Objective This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of concentrated growth factor(CGF)membrane and collagen as barrier materials in sealing the alveolar socket in alveolar ridge preservation(ARP)in the posterior region during a one-year follow-up.Methods A total of 24 pa-tients who underwent ARP in the posterior region were selected for inclusion and randomly assigned to the CGF group(12 cases)and Collagen group(12 cases).The pa-tients in both groups underwent extraction of posterior teeth.The extraction sockets were filled with a bone sub-stitute to the level of the pre-extraction buccal and lingual or palatal alveolar bone plates.The wounds in the CGF group were closed with a fabricated CGF overlaying the upper edge of the bone substitute material,whereas those in the Colla-gen group were closed with Bio-Oss Collagen.The implants were placed after 6 months.The evaluation was based on implant retention,re-grafting rate,and vertical and horizontal alveolar ridge bone volume changes measured by cone beam computed tomography(CBCT).Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 28.0 software.Results No patient withdrew throughout the follow-up period.No implant failure and no severe peri-implant or mucosal soft tissue compli-cations were observed.Six months after the operation,the degree of vertical alveolar ridge height resorption in the CGF group was lower than that in the Collagen group(P<0.05).There were no statistically difference between the groups at 1 year after the operation(P>0.05).The amount of bone reduction in horizontal alveolar ridge width showed no difference between the groups at 6 months and 1 year after surgery(P>0.05).Conclusion CGF membrane and Bio-Oss Collagen as barrier materials for posterior ARP inhibited reduction in alveolar ridge bone mass.

Objective To analyze the correlation between white matter injury and cognitive dysfunction using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).Methods Seventeen subjects with TBI hospitalized from October 2012 to September 2013 had Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score of ≥ 13 (mild injury group, 10 cases) and ≤ 12 (moderate-severe injury group, 7 cases).Another 17 healthy subjects were used as controls.All were submitted to DTI examination.Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) values in genu corpus callosum, splenium corpus callosum, posterior internal capsule, anterior internal capsule, and cerebral peduncle were calculated using the Neuro 3D software.Correlations between FA and ADC with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score were evaluated.Results Moderate-severe injury group demonstrated significantly reduced FA values in genu corpus callosum and splenium corpus callosum, and significantly increased ADC values of genu corpus callosum, splenium corpus callosum, posterior internal capsule and cerebral peduncle when compared to control group (P ＜0.05 or 0.01).FA and ADC values in the regions of interest did not differ significantly between mild injury group and control group (P ＞ 0.05).In the genu corpus callosum and splenium corpus callosum, FA values were positively correlated with MMSE score (r =0.636, 0.601), while ADC values were negatively correlated with MMSE score (r =0.552, 0.660).Conclusions DTI reveals the cerebral white matter lesion that is undetectable using CT and conventional MRI.DTI is a helpful tool to evaluate the degree of cognitive function in patients with TBI, which provides the basic reference for the clinical treatment and prognosis.

Objective To establish animal models of diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and discuss the early functional MRI findings.Methods Twenty-five adult white rabbits were divided into control group (n =5),mild DAI group and severe DAI group (n =6) according to random number.Mild DAI group was subdivided into mild DAI 3 h (n =6),1 day (n =4) and 1 week (n =4) groups.Routine MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were performed.Parameters measured were fractional anisotropy (FA),apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC),axial diffusivity (AD) and radical diffusivity (RD).Results Significantly increased FA (P＜0.01) and decreased ADC (P＜0.05) and RD (P＜0.01) were detected in severe DAI group compared to control group,but there was no significant variation in AD between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Each parameter remained almost unchanged in mild DAI 3 h group and mild DAI 1 week group,but FA was increased (P ＜ 0.01) and RD decreased (P ＜ 0.05) in mild DAI 1 day group,with no changes of ADC and AD.Conclusion DTI is a sensitive way to detect the occurrence and development of DAI and can provide referential images for early DAI diagnosis.

