BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that Maca can enhance immune cel function, improve mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes, and play a role in anti-oxidation and anti-aging.
OBJECTIVE: To observe Maca effects on kidney mitochondrial respiratory function and anti-aging capabilities in elderly rats after exhausted exercise.
METHODS: 10-month-old elderly rats were intragastrical y administrated Maca powder 5 g/kg, once a day, and did treadmil exercise, 5 days in a week. Rats were randomly divided into control group, Maca group and training group and Maca+training group. At 6 weeks after training, rats in each group did exhausted exercise (35 m/min), and immediately received intraperitoneal injection of 2% sodium pentobarbital. The kidney was obtained, and mitochondria were extracted by differential centrifugation. A spectrophotometer was used to measure mitochondrial respiratory chain activity.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme and antioxidant enzyme activity: mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme I-III, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were higher in the Maca+training group than in the control group, Maca group and training group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), but malondialdehyde content was lower (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). (2) Results suggested that the combination of supplement Maca and incremental exercise can improve mitochondrial respiratory function and delay aging in the kidney of aged rats after exhausted exercise. Moreover, supplemented Maca and incremental exercise have a synergistic effect.

Objective To explore the factors relating to the severity of Guillain-Barr? syndrome (GBS) (i.e. of being the mild form or in need of mechanical ventilation), and to find the predictors in early clinical presentations and laboratory investigations as to guiding the early management of GBS. Methods All 123 cases of patients with GBS admitted to Xuanwu Hospital from 1996-2002 were collected, and divided into two groups based on the international criteria for different severity of GBS. Mildly affected patients (i.e. able to walk unaided during the whole course or the Medical Research Council [MRC] muscle power grading scale≥4 in both lower limbs at nadir) and ventilated patients (i.e. in need of mechanical ventilation) were divided in this study. Characteristics of each group in early clinical presentations and laboratory investigations were analyzed in univariate conditional Logistic model in order to find out the predictors. Results In all 123 patients studied, 32 were having mild GBS; 29 severe GBS (i.e. in need of mechanical ventilation during the course). Men (P=0.047) and patients without bulbar dysfunction (P=0.002) were more likely to become mild GBS. The possibility of being mild form was 3.33∶1 between man and woman, 1∶20.17 between those with and without bulbar dysfunction. Patients with bulbar dysfunction (P

This paper affirms that physician-patient relationship is the most important and fundamental relationship in medical activities.But nowadays there are some unpleasant factors arising in the physician-patient relationship,which have become severe intractable problems and heated social issues to be resolved as soon as possible in the development of Chinese society and healthcare career.Traditional Chinese Medicine contains a lot of information about medical ethics and humanism spirit of medicine.There are also many theories on how to build up a harmonious physician-patient relationship and many viable methods to solve the problems.Analysis of the physician-patient relationship nowadays and exploration of the T.C.M quintessence will help to build up a harmonious physician-patient relationship with Chinese characteristics for the construction of a harmonious society.

Researching and discussing the significance,principle,method and ethical conception of triage of casualties during earthquake.In particular,explaining the relationship between triage efficiency and aid impact;Pointing principles in Triage.At last,affirming the exigent importance of education of triage and giving some advie.

Purpose: explore the educating methods which could stimulate the students' medical virtue.Methods: case applying can help shape the medical virtue while training method can propel the consciousness changing into behavior.Conclusion: case applying and training method are the effective ways for the development of the medical students' virtue.

Parkinson disease(PD) is a common disease in the middle-aged and elderly population,which may affect their quality of life.Nowthere are no effective curing methods,however,the early diagnosis is important for heightening the therapeutic effect.In nuclear medicine,people have achieved great progress in utilizing SPECT and PET, which will become one or several common diagnosis means. This owes to the successful development of the imaging agent with superior behavior.

As natural components of the environment,air and water,geomagnetic field plays an important role,which is closely related to growth and evolution for living organisms. Being off earth magnetic field,biological effects would be fetched out. Settled in the Moon and long-term interplanetary space flight,human being and other biological objects would experience extremely low magnetic fields. In addition,weaker magnetic fields exist in some artificial environment,such as artificial magnetic shielding experimental room,submarine etc. Since 1970s,biological effects of hypomagnetic environment and zero-magnetic environment have continuously studied. This paper will briefly review the research progress about biological effects of hypomagnetic environment..

Background Auto-fluorescence(AF)imaging is a new non-invasive fundus examining technology.It is now playing an increasingly important role in the diagnosis of retinal diseases.Using a confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope microscope(cSLO),two types of AF can be obtained:melanin-related near-infrared fundus auto-fluorescence(NIA)and lipofuscin-related fundus auto-fluorescence(FAF).Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the outcome between NIA and FAF in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).Methods FAF,NIA imaging and fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA)were performed on 28 eyes of 23 subjects using a cLSO.AF images were evaluated and compared with angiographic findings.Written informed consent was obtained before the initiation of this study.Results In 17 eyes of 15 cases with acute CSC,the leakage points on the FFA image showed three kinds of AF patterns:(1)hyper-AF,including FAF hyper-AF in 2 eyes(11.76％)and NIA hyper-AF in 4 eyes(23.53％).(2)Non-AF,including FAF non-AF in 10 eyes(58.82％)and NIA non-AF in 13 eyes(76.47％).(3)Normal AF,including normal AF of FAF in 5 eyes(29.42％).The AF in the retinal serous detachment area showed two kinds of characteristics:(1)hypo-AF,including 12 eyes(70.59％)with FAF hypo-AF and 10 eyes(58.82％)with NIA hypo-AF.(2)hyper-AF,including 5 eyes(29.41％)with FAF hyper-AF and 7 eyes (41.18％)with NIA hyper-AF.In 11 eyes of 8 cases with chronic CSC,the leakage on the FFA also showed an absence of AF.However,AF-absent areas also partly appeared in the non-leakage area of FFA.In NIA,the non-AF areas were often more visible than that in FAF.Serous detachment areas in chronic CSC usually displayed multiple AF forms,including granular-like non-AF,hyper-AF and hypo-AF,and the abnormal AF areas were often greater than that of the corresponding abnormal fluorescent area in FFA.Conclusions AF can be used to detect the functional status and metabolic activity of RPE in CSC eyes.

Objective To investigate the impact of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism on folicacid for lowering plasma level of homocysteine in elderly patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods In the first affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou university,a total of 180 elderly patients with CHD were randomized to two groups. The study group (91 ptients) received folicacid 5mg once daily and the control group (89 patients) received no folic acid. 8 weeks after treatment, the changes in plasma Hcy were observed and analyzed by MTHFR genotypes (TT vs. CC vs. CT). Results Plasma Hcy of the three genotypes had a statistical significance at the baseline (P<0.001), among which plasma Hcy level was the hightest in patients with genotype TT, while it had on difference in genotypes CC and CT (P = 0.057). 8 weeks after treatment, plasma Hcy level declined up to 24%in the patients with genotype TT in the study group, while it decreased about 6%and 15%in patients with genotype CC or CT, separately. Hcy level was slightly decreased in the patients with genotype CC, CT, or TT in the control group. Conclusions Plasma Hcy level differs statistically in three genotypes, and it is the highest in genotyp TT. Folicacid can effectively lower the level of plasma Hcy in elderly patients with CHD, especially those with genotype TT.