BACKGROUND: At present, the scale for evaluating cervical vertigo symptoms and functions applied in clinic can evaluate the overall curative effect in patients with cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type (CSA).However, this scale lacks the content of functional status and emotional function for evaluating daily life function.OBJECTIVE: To develop a functional scale for cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type (FS-CSA) including functional status and emotional function based on the vertigo disorder scale made abroad.DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey, interview evaluation after pretest, internal consistency, retest consistency and construct validity were measured by the method of Chronbach's c, Pearson correlation coefficients and factor analysis, respectively.SETTING: Clinical Epidemiology/DME Center, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 111 consecutive patients with CSA, 30 men and 81 women aged 31 to 72 years, in the Clinic for Cervical Spondylosis of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine were recruited from May 2001 to March 2002. Altogether 36 patients had risk factors of vertebral-base artery atherosclerosis. There were 14 cases of mild vertigo, 61 cases of moderate vertigo, and 36 cases of severe vertigo. Informed consent was obtained from the participants.METHODS: FS-CSA was made according to clinical actual condition Functional status (going for a walk during the day by yourself, walking around the house in the dark, doing strenuous housework, social activity,traveling for business or recreation, getting into or out of bed, reading books or newspaper; each item was divided into three categories "No,anxious, worried about your illness, and feeling frustrated; each item consisted of three categories "No, Sometimes, and Yes"). Patients with CSA were evaluated by means of interview and 14 of them were retested. Internal consistency, construct validity and correlation coefficients of the scale were measured with SPSS 10.0 software.tional status dimensionality, emotional functional dimensionality as well as internal consistency of the total scale in FS-CAS: Chronbach's α value was 0.875 9, 0.645 3 and 0.859 5, respectively; retest consistency value was extracted common factor was consistent with the two dimensionalities.tool quantifies the life quality of the patients with CSA and can make a uate curative effects of drugs or screen the best treatment scheme; therefore, it has clinical application value.

0.05).Muscular tension improvement in SG group and baclofen group differed from that in the model group(P0.05).GABA expression in the spinal dorsal horn was decreased in SG group and baclofen group as compared with the model group(P0.05).Conclusion The therapeutic mechanism of SG for the treatment of muscular hypertonia after stroke is probably related with the spinal expression of GABA.

Objective To evaluate the influence of a clinical pathway on mean length of hospital stay of ischemic stroke patients. Methods The study performed retrospective cohort study of stroke patients which were hospitalized in the Guangdong provincial hospital of TCM corresponding to the periods immediately before and after the implementation of the clinical pathway. The outcome measure was mean length of hospital stay. Results Mean length of hospital stay was significantly shortened after implementing clinical pathway. Conclusions The implementation of the ischemic stroke clinical pathway can shorten mean length of hospital stay of ischemic stroke patients and improve the utilization of medical source.

[Objective] To investigate the occurrence rate, manifestations and influencing factors of emotional disorder in patients after acute stroke. [Methods] Emotional disorder in 107 cases of acute stroke was assessed by 17-item Hamilton Depression Scales (HAMD), 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Scales (KAMA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Barthel index (BI), and the relationship between emotional disorder and influencing factors were also analyzed. [Results] The occurrence rate of emotional disorder after acute stroke was 41.12% , in which depression was 18.69% , anxiety 9.35% and concurrence of depression and anxiety 13.08% . Emotional disorder usually occurred in the dominant hemisphere of young patients with lower BI after repeated attacks of stroke; its manifestations relieved with the cure of primary diseases. Its dominant syndrome pattern was classified as stagnation of liver-Qi. [ Conclusion ] Emotional disorder, possibly being a stress reaction, is the common complications of acute stroke and usually classified as stagnation of liver-Qi; early effective rehabilitation is the best preventive method for emotional disorder acute stroke.

