Research progress of pharmacologic therapy in obstructive sleep apnea / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disordered breathing disorder. As a major global public health problem, untreated OSA can lead to a variety of adverse health outcomes, including various cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression. Traditional OSA therapies such as positive airway pressure (PAP), weight loss, oral appliance, upper airway surgery, and postural therapy focus on the anatomical factors of OSA. However, the pathogenesis of OSA is heterogeneous, and non-anatomical factors also play an important role in most patients. Although there is no drug with exact efficacy for the treatment of OSA, with the deepening understanding of the pathophysiological mechanism of OSA, more and more clinical studies are devoted to the study of drug treatment of OSA and its complications, and a series of results have been achieved. The following is a review of the relevant studies on drug treatment of OSA in recent years, hoping to provide literature support and theoretical basis for future research on drug treatment of OSA.

Research Status and Prospects of Non-Traumatic Fat Embolism in Forensic Medicine / 法医学杂志

In the practice of forensic pathology, fat embolism is one of the common causes of death, which can be divided into two categories: traumatic and non-traumatic. Non-traumatic fat embolism refers to the blockage of small blood vessels by fat droplets in the circulatory blood flow caused by non-traumatic factors such as underlying diseases, stress, poisoning and lipid metabolism disorders. At present, it is believed that the production of non-traumatic fat embolism is related to the disturbance of lipid metabolism, C-reactive protein-related cascade reaction, the agglutination of chylomicron and very low-density lipoprotein. The forensic identification of the cause of death of non-traumatic fat embolism is mainly based on the case, systematic autopsy, HE staining and fat staining, but it is often missed or misdiagnosed by forensic examiners because of its unknown risk factors, hidden onset, the difficulty of HE staining observation and irregular implementation of fat staining. In view of the lack of attention to non-traumatic fat embolism in forensic identification, this paper reviews the concepts, pathophysiological mechanism, research progress, existing problems and countermeasures of non-traumatic fat embolism, providing reference for forensic scholars.

Research progress of ocular surface pathophysiological changes in dry eye / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#The incidence of dry eye is increasing year by year, and it has become one of the most common ophthalmic diseases. The main symptoms of dry eye disease are dry, foreign body sensation, burning in eyes, itchy and viscous secretion. These discomforts affect the daily life, efficiency of work and study, mental health and physical function of patients with dry eye. Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface characterized by a loss of homeostasis of the tear film, and accompanied by ocular symptoms, in which tear film instability and hyperosmolarity, ocular surface inflammation and damage, and neurosensory abnormalities play etiological roles. Meanwhile, there are changes in the tissue structure and ocular surface microenvironment of the eyes of patients with dry eye. In view of the fact that dry eye is an important public health problem, which seriously affects people's visual quality and life quality, studying the pathophysiology of dry eye is of great significance for efficient diagnosis, more targeted treatment and reduction of adverse events. This paper reviewed the research progress in the pathophysiology of dry eye in recent years.

Current state of researches on mechanisms of acupuncture in improvement of hypoxia-ischemic diseases of the central nervous system / 针刺研究

Acupuncture is widely used in the treatment of ischemic diseases of the central nervous system in different clinical stages and has achieved a good clinical effect. The current research showed that acupuncture can improve cerebral blood flow perfusion via increasing blood flow volume, blood flow velocity, the levels of vasomotor substances and reduction of blood viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation index. In recent years, many studies focused on the pathophysiological mechanism of acupuncture in improving cerebral ischemia via triggering the cholinergic vasodilatation, up-regulation of expression of vascular-related proteins and genes，attenuation of inflammatory reaction, etc. Currently, the methods for evaluating the effect of acupuncture are mostly noninvasive functional magnetic resonance imaging in healthy subjects. Future studies should include united selection of acupoints and acupuncture needle manipulations, more reasonable combination of different acupoints, united outcome evaluative standards, better repeatability, employment of big data, etc.

