Influencing factors and quality of life in patients with occupational pneumoconiosis / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of quality of life( QOL) in patients with occupational pneumoconiosis,and explore the effects of the social demographic data and disease-related information on their QOL.METHODS: By the convenience sampling method,144 male patients with occupational pneumoconiosis were selected. The St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire( SGRQ) was used in the study and the stepwise regression analysis method was used to analyze the influencing factors of QOL in these patients. RESULTS: The SGRQ total score was( 60. 0 ± 18. 0),respiratory symptom dimension score was( 61. 2 ± 19. 7),limitation of motion dimension score was( 64. 0 ± 21. 5) and the disease influence dimension score was( 57. 7 ± 19. 5). The QOL of 52. 08%( 75 /144) of the patients were below the average level. The stage of pneumoconiosis was positively correlated with SGRQ total score and the above three dimension scores( P < 0. 01). The length of disease was negatively correlated with respiratory symptom dimension score( P < 0. 05);the educational level was negatively correlated with limitation of motion dimension score( P < 0. 01); the lung function was positively correlated with limitation of motion dimension score( P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: The QOL of patients with pneumoconiosis was below the average level. The stage of pneumoconiosis,length of diagnosis,the educational level and lung function are the important factors affecting the QOL of these patients.

Protective effects of nerve growth factor vs Danshen on hippocampal neuron against global ischemia-reperfusion injury in gerbils / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the protective effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) and Danshen on hippocampal neurons in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) with global ischemia-reperfusion injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Global ischemia-reperfusion model was established in 54 male Z:ZCLA gerbils by occlusion of the bilateral carotid arteries. The animal models were randomized into 3 groups to receive treatment with normal saline, NGF, and Danshen 30 min after the reperfusion. At 6 h, 3 and 7 days after the reperfusion, the survival of the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons was observed using optical and electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax in the neurons.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Neuronal apoptosis was not observed in the hippocampus 6 h after the reperfusion, but at 3 and 7 days, the number of apoptotic neurons increased significantly in the CA1 region. Compared with normal saline, treatments with NGF and Danshen both significantly reduced the number of apoptotic neurons at 3 and 7 days. The number of apoptotic neurons showed no significant difference between NGF and Danshen treatment groups at 3 days, but at 7 days, the apoptotic cell number was significantly lower in NGF group (P<0.05). Bcl-2 expression was the highest in NGF group, and its highest expression occurred at 6 h after the reperfusion; Bax expression was detected in saline group, and underwent no significant changes with the passage of time.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both NGF and Danshen show protective effects against global ischemia-reperfusion injury. NGF has a stronger protective effect than Danshen, and this finding provides experimental evidence for selecting appropriate protective agents in the treatment of ischemic brain damage.</p>

Event-related potentials of emotional excitement in middle-aged and aged adults / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore how adjustment of the negative and neutral emotion excitement contribute to the well-being of middle-aged and aged adults in their health, intelligence, working and living.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-five middle-aged and aged participants performed recognition tasks of schematic facial representations of positive, neutral and negative emotions and also Chinese characters (equivalent to happy, thinking and fear).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The main effects of the facial recognition task occurred in the left temporal-parietal area (40 to 80 ms), bilateral parietal-occipital and temporal-parietal area (160-180 ms and 310-340 ms). The effects of stimulation with the 3 Chinese characters were found in the anterior region (375-475 ms), posterior region (195-255 ms), and whole scalp region (135-175 ms and 275-355 ms). There were no significant interactive effects between schematic facial recognition and stimulation with Chinese characters.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Positive emotional excitement may promote the well-being of the adults in their health, intelligence, working performance and living.</p>