OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of the treatment of supplementing qi, nourishing yin, and promoting blood flow (SQNYPBF) on the serum levels of CRP, TNF-alpha, IL-1 and IL-6, as well as the expression of HLA-DR in the peripheral monocytes in septic patients suffering from stress-induced hyperglycemia.

METHODSIn the prospective randomized controlled study, eighty-five stress-induced hyperglycemia patients with sepsis were randomly assigned to the experimental group (45 cases) and the control group (40 cases). On the basis of routine therapies, including anti-infection, nutrition support, and the glucose control with insulin pump, patients in the experimental group additionally received the treatment of SQNYPBF (They were intravenously dripped with Shenmai Injection and Sulfotanshinone Sodium Injection, once daily, for 7 successive days). The serum levels of CRP, TNF-alpha, IL-1, and IL-6 and the HLA-DR expression of the peripheral monocytes were detected using ELISA before treatment and on the 8th day of the treatment. The total dose and the duration of insulin used, the morbidity of hypoglycemia, the APACHE II scores, and the mortality within 28-day hospitalization were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe total dose of insulin used, the duration of insulin used, the morbidity of hypoglycemia, the APACHE II score on the 8th day of treatment, and the mortality within 28-day hospitalization significantly decreased in the experimental group, when compared with the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). There was no difference in the expression of HLA-DR, the serum levels of CRP, TNF-alpha, IL-1, or IL-6 before treatment between the two groups (P > 0.05). After treatment the serum levels of CRP, TNF-alpha, IL-1, and IL-6 significantly decreased (P < 0.05) and the expression of HLA-DR significantly increased in the two groups (P < 0.05). Better effects were shown in the experimental group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSQNYPBF combined intensive insulin therapy could better improve the sepsis patients' immunity, decrease the plasma glucose level and duration, increase their survival rate, and improve their prognosis.

APACHE ; Aged ; C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Female ; HLA-DR Antigens ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Interleukin-1 ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Oxidative Stress ; Prospective Studies ; Sepsis ; complications ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

OBJECTIVETo observe the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) at Neimadian (Extra) and Neiguan (PC 6) for analgesia after thoracic surgery.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty cases of thoracic surgery were randomly divided into an electroacupuncture (EA) group (60 cases) and a medication group (60 cases). EA was applied at Neimadian (Extra) and Neiguan (PC 6) for postoperation analgesia in the EA group, while patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) was applied in the medication group. The score of visual analogue scale (VAS), analgesia effect, safety and beta-endorphin level after the treatment in both groups were compared.

RESULTSCompared with those before the treatment, the VAS scores in every time point after surgery were decreased (all P < 0.05), which were lower in the EA group (P < 0.01). The excellent and good rates were 96.7% (58/60) and 75.0% (45/60) seperately, the analgesia effect in the EA group (2 h after operation) was superior to that in the medication group (P < 0.01). The safety degree in EA group was higher to that in the medication group (P < 0.01). Compared with that before the treatment, the beta-endorphin level in two groups after treatment was both increased, which was higher in the EA group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONElectroacupuncture at Neimadian (Extra) and Neiguan (PC 6) has better analgesia effect (2 h after operation) and safety than PICA on analgesia after thoracic surgery.

Acupuncture Analgesia ; Acupuncture Points ; Aged ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain, Postoperative ; blood ; therapy ; Thoracic Surgery ; beta-Endorphin ; blood

OBJECTIVETo observe the analgesia effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture at Neimadian(Extra) for postoperation of abdominal surgery.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty patients with routine abdominal surgery were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a medication group, 60 cases in each group. The acupuncture group was treated with electroacupuncture at Neimadian(Extra), which was located on the inside of lower leg, 7 cun above the internal malleolus and 0.5 cun from post edge of tibial. The medication group was treated with patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) with Sufentanil. After the treatment, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), the security, the analgesic effect and beta-endorphin content were compared.

RESULTSThe postoperative VAS score at 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48 h in the acupuncture group was lower than those in the medication group (all P < 0.05). The analgesic effect at 2, 4, 16 and 24 h after surgery in the acupuncture group were superior to those in the medication group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The beta-endorphin content at 0, 8, 16 and 48 h after surgery in both groups were increased, and the acupuncture group was superior to the medication group (all P < 0.05). The security class after surgery in the acupuncture group was higher than that in the medication group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe analgesic effect and safety of electroacupuncture at Neimadian(Extra) in postoperation of abdominal surgery are superior to those of the PCIA with Sufentanil.

