Advances on pentraxin 3 in osteoporosis and fracture healing / 中国骨伤

Pentaxin 3 (PTX3), as a multifunctional glycoprotein, plays an important role in regulating inflammatory response, promoting tissue repair, inducing ectopic calcification and maintaining bone homeostasis. The effect of PTX3 on bone mineral density (BMD) may be affected by many factors. In PTX3 knockout mice and osteoporosis (OP) patients, the deletion of PTX3 will lead to decrease of BMD. In Korean community "Dong-gu study", it was found that plasma PTX3 was negatively correlated with BMD of femoral neck in male elderly patients. In terms of bone related cells, PTX3 plays an important role in maintaining the phenotype and function of osteoblasts (OB) in OP state;for osteoclast (OC), PTX3 in inflammatory state could stimulate nuclear factor κ receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) production and its combination with TNF-stimulated gene 6(TSG-6) could improve activity of osteoclasts and promote bone resorption;for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), PTX3 could promote osteogenic differentiation of MSCs through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. In recent years, the role of PTX3 as a new bone metabolism regulator in OP and fracture healing has been gradually concerned by scholars. In OP patients, PTX3 regulates bone mass mainly by promoting bone regeneration. In the process of fracture healing, PTX3 promotes fracture healing by coordinating bone regeneration and bone resorption to maintain bone homeostasis. In view of the above biological characteristics, PTX3 is expected to become a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of OP and other age-related bone diseases and fracture healing.

Efficacy evaluation of transaxillary non-inflatable endoscopic surgery and open neck surgery in the treatment of PTC: a single center report of 342 cases / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective:To compare the clinical effect of transaxillary non-inflatable endoscopic surgery and traditional open thyroid surgery in the treatment of PTC. Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 342 patients with PTC treated in the Otorhinolaryngology Department of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from December 2020 to December 2022. There were 73 males and 269 females, aged 16-72 years, who underwent unilateral non-inflatable transaxillary endoscopic thyroid surgery（endoscopic group） and unilateral traditional open thyroid surgery（open group）. There were 108 patients in the endoscopic group and 234 in the open group. Results:The endoscopic group was lower in age（37.1±9.4 vs 43.5±11.2） years and BMI（23.4±3.4 vs 25.7±3.8 ）kg/m² than that in the open group, and the difference was statistically significant（t was 5.53, 5.67 respectively, P<0.01）. There was no significant difference in hospitalization days between the two groups（P>0.05）. The logarithmic curve of the operation time showed a smooth downward trend, and the overall operation time of the endoscopic group was relatively consistent. There was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss between the endoscopic group（13.3±3.2） mL and the open group（14.7±6.3） mL（P>0.05）, but the operation time（130.1±37.9） min was longer than that in the open group（57.4±13.7） min, and the difference was statistically significant（t=19.40, P<0.01）. There was no significant difference in complications such as temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve injury within 3 days after operation between the two groups（P>0.05）. The aesthetic satisfaction score of the surgical incision and the incision concealment effect score in the endoscopic group were higher than those in the open group, and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）. Conclusion:Compared with traditional open thyroidectomy, transaxillary non-inflatable endoscopic thyroidectomy has more advantages in the concealment and aesthetics of postoperative incision. Although the former has longer operation time and more drainage, it is still a safe and feasible surgical method with good postoperative clinical effect.

The research of pulmonary function changes after thoracoscopic lobectomy versus thoracoscopic segmentectomy based on propensity score matching method / 中华胸心血管外科杂志

