Telecarers improve osteoporosis treatment and compliance rates in secondary osteoporosis prevention for elderly hip fracture patients

INTRODUCTION@#A significant treatment gap has been observed in patients with osteoporosis. Our previous audit found a 31.5% rate of anti-osteoporosis medication initiation after fragility fractures at one year. We piloted the use of telecarers to monitor osteoporosis treatment and compliance.@*METHODS@#From January 2017 to January 2018, all hip fracture patients at Changi General Hospital, Singapore, were automatically enrolled into the Health Management Unit valued care hip fracture programme. Telecarer calls were scheduled at discharge, 3, 6 and 12 months. We assessed the acceptability, completion and treatment rates of patients enrolled in this programme.@*RESULTS@#A total of 537 patients with a hip fracture were enrolled in the telecarer programme over one year. Their average age was 79.8 ± 8.23 years, and 63.1% of them were female. A total of 341 patients completed 12 months of follow-up, of which 251 (73.6%) patients were on treatment at 12 months. The most common cause of lack of initiation of secondary osteoporosis treatment was patient or family rejection (34.4%), followed by physician failure to prescribe (24.4%) and renal impairment (24.4%). 16.7% of patients were deemed to have advanced dementia with a life-limiting illness and were, thus, deemed unsuitable for treatment.@*CONCLUSION@#Telecarers may be a useful adjunct in the monitoring of osteoporosis treatment after hip fractures in an elderly population. The main limitations are patient or family rejection and physician inertia. Further studies should focus on a combination of interventions for both patients and physicians to increase awareness of secondary fracture prevention.

Causal Relations between Exposome and Stroke: A Mendelian Randomization Study / 대한뇌졸중학회지

Background@#and Purpose To explore the causal relationships of elements of the exposome with ischemic stroke and its subtypes at the omics level and to provide evidence for stroke prevention. Methods We conducted a Mendelian randomization study between exposure and any ischemic stroke (AIS) and its subtypes (large-artery atherosclerotic disease [LAD], cardioembolic stroke [CE], and small vessel disease [SVD]). The exposure dataset was the UK Biobank involving 361,194 subjects, and the outcome dataset was the MEGASTROKE consortium including 52,000 participants. @*Results@#We found that higher blood pressure (BP) (systolic BP: odds ratio [OR], 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.04; diastolic BP: OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.05; pulse pressure: OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.06), atrial fibrillation (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.25), and diabetes (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.18) were significantly associated with ischemic stroke. Importantly, higher education (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.79) decreased the risk of ischemic stroke. Higher systolic BP (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.10), pulse pressure (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.14), diabetes (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.45), and coronary artery disease (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.00) could cause LAD. Atrial fibrillation could cause CE (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.71 to 2.11). For SVD, higher systolic BP (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.07), diastolic BP (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.12), and diabetes (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.36) were causal factors. @*Conclusions@#The study revealed elements of the exposome causally linked to ischemic stroke and its subtypes, including conventional causal risk factors and novel protective factors such as higher education.

Beetroot as a Potential Functional Food for Cancer Chemoprevention, a Narrative Review

Patients with cancer are prone to several debilitating side effects including fatigue, insomnia, depression and cognitive disturbances. Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) as a health promoting functional food may be potentially beneficial in cancer. As a source of polyphenols, flavonoids, dietary nitrates and other useful nutrients, beetroot supplementation may provide a holistic means to prevent cancer and manage undesired effects associated with chemotherapy. The main aim of this narrative review is to discuss beetroot’s nutrient composition, current studies on its potential utility in chemoprevention and cancer-related fatigue or treatment-related side effects such as cardiotoxicity. This review aims to provide the current status of knowledge and to identify the related research gaps in this area. The flavonoids and polyphenolic components present in abundance in beetroot support its significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities. Most in vitro and in vivo studies have shown promising results; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying chemopreventive and chemoprotective effects of beetroot have not been completely elucidated. Although recent clinical trials have shown that beetroot supplementation improves human performance, translational studies on beetroot and its functional benefits in managing fatigue or other symptoms in patients with cancer are still lacking.