Abdomen ; surgery ; Acupuncture Analgesia ; Acupuncture Points ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain, Postoperative ; blood ; therapy ; Young Adult ; beta-Endorphin ; blood

To investigate the role and mechanism of ceramide (Cer) regulation in alcohol-induced neuronal proliferation and the newborn neurons formation, we used sphingomyelin synthase 2 (predominant enzyme of Cer metabolism) knockout (SMS2(-/-)) and wild type (WT) female mice to establish the model of prenatal alcohol exposure. In 24 h after being given birth (postnatal day 0, P0), the offspring of model mice received blood sphingomyelin (SM) measurement with enzymatic method. On P0, P7, P14 and P30, the proliferation of granule cells in the dentate gyrus and newborn neurons were investigated with immunofluorescent labeling. The expression of protein kinase Cα (PKCα) in the hippocampus was tested with Western blot analysis. The results showed that the SM level of blood in SMS2(-/-) pups was significantly lower than that in WT pups. No matter in SMS2(-/-) or WT mice, the prenatal alcohol exposure down-regulated the SM levels in pups with dose-dependency. In both SMS2(-/-) and WT pups, the number of proliferative neurons and newborn neurons in the dentate gyrus gradually decreased with the growing age. Compared with the WT pups, SMS2(-/-) pups showed significantly more proliferative neurons and newborn neurons in the dentate gyrus. Notably, prenatal alcohol exposure dose-dependently increased proliferative neurons and newborn neurons in the dentate gyrus in both WT and SMS2(-/-) pups. The hippocampal expression of PKCα protein in SMS2(-/-) mice was lower than that in WT mice, and prenatal alcohol exposure could up-regulate the PKCα protein expression in both WT and SMS2(-/-) mice with dose dependency. These results suggest that alcohol exposure during pregnancy can induce the compensatory neural cell proliferation and the production of newborn neurons in offspring, and the Cer-ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P) pathway is involved in alcohol-induced neural cell proliferation. The activation of PKCα may be a key step to start the Cer-C1P pathway and up-regulate the alcohol-induced neural cell proliferation and the newborn neurons formation.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Ceramides ; metabolism ; Dentate Gyrus ; cytology ; Ethanol ; toxicity ; Female ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Neurons ; cytology ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; physiopathology ; Protein Kinase C-alpha ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups) ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo observe effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture at Neimadian for analgesia in the extremities after orthopedic operation.

METHODSTwo hundred cases enrolled were divided into two groups. The test group of 100 cases were treated with electroacupuncture at Neimadian and oral administration of placebo, and the control group of 100 cases with oral administration of tramadoli hydrochloride.

RESULTSThe mean score for pain signs at all the time points before and after analgesic treatment in the test group had more decreases as compared with the control group (P < 0.001); and in the good rate after treatment, the test group was higher than the control group (P < 0.001, P < 0.05), and for safety, the test group was higher than the control group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONThe analgesic effect and safety of electroacupuncture at Neimadian are superior to the routine analgesic after operation of the extremities.

Acupuncture Analgesia ; Analgesics ; Electroacupuncture ; Humans ; Pain Management

OBJECTIVETo explore the mutations of coagulation factor VII (FVII) gene in one pedigree with hereditary FVII deficiency, and to investigate the molecular mechanisms of FVII deficiency.

METHODSFVII gene mutations were analysed in the pedigree by direct DNA sequencing. The mutated DNA fragments were cloned into pMD19-T simple TA vector, and sequenced to confirm their distribution on chromosome. The plasma activity of FVII of the probands and their family members was detected with coagulation assay. The antigen of FVII were identified with ELISA.

RESULTSThree gene mutations were detected in the pedigree: A/G to C at 15386 resulting in Arg353Pro/Gln353Pro, A to T at 15274 resulting in Lys316Stop, all three mutations were heterozygotes. Three kinds of polymorphisms were identified in his father: A to G transition at position 15386 resulting in Arg353Gln, heterozygotic deletion of 2050 - 2059 cctatatcct in promoter and G to A mutation in intron 1a, the same polymorphisms were found in his grandfather. The three polymorphisms were located in the same chromosome of his father.

CONCLUSIONTwo mutations were found in the pedigree with hereditary FVII deficiency. One is nonsense mutation (Lys316Stop), the other is missense one (Gln353Pro). Gln353Pro and Lys316Stop might be the molecular mechanisms of FVII deficiency. The two novel mutations were reported for the first time in the literature.

