Objective To explore the central mechanism of acupuncture at Baihui (GV20) for memory impairment after stroke. Methods 32 stroke patients were randomized to receive acupuncture at Baihui (GV20) (as observation group) and acupuncture at Yanglingquan (GB34) (as control group) for 8 weeks. At the meantime, all participants received routine treatment including physical and occupational therapies. They were scanned with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to find functional connectivity and assessed with Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) before and after treatment. The results of WMS and functional connectivity were analyzed with Pearson's correlation. Results The memory scores and memory quotient improved significantly after treatment in the observation group (P<0.05). The functional connectivity significantly increased occurred in the left hippocampus to right inferior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus and left inferior frontal gyrus; and right hippocampus to left middle frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus and left parietal lobe. Significant correlations were found between memory quotient and functional connectivity of hippocampus to frontal lobe and left parietal lobe in the observation group. There was no statistical significance in memory scores and memory quotient in the control group. The functional connectivity significantly decreased in left hippocampus to right middle occipital gyrus, and right hippocampus to right superior temporal gyrus and right posterior lobe of cerebellum. There was no statistical correlation between functional connectivity and results of WMS. Conclusion The acupuncture at Baihui can improves memory ability of stroke patients, which may associate with the increase of functional connectivity of hippocampus with frontal lobes and parietal lobes.

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical efficacy of wrist-ankle acupuncture plus continuous exercise therapy for post-stroke shoulder pain.MethodsEighty patients with post-stroke shoulder pain were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 40 cases each. The control group received continuous exercise training with an upper limb multi-joint rehabilitation training instrument and the treatment group, wrist-ankle acupuncture in addition. The affected limb SEP N9 and N13 latency values, shoulder pain severity (the VAS score) and the upper limb motor function score were observed in the two groups before and after treatment. The clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.ResultsThe total efficacy rate was 90.0% in the treatment group and 75.0% in the control group; there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant pre-/post-treatment difference in SEP N9-N13 wave interval on the affected side in the two groups (P<0.01). There was a statistically significant post-treatment difference in SEP N9-N13 wave interval on the affected side between the treatment and control groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in the VAS score and the Fugl-Meyer score in the two groups (P<0.01). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in the VAS score and the Fugl-Meyer score between the treatment and control groups (P<0.01).ConclusionsWrist-ankle acupuncture plus continuous exercise therapy is an effective way to treat post-stroke shoulder pain.

Objective:To investigate the mechanism of learning and memory impairment of apolipoprotein E -/- ( ApoE-/-) mice after transient global cerebral ischemia by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Methods:Ten-week-old C57BL/6(WT) mice and ApoE-/- mice were randomly divided into WT sham-operated group ( n=8), WT 7 d group ( n=12) and WT 30 d group ( n=12), and ApoE-/- sham-operated ( n=8), ApoE-/- 7 d group ( n=12) and ApoE-/- 30 d group ( n=12). The mice in the WT 7 d group, WT 30 d group, ApoE-/- 7 d group, and ApoE-/- 30 d group received bilateral common carotid artery ischemia-reperfusion injury, while mice in the WT sham-operated group and ApoE sham-operated group only stripped the blood vessels without ligation. On the 7 th and 30 th d of modeling, Morrris water maze test was employed to detect the learning and memory abilities of these mice; DTI was used to detect the fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the bilateral hippocampus of mice, and MRS was used to detect the contents of choline complex (Cho) and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in the bilateral hippocampus of mice. Results:(1) On 2 nd, 3 rd, and 4 th d of water maze experiment, the escape latency of mice in ApoE-/- 7 d group was significantly prolonged as compared with that in the ApoE-/- sham-operated group and WT 7 d group ( P<0.05); since the 3 rd d of water maze experiment, the escape latency of mice in ApoE-/- 30 d group was significantly prolonged as compared with that in WT 30 d group ( P<0.05). The number of times crossing platform in ApoE-/- 7 d group was significantly smaller than that in WT 7 d group, and the residence time in the third quadrant was significantly shorter ( P<0.05); the number of times crossing platform in ApoE-/- 30 d group were significantly smaller as compared with that in the WT 30 d group, and the residence time in the third quadrant was significantly shortened ( P<0.05). (2) DTI results showed that there was no significant difference in bilateral hippocampal FA values between ApoE-/- 7 d group and WT 7 d group ( P>0.05); the bilateral hippocampal FA values of mice in the ApoE-/- 30 d group were statistically lower than those in WT 30 d group ( P<0.05). (3) MRS results showed that the relative contents of hippocampal Cho and NAA in the ApoE-/- 7 d group were significantly lower than those in the WT 7 d group, and the relative contents of hippocampal Cho and NAA in the ApoE-/- 30 d group were significantly lower than those in the WT 30 d group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:ApoE-/- mice have poor learning and memory abilities after transient global cerebral ischemic injury, whose mechanism is closely related to the damage of hippocampal white matter fibers and abnormal metabolism of nerve cells.