Objective:To compare the effects of thoracoscopic anatomical segmentectomy and thoracoscopic lobectomy on patients' respiratory function.Methods:Retrospective analysis of 326 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery from July 2016 to July 2019(209 patients underwent anatomical segmentectomy, 117 patients underwent lobectomy). According to variables including gender, age, tumor location, smoking history and BMI, two propensity score-matched cohorts including 89 patients respectively were constructed. The patients’ baseline data and respiratory function date of the patients pre-operation and post-operation were analyzed. The measurement data that obey the normal distribution were described by mean±standard deviation, and the t-test was used for comparison between groups; the measurement data of non-normal distribution was described by the median value( P25, P75), and the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for the comparison between groups; The data was described by frequency, and the chi-square test or Fisher's exact probability method was used for comparison between groups. Results:At the first-month follow-up after surgery, there was no significant difference in the variation of FVC[(0.48±0.40)L vs.(0.34±0.37)L, P=0.215)and FEV1[(0.52±0.46)L vs.(0.43±0.77)L, P=0.364), and in the change rate of FVC(%)[15.23(8.74, 21.25) vs. 14.58(7.75, 19.40), P=0.122], FEV1(%)[17.25(9.56, 22.78) vs. 16.42(9.15, 20.28), P=0.154]and DLCO(%)[18.54(10.88, 25.68)vs. 17.45(9.58, 23.75) P=0.245]. Between the segmentectomy group and lobectomy group, there was a significant difference in the alteration of FVC[(0.50±0.47)L vs. (0.29±0.31)L, P=0.031] and FEV1[(0.44±0.34)L vs.(0.24±0.23)L, P<0.001], the change rate of FVC(%)[14.27(7.87, 22.32) vs. 9.95(5.56, 17.24), P=0.008]、FEV1(%)[15.23(8.36, 22.17)vs. 10.05(5.15, 18.54), P<0.001]and DLCO(%)[13.74(6.24, 19.78) vs. 4.45(-2.32, 13.75), P=0.023]in the 6th month after surgery. The lobectomy group had a higher variation of FEV1[(0.34±0.49)L vs.(0.18±0.26)L, P=0.006] and change rate of FVC(%)[9.28(2.15, 18.94) vs. 5.24(0.52, 11.45), P=0.0032] and FEV1(%)[10.45(3.15, 21.32) vs. 6.50(1.55, 14.24), P<0.001] in the first year after surgery. However, the variation of FVC[(0.29±0.36)L vs.(0.21±0.24)L, P=0.176) and the change rate of DLCO(%)[8.35(2.15, 16.45) vs. 6.23(2.12, 14.54), P=0.143] didn't show a significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion:Whether in the short or the middle postoperative period, segmentectomy can preserve postoperative respiratory function than lobectomy.

The relationship between the characteristics of type 3 secretion system and biofilm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in diabetic foot wound with antibiotic resistance / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective:To explore the characteristics of type 3 secretion system and biofilm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in diabetic foot wound, and to analyze the relationship between these factors, as well as to the antibiotic sensitivity.Methods:Thirty-three strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from the foot wounds of diabetic foot inpatients in Tianjin Medical University Chu Hsien-I Memorial Hospital from February 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. Thirteen strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from non-diabetic wounds. All strains were tested for antibiotic sensitivity. The virulence genes exoS or exoU of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the ability of biofilm formation were tested. The characteristics of exoS or exoU and biofilm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were analyzed. Patients′ clinical outcomes were also analyzed.Results:Pseudomonas aeruginosa with exoS gene was the major pathogen, 90.9% found in diabetic foot group and 84.6% in control group, with no significant difference( χ2=0.54, P=0.46). The drug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with exoS accounted for 16.7% in diabetic foot group and 18.2% in control group, also with no significant difference( χ2=0.18, P=0.83). There were 5 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying exoU, 3 strains in diabetic foot group, of which 1 was resistant, 2 in control group, no resistant strain. Pseudomonas aeruginosa increased the ability of biofilm formation in diabetic foot group, accounting for 57.6%, and for resistant strains, 83.3% of them increased the biofilm formation ability. Two kinds of Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced different biofilms, but they were effectiveless for carbapenem antibiotics. The times of debridement ( P<0.01), time of antibiotic use ( P<0.01) were more in biofilm wound, but the healing rate reached 75%-90%. Conclusion:Pseudomonas aeruginosa secreting ExoS is the main one in the diabetic foot wound. The ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to produce biofilm in DF wound is increased. Biofilm is one reason for its antibiotic resistance. Multiple debridement combined with sensitive antibiotics is an effective method to remove biofilm.

