OBJECTIVETo study the clinical effect of "Jin's three-needling" in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.

METHODSFifty-eight patients with generalized anxiety were randomly assigned to two groups equally, the medication group treated with anti-anxiety drugs and the acupuncture group with "Jin's three-needling". The treatment course was 6 weeks. The clinical effects were evaluated with Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA), clinical global impression (CGI), and treatment emergent symptom scale (TESS) before treatment and at the end of 2nd, 4th, 6th week of the treatment course. The concentration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in platelet, and plasma levels of corticosterone (CS) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) were measured with high performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED) method before and after treatment.

RESULTSThe clinical effects in the two groups were equivalent, while the adverse reaction found in the acupuncture group was less than that in the medication group (P < 0.05). The platelet concentration of 5-HT and plasma ACTH level decreased significantly in both groups after treatment with insignificant difference between the group (P < 0.05). The plasma CS level had no obvious change in the two groups after treatment as compared with that before treatment respectively.

CONCLUSION"Jin's three-needling" shows similar curative effect on generalized anxiety to routine Western medicine but with less adverse reaction, which may be realized through regulating the platelet 5-HT concentration and plasma ACTH level.

Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Adolescent ; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; blood ; Adult ; Anxiety Disorders ; blood ; psychology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales ; Serotonin ; blood

Objective:To explore the expression of peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase (Pin1) activity in peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the value and correlation of T helper cell 17/regulatory cells (Th17/Treg) cells, and to analyze the effect and influence of all-transretinoic acid (ATRA) on it.Methods:① Comparing the difference of Pin1 expression and absolute counts of Th17 and Treg between RA patients before and after treatment and healthy control group, Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was used for analysis. ② To analyze the correlation between the expression of Pin1 and its general data, activity indicators [such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and disease activity score 28 joints (DAS28) scores], Th17, Treg and some cytokines in RA patients, and to use Pearson and Spearman correlation tests. ③ To analyze the difference of Pin1 expression and Th17/Treg in peripheral blood of RA patients treated with low-dose all-trans retinoic acid (10 mg twice a week) and traditional immunosuppressants such as hydroxychloroquine for 3 months respectively. Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison between the two groups, and the difference was statistically significant with ( P<0.05). Results:① The activity of Pin1 in peripheral blood of the newly treated group of RA was [13.62(9.16, 19.42)] higher than that of the healthy control group [8.97(7.62, 11.45)]( Z=42.82 , P<0.05), and Th17 was [18.28(12.76, 24.08)] higher than that of the healthy control group [6.04(4.96, 4.96)]( Z=48.83 , P<0.05). Treg [11.06(5.31, 21.87). It was lower than that of healthy control group [40.41(24.33, 48.52)]( Z=42.21 , P<0.05). ② the activity of Pin1 in peripheral blood of RA patients was positively correlated with CRP, the number of involved joints, DAS28 score, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) ( r=0.396, P<0.05; r=0.683, P<0.05; r=0.466, P<0.05; r=0.315, P<0.05; r=0.416, P<0.05). ③ Compared with the newly treated RA group, the activity of Pin1 [6.94(5.96, 8.77), Z=42.82 , P<0.05] and Th17 7.38 decreased [7.38(3.85, 11.21), Z=48.83 , P<0.05], while Treg [40.41 (17.77, 33.47)] increased ( Z=42.21 , P<0.05). ④ Compared with the traditional medicine group, Treg [28.9(21.73, 37.36)] was higher in the retinoic acid group, and the difference was statistically significant ( Z=-2.683 , P<0.05). The activity of Pin1 was [6.23(5.58, 8.75)], but there was no statistical significance ( Z=-1.622 , P=0.104). Conclusion:Pin1 in peripheral blood of RA patients is over-expressed. Th17 is increased and Treg is decreased. ATRA combined with other traditional drugs can reduce Pin1 activity, promote Treg growth and improve disease activity of RApatients to a certain extent.

