Qihuang needle therapy in senile cervical spondylotic radiculopathy.

Background: Neurogenic cervical spondylosis [cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR)] accounts for ~50-60% of all types of cervical spondylosis, and its incidence is the highest among all types of cervical spondylosis. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of the Qihuang needle in the treatment of senile cervical radiculopathy. Methods: A total of 55 elderly patients with neurogenic cervical spondylosis were randomly divided into the general acupuncture group (27 cases) and the Qihuang acupuncture group (28 cases). The treatment given to these patients lasted for three sessions. The VAS scores and the Tanaka Yasuhisa Scale scores were compared before the treatment, after the first treatment, after the first session, and at the end of the session. Results: The basic data of the two groups before the treatment showed no difference. The VAS scores in the mackerel acupuncture group decreased significantly, whereas in the Tanaka Kangjiu Scale scores, the efficiency rates of the first and second courses of treatment increased significantly. Conclusion: The Qihuang needle therapy is recommended for the treatment of cervical spondylosis of the nerve root type. The said therapy is characterized by selection of fewer acupoints, a quick operation time, and no needle retention.

Clinical Application Value of Multimedia Education and Nursing Intervention in a Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography.

To explore the application value of multimedia education and nursing intervention in a coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). A total of 120 patients who underwent a 256-slice spiral CCTA examination in our hospital from April 2019 to April 2020 were selected. Patients were divided into two groups of 60 patients each, that is, the control group and the observation group, using a random number table method. The control group received traditional education before an examination, and patients were given routine breathing training. The observation group was given multimedia education and nursing intervention. The heart rate (HR), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and respiratory rate in the two groups were observed. The psychological status, imaging quality, and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. The HR, DBP, SBP, and respiratory rate of the observation group were all lower compared to those in control group, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Following multimedia education and nursing intervention, the anxiety and depression scores of patients in the observation group were considerably lower compared with those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Observation group image quality I level higher than the control group, and the proportion of patients with the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The proportion of grade II to IV patients was lower in the observation group than in the control group; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). There was a significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (χ2, p = .031). For patients undergoing a CCTA examination, multimedia education and nursing intervention can effectively improve their immediate psychological state, control their heart rate, and blood pressure before the examination, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions and improve imaging quality, thereby improving the overall reliability of a clinical diagnosis.

Intestinal microbiota composition in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: establishment of bacterial and archaeal communities analyses.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidences have indicated that the composition of gut microbiota was significantly influenced by central nervous system diseases. The digestion and metabolism disturbances of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) might be strongly associated with ALS; however, this has rarely been evaluated in these populations. This study was to evaluate bacterial and archaeal composition of gut flora and the corresponding metabolism performance of these micro-organisms in fecal samples of patients with ALS. METHODS: A comparative study was performed on the intestinal microbiota from eight patients with ALS and eight healthy individuals at Huadong Hospital during November 2017 to April 2018; meanwhile, the metabolite concentrations of human endotoxin, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), NO2-N/NO3-N, and γ-aminobutyric acid were also evaluated by spectrophotometry methods. The correlations between intestinal microbiota and metabolite concentration were compared between the two groups using one-way analysis of variance; the relative abundance of beneficial and harmful micro-organisms in fecal samples was also analyzed. RESULTS: In general, the richness and evenness of bacterial and archaeal communities of healthy individuals were healthier than that of patients with ALS. The phylum Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, genus Methanobrevibacter showed an enhancive tendency in patients with ALS, whereas the relative abundance of beneficial micro-organisms (genera Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides) presented a significant decrease tendency in patients with ALS. In addition, the average concentrations of human endotoxin, SCFA, NO2-N/NO3-N, and γ-aminobutyric acid in patients with ALS and healthy individuals were 64.2 vs. 65.3 EU/mL, 57.5 vs. 55.3 µg/mL, 5.7 vs. 5.3 ng/mL, and 6.1 vs. 5.4 µmol/L, respectively, indicating that the digestion and metabolism functions of gastrointestinal tract of patients might decline with this disease. CONCLUSIONS: The relative abundance of beneficial and harmful micro-organisms respectively showed decrease and increase tendency in patients with ALS.

PKCßII-induced upregulation of PGP9.5 and VEGF in postoperative persistent pain in rats.

