240 min.All cases had no worse postoperative symptoms,neurological complications,subarachnoid cavity or wound infection.Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA)score was 8 to 15 with an average of 9.17±1.63 in 6 months after surgery.Nerve function improvement was excellent for 8 cases,good for 6 cases,fair for 5 cases and poor for 2 cases.The excellent and good rate was 66.7%.JOA score was 8-15,averaged 10.23±1.64,in 12 months after surgery.Nerve function improvement was excellent for 8 cases,good for 7 cases,fair for 4 cases,and poor for 2 cases.The excellent and good rate was 71.4%.Conclusion Thoracic spinal stenosis result from OPLL,which often combine with cervical OPLL and OLF,often show multiple manifestations.Posterior laminectomy and anterolateral decompression are suitable for those conditions.

Objective To explore the surgical strategies of thoracic spinal stenosis with dural ossification. Methods One-hundred and eight patients with thoracic spinal stenosis were treated. Dural ossification was found in 29 cases during operation from January 2004 to June 2008. There were 19 males and 10females, with an average age of 56.4 years (42-74 years). The course of disease was 13 months (2-48months). The lesion was located in T1-T4 in 4 cases, T5-T8 in 5 cases, and T9-T12 in 20 cases. All the patients were treated by posterior lamina resection. Both ossificated dural and ossificated yellow ligament were resected in 16 patients. Decompression was performed with partial ossification remaining on dural surface in 13 cases. JOA score was used to evaluate the outcomes 1, 3 and 12 months after operation. Results The average operation time was 140 min, and average bleeding was 300 ml. Dural incisions were repaired with a wound drainage in 11 cases. Seven cases appeared cerebrospinal fluid leakage which healed in 3-5 days.Dural incisions were not repaired without wound drainage in 5 cases. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage occurred in these cases healed in 5-7 days. Thirteen cases treated with floating method did not appear cerebrospinal fluid leakage. All patients did not undergo subarachnoid infection and the aggravation of original nervous system symptoms. According to JOA score, all patients were evaluated as excellent in 22 cases, good in 5 and fair in 2 cases, and excellent and good rate was 93%. Conclusion For thoracic spinal stenosis with dural ossification, resection of both ossificated dural and ossificated yellow ligament and complete decompression with partial ossification remaining on dural surface is safe and reliable. Dural ossification does not influence the prognosis, but increase operative difficulty and risk.

The development of laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME) has been promoting the better understanding of the anatomy in pre-rectal space for surgeons.If the dissection in pre-rectal space was inappropriate and entered into wrong anatomic planes,it would be easier to cause the proper fascia of rectum incomplete and damage the neurovascular bundies,and reduce the radical surgery outcome and induce urinary and sexual dysfunction,finally,affect the prognosis in patients.For surgical approach in pre-rectal space,the author proposed:Based on the related literatures,transecting the Denonvilliers' fascia (DVF) when it's definitely thickened after cutting the peritoneum 0.5 cm anterior to peri-toneal reflection,entering and dissecting in the space between DVF and the proper fascia of rectum,and forming a typical Three-line feature,including the cutting line of peritoneal reflection,the proximal and distal cutting lines of DVF,which can serve as the mark line and mark plane of the entrance to pre-rectal space.Not only this approach can keep the proper completeness of rectal fascia,but also it maximally reserves the DVF.Here,this article discussed the embryonic origins and anatomic characters of DVF,the structures of neurovascular bundles,dissection in the pre-rectal space,surgical approach and clinical outcomes between DVF and laparoscopic TME.

OBJECTIVETo observe effects of acupuncture combined with medication on reproductive endocrines in the patient of partial androgen deficiency of aging men (PADAM).

METHODSSixty cases conforming to diagnostic criteria of PADAM were randomly divided into 3 groups, an observation group treated by acupuncture combined with medication, a control group I by simple acupuncture and a control group II by oral administration of Bushen Capsules, 20 cases in each group. Serum levels of testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) before and after treatment were determined with radioimmunoassay.

RESULTSAfter treatment, the serum levels of T in the 3 groups increased significantly, with more significantly increased in the observation group (P < 0.01); after treatment, the serum levels of LH in both the observation group and the control group I decreased significantly (P < 0.05), but in the control group II did not significantly change (P > 0.05); after treatment, FSH content in the observation group significantly increased (P < 0.05), but in the control group I and the control group II did not significantly change (P > 0.05); after treatment, the symptoms and signs in the 3 groups significantly improved and PADAM indexes decreased significantly (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture combined with medication has a better therapeutic effect on PADAM, and it can regulate secretion of hormones in the hypothalamus-pituitary-testicle axis and can increase blood T level, improve physical ability, vascular function, sexual function and quality of life in the patient of PADAM.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Aging ; blood ; Androgens ; deficiency ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Testosterone ; blood

