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Objective:To investigate any effect of different environments on the levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and testosterone using SAMP8 senescence-accelerated mice.Methods:Thirty SAMP8 mice were randomly divided into an enriched environment (EE) group, an impoverished environment (IE) group and a standard environment (SE) group, each of 10. The serum levels of ACTH, cortisol and testosterone were measured in all of the mice after they had lived in their respective environments for 8 weeks.Results:The average ACTH concentrations of the IE, EE and SE groups were (60.54±16.22), (48.98±15.30) and (28.49±8.24)pg/ml respectively. The average cortisol concentrations were (5.37±0.81), (4.09±0.92) and (3.19±0.88)ng/ml. The average testosterone concentrations being (2.35±0.90), (7.07±1.57) and (3.16±1.10)ng/ml. The average ACTH and cortisol levels were significantly different between the SE and IE groups. The average ACTH and testosterone levels differed significantly between the SE and EE groups and between the EE and IE groups.Conclusions:An impoverished environment can increase the secretion of ACTH and cortisol and activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, at least in SAMP8 mice. An enriched environment can promote the secretion of ACTH and testosterone, but not that of cortisol.
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Objective To investigate the etiological characteristics of common viral respiratory tract infections and to analyze the distribution of human rhinovirus(HRV) serotypes in children with severe acute respiratory tract infection (SARI) in Shanghai. Methods Totally 199 nasopharyngeal aspirate speci-mens were collected from children with SARI in Shanghai from October 2016 to March 2017. A nuclear acid test was performed to detect 15 common respiratory viruses in these specimens. HRV strains were screened out using the primer pairs derived from the 5′UTR of HRV and the serotypes of them were identified based on the VP4-VP2 gene sequencing. Results Among the 199 specimens,HRV-positive specimens accounted for 26.1%,followed by those positive for influenza A(6.5%),adenovirus(6.5%),respiratory syncytial vi-rus(6.5%) and Boca virus(5%). Fifty-two HRV-positive specimens were typed by the VP4-VP2 gene se-quencing with 30 belonging to species A(18 serotypes,predominant serotypes:A21,A12,A38,A78,A88 and A96),seven belonging to species B (five serotypes, predominant serotype: B72) and 15 belonging to species C (nine serotypes,predominant serotypes:C27 and C40). There were two cases of HRV co-infec-tion. Two HRV-positive specimens could not be typed. HRV mixed serotype infections and co-infections of HRV with other viruses were existed. No significant difference in infection rates of different age groups and clinical characteristics was found between HRV-A and HRV-C infection groups. Conclusion HRV-A and HRV-C were the predominant pathogens causing SARI in children in Shanghai. Thirty-two HRV serotypes were detected and the predominant types were A21,A12,A38,A78,A88,A96,B72,C27 and C40.
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Objective To investigate the effects of an enriched environment (EE) on the psychological and behavioral symptoms of senescence and on the level of plasmic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and serum corticosteroid (Cor). MethodsTwenty male senescence-prone SAMP8 mice of 3 months old were divided randomly into an enriched environment (EE) group and a standard environment (SE) group.Five male senescence-resistant SAMR1 mice of the same age served as the control group.Behavioral symptoms were assessed after 2 months using autonomic activity and elevated-plus maze (EPM) test performance.Plasma ACTH and serum Cor were detected using radio-immunologic methods. ResultsAverage autonomic activity frequency and EPM open-arm times were significantly lower with the SAMP8 mice than among the control group,and the autonomic activity frequency was significantly higher in the EE group than in the SE group of SAMP8 mice.The average EPM open-arm times of the EE group and the SE were not significantly different.Average ACTH and Cor levels were both significantly lower in the SAMP8 mice,and the level of ACTH was significantly higher in the EE group than in the SE group.There was no significant difference in these groups' average Cor levels. ConclusionsThe SAMP8 mice of 5 months demonstrated significant mental and behavioral abnormalities,as well as down-regulated plasma levels of ACTH and Cor.EE An enhanced environment can reduce behavioral disturbance through up-regulating ACTH.