Beetroot as a Potential Functional Food for Cancer Chemoprevention, a Narrative Review

Patients with cancer are prone to several debilitating side effects including fatigue, insomnia, depression and cognitive disturbances. Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) as a health promoting functional food may be potentially beneficial in cancer. As a source of polyphenols, flavonoids, dietary nitrates and other useful nutrients, beetroot supplementation may provide a holistic means to prevent cancer and manage undesired effects associated with chemotherapy. The main aim of this narrative review is to discuss beetroot’s nutrient composition, current studies on its potential utility in chemoprevention and cancer-related fatigue or treatment-related side effects such as cardiotoxicity. This review aims to provide the current status of knowledge and to identify the related research gaps in this area. The flavonoids and polyphenolic components present in abundance in beetroot support its significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities. Most in vitro and in vivo studies have shown promising results; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying chemopreventive and chemoprotective effects of beetroot have not been completely elucidated. Although recent clinical trials have shown that beetroot supplementation improves human performance, translational studies on beetroot and its functional benefits in managing fatigue or other symptoms in patients with cancer are still lacking.

Role of Blood Pressure Management in Stroke Prevention: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of 93 Randomized Controlled Trials / 대한뇌졸중학회지

Background@#and Purpose The present study aimed to compare the efficacy and tolerability of different blood pressure (BP)-lowering strategies. @*Methods@#Randomized controlled trials that compared various antihypertensive treatments and stroke outcomes were included. Eligible trials were categorized into three scenarios: single or combination antihypertensive agents against placebos; single or combination agents against other agents; and different BP-lowering targets. The primary efficacy outcome was the risk reduction pertaining to strokes. The tolerability outcome was the withdrawal of drugs, owing to drug-related side effects (PROSPERO registration number CRD42018118454 [20/12/2018]). @*Results@#The present study included 93 trials (average follow-up duration, 3.3 years). In the pairwise analysis, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) and beta-blockers (BBs) were inferior to calcium channel blockers (CCBs) (odds ratio [OR], 1.123; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.008 to 1.252) (OR, 1.261; 95% CI, 1.116 to 1.425) for stroke prevention, BB was inferior to angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) (OR, 1.361; 95% CI, 1.142 to 1.622), and diuretics were superior to ACEi (OR, 0.871; 95% CI, 0.771 to 0.984). The combination of ACEi+CCB was superior to ACEi+diuretic (OR, 0.892; 95% CI, 0.823 to 0.966). The network meta-analysis confirmed that diuretics were superior to BB (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.58), ACEi+diuretic (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.08), BB+CCB (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.05 to 3.79), and renin inhibitors (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.75) for stroke prevention. Regarding the tolerability profile, the pairwise analysis revealed that ACEi was inferior to CCB and less tolerable, compared to the other treatments. @*Conclusions@#Monotherapy using diuretics, CCB, or ARB, and their combinations could be employed as first-line treatments for stroke prevention in terms of efficacy and tolerability.

Clinical features of catch-up growth after kidney transplantation in children / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the clinical features of catch-up growth of body height after kidney transplantation in children and related influencing factors.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed from the chart review data of 15 children who underwent kidney transplantation in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from July 2017 to November 2019. According to whether the increase in height standard deviation score (ΔHtSDS) in the first year after kidney transplantation reached ≥0.5, the children were divided into a catch-up group with 8 children and a non-catch-up group with 7 children. According to whether final HtSDS was ≥-2, the children were divided into a standard group with 6 children and a non-standard group with 9 children. The features of catch-up growth of body height and related influencing factors were compared between groups.@*RESULTS@#The data showed that median ΔHtSDS was 0.8 in the first year after transplantation, which suggested catch-up growth of body height. There was a significant difference in HtSDS between the non-catch-up and catch-up groups (P<0.05). Baseline HtSDS before transplantation was positively correlated with HtSDS at the end of follow-up (r=0.622, P<0.05) and was negatively correlated with ∆HtSDS in the first year after transplantation (r=-0.705, P<0.05). Age of transplantation and mean dose of glucocorticoid (GC) per kg body weight were risk factors for catch-up growth after kidney transplantation (OR=1.23 and 1.74 respectively; P<0.05), while baseline HtSDS and use of antihypertensive drugs were independent protective factors for catch-up growth (OR=0.08 and 0.18 respectively; P<0.05); baseline HtSDS and ΔHtSDS in the first year after kidney transplantation were influencing factors for final HtSDS (β=0.984 and 1.271 respectively; P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Kidney transplantation should be performed for children as early as possible, growth retardation before transplantation should be improved as far as possible, and multiple treatment methods (including the use of GC and antihypertensive drugs) should be optimized after surgery, in order to help these children achieve an ideal body height.

