Objective: To explore the treatment effect of sticking-needle acupuncture plus tendon-regulating manipulation on pain, swelling and joint dysfunction due to acute ankle sprain.Methods: A total of 80 patients with acute ankle sprain were recruited and divided into a control group and a treatment group according to the random number table method, with 40 patients in each group. Both groups received the same conventional interventions. The control group was treated with additional tendon-regulating manipulation, and the treatment group was treated with tendon-regulating manipulation plus sticking-needle acupuncture. The pain, swelling and joint dysfunction of the ankle were observed in both groups before and after 3 d, 7 d and 14 d of treatment. Results: Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in the visual analog scale (VAS) score of pain between the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, the VAS scores of both groups showed a decreasing trend over time, and the differences within the groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). After 3 d, 7 d and 14 d of treatment, the VAS scores in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in the degree of swelling between the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, the degrees of swelling in both groups showed a decreasing trend over time, and the differences within the groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). After 3 d and 7 d of treatment, the degrees of swelling in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the degree of swelling between the two groups after 14 d of treatment (P>0.05). Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in the American Orthopedic Foot Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scale score between the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scale scores of both groups showed an increasing trend over time, and all the differences within the groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). After 3 d, 7 d and 14 d of treatment, the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scale scores in the treatment group were higher than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the routine intervention, the addition of sticking-needle acupuncture and tendon-regulating manipulation was better in alleviating pain and swelling and improving joint function in patients with acute ankle sprain than the addition of tendon-regulating manipulation alone.

OBJECTIVETo observe the protective effect of Panax Ginseng (PG), Aconitum Carmichaeli (AC), and their combination (PG-AC) on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.

METHODSRat's ischemia reperfusion injury model was established by ligating left anterior descending coronary artery for 60 min followed by reperfusion for 240 min. Forty male rats were randomly divided into five groups, the sham operation group, the model group, the three treated groups. The three treated groups were treated with PG, AC and PG-AC respectively by given the drugs 10 min before ischemia reperfusion, and to the sham operation group and the model group, saline was given instead. The infarction area, pathologic changes of myocardial tissue (under light and electron microscopy), activity of creatine phosphokinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in serum, content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in myocardial tissue were observed to evaluate the protective effect of treatment.

RESULTSThe area of acute myocardial infarction was lesser, activity of LDH and CK were lower in the three treated groups than those in the model group. Content of SOD was significantly higher and that of MDA was markedly lower in the former three than those in the model group. Light and electron microscopic examination showed that the necrotic degeneration and pathologic changes of myocardiocytes in the treated groups were significantly milder than that of the model group. As comparing the effect between the three treated groups, PG-AC showed the best, and insignificant difference was shown between PG and AC.

CONCLUSIONBoth PG and AC, and their combination have obviously protective effects on myocardium against ischemia reperfusion injury, which of PG-AC is superior to that of PG or AC used singly.

Aconitum ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Free Radical Scavengers ; pharmacology ; Male ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; pathology ; Panax ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Cerebral Cortex ; cytology ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Neurons ; drug effects ; Nickel ; toxicity ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo investigate the mechanism of action of Chinese drug Langchuang-3 Granule (LC-3) in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through observing its effects on body weight (BW), antinuclear antibody (ANA), spleen index and thymus index in BXSB SLE model mice, as well as the deposition of immune complex in mice' renal glomeruli.

METHODSSLE model mice were randomized into 4 groups: the control group (A), the LC-3 treated group (B), the Western drug treated group (C), and the LC-3 combined Western drug treated group (D). BW of mice was dynamically observed; spleen index (SI) and thymus index (TI) were measured by weighting method; serum anti-ANA level was detected by ELISA; IgG and complement C3 in renal glomeruli were analysed by direct immunofluorescence.

RESULTSBW of mice remarkably increased after treatment in Group B and D, showing a significant difference to that in Group A (P < 0.05). Lower TI level and higher SI level were found in the model mice. As compared with Group A, TI was higher in Group B and D, SI was lower in Group D, and both indices were lower in Group C (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Level of ANA decreased (converting from positive to negative) remarkably in all the three treated groups (P < 0.01). The fluorescence intensity of IgG and C3 in the renal tissue was weaker in Group B, C (both P < 0.05) and D (P < 0.01) than that in Group A.