Research progress of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury / 中华危重病急救医学

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in patients with sepsis, with poor prognosis and high mortality. The pathogenesis of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (SAKI) is closely related to renal hemodynamic abnormalities, inflammatory injury and adaptive mechanism. It is insufficient for previous criteria based on urine output and creatinine to the early diagnosis of SAKI. The emergence of new biomarkers may make up for deficiencies in early diagnosis. And significant progress has also been made in the treatment of SAKI. The aim of this article was to review the researches on pathophysiology, early diagnosis and treatment of SAKI and provides some help for clinical staff to understand SAKI.

Mechanism of neural plasticity of acupuncture on chronic migraine / 中国针灸

Chronic migraine is one of neurological disorders with high rate of disability, but sufficient attention has not been paid in this field. A large number of clinical studies have shown traditional Chinese acupuncture is a kind of effective treatment with less side effects. Through the analysis of literature regarding acupuncture and migraine published from 1981 to 2017 in CNKI and PubMed databases, the mechanism of neural plasticity of acupuncture on chronic migraine was explored. It was believed the progress of chronic migraine involved the changes of neural plasticity in neural structure and function, and the neural plasticity related with neural sensitization during the process of chronic migraine was discussed from three aspects of electrophysiology, molecular chemistry and radiography. Acupuncture could treat and prevent chronic migraine via the mechanism of neural plasticity, but there was no related literature, hindering the further spreading and development of acupuncture for chronic migraine.

Research progress in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and its forensic application / 复旦学报（医学版）

Up to now,studies among the world have put forward various hypotheses about the pathophysiology and future research direction of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC).Large amounts of diagnosis and differential diagnosis have been done on TTC,and consensuses have been reached on it's definition,epidemiology,clinical manifestations and prognosis.In this review,we will summarize the recent progress in the study of TTC,and make a comprehensive analysis and perspective on it's clinical research and forensic value.

<b>Pathophysiological Mechanism for the Abdominal Sign Correlating with </b><i><b>Oketsu </b></i><b>(Blood Stagnant) S</b><b>yndrome</b> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

<p>It is well known that a painful lump around para-naval, ileo-cecal and sigmoid regions are correlated with <i>oketsu </i>syndrome, although, the physiological mechanism for these signs is still unknown. Recently, the author made clear that these signs disappear by acupunctural procedure at the meridian points Hikon (ExB4), Kekkai (SP10) and/or the lump itself. And also the author found out that these abdominal lumps are located in the most peripheral position of the superior or inferior epigastric artery. This evidence may indicate that abdominal lumps are brought by diminished blood flow of the superior or inferior epigastric artery, and acupunctural input from a meridian point or lump itself inhibits not only the excited gamma and alpha motor-neuron in the thoracic 11 and 12 segment of spinal cord but also excites sympathetic neurons. The author speculates that the initial noxious stimuli occur with stagnation of the pelvic vein associated with homeostatic inflammation.</p>

<b>Pathophysiological Mechanism for the Tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto </b><i><b>sho</b></i> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

<p>It is well known that an abdominal sign of painful groin indicates an appropriate condition for choosing the Kampo formulation tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto (TSG). This evidence was found by Keisetsu Otsuka in 1963. He thought that this sign is correlated with the liver meridian.<br>However, the pathophysiological background for this sign has been unknown. Recently, the author made clear that this sign disappears by acupunctural procedure at the Hikon (ExB4) meridian point. According to this clinical evidence, the author proposes a new hypothesis for this abdominal sign in that it closely relates to a homeostatic mechanism. In the cold environment, sympathetic drive to the femoral arteries occurs in order to guard from radiation heat loss in the lower extremities. This drive also causes a reduction of blood supply to the pelvic viscera. The acupunctural procedure at the Hikon (ExB4) meridian point may release both the induration of the iliocostal muscle and the contraction of IOM simultaneously. TGS disconnects the vicious cycle which exist between the pelvic viscera and sympathetic ganglion, and improves various signs that correlates with ischemia of the pelvic viscera.</p>

