Effect of Huatan Tongluo Prescription on Vulnerability of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque in Hypertension / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of Huatan Tongluo prescription on the vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries of patients with hypertension of phlegm-stasis combination syndrome. MethodA total of 132 eligible patients were randomly divided into an observation group （66 cases） and a control group （66 cases）. The control group received oral atorvastatin calcium tablets and enteric-coated aspirin tablets， while the observation group received Huatan Tongluo prescription in addition to the treatment received by the control group. The treatment duration was 6 months. A carotid artery ultrasound examination was performed to record the number of plaques， the maximum plaque area， the maximum plaque cross-sectional thickness， and the intima-media thickness （IMT） of the carotid artery. Crouse score， plaque vulnerability score， and phlegm-stasis combination syndrome score were assessed. Blood lipid levels ［total cholesterol （TC）， triglyceride （TG）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）］， inflammatory markers ［neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio （NLR）， monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio （MLR）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein （hs-CRP）］， vascular endothelial function ［endothelin-1 （ET-1）， von Willebrand factor （vWF）， and nitric oxide （NO）］， and relevant proteins ［pentraxin 3 （PTX3） and galectin-3 （Gal-3）］ levels were measured. Safety evaluation was conducted， and comparisons were made in terms of carotid artery stenosis rate， plaque regression efficacy， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome efficacy. ResultCompared with the results before treatment， both groups showed significant reductions in IMT， plaque number， maximum plaque area， and maximum plaque cross-sectional thickness （P<0.05）. After treatment， the observation group exhibited more significant reductions in the above indicators compared with the control group （P<0.05）. After treatment， Crouse scores， plaque vulnerability scores， and phlegm-stasis combination syndrome scores in both groups were lower than those before treatment （P<0.05）. After treatment， the observation group had lower scores in these indicators than the control group （P<0.05）. In terms of blood lipid levels， both groups showed decreases in TC， TG， and LDL-C levels， and an increase in HDL-C levels after treatment compared to those before treatment （P<0.05）. The observation group exhibited greater improvements in these lipid parameters than the control group （P<0.05）. Inflammatory markers NLR， MLR， IL-6， and hs-CRP significantly decreased in both groups after treatment compared with those before treatment （P<0.05）. The observation group showed more significant reductions in these markers than the control group after treatment （P<0.05）. After treatment， both groups demonstrated decreases in levels of ET-1， vWF， PTX3， and Gal-3， along with an increase in NO levels compared with those before treatment （P<0.05）. The observation group showed more significant improvements in these markers than the control group after treatment （P<0.05）. After treatment， the observation group had a lower carotid artery stenosis rate than the control group （P<0.05）. The plaque regression efficacy rate was 51.72% （30/58） in the observation group， and the total effective rate of TCM syndrome was 84.48% （49/58）， both of which were higher than 18.64% （11/59） and 52.54% （31/59） in the control group （χ²=10.061， 13.799， P<0.05）. No adverse reactions related to the Huatan Tongluo prescription were observed during the treatment period. ConclusionIn addition to statin therapy， Huatan Tongluo prescription can effectively reverse carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques in patients with hypertension and carotid artery stenosis， reduce plaque vulnerability， exhibit lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory effects， and improve vascular endothelial function. The treatment demonstrates favorable clinical efficacy and safety. Therefore， it is very worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Investigation of operative process in treating lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion in aged patients / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the operative management and surgical techniques for lumber disc herniation (LDH) in aged patients (>or=65 years).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From 2005 to 2010,the data of 43 patients with LDH underwent surgical treatment were retrospectively analyzed. There were 25 males and 18 females,aged from 65 to 70 years old with an average of 67.6 years. The course of disease was from 6 weeks to 7 years with an average of 10.2 years. Fenestratiodn discectomy or extended fenestration discectomy and unilateral or bilateral fenestration were used according to the conditions of location,type of herniated macleos polposus and nerve root compression. Among the patients,the nerve root canal was enlarged,hyperplastic osteophyma and soft tissue were removed, bilateral articular process was reserved in order to maintain the stability of the lumbar segment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients were followed up from 1.2 to 5.2 years. According to the criteria of HU you-gu, 25 cases got excellent results, 15 good, 2 fair and 1 poor. No infection or nerve injury was found. Nerve function of patients had a normal or near normal recovery.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>For the treatment of LDH in aged patents,it is key that reasonably choose the operative method, completely remove the hyperplasy of diseased region and enlarge the nerve root canal, thoroughly loose the nerve root.</p>

Three dimensional reconstruction of craniofacial vascularity based on the data of CT strengthening scanning / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Using three dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques,any part of body is accessible to visual observation.However,reports concerning 3D reconstruction of craniofacial vascularity based on PC are few in China.OBJECTIVE:To explore the method and the application values of reconstructing a digital 3D model of craniofacial vascularity based on the data of CT strengthening scanning.METHODS:CT strengthening scan images from a healthy volunteer in DICOM format were imported into Mimics 10.01 software and craniofacial blood vessels were reconstructed with the technique of thresholding,editing and 3D region growing.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The 3D digital model of craniofacial blood vessels was obtained.This model could be zoomed and rotated randomly and displayed the spatial positions and adjacent relationships of different anatomical structures,also the reconstructed structures could be measured in 3D space.The 3D digital model of craniofacial blood vessels can be reconstructed conveniently and quickly with Mimics software on PC,and also it can bring morphological reference to human anatomy teaching,clinical neurosurgery,oral and maxillofacial surgery,as well as image diagnosis,and will be helpful to generate a virtual plateform in craniofacial surgery.

Establishment and application of virtual craniofacial surgical platform based on personal computer / 中国组织工程研究

Anatomic structure in craniofacial region is very complicated and orthognathic surgery is difficultly performed.Therefore,it is necessary to generate virtual surgical model from CT scan data before operation on personal computer in order to make surgery more accurate.This technique has been increasingly interested in the field of orthognathic surgery both at home and abroad.The sample was scanned with thin-layer CT.CT image data (336 layer,1.0 mm slice thickness) were analyzed with the Mimics software.Simultaneously,three-dimensional model and virtual surgery of the facial cranium were established.The digitized virtual surgical platform of facial cranium was preliminarily created,and three common surgical methods in maxillofacial surgery,i.e.,LeFort Ⅰ osteotomy,mandibular angle osteotomy,and genioplasty,for maxillofacial surgery were simulated.The results showed that the digitized virtual surgical platform of facial cranium could be generated with the Mimics software on personal computer,which provides convenient and quick methods for research,teaching,and clinical surgery.More importantly,it creates theoretical basis for virtual surgical platform which can be widely used on personal computer.