The changes in intracellular Ca and metabolism of lipid in human monocyte-macrophages as interacted with glycosylated LDL (glc-LDL) were studied and compared with normal LDL group. The intracellular Ca in glc-LDL group was higher than in normal LDL group (P

OBJECTIVETo explore the better therapy for chronic tension-type headache (CTTH).

METHODSTwo hundred and eighty-eight cases were randomized into a sticking needling group (150 cases) and an acupuncture group (138 cases). In the sticking needling group, the manual sticking needling technique was adopted to stimulate the galea tendon-muscle node. In the acupuncture group, the conventional acupuncture therapy was applied to Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Fengchi (GB 20), Taiyang (EX-HN 5), Touwei (ST 18), Hegu (LI 4), etc. The treatment was given once a day, and 30 days made one session. After two sessions of treatment and after three months follow-up, CTTH score (including the score of headache attack frequency and the score of headache severity) was observed and compared before and after treatment separately. The efficacy was evaluated in two groups.

RESULTSCTTH score was all reduced after treatment in the two groups (both P<0.01), the score in the sticking needling group was lower than that in the acupuncture group (2.38 +/- 1.22 vs 4.16 +/- 2.54, P < 0.01). The effective rate was 97.3% (146/150) in the sticking needling group, which was better than 88.4% (122/138) in the acupuncture group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe manual sticking needling technique at galea tendon-muscle node achieves the superior results of reducing the pain attack frequency and severity of CTTH as compared with the acupuncture therapy of the routine acupoint selection.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; physiopathology ; Tendons ; physiopathology ; Tension-Type Headache ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND:Catheter-related infection (CRI) of the central vein is a common cause of nosocomial infection. This study was undertaken to investigate the pathogen culturing and risk factors of CRI in emergency intensive care unit (EICU) in order to provide the beneficial reference.METHODS:From January 2008 to December 2010, a total of 1363 patients were subjected to catheterization. In these patients, the peak CRI rate of the patients was determined by bacterial cultivation and blood bacterial cultivation.RESULTS:CRI happened in 147 of the 1363 patients using the central venous catheter. The peak rate of CRI was 10.79％, with an incidence of 3.05 episodes per 1000 catheter days. Of the 147 patients, 46.94％ had gram-negative bacilli, 40.14％ had gram-positive cocci, and 12.92％ had fungi. Unconditional logistic regression analysis suggests that multiple catheterization, femoral vein catheterization, the application of multicavity catheter, and the duration of catheterization were the independent risk factors for CRI.CONCLUSION:The risk factors for catheter-related infections should be controlled to prevent the occurrence of nosocomial infection.

Literatures on pain intervention with transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) were collected by searching the databases both in Chinese and English, and summarized to understand the research progress of TEAS effects on pain mediators in recent years. This will provide a more objective and scientific theoretical basis for clinical practice of TEAS to treat pain syndrome, thus promoting the clinical application of TEAS. Our literature analysis indicated that TEAS effectively regulated the release levels of various pain factors such as prostaglandin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, interleukins, substance P and tumor necrosis factor-α to achieve the analgesic effects by affecting the conduction pathways. TEAS is a safe, non-invasive and effective treatment for pain syndrome. However, further research is necessary due to the lack of rigor of the current clinical trial design.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protein expression of caveolin-1 in type II alveolar epithelial cells (A549) exposed to carbon black nanoparticles (CB NPs) and the role of caveolin in the endocytosis of CB NPs.

METHODSA549 cells were exposed to 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 µg/ml CB NPs for 24 h; then, trypan blue assay was applied to determine the cell viability. A549 cells were also exposed to 0, 25, 50, and 100 µg/ml CB NPs for 24 h, then, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and flow cytometry were applied to observe the morphological change of cells and cellular side scatter (SSC), and Western blot was used to analyze the effect of CB NPs on the protein expression of caveolin-1. A549 cells were co-exposed to1 µg/ml filipin and 100 µg/ml CB NPs for 24 h, then, the cellular SSC was observed.

RESULTSCompared with controls, the A549 cells exposed to 200 and 400 µg/ml CB NPs had the cell viability decreased by 38.2% and 46.6%, respectively (P < 0.05), while those exposed to 25, 50, and 100 µg/ml CB NPs showed no significant decrease in cell vitality (P > 0.05). The protein expression of caveolin-1 was significantly higher in the cells exposed to 50 and 100 µg/ml CB NPs than in controls (P < 0.05). The TEM showed that plasmalemmal vesicles containing black particles were found in the cytoplasm of the cells exposed to 50 and 100 µg/ml CB NPs. The flow cytometry showed that the cellular SSC ratio increased from 1.007 to 1.331 as the dose of CB NPs rose within 0 ∼ 100 µg/ml and fell to 1.25 after the cells were co-exposed to1 µg/ml filipin and 100 µg/ml CB NPs.

CONCLUSIONCarbon black nanoparticles can be transferred into A549 cells by endocytosis, but caveolin-mediated endocytic pathway plays a minor role in this process.

Caveolin 1 ; physiology ; Cell Line ; Endocytosis ; Humans ; Nanoparticles ; Soot ; pharmacokinetics

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic effect of painless festering moxibustion on knee osteoarthritis and to probe into a new therapy.

METHODSThirty-four cases of knee osteoarthritis were treated with painless festering moxibustion at the best moxibustion part close to the knee joint. The internationally acknowledged knee joint function rating scale (percentage method) including such indexes as pain, walking, joint flexion mobility, instability, engorgement, stair activity and twist-locking before and after treatment was used for assessment of the therapeutic effect.

