Objective To explore the change trend and related mechanism of resting metabolic rate induced by corticosterone in mice,and observe the intervention effects of Zhibai Dihuang Pill and Jinkui Shenqi pill.Methods Sixty-four mice were randomly divided into short-term and long-term groups,and each group was randomly divided into four groups.Mice in CORT group,ZBDH group and JKSQ group were given sterile drinking water containing corticosterone,and mice in Ctrl group were given sterile drinking water containing 1%anhydrous ethanol.Mice in ZBDH group and JKSQ group were given Chinese medicine by gavage.RMR of mice in each group was dynamically monitored during modeling and Chinese medicine intervention.The morphology of mitochondria in liver and muscle were observed by transmission electron microscope.The TR expression level in liver and muscle tissues of each group was observed by immunofluorescence,and MDA and ATP levels were detected in liver and muscle tissues of each group.levels of ACTH,TSH,INS,T3,T4,FT3,FT4,8-OHdG,FGF-21,GDF-15,L-lactic acid and pyruvic acid in serum were also detected.Results Compared with Ctrl group,the mitochondrial morphology of liver and muscle tissues in CORT group was damaged,and the expression of TR was decreased.In short-term(Day 8),RMR,ATP in liver,serum T4,ACTH and INS levels were significantly increased in the CORT group,while serum FGF-21,TSH levels and MDA in liver were significantly decreased.In long term(Day 56),RMR,serum 8-OhdG,INS,and ATP in liver and muscle were significantly decreased in the CORT group,serum FGF-21,GDF-15,T3,T4,FT3,FT4,MDA in liver and muscle were significantly increased.Compared with CORT group,in short term,RMR,serum L(+)-lactate in ZBDH group were significantly decreased,while serum 8-OHdG and the expression of TRα in muscle were significantly increased.In JKSQ group,the mitochondrial morphology of muscle tissue was improved,the expression of TRα and serum FGF-21 were significantly increased,while serum L(+)-lactic acid,FT4 and ATP in liver were significantly decreased.In long term,serum FGF-21 was significantly lower in ZBDH group,and in JKSQ group,RMR,ATP in liver tissue and TRα expression in muscle were significantly increased,while the levels of FGF-21,GDF-15,T3,FT4 in serum and MDA in muscle tissue were significantly decreased.Conclusion CORT induced RMR to increase first and then decrease with the intervention time.In the short term,Zhibai Dihuang Pill significantly decreased RMR in mice,while in the long term,Jinkui Shenqi Pill significantly increased RMR.The mechanism may be related to mitochondrial injury,thyroxine secretion and thyroxine receptor expression.

Objective To explore the change trend and related mechanism of resting metabolic rate induced by corticosterone in mice,and observe the intervention effects of Zhibai Dihuang Pill and Jinkui Shenqi pill.Methods Sixty-four mice were randomly divided into short-term and long-term groups,and each group was randomly divided into four groups.Mice in CORT group,ZBDH group and JKSQ group were given sterile drinking water containing corticosterone,and mice in Ctrl group were given sterile drinking water containing 1%anhydrous ethanol.Mice in ZBDH group and JKSQ group were given Chinese medicine by gavage.RMR of mice in each group was dynamically monitored during modeling and Chinese medicine intervention.The morphology of mitochondria in liver and muscle were observed by transmission electron microscope.The TR expression level in liver and muscle tissues of each group was observed by immunofluorescence,and MDA and ATP levels were detected in liver and muscle tissues of each group.levels of ACTH,TSH,INS,T3,T4,FT3,FT4,8-OHdG,FGF-21,GDF-15,L-lactic acid and pyruvic acid in serum were also detected.Results Compared with Ctrl group,the mitochondrial morphology of liver and muscle tissues in CORT group was damaged,and the expression of TR was decreased.In short-term(Day 8),RMR,ATP in liver,serum T4,ACTH and INS levels were significantly increased in the CORT group,while serum FGF-21,TSH levels and MDA in liver were significantly decreased.In long term(Day 56),RMR,serum 8-OhdG,INS,and ATP in liver and muscle were significantly decreased in the CORT group,serum FGF-21,GDF-15,T3,T4,FT3,FT4,MDA in liver and muscle were significantly increased.Compared with CORT group,in short term,RMR,serum L(+)-lactate in ZBDH group were significantly decreased,while serum 8-OHdG and the expression of TRα in muscle were significantly increased.In JKSQ group,the mitochondrial morphology of muscle tissue was improved,the expression of TRα and serum FGF-21 were significantly increased,while serum L(+)-lactic acid,FT4 and ATP in liver were significantly decreased.In long term,serum FGF-21 was significantly lower in ZBDH group,and in JKSQ group,RMR,ATP in liver tissue and TRα expression in muscle were significantly increased,while the levels of FGF-21,GDF-15,T3,FT4 in serum and MDA in muscle tissue were significantly decreased.Conclusion CORT induced RMR to increase first and then decrease with the intervention time.In the short term,Zhibai Dihuang Pill significantly decreased RMR in mice,while in the long term,Jinkui Shenqi Pill significantly increased RMR.The mechanism may be related to mitochondrial injury,thyroxine secretion and thyroxine receptor expression.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic cryoablation (ECA) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).Methods:The clinical data of 9 patients with UTUC treated with ECA from April 2018 to September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients consisted of 3 males and 6 females, with median age of 76 years old (ranging from 50 to 88 years old). Among the patients, 6 cases had tumors of ureter, 1 case had tumor of renal pelvis and 2 cases had tumors of renal pelvis combined with ureter. Of the 9 patients, two had bilateral UTUC, six were presented with single lesion, three were presented with multiple lesion. The size of tumors were (1.53±0.91)cm. The tumors of all cases were localized (≤stage T 2), and there was no carcinoma or suspicious lymph node/distant metastasis. All patients enrolled in this study had strong will to choose kidney-sparing therapy. Biopsy, resection of intraluminal lesion with laser and cryoablation under ureteroscopy or percutaneous nephroscopy was performed under general aneasthesia.Ureteroscopy was performed 3 months after cryoablation. Perioperative complications and follow-up results were recorded and assessed. Results:Cryoablation was successfully performed in patients under ureteroscopy (n=8) or nephroscopy (n=1). The median cryoablation time was 6 (ranging from 4-16) minutes. The median follow-up was 16 months (ranging from 4-24 months). No tumor recurrence was observed at primary sites during follow-up. Two patients with multiple lesions were observed denovo ureteral neoplasms outside the primary sites 3 months and 6 months after cryoablation and treated with second cryoablation. One case died due to cardiovascular events 4 months after surgery. One patient underwent ureteral stricture during follow-up and received ureteroscopic balloon dilatation. No recurrent stricture was found in this case during the subsequent follow-up of 16 months. The other 5 cases showed no recurrence or complications like stricture during follow-up.Conclusions:ECA could probably be a promising treatment for localized UTUC. No recurrence in primary site and low incidence of ureteral stricture was observed during follow-up. The efficacy and safety of ECA need to be verified with large sample study.

