Objective To investigate the effect of levetiracetam on benign childhood epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes(BECT) with early-electrical status epilepticus during sleep(ESES).Methods Since June 2010 to June 2013,35 cases of BECT with ESES were treated in our hospital.They were divided into two groups:early-ESES group and ESES group.The seizure rate and spike-wave index in different groups were observed before and after treatment.Intelligence quotient(IQ),response control quotient,attention quotient in different groups were compared before and after treatment.Results The seizure-free rate in earlyESES group was 55.00％,the total effective rate was 85.00％,EEG improvement rate was 60.00％.The seizure-free rate in ESES group was 26.67％,the total effective rate was 73.33％,EEG improvement rate was 46.67％.The seizure-free rate,total effective rate and EEG improvement rate in early-ESES group were higher than that in ESES group,but there were no statistically significant differences between two groups.The cognitive function (verbal IQ:90.29 ± 13.47 vs.83.97 ± 10.20; performance IQ:93.83 ± 11.12 vs.87.03 ± 11.15; full IQ:94.26 ± 10.96 vs.86.71 ± 11.29) and visual attention in both groups (response control quotient:100.77 ± 7.91 vs.87.40 ± 9.68 ; attention quotient:94.66 ± 7.22 vs.79.46 ± 12.52) were significantly improved after treatment(P ＜ 0.05,respectively).Conclusion Levetiracetarn is effective on BECT with ESES and early-ESES,especially on early-ESES.Levetiracetam maybe have a preventive effect on ESES.

Objective This paper is intended for establishing quality standard of Ershiwuwei Shanhu pill. Methods The TLC was used to indentify Pyrethrum tatsienense, Sesami nigrum semen, Aquilariae lignum resinatum, Caryophmlli flos, Acori calami rhizoma, Chebulae fructus, Aucklandiae radix and Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizome. For hydroxysafflor yellow A, the HPLC system consisted of WondaSil-C18 (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5μm), methanol-acetonitrile- 0.7% phosphoric acid (26:2:72) as mobile phase, flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, detection wavelength at 403 nm. For liquiritin, the HPLC system consisted of WondaSil-C18 (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5μm), acetonitrile (A)-0.05% phosphoric acid (B) as mobile phase, flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, detection wavelength at 237 nm. And for crocin-I, the HPLC system consisted of WondaSil-C18 (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5μm), methanol-water (49:51) as mobile phase, flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, detection wavelength at 440 nm. Results The methods of TLC were simple with strong specificity and good reproducibility. The results of HPLC showed that calibration curve was linear in the ranges of 0.046 7-0.233 8μg for hydroxysafflor yellow A, and 0.510 6-1.531 8μg for liquiritin and 0.048 1-0.340 5μg for crocin-I. The average recovery rate was 102.01%, 99.50%and 99.32%, respectively. Conclusion The new method is more appropriate for the quality control of Ershiwuwei Shanhu pill.