PURPOSE: Cathepsin K is a potent collagenase implicated in human and animal atherosclerosis-based vascular remodeling. This study examined the hypothesis that serum CatK is associated with the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2011 and December 2012, 256 consecutive subjects were enrolled from among patients who underwent coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention treatment. A total of 129 age-matched subjects served as controls. RESULTS: The subjects' serum cathepsin K and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured. The patients with CAD had significantly higher serum cathepsin K levels compared to the controls (130.8+/-25.5 ng/mL vs. 86.9+/-25.5 ng/mL, p<0.001), and the patients with acute coronary syndrome had significantly higher serum cathepsin K levels compared to those with stable angina pectoris (137.1+/-26.9 ng/mL vs. 102.6+/-12.9 ng/mL, p<0.001). A linear regression analysis showed that overall, the cathepsin K levels were inversely correlated with the high-density lipoprotein levels (r=-0.29, p<0.01) and positively with hs-CRP levels (r=0.32, p<0.01). Multiple logistic regression analyses shows that cathepsin K levels were independent predictors of CAD (odds ratio, 1.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.56; p<0.01). CONCLUSION: These data indicated that elevated levels of cathepsin K are closely associated with the presence of CAD and that circulating cathepsin K serves a useful biomarker for CAD.
Aged ; Biological Markers/blood ; C-Reactive Protein/metabolism ; Cathepsin K/*blood ; Coronary Artery Disease/*blood/metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

PURPOSE: Cathepsin K is a potent collagenase implicated in human and animal atherosclerosis-based vascular remodeling. This study examined the hypothesis that serum CatK is associated with the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2011 and December 2012, 256 consecutive subjects were enrolled from among patients who underwent coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention treatment. A total of 129 age-matched subjects served as controls. RESULTS: The subjects' serum cathepsin K and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured. The patients with CAD had significantly higher serum cathepsin K levels compared to the controls (130.8+/-25.5 ng/mL vs. 86.9+/-25.5 ng/mL, p<0.001), and the patients with acute coronary syndrome had significantly higher serum cathepsin K levels compared to those with stable angina pectoris (137.1+/-26.9 ng/mL vs. 102.6+/-12.9 ng/mL, p<0.001). A linear regression analysis showed that overall, the cathepsin K levels were inversely correlated with the high-density lipoprotein levels (r=-0.29, p<0.01) and positively with hs-CRP levels (r=0.32, p<0.01). Multiple logistic regression analyses shows that cathepsin K levels were independent predictors of CAD (odds ratio, 1.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.56; p<0.01). CONCLUSION: These data indicated that elevated levels of cathepsin K are closely associated with the presence of CAD and that circulating cathepsin K serves a useful biomarker for CAD.
Aged ; Biological Markers/blood ; C-Reactive Protein/metabolism ; Cathepsin K/*blood ; Coronary Artery Disease/*blood/metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of standardized three-stage rehabilitation program on spasticity and motor function in the upper extremities after cerebral hemorrhage.Methods A total of 364 patients were included and randomly assigned to a control group (n =181) and a rehabilitation group (n =183).The standardized three-stage rehabilitation program,which included early-stage bedside rehabilitation,specialized treatment in rehabilitation ward during recovery and rehabilitation follow-up at regular intervals was applied in the rehabilitation group,but only rehabilitation guidance and follow-up after discharge were provided for the control group.The modified Ashworth scale (MAS) and Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) were performed at the time of recruitment,1 month (M1),3 months(M3) and 6 months(M6) later.Results There was no statistical difference between the groups at recruitment.The occurrence rate of spasticity was 22.7％ in the control and 23.5％ in the rehabilitation group.At M6 the occurrence rate of spasticity was about 59.7％ and 43.2％ in control group and rehabilitation group respectively,and the number of patients grade 1 + and grade 2 on the MAS was 50/181 in the control group,significantly more than in the rehabilitation group (25/183).At all time points,MAS grade 0 accounted for a large proportion of both groups.At M6,both MAS distributions and scores of the two groups were different statistically (P ＜ 0.01).FMA scores in both groups increased significantly (P ＜ 0.01) with time,with the score being (17.13 ± 16.46),(24.87±18.36),(30.68±19.41) at M1,M3 and M6 in the control group and (24.71 ±19.80),(39.83 ± 19.50),(48.87 ± 18.25) in the rehabilitation group,but the average scores of the latter were consistently significantly higher than the former (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Standardized three-stage rehabilitation can alleviate spasticity and improve motor function of the upper extremities in cerebral hemorrhage patients.

