OBJECTIVETo observe the morphological changes of photoreceptor cells in rats with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) induced by N-methyl-N-Nitrosourea (MNU) and the effects of acupuncture against it.

METHODSA total of 16 SD rats were treated with one-time intraperitoneal injection of MNU (50 mg/kg) to induce RP, and randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a model group, 8 rats in each one. In addition, 4 rats were selected as a control group. After model establishment, rats in the acupuncture group were treated with acupuncture at "Xinming-1" (Extra) and "Jingming" (BL 1) for 30 min, once a day for 7 days; rats in the model group and control group received no treatment, and the feeding conditions and fixation were identical as the acupuncture group. 2 h after the end of intervention, rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation to observe the morphological changes of rhodopsin, rod terminals and rod bipolar cells.

RESULTSDue to the loss of retina photoreceptor cells induced by MNU in rats, in the model group the rhodopsin was stained in residual cell bodies, and there were sporadic rod terminals and little rod bipolar cells; outer segments, inter segments, cell bodies and cell terminals were all affected at different levels. The distribution of rhodopsin was also changed in the acupuncture group, showing more bodies of photoreceptor cells, and the residual rod terminals and rod bipolar cells were more than those in the model group; the injury of retina was less than that in the model group.

CONCLUSIONMNU could lead to a comprehensive injury to the morphology of photoreceptor cells, however, acupuncture is capable of inhibiting morphological changes of photoreceptor cells induced by MNU.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Humans ; Male ; Photoreceptor Cells ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Retinitis Pigmentosa ; physiopathology ; therapy

This work was carried out to investigate the effects of clonidine on some electrophysiological properties of the neurons of guinea-pig celiac ganglia in vitro, using the technique of intracellula.r recording. 54 neurons were examined, among which 18 neurons were found to be sensitive to clonidine. There were 3 reaction types in the sensitive cells, depolarization with decrease of membrane resistance, hyperpolarization with increase of membrane resistance and biphasic reaction ( depolarization followed by hyperpolarization ) . Clonidine depolarization was not blocked by low Ca^/high Mg2+ solution, pro-pranolol and yohimbine. However, it was reversibly blocked by prazo-sin. The experimental results show that clonidine has some! effects on the membrane potential and membrane resistance of the neurons of guinea-pig celiac ganglia,

ObjectiveTo assess the differences of short- and long-term postintervention status on ocular and systemic symptoms for patients with ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) after pyridostigmine bromide, corticosteroid, thymectomy, or thymectomy-corticosteroid combination therapy ( combination ).MethodsThis retrospective plus prospective study included 180 OMG patients, whose age of onset ≥ 15 years, treated non-randomly with above therapies separately: thymectomy group (60 cases ), corticosteroid group (39 cases), combination group ( 31 cases ), symptomatic group ( 50 cases ). Postintervention status complying with Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA)complete stable remission ,pharmacologic remission, or minimal manifestations was considered as desirable response, which was used as statistical indicator. Results ①Corticosteroid group showed higher desirable response rates on ptosis, ophthalmoplegia and general weakness at 3-6 months after treatment than other groups, and 42. 1％( 16/38 ) of them at 3 months achieved the desired state of ptosis, higher than the symptomatic group (7/48,14. 6％, ×2 = 8. 200, P = 0. 004 ). ② Ascending ideal rates had been presented in both combination and thymectomy groups since 1 year after treatments, while a little bit higher rate was presented in the former. At the end of observation, 21.7％ ( 13/60 )of patients in thymectomy group achieved complete stable remission.By paired longitudinal comparisons,thymectomy group showed higher ideal rates on ptosis (22/40,55.0％ ), ophthalmoplegia ( 16/27,59. 3％ ) and general weakness (20/40,50. 0％ ) at 2 years than that at 3 months( 11/59,18.6％ ;11/44,25.0％ ;9/60,15.0％ ;P =0. 002, 0. 031,0.000). ③For those patients by symptomatic treatment, the average age of onset was (51.9 ± 18.0) years, higher than that by other 3 therapies (F = 10. 563 ,P =0. 000). ④OMG patients with ophthalmoplegia more likely select corticosteroid or combined therapy. Ophthalmoplegia in combination group was higher than that in symptomatic and surgery groups( ×2 = 12. 939,14. 380, P =0. 000 in both). Ophthalmoplegia in corticosteroid group was higher than that in surgery group ( ×2 = 8. 017, P = 0. 005 ).Conclusions Corticosteroid appears to early overcome ptosis, ocular motor dysfunction and general weakness for patient with OMG in early-to-middle adulthood.Thymectomy andsurgery-corticosteroid combinationtherapies bothshowlong-term effectonthem.

