1.The supply and utilization of vision care in rural primary Health
Yunli BAI ; Hongmei YI ; Linxiu ZHANG ; Renfu LUO ; Chengfang LIU
Chinese Journal of Health Policy 2015;(4):75-80
Objective:To identify the vision care access in rural primary health institutions and the utilization of vision inspections among rural residents. Methods:Survey data was collected from primary health institutions ( town-ship health centers and village clinics) and households. The descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis were applied to analyze data. Results:The household survey data shows that 33. 2% of rural residents self-reported having poor vision, and 22. 1% of rural residents stated that they had ever used vision care (vision screening or vison examinations) . The health facilities survey data shows that 84% of township health centers and 44% of village clinics can provide vision care. The multivariate analysis shows that the vision care access in township health centers is sig-nificantly correlated with the probability of residents’ utilization of vision care, but there is no significant correlation between the provision of vision care in village clinics and its utilization. Conclusions:The vision care access is low in rural China though there is a huge demand therefore. Inadequate supply of primary vision care services in primary health institutions may result in low utilization among rural residents. It is suggested that the government further pro-mote the National Public Health Service Program and strengthen the capacity of primary health facilities to provide primary vision care. To do so, an increase in the utilization of vision care among rural residents can be expected, which would thereby reduce potential losses caused by further vision impairment.
2.Wenxiao Powder Alleviates Depression by Promoting Neurogenesis via BDNF/TrkB/ERK/CREB Signaling Pathway
Duo ZHANG ; Xiuhui GUO ; Yucheng LI ; Yunli GAO ; Ming BAI ; Xiangli YAN ; Erping XU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(8):100-108
ObjectiveTo decipher the mechanism of Wenxiao powder in alleviating corticosterone-induced depression-like behaviors in mice. MethodMale ICR mice were randomized into normal, model, paroxetine (20 mg·kg-1), and low- and high-dose (3.27, 6.54 g·kg-1, respectively) Wenxiao powder groups. The mice in normal and model groups received equal volume of saline. Other groups except the normal group were injected with corticosterone subcutaneously 0.5 h after gavage to induce depression. Mice were tested for depression-like behaviors after drug administration. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to measure the corticosterone content in the serum. Nissl staining was performed to observe the damage of hippocampal neurons. Immunofluorescence staining was employed to observe the expression of double cortin (DCX) in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Western blot was employed to determine the expression of proteins in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) pathway in the hippocampus. ResultCompared with the normal group, the model group showed decreased sucrose preference rate, increased immobility time in the tail suspension test (P<0.01), and reduced residence time in the central area of the open field and the total movement distance (P<0.05, P<0.01). In addition, the modeling elevated the corticosterone level in the serum (P<0.01), decreased the volume and intensified the nuclear staining of hippocampal neurons in the DG area, reduced the expression of DCX in the DG area, and down-regulated the protein levels of BDNF, phosphorylated (p)-TrkB, p-ERK, and p-CREB in the hippocampus (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the model group, low-dose Wenxiao powder improved the mouse behavivors in the sucrose preference, open field, and tail suspension tests (P<0.05, P<0.01), and high-dose Wenxiao powder improved the behaviors in the sucrose preference and open field tests (P<0.05, P<0.01). In addition, Wenxiao powder lowered the serum corticosterone level (P<0.01) and recovered the structure and morphology of neurons with obvious nuclei and presence of Nissl bodies in the DG area of the hippocampus. Moreover, Wenxiao powder at both doses promoted the expression of DCX in the DG area, and high-dose Wenxiao powder up-regulated the protein levels of BDNF, p-TrkB, p-ERK, and p-CREB in the hippocampus (P<0.05, P<0.01). ConclusionWenxiao powder can alleviate corticosterone-induced depression-like behaviors and promote neurogenesis in mice possibly by activating the BDNF/TrkB/ERK/CREB signaling pathway.