Clinical Observation on Physiological and Psychological Effects of Eight-Section Brocade on Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Objective:To observe the physiological and psychological changing of type 2 diabetic patients after practicing Eight-Section Brocade,to evaluate the clinical curative effect,and to provide a safe and effective self-regulating method for type 2 diabetic Patients.Methods:This study is a random controlled trial,the 54 type 2 diabetic patients were randomly assigned into the intervention and the control group.The intervention group was given a 2-month period of Eight-Section Brocade practice,then a comparison between groups was made.The intervention group continued to do Eight-Section Brocade practice for 2 months,so it was 4 months' intervention all together for this group.and then a comparison within the intervention group was made.Results:There was significant difierence 4 months later on HbAlc in the intervention group (P<0.05).There was significant difference between the intervention and control groups on obsessive-compulsive,depression,anxiety and hostility scores after 2 months' practice(P<0.05).There was significant difference between 2 and 4 months' practice on hostilities scores within the intervention group P<0.05).Conclusions:As an important part of the traditional Chinese medicine,Eight-section Brocade has physiological and psychological effects on type 2 Diabetic Patients.     

Vasoactive substances in the circulation of the pregnant dog during acute fetal ischemia

Uterine venous blood from anesthetized dogs in late pregnancy was assayed for vasoactive substances during acute uterine ischemia by means of the blood-bathed bioassay technique. Short periods of reduction of uterine perfusion pressure to 60 mm. Hg or less caused the liberation into the maternal circulation of two vasoactive materials. One of these materials resembled angiotensin II; the other was an unidentified relaxatory factor. These substances were not released during reduction of uterine perfusion pressure after ligation of all umbilical cords. The results are compatible with a role for vasoactive materials of fetal origin in maternal circulatory disorders associated with fetal insufficiency.     

Effects of beta receptor stimulation and blockade on A-V nodal and bundle branch conduction in the canine heart

Thirty-five mongrel dogs were placed on total cardiopulmonary bypass, and surface electrograms were recorded from the right atrium, bundle of His and both bundle branches. The effects of sympathetic cardiac nerve stimulation and beta adrenergic blocking agents on conduction velocity in the atrioventricular (A-V) node and major bundle branches were evaluated. Although right and left stellate ganglion stimulation decreased A-V nodal conduction time (26 and 31 percent, respectively), neither procedure had any effect on conduction time in either the right or left bundle branches. Beta adrenergic blockade was then produced using either L-propranolol (0.5 to 1 mg/kg) or practolol (2 to 4 mg/kg). Blockade of existing sympathetic tone consistently produced increases in A-V nodal conduction time but had no effect on conduction times in the bundle branches. Additional doses of both beta adrenergic blocking agents were given after beta receptor blockade to assess any direct effects on conduction. Additional doses of practolol (1 to 2 mg/kg per dose) had no further effect on A-V nodal conduction time. Additional doses of L-propranolol, on the other hand, progressively increased A-V nodal conduction time as far as it could be studied before complete heart block occurred (for example, +34 percent at a dose of 0.75 mg/kg after beta blockade). In contrast, even at the highest doses of propranolol there were no significant increases in bundle branch conduction times. The data support the following conclusions: (1) Propranolol exhibits direct effects on A-V nodal conduction, but practolol does not; (2) the main bundle branches are not responsive to either beta receptor stimulation or blockade; (3) although propranolol directly depresses the A-V node, these effects are much less prominent in the bundle branches. The latter 2 conclusions suggest that the main bundle branches may present some anatomic barrier to propranolol, possess overlapping alternate pathways that conceal the depressant effects of the drug, or possess no beta adrenergic receptors.     

Effects of insulin at two dose levels on gluconeogenesis from alanine in fasting man

We have determined the effect of insulin infused at 1 and 5 mU/kg/min on gluconeogenesis from alanine in 48-hr fasted men. The conversion of alanine to glucose was measured by the arterial-hepatic venous catheterization technique combined with the infusion of ¹⁴C-alanine. During insulin infusion, euglycemia was maintained by variable glucose infusion. When insulin was infused at 1 mU/kg/min the net splanchnic production of ¹⁴C-glucose was suppressed by 80% but glucagon infused at the end of the study resulted in substantial release of ¹⁴C-glucose from the liver suggesting marked accumulation of labeled glucose in glycogen. When insulin was infused at 5 mU/kg/min the splanchnic release of ¹⁴C-glucose was also markedly suppressed but in contrast to the lower insulin dose very little labeled glucose accumulated in glycogen. Neither the high nor the low dose insulin infusion had any effect on net splanchnic alanine uptake and plasma glucagon levels fell by 35% in both protocols. These data demonstrate that in 48-hr fasted man, (1) a small increment in insulin concentration will suppress glucose production but mostly by diverting the newly formed glucose into glycogen; (2) at higher concentrations, insulin will inhibit glucose production mainly by suppressing gluconeogenesis; and (3) this insulin-induced suppression of gluconeogenesis is due to an intrahepatic effect rather than an effect on the splanchnic extraction of alanine.     

Pulmonary mixed-function oxidation: stimulation by glucose and the effects of metabolic inhibitors

Substrate requirements for pulmonary mixed-function oxidation of p-nitroanisole to p-nitrophenol were evaluated using the isolated perfused rabbit lung and a lung microsomal fraction. Addition of glucose (5 mM) to the lung perfusate (Krebs bicarbonate buffer) increased the mean rate of p-nitroanisole oxidation by 25–55 per cent; addition of pyruvate (5 mM) or palmitate (0.5 mM) gave similar results. Sucrose (5 mM) had no effect. Antimycin A, KCN, oligomycin and bis-hexafluoroacetonyl acetone (an uncoupling agent) markedly depressed p-nitroanisole metabolism by the isolated lung. KCN also inhibited p-nitroanisole metabolism by lung microsomes, but antimycin A was without effect. These results indicate that pulmonary mixed-function oxidation requires substrate for intermediary metabolism as well as ATP, for maintenance of maximal rates. Glucose and mitochondrial substrates are equally effective in providing the energy requirements and the reducing potential for this reaction.     

Lung function in children following repair of tracheoesophageal fistula.

Lung function and bronchial reactivity by methacholine challenge were studied in 24 patients seven to 18 years after repair of type I tracheoesophageal fistula. Only one patient had no abnormalities of the variables tested. Thirteen patients had obstructive airways disease, five had a restrictive defect, and 15 had a positive methacholine challenge. It is postulated that continuing subclinical aspiration of esophageal contents causes lung damage and renders the airways hyperreactive.     

Evaluation of the heart rate response to the Valsalva maneuver

A study has been made of the heart rate (HR) response to the Valsalva maneuver in five different groups of normal white males and two groups of male coronary heart disease (CHD) patients using non-invasive methods. By means of the analysis of variance the effects of age, posture, Valsalva phase and CHD on the HR response were assessed. Both age and CHD were factors that reduce the HR response. Further analysis indicated that the HR change from Phase 3 to Phase 4 in the Valsalva was the preferred discriminator between normals and cardiac patients. We have derived a “Valsalva score” that can be used to identify HR changes that deviate from the expected average normal response for a given age, control HR and Phase 3 HR. HR assessment of the Valsalva maneuver is a simple safe non-invasive test. An abnormal response suggests altered functioning of hemodynamic or autonomic cardiovascular mechanisms governing HR control.