CONCLUSIONBoth LC-3 and Western medicine showed remarkable effects in treating SLE model mice, and the combination of the two could display an effect better than that of using either alone.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Integrative Medicine ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; drug therapy ; Male ; Mice

24 strains obtained from root nodules of Psoralea corylifolia, Pueraria lobata, and Campylotropis macrocarpa of Yunnan province were studied with numerical taxonomy and 16S rDNA PCR-RFLP. Results of numerical taxonomy indicated that all strains included 10 reference strains were divided into 3 groups at 84% similarity. Group III is an unknown group with no reference strains. Group I is slow-growing kind, and group II fast and middle-slow-grower. The dendrogram derived from 16S rDNA PCR-RFLP showed that all strains divided into five phylogenetic branches at the similarity of 70%. They are branches I and V with no reference strains, Agrobacterium-Sinorhizobium-Rhizobium, Mesorhizobium and Bradyrhizobium. Not all results of numerical taxonomy are accord with 16S rDNA PCR-RFLP, and 2 strains at the same group with A. tumefaciens IAM13129T.

Objective To study the causes of reoperation after biliary duct operation, in order to decreasing the rate of biliary tract reoperation. Methods The clinical data of 828 patients who underwent reoperation of biliary duct diseases in Nankai hospital between 1990-1999 were evalated, and the causes of biliary duct reoperation were classified and analysed.Results The most common cause for reoperation was recurrent or retained bile stone(65.10% ), bile stone companied by stenosis of the sphincter of oddi (33.82%), simple stenosis of sphincter of Oddi ( 9.54%), traumatic stricture of bile duct and stricture of bilioenteric anastomosis( 10.39%), bile duct obstruction due to tumor (6.52%), and other less important factors. Conclusions Recurrent or retained bile duct stone was the main cause for biliary reoperation,and stenosis of the sphincter of Oddi was the next important factor for reoperations.Thoroughness of the initial operation and rationality of operative procedure are the chief factors to decrease bile duct reoperations.

Objective To analyze the clinical features of infantile cytomegalovirus(CMV) hepatitis with cholestasis and investigate intrahepatic cholestasis due to hepatocytic impairment caused by CMV infection.Methods Forty-seven children with CMV cholestatic he-patitis were divided into 2 groups according to the level of total bilirubin(TB):22 cases with serum TB lower than 136.8 ?mol/L(groupⅠ),and 25 cases with serum TB higher than 136.8 ?mol/L(groupⅡ).All children were treated with both gangciclovir and routine met-hods,and serum biochemistry were checked before and after treatment.SPSS 13.0 software was used to analyze the data.Results Forty-seven cases of infantile CMV cholestatic hepatitis had different degrees of jaundice,hepatosplenomegaly and abnormal liver functions.The differences of serum ALT and AST between the 2 groups had statistical significance,the levels of serum gamma glutamy transferase(GGT) and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) were lightly higher in groupⅡcompared with those in groupⅠ,but there were no statistical significance.TB,direct bilirubin(DB),ALT and AST were decreased in the 2 groups after treatment,GGT and ALP hadn′t decreased significantly after treatment.Conclusions CMV infection can injure hepatocytes and epithelials on each grade of bile duct,thus CMV hepatitis causes intrahepatic cholestasis.Cholestasis due to hepatocytic impairment deserves emphasis and intervention should be done as early as possible.Gangciclovir therapy for CMV infection manifest effective and safe in short-term.

BACKGROUNDL-glutamate (L-GLU) is a major neurotransmitter in the nucleus ambiguus (NA), which can modulate respiration, arterial pressure, heart rate, etc. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of L-GLU microinjected into NA on gastric motility in rats.

METHODSA latex balloon connected with a pressure transducer was inserted into the pylorus through the forestomach for continuous recording of the gastric motility. The total amplitude, total duration, and motility index of gastric contraction waves within 5 minutes before microinjection and after microinjection were measured.

RESULTSL-GLU (5 nmol, 10 nmol and 20 nmol in 50 nl normal saline (PS) respectively) microinjected into the right NA significantly inhibited gastric motility, while microinjection of physiological saline at the same position and the same volume did not change the gastric motility. The inhibitory effect was blocked by D-2-amino-5-phophonovalerate (D-AP5, 5 nmol, in 50 nl PS), the specific N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonist, but was not influenced by 6-cyaon-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-(1H,4H)-dione (CNQX) (5 nmol, in 50 nl PS), the non-NMDA ionotropic receptor antagonist. Bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy abolished the inhibitory effect by microinjection of L-GLU into NA.

