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,

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.

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.

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

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.

Osteoporosis (OP) is a common systemic bone disease which has become a serious public health problem in China. In clinical practice, we found that some primary osteoporosis may be due to parathyroid hyperfunction (subclinical hyperparathyroidism) or hyperparathyroidism which is the result of negative calcium balance and hypocalcemia caused by insufficient calcium intake and/or vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency, which is preventable and controllable. Therefore, we call this kind of osteoporosis parathyroid hyperfunction or hyperparathyroidism associated osteoporosis. The daily calcium intake of Chinese people is generally insufficient, and vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is also a worldwide public health problem. Parathyroid hyperfunction or hyperparathyroidism associated osteopenia and osteoporosis which are results of hypocalcemia and negative calcium balance caused by long-term insufficient calcium intake and/or vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency exist extensively in clinical practice. Its prevention and treatment can effectively prevent and treat osteopenia and osteoporosis, so as to effectively prevent and treat diseases such as short stature, rachiokyphosis, backache, fatigue, bone pain, fracture, metastatic vascular calcification and systemic calcinosis, improve people’s health and help achieve the goal of "Healthy China 2030" .

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.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Youguiwan on the rats with adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome （NS） and its mechanism. MethodSD rats were randomly divided into a normal group， a model group， three Youguiwan low， medium， and high-dose groups， and a prednisone group. Rats in the model group were intravenously injected with adriamycin in the tail vein to induce the NS model. Rats in the Youguiwan low， medium， and high-dose groups were given 2.8， 5.6， 11.2 g·kg^-1·d^-1 of crude drugs， respectively， and rats in the prednisone group were given 6.3 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 of prednisone acetate. Each administration group was given continuous medicine for 6 weeks， and the normal group and model group were given an equal volume of normal saline. Bicinchoninic acid （BCA） assay was used to detect 24 h urine protein （24 h UP）. Automatic biochemical analyzer was used to detect serum urea nitrogen （BUN）， creatinine （SCr）， albumin （ALB）， total cholesterol （TC）， and triglyceride （TG） levels. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe renal tissue morphology， and kit was used to detect serum advanced oxidized protein products （AOPPs） and reactive oxygen species （ROS）. Western blot was used to detect the receptor of advanced glycation endproducts （RAGE） of renal tissue， nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） phosphorylation levels， Wnt， and β-catenin protein expression. ResultAs compared with the normal group， 24 h UP， serum BUN， SCr， TC， TG， AOPPs， and ROS levels in the model group increased significantly （P<0.01）， whereas ALB decreased （P<0.01）. There were typical pathological injuries in the renal tissue， and the expressions of RAGE， phosphorylation（p）-NF-κB， Wnt1， and β-catenin protein were significantly increased （P<0.01）. As compared with the model group， the 24 h UP， serum BUN， SCr， TC， TG， AOPPs， and ROS levels of rats in the Youguiwan low， medium， and high-dose groups significantly reduced （P<0.01）， and ALB significantly increased （P<0.01）. The renal tissue damage was reduced， and the expressions of RAGE， p-NF-κB， Wnt1， and β-catenin protein were significantly decreased （P<0.01） in a dose-dependent manner. ConclusionYouguiwan improves the kidney injury of rats with adriamycin-induced NS. The mechanism may be related to the reduction of AOPPs level， inhibition of RAGE/ROS/NF-κB axis， and activation of Wnt/β-catenin signal.