Relationship between cholinergic biomarkers and postoperative delirium in elderly patients / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the relationship between cholinergic biomarkers and postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients.Methods:The patients, aged 65-85 yr, weighing 50-80 kg, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ-Ⅲ, underwent total knee/hip arthroplasty under combined spinal-epidural block in our hospital from July 2018 to September 2019, were collected.The baseline clinical data of patients were collected, and cubital venous blood samples 5 ml were collected before anesthesia to detect plasma concentrations of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The neuropsychological testing was performed on 1 day before operation, following admission to the recovery room after surgery, and on 1, 3 and 7 days (or before discharge) after surgery.The patient′s cognitive function was assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) before surgery.Confusion Assessment Method and Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale were used to evaluate the occurrence of postoperative delirium (POD) after surgery.The patients were divided into POD group (P group) and non-POD group (NP group) according to whether POD occurred.Logistic regression was used to analyze the related risk factors for POD.Results:There were 349 cases in NP group and 57 cases in P group, and the incidence of POD was 14.0%.Compared with NP group, the age of patients, preoperative coexisting underlying diseases (≥3 types), plasma ChAT, TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations were increased, and plasma AChE and BuChE concentrations were decreased in P group ( P<0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that changes in plasma AChE, BuChE, and ChAT concentrations and older age were independent risk factors for POD ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The development of POD is related to the preoperative changes in plasma AChE, BuChE and ChAT concentrations in elderly patients.

Relationship between tea drinking habit and postoperative delirium in elderly patients / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the relationship between the tea drinking habit and postoperative delirium (POD) in elderly patients.Methods:Two hundred and ninety-two patients, aged 65-85 yr, weighing 50-80 kg, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ-Ⅲ, undergoing elective knee/hip arthroplasty under spinal-epidural anesthesia in our hospital, were enrolled in this study.The patient′s cognitive function was assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination at 1 day before operation.Peripheral venous blood samples were collected before anesthesia, and the concentrations of caffeine and tea polyphenols in plasma were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.In the anesthesia recovery room after operation and at 1, 3 and 7 days after operation (or before discharge), neuropsychological tests were performed, and the Delirium Rating Scale was used to recognize POD developed.The patients were divided into POD group (P group) and non-POD group (NP group) according to whether POD occurred after operation.Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the variables of which P values were less than 0.05. Results:There was no significant difference in age, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, concentrations of caffeine and tea polyphenols in plasma between P group and NP group ( P<0.05). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that age was an independent risk factor for POD, and concentrations of caffeine and tea polyphenols in plasma and tea drinking habits were protective factors for reducing the occurrence of POD in elderly patients. Conclusion:Tea drinking habit is a protective factor for reducing the occurrence of POD in elderly patients.

Role of microglial pyroptosis in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the role of microglial pyroptosis in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.@*METHODS@#An oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) model of rat microglial cells were cultured in vitro. Western blot was used to measure the expression of the pyroptosis-related proteins caspase-1, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and N-terminal gasdermin D (GSDMD-N) at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours after OGD/R. After the microglial cells were transfected with lentivirus-mediated silenced gasdermin D (GSDMD), immunofluorescence assay and Western blot were used to measure the transfection rate of GSDMD. Microglial cell lines were divided into three groups: normal control, negative control, and LV-sh_GSDMD (lentivirus-mediated GSDMD silencing). CCK-8 assay and LDH kit were used to observe the effect of GSDMD silencing on the viability and toxicity of microglial cells at 24 hours after OGD/R. Western blot was used to observe the effect of GSDMD silencing on the levels of caspase-1, GSDMD-N, and IL-1β in the microglial cells at 24 hours after OGD/R.@*RESULTS@#The expression levels of the pyroptosis-related proteins caspase-1, GSDMD-N, and IL-1β in microglial cells were upregulated since 0 hour after OGD/R and reached the peak levels at 24 hours. A microglial cell model of lentivirus-mediated GSDMD silencing was successfully constructed. At 24 hours after OGD/R, compared with the normal control group, the GSDMD silencing group had a significant increase in the cell viability and a significant reduction in the cytotoxicity (P<0.05), as well as significant reductions in the protein expression levels of caspase-1, GSDMD-N, and IL-1β in microglial cells (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Lentivirus silencing of the key substrate protein for pyroptosis GSDMD can alleviate hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, suggesting that microglial pyroptosis aggravates hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.