Objective To explore thc clinical manifestation of secondary generalized myasthenia gravis(GMG) and analyze the factors affecting the progression from ocular myasthenia gravis(OMG) to GMG.Methods This research constitutes a single-center,retrospectively-collected prospective cohort study.We comprehensively reviewed our self-managed myasthenia gravis (MG) database drawn from personal clinical experience from January 2000 to Junc 2013.Patients underwent series of examination including repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) tests,measurement of serum acetylcholine receptors antibody and serum muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibodies,thymus computer tomography scan etc.Patients were treated with pyridostigmine bromide,corticosteroid therapy and (or) thymectomy based on a nonrandomization pattern and they were documented for their respective symptoms of OMG and GMG and date of GMG conversion.Logistic regression analysis was adopted to determine the influencing factors correlated with the development of GMG during the follow-up.Results Totally 770 patients initially diagnosed with OMG were included,among whom 573 (74％) patients remained with OMG (R-OMG group) and 197(26％) patients developed into GMG (GMG group) during the follow-up.(1) In comparison with their R-OMG counterparts,patients with secondary GMG were older at onset; Displayed more frequent RNS abnormality of facial nerve,accessory nerve and ulnar nerve ; Showed higher incidence of thymoma and were less treated by early corticosteroids.(2) For GMG group,81％ (160/197) of them displayed bulbar MG; 67％ (132/197) of GMG conversion occurred within 2 years,and 84％ (166/197) within 5 years.In comparison with the patients with onset of≤ 14-year-old,both of patients with15-49-year-old and≥ 50-year-old displayed higher conversion rate and shorter conversion duration (median:10 years versus 1 year and 6.5 months).(3) RNS abnormality of accessory nerve(OR =6.650,95％ CI 3.547-12.471 ; P ＜ 0.05) and thymoma(OR =7.924,95％ CI 2.554-24.585 ; P ＜ 0.05) were prognostic factors for the development of GMG,while early corticosteroid(OR =0.232,95％ CI 0.119-0.452 ; P ＜ 0.05) predicted the reduction of the risk of generalization.Conclusions Multiple factors including abnormal RNS of proximal limb muscles,thymoma,early corticosteroids therapy and possibly even onset age of over 15-year-old may involve the generalization in patients with OMG at onset.

In order to figure out phylogenetic relationship and genetic diversity of different geographical populations,genetic analyses of Aedes albopictus were performed based on mitochondrial gene COI.Based on samples collected from most distribution regions in China,mitochondrial gene Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I was obtained through PCR and DNA sequence.Together with some COI sequences downloaded from GenBank,60 COI sequences with the final length of 598 bp were used for subsequent analyses.Results showed that there was no obvious divergence according to phylogenetic analyse,all sequences were clustered together in Maximum Likelihood tree.Sixteen haplotypes were detected,and four of them shared haplotypes.Haplotype diversity (Hd) was 0.737,nucleotide diversity (π) was 0.20 ％.Population genetic differentiation analyses demon strated that Hainan population showed obvious divergences.In the network of haplotypes,H1 and H6 was found to be the primary haplotypes,and they formed two radical centers.All these results indicate that A.albopictus populations of China are expanding presently,and Hainan population become differential with other geographical populations,which probably attribute to geographical isolations.

Objective To analyse the correlation between hepatitis B virus infection in mother and immune effect of hepatitis B vaccine in infant so as to explore ways to prevent mother-to-infant transmission.Methods 8 022 aged from 7 months to 2 years old children and their mothers were selected.The children's HepB immunization were investigated.The serological investigation of mother and children were tested by the colloidal gold tripes and ELISA methods.The HBV genotype were detected among HBsAg positive mother.Results The mother's carry rate of HBsAg was 2.43% while the children's was 0.45%.The protect rate of HepB was 81.48%.127 genotype C were detected among 146 HBsAg positive mothers.There were 26 pair of mothers and their children whose's HBsAg were both positive.Nine of the mother's HBeAg and HBcAb were positive.While five of the mother's HBeAb and HBcAb were positive,and ten of the mother's HBcAb were positive.The differences of the three were statistically significant (?2=6.03,P