BACKGROUND:Warm acup-moxibustion is an effective treatment in Chinese traditional medicine, which combines acupuncture with moxibustion. With an immediate analgesia or/and long-term effect, warm acup-moxibustion has been used clinicaly for acute and chronic pain. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the progress in the studies about clinical application of warm acup-moxibustion as analgesic therapy for acute and chronic pain and to discuss the influential factors. METHODS: CNKI, VIP and Wanfang databases were searched for relevant articles published between January 1995 and July 2015 using the keywords of “warm needling; warm acup-moxibustion; pain; analgesic” in Chinese. According to the exclusion and inclusion criteria, 51 articles were included in result analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with ordinary acupuncture, medicine and other treatment methods, warm acup-moxibustion can play an analgesic role in multiple systems, which is better than ordinary acupuncture and Western medicine. Warm acup-moxibustion combined with drugs and acupuncture techniques can increase the analgesic effect and improve joint function activity. Warm acup-moxibustion with the overal regulatory role plays an effective analgesic pain role in the multiple systems and shortens the duration of treatment, which is an effective method for treating pain and worthy of further promotion and application.

BACKGROUND:Chronic visceral pain is one of major complaints of irritable bowel syndrome which seriously affects patient’s quality of life. Recent researches have shown that moxibustion therapy has positive effects on aleviating chronic visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome patients.
OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical utility of moxibustion in coping with chronic visceral pain of irritable bowel syndrome patients, and shed light on the theoretical basis of moxibustion analgesia, thereby to give insights into the further research and application on moxibustion.
METHODS: With the key words of “moxibustion, irritable bowel syndrome, visceral pain, abdominal pain” in Chinese and in English, respectively, a computer-based search was performed in CNKI, VIP, Wanfang and PubMed databases for articles published from January 1990 to October 2014. After the initial screening, the remained articles went through further selection and categorization.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The result shows promising results of moxibustion on relieving chronic visceral pain for both two subtypes of irritable bowel syndrome patients, diarrhea type and constipation type. Moxibustion may exert an analgesic effect on chronic visceral pain in irritable bowel syndrome patients through regulation of visceral hypersensitivity, gastrointestinal motility disorders, brain-gut axis and neuroendocrine system disorders, immune dysfunction and low-grade inflammation in the gut, psychological abnormalities, and alteration of intestinal flora. However, to fuly understand the analgesia effect of moxibustion and elucidate its mechanism, more standardized randomized controled trials employing advanced scientific techniques and equipments wil stil be needed in the future.

Objectives To explore the clinical intervention of prenatal diagnosed congenital choledochal cyst in infants. Methods 37 infants with prenatally diagnosed congenital choledochal cyst from September 2006 to February 2013 were di-vided into early (0-3 month) operation group (Group A, n=20) and late (>3 month) operation group (Group B, n=17) according to the timing of surgery. The clinical characteristics, the preoperative and postoperative liver function, postoperative com-plications and pathological examination of liver biopsy were retrospectively analyzed. Results Five infants in group A and 2 infants in group B became jaundiced after birth. No statistical difference was found in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) between two groups (P>0.05). Preoperative and postoperative levels of total bilirubin (TBIL) and direct bilirubin (DBIL) in group A were signiifcantly higher than those in group B (P<0.05). Two cases had anastomotic stricture and one case had bile leakage in group A while no postoperative complication was found in group B. Liver biopsy re-sults showed that there were 11 cases of biliary cirrhosis, including 4 cases in group A (36.36%) and 7 cases (63.64%) in group B, but no statistical difference in incidence of cirrhosis between two groups (P=0.160). Conclusions Infants with prenatally diagnosed congenital choledochal cyst should be closely observed. Once jaundice, clay-coledstool, increased ALT and AST, fast growing enlarged cysts were found, infants should be surgically treated as soon as possible to reduce liver damage and the incidence of liver cirrhosis.