Liuzijue qigong for stroke survivors with dysarthria / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To document any improvement in the breathing control of stroke survivors with dysarthria after practicing Liuzijue qigong.Methods:A total of 157 stroke survivors with dysarthria and abnormal respiration control were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group. Both groups were given traditional breathing training and basic articulation training (including articulatory organ training and speech training). The observation group also received training in Liuzijue qigong. It requires inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth while producing the speech sounds xu, he, hu, si, chui and xi. The training lasted two weeks. Both groups were then evaluated using the modified Frenchay dysarthria assessment. Maximum phonation time, maximum counting ability and volume were also recorded as secondary indexes.Results:After the 2-week intervention, significant improvement was observed in the average scores on all of the indexes, with all of the observation group′s average scores except for volume significantly better than those of the control group. The average volume scores were significantly improved, but not significantly different.Conclusion:Supplementing basic articulation training with Liuzijue qigong can improve respiratory function and the speaking ability of stroke survivors with dysarthria. It is worthy of wider clinical application.

Salubrinal increases the apoptosis of oral cancer cells by inhibiting radiation-induced activation of NF-κB / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To explore the mechanism of the role of Salubrinal in regulating the radiation-induced apoptosis of oral cancer cells.Methods Radioresistant KBR cell line was constructed (4 Gy per fraction,every 7-10 d for 4 times).The radiosensitivity of oral cancer cells after Salubrinal pretreatment was measured by colony formation assay.The expression levels of NF-κB-HIF-1o signaling pathway and apoptosis biomarker cleaved PARP in oral cancer cells were measured by Western blot.The apoptosis rate was detected by Annexin V,PI staining and flow cytometry.Results Colony formation assay demonstrated that Salubrinal increased the radiosensitivity of oral cancer cells.The radiosensitization ratios of KB and KBR cells were 1.19 and 1.24.Western blot revealed that the activation of NF-κB-HIF-1α was time-dependent in the radiation-induced oral cancer cells,whereas Salubrinal inhibited the radiation-induced abnormal activation.In addition,Salubrinal increased the expression of apoptosis biomarker cleaved PARP and apoptosis index in radiation-induced oral cancer cells,whereas TNF-α,an activator of NF-κB,reversed the effect,suggesting that Salubrinal increased the apoptosis of radiation-induced oral cancer cells by suppressing the activation of NF-κB.Pretreatment of NF-κB inhibitor Bay1 1-7082 also increased the cell apoptosis.The expression levels of cleaved PARP of KB and KBR cell lines in the Bay11-7082+IR group were 2.67±0.26 and 1.91±0.17,significantly higher compared with 2.1±0.16 and 1.44±0.15 in the IR group (both P＜0.05).Conclusion Salubrinal can aggravate the apoptosis of radiation-induced oral cancer cells by inhibiting the radiation-induced activation of NF-κB,thereby regulating the radiosensitivity of oral cancer cells.

The effect of Liuzijue qigong for patients with post-stroke dysarthria and abnormal respiratory control: A randomized and controlled trial / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To compare the effect of combining Liuzijue qigong with basic articulation training in the treatment of patients with post-stroke dysarthria.Methods:A total of 60 stroke survivors with dysarthria were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, each of 30. In addition to basic articulation training, the observation group practiced Liuzijue qigong for 3 weeks while the control group received conventional breathing training. Before and after the treatment, both groups were evaluated using the modified Frenchay dysarthria assessment (FDA), and in terms of maximum phonation time (MPT), maximal counting ability (MCA) and a special assessment of speech breathing.Results:After the treatment, significant improvement was observed in all of the measurements in both groups, but there was significantly greater improvement in the observation group in terms of the effectiveness of the speech breathing treatment (80%) and that group′s average MCA and FDA values compared with the control group.Conclusion:Liuzijue qigong training is superior to conventional breathing training when each is combined with basic articulation training in improving the speech breathing function and speaking ability of stroke survivors with dysarthria. It is worthy of promotion and application in clinical practice.

Salubrinal increases the apoptosis of oral cancer cells by inhibiting radiation-induced activation of NF-Κb / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective@#To explore the mechanism of the role of Salubrinal in regulating the radiation-induced apoptosis of oral cancer cells.@*Methods@#Radioresistant KBR cell line was constructed (4 Gy per fraction, every 7-10 d for 4 times). The radiosensitivity of oral cancer cells after Salubrinal pretreatment was measured by colony formation assay. The expression levels of NF-κB-HIF-1α signaling pathway and apoptosis biomarker cleaved PARP in oral cancer cells were measured by Western blot. The apoptosis rate was detected by Annexin V, PI staining and flow cytometry.@*Results@#Colony formation assay demonstrated that Salubrinal increased the radiosensitivity of oral cancer cells. The radiosensitization ratios of KB and KBR cells were 1.19 and 1.24. Western blot revealed that the activation of NF-κB-HIF-1α was time-dependent in the radiation-induced oral cancer cells, whereas Salubrinal inhibited the radiation-induced abnormal activation. In addition, Salubrinal increased the expression of apoptosis biomarker cleaved PARP and apoptosis index in radiation-induced oral cancer cells, whereas TNF-α, an activator of NF-κB, reversed the effect, suggesting that Salubrinal increased the apoptosis of radiation-induced oral cancer cells by suppressing the activation of NF-κB. Pretreatment of NF-κB inhibitor Bay11-7082 also increased the cell apoptosis. The expression levels of cleaved PARP of KB and KBR cell lines in the Bay11-7082+ IR group were 2.67±0.26 and 1.91±0.17, significantly higher compared with 2.1±0.16 and 1.44±0.15 in the IR group (both P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#Salubrinal can aggravate the apoptosis of radiation-induced oral cancer cells by inhibiting the radiation-induced activation of NF-κB, thereby regulating the radiosensitivity of oral cancer cells.