Diagnosis, Differential ; Gastric Mucosa ; pathology ; Gastritis, Hypertrophic ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo compare the therapeutic differences among scalp acupuncture combined with auricular point sticking, body acupuncture and western medication for treatment of vascular dementia (VD).

METHODSNinety cases were randomly divided into a combined therapy group (31 cases), a body acupuncture group (29 cases) and a western medication group (30 cases). The combined therapy group was treated with scalp acupuncture at forehead middle line, parieral middle line, temporal front line and temporal rear line as well as auricular point sticking at naogan (AT3,41), shen (CO10), shenmen (TF4), zhen (AT3), once a day; the body acupuncture group was treated with acupuncture at Baihui (GV 20), Fengchi (GB 20), Zusanli (ST 36) and so on, once a day; the western medication group was treated with oral administration of aniracetam tablets, 0.2 g per time, twice a day. Fourteen days were considered as a treatment course, and totally 3 courses were required. The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and activities of daily living (ADL) were applied to assess the changes of cognitive behavior ability before and after treatment among three groups. Also the efficacy among three groups were compared.

RESULTSOne case dropped out in the body acupuncture group and western medication group, respectively. The total effective rate was 90.334 (28/31) in the combined therapy group, which was superior to 85.734 (24/28) in the body acupuncture group and 79.3% (23/29) in the western medication group (both P < 0.05). After the treatment, the scores of MMSE and ADL were all improved among three groups, which was the most significant in the combined therapy group (MMSE: 23.32 +/- 4.45 vs 21.23 +/- 4.13, P < 0.05; 23.32 +/- 4.45 vs 20.41 +/- 4. 01, P < 0.01; ADL: 53.18 +/- 21.55 vs 51.92 +/- 20.42, P < 0.05; 53.18 +/- 21.55 vs 49.42 +/- 19.43, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe scalp acupuncture combined with auricular point sticking could improve the clinical symptoms and cognitive behavior ability in patients with vascular dementia, which has superior total efficacy to body acupuncture and western medication aniracetam tablets.

Activities of Daily Living ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Cognition ; Dementia, Vascular ; psychology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Scalp

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually takes many years from preclinical phase to prodromal phase characterized by mild symptoms before the onset of dementia. Once diagnosed with AD, the brain is already severely damaged and the disease will process quickly to the most severe stages since there is no medications that reverse the neuronal injuries in the brain. Thus, simple, inexpensive, and widely available methods for detecting potential AD patients during their preclinical phases are urgently needed. In such case, olfactory testing may offer a chance for early diagnosis of AD. However, there are limitations in these olfactory tests due to the complexity of the brain areas it extends to and the frequently olfactory fatigue occurred in the behavioral olfactory tests. Great efforts have been done epidemiologically to investigate the correlation between olfactory functions and possibility of developing AD. Different patterns of olfactory dysfunction have been found in AD at early stages and even mild cognitive impairment (MIC), but the cause of the dysfunction remained unclear. Various kinds of AD animal models have been used in the field to clarify the existence of olfactory dysfunctions and thus study the underling mechanism of the dysfunction. In this review we discuss (1) the function of Tau physiologically and pathologically; (2) the genetic background and biological characteristics of the most commonly used Tau transgenic mice; (3) the structural and molecule basis of olfaction; (4) the possible relationship between Tau pathology and olfactory dysfunction. Finally, we suggest that the tau transgenic mouse models may be helpful in studying the possible mechanisms of the dysfunction.
Alzheimer Disease ; physiopathology ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Olfaction Disorders ; physiopathology ; tau Proteins

Objective To study the prevalence of transfusion transmitted virus (TTV) in normal children and hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrying children. Methods Anested polymerase chain reaction(nPCR) assay was established using two - set of primers designed from the first open read frame of TTV genome. Serum from the children who received physical examination was tested by nPCR assay for the presence of TTV- DNA. Results The total detectable rate of TTV - DNA in those 230 objects was 17.4% , in which the positive rate of TTV - DNA was 13.7% in normal children and was 25.7% in children carrying HBV. There was significant difference in the positive rate of TTV - DNA between normal children and the children carrying HBV. Conclusion There is TTV infection in normal children,and there is higher positive rate of TTV-DNA in children carrying HBV in Xinjiang.

Objective The expression and impaired function of ion channels might be one of the pathophysiological mecha -nisms responsible for diarrhea in inflammatory bowel disease ( IBD) .Proper animal model is the key to explore detailed pathophysiolog-ical process.The purpose of this study was to build a rat model of acute colitis induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in C57BL/6 mice and evaluate diarrhea-associated clinical , histological , pathological parameters and expressions of ion channel protein . Methods C57BL/6J mice of model group were treated with 4%DSS solution for 7 days to induce acute colitis.Mice body weight, stool moisture, stool consistency and the degree of hematochezia were recorded .The histopathological changes of mice colon specimens were observed visually and microcosmically, and the ion channel SLC26A3 protein was detected by Western Blot . Results All experimental mice survived.In the experiment, compared with control group , bloody diarrhea and weight lose occurred in model group , along with increased stool moisture ([73.30 ±8.31]% after experiment vs [44.32 ±6.42]% before experiment, P=0.004), and rapidly in-creased disease activity index (DAI) of acute colitis ([3.50 ±0.87] after experiment vs [1.0 ±0.00] before experiment, P=0.000).At the end of this experiment , compared with control group , the model group resulted in higher colonic damage score and pathological inflammation score (P=0.00, P=0.002), significantly shortened co-lon (P=0.00) and decreased expression of SLC26A3. Conclusion The intestinal mucosal injury and phenotypic features of 4%DSS-induced acute colitis are very similar to those of human ulcerative colitis .Impaired expression of intestinal ion transporter SLC26 A3 coexists with diarrhea in model group mice , and this model can support the research on mechanism of functional changes of ion channels in inflammatory diarrhea .

