OBJECTIVETo investigate the early clinical effects and radiological outcome of dynamic cervical implant (DCI) internal fixation in treating cervical spondylosis, and evaluate its safety and efficiency.

METHODSFrom June 2009 to December 2011, 19 patients with cervical spondylosis correspond to the indication of DCI internal fixation in the study, including 5 cases of cervical spondylotic myelopathy and 14 cases of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. There were 8 males and 11 females, aged from 35 to 54 years with a mean of 43.2 years. Pathological segments included C3,4 in 1 case, C4,5 in 6, C5,6 in 6, C6,7 in 4, C3,4 and C5,6, C6,7 in 2. All patients were treated with anterior discectomy and decompression and DCI internal fixation, meanwhile, 2 cases of them with anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion plate fixation. Clinical evaluation included Modified Japanese orthopedics association (mJOA), neck disability index (NDI), visual analogue scale (VAS) score and patient satisfaction index (PSI) at pre-operation and final follow-up. Radiographic evaluation included flexion/extension lateral view at operative level and adjacent segment. The adjacent level degeneration was analyzed according to Miyazaki classification on MRI images.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 12 to 42 months with an average of 19.8 months. Preoperative mJOA score was 13.6±1.1 and at final follow-up was 16.3±1.2 with improvement rate of 85.0%. Preoperative VAS,NDI was 6.6± 1.4, 17.1±7.4 and at final follow-up was 1.4±0.8, 6.1±3.9, respectively; there was statistical significance in all above-mentioned results between preoperative and final follow-up (P<0.05). Preoperative ROM at operation level was (7.6±1.9)° and final follow-up was (7.8+2.1)°; preoperative ROM at C2-C7 was (38.6±7.2)° and final follow-up was (39.9±6.4)°; there was no statistical significance in all above-mentioned results between preoperative and final follow-up (P>0.05). Preoperative DHI at operation level was (6.3±1.1) mm and final follow-up was (7.1±0.8) mm, there was statistical significance in DHI between preoperative and final follow-up (P<0.05). No heterotopic ossification was found. All patients followed up MRI, degeneration of 3 segments aggravated 1 degree in 38 adjacent segments, without clinical symptom.

CONCLUSIONTreatment of cervical spondylosis with dynamic cervical implant can got satisfactory outcome in early follow-up. Activity of operative segment obtain reservation in some degree. The incidence of adjacent segment degeneration is lower and no adjacent segment disease occur. Nevertheless a longer follow-up time should be needed to assess the long term functionality of the DCI and the influence on adjacent levels.

Adult ; Cervical Vertebrae ; surgery ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostheses and Implants ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Spondylosis ; physiopathology ; surgery

In Western countries, more and more people select acupuncture and moxibustion as medical ways, and more and more acupuncture and moxibustion research organizations are set up. Britain TCM foundation is such one center for acupuncture research. This center is aimed at promoting acupuncture research. Since 1991, a series of clinical trials and several big research tasks have been completed. The clinical designs in the center are very careful and scientific, being worth to be learnt. In the paper, clinical studies in the center are introduced for increasing levels of acupuncture and moxibustion research at home.
Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Biomedical Research ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; United Kingdom

Objective To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Elemene combined with radiotherapy for intervention in brain metastasis from pulmonary neoplasms. Methods Articles of clinical randomized controlled trials about Elemene combined with radiotherapy for intervention in brain metastasis from pulmonary neoplasms from the establishment of the databases to October of 2016 from CNKI, CBM, Chongqing Weipu, Wanfang database, Cochrane Library, PubMed and Embase were retrieved by computers. Bias risk assessment tools in Cochrane systematic evaluation handbook 5.1.0 was used to conduct quality evaluation for included articles. RevMan5.3 software was used to carry out Meta-analysis. Results Totally 12 articles and 839 patients were included. Results of Meta-analysis showed that Elemene combined with radiotherapy had more obvious curative effect on narrowing the neoplasm compared with pure radiotherapy [OR=2.73, 95%CI (1.97, 3.77), P<0.000 01], and improve patients' life quality at the same time [OR=3.85, 95%CI (2.23, 6.65), P<0.000 01], and relieve adverse reactions [OR=4.16, 95%CI (2.40, 7.22), P<0.000 01]. Conclusion Elemene combined with radiotherapy for intervention in brain metastasis from pulmonary neoplasms shows confirmed efficacy, and is relatively safe. But whether the program should be widely used in clinic, more large sample, multi-center, and high-quality clinical randomized controlled trials are still needed.

