Objective To explore the therapeutic effects of 660 nm red light on sciatic nerve injury in adult rats.Methods Forty-five adult,male rats were divided into a control group and treatment groups 1,2,3 and 4.Sciatic nerve injury was modeled by crushing the nerve.The treatment groups received irradiation with red light once daily for 21 consecutive days.The power density of red light and irradiation time varied among the groups.The latency and amplitude of compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) and nerve conductive velocity were examined at different time points.The Sciatic Function Index (SFI) was used to evaluate walking function.Results After 21 days of red light therapy no statistically significant differences were observed between the control group and treatment groups 1 to 4 with regard to the latency or the amplitude of the CMAPs.There was a significant difference between the control group and treatment group 3 in terms of sciatic nerve conduction velocity.The average Sciatic Function Indexes of treatment groups 2,3 were significantly different from that of the control group.Conclusion Red light irradiation can promote recovery after sciatic nerve injury,at least in rats,thereby improving walking function.

Objective To investigate the effect of red light on the expression of caspase-8 and caspase-3 mRNA and protein during the acute stage of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) in neonatal rats.Methods Forty-five seven-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a sham group,an HIBD model group (model group) and an irradiation group.The rats in the model and irradiation groups were subject to HIBD induced using the Rice-Vannucci method.The irradiation group was treated by irradiation with red light on the forehead immediately after the establishment of the HIBD model for 30 min/d on 3 consecutive days,while the sham group and the model group received no treatment.On the 3rd day after the operation,10 rats from each group were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the left hippocampus was rapidly isolated and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen for mRNA and protein examination.Another 5 rats in each group were used for immunofluorescence testing to localize and semi-quantify the expression of caspase-8 and caspase-3.Results In the model group,expression of caspase-8 and caspase-3 mRNA and protein in the left hippocampus was higher than in the sham group on the 3rd day.After red light irradiation,expression of caspase-8 and caspase-3 mRNA and protein decreased significantly in the irradiation group compared with the HIBD group.In the CA 1 region of the hippocampus,the levels of caspase-8 and caspase-3 in the irradiation group were significantly lower than in the model group.Conclusion Red light irradiation can decrease the expression of such apoptosis factors as caspase-8 and caspase-3 in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage at the acute stage and inhibit neural cell apoptosis so as to exert therapeutic effects for hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of rapamycin inhibiting the differentiation and proliferation of newborn porcine pancreatic adult stem cells, and to explore the therapeutic methods that may effectively reduce the side effects of rapamycin. Method Porcine NPCCs were treated with rapamycin alone or in combination with IGF-Ⅱ, and the caspase-3 and [ 3 H ]-thymidine uptake assays were performed to detect apoptosis and proliferation. The expression of insulin, PDX-1, NeuroD/Beta2, and Foxo1, a downstream transcription factor of IGF-Ⅱ, were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot to evaluate the differentiation ability of pancreatic adult stem cells. Results The NPCCs treated with rapamycin inhibited the proliferation ofβ-cells, increased apoptosis, reduced insulin secretion, inhibited the expression of PDX-1 and NeuroD/Beta2, and decreased the expression of IGF-Ⅱ. Foxo1 expression and induction of Foxo1 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus of the ectopic. The combined treatment of rapamycin and IGF-Ⅱcan reduce the side effects of rapamycin, inhibit the decrease ofβ-cell number and insulin content, repair the expression of insulin, PDX-1, NeuroD/Beta2, inhibit Foxo1 expression and intracellular ectopic. Conclusion Aberrant expression of IGF-Ⅱ and Foxol genes is the key inducing factor of rapamycin inhibiting the proliferation and differentiation of NPCCs, and IGF-Ⅱtreatment can effectively reduce the side effects of rapamycin on NPCCs differentiation.

Objective To investigate the correlation between TCM syndrome types and solar term of onset in patients with gastric cancer.Methods A total of 359 patients with gastric cancer admitted to the Cancer Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to August 2023 were included in this study,and the frequency distribution method was used to analyze their information such as sex,age,solar term of onset,differentiation,metastasis and TCM syndrome type.The solar term of onset corresponding to the onset date was calculated,and then the association between solar term of onset and TCM syndrome type in gastric cancer was analyzed.The circular distribution method was used to explore the peak of solar term of onset and TCM syndrome type.Results Among the 359 patients with gastric cancer included in this study,male patients were more than female patients(1.69∶1).The age of onset was mainly between 60 and 70 years old(117 cases,32.6%),and male patients(85 cases,72.6%)were more than female patients(32 cases,27.3%)in this age group.The most common TCM syndromes were qi and blood deficiency syndrome(160 cases,44.6%)and phlegm damp condensation syndrome(94 cases,26.2%).The onset of the disease mainly occurred in winter(132 cases,36.8%),and the peaks were light snow(31 cases,23.5%),major cold(25 cases,18.9%),heavy snow(23 cases,17.4%)and the start of winter(22 cases,16.7%).Qi and blood deficiency syndrome and phlegm damp condensation syndrome in patients with gastric cancer were correlated with solar terms and seasons(P<0.05).The 285 patients with gastric cancer were mainly poorly differentiated gastric cancer(175 cases,61.4%),mainly concentrated in winter(66 cases,37.7%).The main route of gastric cancer metastasis is lymph node metastasis,followed by liver and abdominal cavity metastasis.Conclusion Qi and blood deficiency syndrome and phlegm dampness condensation syndrome are common in patients with gastric cancer.The onset time of gastric cancer is mostly in winter,and the syndrome type is significantly correlated with the onset solar term and differentiation degree.

We tried to explore the value of contrast echocardiography (CEcho) on evaluating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with the inferior wall hypertrophy. A total of 114 patients with HCM were investigated. All the patients received CEcho and routine echocardiography (Echo), and 45 of them received cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and 47 of them received Holter. The frequency and percentage of inferior wall hypertrophy were analyzed in HCM patients, as well as the structure and function. The results showed that: (1) Inferior wall hypertrophy was detected in 55 patients (48%) by Echo, while 68 patients (60%) by CEcho. (2) There was no significant difference between CMR and CEcho in the measurement of inferior wall at end-diastole and end-systole. Thickness of inferior wall by CEcho tended to be higher than CMR. However, the inferior wall thickness measured by Echo was obviously lower than that by CMR ( < 0.05) and CEcho ( < 0.05). (3) Bland-Altman plot suggested good consistency between CEcho and CMR in measuring inferior wall thickness. 95% CI of mean differences in inferior wall thickness between CEcho and CMR were smaller in HCM patients as compared with that between Echo and CMR. Unary linear regression analysis showed good degree of fitting between CEcho and CMR. (4) Holter showed that HCM patients with inferior wall hypertrophy were likely to have higher incidence of premature ventricular complexes (PVC) ≥ 500/24 h. We demonstrate that CEcho is rather sensitive in detecting inferior wall hypertrophy. Echo may underestimate the inferior wall thickness. The risk of ventricular premature beats may increase in HCM patients with inferior hypertrophy.