Naringenin promotes cell autophagy to improve high-fat-diet-induced atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice

Naringenin (NAR) is a major flavanone in citrus fruits that has multiple pharmacological attributes such as anticancer and antiatherogenic. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of NAR in high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced atherosclerosis (AS) in apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE-/-) mice. A HFD-induced AS ApoE-/- mouse model was established. The mice were treated with HFD, different doses of NAR and simvastatin (Simv). After drug treatment, the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were determined. The expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was detected using qRT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The plaque area of the aorta of AS mice was determined using oil red O staining. Western blot analysis was applied to measure the levels of autophagy-related proteins [protein 1 light chain 3B (LC3B), beclin 1, and p62]. The TC, TG, LDL-C, TNF-α, ALT, and MDA levels were significantly increased while the HDL-C, SOD, and GSH-Px levels were decreased in the HFD-induced AS ApoE-/- mice. NAR treatment reversed the expression of the above indicators in mice. After they were treated with different doses of NAR, the LC3B and beclin 1 levels were improved while the p62 protein level was decreased. This study suggested that NAR could promote cell autophagy to improve HFD-induced AS in ApoE-/- mice.

Clinical pathological characteristics and prognosis of 468 thymoma patients / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To assess the correlation of WHO pathological classification and Masaoka stage of thymomas with its prognosis. Methods    A total of 468 patients with thymomas who received surgeries during 2009-2019 in Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, were collected. There were 234 males and 234 females with an average age of 21-83 (49.6±18.7) years. A total of 132 patients underwent video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and 336 patients underwent thymectomy with median sternal incision. The follow-up time was 5.7±2.8 years. The clinical data of the patients were analyzed. Results    The amount of intraoperative bleeding was 178.3±133.5 mL in the median sternal incision group, and 164.8±184.1 mL in the VATS group (P=0.537). The operative time was 3.3±0.7 h in the median sternal incision group and 3.4±1.2 h in the VATS group (P=0.376). Postoperative active bleeding, phrenic nerve injury and chylothorax complications occurred in 8 patients, 9 patients and 1 patient in the VATS group, respectively, and 37 patients, 31 patients and 7 patients in the median sternal incision group, respectively. There was no statistical difference between the two groups (P=0.102, 0.402, 0.320). The 5-year cumulative progression free survival (PFS) rates of patients with WHO type A, AB, B1, B2, B3 and C thymomas were 100.0%, 100.0%, 95.7%, 81.4%, 67.5% and 50.0%, respectively (P<0.001). The 5-year PFS rates of patients with Masaoka stageⅠ-Ⅳ thymomas were 96.1%, 89.2%, 68.6% and 19.3%,  respectively (P<0.001). The 5-year PFS rate was 87.3% in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and 78.2% in patients without MG (P<0.001). The 5-year PFS rates of patients with different surgeries were 82.4% and 83.8%, respectively (P=0.904). Conclusion    WHO pathological classification and Masaoka stage have significant clinical prognosis suggestive effect. Thymoma patients combined with MG have better prognosis, which suggests early diagnosis and treatment of thymoma are important.

Erratum: Author correction to 'Up-regulation of glycolipid transfer protein by bicyclol causes spontaneous restriction of hepatitis C virus replication' Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 9 (2019) 769-781

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2019.01.013.].

Up-regulation of glycolipid transfer protein by bicyclol causes spontaneous restriction of hepatitis C virus replication

Bicyclol is a synthetic drug for hepatoprotection in clinic since 2004. Preliminary clinical observations suggest that bicyclol might be active against hepatitis C virus (HCV) with unknown mechanism. Here, we showed that bicyclol significantly inhibited HCV replication and in hepatitis C patients. Using bicyclol as a probe, we identified glycolipid transfer protein (GLTP) to be a novel restrictive factor for HCV replication. The GLTP preferentially bound host vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated protein-A (VAP-A) in competition with the HCV NS5A, causing an interruption of the complex formation between VAP-A and HCV NS5A. As the formation of VAP-A/NS5A complex is essential for viral RNA replication, up-regulation of GLTP by bicyclol reduced the level of VAP-A/NS5A complex and thus inhibited HCV replication. Bicyclol also exhibited an inhibition on HCV variants resistant to direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) with an efficacy identical to that on wild type HCV. In combination with bicyclol, DAAs inhibited HCV replication in a synergistic fashion. GLTP appears to be a newly discovered host restrictive factor for HCV replication, Up-regulation of GLTP causes spontaneous restriction of HCV replication.