The risk factors and prevention for Alzheimer's disease / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

With the aggravation of worldwide population aging,Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been an enormous impact on public health nowadays.Previous studies showed the incidence of AD has been declining in some high-income countries over three decades,which may be associated with improvement of living environment,education and medical care conditions.Therefore,evaluation risk factors of AD and take corresponding preventive measures has become an urgent problem to delay the occurrence and progress of AD.The mainly non-modifiable risk factors including age,gender,family history of genetic disease and genetic factors.Several modifiable risk factors are also confirmed to increase risk of AD occurrences,such as low education,hypertension and obesity in mid-life,diabetes mellitus,less physical activity,current smoking and depression.Various existing risk models for identifying individuals with high risk of AD have been developed in order to open new doors for targeted prevention.

The risk factors and prevention of Parkinson's disease / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease that seriously affects the daily life of middle-aged and elderly people,and places a heavy burden on families and society.The pathophysiological mechanism of PD is complex,and its etiology is still unclear.Studies have shown that the occurrence and development of PD resulted from the interactions between complex genetic and environmental factors.This article reviews the risk factors associated with PD from multiple perspectives,might providing new insights into early intervention and prevention of Parkinson's disease.

Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide.Atrial fibrillation (AF),the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia,is an independent risk factor for stroke.AF-caused stroke has a high risk of recurrence and disability,mainly involving large cerebral artery.Thus,stroke prevention in AF becomes a major health priority.Anticoagulant therapy can significantly reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in patients with AF.This review summarized the epidemiological status of AF-related stroke,and reported updated information on AF detection,risk assessment,anticoagulation as well as other preventive measures in stroke prevention in AF,in order to provide theoretical references for clinical practice.At present,the prevention of AF-related stroke still needs to be promoted.Better risk assessment model,as well as cost-effective and safe ischemic stroke prevention methods,are still need to be further studied.

A machine learning model based on initial gut microbiome data for predicting changes of Bifidobacterium after prebiotics consumption / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of prebiotics supplementation for 9 days on gut microbiota structure and function and establish a machine learning model based on the initial gut microbiota data for predicting the variation of Bifidobacterium after prebiotic intake.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>With a randomized double-blind self-controlled design, 35 healthy volunteers were asked to consume fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) or galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) for 9 days (16 g per day). 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing was performed to investigate the changes of gut microbiota after prebiotics intake. PICRUSt was used to infer the differences between the functional modules of the bacterial communities. Random forest model based on the initial gut microbiota data was used to identify the changes in Bifidobacterium after 5 days of prebiotic intake and then to build a continuous index to predict the changes of Bifidobacterium. The data of fecal samples collected after 9 days of GOS intervention were used to validate the model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fecal samples analysis with QIIME revealed that FOS intervention for 5 days reduced the intestinal flora alpha diversity, which rebounded on day 9; in GOS group, gut microbiota alpha diversity decreased progressively during the intervention. Neither FOS nor GOS supplement caused significant changes in β diversity of gut microbiota. The area under the curve (AUC) of the prediction model was 89.6%. The continuous index could successfully predict the changes in Bifidobacterium (R=0.45, P=0.01), and the prediction accuracy was verified by the validation model (R=0.62, P=0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Short-term prebiotics intervention can significantly decrease α-diversity of the intestinal flora. The machine learning model based on initial gut microbiota data can accurately predict the changes in Bifidobacterium, which sheds light on personalized nutrition intervention and precise modulation of the intestinal flora.</p>

