[The estrogen-like and antioxidant effects of pilose antler blood wine in female rats with ovariectomy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether pilose antler blood wine has the effects of estrogen-like activity and antioxidant in the ovariectomized (OVX) female rats. METHODS: The rat model of oxidative stress was established by ovariectomy. The female rats were divided into 6 groups: normal control group, OVX group, base wine group, and 3 pilose antler blood wine treated OVX groups (low, medium and high dose of wine at a dose of 4.5 g/kg, 9.1 g/kg and 13.6 g/kg respectively). After the feeding of pilose antler blood wine (saline in control and OVX group) for 31 days, the serum estrodial level, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), and the content of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) were measured. RESULTS: The one month treatment of daily drink of pilose antler blood wine could significantly promote the serum estrodial level in OVX rats (P < 0.05). Either low or medium dose could inhibit the decrease of serum SOD activity and the increase of MDA content in OVX rats, and the inhibition effects were more obvious in low dose group compared with high dose group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The daily drink of pilose antler blood wine showed the effects on increasing estrodial level and antioxidation in OVX rats.

Bladder management of patients with spinal cord injuries sustained in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.

This study's aim is provide an overview of the patients who suffered spinal cord injury (SCI) after the magnitude 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, including each patient's demographic and epidemiological characteristics, bladder management status, and quality of life (QOL). We also assessed the relationships between bladder management methods, symptomatic urinary tract infection (SUTI), and QOL. Two years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, a cross-sectional face-to-face survey was conducted on 180 patients with SCI. A self-administered questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF assessment were used to assess injury-related information, bladder management methods, and SUTI. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test and analysis of variance. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. This study found that a male-to-female ratio of approximately 1.2:1, including 98 (54.4%) male patients and 82 (45.6%) female patients. Thoracic-level injuries were seen in 82 patients (45.56%), 60 (33.33%) patients had lumbar-level injuries, 18 (8.33%) patients had thoracolumbar-level injuries, and a small number of patients had cervical- or sacral-level injuries. Sixty-two patients (34.44%) demonstrated normal voiding, 65 (36.11%) required manually assisted voiding, 29 (16.11%) required catheterization, and 24 (13.33%) used aurine-collecting apparatus. The prevalence of SUTI was 43.89%. Patients who emptied their bladder via manually assisted voiding, catheterization, or with the use of a urine-collecting apparatus demonstrated higher rates of SUTI compared with patients who voided normally (p < 0.05); the patients who required catheterization had higher rates of SUTI compared with patients who required manually assisted voiding (p < 0.05). When manually assisted voiding and catheterization were compared with the use a urine-collecting apparatus, no statistically significant differences were observed in terms of the risk of developing SUTI. The patients in this study demonstrated low scores on the WHOQOL-BREF physical domain (11.61 ± 3.80), psychological domain (10.11 ± 3.63), social domain (11.46 ± 2.84), and environmental domain (11.86 ± 2.51). The patients who reported normal voiding also demonstrated the best QOL in terms of physical, psychological, and social component scores (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the percentage of women in this study is higher than that reported in other studies on traumatic causes of SCI. Patients who suffered SCI following the Wenchuan earthquake demonstrate poor bladder management status and are unable to take advantage of urodynamic testing that is used to monitor the functional state of the bladder. This study's findings indicate that bladder management methods influence the rate of SUTI and the QOL of patients with SCI. Caring for SCI patients following a disaster requires comprehensive long-term planning. Bladder management of patients with SCI is essential for improving the QOL of these patients.