Effects of electroacupuncture treatment on cortisol and inflammatory cytokines in patients with occupational noise-induced deafness combined with depressive symptoms / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of electroacupuncture treatment on the levels of cortisol and immune factors in patients with occupational noise-induced deafness(ONID) combined with depressive symptoms. METHODS: A total of 78 ONID patients combined with depressive symptoms were randomly divided into control group(40 cases) and electroacupuncture group(38 cases) by a random number table method. The control group received routine therapy, while the electroacupuncture group was treated with routine therapy plus electroacupuncture on alternate days, 3 times a week for 4 consecutive weeks. The levels of salivary cortisol, as well as the serum levels of cortisol, tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6) and C-reactive protein(CRP) of the two groups were observed and compared before and after treatment. RESULTS: Before treatment, the levels of saliva cortisol in the morning and night, and the serum levels of cortisol, IL-6, TNF-α and CRP in the two groups were compared, and the differences were not statistically significant(P>0.05). After treatment, the serum cortisol level of patients in electroacupuncture group reduced than that before treatment in the same group(P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the levels of salivary cortisol in the morning and night, and serum cortisol before and after treatment both in control group and electroacupuncture group(P>0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α decreased in electroacupuncture group as compared with those before treatment and those after treatment in control group(P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture treatment could reduce the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in serum of ONID patients combined with depressive symptoms. The regulation of electroacupuncture on the inflammatory cytokines may be one of the mechanisms in treating ONID combined with depressive symptoms.

Effects of different anesthesia depth on stress response in elderly patients undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of different anesthesia depth on stress response in elderly patients undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 105 ASA I-III patients aged 60-91 years undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer with general anesthesia were randomized into 3 groups, namely group A with a target Narcotrend index (NI) maintained at D0 level, group B with a NI at D2 level, and group C with a NI at E1 level. The anesthetics (profopol and remifentanil) were adjusted according to Narcotrend monitoring results to maintain the specified anesthesia depth. The patients' heart rate (HR) and mean artery pressure (MAP) were recorded before anesthesia (T0), before intubation (T1), immediately after intubation (T2), at 2 min before pneumoperitoneum (T3), 2 min after pneumoperitoneum (T4), at the end of the surgery (T5) and extubation (T6). Serum levels of cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), endothelin-1 (ET-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured by standard ELISA and radioimmunoassay before anesthesia (Ta), at the end of the surgery (Tb) and 1 day after the surgery (Tc).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HR and MAP in group A increased significantly at T2, T4, and T6 compared to those at T0 (P<0.05), and were higher than those in group B and group C (P<0.05). The MAP in all the 3 groups all decreased at T1 and T3 (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and was markedly lower in group C than in groups A and B (P<0.05). The incidence of hypertension was significantly higher in group A than in groups B and C (P<0.05), while the incidence of hypotension was much higher in group C (P<0.01). There were no obvious differences in serum levels of cortisol, ACTH, CRP, IL-6, TNF-a, or ET-1 among the groups at Ta (P>0.05). The serum levels of ACTH in the 3 groups all significantly increased at Tb and Tc (P<0.01). CRP, IL-6 and TNF-a levels in group A were increased at Tb and Tc (P<0.05 or P<0.01) and significantly higher than those in groups B and C (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Cortisol in groups A and B increased at Tb and Tc (P<0.05) to a significantly higher level than that in group C (P<0.01). ET-1 level in group C at Tb and Tc was lower than those in groups A and B (P<0.05 or P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Maintaining the anesthesia depth for a NI at the D2 and E1 level can both attenuate the stress response in elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer, but the hemodynamic stability can be better at a D2 level.</p>

Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Effects of Combined Application of Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate / 中国运动医学杂志

Objective To investigate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of combined application of glucosamine(GS)and chondroitin sulfate(CS).Methods The acute and chronic anti-inflammatory effects of combined application of GS and CS were observed respectively through carrageen-induced paw edema and cotton-induced inguinal granuloma of rats.The analgesic effect of combined application of GS and CS was investigated by the mouse pain model induced by 0.6% acetic acid Results As compared with the control group,the degree of paw edema and the weight of granuloma in combined application of GS and CS group were significantly reduced(P<0.05 and P<0.01,respectively);and the writhing number of mice decreased significantly(P<0.05).Conclusion Combined application of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate demonstrates obviously anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

Analysis of dental plaque by using cellular neural network-based image segmentation / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish and evaluate a new method for measurement of dental plaque by using cellular neural network-based image segmentation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 195 subjects were selected from community population. After dental plaque staining, oral digital picture of anterior teeth area was taken by an Olympus digital camera (C-7070 Wide Zoom). At the same time, the Turesky dental plaque indices of anterior teeth were evaluated. The image analysis was conducted by cellular neural network-based image segmentation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The image cutting errors between two operators were very small. The Kappa value is 0.935. Pearson's correlation coefficient is 0.988 (P < 0.001). There was high correlative consistency between traditional dental plaque index and plaque percentage obtained by using image analysis. Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.853 (P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Cellular neural network-based image segmentation is a new method feasible for evaluating dental plaque.</p>