The mechanisms of LPS-induced cardiac dysfunction in septic mice / 中华急诊医学杂志

Objective To study about the cardiac function of the mice suffering from sepsis induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) so as to probe the physiopathologic mechanism of the cardiac dysfunction of the mice.Method Sixty male C57BL/6 mice of eight weeks old were randomly (random number) divided into four groups:one control group (n =15) and three experimental groups (n =15 in each group).The mice of control group received intra-peritoneal injection of normal saline (10 mg/kg) while the mice of experimental groups got intra-peritoneal injection of LPS (10 mg/kg).The cardiac function of mice (n =12) was determined by echocardiography 6 h,12 h and 24 h later,respectively.The heart,kidney and lung tissues of mice (n =6) were stained with Haematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining after embedding with paraffin for observing the histopathological changes under optic microscopy.The expressions of PECAM-1 and α-SMA of the heart tissue of mice (n =3) in three groups determined by immunohistochemical method.The RT-PCR method was used to test the expressions of VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) and HIF-α (hypoxia-inducible factor) of the myocardium of mice.In addition,the Western blot method was employed to test the levels of p53 and HIF-1α proteins in myocardium of mice,while ELISA was utilized to detect the level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the interleukin-6 (IL-6).The data were analyzed by independent samples of t-test and one-way ANOVA respectively.Results The experiment result proved that the thickness of anterior wall of left ventricle of mice during systolic and diastolic periods increased and the inner diameter of the left ventricle also increased during the diastolic period in mice of the experimental group,while the stroke volume decreased compared with the control group (P ＜ 0.05).The immunohistochemical method showed that the new vessels of the mice' s heart in experimental groups increased compared with the control group (P ＜ 0.05).RT-PCR showed the expressions of VEGF and HIF-1α of the mice heart of experimental group increased (P ＜ 0.05) and Western blot showed the levels of HIF-1 α and p53 proteins in experimental groups increased significantly compared with the control group.The experimental group had higher levds of VEGF,HIF-1α,and IL-6 were evidenced by using ELISA than those of the control group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The lipopolysaccharide can lead to cardiac dysfunction.In this process,myocardium angiogenesis and apoptosis phenomenon coexists,as VEGF and HIF-1α participating in angiogenesis,whereas BAX and p53 playing a role in the process of apoptosis.

Intestinal pathophysiological mechanism of bacterial translocation and endotoxemia in rabbits with acute spinal cord injury / 第三军医大学学报

Objective To investigate the intestinal pathophysiological mechanism of bacterial translocation and endotoxemia in rabbits with acute spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods Paraplegia was induced by injuring the spinal cord of 30 rabbits by the method of Fehlings. Twelve rabbits were used for recording the changes of gastrointestinal (GI) electrophysiology and colon pressure. The left 18 rabbits were experimental group and were killed in 24, 48 and 72 h after injury. The other 6 rabbits served as normal group. Under aseptic condition, samples of blood and mesenteric lymph node were collected for bacterial cultures and endotoxin detection. The small intestines were observed by light and electron microscopy. The colons were inspected by light microscopy. Results After SCI, the electrophysiology of the GI tract was changed especially at the middle and distal colon. The peristalsis of the middle and distal colon was reduced and sometimes even disappeared. In the early stage, the main pathology was hyperemia of blood vessel and infiltration of inflammatory cells. The interepithelial tight junctions became wider and the columnar epithelium was disintegrated. All of the pathological changes may lead to the destruction of the intestinal barrier. The endotoxin level were increased since 24 h after SCI and had statistically significant difference compared with that at 72 h (P0.05). Conclusion After SCI, the middle and distal colon dysfunction induces constipation, bacterial overgrowth, and blood flow congestion. These factors may accelerate the destruction of the intestinal barrier and lead to bacterial translocation and endotoxemia.