OBJECTIVETo study the protective effects and the possible mechanism of shengmai for injection(SM) against the experimental acute cardiogenic shock.

METHODThe experimental acute cardiogenic shock model was established by ligating the anterior descending cornonary in dogs. The effects of SM on cardiogenic shock were investigated by measuring the hemodynamics parameter, the activity of LDH, CK, SOD and the contents of MDA in blood serum.

RESULTIn the dogs treated with SM, the mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), left ventricular pressure (LVP), the maximum of its first derivative (+/- dp/dtmax), the cardiac output (CO) and the cardiac index (CI) were increased significantly. The left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and the peripheral vascular resistance (TPVR) were decreased significantly, the myocardial infarct size was redused observely. In addition, the activity of LDH, CK and the contents of MDA in serum were decreased significantly, however the activity of SOD was increased observely.

CONCLUSIONThe results indicate that SM has the protective effects on cardiogenic shock.

Animals ; Cardiac Output ; drug effects ; Cardiotonic Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Creatine Kinase ; blood ; Dogs ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Rate ; drug effects ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; physiology ; Injections, Intravenous ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; blood ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Myocardial Infarction ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Ophiopogon ; chemistry ; Panax ; chemistry ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Random Allocation ; Schisandra ; chemistry ; Shock, Cardiogenic ; blood ; physiopathology ; prevention & control ; Vascular Resistance ; drug effects

Secondary metabolites are the result of that plant interaction with biological and non-biological factors in the long-term evolution process, and play an important role in plant growth, development and physiology. The effective components of medicinal plant are usually the secondary metabolites in plant cells, and the synthesis of them are affected by a variety of factors, such as environmental impact. Acquirement of the secondary metabolites via callus culture has the advantage of low cost and less environmental impact. The synthesis and accumulation of medicinal plant secondary metabolites are not only controlled by light, temperature and pH, but also infected by germplasm, plant growth regulator and elicitor. This article presents a review of the influencing factors, and provides a basis for further study and development.
Light ; Plant Growth Regulators ; metabolism ; Plant Physiological Phenomena ; radiation effects ; Plants ; metabolism ; radiation effects ; Temperature

OBJECTIVETo investigate the possible role of mycobacteria in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis.

METHODSWe used nested polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (nPCR-RFLP) and gene sequencing method to examine 31 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens (including 19 skin lesions and 12 lymph nodes ) obtained from patients with sarcoidosis, 14 normal skin specimens, and 3 cutaneous tuberculosis specimens.

RESULTSThe 65kD mycobacterial heat shock protein gene was found in 4 out of 19 (21.1%) skin specimens of sarcoidosis. The mycobacteria included M. tuberculosis (n = 1), M. chelonei (n = 2), and M. gordonae (n = 1). Mycobacterial DNA was negative in 12 lymph node specimens and 14 normal skin specimens. M. tuberculosis gene was detected in all 3 specimens of cutaneous tuberculosis.

CONCLUSIONMycobacteria may play a role in the pathogenesis of cutaneous sarcoidosis.

Adult ; Aged ; DNA, Bacterial ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; microbiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Mycobacterium Infections ; microbiology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Sarcoidosis ; microbiology ; Skin ; microbiology ; Young Adult

To evaluate the expression of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor P27(Kip1) in leukemia and to investigate its clinical significance, the P27(Kip1) protein in bone marrow or peripheral blood samples from 82 cases of leukemia was measured by Western blot and enhanced chemoluminescence (ECL). The results showed that the expression of P27(Kip1) protein in ALL was higher than that in ANLL (P = 0.033) and also that in CML (P = 0.008). P27(Kip1) expression in CLL was higher than that in CML too (P = 0.017). In acute leukemia, the effective rate (CR and PR) of initial chemical therapy in the group of P27(Kip1) > 0.655 was higher than that in the group of P27(Kip1) < or = 0.655, P = 0.041. For ANLL and ALL patients, the survival time in the group of P27(Kip1) > 0.655 was longer than that in the group of P27(Kip1) < or = 0.655, P = 0.0065. There were similar statistical significance for ANLL and ALL patients, P = 0.0271 and P = 0.0266 respectively. There was a negative correlation between chromosomal abnormalities and P27(Kip1) expression in ALL patients (r = -0.775, P = 0.04). The expression of P27(Kip1) protein appeared nothing to do with sex, age, white blood cell number, blast cell number in peripheral blood, serum LDH or uric acid. In conclusion, the expression level of P27(Kip1) protein is in relation to the effect of initial chemical therapy and survival time, so that the lower P27(Kip1) expression may associated with poor prognosis in acute leukemia.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; analysis ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; analysis