[Comparison of therapeutic effect of moxibustion materials from different places and storage periods on knee osteoarthritis].

Osteoarthritis(OA) is a kind of osteoarticular degenerative disease. The most common joint involvement of OA is knee and hip joint. The incidence rate of OA increases with age. Meta analysis shows that moxibustion is superior to other therapies in treating knee osteoarthritis(KOA). In this study, the effects of moxibustion materials from different places of origin(Hubei Qichun, Henan Nanyang, Hunan) and storage periods(5, 3, 1 years) on knee osteoarthritis in rats were compared. The swelling degree of knee joint and the histopathology of knee joint cartilage were measured. The mechanism of moxibustion in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis was discussed from the perspective of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. The results showed that the swelling degree of knee joint in the moxibustion material group of Hubei Qichun and Henan Nanyang was significantly lower than that in the model group, the diffe-rence was statistically significant(P<0.05), and it was better than that in the moxibustion material group of Hunan Province; compared with the model group, the degeneration and pathological change of knee joint cartilage tissue in the moxibustion material group of different origins were alleviated to different degrees, the Mankin's score was significantly reduced, and that in the moxibustion material group of Qichun in Hubei Province and Nanyang in Henan Province was significantly reduced and better than Hunan moxibustion material group. The effect of moxibustion materials with different storage years on the swelling degree of osteoarthritis in rats was the earliest in Qichun 5-year group, and there was significant difference between Qichun 5-year group and model group after 3 days of treatment; the improvement of histopathological changes in Qichun 5-year and 3-year moxibustion materials group was better than that in Qichun 1-year moxibustion materials group. The study on the mechanism of action showed that moxibustion materials from different places could reduce the mRNA expression of ß-catenin, BMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9 and MMP-13 genes in knee cartilage, suggesting that moxibustion could inhibit cartilage base by regulating Wnt/ß-catenin signal pathway. It may be one of the mechanisms of moxibustion in the treatment of OA.

[Thermodynamic characteristics of moxa floss and its biological effects and therapeutic mechanism on osteoarthritis rats].

Moxa floss is the main material of moxibustion, which plays a therapeutic role through the thermal effect of combustion. In this paper, TG/DSC thermal analysis method was used to study the characteristic parameters of combustion heat of moxa floss produced in Qichun, and the thermal therapeutic effect and mechanism of moxibustion were studied through moxibustion OA animal model. The results show that the combustion process of moxa floss can be divided into three stages: drying, combustion oxidation and carbonization, and ash burnout. The combustion properties of moxa floss are between herbaceous and woody, and tend to be woody, with flammable, slow and lasting combustion characteristics. Moxibustion can relieve the pathological state of knee joint synovium to a certain extent, reduce knee joint swelling and blood stasis in OA rats, reduce interstitial edema, and improve local inflammation. The mechanism and target point of moxibustion treatment for OA may be up-regulating TRPM3 gene to activate ion channels, affecting calcium metabolism and reducing OA swelling degree; down-regulation of GAPDH affects glucose metabolism of knee synovial cells and mediates anti-inflammatory effect. Down-regulation of pain-related gene MMP24 is helpful to relieve OA pain. Up-regulation of CTNNB1 activates Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway and affects differentiation and regeneration of OA chondrocytes. This study reveals the pyrolysis characteristics of moxa floss for the first time and discusses the biological effect and possible mechanism of moxibustion heat, providing new ideas for the quality evaluation of moxa floss and the mechanism of moxibustion therapy.

[OAS1 gene polymorphism is associated with central nervous system involvement in children with enterovirus 71 infection].

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association between OAS1 gene polymorphism and susceptibility to central nervous system (CNS) involvement of enterovirus (EV)71 infection. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted among 180 children with EV71 infection, including 72 with mild infections without any complications and 108 with severe infections and CNS involvement; 201 children undergoing routine physical examination served as the healthy controls. For all the participants, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at OAS1 rs2660 and rs1131454 were analyzed using SNPscan multiple SNP typing methods. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the case and control groups in genotype or allele distributions of rs2660 and rs1131454. OAS1 rs2660 polymorphism was significantly different between the children with CNS involvement and those with mild EV71 infection, and the genotype AG frequency was higher and the genotype GG frequency was lower in children with CNS involvement. No significant difference was found in the distribution of genotypes or alleles of rs1131454 between the children with CNS involvement and those with mild EV71 infection. CONCLUSIONS: OAS1 gene rs2660 and rs1131454 SNPs are not associated with the susceptibility to or CNS involvement of EV71 infection, but OAS1 rs2660 SNPs are significantly correlated with the susceptibility to CNS involvement in EV71 infection. Children carrying OAS1 rs2660 AG genotype are more likely to have CNS involvement after EV71 infection.