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Objective:To investigate the clinical, imaging and endoscopic characteristics of idiopathic mesenteric phlebosclerosis (IMP).Methods:From January 2010 to December 2020, 14 patients with IMP diagnosed and treated at the Quzhou Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University (Quzhou People′s Hospital) were enrolled. All patients underwent abdominal X-ray, contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT) and endoscopy. Three cases accepted double-contrast barium enema and 11 cases underwent endoscopic biopsy. Three of the 14 IMP patients underwent surgery and pathological examination because of intestinal perforation or intestinal obstruction that failed conservative treatment. The general data (such as gender, drinking history, etc.), clinical symptoms, complications, imaging (abdominal X-ray, CT, double-contrast barium enema) and endoscopic features were retrospectively analyzed. Descriptive method was used for statistical analysis.Results:Among the 14 IMP patients, 13 cases were male and one case was female. All the 13 male cases had long history of drinking Chinese herbal medicine wine, among them, 8 patients consumed acanthopanax bark wine. Complications occurred in 7 cases, including 5 cases of intestinal obstruction and 2 cases of intestinal perforation. The clinical symptoms of 14 IMP patients were nonspecific, mostly manifested as abdominal pain (11 cases), abdominal distension (6 cases), diarrhea (6 cases), nausea and vomiting (4 cases), and constipation (2 cases). Abdominal X-ray images mainly showed multiple irregular calcifications along involved colon. The images of 3 patients received double-contrast barium enema demonstrated shallowness or disappearance of semilunar folds, rigid colonic wall, narrowed lumen and " thumb printing". The typical CT images indicated edema and thickening of the involved intestinal wall, blurred mesenteric fat space, spot, thread-like, and curved calcification of mesenteric vein and colonic wall. Typical endoscopic findings included dark-purple colored mucosa, congestion, edema, erosion and ulceration, and focal nodular surface and visible varicose veins.Conclusions:IMP has typical imaging and endoscopic characteristics, and the combination of them can diagnose and evaluate IMP more accurately.
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Objective:To explore any effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at the Zusanli point on the scorch death of duodenal cells in rats with functional dyspepsia (FD) and possible mechanisms.Methods:Twenty-four 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group and an EA group, each of 8. FD was induced in both the model and EA group rats using iodoacetamide gavage with tail-clip stimulation. After successful modeling the EA group was given acupuncture at the Zusanli point and then connected with a Korean acupuncture point nerve stimulator for 2 weeks. The other 2 groups were not given any intervention. The rats′ body weight was recorded before and after the modeling, as well as 7 and 14 days later. The gastric emptying rate and the small intestine propulsion rate of the three groups were detected right after the EA intervention, and the serum expression levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassays. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reactions were used to detect the transcription levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in the rats′ duodenums, while western blotting was employed to assess the expression of caspase-1 P20 and dermatin D (GSDMD) in their duodenums.Results:After successful modeling, the average body weight of the rats in the model and EA groups was significantly different from that in blank group, and after 7 and 14 days the average body weight of the former groups was significantly different from that of the blank group, with significant differences between the two groups as well. After the EA intervention significant differences were observed in gastric reside and small intestine propulsion rate between the EA group and the model group, as well as between the model and the blank group. After the intervention, there were significant differences between the blank group and the other two groups in the average expression of IL-1β and IL-6 in serum, IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA in the duodenum, as well as the GSDMD and caspase-1 p20 proteins in the duodenum. There were significant differences between the model and EA groups in all of the above measurements.Conclusions:EA at the Zusanli point can significantly reduce the level of scorch death in the duodenum of FD rats, as well as relieve low-grade duodenal inflammation and the clinical symptoms of FD. Its mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the expression of caspase-1 P20 and GSDMD-N protein, and of inflammatory factors such as IL-1β and IL-6, relieving low-grade duodenal inflammation.
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Breviscapine, a flavonoid isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Erigerin breviscapus, has been proved to be effective in protecting the brain against ischaemic damage, but the mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we have demonstrated the effects of breviscapine on neuronal apoptosis in a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischaemia. Rats were administered with breviscapine (50 or 100 mg kg(-1)/day) intragastrically for seven successive days, then subjected to 2-h brain ischaemia induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion, followed by 24-h reperfusion. After reperfusion, the rats were killed and the brain samples were collected. Haematoxylin-eosin staining was used to evaluate the histopathological changes. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotiny-lated UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and flow cytometry (FCM) analysis were used to detect the level of apoptosis. The expressions of bcl-2 and caspase-3 in the cortex were determined by Western blot. Significant increases in the number of haematoxylin-eosin- and TUNEL-positive staining cells and DNA fragmentation were observed at 24 h after reperfusion, and the increases were inhibited by breviscapine (50 and 100 mg kg(-1)). Breviscapine at both doses markedly inhibited the expression and activation of caspase-3 and up-regulated the expression of bcl-2. These findings suggested that breviscapine attenuated neuroapoptosis and regulated the protein expression related to apoptosis after transient focal cerebral ischaemia, which may have contributed, in part, to the protective effects of breviscapine on cerebral ischaemic damage.