Association between intervertebral disc degeneration and disturbances of blood supply to the vertebrae

Low back pain is a common public health problem in western industrialized societies and the world as well.Studies indicate that the prevalence rate ranges to 35%, with around 10% of patients from 12% becoming chronically disabled. It also places an enormous economic burden on society. Although the exact cause of low back pain has yet to be defined, intervertebral disc degeneration is considered a major source of it. Since patients with degenerative discs are often asymptomatic, the mechanisms of it are still unclear.     

更好地报告针刺临床试验中的干预措施

“针刺临床试验干预措施报告的标准”(STandardsfor Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials ofAcupuncture,STRICTA)为作者报告针刺临床试验提供指南。STRICTA旨在帮助临床试验的作者明晰地报告针刺临床试验中所提供的治疗的特定组成部分。我们需要从已发表的试验报告中得到有关干预措施的完整、准确而又透明的信息,从而更好地解释并严格评价其研究结果。CONSORT(Consolidated Standards of ReportingTrials,临床试验报告的统一标准)工作组已着手应对发表的临床试验报告质量低下的问题。CONSORT声明于1996年首次发表[1],之后于2001年[2]和2010年[3]作了修订,该声明为提高平行对照随机临床试验的报告质量制定了指南。最近的修订版即CONSORT2010,包括一份含25项条目的对照检查清单和一张流程图,以及对全部条目的解释和良好报告的实例[3,4]。清单中的条目5涉及干预措施的报告质量。在西医领域中,临床试验干预措施的报告存在诸多问题并已引起注意。有一项研究对这类临床试验报告作了仔细审读,发现...     

Diagnosis and treatment of epistaxis caused by non-traumatic pseudoaneurysms of carotid artery

Epistaxis remains one of the most common otolaryngology emergencies. Severe epistaxis may be caused by internal carotid artery （ICA） pseudoaneurysm or cavernous fistula, which is clinically rare but life threatening if it is not diagnosed and treated timely. Most ICA pseudoaneurysms are mainly caused by trauma with few other causes. From January 1998 to December 2005, a total of 8 cases with non-traumatic carotid artery pseudoaneurysm were correctly diagnosed through digital subtraction angiography （DSA） in Ganzhou People＇s Hospital. The patients had suffered from serious nose bleeding repeatedly and had been resistant to routine treatments.     

Antiviral therapy for ＂difficult-to-treat＂ hepatitis C virus-infected patients

Objective To review the updated research on direct antiviral agents （DAAs）-including regimens for hepatitis C virus （HCV）,and focus on ＂difficult-to-treat＂ HCV-infected patients.Data sources The literature concerning DAAs and hepatitis C cited in this review was collected from PubMed and Google Scholar databases published in English up to July 2013.Study selection Data from published articles regarding HCV and DAAs in clinical trials and in clinical use were identified and reviewed.Results It was recognized that some ＂difficult-to-treat＂ patients would still exist,even though stronger treatments using such as DAAs,including telaprevir and boceprevir,which lead to higher sustained virological response rates,are available.Such patients include those with advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis,elderly persons,children,HCV-human immunodeficiency virus co-infected patients,HCV-infected recipients,and so on.Conclusions Certain ＂difficult-to-treat＂ patients would still exist,even though stronger treatment is available.Although evidence from clinical trials is still lacking,interferon-sparing regimens could have stronger effects for eradicating HCV in such cases.     