RESULTSTen cases were cured, 14 cases were markedly effective, 9 cases were effective and 1 cases was ineffective, with a total effective rate of 97.060%.

CONCLUSIONPainless festering moxibustion has an obvious therapeutic effect on knee osteoarthritis.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; methods ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo explore the possibility of the infrared objective displaying of heat-sensitive state of acupoint.

METHODSFifty-four qualified subjects were enrolled. In the natural state, thermal tomography (TTM) was adopted to shoot the thermograms on the face. After the thermograms collection, the thermo-sensitive detection with moxibustion was applied. The suspending moxibustion with moxa stick was used at Xiaguan (ST 7, affected side) for 10 mm. The cases with heat extension and transmission at the acupoint were recorded at the end of moxibustion. In following, the second infrared radiation detection was done so as to record the changes in the infrared images on the face before and after moxibustion and compare the difference in the heat-sensitive state at Xiaguan (ST 7, affected side) in the subjects between two detection methods.

RESULTSBefore moxibustion, the infrared radiation intensity at Xiaguan (ST 7, affected side) in the patients displayed mostly low temperature feature and its sensibility (true positive rate) was 65.6%, the specificity (true negative rate) was 68.2% and the accuracy was 66.7%. After moxibustion at Xiaguan (ST 7, affected side), there was an obvious block-diffused increment area of infrared radation along the cheek and its sensitivity (true positive rate) was 81.8%, the specificity (true negative rate) was 81.0% and the accuracy was 81.5% as compared with the moxibustion detection.

CONCLUSION(1) The heat-sensitive state at Xiaguan (ST 7, affected side) in the patients of primary trigeminal neuralgia can be objectively displayed by infrared imaging to a certain extent. (2) The acupoint heat-sensitization produced by moxibustion is not only the subjective sensation of the subjects, but also can be objectively displayed by infrared imaging to a certain extent.

Acupuncture Points ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Face ; radiation effects ; Female ; Humans ; Infrared Rays ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Thermography ; Trigeminal Neuralgia ; therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the distribution characteristics of heat-sensitized acupoints in the high incidence region of heat sensitization on the body surface of the patients with trigeminal neuralgia.

METHODSSixty cases of trigeminal neuralgia were collected and 60 healthy subjects were in the control. With moxibustion sensitization method to detect the heat-sensitized acupoints, the probability of the heat-sensitized acupoints in the high incidence region of heat sensitization on the body surface was analyzed and the correlation between the heat-sensitized acupoints and trigeminal neuralgia was discussed.

RESULTS(1) The occurrence rate of the heat-sensitized acupoints in the high incidence region of heat sensitization in patients with trigeminal neuralgia was 83.3% (50/60). (2) The occurrence rate of the heat-sensitized acupoints was high in the site of Xiaguan (ST 7) and Sibai (ST 2), and was secondarily high in the site of Jiachengjiang (Extra), Fengchi (GB 20) and Yuyao (EX-HN 4) in the high incidence region of heat sensitization in patients with trigeminal neuralgia.

CONCLUSIONThe heat-sensitized acupoints are highly correlative with trigeminal neuralgia, which provides the evidence for the further study on prevention and treatment of trigeminal neuralgia with heat-sensitive moxibustion.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Trigeminal Neuralgia ; therapy

Naringenin (1) was transformed to three metabolites (2-4) by Mucor sp. Based on LCMS(n)-IT-TOF and NMR spectroscopic data, 2-4 were identified as naringenin-7-O-sulphate, naringenin-4'-O-sulphate, and naringenin-5-O-sulphate, respectively. These results might provide hints to the mammalian/human metabolism of naringenin.
Biotransformation ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Flavanones ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Structure ; Mucor ; metabolism ; Sulfates ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the frequency of JAK2V617F mutation in Chinese patients with chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and to study the relationship between JAK2V617F mutation and clinical characteristics.

METHODSJAK2V617F mutation was screened by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR).

RESULTSJAK2V617F mutation was detected in 277 of the 412 patients with MPN. The frequency of JAK2V617F mutation was similar among essential thrombocythemia (ET), idiopathic myelofibrosis (IMF) and chronic myeloproliferative disorders-unclassified (MPD-U) (P > 0.05), but it was significantly lower than that in polycythemia vera (PV) (P < 0.05). The presence of JAK2V617F was found to be significantly correlative with advanced age at diagnosis (P < 0.01) and with higher hemoglobin levels and higher leukocyte counts (P < 0.05). Significant difference was found in complication of vascular events between JAK2V617 positive and negative patients (P < 0.05). JAK2V617F positive MPD-U patients were more prone to progress into typical MPN compared with JAK2V617F negative MPD-U patients. The association between abnormal karyotype and JAK2V617F was not found in cytogenetical analysis of 301 patients.

CONCLUSIONThe presence of JAK2V617F in MPD-U is associated with the disease development. There is a correlation between JAK2V617F mutation in MPN and advanced age, higher leukocyte counts, hemoglobin level and vascular events.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemoglobins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Janus Kinase 2 ; genetics ; Leukocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Myeloproliferative Disorders ; blood ; complications ; genetics ; Polycythemia Vera ; blood ; complications ; genetics ; Primary Myelofibrosis ; blood ; complications ; genetics ; Thrombocythemia, Essential ; blood ; complications ; genetics ; Thrombosis ; etiology ; Young Adult