GAO Hong's clinical experience in treatment of tic disorder with acupuncture technique of cultivating the primary and regulating the mind / 中国针灸

The paper introduces the clinical experience of GAO Hong in treatment of tic disorder. GAO Hong believes that tic disorder results from the primary qi deficiency and mind disturbance. Acupuncture for cultivating the primary and regulating the mind is proposed specially for tic disorder. This acupuncture technique focuses on harmonizing and regulating governor vessel and conception vessel. In clinical practice, the conception vessel acupoints on the abdomen and the governor vessel acupoints on the head are selected particularly, e.g. Zhongwan (CV 12), Xiawan (CV 10), Qihai (CV 6) and Guanyuan (CV 4) on the abdomen; Baihui (GV 20), Shenting (GV 24), Benshen (GB 13) and Yintang (GV 24+) on the head. The needling sequence and the insertion depth are emphasized, which affect the curative effect and GV 20 is generally punctured first. Besides, considering to the type of disorder and the affected site, tic disorder is treated in view of both syndrome/pattern differentiation and symptom differentiation.

Clinical efficacy and safety of moxibustion as adjuvant therapy for COPD in stable phase: a Meta-analysis / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of conventional therapy combined with moxibustion in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in stable phase based on Meta-analysis medicine.@*METHODS@#The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of moxibustion as adjuvant therapy for COPD were retrieved from the databases of CNKI, Wanfang, SinoMed, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Ebsco. RevMan5.3 software was used for Meta analysis, and the quality of evidence was evaluated according to GRADE standards.@*RESULTS@#A total of 16 RCTs were included, involving 1425 patients. The results of Meta-analysis showed that: compared with the conventional treatment, ①the adjuvant therapy with moxibustion had advantages in reducing the number of acute exacerbations [@*CONCLUSION@#The efficacy of moxibustion as adjuvant therapy for COPD in stable phase is better than that of simple conventional therapy. Due to insufficient clinical evidence and the limitations of this study, clinical safety is unclear and further evidence is needed to support the results.

Rescue of male infertility through correcting a genetic mutation causing meiotic arrest in spermatogonial stem cells / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Azoospermia patients who carry a monogenetic mutation that causes meiotic arrest may have their biological child through genetic correction in spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). However, such therapy for infertility has not been experimentally investigated yet. In this study, a mouse model with an X-linked testis-expressed 11 (TEX11) mutation (Tex11

Mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase (Mtor) is required for spermatogonial proliferation and differentiation in mice / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Spermatogonial development is a vital prerequisite for spermatogenesis and male fertility. However, the exact mechanisms underlying the behavior of spermatogonia, including spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) self-renewal and spermatogonial proliferation and differentiation, are not fully understood. Recent studies demonstrated that the mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway plays a crucial role in spermatogonial development, but whether MTOR itself was also involved in any specific process of spermatogonial development remained undetermined. In this study, we specifically deleted Mtor in male germ cells of mice using Stra8-Cre and assessed its effect on the function of spermatogonia. The Mtor knockout (KO) mice exhibited an age-dependent perturbation of testicular development and progressively lost germ cells and fertility with age. These age-related phenotypes were likely caused by a delayed initiation of Mtor deletion driven by Stra8-Cre. Further examination revealed a reduction of differentiating spermatogonia in Mtor KO mice, suggesting that spermatogonial differentiation was inhibited. Spermatogonial proliferation was also impaired in Mtor KO mice, leading to a diminished spermatogonial pool and total germ cell population. Our results show that MTOR plays a pivotal role in male fertility and is required for spermatogonial proliferation and differentiation.

Clinical application and mechanism exploration on dysosmia treated with acupuncture and moxibustion / 中国针灸

Dysosmia affects not only odour identification, but also memory, appetite, immunity and affection. Moreover, it suggests the occurrence of some diseases. The etiology of dysosmia is various and the treatment with western medicine is limited. In this paper, by analyzing the relevant research articles on olfactory disorders treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion, the clinical application of acupuncture and moxibustion, the thought of its diagnosis and treatment as well as relevant effect mechanism were explored. It is anticipated to provide the clinical physicians with the references to the treatment of dysosmia.