CONCLUSIONSMicroinjection of L-GLU into NA inhibits the gastric motility through specific NMDA receptor activity, not non-NMDA receptor activity, and the efferent pathway is the vagal nerves.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate ; pharmacology ; 6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; drug effects ; Glutamic Acid ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Male ; Medulla Oblongata ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Vagotomy

OBJECTIVE: To detect the serum level of a novel autoantibody, anti-tubulin-α-1C, in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to investigate its clinical significance. METHODS: Anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 62 patients with SSc, 38 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 24 primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients, and 30 healthy controls (HCs). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), immunoglobulin A(IgA), immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin G (IgG), C3, C4, rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear antibody(ANA), anti-centromere antibodies(ACA), anticardiolipin (aCL), anti-dsDNA antibody, anti-Sm antibody, anti-RNP antibody, anti-Scl-70 antibody, anti-Ro52 antibody, anti-SSA antibody, anti-SSB antibody, centromere protein A(CENP-A), centromere protein B (CENP-B) were measured by standard laboratory techniques. Raynaud's phenomenon and modified Rodnan skin score(MRSS) were recorded to evaluate the disease status of SSc. Independent sample t test, Chi square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman rank correlation were used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The serum anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody concentration in SSc group was 81.24±34.38, the serum anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody concentration in SLE group was 87.84±38.52, the serum anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody concentration in pSS group was 59.79±25.24, and the serum anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody concentration in healthy group was 39.37±18.7. Multivariate analysis revealed that anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody levels were significantly increased in the SSc and SLE patients. The expression level of anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody in SSc was higher compared with the pSS group and the health control group (P < 0.01). Further analysis demonstrated that the elevated anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody were correlated with the SSc inflammation and disease activity markers ESR(r=0.313, P=0.019), The levels of anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody were also significantly correlated with MRSS(r=0.636, P < 0.01). The best cut-off value for the diagnose of SSc was 76.77 as mean+2SD value. The proportion of Raynaud's phenomenon was higher in the group of anti-tubulin-α-1C autoantibody-postive SSc patients than that in anti-tubulin-α-1C autoantibody negative group(71.4% vs. 37.5%, P=0.039). The proportions of anti-Scl-70 antibody, anti-CENP antibody and anti-cardiolipin antibody were higher in the group of anti-tubulin-α-1C autoantibody-postive SSc patients than in the anti-tubulin-α-1C autoantibody negative group (37.9% vs. 15.2%, 34.5% vs. 12.1%, 13.8 vs. 0, respectively, all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Based on this explorative stu-dy, the level of anti-tubulin-α-1C antibody increased in the serum of the patients with SSc. There were correlations between anti-tubulin-α-1C autoantibody and clinical and laboratory indicators of the SSc patients. It may become a novel biomarker indicative of active SSc and could be applied in future clinical practice.
Antibodies, Antinuclear ; Autoantibodies ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Scleroderma, Systemic ; Sjogren's Syndrome

Objective Mutated inbred animal model is introduced to the practical course of genetic diagnosis in the hope that medical students are able to apply what they have learned to clinical cases, based on a deep understanding of principle and technology on gene mutation detection. Methods We integrated DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction, agarose gel electrophoresis, and gel imaging analysis into a comprehensive experiment and arranged 4-year-programme undergraduates majoring in preclinical medical sciences to conduct it with the purpose of investigating the internal relations between phenotype and genotype in a hairless Uncv mouse model. Subsequently, the questionnaire aimed at evaluating learning effect on the part of students was handed out and their feedbacks were analyzed. Results More than 90% of respondents are satisfied with the general learning effect. Especially, 98. 7% of students support the enhancing effect of the new teaching mode on their research skills and 96% consider the practical course helpful to their problem-solving ability. Conclusions The introduction of mutated inbred animal model to the practical system of molecular diagnostics proves beneficial to boost students' learning effect and scientific research quality. Our practice also provokes thoughts on the further utilization of animal models in teaching system of medical sciences.