AIM To study the anti-inflammatory effects of compound Cervi Cornu Degelatinatum extract on adjuvant arthritic rats.METHODS The rats,except for those assigned into a blank group,were induced to be the adjuvant arthritis models by Freund's complete adjuvant and randomly divided into model group,Prednisone Acetate Tablets group,Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycoside tablets group,and compound Cervi Cornu Degelatinatum extract groups (1 000 mg/kg high-dose group,500 mg/kg medium-dose group,and 250 mg/kg low-dose group) to observe changes in body weight,mental state,and extent of joints injury.Post-treatment levels of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-10 and PGE-2 were determined by ELISA,and the pathological changes of ankle joints were assessed by HE staining.RESULTS Significantly lower body weight and IL-10 level,markedly higher levels of TNF-α,IL-6,PGE-2,and joints injury in the model group than those in the blank group were observed (P ＜0.01).Such indices also revealed the significant superiority in the high-dose,medium-dose groups of compound Cervi Cornu Degelatinatum extract and the positive control group as compared with the model group.CONCLUSION Compound Cervi Cornu Degelatinatum extract highlights the rheumatoid arthritis management through proinflammatory cytokines secretion reduction,the antiinflammatory factors improvement,and the inflammatory reaction and tissue damage alleviation.

Variant pulmonary vein anatomy (PVA) has been reported to influence the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after radiofrequency ablation.However,the effects of PVA on AF in patients undergoing cryoballoon ablation (CBA) remain unknown.The present study aimed to examine the impact of PVA on the long-term outcome of CBA for AF.A total of 78 patients (mean age 60.7±10.9 years,64.1％ males) with symptomatic and drug-refractory paroxysmal AF were enrolled in the study.Left atrium (LA) and PVA acquired at computed tomography angiography (CTA) were reconstructed with CARTO(R) 3 SYSTEM.Patients were routinely evaluated by 24-hour Holter monitoring following CBA.Cox regression was used to detect the predictors of AF recurrence after CBA.The results showed abnormal PVA in 30 patients (38.5％) and 18 patients (23.1％) had left common PV (LCPV).Electrical pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in all patients.After a mean follow-up of 689.5±103.8 days,it was found that patients with abnormal PVA had similar AF recurrence rate to those with normal PVA (26.7％ vs.25.0％,P=0.54),and there was no significant difference in AF recurrence rate between LCPV patients and non-LCPV patients (33.7％ vs.23.3％,P=0.29).Cox regression analysis showed that AF duration (72.9±9.0 vs.42.3±43.2 months,HR 1.001;95％CI 1.003-1.014;P＜0.001) and cryo-applications of right-side PVs (3.0±1.6 vs.4.7±1.7,HR 0.661;95％ CI 0.473-0.925;P=0.016) were independent predictors of freedom from AF,but PVA was not identified as a predictor of long-term success.In conclusion,the variant PVA cannot significantly influence the long-term outcome of AF patients undergoing CBA;longer AF duration and less cryo-applications of right-side PVs are associated with higher AF recurrent rate.

OBJECTIVETo study the major metabolites of ferulic acid and gallic acid compatible with Danggui Chishaoyao in rat plasma and urine.

METHODThe metabolites of ferulic acid and gallic acid in rat plasma and urine were analyzed after oral administration of compatible Danggui Chishaoyao using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS.

RESULTOn the basis of the mass information, it was inferred that in vivo metabolites of ferulic acid were be in the form of methylation products, sulfate conjugation products and glucuronidation conjugation products and so on; meanwhile, gallic acid was mainly transformed into eduction products and methylation products.

CONCLUSIONThere are kinds of phase I and phase II metabolites of ferulic acid and gallic acid in rat plasma and urine, which provide a basis for its efficacious materials and action mechanism.

Animals ; Coumaric Acids ; blood ; metabolism ; urine ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; metabolism ; Gallic Acid ; blood ; metabolism ; urine ; Herb-Drug Interactions ; Male ; Metabolome ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

OBJECTIVETo study the optimum acupuncture treatment program and the mechanism for treatment of cerebral infarction.