WHO西太区与世界中医药学会联合会中医名词术语国际标准比较研究：八纲辨证（三）

The Chinese characters 寒 and 热, 虚, and 实 are quite common concepts in Chinese language. However in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）, they are used as four principles in syndrome differentiation. In terms of translation, 寒 and 热 are very easy to understand and can be simply translated as ＂cold＂ and ＂heat＂. But the transla- tion of 虚 and 实 used to be a problem. For a quite long time in translation practice,     

Saffron （Crocus sativus L.） and major depressive disorder： a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Due to safety concerns and side effects of many antidepressant medications, herbal psychopharmacology research has increased, and herbal remedies are becoming increasingly popular as alternatives to prescribed medications for the treatment of major depressive disorder （MDD）. Of these, accumulating trials reveal positive effects of the spice saffron （Crocus sativus L.） for the treatment of depression. A comprehensive and statistical review of the clinical trials examining the effects of saffron for treatment of MDD is warranted. OBJECTIVE： The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials examining the effects of saffron supplementation on symptoms of depression among participants with MDD. SEARCH STRATEGY： We conducted electronic and non-electronic searches to identify all relevant randomized, double-blind controlled trials. Reference lists of all retrieved articles were searched for relevant studies. INCLUSION CRITERIA： The criteria for study selection included the following： （1） adults （aged 18 and older） with symptoms of depression, （2） randomized controlled trial, （3） effects of saffron supplementation on depressive symptoms examined, and （4） study had either a placebo control or antidepressant comparison group. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS： Using random effects modeling procedures, we calculated weighted mean effect sizes separately for the saffron supplementation vs placebo control groups, and for the saffron supplementation vs antidepressant groups. The methodological quality of all studies was assessed using the Jadad score. The computer software Comprehensive Meta- analysis 2 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS： Based on our pre-specified criteria, five randomized controlled trials （n = 2 placebo controlled trials, n = 3 antidepressant controlled trials） were included in our review. A large effect size was found for saffron supplementation vs placebo control in treating depressive symptoms （M ES = 1.62, P 〈 0.001）, revealing that saffron supplementation significantly reduced depression symptoms compared to the placebo control. A null effect size was evidenced between saffron supplementation and the antidepressant groups （M ES = -0.15） indicating that both treatments were similarly effective in reducing depression symptoms. The mean Jadad score was 5 indicating high quality of trials. CONCLUSION： Findings from clinical trials conducted to date indicate that saffron supplementation can improve symptoms of depression in adults with MDD. Larger clinical trials, conducted by research teams outside of Iran, with long-term follow-ups are needed before firm conclusions can be made regarding saffron＇s efficacy and safety for treating depressive symptoms.     

Relevance of muscle biopsy for diagnosing multifocal motor neuropathy

Multifocal motor neuropathy （MMN） is a rare,.focal,inflammatory,demyelinating disease of the peripheral nerves with pure motor involvementJ MMN is clinically characterized by slowly progressive,asymmetric,distal,upper limb predominant weakness,in the absence of sensory disturbances） Weakness is usually multifocal and connected to a distinct motor nerve,such as the musculocutaneous nerve resulting in biceps weakness,the posterior interosseus nerve resulting in finger drop,the median,ulnar,or radial nerve resulting in dexterity problems or grip weakness,or the peroneal nerve resulting in a foot drop.Onset of clinical manifestations is between 20 and 50 years of age.The prevalence of MMN is reported as 1-2 per 100 000.2 MMN is three times more frequent in men as compared to women.     

Effects of Iron on Growth and Intracellular Chemical Contents of Microcystis aeruginosa

Objective To investigate the effect of iron on the growth, physiology and photosynthesis of cyanobacteria. Methods A gradient of iron concentrations was employed to investigate the growth, photo-pigments （chlorophyll A and phycocyanin）, and cell chemical contents （C, N, P） of Microcystis aeruginosa in response to different iron additions. Results The specific growth rate during the exponential growth phase, as well as the cell chlorophyll A and the phycocyanin content, was limited by iron below 12.3μmol Fe.L^-1. The growth was inhibited when the iron concentration was at 24.6 μmol Fe.L^-1. The cell chlorophyll A and the phycocyanin content were saturated when the iron concentration was above 12.3μmol Fe.L^-1 and declined slightly at 24.6 μmol Fe.L^-1. At a low iron concentration （about 6.15 μmol Fe-L^-1 and less）, the cell nitrogen and carbohydrate content were iron limited, and the variation of the cell phosphorus content was similar to that of the nitrogen and carbohydrate, with a transition point of 12.3 μmol Fe.L^-1. Conclusion The variation ofcynobacteria growth is synchronous with that of the photo-pigments or the cell chemical content, and there exist relationships among photosynthesis, growth and internal chemical content, which could be useful for the growth estimation from the cell characteristics.     

