Objective:To assess the clinical efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for subhealth insomnia.Methods:Eighty-two cases of subhealth insomnia were randomly divided into an observation group (41 cases) and a control group (41 cases).The control group was treated with conventional acupuncture.The observation group was treated with Bo's abdominal acupuncture on the basis of conventional acupuncture.Six treatments constituted one treatment course.The measuring scale of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome for subhealth state (MSSSHS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scores were compared between the two groups after two courses,to estimate the efficacy of abdominal acupuncture for subhealth insomnia.Results:One case dropped out from the observation group,while 2 cases dropped out from the control group.The MSSSHS score and PSQI score both declined after the treatment in the two groups (all P＜0.05).The MSSSHS and PSQI scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (both P＜0.05).Conclusion:The abdominal acupuncture is effective for subhealth insomnia,and it can enhance the effect of conventional acupuncture.

Objective To explore the role of somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by paraspinal stimulation in the detection of spinal cord lesions.Methods Patients with clinically suspected spinal cord lesions underwent somatosensory evoked potentials(SEPs)and spinal cord conduction velocity(SCCV)test using paraspinal stimulating method.96 patients aged 15 to 75 years old with suspected spinal cord lesions of various aetiologies were tested.36 patients had demyelinating disease of the spinal cord,26 had sub-acute combined degeneration of the spinal cord,19 had myelopathy,10 had acute myelitis,5 had spinal cord corhpression.Results Paraspinal stimulation elicited somatosensory evoked potentials were Performed on all 96 patients,68 of whom underwent spinal MRI as well.SEPs and SCCV were found abnormal in a high ratio in all kinds of spinal cord lesions ; in general,78 among the 96 patients had abnormal SEPs with a sensitivity of 81.25%.27 out of 36 with demyelinating disease of the spine had abnormal SEPs with a sensitivity of 75.00%,23 out of 26 with subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord had abnormal SEPs with a sensitivity of 88.46%,8 out of 10 with acute myelitis had abnormal SEPs,15 patients with myelopathy having abnormal findings,all 5 patients with spinal cord compression had abnormal SEPs.42 of 68 patients undergoing MRI revealed to be abnormal,in which 35 patients also had abnormal SEPs.The other 26 patients had normal spinal MRI,in which 21 patients had abnormal SEPs.Conclusions Paraspinal stimulation somatosensory evoked potentials and spinal cord conduction velocity may objectively document the abnormalities of electrophysiology,which occurs earlier than those of anatomy and radiological finds, therefore it may detect the dysfunction of spinal cord at an early stage.It is even more useful in the detecting of the metabolic myelopathy,which can hardly be detected by MRI.This technique is simple,inexpensive, and maybe useful in the diagnosis for patients with suspected spinal cord lesions.

Objective:To observe the clinical effect of mind-refreshing and orifice-opening needling method plus swallowing disorder therapeutic apparatus for deglutition disorder of stroke patients in convalescence stage.Methods:A total of 136 patients conforming to the inclusion criteria were randomized into three groups by the random number table,including group A of 46 cases,group B of 44 cases and group C of 46 cases.Patients in group A received swallowing disorder therapeutic apparatus treatment,patients in group B received mind-refreshing and orifice-opening needling method treatment,and patients in group C received mind-refreshing and orifice-opening needling method plus swallowing disorder therapeutic apparatus treatment.The treatment was given once a day for 10 d as a course,the whole treatment lasted for 4 courses.Therapeutic evaluation items including water-swallowing test (WST),standardized swallowing assessment (SSA) and modified Barthel index (MBI) were measured before treatment,after treatment and at follow-up visit (2 months after treatment).Results:After treatment,scores of WST and MBI in all three groups increased significantly (all P＜0.05),while the SSA score dropped significantly (all P＜0.05).After treatment and during follow-up visit period,score of WST in group C was significantly higher than that in group A and group B (both P＜0.05),while the difference between group A and group B showed no statistical significance (P＞0.05);the SSA score in group C was substantially lower than that in group A and group B (all P＜0.05),the difference between group A and group B showed no statistical significance (P＞0.05);the MBI scores in group B and group C were substantially higher than that in group A (all P＜0.05),the difference between group B and group C showed no statistical significance (P＞0.05).After treatment and during follow-up visit period,the differences in overall therapeutic effect between group A and group B showed no statistical significance (P＞0.05),while the overall therapeutic effect in group C was substantially better than that in group A and group B (all P＜0.05).Conclusion:Both mind-refreshing and orifice-opening needling method and swallowing disorder therapeutic apparatus can alleviate symptoms of deglutition disorder of stroke patients respectively,and the combination of two methods can improve the therapeutic effect.