Objective To investigate the association of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) polymorphisms with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) susceptibility.Methods From September 1,2013 to May 30,2017,Han ethnic 201 ICH patients and 203 controls from South China were enrolled in this study.Genotyping and sequencing ofSIRT1 polymorphisms (rs7069102,rs2273773 and rs7895833) were performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).The correlation of SIRT1 polymorphisms with ICH was analyzed.Results (1) The rs7895833 A allele frequency distribution was significantly higher and the rs7895833 GG+AG gene frequency distribution was significantly lower in the ICH group than those in the control group (P＜0.05);the rs7069102 C allele frequency distribution was lower and the GG+CG gene frequency distribution was higher in the ICH group than those in the control group,without significant differences (P＞0.05).(2) Logistic regression analysis indicated rs7895833 AA genotype carriers had increased risk for ICH (OR:1.57,95％CI:1.14-2.18,P=0.006).(3) As compared with patients with rs2273773 TT genotype,patients with CC and CT genotypes had significantly higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P＜0.05);there were no associations between rs2273773/rs7069102 and ICH.Conclusion SIRT1 rs7895833 is significantly associated with ICH susceptibility;rs2273773 genotypes affect plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level in the Chinese Han ethnic population.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Zexie Decoction （泽泻汤） in inhibiting neuroinflammation and improving cognitive impairment mediated by high-calorie diet. MethodsTwenty seven C57BL/J mice were randomly divided into control group （n = 9）， model group （n = 9） and Zexie Decoction group （n = 9）. The mice in the model group and the Zexie Decoction group were fed with high-calorie diet to establish the model of cognitive impairment. Meanwhile， the mice in Zexie Decoction group were also fed with 0.36 g/（kg·d）Zexie Decoction， and the mice in the control group and model group were fed with the same volume of normal saline for 8 weeks. The body weight of mice was recorded at the same time every week； after intervention， oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） and insulin tolerance test（ITT） commenced； the cognitive level of mice was detected by Morris water maze， open field test， new object recognition test and Y maze； magnetic resonance spectroscopy （MRS） was used to detect the expression of N-acetylaspartate （NAA）， choline （CHO）， lactic acid （Lac）， creatine （Cr）， lipid （Lip）， and myoInositol （mI） in left hippocampus， hypothalamus and cortex. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of synaptophysin （SYN）， synaptosome associated protein-25 （SNAP-25）， postsynaptic dense protein-95 （PSD-95）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB p65） and its phosphorylated form （P-NF-B p65） in mouse brain； Nissl's staining was used to detect the morphological changes of hippocampal neurons. ResultsCompared with the control group， body mass， blood glucose in oral glucose tolerance test， and blood glucose in insulin tolerance test increased in the model group； in the Morris water maze experiment， the total distance travelled and escape latency of the model group mice increased， the time spent in the platform area and the number of times traversing the platform decreased on days 3 and 4； in the open-field experiment， the number of times the model group mice entered the central area， the ratio of the time in the central area to the total time， and the ratio of the distance travelled in the central area to the total distance significantly decreased； in the new object recognition test， the frequency of new object recognition and recognition index were significantly lower in the model group mice； in the Y-maze test， the spontaneous alternation rate of mice in the model group was significantly lower （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； in the left hippocampus， hypothalamus， and cortex of mice in the model group， the CHO/Cr， NAA/Cr significantly decreased， and the mI/Cr， Lac/Cr and Lip/Cr significantly increased； SYN/β-actin， SNAP-25/β-actin and PSD-95/β-actin values significantly decreased， and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 and TNF-α/β-actin values significantly increased in brain tissue （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the model group， the above indexes of mice in the Zexie Decoction group significantly improved （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The results of Nissl staining showed that compared with the control group， the neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in the model group were scattered and sparsely arranged， the density was significantly reduced， the nuclei of the cells had consolidation and shrinkage， the number of Nissl vesicles was reduced， and the staining became lighter； compared with the model group， the density of neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus region of the Zexie Decoction group increased， the wrinkling of nuclei improved， the cell gap narrowed， and the arrangement was slightly tight. Concusion The ameliorative effect of Zexie Decoction on cognitive function in mice with high-calorie diet-induced cognitive impairment may relate to the restructuring of glucose metabolism homeostasis， inhibition of neuroinflammation， reduction of neuronal damage， and enhancement of synaptic plasticity.