[The works of Zhang Wenzhong as the Shang Yao Feng Yu in the early Tang Dynasty].

Zhang Wenzhong, a famous Chinese medical doctor in the early Tang Dynasty, was granted a particular position as Shang Yao Feng Yu, for the Empress Wu Ze Tian dealing with medication. He was good at dealing with stroke in particular. He also had unique viewpoints towards medical prescriptions and skills. He wrote medical books and developed his own medical theories. All these were recorded in both the Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang. However, most of his works had been lost due to time and the frequent wars in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Six medical prescriptions signed by Zhang Wenzhong were discovered in documents unearthed from the Dun Huang Sutra Cave. They were believed to be important archives of Zhang Wenzhong's writing and medical thoughts. In addition, some pieces of work found in the documents unearthed from Tu Yu Gou were suspected of being written by Zhang Wenzhong. This can be compared with his works cited in the handed-down documents, such as The Collection of Secret Prescriptions (Wai Tai Mi Yao Fang). This paper takes a textual research approach to examine the medical works of Zhang Wenzhong, comparing the handed-down documents with the unearthed documents to examine his medical achievements.

[Textual research on Ð”Ñ .09319, a fragment of Dunhuang literature preserved in Russia].

Дх.09319, a fragment collected in the page 150 of Volume 14 of Dunhuang Literature Preserved in Russia, is damaged around the page, and only 6 lines of the text are remained. It is one of versions of San bu jiu hou lun (Treatise on Three Positions and Nine Indicators) in Su wen (Plain Questions), and different from another version of Dunhuang, Дх.00613+ P.3287. The two versions cannot be spliced together, but the former can supplement the texts of the latter. In addition, Дх.09319 is also significant to the collation of the missing popular version of San bu jiu hou lun of later generation.

Isolation of a novel heterodimeric agglutinin from rhizomes of Smilax glabra, the Chinese medicinal material tufuling.

A heterodimeric agglutinin with a molecular mass of 32 kDa, and comprised of a 15 and a 17 kDa-subunit, was isolated from Smilax glabra rhizomes. The isolation protocol entailed ion exchange chromatography on CM-Sepharose, DEAE-cellulose and Resource Q and gel filtration on Superose 12. The two agglutinin subunits resembled each other and lectins from other Liliaceae plants in N-terminal sequence. The hemagglutinating activity of the agglutinin was unstable under acidic and alkaline conditions and when exposed to temperatures at or higher than 50 degrees C. The activity was not altered by a number of monovalent, divalent and trivalent cations, nor by a variety of sugars and glycoproteins.

Acute and chronic effects of ginseng total saponin and amphetamine on fixed-interval performance in rats.

The effect of ginseng total saponin (GTS) on amphetamine (AMPH)-induced disruption of fixed-interval (FI) responding in rats was examined. GTS (50 mg/kg) significantly improved the temporal responding impaired by 2 mg/kg of AMPH. A higher dose of 100 mg/kg GTS disrupted performance when given alone; this disruption was reversed by a low dose of AMPH (0.5 mg/kg) and tolerance developed to the effects of GTS with its repeated administration. Neurochemical analysis revealed that GTS (50 mg/kg) attenuated the increase in striatal dopamine caused by AMPH leading to the conclusion that brain dopamine may partially mediate the behavioral effects of GTS.

Alcohol utilization and dependence with special reference to protein level in a liquid diet for rats.

Experiments were carried out with a nutritionally balanced diet to test the response of rats to levels of ethanol between 0% and 6%, and to different levels and sources of protein and amino acid supplements in relation to alcohol utilization and withdrawal seizures. The high-calorie/high-carbohydrate liquid diet was well tolerated when the alcohol level was less than 30% of total calories, or 4.5% of diet. When alcohol was provided at 6% of diet, or 33% of total calories, growth and withdrawal seizure rates were negatively affected in comparison with the lower ethanol levels, even though ethanol consumption (in g/kg/day) was not different. The 6% alcohol diet was then altered through the addition of more protein calories, from 13% to 20%. This supplementation improved growth rate of the animals and reduced the rate of withdrawal seizures. The improvement from the additional protein was observed with both casein and soy protein, and was not attributable to any one or even several amino acids that might serve as transmitter precursors. A mixture of all essential amino acids representing the difference in amino acids between 13% and 20% casein protein calories was an effective as the equivalent amount of intact protein. The nonessential amino acids equivalent to 7% casein protein calories, when added to the 13% protein calories diet, increased the rate of withdrawal seizures, presumably by exacerbating the protein deficiency in the 13% protein diet. It was concluded that a 1000-1200 kcal/kg diet with 20% kcal from protein and 50% kcal from carbohydrate provides an optimal nutrient balance for efficient utilization of a 6% ethanol liquid diet for rats.

Low-molecular-weight heparin for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: Despite doubts about their efficacy and concern about their safety, antithrombotic agents are often used to treat acute ischemic stroke. Recent experience in patients with other thromboembolic disorders suggests that low-molecular-weight heparin, which requires only subcutaneous administration once or twice daily, may be more effective and safer than standard (unfractionated) heparin. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing two dosages of low-molecular-weight heparin with placebo in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Patients were randomly assigned within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms to receive high-dose nadroparin (4100 anti-factor Xa IU twice daily), low-dose nadroparin (4100 IU once daily), or placebo subcutaneously for 10 days. The primary measure of outcome was death or dependency regarding activities of daily living six months after randomization. Secondary outcomes were death, hemorrhagic transformation of the infarction, and other complications at 10 days, and death or dependency at 3 months. RESULTS: A total of 2750 patients were screened for the study. Among 312 patients randomized, 306 had outcomes that were analyzed at six months. Forty-five patients (45 percent) in the high-dose group, 53 patients (52 percent) in the low-dose group, and 68 patients (65 percent) in the placebo group died or became dependent. There was a significant dose-dependent effect among the three study groups in favor of low-molecular-weight heparin (P = 0.005 by the chi-square test for trend). No significant differences among the groups in the occurrence of secondary outcomes were observed at 10 days. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with ischemic stroke treated within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, low-molecular-weight heparin was effective in improving outcomes at six months.

Basilar artery occlusion following yoga exercise: a case report.

Basilar artery occlusion developed in a 34 year old woman 2 months after adopting unusual neck postures during yoga practice. On angiography, her basilar artery was filled with intraluminal clot while the vertebral arteries were normal. We postulate that a severe reduction in blood flow and possibly an intimal tear triggered thrombosis of the vertebral artery and that the final stroke mechanism was artery-to-artery embolism.

Encephalopathy and neuropathy following ingestion of a Chinese herbal broth containing podophyllin.

Two patients developed podophyllin intoxication following ingestion of a broth of the Chinese herb guijiu. The neurological manifestations are described and the pathology of the peripheral neuropathy is fully documented with ultrastructural and quantitative studies.

Amnesia following right thalamic haemorrhage.

A 52 year old patient with a right thalamic haemorrhage is described. She suffered from anterograde amnesia and memory impairment for both visual and verbal material. At follow-up after 3 months, despite being fully oriented and having good concentration, her memory impairment was still evident. Reassessment 3 years afterwards showed persistent deficits and no further improvement.

Cerebral haemorrhage in a urban Chinese population.

A prospective study of Chinese patients aged 20-70 years reveals that at least 30.5% of all strokes are due to cerebral haemorrhage. Compared to previous studies in Caucasians, there is both a proportional and absolute increase in cerebral haemorrhage amongst all strokes, alert strokes, or those who presented with just a lacunar syndrome. The cause for this increase is unclear but genetic, dietary, and other environmental factors may be involved.