Xiangxi (the western part of Hunan province) Liu's infantile tuina,as one main school of current infantile tuina in China,highlights the compatibility of the specific points of Wujing in children,the idea of treatment by syndrome differentiation,and produces unique efficacy in the treatment of common diseases in children.Exogenous fever in children can be treated with this method with excellent efficacy.Based on the clinical experience and effective cases treated by this tuina school,the authors elaborated the clinical thought and experience from the perspective view of tuina,for the promotion of Xiangxi Liu's infantile tuina in clinic.

Objective To study the activity of type 2 Iodothyronine deiodinase(D2)and the expressions of myelin basic protein(MBP)and synapsinⅠin the brain tissue of young rats fed on a diet with different levels of iodine.Methods Wistar rats were fed on a diet with different doses of KIO_3 for 3 months and then mated randomly.The serum TH and the brain D2 activity were measured in 28 days old pups.The protein expressions of MBP and SynapsinⅠin their brains were determined by immunohistochemistry staining.Results Compared with normal iodine group(NI),the serum TH levels of low iodine group(LI) were lower,while those of iodine excess groups were gradually decreased with their increase of iodine intake,especially in 100-fold high iodine group(100 HI),TT_4 and FT_4 were significantly decreased(P0.05).The immunohistochemistry staining showed weakly positive reactivity of MBP in corpus callosum and stronger of synapsin I in hippocampus CA3 in LI group compared with NI. The similar alterations were also found in all iodine excess groups with their increase of iodine intake.But MBP reactivity was stronger in 100 HI rats than the LI ones.Conclusion Iodine deficiency and iodine excess can cause hypothyroidism in degrees in the young rats,more severe hypothyroid and retarded myelin sheath and synapses can be caused in iodine deficiency compared with iodine excess.

AIM:To investigate the safety and effect of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery with Cionni modified capsular tension ring (MCTR) implantation in the management of traumatic lens subluxation.METHODS: Totally 11 patients (11 eyes) with traumatic lens subluxation were divided into three groups according to the severity of lens dislocation, ranging from 90° to 120° (4 eyes), 120° to 180° (5 eyes) and 180° to 270° (2 eyes).The contact LenSx femtosecond laser cataract surgery platform was applied to create the capsulotomy, prepare nuclear fragmentation and make corneal wound creation.Anterior vitrectomy was performed in some patients during the surgery.After capsular retractors insertion and phacoemulsification, the MCTR was inserted to the capsular bag and fixed to the sclera.Finally, the IOL was implanted into the capsular bag.Postoperative visual acuity, intra-and post-operative complications, anterior capsular opening, IOL and MCTR position and intraocular pressure (IOP) were assessed.RESULTS:The duration of follow-up was 2mo.All the operations were completed successfully.Five eyes underwent cataract surgery combined with anterior vitrectomy.Four eyes had been inserted with 2-eyelet MCTR and seven eyes with 1-eyelet MCTR.The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after operation was better than 0.5 in 4 eyes, between 0.3 and 0.5 in 3 eyes, between 0.1 and 0.3 in 3 eyes, and less than 0.1 in 1 eye.Compared with preoperative BCVA, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).All the IOLs were stably centered and the eyelet of MCTR was fixated steadily between the iris and the anterior capsule.The common intra-and post-operative complications were subconjunctival hemorrhage, incomplete capsulotomy, residual cortex, secondary glaucoma and posterior capsular opacification.CONCLUSION:Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery can improve the success rate of capsulorhexis, and reduce the difficulty of nuclear fragmentation.Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery combined with MCTR implantation is an ideal surgical method for traumatic lens subluxation.

Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Hamartoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Hemangioma, Capillary ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Hemangioma, Cavernous ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism ; Splenectomy ; Splenic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Young Adult ; von Willebrand Factor ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical effect and safety of chiropractic in treating cervicogenic sudden hearing loss.