高维列联表资料的统计分析与SAS软件实现（六）

非条件logistic回归分析方法的主要算法是采用最大似然法对参数进行估计。最大似然法在大样本前提下进行参数估计是非常有效的,但当处理样本量小的数据,特别是按多个定性变量进行分层且每一层中样本量很小时,     

痘苗病毒天坛株的减毒与其作为疫苗载体研究进展

1痘苗病毒天坛株的历史天花是人类历史上最可怕的传染病之一。天花由天花病毒（variola virus）引起,人是该病毒的惟一宿主。人感染天花病毒后的死亡率达到30%~40%[1]。世界上公认的对天花最早的准确记录来自中国,晋代药学家葛洪于公元430年左右,在《肘后备急方》中对天花有清楚的描述[1]。     

WHO西太区与世界中医药学会联合会中医名词术语国际标准比较研究:津液辨证(英文)

Intraditional Chinese medicine (TCM),the so-called津液refers to all the fluid and liquid flowingand maintaining inside the human body.In Chineselanguage,津液is a phrase composed of twoChinese characters which describes two differentkinds of fluid or liquid in the human body .According to the theory of TCM,津refers to thepart of fluid that is thin in texture and flowss moothly inside the body while液refers to thepart of fluid that is thick in texture and mainlymaintains in the joints of the body to nourish andlubr...     

Comparison in vitro permeation of curcumin from topical gels by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Objective： To fred a more effective method of topical transdermal delivery of curcumin. Methods： We prepared curcumin carbopol （CRB） 974P and hydroxypropylcellulose （HPC） gel formulations containing menthol or Azone as permeation enhancers In this study, negative mode electrospray ionization and a triple quadruple LC/MS/MS instrument operated in multiple reaction mode was used for curcumin detection. The assay was linear over a concentration range of 10 ng/mL to 400 ng/mL for curcumin （average R2 = 0.997 2）. Excised nude mouse dorsal side skin was used in an in vitro skirt permeation study performed using the method of Franz. Results： Our results showed that all of the topical gel formulations we developed were free from skin irritation. The percutaneous flux and enhancement ratio of curcumin across nude mouse epidermis were enhanced markedly by the addition of menthol or Azone to both types of gel formulations. We found that the HPC gels containing quantities of Azone showed an enhanced permeation effect as compared to gels containing menthol. In the case of HPC gels containing Azone, the increase in permeability was significant （P〈0.05） as compared to the gels containing menthol. Conclusion： Azone shows a significantly more remarkable permeation effect than menthol. As such, this novel delivery strategy offers significant promise and is worthy of further exploration in attempts to enhance the medicinal application of curcumin     

The role of central nervous system on hypoglycemia and the feasibility of the brain theory in traditional Chinese medicine on treatment of diabetes mellitus

The central nervous system （CNS） plays a key regulatory role in glucose homeostasis. In particular, the brain is important in initiating and coordinating protective counterregulatory responses when blood glucose levels fall. This may due to the metabolic dependency of the CNS on glucose, and protection of food supply to the brain. In healthy subjects, blood glucose is normally maintained within a relatively narrow range. Hypoglycemia in diabetic patients can increase the risk of complications, such as heart disease and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The clinical research finds that the use of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a positive effect on the treatment of hypoglycemia. Here the authors reviewed the current understanding of sensing and counterregulatory responses to hypoglycemia, and discuss combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine and the theory of iatrogenic hypoglycemia in diabetes treatment. Furthermore, the authors clarify the feasibility of treating hypoglycemia on the basis of TCM theory and CNS and have an insight on its clinical practice.     