Protective role of GLP-1 on AOPPs-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes / 中国糖尿病杂志

Objective To explore the protective role and mechanisms of glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) on advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs)-induced apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. Methods The H9C2 cells were selected in this study and divided into blank control group,RSA control group,and groups treated with indicated concentrations of AOPPs with or without GLP-1,and AOPPs +GLP-1+LY294002 for 24 hours respectively. Cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay. The ROS level was detected by DCFH-DA fluorescent probe. The cell apoptosis was tested by fluorescent staining and flow cytometry. The expression of p-Akt,p-Bad,Bcl-2,Bax,and active-caspase-3 proteins were evaluated by Western blot. Results GLP-1 attenuated AOPPs-induced cytotoxicity[(0.929±0.083) vs (1.409±0.099),P<0.01],decreased AOPPs-induced ROS[(47.817±0.878)% vs (25.413±2.597)%,P<0.01] and apoptosis[(15.773±3.130)% vs (9.715±0.757)%,P<0.01]. GLP-1 improved AOPPs-induced phosphorylation of Akt and Bad,increased the expression of Bcl-2,and decreased the expression of Bax and the activation of caspase-3. Conclusion GLP-1 protects cardiomyocytes against AOPP-induced apoptosis,predominantly via the PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway.

Role of acetylcholine in gelsenicine-induced death in mice / 生理学报

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the acetylcholine concentration in the blood and gelsenicine-induced death in mice. Kunming mice were given intraperitoneal injections of normal saline, gelsenicine or different doses of acetylcholine chloride. Atropine was given to the mice which received gelsenicine or medium dose acetylcholine chloride injection. The blood was sampled immediately when the mice died or survived for 20 min after injection. The acetylcholine concentration and acetylcholinesterase activity in the blood were measured by the testing kits, and the mortality was calculated and analyzed. The results showed that half lethal dose of gelsenicine (0.15 mg/kg) reduced the acetylcholinesterase activity and increased the blood acetylcholine concentration. The blood acetylcholine concentration of the dead mice in the gelsenicine group was increased to 43.0 μg/mL (from 31.1 μg/mL in the control), which was lower than that (53.9 μg/mL) of the dead mice in the medium dose acetylcholine chloride group, but almost equal to that (42.7 μg/mL) of the survival mice in the medium dose acetylcholine chloride group. Atropine could successfully rescue the mice from acetylcholine poisoning, but its efficiency of rescuing the mice from gelsenicine intoxication was weak. These results suggest that gelsenicine can inhibit acetylcholinesterase activity and increase blood acetylcholine concentration, but the accumulation of acetylcholine may not be the only or main cause of the death induced by gelsenicine in mice.

The influence of intracellular keratin 8 on hepatitis C virus replication / 药学学报

The level of intracellular keratin 8(KRT-8) is associated with liver diseases, whose expression is increased in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients with hepatocarcinoma and in cultural cells infected with HCV. However, it is not clear whether KRT-8 will impact HCV replication. In this paper, the HCV replication was analyzed in response to high expression and silence of KRT-8. The inhibitory activities against wild-type and mutant HCV were also analyzed by silence of KRT-8 or combined with known anti-HCV drug telaprevir. Results showed that the protein level of KRT-8 was increased in proportion with the HCV replication. The high expression was found to facilitate HCV replication, while the silence of KRT-8 was able to inhibit HCV replication and enhanced the anti-HCV activity of telaprevir. It also inhibited A156T and D168V mutant HCV, which are resistant to protease inhibitors. These results suggest that KRT-8 is a co-factor for HCV replication. Down-regulation of KRT-8 can inhibit wild type and mutant HCV replication to enhance the anti-HCV activity of known anti-HCV drugs. Therefore, KRT-8 may be a new target in the development of anti-HCV agents.