METHODSFrom January 2011 to October 2013, 90 patients with cervicogenic sudden hearing loss were randomly divided into treatment group and control group according to the random number table produced by SPSS 19.0 software. In the treatment group, there were 17 males and 28 females, aged from 31 to 62 years old with an average of (47.57±9.43) years; course of disease was from 1 to 3 days with an average of (1.43±0.68) days; pure-tone audiometry score was from 46.5 to 77.8 dB with the mean of (61.20±9.83) dB; Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) score was from 17 to 31 scores with an average of (23.46±7.18) scores. In the control group, there were 15 males and 30 females, aged from 28 to 64 years old with an average of (45.77±6.99) years; course of disease was from 1 to 3 days with an average of (1.50±0.73) days; pure-tone audiometry score was from 48.1 to 75.0 dB with the mean of (63.91±8.05) dB; Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) score was from 20 to 29 scores with an average of (25.61±10.43) scores. The patients of control group were treated with dexamethasone intravenous drip of 10 mg, 3 days later, decreased to 5 mg, 3 days again. And with the methycobal intravenous drip of 500 μg, treatment continued for 10 days. The patients of treatment group were treated with chiropractic additionally except for the therapeutic methods of control group. Chiropractic included local muscle loosening, attacking point, bilateral pulling atlanto-axial joint, and continuous treatment for 10 days. The pure-tone audiometry score and NPQ score were compared between two groups after treatment.

RESULTSAfter the treatment, pure-tone audiometry score and NPQ score in treatment group improved to (40.23± 8.14) dB and (12.70±8.29) scores respectively, which were obviously better than that of control group's (37.70±10.61) dB and (21.24±11.13) scores (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONCompared with routine method for cervicogenic sudden hearing loss, additional chiropractic can improve hearing and relieve neck pain effectively.

Cervical Vertebrae ; Female ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Manipulation, Chiropractic ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUNDDendritic cells (DCs) are one of the most important antigen presenting cells in the human body, and DCs at various stages of maturation possess different or even opposite functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of growth hormones on the functional status of cord blood-derived DCs encompassing immunophenotype, ability to excrete interleukin (IL)-12 and provoke autologous leukomonocyte.

METHODSMononuclear cells were isolated from fresh cord blood, with IL-4 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) used to induce and stimulate the mononuclear cells. Growth hormone at different concentrations was used to modify DCs, and then DCs morphology, number and growth status were observed. The immunophenotype of DCs was detected with a flow cytometer. The concentration of IL-12 in the DCs supernatant was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and DCs functional status was evaluated by autologous mixed lymphocyte reactions.

RESULTSMononuclear cells from cord blood can be differentiated into DCs by cytokine induction and growth hormone modification. With the increase in growth hormone concentrations (5 - 100 microg/L), the expression of DCs HLA-DR, CD1alpha, CD80 and CD83 were significantly increased (P < 0.05). The ability of DCs to secrete IL-12 was significantly improved (P < 0.05), and the ability of DCs to activate autologous lymphocytes was significantly enhanced (P < 0.05). Pegvisomant was able to ablate the effects of growth hormone on DCs.

CONCLUSIONSGrowth hormone may facilitate DCs induction and maturation, and improve the reproductive activity of autologous lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Growth hormone may serve as a factor of modifying DCs to achieving maturity.

Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; B7-1 Antigen ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Dendritic Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flow Cytometry ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; metabolism ; Growth Hormone ; pharmacology ; HLA-DR Antigens ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; metabolism ; Interleukin-12 ; metabolism ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; metabolism

As one of the most serious types of psoriasis, pathogenesis of erythrodermic psoriasis (EP) is unclear so far. In this study, we aimed to detect the levels of Th1/Th2 cytokine-associated transcription factors and T-lymphocyte clone in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from EP patients, and gene expression level of T-bet/GATA-3 in skin lesion. The potential role of Th1/Th2 reaction pattern played in the pathogenesis of EP was also discussed. Serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were quantified by ELISA among 16 EP patients, 20 psoriasis vulgaris (PV) patients and 15 healthy controls. The expression levels of T-bet/GATA-3 in the skin lesion and PBMCs were examined by real-time qPCR. The ratio of Th1/Th2 was measured by flow cytometry. The levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were higher in EP patients than in the healthy controls. The levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were 69.44±11.45 and 12.62±4.57 pg/mL, respectively, in EP patients, significantly higher than those in PV patients and healthy controls (P<0.05). Flow cytometry revealed the levels of both Th1 and Th2 in PBMCs from EP patients were higher than those in healthy controls, and the Th1/Th2 ratio was dramatically lower than in PV patients (P<0.01). The ratios of IFN-γ/IL-4 and T-bet/GATA-3 in EP patients were both less than 1.0, suggesting a reversal when compared with the other two groups. Our study indicated that the EP patients exerted a Th1/Th2 bidirectional response pattern, and the balance of Th cell subsets inclines to Th2, which might be one of the important mechanisms of EP pathogenesis.