PURPOSE: Postoperative pain is a common clinical problem. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of protein kinase C ßII (PKCßII) in the progression of postoperative pain following skin/muscle incision and retraction (SMIR) surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SMIR postoperative pain model was established in rats, akin to a clinical procedure. The expression level and location of p-PKCßII were observed in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) or spinal cord from SMIR-operated rats by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. In addition, the effects of PKCßII on the expression of protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5) or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were assessed by using pharmacological activator and inhibitor of PKCßII. Moreover, mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) was assessed before or after SMIR-operated rats were treated with inhibitor or activator of PKCßII. RESULTS: The expression of PKCßII in DRG and spinal cord was significantly increased after SMIR surgery (P < 0.001, P < 0.01) and expression of PKCßII was located in the neurons of the spinal cord, and magnocellular neurons, non-peptide neurons, and peptide neurons in DRG. Besides, compared with skin/muscle incision group, retraction caused a marked increase in the expression of PKCßII and a significant decrease of MWT (P < 0.001, P < 0.05). The activator of PKCßII greatly increased the expression of PGP9.5 and VEGF (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) and enhanced MWT (P < 0.001), while inhibitor of PKCßII decreased the expression of PGP9.5 and VEGF and attenuated MWT (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Activation of PKCßII signaling pathways might be an important mechanism in the progression of postoperative pain.

Brain glucose metabolism and neuropsychological test in patients with mild cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the features of regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRglc) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by positron emission-tomography and its relationship with neuropsychological test. METHODS: Positron emission tomography, mini-mental state examination and Wechsler memory scale were applied in 10 patients with MCI and 10 healthy volunteers as the control group. RESULTS: Scores of mini-mental state examination and Wechsler memory scale in MCI patients were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.01). rCMRglc of the left orbital gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus and right putamen was lower in the MCI group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis in the MCI group indicated that rCMRglc of many brain regions such as the orbital gyrus, putamen, left hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, left amygdaloid body, precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and medial occipitotemporal gyrus in MCI patients, were correlated negatively with age; while the rCMRglc of many parts of the brain such as the left putamen, temporal lobe, anterior cingulate gyrus, left insular lobe, amygdaloid body, precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus and medial occipitotemporal gyrus were correlated positively with mini-mental state examination; and rCMRglc of the left putamen, temporal lobe, left insular lobe, precentral gyrus and postcentral gyrus were correlated positively with Wechsler memory scale. The right putamen, the right inferior temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus, and left postcentral gyrus were correlated positively with the length of education. However, only rCMRglc of the left amygdaloid body were correlated positively with gender. CONCLUSION: The rCMRglc was lower in the orbital gyrus and putamen of MCI patients. Their rCMRglc were correlated with their cognitive impairment severity, age, length of education and sex.

[The comparison of the regional cerebral metabolism rate of glucose in Alzheimer's disease with mild cognitive impairment].

OBJECTIVE: To study the feature of regional cerebral metabolism rate of glucose (rCMRglc) of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by positron emission tomography (PET) and the relationship between MCI and AD. METHODS: 13 AD patients, 10 MCI patients and 10 health volunteers as a control group (HC) were underwent 18F-fluoro deoxyglucose (18F-FDG)-PET scanning. RESULTS: (1) There was lightly decreasing of radioactivity of temporal lobe and parietal lobe in HC group, a little severer decrease in MCI group, markedly decrease of radioactivity of temporal lobe, parietal lobe and frontal lobe in AD group examined by naked-eye. (2) The rCMRglc of many parts of brain such as frontal lobe, including superior, middle and inferior frontal gyrus, orbital gyrus and rectus gyrus, temporal lobe, including superior, middle and inferior temporal gyrus, parietal lobe, including superior parietal lobe, supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus, limbic system, including anterior cingulate gyrus, insular lobe, basal ganglions, including thalamus, caudate nucleus and amygdaloid nucleus decreased significantly in AD group, compared to MCI and HC groups (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). (3) The rCMRglc of many parts of brain such as frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, limbic system, and basal ganglions in MCI group was lower than that in HC group, but not significantly (p > 0.05). Only that of the left caudate nucleus in MCI decreased significantly compared to that in HC group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Decreasing of rCMRglc of parietal lobe is sensitive in evaluating cognitive function, next one is temporal lobe, and then frontal lobe. The rCMRglc of frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, limbic system, and basal ganglions decreasing markedly indicates that global function decayed in AD patients. While the rCMRglc of those parts in MCI patients' brain decreases mildly. This indicates that MCI is the middle state of AD and HC. Decreasing of rCMRglc of the left caudate nucleus has a certain role in diagnosis of MCI.