Effects of corrective surgery on the ocular surface and refractive in children with congenital ptosis / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

·AIM: To investigate the ocular surface and refractive change after the surgery of levator resection and frontalis suspension. ·METHODS:One hundred and twenty-one patients (146 eyes) for corrective surgery of congenital ptosis were selected in our department from July 2014 to June 2016. According to the severity of congenital ptosis, all the children divided into mild group (47 eyes), moderate group (68 eyes) and severe group(31 eyes). All the children were divided into group of less than 5 years old (104 eyes) and group of more than or equal to 5 years old (42 eyes) according to the age. According to the surgical approach, all the children divided into group of levator resection (62 eyes) and group of frontalis suspension(84 eyes). The effects of the two surgeries on the ocular surface and refractive were compared. The relationship between age, severity of postoperative ptosis and postoperative ocular surface, refractive of children were analyzed. ·RESULTS: There were no significant differences in break-up time (BUT), keratometry (Km) and corneal astigmatism (Ast) in the levator resection group and frontalis suspension group (P > 0. 05). There was significant difference between the mild, moderate and severe group on the proportion of excellent corrected to uncorrected (Z=-2.936, P=0.003). The proportion of excellent correction in mild group was higher than that of moderate and severe group(93.6%, 83.8% and 67.7%). The indexes of BUT (F=9.793, P=0.041) and Km (F=11.657,P=0.037) in the three groups decreased with the increase of severity. While the Ast (F=28.417, P<0.01) showed an increasing trend, the difference was significant. In addition, the proportion of excellent correction in <5 year old group was significantly more than≥5 years old group(x2=4.082,P=0.043). The index of Km (t= 2.813, P= 0.006) was higher and Ast (t=-7.741, P<0.01) was lower in the <5 year old group. There was no significant difference in the index of BUT between the two groups after surgery (P>0.05). · CONCLUSION: The corneal refractive power and astigmatism can be improved similarly after treated with levator resection and frontalis suspension surgery. And there is some damage of corneal epithelial in the initial postoperation, but the function of ocular surface can return to normal after a period of time. The less severity of ptosis before surgery,the better improvement of ocular surface and refractive after sugery. There is no correlation between the age and postoperative ocular surface, but earlier surgical treatment may improve the children's refractive power and astigmatism and achieve greater benefits.

Infarct location predicts progressive motor deficits in patients with infarct in the perforator territory of the middle cerebral artery / 国际脑血管病杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between the pattern of infarct distribution on diffusion-weight imaging (DWI) and progressive movement deficits (PMD) in patients with infarct in the perforator territory of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Methods The patients with new infarction in the perforator territory of MCA were analyzed retrospectively. PMD was defined as an increase of at least 2 points on the motor item of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score persisting for at least 24 hours within 5 days of stroke onset. The demographic characteristics, risk factors, clinical presentation, and distribution characteristics of the infarcts in the PMD and non-PMD groups were compared. Results A total of 64 patients were enrol ed in the study, including 38 females and 26 males, aged 67. 5 ± 10. 8 years. There were 28 patients in the PMD group and 36 in the non-PMD group. The proportion of the infarcts located in the posterior paraventricular region (67. 8% vs. 25. 0%; χ2 =11. 5, P<0. 05) of the PMD group and the mean baseline NIHSS score (6. 9 ± 1. 8 vs. 4. 3 ± 1. 2; t=2. 42, P<0. 05) were significantly higher than those of the non-PMD group. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the posterior paraventricular type infarcts had significantly independently correlation with PMD (odds ratio 6. 31, 95% confidence interval 2. 20-18. 0; P<0. 001). Conclusions The posterior paraventricular type infarcts on DWI can be used as a neuroimaging marker for predicting PMD in patients with infarction in the perforator artery territory of MCA.