Objective To investigate the expression of marrow-derived thyroid stimulating hormone β (TSHβ) splice variant in thyroid of mouse with autoimmune thyroiditis induced by thyroglobulin(Tg) immunization,and to analyze whether TSHβ splice variant participated in the pathological process of autoimmune thyroiditis.Methods Using random number table,forty-eight mice(24 females and 24 males) of 7 to 8 weeks old with body mass 20 to 25 g were randomly divided into 4 groups(12 females and 12 males in each group) based on body weight and gender.The control group:fed with deionized water; the Tg-treated group(TG):fed with deionized water,and immunized subcutaneously with 0.1 mg Tg at 8 weeks old,boost immunized twice at 11 and 15 weeks old,respectively; the high iodine-treated group (HI):fed with deionized water containing 0.05％ sodium iodide (NaI); the Tg combined with HI group (TG + HI):fed with deionized water containing 0.05％ NaI,and immunized the same way as the TG group did.Peripheral blood was collected after 8 weeks treatment,which was used for determination of total tetraiodothyronine (TT4),free tetraiothyronine (FT4),total triiodothyronine (TT3) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) with chemiluminescence immunoassay (CIA); thyroid glands were collected to examine the expression of TSHβ splice variant with SYBR Green fluorescent quantitative real-time PCR,and frozen sections were HE stained for observation of histopathological changes of thyroid cells under light microscopy.Results Under naked eyes,the thyroid gland enlarged significantly,and looked dark red in HI and TG + HI groups.Under an optical microscope,thyroid follicular epithelial cells presented cuboidal,with abundant cytoplasm,presented abundant glial in follicular cavity,without lymphocyte infiltration in the control group; in TG group,the thyroid follicular epithelial cells presented cuboidal,with some single scattered lymphocytes; in HI group,colloid volume expansion appeared in thyroid follicles,thyroid follicular epithelial cells presented low cuboidal or flat,with few single scattered lymphocytes; in TG + HI group,most colloid accumulative large follicles presented in thyroid,thyroid follicular epithelial cells presented flat,some destructive thyroid follicular structure and infiltrating lymphocytes appeared.The differences of FT3,TT4,FT4 and TSHβ splice variant between groups were statistically significant(F =4.00,12.54,31.92,214.29,all P ＜ 0.05).Compared to the control group,the serum TT3(nmol/L:0.92 ± 0.07 vs.1.30 ± 0.33,t =-2.24),TT4(nmol/L:1.30 ± 0.33 vs.95.60 ± 14.10,t =-3.02),FT4(pmoL/L:54.07 ± 3.67 vs.154.80 ± 0.01,t =-54.87) and the thyroids' TSHβ(× 10-3:4.11±0.32 vs.8.38 ± 0.22,t =-19.11) were higher in TG group(all P ＜ 0.05) ; the serum TT4(nmol/L:67.75 ± 11.91 vs.45.50± 3.85,t =3.55,P ＜ 0.05) was lower in HI group; the serum FT4(pmol/L:54.07 ± 3.67 vs.139.46 ± 30.00,t =-5.65) and the thyroids' TSHβ splice variant (× 10-3:4.11 ± 0.32 vs.5.33 ± 1.47,t =-5.95) were higher in TG + HI group (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions High iodine has aggravated thyroiditis of BALB/c mice induced by Tg immunization; the level of thyroid TSHβ in mice with autoimmune thyroiditis is higher; all of these results indicated that TSHβ is involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune thyroiditis.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1 /PD-L1 are increasingly used to treat several types of cancer.Although several agents have been approved,only 10％ to 30％ of patients have benefited from them.Some studies have shown that intestinal micro-ecology can affect the outcome of ICIs through immune regulation in cancer patients.This literature review s summarized the regulation and predictive functions of intestinal micro-ecology on ICIs treatment,and introduced possible mechanisms of intestinal micro-ecology that affacted the efficacy of immunotherapy.In addition,some approaches for detecting gut microbiome were also summarized.Gut microbiota highlighted in this review may serve as novel biomarkers to predict clinical outcomes in cancer patients.

