OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of heat-sensitive moxibustion on the quality of life in the elderly patients with malignant tumor based on palliative treatment. METHODS: A total of 100 elderly patients with malignant tumor were randomly divided into an observation group (50 cases, 3 cases dropped out) and a control group (50 cases, 4 cases dropped out). The conventional palliative treatment was performed in the control group. On the basis of conventional palliative treatment, heat-sensitive moxibustion was added at Shenque (CV8) and Zhongwan (CV12) in the observation group, once a day, 5 times a week, one course of treatment was composed of 2 weeks, and 2 consecutive courses of treatment were given. In the observation group, 15 patients voluntarily continued heat-sensitive moxibustion treatment, which was collected in the sub-observation group No.1, these patients were treated 3 times a week and for 6 months consecutively. Using the propensity score matching method, 15 patients who only completed 2 courses of treatment were assigned into the sub-observation group No.2. Before and after treatment, the scores of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), the Karnofsky performance status (KPS), and the anorexia/cachexia subscale-12 (A/CS-12), as well as the immune indexes (the contents of serum immune globulin [Ig]G, IgA, IgM and complements C3 and C4) were observed in the patients of the observation group and the control group. The monthly survivals were recorded in the two sub-observation groups after 6 months of treatment completion. The coordination was analyzed on the score of deqi scale of heat-sensitive moxibustion at the probing stage before treatment and the change in the score of EORTC QLQ-C30 before and after treatment in the patients of the observation group. RESULTS: After treatment, except the score related to the financial difficulties, the score of every items in EORTC QLQ-C30 was greater than that before treatment in the observation group (P<0.05); the scores for overall health, nausea/vomiting, pain, short breath, constipation and diarrhea of the scale were higher than those before treatment in the control group (P<0.05). The score for each item of the scale in the observation group was higher when compared with that in the control group, except the score for financial difficulties (P<0.05). After treatment, KPS score increased in the observation group when compared with that before treatment (P<0.05), and the score was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, A/CS-12 score was elevated in comparison with that before treatment in each group (P<0.05), and the score in the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, in the observation group, the contents of serum IgG, IgA and IgM, and C3 and C4 increased in comparison with those before treatment (P<0.05); and in the control group, the contents of serum IgG, C3 and C4 were declined (P<0.05). After treatment, the contents of serum IgG, IgA and IgM, and C3 and C4 in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). After 6 months of treatment completion, the survival rate in the sub-observation group No.1 was higher than that of the sub-observation group No.2 (P<0.05). In the observation group, the positive coordination was presented between the score of deqi scale of heat-sensitive moxibustion and the change in the score of EORTC QLQ-C30 in the observation group (r>0, P<0.001). CONCLUSION On the basis of palliative treatment, heat-sensitive moxibustion can improve the quality of life, appetite and the immunity of the elderly patients with malignant tumor. Consecutive long-term moxibustion is contributed to prolonging the life span. The stronger deqi is felt during moxibustion delivery, the more significant the therapeutic effect is obtained.
Humans ; Moxibustion ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Quality of Life ; Neoplasms/psychology* ; Palliative Care ; Aged, 80 and over ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Points

Acute or chronic wounds are common clinical problems. Collagen, with advantages including rich sources, impeccable biocompatibility, and inherent biodegradability, has been widely used in fundamental research and clinical treatment of wound repair with broad prospects of clinical applications. This article provided a brief overview of the role of collagen in various biological processes related to wound healing and also outlined the sources of collagen. Furthermore, the article summarized the application and recent research advancements of collagen-based wound dressings in the field of wound repair.

Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics of neonatal asplenia syndrome to improve the understanding of the disorder. Methods Newborns with neonatal asplenia syndrome admitted to the neonatal department of our Hospital from June 2008 to July 2015 were recruited and their gender, birth weight, gestational age, clinical manifestations, imaging features, laboratory examinations, treatments and prognosis were analyzed. Results A total of 8 newborns with asplenia syndrome were studied. All the patients presented with cyanosis at birth, 5 of them with heart murmur, 3 with apical impulse in the right ( dextrocardia) thorax and complex congenital heart diseases were found in all of them by echocardiogram examinations. 2 of them were diagnosed congenital heart diseases before birth by the fetal ultrasound. 2 cases combined with congenital imperforate anus and cutaneous fistulas. 1 case was found right renal agenesis and Howell-Jolly was seen in another case. All the 8 patientsˊ parents refused medical advices about continuing treatments and left hospital. Among them, 4 patients died in the neonatal period, 2 lost in follow-up and only 2 survived, one for 19 months and the other for 4 years. Conclusions Patients with asplenia syndrome presented absence of spleen, visceral inversion, severe cardiovascular malformations and other malformations. When the cyanosis, heart murmur and abnormal position of apical impulse were found in the newborns, asplenia syndrome should be considered and imaging examinations such as chest X-ray, ultrasound, visceral angiography and more should be ordered immediately, in order to make an early diagnosis of the disease.

In the presence of ZnO nanoparticles ( ZnO NPs ) and EDTA, luminol could produce strong chemiluminescence ( CL) without any oxidant. Therefore, a new CL system was established based on luminol-EDTA-ZnO NPs. As caffeic acid could strongly inhibit the CL, a flow injection CL method for the determination of caffeic acid was proposed. Under the optimized conditions, the relative CL intensity was linear over the logarithm of concentration of caffeic acid ranging from 1 . 0í10-7 mol/L to 1 . 0í10-5 mol/L with the detection limit of 1. 8í10-8 mol/L (3σ). The relative standard deviation (RSD) for the determination of 4 . 0í10-7 mol/L caffeic acid was 3 . 5% ( n=11 ) . The new method was successfully applied to determine the caffeic acid content in the tablets with the recoveries in the range of 97%-101%.