Objective To assess differences in brain activation between active and passive movement of the right hand using blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI). Methods Nine healthy adult right handed volunteers were studied. fMRI was performed with active and passive finger-to-finger movement. Results Right hand active and passive movement produced significant activation in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex ( SMC ), the contralateral premotor cortex ( PMC ), bilaterally in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and in the ipsilateral cerebellum. The activated brain areas were centered on the contralateral SMC and PMC and located more forward during active movement than during passive movement. The contralateral SMC was the most strongly and the most frequently activated brain area. The contralateral posterior parietal cortex (PPC) was less relevant to the hand movements. Unlike active movement, passivemovement activated more areas in the posterior central gyrus than in the anterior central gyrus. Conclusions Both active and passive movement significantly activate the brain areas which are responsible for hand movement, but there are some differences in the locations of the cortex areas activated and in the incidence activation except in the contralateral SMC.

Objective In order to explore the effects of rehabilitation training and acupuncture on the neural function deficit and motor function in patients with ischemic streke.Methods Eighty patients with ischemic stroke were randomly divided into rehabilitation and acupuncture groups.According to different recovery stages,the rehabilitation group received purposeful rehabilitation training for 28 days while the acupuncture group received scalp needling combined with body acuptmcture.The neural deficit scores(NDS)and motor fimction comprehensive assessment(FCA) were evaluated at the recruitment(M_0),the 28~(th)(M_1)and 56~(th)(M_2)days after treatment.Results No significant difierences were found in the NDS and motor FCA between the rehabilitation and the acurluncture groups at the recruitment.The significant differences appeared at the 28~(th) and the 56~(th) days comparing with baseline assessments in each group.There was no significant difference in the changes of NDS and motor FCA between the two groups at 28~(th) day,however,the NDS and motor FCA in rehabilitation group revealed better outcome than the acupuncture group at the 56~(th) day.Conclusion The study indicated that both rehabilitation training and acupuncture could improve the neural function and enhance the motor function in patients with ischemic stroke.

Objective To investigate whether physical training can activate the PI3K/Akt (phosphatidyli-nositol 3-kinase/Protein Kinase B) signal transduction pathway after focal brain isehemia, leading to the reduction ofendothelial cell apoptosis. Methods Twenty-four male adult Sprague-Dawley rats (2 ～ 3 month old, n = 24) weresubjected to 60-min right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). All rats were randomly assigned to one of thethree groups: physical training group, control group and sham operation group. 24 hours after MCAO ,physical train-ing group underwent 30 min treadmill training per day for 2 weeks. Results After two weeks, the phosphorylationlevel of PI3K/Akt in the physical training group was significantly higher when compared with that in the control group(P <0.05), while the expression level of Bax in physical training group was lower when compared with that in thecontrol group( P < 0.05 ). Conclusion Physical training can activate PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway,which may be associated with the neurological recovery.

Objective To evaluate the effects of community-based rehabilitation therapy on activitv of daily living performance of the Chinese stroke patients. Methods In a single blinded,randomized,controlled multicenter trial,737 consecutive stroke patients were stratified by two groups of cerebral infarction and hemorrhage. All the patients were randomly divided into a rehabilitation group and a control group.The patients in the rehabilitation group received atandardized community-based rehabilitation therapy,while those in the control group did not.All the patients were followed up for 5 months for evaluation of their performance with activity of daily living by using Modified Barthel Index before intervention,after follow-up 2 and 5 months,respectively. Results Patients in the rehabilitation group performed better in ADL as reflected by the Modified Barthel Index score than those in the control group after 5 months of intervention(P＜0.05).Although both the rehabilitation group and control group improved over time,the rehabilitation group showed a greater improvement with the Modified Barthel Index scores when compared with the control group(P＜0.01).After 5 months follow-up,the total gain of Modified Barthel Index scores was 26.28 and 32.89 for those with cerebral infarction and hemorrhage,respectively,in the rehabilitation group. In comparison,the gain of Modified Barthel Index scores was 7.65 and 2 1.70 for those with cerebral infarction and those with hemorrhage,respectively in the control group.This implies a difference in improvement of 1 8.63 in cerebral infarction group and 1 1.19 in hemorrhage group,in favor of the rehabilitation group. Conclusion Standardized community-based rehabilitation therapy may help stroke patients to improve their performance in activity of daily living significantly.