Objective To investigate the correlation between hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression and activation of phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase and serine/threonine kinase signal pathway in the hippocampus of developing rats after status epilepticus (SE).Methods Fifty-four SD rats aged 21 days were randomly divided into control group (n=24),SE group (n=24),wortmannin treatment group (n=6); SE rat models of the SE group were induced by intraperitoneal injection of 1％ 1,5-Pentamethylenetetrazole (PTZ); rats of the control group received injection of normal saline (NS); for wortmannin treatmnet group,the rats received intraperitoneal injection ofwortmannin 30 minutes before the inducement; the brain tissues were harvested from the rats at 1,4,8 and 24 h after the inducement,but only at 4 h in the wortmannin treatment group.The HIF-1α and Akt positive cells were detected with irnmunohistochemistry method.HIF-1α,Akt and p-Akt protein expressions were measured by Western blotting.Results In SE group,the HIF-1α expression began to occur at 1 h,significantly increased at 4 h after inducement,reached the peak level at 8 h,and began to decrease at 24 h; Akt protein positive cells showed no significant difference between each two time points; the p-Akt protein was significantly increased at 1 h,reached the peak level at 4 h and began to decrease at 8 h.However,the expression levels of HIF-1α and p-Akt protein in the control group were extremely low at each time point.So,the HIF-1α expression level in the SE vehicle group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P＜0.05); the p-Akt protein expression in SE group at 1,4 and 8 h was significantly higher than that in the control group (P＜0.05).The changes of Akt protein in the SE group were not time-dependent,and no significant difference was evident when it was compared with that of the control group (P＞0.05).Using wortmannin,the PI3K/Akt specific inhibitor,HIF-lα protein expression was significantly decreased when it was compared with the SE vehicle group (P＜0.05).Conclusion After status epilepticus in the developing rats,the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is activated and the pathway involves in regulating the HIF-1α expression.

The effects of tree ages and geographic area on quality of bark of Magnolia officinalis (MO) and M. officinalis var. biloba (MOB) were studied. The volatile oils of samples extracted by a water stream distillation method were analyzed using a GC/MS method. The non-volatile ingredients of samples were determined by an HPLC method. Seven and twenty characteristic peaks were detected in the HPLC and GC fingerprint of MO, respectively, and the similar HPLC and GC fingerprint were showed in MOB. For samples collected in the same geographic area with different ages, the concentrations of active ingredients varied barely, whereas for those samples collected from different geographic area, differences on the concentrations of active ingredients were observed, for example, the concentrations of the amount of magnolol and honokiol in samples collected in Hubei province were higher than those collected in other areas. Big differences on the concentrations of active ingredients were found between MO and MOB, for MO, the ratio of honokiol/ magnolol was more than 0.7, whereas the ratio-was less than 0.7 in the case of MOB, and the concentrations of honokiol in MO were higher than those in MOB.
China ; Magnolia ; chemistry ; physiology ; Plant Bark ; chemistry ; physiology ; Plant Extracts ; analysis

Background Alzheimer's disease(AD)is the most common type of dementia.There has been an increasing trend in incidence rate.The drug therapy has been proven ineffective in improving the cognitive function of AD patients or delaying the disease progression,leading to perceived low adherence with treatment and low efficacy.Previous basic research shows that blue light irradiation is helpful to improve the cognitive function of AD model rats,but there is no corresponding clinical study on the improvement effect of blue light irradiation on cognitive function of AD patients.Objective To explore the efficacy of blue light irradiation in improving the cognitive function of AD patients,so as to provide references for cognitive stabilization or improvement of AD patients.Methods A sample of 155 patients who were hospitalized in Geriatric Department of Shenzhen Kangning Hospital from June 2019 to December 2023 and met the International Classification of Diseases,tenth edition(ICD-10)diagnostic criteria for AD were retrospectively selected.Among them,80 cases who received blue light irradiation combined with memantine therapy and conventional psychotherapy were the study group,and 75 cases who only received memantine therapy and conventional psychotherapy were the control group.Blue light irradiation therapy lasted for 4 weeks,5 times per week,with each session lasting for 30 min.Then Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE)and Activity of Daily Living Scale(ADL)were administered at the baseline and after treatment.Results After treatment,study group reported an increase in MMSE total score,orientation,immediate recall,attention/calculation,delayed recall and language dimension scores(Z=-6.931,-5.773,-4.123,-3.649,-3.508,-4.733,P<0.05),and a decrease in ADL total score(Z=-7.020,P<0.05)compared to baseline data.Analysis indicated that study group scored higher on MMSE total scale,orientation,immediate recall and language dimensions(Z=-2.784,-4.621,-2.483,-3.463,P<0.05),and lower on ADL total score(Z=-3.704,P<0.05)than those of control group after treatment.Conclusion Blue light irradiation for AD patients may improve their cognitive function and activities of daily living.

