Effect of bloodletting acupuncture at twelve -well points of hand on microcirculatory disturbance in mice with traumatic brain injury / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of bloodletting acupuncture at twelve -well points of hand on microcirculatory disturbance in mice with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and to explore the protective effect of bloodletting therapy on TBI.@*METHODS@#Sixty clean adult male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a sham-operation group, a model group and a treatment group, 20 mice in each group. The TBI model was established by using electronic controlled cerebral cortex impact instrument in the model group and the treatment group. The mice in the treatment group were treated with bloodletting acupuncture at bilateral "Shaoshang" (LU 11), "Shangyang" (LI 1), "Zhongchong" (PC 9), "Guanchong" (TE 1), "Shaochong" (HT 9) and "Shaoze" (SI 1) immediately after trauma. The mice in the sham-operation group only opened the bone window but did not receive the strike. The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was monitored by laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) using a PeriCam PSI System before trauma, immediately after trauma and 1, 2, 12, 24, 48, 72 h after trauma. The brain water content was measured by wet-dry weight method 24 h after trauma. The severity of functional impairment at 2, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after trauma was evaluated by modified neurological scale scores (mNSS).@*RESULTS@#① 2 h after trauma, the mNSS in the model group and treatment group were >7 points, suggesting the successful establishment of model; compared with the sham-operation group, the mNSS was increased significantly from 12 to 72 h after trauma in the model group ( all <0.01), but the mNSS in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the model group from 2 to 24 h after trauma (<0.01, <0.05). ② Compared with the sham-operation group, rCBF in the model group was decreased significantly immediately after trauma (<0.01), and the rCBF in the model group was lower than that in the sham-operation group from 1 to 72 h after trauma ( all <0.01); rCBF in the treatment group began to rise and was significantly higher than that in the model group 1-2 h after trauma (<0.01); 12-48 h after trauma, the increasing of rCBF in the two groups tended to be gentle until 72 h after injury, and rCBF in the model group was decreased while that in the treatment group continued to rise and was higher than that in the model group (<0.01). ③ 24 h after trauma, the brain water content in the model group was significantly higher than that in the sham-operation group (<0.01), and brain water content in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the model group (<0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#The bloodletting acupuncture at twelve -well points of hand could improve microcirculation disturbance, increase microcirculation perfusion, alleviate secondary brain edema and promote the recovery of nerve function in mice with TBI.

Therapeutic bloodletting at Jing-well points combine hypothermia attenuated acute cerebral edema after traumatic brain injury in rats / 中国应用生理学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the influence of therapeutic bloodletting at Jing-well points and hypothermia on acute cerebral edema after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-five SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group (Sham), TBI group (TBI), bloodletting group (BL), mild-induced hypothermia group (MIH), and bloodletting plus MIH group (BL + MIH) (n = 15). The model of TBI was established by electric controlled cortical impactor (eCCI). The rats of BL group were bloodletting at Jing-well points immediately after injury, twice daily. While the MIH group was settled on a hypothermia blanket promptly after TBI for 6 hours, so that the temperature dropped to 32 degrees. Each of measurement was performed after 48 hours. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to evaluate the dynamic impairment of cerebral edema after TBI (n = 3). In addition, mNSS score, measurements of wet and dry brain weight, and Evans Blue assay were performed to investigate the neurologic deficit, cerebral water content (n = 8), and blood-brain barrier permeability (BBB), (n = 4), respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>MRI analysis showed that the cerebral edema, hematoma and midline shifting of rats in TBI group was more serious than other treatment group. Meanwhile compared with TBI group, the mNSS scores of every treatment group were meaningfully lower (all P < 0.05). Furthermore, treatment with BL+ MIH group was superior to the separated BL and MIH group (all P < 0.01). In addition, brain water content of each intervention group reduced to varying degrees (all P < 0.05), especially that of MIH group and BL + MIH group (P <0.01). BBB permeability of each treatment group was also significantly improved (all P < 0.01), and the improvement in MIH group and BL + MIH group was much better than the BL alone group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our major finding is that bloodletting at Jing-well points and MIH can reduce cerebral edema and BBB dysfunction and exert neuroprotective effects after TBI. The results suggest that the combination of BL and MIH is more effective than other treatment being used alone.</p>