METHODSSixty-three cases were randomly divided into 9 groups. The four factors, times of manipulation, the retaining time of the needle, acupuncture instrument and acupoints,and their corresponding three levels were adopted respectively in treatment of each group. Then nerve function defect score and insulin resistance were observed before and after treatment.

RESULTSThe acupoints, the times of manipulation and the retaining time of the needle have significant effects on nerve function defect and insulin resistance (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), and the acupuncture instrument has a significant effect on insulin resistance (P < 0.01). The choice of acupoints was the most important factor for acupuncture treatment of cerebral infarction.

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture for regulating The Governor Vessel with twice manipulations and retaining the needle for 60 min is optimum treatment program for cerebral infarction. The good regulating effect of acupuncture on insulin resistance is one of the mechanisms of achieving the therapeutic results.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Cerebral Infarction ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Needles

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the feasibility of using shear wave velocity (SWV) in assessing the stiffness of carotid plaque by supersonic shear imaging (SSI) and explore preliminary clinical value for such evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Supersonic shear imaging was performed in 142 patients with ischemic stroke, including 76 males and 66 females with mean age of 66 years (range, 45–80 years). The maximum, minimum, and mean values of SWV were measured for 129 carotid plaques. SWVs were compared between echolucent and echogenic plaques. Correlations between SWVs and serum homocysteine levels were investigated. Based on neurological symptom, the surrogate marker of vulnerable plaque (VP), binary logistic regression was performed and area under curve (AUC) of homocysteine only and homocysteine combing SWVmean was calculated respectively. RESULTS: Echogenic plaques (n = 51) had higher SWVs than echolucent ones (n = 78) (SWVmin 3.91 [3.24–4.17] m/s vs. 1.51 [1.04–1.94] m/s; SWVmean, 4.29 [3.98–4.57] m/s vs. 2.09 [1.69–2.41] m/s; SWVmax, 4.67 [4.33–4.86] m/s vs. 2.62 [2.32–3.31] m/s all p values < 0.01). Pearson correlation analysis showed that stiffness of plaques was negatively correlated with homocysteine level. R values for SWVmin, SWVmean, and SWVmax were −0.205, −0.213, and −0.199, respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that sex (p = 0.008), low-density lipoprotein (p = 0.015), triglycerides (p = 0.011), SWVmean (p = 0.004), and hyper-homocysteinemia (p = 0.010) were significantly associated with symptomatic ischemic stroke. Receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that SWVmean combing serum homocysteine level (AUC = 0.67) presented better diagnostic value than serum homocysteine only (AUC = 0.60) for symptomatic ischemic stroke. CONCLUSION: Supersonic shear imaging could be used to quantitatively evaluate stiffness of both echolucent and echogenic carotid plaques. More importantly, SWVs of plaques were not only correlated to serum homocysteine level, but also associated with symptomatic ischemic stroke, suggesting that SSI might be useful for understanding more about VP.
Area Under Curve ; Biomarkers ; Female ; Homocysteine ; Humans ; Lipoproteins ; Logistic Models ; Male ; ROC Curve ; Stroke ; Triglycerides

Objective The objective of this study was to explore the differences of serum metabolomics between small cell lung cancer(SCLC)patients and healthy volunteers,and to discover serum potential biomarkers for identification and small cell lung cancer staging. Methods Ultra-performance liquid chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry(UPLS-TOF/MS)was used to establish the serum metabolic profile of SCLC. Principal Component Analysis(PCA)and orthogonal hidden variables were analyzed by the EZinfo2. 0 software. Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis(OPLS-DA)was used to analyze the metabolic differ-ences between the case and normal control groups. Through cluster analysis using HMDB and METLIN database to search for the exact mass-to-charge ratio of the difference,preliminary identification of some substances with significant differences was carried out. Results Ten differential metabolites such as lysophosphatidylcholine between patients and control groups were screened and identi-fied by mass spectrometry and database search. There were 10 different metabolites such as glycocholic acid in the contour analysis of SCLC patients with different stages. Conclusion There is a significant difference in serum metabolism between SCLC patients and healthy controls. The discovery of differential metabolites provides experimental evidence for the identification of small cell lung cancer and potential markers of staging.

