Nie-pinching the spine, puncturing Sifeng (EX-UE 10) plus Chinese herbs for pediatric anorexia due to dysfunction of spleen in transportation: a randomized controlled trial / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of Nie-pinching the spine, puncturing Sifeng (EX-UE 10) plus Chinese herbs in treating pediatric anorexia due to dysfunction of spleen in transportation. Methods: A total of 64 kids were randomized into an observation group and a control group by the random number table method, with 32 cases in each group. Patients in both groups received Jian Pi Kai Wei (strengthening spleen and stomach) powder according to pattern differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In addition, patients in the observation group received Nie-pinching the spine and puncturing Sifeng (EX-UE 10). Nie-pinching the spine was applied twice a week, and puncturing Sifeng (EX-UE 10) was performed once a week, with 2 weeks counted as 1 course of treatment. After 2 courses of treatment, the body mass index (BMI), peripheral blood leptin level and the microelements Zn, Fe and Se were compared at different time points (before treatment, after the first and second courses of treatment), as well as the therapeutic efficacy and onset time. Results: After 2 courses of treatment, 31 cases in each group were evaluated. After the 1st course and the 2nd course, the BMI and serum Zn, Fe and Se levels in the observation group increased significantly (all P<0.05), the leptin level decreased substantially (both P<0.05); the BMI in the control group showed a substantial rise (P<0.05), while the Zn, Fe and Se levels slightly increased showing no statistical significance (all P>0.05), and the leptin level decreased but the difference showed no statistical significance (P>0.05). After the 1st and the 2nd courses of treatment, the BMI, serum Zn, Fe and Se levels increased more significantly (all P<0.05), and the serum leptin level decreased more significantly (both P<0.05) in the observation group than in the control group. After the 2nd course, the total effective rate and recovery rate in the observation group were both higher than those in the control group (both P<0.05), together with a quicker onset time (P<0.05). Conclusion: Nie-pinching the spine, puncturing Sifeng (EX-UE 10) plus Chinese herbs is effective for pediatric anorexia due to dysfunction of spleen in transportation. It can decrease leptin, increase Zn, Fe and Se levels, alleviate apositic symptoms and increase BMI in the kids.

Quercetin promotes neurite growth through enhancing intracellular cAMP level and GAP-43 expression / 中国天然药物

The present study was designed to investigate the role of quercetin on neurite growth in N1E-115 cells and the underlying mechanisms. Quercetin was evaluated for its effects on cell numbers of neurites, neurite length, intracellular cAMP content, and Gap-43 expression in N1E-115 cells in vitro by use of microscopy, LANCE(tm) cAMP 384 kit, and Western blot analysis, respectively. Our results showed that quercetin could increase the neurite length in a concentration-dependent manner, but had no effect on the numbers of cells. Quercetin significantly increased the expression of cellular cAMP in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. The Gap-43 expression was up-regulated in a time-dependent manner. In conclusion, quercetin could promote neurite growth through increasing the intracellular cAMP level and Gap-43 expression.

Diet-induced obesity increases the apoptosis of testicular spermatogenic cells in pubertal male rats / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of diet-induced obesity on the apoptosis of testicular spermatogenic cells in pubertal male rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty healthy male rats were equally and randomly divided into a control and a high-fat group, the former fed on normal diet, while the latter high-fat and high-calorie diet. The testes of the rats were harvested at the end of 10 weeks for detection of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the peripheral blood with the automatic biochemical analyzer. Pathological changes of the testis were observed under the light microscope, the apoptosis of the testicular cells detected by TUNEL, the expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins determined by immunohistochemistry, and those of Bcl-2 mRNA and Bax mRNA measured by RT-PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The levels of TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C were significantly higher in the high-fat group (5.17 +/- 0.17, 1.18 +/- 0.09, 1.76 +/- 0.11 and 5.08 +/- 0.18) than in the control (1.38 +/- 0.12, 0.39 +/- 0.05, 0.97 +/- 0.07 and 0.75 +/- 0.06) (P < 0.05), so was the apoptotic index of spermatogenic cells (37.17 +/- 2.74 versus 5.16 +/- 0.81, P < 0.01), and the apoptotic spermatogenic cells were mainly spermatogonia and spermatocytes. The expressions of Bax protein and Bax mRNA were markedly higher in the high-fat group (153.26 +/- 8.74 and 1.08 +/- 0.12) than in the control (101.81 +/- 6.14 and 0.37 +/- 0.04) (P < 0.01), while those of Bcl-2 protein and Bcl-2 mRNA remarkably lower in the former (139.26 +/- 7.21 and 0.46 +/- 0.05) than in the latter (159.37 +/- 8.96 and 1.05 +/- 0.11) (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Diet-induced obesity can increase the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in the rat testis, which may be associated with the reduced expression of Bcl-2 and elevated expression of Bax.</p>

Effect of acupuncture on rehabilitation training of child's autism / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of acupuncture on rehabilitation training for children's autism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty autistic children receiving rehabilitation training were divided into a control group and a treatment group, 20 cases in each group. The control group received rehabilitation training including ABA training, the Conductive Education Approach and the training of sensory integration, about 90 sessions for each training; the treatment group received acupuncture treatment for 60-90 sessions after the rehabilitation training. Their results were detected by the revised Chinese version of Psycho-Educational Profile for autistic and developmentally disabled children (C-PEP).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The markedly effective rate was 55.0% in the treatment group and 15.0% in the control group with a very significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01); the differences before and after training in some projects such as the total score of development, imitation, oral cognition in the treatment group were very significantly different from those in the control group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture combined with scientific and effective rehabilitation training has a better therapeutic effect than that of the simple rehabilitation training for child's autism.</p>