BackgroundThe diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease （AD） still faces great challenges， and the advantage of electroencephalogram （EEG） diagnosis lies in its portable and non-invasive nature， so the EEG diagnosis of AD has occupied an important place in clinical research. ObjectiveTo evaluate the value of resting state EEG for AD diagnosis， and to provide references for early recognition of AD in clinical practice. MethodsClinical data of AD patients （n=59） in an Inpatient Geriatric Psychiatry Unit of Shenzhen Kangning Hospital from May 2019 to May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed， and healthy elderly individuals attending outpatient clinics at the hospital during the same period were enrolled as control group （n=54）. Eight-channel resting state EEG data were acquired， and the absolute power values in the α， β， θ and δ frequency bands and the α/θ ratio were obtained and calculated using Fast Fourier Transform （FFT）. Cognitive function assessments of patients were done by Mini-Mental State Examination （MMSE） and Montreal Cognitive Assessment （MoCA）. Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the correlation between EEG findings and MMSE and MoCA scores of AD patienrs. Logistic regression prediction model for AD was built using currently available EEG and clinical variables， and the model performance was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve and the area under curve （AUC）. ResultsThe θ-band absolute powers in the right mid-frontal （F4） and mid-lateral （F7， F8） regions were higher in AD patients than those in healthy controls， with statistically significant difference （t=-2.844， -2.825， -3.014， P<0.05 or 0.01）. The absolute powers of α/θ ratio in prefrontal （Fp1， Fp2）， mid-frontal （F3， F4） and mid-lateral （F7， F8） regions showed a notable reduction in AD patients compared with healthy controls， with statistical difference （t=2.081， 2.327， 3.423， 2.358， 3.272， 2.445， P<0.05 or 0.01）. Spearman correlation analysis denoted that MMSE score was positively correlated with the absolute powers of α-band， β-band and α/θ ratio （r=0.206， 0.288， 0.372， P<0.05 or 0.01）. MoCA score was positively correlated with β absolute powers and α/θ ratio （r=0.201， 0.315， P<0.05 or 0.01）， and negatively correlated with θ absolute power （r=-0.218， P<0.05）. ROC curve revealed an AUC of 0.882 （95% CI： 0.820~0.943）， a sensitivity of 0.966 and a specificity of 0.673 for the AD prediction model based on EEG variables， while the prediction model for AD using comprehensive variables achieved better predictive efficacy， reaching an AUC， sensitivity and specificity of 0.946 （95% CI： 0.905~0.986）， 0.948 and 0.873， respectively. ConclusionResting state EEG of AD patients is correlated with cognitive function， and are of great value in the diagnosis of AD， with θ absolute power and α/θ ratio in EEG being the most strongly correlated with AD.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of enriched environment (EE) combined with acupuncture at head point (HA) on behavior in rats with autism spectrum disorder. MethodsHealthy female Wistar rats were given peritoneal injection of sodium valproate at 12.5 days of gestation. Twenty-four male offspring rats were randomly selected and then randomly divided into model group (n = 6), EE group (n = 6), HA group (n = 6) and EE combined with HA group (the combined group, n = 6). Six male offspring rats born from female mice injected with the same amount of saline intraperitoneally were as control group. After four weeks of treatment, all the five groups were tested with three-chamber test and marble burying test, and the sociability index, the social novelty index and the number of buried marbles were recorded. The levels of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in peripheral blood were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ResultsAfter treatment, compared with the model group, the sociability index and the social novelty index improved (P < 0.05), the number of buried marbles reduced (P < 0.05), and the levels of IL-6 and IL-1β in peripheral blood decreased in EE group, HA group and the combined group (P < 0.05); while the combined group was the best (P < 0.01). ConclusionBoth EE or acupuncture at HA could improve behavioral symptoms, and reduce the expression of inflammatory factors in rats with autism spectrum disorder. The combination of the two methods showed the best result.