Electroacupuncture Facilitates the Integration of Neural Stem Cell-Derived Neural Network with Transected Rat Spinal Cord.

The hostile environment of an injured spinal cord makes it challenging to achieve higher viability in a grafted tissue-engineered neural network used to reconstruct the spinal cord circuit. Here, we investigate whether cell survival and synaptic transmission within an NT-3 and TRKC gene-overexpressing neural stem cell-derived neural network scaffold (NN) transplanted into transected spinal cord could be promoted by electroacupuncture (EA) through improving the microenvironment. Our results showed that EA facilitated the cell survival, neuronal differentiation, and synapse formation of a transplanted NN. Pseudorabies virus tracing demonstrated that EA strengthened synaptic integration of the transplanted NN with the host neural circuit. The combination therapy also promoted axonal regeneration, spinal conductivity, and functional recovery. The findings highlight EA as a potential and safe supplementary therapeutic strategy to reinforce the survival and synaptogenesis of a transplanted NN as a neuronal relay to bridge the two severed ends of an injured spinal cord.

Tail Nerve Electrical Stimulation and Electro-Acupuncture Can Protect Spinal Motor Neurons and Alleviate Muscle Atrophy after Spinal Cord Transection in Rats.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in death of spinal neurons and atrophy of muscles which they govern. Thus, following SCI, reorganizing the lumbar spinal sensorimotor pathways is crucial to alleviate muscle atrophy. Tail nerve electrical stimulation (TANES) has been shown to activate the central pattern generator (CPG) and improve the locomotion recovery of spinal contused rats. Electroacupuncture (EA) is a traditional Chinese medical practice which has been proven to have a neural protective effect. Here, we examined the effects of TANES and EA on lumbar motor neurons and hindlimb muscle in spinal transected rats, respectively. From the third day postsurgery, rats in the TANES group were treated 5 times a week and those in the EA group were treated once every other day. Four weeks later, both TANES and EA showed a significant impact in promoting survival of lumbar motor neurons and expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and ameliorating atrophy of hindlimb muscle after SCI. Meanwhile, the expression of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) in the same spinal cord segment was significantly increased. These findings suggest that TANES and EA can augment the expression of NT-3 in the lumbar spinal cord that appears to protect the motor neurons as well as alleviate muscle atrophy.

The status of occupational health of female migrant workers in traditional Chinese medicine, western medicine and bio-pharmaceutical industry in Gansu province / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To understand the status of occupational health of female migrant workers in different kinds of pharmaceutical industries in Gansu province and to provide the basis for improving occupational health condition.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One thousand eight hundreds and one female workers from 16 enterprises were selected by cluster sampling in Gansu province and investigated by interviewing and questionnaires.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were statistical significances of education level, status of residency registrations, employment relationship and occupational hazards among female workers in three types of enterprises (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The morbidities of skin disease in female workers for three kinds of enterprises were 4.46%, 2.53% and 3.70%, respectively. The morbidities of reproductive system disease in female workers for three kinds of enterprises were 48.57%, 36.70% and 36.11%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The levels of education and working conditions of female workers in the traditional Chinese medicine, western medicine plants are low. There are more severe occupational hazards in female workers of the traditional Chinese medicine plants.</p>