[Effect of Shirexiao waist hot-compress on the expressions of Th17/Treg-specific factors in the mouse model of experimental autoimmune prostatitis with damp heat syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of waist hot-compress with the Shirexiao (SRX) pad on the expressions of Th17/Treg-specific factors in the prostatic tissue of the mouse model of experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) with damp heat syndrome, and explore its possible action mechanisms. METHODS: Twenty healthy male mice were included as normal controls and another 100 chosen for establishing the model of EAP with damp heat syndrome by subcutaneous injection of purified prostate protein solution from the Wistar rat and Freund's complete adjuvant using the TCM method. The model mice were randomly divided into five groups: model control, matrix, and low-, medium- and high-dose SRX. After chemical removal of the hair at lumbar vertebrae 1－3, the animals of the low-, medium- and high-dose SRX groups were treated with the SRX pad heated to 45℃ and externally applied to the non-hair area, qd, bid, and tid, respectively, 10 minutes each time, those of the matrix group with the vaseline pad, and those of the normal and model control groups with the saline pad. After 4 weeks of continuous treatment, all the mice were sacrificed for determination of the protein and mRNA expressions of RORγt and Foxp3 in the prostate tissue by Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: The symptoms, signs and pathological changes of the EAP model mice were similar to the manifestations of chronic prostatitis. After intervention, the protein and mRNA expressions of Foxp3 were significantly down-regulated while those of RORγt markedly up-regulated in the EAP model group as compared with the normal control (P <0.05). In comparison with the model controls, the protein and mRNA expressions of RORγt were remarkably decreased in the medium- and high-dose SRX groups (P <0.05), that of the Foxp3 protein was markedly increased in the high-dose group (P <0.05), while that of Foxp3 mRNA exhibited no statistically significant difference in the low-, medium- or high-dose groups (P >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The Shirexiao waist hot-compress therapy plays a positive role in the treatment of autoimmune prostatitis with damp heat syndrome by reducing the expression of RORγt, inhibiting the differentiation of Th17 and thus checking the differentiation imbalance of Th17/Treg.

[The design of plantar pressure distribution monitoring system and preliminary clinical application].

Plantar pressure distribution can reflect the force of several key points on foot while standing and walking. A comprehensive understanding of the plantar pressure distribution makes great sense in the following aspects: the understanding of the normal foot biomechanics and function, clinical diagnosis, measurement of disease extent, postoperative efficacy evaluation, and rehabilitation research. A simple plantar pressure measurement device was designed in this study. This paper uses FlexiForce flexible sensor to pickup plantar pressure signal and USB A/D board to do data acquisition. The data are transferred into a laptop and processed by a VB-based software which can display, remember and replay the data. We chose patients with hallux valgus and normal people to measure the pressure distribution and make contrast analysis of plantar pressure with this device. It can be concluded that people with hallux valgus have higher pressure on the second metatarsophalangeal joint and the distribution move outward. The plantar pressure of patients postoperative could be greatly improved compared to the preoperative. The function of this device has been confirmed.