AIMTo exploit the characteristic digital criterion for the potential information characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine chromatographic fingerprints, the 37 parameters such as F and I were firstly proposed to disclose the potential information characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine fingerprints.

METHODSThe HPLC fingerprints of the Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) , Ginkgo leaf extract and diphyridamole injection (GLEDI), Ixeris sonchifolia Hance (ISH) and Ixeris sonchifolia Hance injection (ISHI) were compared each other.

RESULTSAs far as the peak signal intensity, the uniform of peak signal, resolution and the fingerprint information were concerned. The GBE fingerprint was better than the GLEDI's, and the ISH fingerprint was also better than the ISHI's, then GBE fingerprint was close to the ISHI' s.

CONCLUSIONThe 37 parameters such as F and I can be used to objectively, authentically and thoroughly display the potential information characteristics of the traditional Chinese medicine chromatographic fingerprints.

Asteraceae ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Ginkgo biloba ; chemistry ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of Bushen Huoxue Fang (BSHX) on the apoptosis of epithelial cells in the prostatic ductal system of rats with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and its possible action mechanism.

METHODSOne hundred 3- month-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of equal number (control, castrated, BPH model, and BSHX). BPH models were made by subcutaneous injection of testosterone following castration; the rats in the BSHX group were treated intragastrically with BSHX at 2.34 g/ml after modeling, while those in the other two groups with equal volume of saline, all for 37 days. On the 38th day, all the rats were sacrificed and their prostates harvested for detection of the distribution of TGF-beta1 and alpha-actin and the count of positive cells in the prostatic ductal system by immunohistochemical staining. The apoptosis rate of epithelial cells in the prostatic ductal system was determined by TUNEL assay.

RESULTSThe expression of TGF-beta1 was significantly increased in the rats of the BSHX group as compared with the BPH models in both the proximal prostatic duct ([15.28 +/- 4.30]% vs [36.42 +/- 8.10]%, P < 0.01) and the distal prostatic duct ([4.42 +/- 2.07]% vs [8.71 +/- 2.28 ]%, P < 0.05), while the expression of alpha-actin in the proximal duct was remarkably higher in the BSHX-treated rats than in the models ([28.14 +/- 7.43]% vs [18.28 +/- 4.07]%, P < 0.01), but lower than in the control animals ([33.57 +/- 6.85]%, P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the BPH models and BSHX-treated rats both exhibited markedly decreased apoptosis of epithelial cells in the proximal prostatic duct ([39.42 +/- 9.20]% vs [3.86 +/- 1.34]%, P < 0.01, and [31.14 +/- 5.64]%, P < 0.01) and distal prostatic duct ([17.60 +/- 4.86]% vs [3.07 +/- 1.14]%, P < 0.01, and [12.37 +/- 2.25]%, P < 0.05). The apoptosis rate of epithelial cells in the prostatic ductal system was significantly higher in the BSHX-treated rats than in the BPH models (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONBy upregulating the expression of TGF-beta, BSHX can suppress the reduction of smooth muscle cells in the proximal prostatic duct, promote the apoptosis of prostatic epithelial cells, and thus effectively inhibit benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Actins ; metabolism ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDOverexpression of G-protein coupled receptor 34 (GPR34) affects the progression and prognosis of human gastric adenocarcinoma, however, the role of GPR34 in gastric cancer development and progression has not been well-determined. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of GPR34 knockdown on the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of HGC-27 gastric cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms.

METHODSThe expression of GPR34 in gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 was detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. HGC-27 cells were employed to construct the stable GPR34 knockdown cell model in this study. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting were applied to validate the effect of short hairpin RNA (ShRNA) on the expression of GPR34 in HGC-27 gastric cells. The proliferation, migration of these cells were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 and transwell. We also measured expression profile of PI3K/PDK1/AKT and ERK using Western blotting.

RESULTSThe ShRNA directed against GPR34 effectively inhibited both endogenous mRNA and protein expression levels of GPR34, and significantly down-regulated the expression of PIK3CB (P < 0.01), PIK3CD (P < 0.01), PDK1 (P < 0.01), phosphorylation of PDK1 (P < 0.01), Akt (P < 0.01), and ERK (P < 0.01). Furthermore, GPR34 knockdown resulted in an obvious reduction in HGC-27 cancer cell proliferation and migration activity (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSGPR34 knockdown impairs the proliferation and migration of HGC-27 gastric cancer cells in vitro and provides a potential implication for therapy of gastric cancer.

