Objective To determine whether nitric oxide may result in different effects on cardiac function at the different time points during the course of myocardial ischhemia and reperfusien of rats in viwo, and if so, to investigate the mechanisms involved.Methods Male adult rats were subjected to 30 minutes of myocardial ischemia followed by 5 hours of reperfusien. L-arginine was administrated at a bolus at both 10 minutes before and 50 minutes after reperfusion in early treatment group. The L-arginine was administrated at a bolus at both 3 and 4 hours after reperfusion in late treatment group. The following variables were measured: cardiac hemodynamic parameters, myocardial easpase 3 activity, iNOS and total NO content. Results Compared with vehicle group, administration of L-arginine at early reperfusion markedly reduced myocardial caspase 3 activity, and improved cardiac function. In strict contrast, administration of L-arginine at late reperfusion resulted in a significant increase in myocardial NOx content, myocardial apoptosis, and depressed the cadiac function. Conclusion Timely administration of L-arginine might inhibit apoptosis while late administration of L-arginine might enhance apoptosis.

Objective To observe the effect of scalp-body acupuncture plus psychological intervention in treating post-stroke depression.Method Seventy-eight patients with post-stroke depression were divided into a treatment group (40 cases) and a control group (38 cases). In addition to ordinary neurological treatments, the treatment group also received scalp-body acupuncture plus psychological intervention while the control group also received Fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac). The interventions were given once a day, 4 weeks as a treatment course, for 2 courses in total. Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) and neurological impairment severity scale (NISS) were observed before intervention, after 1 treatment course and at the end of the intervention.Result After intervention, the HAMD and NISS scores dropped significantly in both groups, and the treatment group was markedly better than the control group (P＜0.05). The total effective rates of anti-depression and recovery of neurological function in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05).Conclusion Scalp-body acupuncture plus psychological intervention can produce a content efficacy in improving depression and recovering neurological function.

The repair, regeneration and functional recovery of peripheral nerve defects are the clinical problems needed to be solved urgently.Researches showed that the hollow conduits of bridging nerve defects only had the functions of support and isolation, but the composite conduits could simulate nerve regeneration microenvironment and possess biological activity, which could effectively guide the migration of Schwann cells and the regeneration of axons to achieve satisfactory effects of restoration and functional recovery.With the development of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, biomaterial and the techniques of cells and molecular biology, the construction of biomimetic and functional nerve conduits to bridge long nerve defects has attracted more and more attention. This review will provide a brief overview of the construction strategy of nerve conduits repairing long nerve defects of peripheral nerves.