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (LIHR) in elderly patients.Methods The retrospective cohort study was adopted.The clinical data of 3 203 patients with inguinal hernias (3 847 sides) who were adnitted to the Ruijin Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine between January 2001 and December 2013 were collected.Of 3 203 patients,979 (1 107 sides) with age ＜ 60 years and 2 224 (2 740 sides) with age ≥ 60 years were respectively allocated into the under 60 years group and 60 years or older group.The surgical procedures including transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approach,total extraperitoneal (TEP) approach and intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) approach were selected and performed by doctors in the same team.There were light-weight and heavy-weight patches.Observation indicators included (1) overall operation situations,(2) surgical comparison between the 2 groups,(3)comparison of postoperative indicators between the 2 groups,(4) follow-up.Follow-up using telephone interview and outpatient examination was performed to detect the recovery time of non-restricted activity,recurrence of hernia and complications.Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as ~ ± s and comparison between groups was done by the t test.Comparisons of count data were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability.Ranked data were compared by the nonparametric rank sum test.Results (1) Overall operation situations:3 203 patients with inguinal hernias (3 847 sides) underwent LIHR,including 1 475 (1 677 sides) using TAPP approach,1 718 (2 154 sides) using TEP approach and 10 (16 sides) using IPOM approach (6 using TAPP and IOPM approaches in each side).The light-weight patch was used in 2 206 sides and heavy-weight patch was used in 1 641 sides.Operation time was (31 ± 12) minutes in all 3 203 patients,(27 ±9)minutes in 2 559 patients with unilateral hernia and (44 ± 12)minutes in 644 patients with bilateral hernia,respectively.Duration of postoperative hospital stay was (1.5 ± 1.2) days.(2) Surgical comparison between the 2 groups:TAPP approach,TEP approach,IPOM approach,light-weight patch and heavy-weight patch were performed to 567,538,2,751,356 sides in the under 60 years group and 1 110,1 616,14,1 455,1 285 sides in the 60 years or older group,respectively,with statistically significant differences in above indicators between the 2 groups (X2 =37.976,70.022,P ＜ 0.05).Operation time in unilateral hernia and bilateral hernia and total operation time were (27 ± 9)minutes,(42 ± 10)minutes,(29 ± 10)minutes in the under 60 years group and (27 ± 10)minutes,(44 ± 12)minutes,(3 1 ± 13)minutes in the 60 years or older group,respectively,with no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (t =-0.106,-1.768,-4.445,P ＞ 0.05).(3) Comparison of postoperative indicators between the 2 groups:the pain score at postoperative day 1 and duration of postoperative hospital stay were 2.4 ± 1.1,(1.5 ± 1.1) days in the under 60 years group and 2.3 ± 1.0,(1.5 ± 1.3) days in the 60 years or older group,respectively,with no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (t =1.419,-0.126,P ＞0.05).(4) Follow-up:all the patients were followed up for 23-60 months,with a median time of 43 months.Cases with non-restricted activity recovery at postoperative week 2 and 4 were 973,978 in the under 60 years group and 2 208,2 222 in the 60 years or older group,respectively,showing no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (X2=0.113,P ＞0.05).The recurrence of hernia,severe complications,serum tumescence,paresthesia and enteroparalysis were detected in 1,0,49,5,1 sides in the under 60 years group and 11,3,132,16,2 sides in the 60 years or older group,respectively,with no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (x2=1.556,0.269,0.254,P ＞ 0.05).The urinary retention in the under 60 years group and 60 years or older group was respectively detected in 6 and 44 sides,showing a statistically significant difference between 2 groups (x2=6.956,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion LIHR is safe and effective in elderly patients,and it can achieve good clinical efficacy under selecting reasonable operation procedures and patches.

Methods The clinical data of 4445 cases (5 530 hernias) who underwent LIHR at Ruijin Hospital from Jan 2001 to Dec 2015 were analyzed retrospectively.2 125 cases underwent 2 402 trans-abdominal preperitoneal procedure(TAPP),2 306 cases did 2 907 totally extraperitoneal (TEP),and 21 IPOMs in 20 cases.There were 3 216 indirect hernias (60.3％),1 164 direct hernias (21.8％),399 recurrent hernias (7.5％),479 complex hernias (9.0％),and 72 femoral hernias (1.4％).The median time of follow-up is 51 months with a range between 7 and 187 months.Results The average operation time was 27.1 ± 8.7 min for unilateral hernia repair,and 43.0 ± 11.0 min for bilateral hernia repair.The average hospital stay was 1.4 ± 1.1 d.There were 250 seroma (4.7％),68 urinary retention (1.3％),23 transient neuropraxia (0.4％) and 3 paralytic obstruction of intestines (0.1％).Severe complications included 1 port site hernia,1 intestinal injury,and 1 mechanical intestinal obstruction.After a medium follow-up of 51 months,there were 13 recurrent cases (0.24％),including 5 cases after TAPP,7 after TEP,1 after IPOM.Conclusion LIHR is a safe and efficient technique for hernia repair.

39℃)developed at the progressive stage of this disease.Physical examination showed variously sized,round or oval,atrophic and variola-like scars along with scattered erythematous patches,papules, necrosis and crusts on the face and extremities.The face was edematous,and there were some edematous and erythematous plaques with a necrotic center on the legs and arms.Histological examination revealed a massive infiltration with atypical CD8~+lymphocytes around the vessels and appendages in dermis.A diagnosis of CD8~+cutaneous T-cell lymphoma(CTCL)was made.Glucocorticoid and immunosuppressants were effective in controlling the condition.Up to the time of the writing,there has not been any definite evidence of systemic involvement.