Clinical significance of non - mydriatic fundus photography in screening for preschool children ocular fundus disease / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM:To observe the incidence of ocular fundus disease in preschool children examined by non-mydriatic fundus camera and evaluate its effectiveness compared with direct inspection shadow mirror. METHODS: Three thousand eight hundred and ninety-six preschool children from April 2012 to October 2013 were examined by Topcon TRC-NW300 color fluorescence fundus camera and direct inspection shadow mirror, and images were saved immediately. RESULTS: Detection rate of non - mydriatic fundus photography was higher than that of direct inspection shadow mirror. In 3 896 cases, 41 eyes were detected abnormal fundus accounting for 1. 05%. The retinal myelinated nerve fibers, morning glory syndrome, retinitis pigmentosa, congenital retinoschisis were common, accounted for 24. 39%, 21. 95%, 14. 63%, 12-20% respectively. The children eye diseases were often accompanied by abnormal vision (68. 30%), ametropia (63. 41%), strabismus (19. 51%). CONCLUSION:Non-mydriatic fundus photography is a mydriatic method without medicine, so it is easy for preschool children to accept. Image results could directly display the fundus lesions. It shows important significance in the screening for preschool children eye diseases.

Effects of bone morrow stromal cells transplantation on neurological behavior and Bax expression in rats with traumatic brain injury / 中华创伤杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of bone morrow stromal cells (BMSCs) on the neurological behavior of rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodsTwenty-four SD rats were randomly and equally divided into control group, TBI group and BMSC group. The weight-drop device was adapted to establish the TBI model. The injury severity and its outcome were evaluated by a set of criteria termed neurological severity score (NSS). Brain tissues were harvested at day 14 to observe the survival and migration of the transplanted cells.Bax expression was detected by RT-PCR. Results NSS was (12 ±3 ) points in the TBI group, significantly higher than (7 ± 1 ) points in the BMSC group (P ＜0.05). The transplanted BMSCs could survive and migrate. Moreover, BAX, a crucail apopotosis gene, was down-regulated to 0.9 ±0.1 in the BMSC group, compared with 1.1 ±0.2 in the TBI group (P ＜0.05). ConclusionsBMSC transplantation is available to improve the neurological function, as may be associated with the Bax.

An analysis of the characteristics and etiology of hand, foot and mouth disease in a Guangzhou sentinel hospital from May to December, 2008 / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the characteristics and etiology of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in a sentinel hospital of Guangzhou.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The epidemiological data and clinical specimens were collected from May to December, 2008 for virological investigations (viral isolation, RT-PCR and molecular identification) and phylogenetic analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 309 clinical cases were reported, and the incidence was the highest in 2-4-year-old children, among whom only 15 developed complications, with human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) as the main pathogen (64.7%). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that ten Guangzhou EV71 isolates belonged to Cluster C4a.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>HFMD is an important infectious disease in children resulting from infections by HEV71 as the main pathogen in 2008, and the Guangzhou C4a strains co-evolved with the isolates from other provinces in China and the neighboring countries.</p>

Prophylactic small dose amitriptyline in prevention of poststroke depression in first stroke patients / 中华神经科杂志

Objective To test whether the prophylactic small dose amitriptyline has any beneficial influence on the rate of poststroke depression (PSD) by clinical experiment. Methods All 123 patients with first stroke were divided into the intervention group and the control group according to the block randomization tables. The patients in the intervention group were treated with 12. 5 mg amitriptyline every night for more than 1 month and the control group was blank Before and at the end of the observation, the rate of PSD and activities of daily living (ADL), degree of neurological deficit (NIHSS) of all the subjects were assessed. Results At the end of the one-month treatment, the intervention group had lower rate of PSD (16. 4% ) than the control (51.6%);and they had lower score in NIHSS (2. 83 ± 1.74 vs 3. 64 ±1.93) and higher score in ADL (93.0 ± 16. 1 vs 87.0 ± 37. 1) than the control. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed: the change of ADL score was closely related to the rate of PSD (RR =3.01 ,P =0. 04); the change of NIHSS score was closely related to the rate of PSD ( RR = 2. 42, P = 0. 03 );prophylactic small dose amitriptyline was closely related to PSD ( RR = 3.11, P = 0. 01 ). Conclusions Prophylactic small dose amitriptyline can decrease the rat of PSD, reduce the neurologic impairment and improve the activity of daily living.