Aim To assess the effects of Trillium Tschonoskii Maxim ( TTM ) decoction on Tau protein phosphorylation and synaptic development in AD model rats induced by high activity GSK-3β. Methods The SD rats were divided into five groups of ten animals, named sham-operated group ( blank group) , AD model group, TTM group (0. 5, 0. 25, 0. 125 g·kg-1 · d-1 ) . Treatment group received gavage once a day for seven days with TTM decoction, while other groups by gavage once a day for seven days with drinking water. On 2nd day by gavage, Morris water maze test was used to assess the spatial learning and memory ability of the rats. After five days' training, rats in the treat-ment groups and AD model group were injected wort-mannin ( WT, PI3K specific inhibitor ) and GF-109203X (GFX, PKC specific inhibitor) (100 μmol ·L-1 of each, total volume of 10 μL) into the right lateral ventricle. Western blot was used to detect the levels of phosphorylation Tau protein at multiple sites and the expression level of PI3K, Akt, PKC, GSK-3β(S9, T216) and synapse-associated proteins. Immu-nohistochemical method was used to detect the hyper-phosphorylation of Tau protein in hippocampus of rats. Golgi staining was applied to detect the number and morphological changes of synaptic development and dendritic spines. Nissl' s staining was employed to ob-serve the development of neonatal neurons in hippo-campus and cortex. Results Western blot showed that the phosphorylation level of Tau in hippocampus increased in model group, and the activity of GSK-3βwas up-regulated. Among them, however, in middle dose TTM group, the phosphorylation level of Tau in hippocampus decreased and the activity of GSK-3βde-creased. The expression levels of p-PKC and p-Akt in low and middle dose treatment group were higher than those in model group, thus increasing the activity of PKC and Akt to inhibit the activity of GSK-3β kinase. Immunohistochemistry also indicated that TTM could decrease the biological effects of Tau phosphorylation in hippocampus of AD rats. Western blot showed that TTM could increase the expression levels of synapsin-1 , syn-aptophysin and GluR-1 in hippocampus of AD rats. Nissl staining showed that the number of Nissl bodies in hippocampal neurons of AD model group were signif-icantly fewer than those of sham operation group, which could be increased by TTM middle and high dose group, and the complexity and dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons in AD rats could be en-hanced as well. Conclusion TTM can effectively im-prove the cognitive function of AD rats induced by the increase of GSK-3β activity, and its possible mecha-nism may be via down-regulating the activity of GSK-3β and inhibiting the phosphorylation of tau protein and promoting the development of neurons.

Objective:To summarize the patient profiles and therapeutic efficacies of ABO-incompatible living-related kidney transplantations at 19 domestic transplant centers and provide rationales for clinical application of ABOi-KT.Methods:Clinical cases of ABO-incompatible/compatible kidney transplantation (ABOi-KT/ABOc-KT) from December 2006 to December 2009 were collected. Then, statistical analyses were conducted from the aspects of tissue matching, perioperative managements, complications and survival rates of renal allograft or recipients.Results:Clinical data of 342 ABOi-KT and 779 ABOc-KT indicated that (1) no inter-group differences existed in age, body mass index (BMI), donor-recipient relationship or waiting time of pre-operative dialysis; (2) ABO blood type: blood type O recipients had the longest waiting list and transplantations from blood type A to blood type O accounted for the largest proportion; (3) HLA matching: no statistical significance existed in mismatch rate or positive rate of PRA I/II between two types of surgery; (4) CD20 should be properly used on the basis of different phrases; (5) hemorrhage was a common complication during an early postoperative period and microthrombosis appeared later; (6) no difference existed in postoperative incidence of complications or survival rate of renal allograft and recipients at 1/3/5/10 years between ABOi-KT and ABOc-KT. The acute rejection rate and serum creatinine levels of ABOi-KT recipients were comparable to those of ABOc-KT recipients within 1 year.Conclusions:ABOi-KT is both safe and effective so that it may be applied at all transplant centers as needed.