This article gives a brief account of the origin and development of pestle needle therapy, and its special acupoints, needling instruments and commonly used techniques, and explores the close relationship between pestle needle therapy and the traditional Chinese medical theory to seek more theory support of this therapy from traditional Chinese medicine. The article also summarizes clinical indications for pestle needle therapy and regularities in the practical application of this therapy to promote the inheritance and development of pestle needle therapy.

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy between moving cupping at Hechelu combined with rubbing method and western medication for depression of diabetes mellitus (DM).

METHODSTwo hundred and sixteen patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 108 cases in each group. Patients in the observation group were treated with moving cupping at Hechelu combined with rubbing method, once every: other day; six treatments were considered as one course, and totally two courses were given with an interval of: 4 days between courses. Patients in the control group were treated with oral administration of fluoxetine hydrochloride capsules, once a day for consecutive 4 weeks. The Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), self-rating depression scale (SDS) and TCM symptom score were measured before treatment, after the treatment and in follow-up visit one and a half months after treatment. The fasting blood glucose was tested before and after treatment. The glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was tested in the follow-up visit.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 90.9% (90/99) in the observation group, which was superior to 73.7% (70/95) in the control group (P < 0.05). After the treatment, HAMD, SDS and TCM symptom scores were all reduced apparently in the observation group and the control group (all P < 0.05). After the treatment and the follow-up visit, the TCM symptom score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of HbA1c and GLU were stable in the observation group, and were decreased compared with those before treatment; but the difference between the, two groups was not significant (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe Hechelu theory-based TCM treatment has better: efficacy for depression of diabetes mellitus than fluoxetine hydrochloride capsule, which has less adverse effects.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Aged ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Depressive Disorder ; etiology ; metabolism ; psychology ; therapy ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; metabolism ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Massage ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To automatically synthesize Al 18F-1, 4, 7-triazacyclononane-1, 4, 7-triacetic acid (NOTA)-fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI)-04, perform PET/CT imaging in vivo, and evaluate its diagnostic efficacy on tumors. Methods:Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 was produced in All-in-one automatic synthesis module and its quality control was conducted by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a radioactive detector. Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT imaging was performed in normal BALB/c mice ( n=3) and 4T1 breast cancer models ( n=3) to determine its biodistribution. Then Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging were performed in a hepatocellular carcinoma patient (male, 51 years old). Results:The synthesis time of Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 was about 35 min, and the radiochemical yield was (25.2±1.9)% (attenuation correction, n=3). The product was colorless transparent solution with pH value of 7.0-7.5, and the specific activity was (46.11±3.07) GBq/μmol (attenuation correction, n=3). The radiochemical purity was above 99.0% and was still above 98.0% at room temperature after 6 h. PET/CT imaging in mice showed that physiological uptake of Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 was mainly in biliary system and bladder, and Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 highly concentrated in tumor xenografts. PET/CT imaging in the patient showed that Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 obtained high tumor background ratio (TBR) values of 4.1, 8.9, 5.4, 4.8, 2.2 in parasternal lymph nodes, anterior diaphragmatic lymph nodes, hilar lymph nodes, pancreaticoduodenal ligament lymph nodes, abdominal aortic lymph nodes, respectively, while TBR values were 1.0, 2.8, 5.0, 2.1, 1.1 by 18F-FDG. Conclusions:Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 can be synthesized with short time, high radiochemical yield and good stability using All-in-one module. Al 18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT imaging has high contrast and excellent diagnostic efficacy on tumors.

Objective:To investigate the evaluation value of one-stop whole-brain dynamic volume CT angiography and CT perfusion imaging (CTA-CTP) in the cynomolgus monkeys models of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).Methods:Ten adult cynomolgus monkeys were selected and examined by head and neck CTA-CTP and craniocerebral MRI to rule out craniocerebral space-occupying lesions or cerebrovascular malformation. Under guidance of digital substraction angiography (DSA), the right femoral artery was dissected and monkey autologous thrombosis was injected into the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) through microcatheter to prepare MCAO models. Whole brain DSA was performed intraoperatively to observe whether the model was successfully prepared, and head and neck CTA-CTP was performed 24 h and 7 d after modeling to determine the locations and brain blood flow changes of ischemic lesions. The monkeys were sacrificed 8 d after modeling, and the brain tissues were stained with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC).Results:Among the 10 cynomolgus monkeys, one was excluded because of preoperative cerebrovascular malformation, and one died of cerebral hernia caused by cerebral hemorrhage during the experiment. The remaining 8 MCAO models were successfully prepared. Intraoperative DSA orthography showed unclear M1 segment and distal branch of MCA. Brain CT scan 24 h and 7 d after modeling showed obvious cerebral ischemic lesions in the right MCA blood supply area, and the infarct extent 7 d after surgery was more obvious than that 24 h after surgery. CTA examination showed obvious blood flow interruption imaging in the in M1 segment of MCA on the right side, the distal vessels were not clearly displayed and the distal branches of the infarct side 7 d after surgery were obvious decreased as compared with those 24 h after surgery. CTP scan showed that the cerebral blood volume of the right cerebrum was obviously reduced as compared with that of the left cerebrum, which was consistent with the blood supply area of MCA; and the infarct cores and penumbra areas 7 d after surgery were obvious increased as compared with those 24 h after surgery. TTC staining showed that the ischemic lesions of the brain tissue on the slices were gray and involved multiple layers, and the range was roughly consistent with the infarction sites shown by DSA and CT imaging.Conclusion:One-stop whole brain dynamic volume CTA-CTP has good evaluation value in imaging findings in MCAO animal models.