Clinical characteristics and outcomes of 112 cardiovascular disease patients infected by 2019-nCoV / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and prognosis of the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV patients combined with cardiovascular disease （CVD). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 112 COVID-19 patients with CVD admitted to the western district of Union Hospital in Wuhan, from January 20, 2020 to February 15, 2020. They were divided into critical group (ICU, n=16) and general group (n=96) according to the severity of the disease and patients were followed up to the clinical endpoint. The observation indicators included total blood count, C-reactive protein (CRP), arterial blood gas analysis, myocardial injury markers, coagulation function, liver and kidney function, electrolyte, procalcitonin (PCT), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), blood lipid, pulmonary CT and pathogen detection. Results: Compared with the general group, the lymphocyte count (0.74 (0.34, 0.94)×109/L vs. 0.99 (0.71, 1.29)×109/L, P=0.03) was extremely lower in the critical group, CRP (106.98 (81.57, 135.76) mg/L vs. 34.34 (9.55,76.54) mg/L, P<0.001) and PCT (0.20 (0.15,0.48) μg/L vs. 0.11 (0.06,0.20) μg/L, P<0.001) were significantly higher in the critical group. The BMI of the critical group was significantly higher than that of the general group (25.5 (23.0, 27.5) kg/m2 vs. 22.0 (20.0, 24.0) kg/m2，P=0.003). Patients were further divided into non-survivor group (17, 15.18%) group and survivor group (95, 84.82%). Among the non-survivors, there were 88.24% (15/17) patients with BMI> 25.0 kg/m2, which was significantly higher than that of survivors (18.95% (18/95), P<0.001). Compared with the survived patients, oxygenation index (130 (102, 415) vs. 434 (410, 444), P<0.001) was significantly lower and lactic acid (1.70 (1.30, 3.00) mmol/L vs. 1.20 (1.10, 1.60) mmol/L, P<0.001) was significantly higher in the non-survivors. There was no significant difference in the proportion of ACEI/ARB medication between the critical group and the general group or between non-survivors and survivors （all P>0.05). Conclusion: COVID-19 patients combined with CVD are associated with a higher risk of mortality. Critical patients are characterized with lower lymphocyte counts. Higher BMI are more often seen in critical patients and non-survivor. ACEI/ARB use does not affect the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 combined with CVD. Aggravating causes of death include fulminant inflammation, lactic acid accumulation and thrombotic events.

Effects of acupoint area and non-acupoint area of eye-acupuncture on expressions of VIP and AQP 8 in colonic tissues in rats with D-IBS / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the point specificity of eye-acupuncture and the mechanism of eye-acupuncture on diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty male Wistar rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, a eye-acupuncture point (AA) group and a non-point (NA) group. The D-IBS rat model was established with the combination methods of the chronic stress and binding limbs. The AA group was treated by acupuncture at "low energizer area", "large intestine area", "liver area" and "spleen area", and the NA group by acupuncture at 3 mm apart from the same points area mentioned above, and the normal group and the model group with no intervention. The rate of feces moisture content was detected. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA of aquaporin 8 (AQP 8) in colon. Protein expressions of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and AQP 8 in colon were detected by SABC immunohistochemistry method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with normal group, the rate of feces moisture content at the 18th and 25th days, VIP protein in colon mucosa, myenteric nerve plexus and hypo-mucosa nerve plexus increased significantly (all P < 0.01), and AQP 8 mRNA in colon mucosa decreased significantly in model, AA and NA group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); AQP 8 protein in colon mucosa decreased significantly in model group and NA group (both P < 0.01). Compared with model group, the rate of feces moisture content at the 25th day and VIP protein in colon mucosa decreased significantly (P < 0.01, P < 0.05), and AQP 8 mRNA and protein increased significantly (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) in AA group. Compared with AA group, the rate of feces moisture content at the 25th day and VIP protein in colon mucosa increased significantly (both P < 0.01), and AQP 8 mRNA and protein decreased significantly (both P < 0.01) in NA group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Eye-acupuncture has a good therapeutic effect on D-IBS. It is suggested that one of the mechanism is relate to increase AQP 8 in colon tissue and restrain the expression of VIP. Non-point area of eye-acupuncture has no obviously therapeutic effect and so to illustrate the point specificity of eye-acupuncture.</p>

Effects of eye-acupuncture therapy on the expression of AQP4 in brain tissue of rats with acute cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the mechanism of the eye-acupuncture for treatment of acute cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-two healthy SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a sham operation group, a model group and an eye-acupuncture group, 8 rats in each group. The rat model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion was established with thread occlusion method in the model group and the eye-acupuncture group. The eye-acupuncture group was treated by eye-acupuncture at "liver region", "upper energizer area", "lower energizer area" and "kidney region" for 20 min immediately after reperfusion and at 30 min before sampling. No treatment was done in the normal group and the sham operation group, and no thread occlusion was performed in the sham operation group. The Neurologic impairment was scored and the methods of immunohistochemistry staining, western-blotting and real-time fluorescent quantitation polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) were taken to detect the expression of the aquaporin protein 4 (AQP4) and its mRNA in cerebral cortex after reperfusion for 3 hours.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The neurologic impairment score of 1.50 +/- 0.54 in the eye-acupuncture group was significant lower than 2.63 +/- 0.92 in the model group (P < 0.01). The expression of the AQP4 protein by immunohistochemistry and western-blot respectively were 116.33 +/- 10.24 and 0.53 +/- 0.04 in the normal group, 118.97 +/- 12.72 and 0.55 +/- 0.07 in the sham operation group, and 129.30 +/- 18.36 and 0.67 +/- 0.08 in the eye-acupuncture group, with statistical significance compared to 150.88 +/- 15.82 and 0.94 +/- 0.04 in the model group (all P < 0.01), and there were significant differences between the eye-acupuncture group and the normal group (both P < 0.01). The tendency in the expression of AQP4 protein and its mRNA in all the group were almost the same.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The eye-acupuncture therapy can relieve the cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and the protective mechanism is related to the downregulation of the cerebral AQP4 expression.</p>