[Back arm flexion and extension combined with manipulation for the treatment of patient with adhesive scapulohumeral periarthritis].

OBJECTIVE: To observe clinical efficacy of back arm flexion and extension combined with manipulation in treating adhesive scapulohumeral periarthritis. METHODS: From March 2016 to April 2018, 53 patients with adhesive scapulohumeral periarthritis were treated with back arm flexion and extension combined with manipulation, the main symptoms were shoulder pain and limited activity. There were 22 males and 31 females aged from 45 to 71 years old with an average of (51.63±5.79) years;the courses of disease ranged from 3 to 24 months with an average of (8.62±3.73) months. Manipulation treatment was carried out once a week, and back arm flexion and extension were performed for 3 times a day with15 movements each time, totally 4 weeks for a single course. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Constant-Murley shoulder function score were observed and compared before treatment and one week, one and three months after treatment. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 3 to 12 months, with an average of (5.91±3.55) months. VAS score before treatment was 4.02±1.46, and was improved to 3.15±1.54, 1.98±1.37, 1.12±0.86 respectively at one week, one and three months after treatment. Constant-Murley score before treatment was 42.70 ±5.72, and improved to 54.25 ±6.34, 67.45 ±6.84, 82.40 ±6.63 at one week, one and three months after treatment respectively;19 patients got excellent result, 22 good, 9 fair and 3 poor. CONCLUSION: Back arm flexion combined with manipulation for the treatment of adhesive scapulohumeral periarthritis could effectively relieve pain, improve shoulder function, which is a simple effective treatment strategy.

[Acupuncture combined with Jingtong granule for nerve-root type cervical spondylosis and its effects on IL-6、TNF-α、IL-1ß and hemorheological indexes].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with Jingtong granule for nerve-root type cervical spondylosis and its effects on serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) and hemorheological indexes. METHODS: A total of 114 patients with nerve-root type cervical spondylosis were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 57 cases in each group. The patients in both groups were treated with traction. The patients in the control group were treated with oral administration of Jingtong granule, 4 g each time, 3 times a day, while based on the treatment of control group, the patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture at Dazhui (GV 14), Tianzhu (BL 10), Houxi (SI 3), cervical Jiaji (EX-B 2), Quchi (LI 11), Hegu (LI 4) and Waiguan (TE 5), once a day. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks. The simplified McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ), neck disability index (NDI), numbness score, levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1ß in serum and hemorheological indexes were observed before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 91.2% (52/57) in the observation group, which was higher than 71.9% (41/57) in the control group (P<0.05). Compared before treatment, the scores of MPQ, NDI and numbness in the two groups were reduced after treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of MPQ, NDI and numbness in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1ß in the two groups were reduced (P<0.05), and those in the observation group were lower than the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the plasma viscosity, fibrinogen, low shear rate of whole blood viscosity and high shear rate of whole blood viscosity in the two groups were lower than before treatment (P<0.05), and those in the observation group were lower than the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with Jingtong granule have significant clinical efficacy for nerve-root type cervical spondylosis, which could reduce the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1ß and improve hemorheology.

Anti­inflammatory effects of gambogic acid in murine collagen­induced arthritis through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Garcinia angustifolia is a dry resin secreted by Garcinia cambogia, which has the functions of breaking blood, detoxifying, stopping bleeding and killing insects. It is used for the treatment of cancer and brain edema. Gambogic acid is the primary active ingredient. The present study aimed to investigate the anti­inflammatory and antiproliferative effects of gambogic acid on arthritis and the possible mechanisms. It was demonstrated that gambogic acid decreased arthritic scores in murine collagen­induced arthritic mice. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF)­α, interleukin (IL)­1ß, IL­6 and IL­18 concentrations, and caspase­3 and caspase­9 were significantly inhibited by gambogic acid in arthritic mice. Gambogic acid decreased matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)­2, MMP­9, nuclear factor (NF)­κB and phosphorylated­p38 protein expression, and increased tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteases­1 (TIMP­1) protein expression in arthritic mice. Furthermore, the phosphoinositide 3­kinase (PI3K)/AKT serine/threonine kinase (Akt) signaling pathway was induced in arthritic mice treated with gambogic acid. The results suggested that gambogic acid induced anti­inflammatory effects in murine collagen­induced arthritis, through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and offers future potential for application in arthritis patients.

Study on the association between estrogen receptor gene (ESR) and reproduction traits in Landrace pigs.

To study the potential use of estrogen receptor gene (ESR) as a genetic marker to improve the reproductive traits of pigs, the genotypes of the ESR PCR product digested by Pvu II were determined in 2,239 litters from 612 Landrace sows. The data of the first, second, and later parities were separately evaluated. Although the frequency of the B allele was much lower than that of the A allele, likelihood ratio test showed that the gene frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The effects of ESR of different parities were not equal. In summary, the sows with the BB genotype showed better performance for total number of piglets born (TNB) and number of piglets born alive (NBA), but had a lower average piglet weight at birth (AWB). It was concluded that ESR could be used as a marker for the selection of litter size in the Landrace population.

[Using VCE4.0 package to estimate genetic parameters on growth traits in Landrace].

It is an accurate and quick methods to apply VCE4.0 to estimating genetic parameter. It makes full use of all information, analyzing selection and culling effects. The Genetic parameters for the age to 30kg(AGE30), age to 100kg (AGE100), and average daily gain from 30kg to 100kg (ADG) and backfat thickness at 100kg(probed,FAT) are estimated using VCE4.0 applied to REML with a multivariate individual animal model in Landrace pigs. Estimates of heritabilities for AGE30, AGE100,ADG and FAT are 0.207,0.396,0.304 and 0.493, respectively. Genetic correlations for FAT/ADG, FAT/AGE100, ADG/AGE100, ADG /AGE30 and AGE30/AGE100 are -0.343,0.180,-0.941,-0.48,and 0.745, respectively, its phenotypic correlations are -0.139,0.138,-0.82,-0.026, and 0.565, respectively. The common litter environment effects for AGE30,AGE100, ADG and FAT are 0.194,0.156,0.157 and 0.043, respectively.