Objective: To observe the influence of acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) on cerebral vasomotoricity of ischemic stroke and its possible mechanism.Methods: All the appropriate cases were randomly divided into treatment and control groups with 80 cases in each group. The routine treatment of cerebral apoplexy was given to the two groups. Zusanli (ST 36) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) were added to the treatment group. The change of velocity of blood blow of the cerebral central artery was observed by transfrontal Doppler ultrasound detecting method before and after treatment to evaluate the cerebral basomotoricity of the patients. Results: The cerebral vasomotoricity in the treatment group was greatly improved compared with pre-treatment (P＜0.05) and there was a significant difference compared with the control group (P＜0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture at Zusanli (ST 36) and Xuanzhong (GB 39) could obviously improve the cerebral vosomotoricity of the patients with cerebral ischemic stroke, which might be one of the action mechanisms of acupuncture treatment for cerebral ischemic stroke.

Objective Less surveys on the economic burden of hepatitis B (HB)-related diseases have been conducted in China,so the socioeconomic harm caused by the diseases is not clear and the key parameters for economic evaluation of hepatitis B prevention and treatment are lacking.This study aimed to analyze the direct,indirect and intangible expenditures of hospitalized patients with HB-related diseases during hospitalization and during a year in different areas of China.Methods The hospitals for infectious diseases and the large general hospitals in 12 areas in China were selected in the study.All the inpatients with HB-related diseases were surveyed by cluster sampling of consecutive cases.The direct expenditure included direct medical cost and direct non-medical cost.The indirect expenditure,including work loss of patients and caregivers,were calculated by using human capital method for urban and rural populations in 12 areas.The intangible expenditure were reflected by willing to pay and stochastic tournament.The influencing factors of direct and indirect costs were identified by stepwise linear multi-variation regression analysis.Results A total of 27 hospitals in 12 areas were included in the survey.A total of 4 718 cases were surveyed,the overall response rate was 77.7％.The average hospital stay was 29.2 days (27-34) and the hospitalization expenditure was averagely 16 832.80 yuan (RMB) per case,in which the highest proportion (61.2％)was medicine fees [10 365.10 yuan (RMB)].The average direct expenditure and indirect expenditure were consistent with the severity of illness,which were 18 336.10 yuan (RMB) and 4 759.60 yuan (RMB) respectively,with the ratio of 3.85:1.The direct medical expenditure [17 434.70 yuan (RMB)] were substantially higher than the direct non-medical expenditure [901.40 yuan (RMB)].It was found that the hospitalization expenses was highest in direct medical expenditure and the transportation expenses was highest in direct non-medical expenditures.Among the average indirect expenditure,the loss of income for the patients [3 832.50 yuan (RMB)] was higher than that for the caregivers [927.20 yuan (RMB)],The total direct and indirect expenditure was highest for liver transplantation,followed by severe hepatitis,hepatocellular carcinoma and decompensated cirrhosis,acute hepatitis B,compensated cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis B.The influencing factors for both direct and indirect expenditure were high hospital level,severity of hepatitis B,living in urban area,antiviral therapy,long hospitalization and monthly income of family.For average 3.74 outpatient visits and 1.51 hospitalization,the average annual direct,indirect and intangible expenditure for HB-related diseases were 30 135.30,6 253.80 and 44 729.90 yuan (RMB) [totally 81 119.00 yuan (RMB)],accounting for 37.3％,7.7％ and 55.0％,respectively.Of the annual direct medical expenditure [28 402.80 yuan (RMB)],which were much higher than non-medical expenditure [1 732.50 yuan (RMB)],hospitalization expenditure [26 074.20 yuan (RMB)] was higher than outpatient visit expenditure [4 061.10 yuan (RMB)].The annual indirect expenditures for outpatient visit and hospitalization were 763.60 and 5 490.10 yuan (RMB),respectively.Of the annual intangible expenditure,the highest was that for/primary hepatocellular carcinoma,followed by cirrhosis,chronic hepatitis B,severe hepatitis B,liver transplantation and acute hepatitis B.Conclusions A heavy economic burden has been caused by HB-related diseases in China,and patients are more likely to rely on medical service rather than non-medical service.It is necessary to take effective treatment measures to prevent the adverse outcome of HB related diseases and achieve significant economic benefits.The influence of HB related diseases on mental health of the people can be reflected by an economics term,intangible expenditure.