Activation effects of gelsemium alkaloids on chloride channels in hepatic carcinoma cells / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the effect of gelsemium alkaloids on chloride channels and cell volume in he-patic carcinoma cells. Methods The time-lapse live cell imaging and whole-cell patch clamp techniques were used respectively to detect the volume changes and currents induced by gelsemium alkaloids in HepG2 cells. Results It was found that the cell volume was decreased by (12. 48 ± 2. 2) % (P<0. 01) when ex-posed to gelsemium alkaloids for 50 min and this phe-nomenon could be inhibited by the chloride channel blocker tamoxifen. It was shown by whole-cell patch clamping that a chloride current could be evoked by extracellular application of gelsemium alkaloids ( 2μmol·L-1 ) . The current was outward-rectified with-out obvious voltage- and time-dependent inactivation. The reversal potential of the current was ( -3. 21 ± 0. 67) mV ,which was close to the equilibrium poten-tial of chloride. The extracellular application of the chloride blockers, tamoxifen and 5-notro-2-(3-phenyl-propylamino)benzoic acid (NPPB), and 47% hyper-tonic solution inhibited the current significantly ( P <0. 01 ) . Conclusion Gelsemium alkaloids could acti-vate chloride channels and induce a volume decrease ( named apoptotic volume decrease, AVD) , and these effect could be inhibited by chloride channel blockers. The results suggest that the chloride channel can be one of the targets of gelsemium alkaloids in their anti-cancer action.

Borneol activated volume-sensitive chloride channels in poorly differentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells / 中国药理学通报

Aim To clarify the effect of Borneol on the chloride channels and cell volume in poorly differentia-ted nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2Z cells.Methods The technique of whole-cell patch clamp was used to detect the chloride currents and analyze the character-istics of the currents in CNE-2Z cells.The volume changes caused by Borneol were measured by the meth-od of time-lapse live cell imaging.Results The chlo-ride currents were induced by extracellular application of Borneol (20 μmol·L -1 )isotonic condition.The currents showed a characteristic of outward rectification and did not show voltage-dependent or time-dependent inactivation.The reversal potential of the currents was close to the CI-equilibrium potential. The currents were inhibited by the chloride channel blocker tamox-ifen.The currents were also inhibited by 47% hyper-tonic solution.Borneol decreased the cell volume by 9.4% in 30 min.Tamoxifen completely inhibited the Borneol-induced cell volume decrease.Conclusion Borneol can activate volume-sensitive chloride channels and induce volume decrease in CNE-2Z cells.Chloride channels play a pivotal role in the process of volume decrease caused by Borneol.

Molecular mechanism underlining ethanol-induced chloride currents in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To study the effects and mechanisms of ethanol on chloride channels in poorly differentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2Z cells.METHODS:The effect of ethanol on the cell growth was analyzed by MTT as-say.The technique of whole-cell patch-clamp was used to detect the chloride current .The characteristics of the chloride current were analyzed by using the chloride channel blockers .The siRNA technique was used to analyze the molecular basis of the ethanol-sensitive chloride channels .RESULTS: Under isotonic conditions , the background current was weak and stable.Ethanol at concentrations of 0.17~170 mmol/L activated a chloride current in a concentration-dependent manner (an inverted U-shape), with a maximum effect at the concentration of 17 mmol/L.The currents showed obviously outward rectification and were susceptible to extracellular hypertonicity and the chloride channel blocker , 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropyl-amino) benzoic acid ( NPPB) .ClC-3 siRNA obviously decreased the currents activated by ethanol .CONCLUSION:Ex-tracellular ethanol induces chloride currents through activating the ClC-3 chloride channels .