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Objective To explore the effects of movement on hippocampal β-amyloid protein ( Aβ ) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) in senescence-accelerated and senescence-prone (SAMP8) mice, and the mechanism by which movement improves learning and memory in mice with a model of Alzheimer's disease. Methods Forty 3-month-old SAMP8 mice were divided randomly into a movement group and a control group. The movement group was trained with a running wheel 10 min daily, 5 days a week in the first month, and 20 min daily in the second month. Morphological changes in the hippocampus were observed under the microscope after HE staining. The expression of Aβ in the hippocampus was detected by immumohistochemical methods and APP mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR two months later. Results HE staining showed neuron degeneration and death, chromatin condensation and vacuolar degeneration in the hippocampus of the 5-mouth-old SAMP8 mice of the control group. The movement group showed less neuron degeneration and death, and the morphology of most cells was normal The expression of Aβ in the hippocampus of the 5-month-old SAMP8 mice in the movement group was significantly lower than that in the control group. APP mRNA expression levels in the movement group were also significantly lower.Conclusions Movement can delay neuron degeneration and down-regulate Aβ and APP mRNA expression levels in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice. It may be an important mechanism by which movement improves learning and memory in mice with a model of Alzheimer's disease.
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@#Neural plasticity is a characteristic of the neural system which can make an adaptive change to the stimulation of external environment. The earliest research on the theory of the neural plasticity began from the functional recovery after stroke. Mostly occurring in a few weeks or months, the motor functional recovery is usually due to the plasticity of the brain nerve after stroke. It was approved that combination of the enriched environment and the common rehabilitation training can make the optimal functional recovery of brain. The present researches focus on how to choose the proper time and the duration of the enriched rehabilitation training.
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Seventy-three patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were divided into atheroselerosis(AS) group and non-AS group according to the intima-media thickness(IMT)of the carotid artery.The plasma visfatin level in AS group was higher than that in non-As group[(44.95±10.14 vs 34.52±9.08)μg/L,P<0.05],and both of them were higher than that of the control [(24.46±7.18)μg/L,both P<0.05 ].The visfatin level Was positively correlated with IMT,waist-to-hip ratio,visceral fat thickness,fasting insulin,and HOMA insulin resistance index.Age,duration of diabetes,HbA_(1C),and visfatin level were the major risk factors for IMT of the carotid artery.
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@#Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of multidisciplinary rehabilitation therapy on patients with angina pectoris of coronary heart disease.Methods 86 patients with angina pectoris of coronary heart disease were randomly divided into the rehabilitation group(55 cases)and control group(31 cases).The patients in the rehabilitation group received routine drugs and multidisciplinary rehabilitation(psychotherapy,diet guiding,kinesitherapy,post discharged guiding etc).The patients in the control group received routine drugs for 10～14 days,activities after chest pain dispearance and natural life after discharge.The follow up period was 6 months,recording the changes of cardiac event rate,body mass index,blood lipid(glycerol,cholesterol,low-density lipoprotein).Results The rehabilitation group was significantly superior to that of control group in symptom remission velocity and remission degree(P<0.05).Cardiac event rate of the rehabilitation group was lower than that of the control group significantly within follow up period(P<0.01);body mass index and blood lipid were improve in the two groups,but the rehabilitation group was significantly superior to that of the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion The multidisciplinary rehabilitation therapy can improve clinical symptoms of patients with angina pectoris of coronary heart disease and reduce cardiac event.
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@#Objective To observe the effects of fastigial nucleus stimulation(FNS)combined with rehabilitation on vascular dementia.Methods63 vascular dementia patients were randomly divided into FNS group(40 patients)and control group(23 patients).Patients in the FNS group were treated with FNS and rehabilitation therapy,while those in the control group were treated with rehabilitation therapy only.Cognitive function were evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE),activities of daily living(ADL)were evaluated with Barthel Index(BI),cerebral blood flow velocity before and after therapy was detected with transcranial Doppler(TCD).ResultsThe scales of MMSE and BI increased significantly;the clinical efficiency was 95%.Cerebral blood flow velocity after therapy improved significantly(P<0.01).ConclusionFNS can improve the cognitive function and ADL in vascular dementia patients,that may be related with the improvement of cerebral blood flow.