Base Sequence ; Child, Preschool ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Factor VII ; genetics ; Factor VII Deficiency ; genetics ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation, Missense ; Pedigree ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Sequence Deletion

The aim of the study was to explore the synergistic effect of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (bor) and the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) on apoptosis of T lymphoma cell lines Jurkat and Hut78, and on the formation of aggresome. Jurkat and Hut78 cells were treated with bor (10 nmol/L) or bor (10 nmol/L) combined with SAHA (2 micromol/L) respectively. Cell growth inhibition was estimated by trypan blue dye exclusion test. Cell morphology was evaluated by light microscopy with Wright's staining of cytocentrifuge preparations. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Ultrastructure of cell apoptosis and aggresome were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that proliferation of both Jurkat and Hut78 cells was significantly inhibited in the bor+SAHA group, as compared with the control group and the bor alone group. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that the percentage of apoptosis in Jurkat and Hut78 cells in the bor+SAHA group (41.8+/-4.7% and 72.7+/-11.7% respectively) was remarkably higher than those in the control group (3.6+/-1.3% and 7.0+/-1.9% respectively) and the bor alone group (6.3+/-2.3% and 18.7+/-9.2% respectively) (p<0.01). Ultrastructure examination revealed that typical aggresomes in cells could be observed in bor alone group. The combination of bor and SAHA diminished both the amount and density of aggresomes, or even eliminated them, accompanied by the increased rate of apoptosis. It is concluded that proteasome inhibitor combined with histone deacetylase inhibitor synergically induces T lymphoma cell apoptosis. Bortezomib stimulates the formation of aggresome, while SAHA destroys this aggresome structure, which may be one of the mechanisms underlying the enhancement of bortezomib-induced apoptosis.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Boronic Acids ; pharmacology ; Bortezomib ; Drug Synergism ; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Jurkat Cells ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; drug therapy ; Proteasome Inhibitors ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVE: To perform a review and data analysis of the pediatric projects funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2009 to 2018, and to investigate the changes in key support areas, research interest, and research hotspots in pediatrics. METHODS: The database of National Natural Science Foundation of China was searched to screen out pediatric research projects in 2009-2018, and the changes in funding intensity and research direction were analyzed. RESULTS: From 2009 to 2018, a total of 1 017 pediatric projects were funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, with 485 (47.69%) General Projects, 426 (41.89%) Youth Fund Projects, 73 (7.18%) Regional Research Programs, 16 (1.57%) Key Programs, 6 (0.59%) Outstanding Youth Fund Projects, 7 (0.69%) Overseas Programs, and 4 (0.39%) other programs. There was a seven-fold increase in the total amount of subsidies, which increased from 8.42 million yuan in 2009 to 66.25 million yuan in 2018. The projects with the Primary Discipline Code of reproductive system/perinatology/neonatology, nervous system and mental illness, or circulatory system received the highest amount of fund. CONCLUSIONS The support of pediatric projects by National Natural Science Foundation of China continues to increase in the past ten years, and the main types of projects are General Projects and Youth Fund Projects. Neonatology, nervous system/mental illness, and circulatory diseases are the main directions of funded projects.
Adolescent ; Child ; China ; Financial Management ; Foundations ; Humans ; Natural Science Disciplines ; Neonatology

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of naoyian (NYA) serum on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein in cultured rat cerebral microvascular endothelial cell (RCMEC) with hypoxia. METHODS: NYA serum was separated from rat heart which had been filled stomach with NYA successively for 3 days. The rat cerebral microvascular endothelial cells were taken from the Sprageu-Dawley rat brain at postborn 7 days. The rat cerebral microvascular endothelial cells were incubated at anaerobic incubator to establish the hypoxia models. The vigo of RCMEC was determined by MTT. The level of expression of VEGF protein was measured by cell immunohistochemistry and Western blot. RESULTS: The OD value of NYA serum group was higher than the control groups after hypoxia for 18 hours. VEGF protein was increased by hypoxia in cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (P < 0.05). The content of VEGF protein in NYA serum containing medium was more significantly elevated than those cultured in other control media (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION VEGF protein was induced by hypoxia in rat cerebral microvascular endothelial cells, and NYA could upregulate the expression of VEGF protein, which may be one of the protection mechanisms for cerebral microvascular endothelial cells.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Capillaries ; cytology ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cells, Cultured ; Cerebral Cortex ; blood supply ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; cytology ; metabolism ; Female ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Serum ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; biosynthesis ; genetics