Chloride currents activated by cisplatin in poorly differentiated naso-pharyngeal carcinoma cells are not Ca2+-activated chloride currents / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:To investigate the type of chloride channel activated by cisplatin in poorly differentiated na -sopharyngeal carcinoma cells (CNE-2Z cells).METHODS:The technique of whole-cell patch-clamp was used to investi-gate the role of Ca 2+in the activation of cisplatin-activated chloride currents and to analyze the effect of hypertonic stress on these currents in CNE-2Z cells.RESULTS:Chloride currents were induced when the cells were exposed to the calcium -free cisplatin solution , showing the similar density to the currents induced by cisplatin with the presence of extracellular cal -cium.However , the latency and the peak time of cisplatin-activated currents in the absence of extracellular calcium were prolonged.The activation of cisplatin-activated chloride currents was insensitive to the depletion of intra-and extracellular calcium.Calcium channel antagonist nifedipine had no effect on the cisplatin -activated chloride currents , while hypertonic solution completely inhibited those currents .CONCLUSION:The cisplatin-activated chloride currents are independent on intra/extracellular calcium .The chloride channels activated by cisplatin are not calcium-activated chloride channels , but are probably volume-sensitive chloride channels .

The recognition methodology study of epileptic EEGs based on support vector machine / 生物医学工程学杂志

EEG recordings contain valuable physiological and pathological information in the process of seizure. The dynamic changes of brain electrical activity provide foundation and possibility for research and development of automatic detection system about epilepsy. In this paper, a nonlinear dynamic method is presented for analysis of the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of EEGs and delta, theta, alpha, and beta sub-bands of EEGs based on wavelet transform. The extracted feature is used as the input vector of a support vector machine (SVM) to construct classifiers. The results showed that the classification accuracy of SVM classifier based on nonlinear dynamic characteristics to classify the EEG into interictal EEGs and ictal EEGs reached 90% or higher. The support vector machine has good generalization in detecting the epilepsy EEG signals as a nonlinear classifier.

Optical transport properties along the pericardium meridian under different pressure

This study seeks to discuss the light wave transport characteristics variation along the pericardium Meridian under different pressures. We selected 36 healthy students at the school for this study, tied up the desktop blood pressure cuff onto subjects'right proximal arms, fixed the detection probe immovably on the Neiguan [PC6] acupoint and the reference point which was 1cm off the PC6, and collected the light signal along the meridian and non-meridian when the laser irradiate Jianshi[PC5], Ximen[PC4] and the corresponding reference points respectively under pressure of 0, 100, 130 and 160. The differences in optical transport properties between meridian and nonmeridian were significant: under the same pressures [0s, 100s,130s, and 160mmHg], the relative attenuation rate of optical signal at the same distance between meridian and non-meridian were significant[p<0.001], the optical signal attenuates slower when it transported along meridians; however, there is no significant difference for the relative attenuation rate of optical signal along meridian or non-meridian under different pressures[p>0.05]. Under four different pressure situations, the optical signal at acupoint[PC5] and non-acupoint[NP] along the meridian were significantly different with the corresponding reference points along the non-meridian[P<0.001]; the optical signal on the meridian is stronger than the non-meridian one; the optical signals are strikingly different at acupoints, non-acupoints, and reference points between and 100, 130, and 160mmHg pressures [P

Effect of acupoint catgut-embedding on the quality of life, reproductive endocrine and bone metabolism of postmenopausal women / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the influence of acupoint catgut-embedding therapy on the quality of life (QOL), the reproductive endocrine and bone metabolism of postmenopausal women.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total A total of 65 women with climacteric syndrome were enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups, thirty-three in the treatment group on whom acupoint catgut-embedding was performed with Shenshu (BL23), Sanyinjiao (SP6) and Guanyuan (CV4) as main acupoints, and thirty-two in the control group who were only medicated with Fufuchun Capsule (妇复春胶囊). The treatment course for both groups was 3 months. Before and after Before and after treatment, the clinical symptoms, the QOL score, serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E(2)), testosterone (T), osteocalcin (BGP), parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin (CT) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) were measured. In addition, another 28 women with childbearing potential and normal regular menstrual cycle were selected and the reproductive endocrine hormone were tested in the ovulatory period as controls.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The levels of serum FSH and LH of postmenopausal women were higher, and serum E(2) and T were lower than those of normal women (P<0.01). After treatment, the levels of serum E(2) In both groups and T in the treatment group were increased, while in the control group the serum E(2) increase was more significant than that in the treatment group (P<0.05), and serum T showed no statistical difference. The levels of serum FSH, LH, BGP, CT, PTH and AKP were reduced significantly in both groups after treatment (P<0.05). The QOL scores were Increased remarkably in both groups on physiological functioning, bodily pain, general health, vitality, and mental health after treatment (P<0.05),but the improvement of bodily pain and mental health in the treatment group were better than those in the control group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the therapeutic effect between the two groups after treatment (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Acupoint catgut-embedding showed an obvious effect on climacteric syndrome, and enhanced the QOL in postmenopausal women. The therapy could regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis to raise the serum E(2) level which may be significant in preventing and curing the osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.</p>