Herb-separated moxibustion on dysmenorrhea in ovarian endometriosis: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the clinical therapeutic effect of herb-separated moxibustion on dysmenorrhea in ovarian endometriosis.@*METHODS@#A total of 54 patients with ovarian endometriosis dysmenorrhea were randomized into a herb-separated moxibustion group and a waiting-list group, 27 cases in each one (3 cases dropped off in the herb-separated moxibustion group, 4 cases dropped off in the waiting-list group). Herb-separated moxibustion was applied at hypogastrium and lumbosacral area for 30 min in the herb-separated moxibustion group, once a week for 3 months, and oral ibuprofen sustained-release capsule was given to relieve pain when necessary. Excepting giving ibuprofen sustained-release capsule when necessary, no more intervention was adopted in the waiting-list group. Before and after treatment and in 3 months follow-up, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, days of dysmenorrhea, total dose of oral painkiller were observed.@*RESULTS@#Compared before treatment, the VAS scores after tratment and in follow-up were decreased in the herb-separated moxibustion group (<0.05), and were less than those in the waiting-list group (<0.05); the days of dysmenorrhea and the total doses of oral painkiller after tratment and in follow-up were decreased in the herb-separated moxibustion group (<0.05), and were less than those in the waiting-list group (<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Herb-separated moxibustion can effectively improve dysmenorrhea symptom and shorten dysmenorrhea days in patients with ovarian endometriosis.

Chinese medicine master -' creative viewpoint on acupuncture-moxibustion and acupoints of Zhejiang school / 中国针灸

The creative viewpoint of -, the master of Zhejiang school of Chinese medicine is introduced regarding the theories of acupuncture-moxibustion and acupoints. It is stated by master that the five-tissue needling methods are applicable not only for physical disorders, but also for disorders. Of these methods, the nearby bone needling method presents an instructive significance in treatment of pain disorder. The "reinforcing in the upper and reducing in the lower" needling method supplements the reinforcing and reducing theory of acupuncture. Master has put forward the theory of flexible selection of acupoint, the phenomenon of acupoint groups and the application of transverse acupoint composition, as well as the measures for intensifying needling induction, promoting regulation of acupuncture and improving clinical effect. Besides, the seven Chinese characters are used to summarize acupoint composition, meaning "main point, supplementary point, nearby point, corresponding point, back- point, front- point and extra point" separately. This creative viewpoint provides a clearer and more feasible mode in treatment with acupuncture-moxibustion and is instructive proactively in clinical practice.

Clinical Efficacy Evaluation of Abdominal Acupuncture plus Cervical Curvature Traction for Cervical Spondylosis of Vertebral Artery Type / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of abdominal acupuncture plus cervical curvature traction in treating cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type. Method Eighty patients with cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type were divided by the random number table into two groups, with 40 cases in each group. The treatment group was intervened by abdominal acupuncture plus cervical curvature traction, and the control group was given oral administration of flunarizine. The two groups were compared before and after treatment in terms of clinical symptom score, cervical vertigo symptom and function assessment scale, and hemodynamics, etc. Result Both groups attained significant efficacy, and the total effective rate was 92.5％ in the treatment group, markedly higher than 77.5％ in the control group (P<0.05); the score of cervical spondylosis symptom scale in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group after treatment, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05); after treatment, the evaluations of vertigo, neck-shoulder pain, headache, daily living and work, mental and social adaptation were significantly improved in both groups (P<0.01). Conclusion Abdominal acupuncture plus cervical curvature traction can obviously improve symptoms such as vertigo, neck-shoulder pain, headache, daily living and work, and mental and social adaptation, and boost the blood flow velocity of vertebrobasilar artery in patients with cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type. The achievement of therapeutic efficacy is associated with the improvement of vertebrobasilar blood supply.

Development of Two-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Identification of Extracted Proteins of Rice Leaves: Hydrophilic Interaction-Reversed-phase Approach / 分析化学

A two-dimensional liquid chromatography method was developed for the analysis of rice leaves proteomics based on the coupling of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-reversed-phase liquid chromatography with online tandem mass spectrometry. The influence of pH value of chromatographic mobile phase on the orthogonality of the hydrophilic interaction-reversed-phase two-dimensional liquid chromatography was evaluated by the changes of standard peptide retention. The results indicated that the better orthogonality (R2=0.34113) was achieved from the system with hydrophilic interaction columns(pH 9.3) in the first and C18columns(pH 3.3) in the second LC dimension. Coupled with multiple fraction concatenation strategy,the orthogonality of two-dimensional liquid chromatography was further evaluated in the analysis of complex rice leaf proteins. The results showed that more than 50% of the total peptides were identified less than two times, and the peptides obtained from first-dimension were well distributed across the elution window,indicating that the method showed significant orthogonality in the identification of complex rice leaf proteins. Based on the proteome discoverer software,207345 peptides belonged to 2930 protein clusters were identified.