Objective To observe the effect of Shujinkeli on stroke patients with spastic hemiplegia. Methods The double blind test was applied in this study. 77 stroke patients with spastic hemiplegia were randomly divided into the group A (n=38) and the group B (n=39). Under the guidance of the criterion and routine treatment, patients of the group A were treated with Shujinkeli A and patients of the group B were treated with Shujinkeli B. After treatment, curative effect of patients was evaluated. Results The group A was the treatment group, and the group B was the control group. After treatment, the treatment group was superior to the control group in the improvement of muscular tension, Fugel-Meyer score and Barthel index. Conclusion The Shujinkeli can make the high muscular tension lower, which will accelerate the disabled limbs' recovery and improve patients' motor function and self-care ability of daily life.

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effect of Dengzhan Shengmai capsule (DZSM) in rat cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and to explore the mechanism. Methods Rats were divided into Sham group, MCAO group, DZSM group, carbenoxolone (CBX) group and DZSM + CBX group. Each group was assessed for neurological function , infarct volume and the expression of Caspase-3 48 h after reperfusion. Connexin 43 (Cx43) expression of MCAO group was detected 3, 12, 24, 48 h after reperfusion. Results There were lower neurological deficit scores , infarct volume and the expression of Caspase-3 in DZSM , CBX and DZSM + CBX group 48 h after reperfusion when compared with those in MCAO group (P < 0.05) but Cx43 expression level in each group increased after reperfusion at each time point (P < 0.05). Expression of Cx43 was lower in DZSM, CBX and DZSM + CBX group than that in MCAO group (P < 0.05). Lower expression of Cx43 was also seen in CBX and DZSM + CBX group when compared with that in DZSM group (P < 0.05). Conclusion DZSM capsule can improve neurological function , reduce infarct volume and inhibit the expression of Caspase-3. The mechanism may be related to its inhibition of Cx43 expression.

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the effect of triptolide on the inhibition of microglial activation in 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium ( MPP+)-induced hemiparkinson disease rats.METHODS:The rat model of Parkinson disease was es-tablished by intranigral injection of MPP +.The rats were randomly divided into sham group, MPP+group, triptolide group and vehicle group.The survival of dopaminergic neurons was detected by the immunofluorescence of tyrosine hydroxylase ( TH) in the substantia nigra ( SN) .The activation of microglia was determined by immunofluorescence of OX-42 ( micro-glia marker) in the SN.The expression of chemokine receptor CX3CR1 in SN was measured by Western blotting.RE-SULTS:Intranigral injection of MPP+increased the fluorescence intensity of the microglial marker, and promoted DA neu-ron degenerative death.Immunohistological analysis showed that the OX-42 density was decreased (P<0.01) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive neurons were increased in the triptolide group (P<0.01).The expression of CX3CR1 was lower in triptolide group than that in model group (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Triptolide may improve PA neurons func-tion in MPP+-induced rats through inhibiting CX3CR1 expression and microglial activation.