Effect and safety evaluation of catgut implantation at acupoint for levels of bone metabolism and free radicals in postmenopausal women / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the effect and safety evaluation of catgut implantation at acupoint and drugs for levels of bone metabolism and free radicals in postmenopausal women.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-five postmenopausal women were randomly divided into an acupoint catgut implantation group (33 cases) and a medication group (32 cases). Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Shenshu (BL 23) and Guanyuan (CV 4) were used as main points combined with adjunct points according to syndrome differentiation in the acupoint catgut implantation group, once two weeks. The medication group was treated with oral administration of 2 pills of Fu fuchun capsule, once a day. Three months constitute one course in the both groups. The scores of the symptoms and signs were evaluated, and elbow vein blood was drawn to detect the correlative index on the beginning and the ending day of the treatment respectively. The safety of catgut implantation at acupoint was evaluated after one course of treatment. Besides, the sex hormone test in ovulatory period was detected in twenty-eight normal women in reproductive age with regular menstrual cycle.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>1) The total effective rate of the acupoint catgut implantation group was 93.9% (31/33), and that of the medication group was 96.9% (31/32), there was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The contents of bone gla protein (BGP), calcitonin (CT), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) in the both groups had significant differences after treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01); 2) The content of estradiol (E2) in serum in the both groups was decreased more obviously than those of normal women in reproductive age (both P<0.001). The content of E2 in the both groups was obviously increased after treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01), this function in the acupoint catgut implantation group was weaker than that of the medication group (P<0.05), while the incidence rate of adverse effect in the acupoint catgut implantation group was lower than that of the medication group (P<0.05); 3) There were significant differences of the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) before and after treatment in the acupoint catgut implantation group, the level of SOD was obviously increased after treatment (P<0.01), while the level of MDA decreased obviously (P<0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Catgut implantation at acupoint can improve the low level of estrogen of postmenopausal women, with good safety. It can regulate the levels of bone metabolism and free radicals of postmenopausal women, so it is very meaningful to prevent and treat postmenopausal degenerative diseases including the osteoporosis and to delay the process of apolexis.</p>

Brain activation during associative learning and memory in healthy volunteers:a functional magnetic resonance imaging / 中华神经科杂志

Objective To examine whether the marginal division of the striatum(MrD)is involved in the associative learning and memory function of human brain with the help of functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)technique.Methods Sixteen right-handed normal volunteers participated in a test of paired-word associative learning and memory,while the fMRI data were recorded.Control tasks were performed for the block-design.Statistcs parameter mapping 99 was used to analyze the data and to obtain the activated brain regions.Results When the threshold was set as P＜0.005.using a one-sample T-test,the left occipital lobe and the superior and middle gyrus of the left frontal lobe were activated remarkably during the encoding process of the paired-word associative learning and memory task,with the maximum intensity T value being 13.87 and 9.36.respectively.The left MrD was also obviously activated during this stage(T value was 5.46).But during the retrieval process,the left parietal lobe was prominently activated(T value was 8.73).Conclusion The resuhs of this study reveal that the subcortical structures such as MrD as well as the cerebral cortex are involved in the associative learning and memory of paired-word in human brain.