Metabolic Profiling Analysis of Rice Leaf Based on Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography Combined with Reversed Phase Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry / 分析化学

A metabolic profiling analysis method for metabolomic studies of rice leaf was established based on HSS T3 combined with XBridge Amide Q-TOF LC/MS by comparing the influences of different extraction methods in rice leaves of metabolites. The extraction and separation of rice leaf metabolites using three different methods including methanol-chloroform-water,methanol-chloroform-ammonia,methanol-methyl tert-butyl ether -water and different chromatographic systems were compared by the numbers of peaks, identified metabolites and the metabolic pathways. The results showed that the method of methanol-chloroform-water reached the highest coverage rate of metabolites in rice leaves,and the maximum number of unique metabolites including prephenic acid, luteolin, α-linolenic acid, aconitic acid, gibberellin A12 aldehyde, isovitexin, L-Glutamate were detected. Metabolites with different polarity in rice leaf could be detected by HSS T3 and XBridge Amide. A total of 16 kinds of organic acids, 17 kinds of nucleotides, 21 kinds of amino acids, 66 kinds of fatty acids,11 kinds of phospholipids and 7 kinds of sphingolipids were identified. XBridge Amide had an absolute advantage in detecting phospholipids and sphingolipids. The metabolic pathways involved purine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, arginine metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, phospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism and vitamin B2 synthesis. It showed certain complementarity between the two columns in identifying metabolites and involved the metabolic pathways. The established method is expected to be useful for the metabolomic studies of rice.

Wound natural healing in treatment of tumor-like hypertrophic scar

Abstract: Background: Surgical sutures, wound tension, additional skin incisions and other factors may result in recurrence of tumor-like scar. Objective: To investigate the role of wound natural healing therapy in tumor-like hypertrophic scar. Methods: In this study, tumor-like hypertrophic scars of 47 cases were excised completely and the residual wounds were treated with natural healing. The short-term and long-term effects of treatment were evaluated. Results: All cases were successfully cured by natural healing therapy. The healing time of the maximum wound (80mm × 20mm) and the minimal wound (5mm× 5mm) was 25 days and 7 days respectively. The size of new skin scars ranged from 3mm to 11 mm. Clinical followed-up was performed in 34 cases for 36 months. Among them, no recurrence happened in 31 cases and new scar size ranged from 2mm to 8mm, while local recurrence happened in 3 cases whose scar size were less than 5 mm. Study Limitations: The cure rate of the therapy was 91.2%. Conclusion: The wound natural healing therapy is effective in treating tumor-like hypertrophic scar, which can prevent recurrence and has good cosmetic results.

Predictors for Failure to Mature of Autogenous Arteriovenous Fistulae: Alor Setar Experience

Renal replacement therapy in Malaysia has changed dramatically. In 1980 there were only 59 patients on dialysis. Since then the number of patients has increased exponentially from 4,540 in 1998 to almost 15,000 in 20061. Autogenous Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF) provides an excellent long term hemodialysis access with low rates of infection, thrombosis and is cost effective. Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah is a tertiary hospital situated in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. Vascular Access creation is one of the main services provided by our surgical unit; with an average of 100 patients seen in the vascular access clinic per month. The number of AVF operations has increased from 30 cases in 2001 to 328 in 2007. The reported rates of Primary Fistula Failure (fistula fail to mature) varies from 8% to 53%2,4. Immature fistulae will lead to prolonged dependence on dialysis catheters. This phenomenon is well known to be associated with the risk of infective complications, central venous thrombosis or stenosis and patients’ inconvenience. Numerous studies have reported the predictors of successful fistulae, but are varied in their design, definitions, end points and clinical factors considered 2,3 Preoperative imaging also has been proposed, but their widespread use is generally limited in most of the centres4. Knowing the risk factors for failure will help the surgeon to take the necessary precautions and preventive measures more effectively. The information may help to stratify the patients into various risk groups based on their likelihood to develop fistula failure. Thus, the main objective of this study was to identify clinical risk factors that are related to Failure to Mature (FTM) of autogenous AVF.