Apoptosis ; genetics ; physiology ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; genetics ; physiology ; Humans ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, Lysophospholipid ; genetics ; metabolism ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo study the prognosis and the factors affecting the prognosis in children with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

METHODSSeventy-eight children with ARDS were enrolled. The states of their survival within 30 days were followed-up.

RESULTSOf the 78 children with ARDS, 51 cases demised, 27 cases survived, with a 30-days survival rate of 35%. The average survival time was 14.4 days (median: 8 days). The peak of death appeared within 3 days after ARDS. There were significant differences in aspects of age, primary disease, percentage of neonatal hyaline membrane disease, pediatric critical illness score (PCIS), duration of mechanical ventilation, oxygenation index (PaO(2)/FiO(2)), white blood cell count and number of involved organs between the died and survived children (P<0.05 or 0.01). The Cox multiple factors analysis showed that the age (HR 3.924~3.938), primary disease (HR=1.817) and PCIS (HR=0.469) were the risk factors of death.

CONCLUSIONSThe peak of death usually appears within 3 days after ARDS. Age, primary disease and PCIS are the independent factors of prognosis in children with ARDS.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; mortality ; Survival Rate

The modernization and internationalization of acupuncture and moxibustion is inevitable trends to develop acupuncture and moxibustion. However, the acupuncture research findings in China are not accepted by the mainstream medicine abroad. The major problems are that the study purposes are not specific and the modern scientific research methods are not rationally used in acupuncture clinical study. Two major issues in acupuncture clinical study in China are the evaluation of the specificity of acupuncture and the overall effect of acupuncture treatment. The core and basis of acupuncture clinical study are the clarity of study purpose, following the law of evidence-based medicine and rational selection of modern scientific methods. On the basis of the characteristics of acupuncture and the specialty of acupuncture clinical study, for instance, the types of trial design, blind methods, the selection of control group and outcome assessment system, the objective of this paper provides research strategies for researchers and to improve the overall level of research in the acupuncture clinical study.
Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Biomedical Research ; methods ; China ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; methods

To explore the differences between the qualitative similarity and the quantitative similarity of chromatographic fingerprints of traditional Chinese medicines, the quantitative similarity calculated by vector shadow C%, apparent quantitative similarity R%, quantitative similarity P%, etc. were firstly proposed to disclose the quantitative information characteristics of traditional Chinese medicines fingerprints. The HPLC fingerprints of both the standard Fructus gardeniae and the ten batches of Fructus gardeniae produced in different places were evaluated by the new parameters to obtain good results. The contrasted fingerprint contained 35 peaks while geniposide was selected as the reference peak. The HPLC fingerprint had good precision and reproducibility with the RSD of the relative retention time less than 1.5% and the RSD of the relative peak area within 5%. The qualitative similarity and quantitative similarity between each crude drug and the contrasted fingerprint were quantitatively calculated, the values of C%, P%, etc., were applied in the quality control practice, which had less errors. What is more, this method could be used for the overall quality control of Fructus gardeniae and especially suits for qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the chromatographic fingerprints both in chemical constituent distribution and in contents. The quantitative parameters such as C% and P% can be used to objectively, authentically and thoroughly display the content information characteristics. When they combined with the qualitative similarity, it will be the good method to evaluate the chromatographic fingerprints of traditional Chinese medicines.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Gardenia ; chemistry ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; standards ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results

OBJECTIVETo assess the effectiveness and safety of various types of acupuncture in treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

METHODSSearch Chinese and English databases of the Cochrane Library, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CBM, CNKI and reference lists of correlative academic conference proceedings.

RESULTSEight controlled studies involving 807 women (range, 61-225) meeting the enrolled criteria. Among them 7 studies showed that therapeutic effects of acupuncture were superior to other methods (i. e. Western medicine or Chinese herbs).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture can effectively treat PMS. However, more randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the effectiveness and adverse-effect of acupuncture for treatment of PMS.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Databases, Factual ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Premenstrual Syndrome ; therapy ; Research Design ; Treatment Outcome