[Psychological and physical presentations of severe acute respiratory syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relation between psychological symptoms and physical parameters in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) at different stages of the disease. METHODS: Physical parameters such as SCL-90, chest CT, T lymphocytes and subset and SaO2 were studied in 29 SARS patients at three different stages (initial stage, serious stage, rehabilitating stage). RESULTS: Patients with SARS showing severe psychological symptoms constituted about 41% (group I) and patients with SARS showing mild psychological symptoms (group II) constituted about 59%. There were no change of the psychological symptoms at the three stages in group I and II (P > 0.05). Statistical differences were found between physical parameters of group I and II in rehabilitating stage. CONCLUSIONS: Severe psychological symptoms such as obsession, depression and anxiety were found in a minority of patients with SARS and the psychological symptoms were not related with the change of physical parameters. The majority of the patients with SARS did not have severe psychological symptoms. Whether or not psychological symptoms were related to their personality needs further study.

Establishment of a predictive model of serum glucose changes under different exercise intensities and durations among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Regular exercise is regarded as one of necessary elements in treating diabetes mellitus (DM). The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different exercise intensities and durations on serum glucose changes after exercise in type 2 DM patients and to establish a predictive model of changes in serum glucose under different exercise intensities and durations. Thirty-seven type 2 DM patients were recruited from four teaching hospitals. A total of 12 exercise sessions were scheduled according to the results of a graded treadmill exercise test. The 12 exercise sessions were designed on the basis of different exercise intensities (40%, 60%, and 80% maximal workload) and exercise durations (10, 20, 30, and 40 min). Serum glucose level was measured before and after exercise. The findings indicate that the main effect of exercise intensity and duration was significant, but there was no interaction effect. All four variables, including exercise intensity, exercise duration, pre-exercise serum glucose levels, and gender, explained 37% of the variance in serum glucose changes after exercise. In conclusion, a dose-response relationship between exercise amount and serum glucose changes was demonstrated. This is helpful for health professionals to teach type 2 DM patients how to predict serum glucose response in different exercise situations.

[Studies on the chemical constituents of Angelica sinensis].

AIM: To investigate the chemical components of Agelica sinensis. METHODS: Chromatographic technologies were used for separation and purification, while spectral analysis was measured for structure elucidation. RESULTS: Five compounds were isolated and their structures were identified as Homosenkyunolide H (1), Homosenkyunolide I(2), Neoligustilide (3), 6-methoxycoumarin (4), Hypoxanthine-9-beta-D-ribofuranoside (5). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1 and 2 are new compounds. Compounds 3, 4 and 5 were isolated from Agelica sinensis for the first time.