Efficacy of the spirit-regulation method of Jin's three-needle therapy for post-stroke anxiety and its effect on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. / 靳三针调神针法治疗卒中后焦虑的疗效观察及对下丘脑-垂体-è‚¾ä¸Šè ºè½´çš„å½±å“.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the clinical efficacy of the spirit-regulation method of Jin's three-needle therapy on post-stroke anxiety and its effects on the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. METHODS: Fifty-four patients with post-stroke anxiety were divided into spirit regulation (Jin's three needle therapy) group and sham-acupuncture group according to the random number table method, 28 cases in the spirit regulation and 26 cases in the sham-acupuncture group. The patients of the two groups received the same regimen of basic medication and rehabilitation, and the same acupoint prescription was adopted, including Sishenzhen (extra points, 1.5 cun to Baihui ［GV20］ at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock positions), Shenting (GV24), Yintang (EX-HN3), and bilateral Shenmen (HT7), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Hegu (LI4) and Taichong (LR3). The true acupuncture was delivered in the spirit regulation group and the sham acupuncture operated in the sham-acupuncture group. One treatment lasted for 30 min, once daily, 5 times a week. The duration of treatment was 3 weeks in the trial. Before treatment and on day 10 and day 21 of treatment, the changes in the score of Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and that of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) were compared between the two groups separately. Using ELISA, the contents of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and cortisol (CORT) in the serum were detected, and the adverse reactions were recorded. RESULTS: In the within-group comparison before and after treatment, HAMA score and NIHSS score dropped on day 10 and day 21 after treatment in the spirit regulation group (P<0.05)；HAMA score and NIHSS score in the sham-acupuncture group were decreased on day 21 of treatment (P<0.05). After 21 days of treatment, HAMA score and NIHSS score in the spirit-regulation group were decreased significantly than those in the sham-acupuncture group (P<0.05) and the contents of ACTH and CORT in the serum decreased when compared with those before treatment and those of the sham-operation group (P<0.05). No obvious adverse events occurred in the spirit-regulation group and the sham-acupuncture group. CONCLUSIONS: Using sham acupuncture as a control, it is preliminarily confirmed that the spirit regulation method of Jin's three-needle therapy is effective on post-stroke anxiety. In association of the downtrend of serological indicators, it is speculated that the underlying mechanism of this therapy is related to HPA axis.

[Standardized Jin's three-needle therapy for stroke: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of standardized Jin's three-needle therapy on limb motor function and nerve function defect in stroke patients, and to evaluate the placebo control method. METHODS: A total of 66 patients with stroke were randomly divided into a Jin's three-needle group (33 cases, 3 cases dropped off) and a placebo needle group (33 cases, 4 cases dropped off). All the patients were treated with conventional medication and rehabilitation treatment. In addition, the patients in the Jin's three-needle group were treated with standardized Jin's three-needle therapy at temporal three points, spirit four points, hand three points, foot three points, upper extremity spasm three points, lower extremity spasm three points, etc.; while the patients in the placebo needle group were treated with placebo needling at identical points. All the treatments were given once a day, 5 days a week, and 3-week treatment was given with an interval of 2 days between weeks. The scores of Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (FMA) and National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) were observed before treatment, 10 d and 21 d into treatment, and the blind evaluation was conducted after treatment. RESULTS: On the 10 d and 21 d into treatment, the FMA scores in both groups were higher than those before treatment (P<0.01), and the NIHSS scores were lower than those before treatment (P<0.01). On the 10 d and 21 d into treatment, the FMA scores in the Jin's three-needle group were higher than those in the placebo needle group (P<0.05); on the 10 d into treatment, the NIHSS score in the Jin's three-needle group was were lower than that in the placebo needle group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups on judging the type of treatment (P>0.05), and the consistency with the real situation was poor (Cohen's kappa coefficient<0.20). CONCLUSION: The standardized Jin's three-needle therapy could effectively improve the limb motor function and nerve function defect in stroke patients. The placebo control method used in this study shows good clinical operability and masking effect.

[Analysis on regularity of traditional Chinese patent medicine in treating hyperlipidemia].

To explore the regularity of traditional Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of hyperlipidemia recorded in Newly Edited National Chinese Traditional Patent Medicines,the Composition Principles of Chinese Patent Drugs,New Drug Conversion Standard,the Compilation of National Standard for Traditional Chinese Medicines and Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Researchers extracted the information of prescriptions from these cases according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then microsoft excel 2010 was used to conduct frequency statistics and count the frequency of traditional Chinese medicine. SPSS Clementine( ver.12. 0) and SPSS( ver. 18. 0)were adopted respectively for frequency analysis,association rules analysis,cluster analysis and factor analysis. Besides,KMO test and Bartlett spherical test were performed for factor adaptation test. Finally,a total of 173 traditional Chinese medicines were included,involving 94 Chinese patent medicine prescriptions. The frequency results of traditional Chinese medicine showed that there were 33 kinds of high-frequency traditional Chinese medicine,mainly including those for tonifying medicine,activating blood and resolving stasis and blood-stasis,and clearing damp. The association rules analysis found out 12 association rules of drug pairs,3-herb pairs of 25 and4-herb pairs of 6. Totally 11 medicine groups with relevance were respectively extracted by cluster analysis. KMO test and Bartlett spherical test indicated that the method was suitable for factor analysis and 11 common factors were respectively extracted by factor analysis. The association rules reflected the therapeutic method for tonify the liver and kidney,activating blood and resolving stasis. Cluster analysis and factor analysis showed the therapeutic method of Qi-enriching and Yin-nourishing,and the factor analysis focused more on removing blood stasis and dampness. The decision tree with hawthorn as the dependent variable reflects the importance of alisma orientalis and fructus schisandrae in the drug matching. In conclusion,data mining technique can comprehensively analyze the regularity of prescriptions of traditional Chinese patent medicine for hyperlipidemia,and is helpful for guiding the development of Chinese patent medicines and the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine.

Inhibition of autophagy augments apoptosis in human oral squamous cell carcinoma under nutrient depletion.

There has been little research conducted regarding autophagy in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Given the prevalence of oral cancers which are OSCC and the severe side effects of current treatments, there is a pressing need to develop effective alternative therapies. In this study, we have endeavored to explore the biological characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line KB cells, in particular with regard to the role played by autophagy in their survival. Autophagy was activated by nutrient depletion via culturing cells in Earle's balanced salts (EBSS) and was measured via indices relating to Beclin 1, microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (MAPLC3, LC3), p62, and Green fluorescent protein-light chain 3 plasmid transfection (GFP-LC3). Cell death and apoptosis induced by nutrient depletion was measured using both MTT assay and flow cytometry (FCM). Compared to initial levels at 0 h, Beclin 1 density in EBSS-treated cells was found to have increased at 6, 12, and 18 h in a time-dependent manner and was found to have subsequently declined at 24 and 48 h. p62 levels, LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, and GFP-LC3 levels increased at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 48 h in a time-dependent manner. 3-methyladenine (3-MA) was found to inhibit autophagy and the expression of Beclin 1 and significantly enhanced nutrient depletion-induced apoptosis and death. We concluded that nutrient depletion enhances OSCC cell autophagy in time-course patterns and that the inhibition of autophagy augments apoptosis in OSCC cells. We also deduced that Beclin 1 takes part in the development and progression of autophagy, potentially playing an important role in the crosstalk between apoptosis and autophagy in OSCC cells. These findings suggest that nutrient depletion may be an effective way to explore autophagy and that autophagy inhibitors should be investigated as a potential novel agent for the adjuvant treatment of human OSCC.