This article was aimed to study the correlation among traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome elements in the first year after ischemic stroke. Data of TCM four examinations were collected among subjects all over China by cross-sectional study, using the same observing rating scale. The results showed that internal-heat, internal-wind and phlegm-damp syndrome were risk factors with obvious positive correlation. On the contrary, blood-stasis, internal-heat and qi-deficiency syndrome were in obvious negative correlation. But syndrome of yin-deficiency had no significant correlation with other syndrome elements. It was concluded that there were remarkable positive correlations on excess syndromes, such as wind, fire and phlegm. The syndromes of excess in the branch are easily to be combined.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the composition characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes in patients with acute ischemic stroke of yin or yang syndrome by investigating the characteristics of TCM syndromes at different periods after onset. METHODS: One thousand two hundred and forty-six patients with acute ischemic stroke were admitted in twenty hospitals. According to the "diagnostic criteria of syndrome differentiation of stroke", the characteristics of syndromes in the patients were investigated at the periods of 1-3 days, 4-10 days and 11-30 days after they had ischemic stroke. General distribution of six basic syndromes was compared between the patients with yin syndrome and the patients with yang syndrome at the three periods. The six basic syndromes were wind syndrome, pathogenic fire syndrome, phlegm syndrome, blood stasis syndrome, qi deficiency syndrome, and syndrome of yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity. RESULTS: The percentages of wind, pathogenic fire, and phlegm syndromes in the patients were decreased at the period of 11-30 days as compared with the period of 1-3 days (87.1% vs 79.3%, 52.1% vs 38.7% and 67.1% vs 57.4% respectively, P<0.01). However, the percentages of the syndromes of blood stasis, qi deficiency, and yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity were similar at the three periods (P>0.05). There were no differences in the distribution of yin and yang syndromes among the three periods (P>0.05). The percentages of syndromes of wind, pathogenic fire, phlegm, and yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity were higher (P<0.01), and the percentages of syndromes of blood stasis and qi deficiency were lower (P<0.05, P<0.01) in patients with yang syndrome than in patients with yin syndrome. The complex of three syndromes was the most frequent composition pattern in the patients at the three periods. The percentages of complex syndromes of four or five syndromes were higher, and the percentages of single-syndromes and complex syndromes of two syndromes were lower in patients with yang syndrome than in patients with yin syndrome (P<0.05, P<0.01). The most frequent complex syndromes in patients with yin syndrome were complex syndrome of wind, phlegm, blood stasis and qi deficiency, and complex syndrome of wind, phlegm and qi deficiency; while the most frequent complex syndromes in patients with yang syndrome were complex syndrome of wind, pathogenic fire, phlegm and qi deficiency, and complex syndrome of wind, pathogenic fire and phlegm. CONCLUSION: The main discrimination between the yin and yang syndromes is that the yang syndrome is characterized by pathogenic fire. The syndromes of phlegm, qi deficiency, and blood stasis are not associated with the diagnosis of yin or yang syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical evaluation system reflecting the superiority and characteristics of comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy for acute stroke. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial with single blind in various therapeutic centers was applied on the patients with the acute stage of hemorrhagic stroke due to hypertension, who were allocated to the trial group and the control group. The trial group accepted the general Western medicine therapy and differential treatment of traditional Chinese medicine based on stage classification. Patients in the control group were treated with the general Western medicine and the placebo of traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The treatment effect was assessed at the 7th day, 14th day, 21st day, and 28th day of post-treatment and after 3-month follow-up. The clinical evaluation system included the syndromes of TCM (ZH), Glasgow coma standard (GCS), nerve functional failure (NF), activity of daily living (ADL), Barther index (BI), quality of life index (QLI) and functional activities questionnaire (FAQ). RESULTS: Four hundred and four patients with acute stroke were included. There were 178 cases with yang-syndrome and 21 cases with yin-syndrome in the trial group (n=199), and there were 165 cases with yang-syndrome and 40 cases with yin-syndrome in the control group (n=205). The rates of recovery and obvious improvement after 3-month treatment in the trial group and the control group were 86.5% and 73.6% respectively. There was significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01). The response sensitivity of the effect items indicated that the sensitivity of GCS began to increase from the 7th day and was high at the 14th day and the 21st day for all patients. The response sensitivity of the NF scale was high for all patients at the 14th day, the 21st day and the 28th day. The BI scale and the QLI scale were sensitive to the patients with light and middle stage of stroke at the 21st day, and were sensitive to the patients with light stage of stroke after 3-month follow-up. The FAQ scale was sensitive to the light stroke at the 21st day and after 3-month follow-up. The ADL scale was sensitive to all patients at the 28th day and the patients with light stage of stroke after 3-month follow-up. The ZH scale was sensitive to all patients from 0 to 7d, the 14th day, and the 28th day. The principle components analysis indicated these 7 items could reflect the condition of stroke from 0-7d, the 21st day and after 3-month follow-up, and could be used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of hemorrhagic stroke. ZH scale and FAQ scale were more sensitive than other effect items at the 28th day. CONCLUSION: The seven items (GCSbNFbBIbQLIbFAQbADLbZH) have high sensibility to all patients in the acute stage of hemorrhage stroke especially at the 21st day. The ZH score will change in accord with the condition of stroke, and is appropriate to reflect the condition of stroke. It is believed that the seven items can form the system of effect evaluation in different stages of stroke, and the ZH scale is a very important item.