Objective To investigate the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on the hepatic dysfunction induced by thioacetaminde (TAA) in rats.Methods Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups, namely Nω-Nitri-L-Arginine (NNA) group, TAA group, TAA+NNA group and normal control group. The rats in TAA group and TAA+NNA group were given TAA 300 mg/kg b.w. by gavage. After 24 h, rats in NNA and TAA+NNA groups received Nω-Nitri-L-Arginine (50 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection. Ten hours later all rats were killed. Endotoxin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), NO and creatinine contents in plasma and NO levels in brain tissue were determined. Electroencephalograms of the rats were recorded before they were killed.Results 1). The rats in TAA+NNA group were inactive, sleepy and their electroencephalograms presented δ waves, but only α and β waves were found in other three groups. It was indicated that hepatic encephalopathy might occur in the rats in TAA+NNA group. 2). Endotoxin contents in plasma were increased in the rats in TAA group and TAA+NNA group. It was shown that TAA induced gut-derived endotoxemia (normal control group 0.149±0.059 Eu/ml vs TAA group 0.222±0.117 Eu/ml, TAA+NNA group 0.235±0.52 Eu/ml, P<0.01). 3). NO production was enhanced in plasma and brain tissue of the rats treated with TAA, but NO production was significantly lower in TAA+NNA group than in TAA group (plasma: 41.59±2.75 μmol/L vs 51.63±3.81 μmol/L, P<0.01; brain tissue: 48.10±4.71 μmol/L vs 69.70±8.87 μmol/L, P<0.01). 4). LDH and creatinine levels in plasma were higher in TAA+NNA group than in TAA group (LDH: 854.83±87.48 U/L vs 570.72±116.74 U/L, P<0.01; creatinine: 361.04±153.68 μmol/L vs 153.40±28.90 μmol/L, P<0.01). 5). No changes were found in biochemistry test and electroencephalogram in NNA group.Conclusion The results showed that TAA could induce gut-derived endotoxemia in rats, and endotoxin could stimulate NO production in plasma and brain tissue. By inhibiting NO production with NNA, encephalopathy, dysfunction of liver and kidney occurred in rats of TAA+NNA group. It is suggested that NO might have protective effect in experimental hepatic dysfunction induced by TAA.

Cholestasis refers to a pathological state of disorders in the formation, secretion, and excretion of bile flow, and liver fibrosis is a process of tissue repair induced by liver injury. Cholestatic liver disease is a chronic liver disease caused by cholestasis, progressive bile duct injury, and persistent intrahepatic inflammation, and it may cause cholangiocyte and hepatocyte injury, which will gradually progress to liver fibrosis. With reference to the current research advances, this article reviews the pathogenesis of cholestasis-induced liver fibrosis and the strategies for blockade.

Purpose To evaluate the value of shear wave elastic imaging of liver and spleen in predicting high risk esophageal and gastric varices in cirrhosis.Materials and Methods Sixty-four patients with cirrhosis in the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from November 2019 to April 2022 were enrolled prospectively,and underwent gastroscopy,elastography and serological examination.According to gastroscopy,patients were divided into high-risk varices(HRV,30 cases)and non-HRV group(34 cases),the differences of each clinical index and shear wave elastic imaging parameter between the groups were compared.The diagnostic efficacy of liver and spleen stiffness measurement for HRV was analyzed.And the diagnostic models were established for exploring the diagnostic effectiveness of different models with respect to excluding HRV in compensated liver cirrhosis.Results There were significant differences in platelet[(74±24)×109/L vs.(124±50)×109/L],liver stiffness[(16.1±5.6)kPa vs.(13.6±5.5)kPa]and spleen stiffness[(41.7±8.9)kPa vs.(28.1±8.6)kPa]between HRV and non-HRV groups(t/Z/χ2=5.136,-1.832,-6.206,all P<0.05).The areas under the curve of liver stiffness and spleen stiffness for predicting HRV were 0.660 and 0.858,respectively.The Baveno Ⅵ combined with the spleen stiffness model had the best performance(30.0％)for excluding HRV.Conclusion The measurement of liver and spleen stiffness by shear wave elastography has great diagnostic value for predicting HRV in cirrhosis,and spleen stiffness is better than liver stiffness.

Objective:To explore the value of liver stiffness and spleen stiffness measured by two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) in predicting high-risk varices (HRV) with compensated cirrhosis patients.Methods:Seventy patients with compensated cirrhosis who attended the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from November 2019 to April 2022 were recruited. All patients underwent examinations of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and spleen stiffness measurement (SSM) by 2D-SWE. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors affecting the occurrence of HRV. The diagnostic performances of LSM, liver stiffness (by 2D-SWE)-spleen length-to-platelet (LSPS) score, and SSM in predicting HRV were compared.Results:SSM was not technically feasible in 6/70 (8.6%) patients due to small volume of spleen.Among 64 patients with compensated cirrhosis, 30/64 (46.9%) were HRV. Binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that SSM and platelet counts were independent influencing factors for predicting HRV, with OR values of 1.126 ( P=0.006) and 0.971 ( P=0.039), respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of LSM, LSPS score, and SSM were 0.660, 0.828 and 0.858, respectively. The AUCs of SSM and LSPS score were significantly higher than that of LSM ( P<0.05), but there was no statistical difference between SSM and LSPS score ( P=0.608). Conclusions:LSM and SSM measured by 2D-SWE have high success rate. SSM and LSPS score have high value in predicting HRV in patients with compensated cirrhosis, and the diagnostic performances of the above two methods are significantly higher than that of LSM.