基于SUV的PET对 4周期化疗后的弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤患者预后的评估

在过去的十来年中,18氟脱氧葡萄糖（fluorodeoxyglucose,FDG）PET已经成为多种淋巴瘤疗效评价的有力工具,它主要通过视觉分析来评估疗效。修订后的判读标准适合评估化疗结束后的疗效。而不适用于化疗期间的疗效评价。     

Large and giant medial sphenoid wing meningiomas involving vascular structures: clinical features and management experience in 53 patients

Background Large and giant medial sphenoid wing meningiomas that are located deeply in the skull base where they are closely bounded by cavernous sinus,optic nerve,and internal carotid artery make the gross resection hard to achieve.Also,this kind of meningiomas is often accompanied by a series of severe complications.Therefore,it was regarded as a formidable challenge to even the most experienced neurosurgeons.This study aimed to investigate the clinical features and management experience of patients with large and giant medial sphenoid wing meningiomas.Methods In this study,53 patients （33 female and 20 male,mean age of 47.5 years） with large and giant medial sphenoid wing meningiomas were treated surgically between April 2004 to March 2012,with their clinical features analyzed,management experience collected,and treatment results investigated retrospectively.Results In this study,gross total resection （Simpson Ⅰ and Ⅱ） was applied in 44 patients （83％）.Fifty-three patients had accepted the routine computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging scan as postoperative neuroradiological evaluation.Their performance showed surgical complications of vascular lesions and helped us evaluate patients＇ conditions,respectively.Meanwhile,the drugs resisting cerebral angiospasm,such as Nimodipine,were infused in every postoperative patient through vein as routine.As a result,11 patients （21％） were found to have secondary injury of cranial nerves Ⅱ,Ⅲ,and Ⅳ,and nine patients got recovered during the long-term observing follow-up period.Temporary surgical complications of vascular lesions occurred after surgery,such as cerebral angiospasm,ischemia,and edema;24 patients （45％） appeared to have infarction and dyskinesia of limbs.Overall,visual ability was improved in 41 patients （77％）.No patient died during the process.Conclusions Microsurgical treatment may be the most effective method for the large and giant medial sphenoid wing meningiomas.The surgical strategy should focus on survival and postoperative living quality.     

Effect of artificial colloids on blood coagulation during shock stage of severe burn injury

Background There are controversies about the use of artificial colloids.This research was aimed to determine the effect of various artificial colloids on blood coagulation in the shock stage of severe ...     

Protective effect of autophagy inhibition on ischemia-reperfusioninduced injury of N2a cells

Autophagy is a conserved and programmed catabolic process that degrades damaged pro- teins and organelles. But the underlying mechanism and functions of autophagy in the ische- mia-reperfusion （IR）-induced injury are unknown. In this study, we employed simulated IR of N2a cells as an in vitro model of IR injury to the neurons and monitored autophagic processes. It was found that the levels of Beclin-1 （a key molecule of autophay complex, Beclin-1/elass III PI3K） and LC-3 II （an autophagy marker） were remarkably increased with time during the process of ischemia and the process of reperfusion after 90 min of ischemia, while the protein kinases pTOS6K and roTOR which are involved in autophagy regulation showed delayed inactivation after reperfusion. Admini- stration of 3-methyladenine （3MA）, an inhibitor of class III PI3K, abolished autophagy during reper- fusion, while employment of rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTORC1 （normally inducing autophagy）, surprisingly weakened the induction of autophagy during reperfusion. Analyses of mitochondria function by relative cell viability demonstrated that autophagy inhibition by 3-MA attenuated the de- cline of mitochondria function during reperfusion. Our data demonstrated that there were two distinct dynamic patterns of autophagy during IR-induced N2a injury, Beclin-1/class III PI3K com- plex-dependent and mTORCl-dependent. Inhibition of over-autophagy improved cell survival. These suggest that targeting autophagy therapy will be a novel strategy to control IR-induced neuronal damage.