Effect of moxibustion on colonic mucosal injury and expression of CGRP positive nerve fibers of distal colonic mucosa in ulcerative colitis mice / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of moxibustion at "Zusanli" (ST 36) on distal, middle and proximal colonic mucosal injury and expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) positive nerve fibers of distal colonic mucosa in ulcerative colitis (UC) mice at different time points.@*METHODS@#A total of 51 C57BL/6N mice were randomized into a 7-day control group (@*RESULTS@#Mucosal injury can be observed in mice after modeling, displaying epithelial layer disappearance, abnormal crypt structure or crypt disappearance. Compared with the 7-day control group, colon length was shortened (@*CONCLUSION@#Moxibustion at "Zusanli" (ST 36) can reduce the expressions of positive nerve fibers of colonic mucosa and CGRP positive nerve fibers of distal colonic mucosa, thus, improve the colonic mucosal injury.

Aberrant expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide and its correlation with prognosis in severe childhood pneumonia

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the serum levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and the prognosis of pediatric patients with severe pneumonia. METHODS: Children diagnosed with severe pneumonia (n=76) were stratified into the survival (n=58) and non-survival groups (n=18) according to their 28-day survival status and into the non-risk (n=51), risk (n=17) and high-risk (n=8) categories based on the pediatric critical illness score (PCIS). Demographic data and laboratory results were collected. Serum CGRP levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated to determine the cutoff score for high CGRP levels. RESULTS: Serum CGRP levels were significantly higher in the survival group than in the non-survival group and were significantly higher in the non-risk group than in the risk and high-risk groups. The ROC curve for the prognostic potential of CGRP yielded a significant area under the curve (AUC) value with considerable sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that CGRP downregulation might be a diagnostic marker that predicts the prognosis and survival of children with severe pneumonia.