Comparative study on the brain protection in patients of traumatic cerebral infarction treated with bloodletting at Jing-well points and semen coicis / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To verify the effect of bloodletting therapy at Jing-well points and semen coicis on patients with traumatic cerebral infarction.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety patients were randomized into a bloodletting therapy at Jing-well points group (bloodletting group), a semen coicis group and a comprehensive therapy group, 30 cases in each one. The conventional basic medication was applied in all of the three groups. In the bloodletting group, the bloodletting therapy was done at twelve Jing-well points with three-edged needle, 3 drops of blood required at each one, three times a day. In the semen coicis group, the semen coicis preparation was applied via nasal feeding or oral administration, 90 g each day, three times a day. In the comprehensive therapy group, the bloodletting therapy at twelve Jing-well points and semen coicis preparation were used in combination and the methods were same as the above two groups. After 4 weeks of treatment, the efficacy was assessed with nerve function defectscale (NDS). Fugl-Meyer scale of the upper and lower limb function was used to evaluate the motor function of the affected limbs of the patients before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The scores of Fugl-Meyer scale of the upper and lower limb function were increased apparently after treatment in the patients of every group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The score increase was much more obvious in the bloodletting group and the comprehensive therapy group as compared with the semen coicis group (all P < 0.01). The result in the comprehensive therapy group was superior to the bloodletting group (all P < 0.05). The total effective rates of NDS in the comprehensive therapy group, bloodletting group and semen coicis group were 96.7% (29/30), 83.3% (25/30) and 76.7% (23/30) separately. The result in the comprehensive therapy group was higher apparently than those in the bloodletting group and semen coicis group separately (both P < 0.05). The result in the bloodletting group was better than that in the semen coicis group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The bloodletting therapy at Jing-well points and semen coicis alleviate apparently nerve function defect, improve the motor function of the affected limbs and achieve the better efficacy.</p>

Overexpression of synuclein-gamma confers resistance to antimicrotubule drugs against human hepatoma cells / 药学学报

Liver cancer is one of the most common neoplastic diseases with high mortality in China. Currently, antimicrotubule drugs such as paclitaxel (PTX) and vincristine (VCR), are used as the common agents in the clinical chemotherapy for liver cancer. However, the responses of patients to these drugs vary markedly. Successful identification of intracellular factors influencing liver cancer's sensitivity to antimicrotubule drugs would be of great clinical importance. In this study, by engineering human hepatoma cell HepG2 to overexpress synuclein-gamma (SNCG), we investigated if SNCG is a molecular factor associated with the sensitivity to antimicrotubule drug treatment. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting assays showed SNCG was successfully overexpressed in HepG2/ SNCG cells compared with HepG2/Neo cells. The overexpressed SNCG altered the proliferation activity in HepG2 cells, which was 66% higher than that of HepG2/Neo cells through MTT method. The overexpressed SNCG also reduced sensitivity of HepG2 cells to antimicrotubule drugs: after PTX or VCR treatment, the proportion of HepG2/SNCG cells in G2/M arrest was significantly lower than that in HepG2/Neo cells. Correspondingly, HepG2/SNCG cells showed significantly lower mitotic index than HepG2/Neo cells. Meanwhile, HepG2/SNCG cells showed higher resistance to PTX and VCR than HepG2/Neo cells, with resistance index 21 and 15 respectively. Our studies suggested that the overexpression of SNCG could confer resistance to antimicrotubule drugs in hepatoma cells; and it indicated that SNCG may be as a potential response marker for antimicrotubule drugs in liver cancer chemotherapy.