Effects of balance training in addition to auxiliary activity on balance function of patients with stroke at high risk for falls.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of balance training in addition to auxiliary activity on the balance function of patients with stroke at high risk for falls. Methods: A total of 112 patients with stroke at high risk for falls in our hospital from inception to January 2020 to December 2020 were selected as the research objects who were equally divided into the control group and study group according to the random number table method. Patients in the control group were intervened with auxiliary activity, and the patients in the study group received additional balance training for auxiliary activity. The balance function, lower extremity motor function, fall risk, walking ability, and other indicators were compared between the two groups of patients before and after treatment. The hospitalization time and the frequency of falls 3 months after discharge were also compared between the two groups. Results: Before treatment, there was no significant difference in balance function, lower extremity motor function, fall risk, and walking ability scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the balance function, lower extremity motor function, and walking ability scores of the study group were significantly higher than those of the control group, with the fall risk score significantly lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Evidently, lower hospitalization time and the frequency of falls in the 3-month follow-up of the study group were observed than those in the control group (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the frequency of falls between the two groups during hospitalization (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Our results indeed revealed that balance training in addition to auxiliary activity elicited beneficial outcomes in terms of effectively improving the balance function and walking ability of patients with stroke at high risk of falling, which may have the potential for wide clinical application.

Acacetin alleviates neuroinflammation and oxidative stress injury via the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway in a mouse model of spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe central nervous system disease, which may cause serious locomotor deficit. Acacetin is a flavone that possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in different human diseases. The main purpose of this study was to explore whether acacetin ameliorates SCI in mice. A model of SCI was established in C57BL/6 mice. The Basso Mouse Scale (BMS) score, BMS subscore, mechanical hypersensitivity, and thermal hypersensitivity of mice were tested for determining the motor function. Immunofluorescence staining was utilized to detect NeuN, GFAP, and Iba-1 levels in spinal cord tissues. ELISA was utilized to assess the contents of proinflammatory factors such as interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in spinal cord tissues. The levels of oxidative stress markers, reactive oxygen species, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione were detected using their corresponding kits. Western blot was employed for estimating the levels of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap-1). In this study, acacetin treatment recovered the motor function in SCI mice. Acacetin improved neuron integrity and repressed glial cell activation in the spinal cord tissues of SCI mice. Furthermore, acacetin administration reduced the SCI-induced high concentrations of IL-1ß, IL-18, and TNF-α, as well as inhibited oxidative stress in SCI mice. Moreover, acacetin activated HO-1/Nrf2 pathway in SCI mice. The neuroprotective effects of acacetin against SCI were reversed by Nrf2 inhibitor. Overall, acacetin alleviated neuroinflammation and oxidative stress injury by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in the mouse models of SCI.

A national sampling survey on birth weight in 1998 in China: mean value and standard deviation.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the distribution of live birth weight in China. METHODS: A national survey on live birth weight was performed during July-October, 1998 in China, with stratified sampling. Totally, 22 350 live newborns (11 584 males and 10 766 females) with 28 weeks or more of gestation were measured for their birth weight in the sampling sites during 1998. RESULTS: The ratio of male to female newborns measured was 1.08. The rates of multiple birth and preterm birth (< 37 weeks of gestation) were 1.8% and 3.5%, respectively. Live birth weight was higher in the urban areas (3 301 g) than that in the rural area (3 225 g) (t = 9.4. P < 0.001), the highest in the coastal areas (3 262 g), middle in the inland areas (3 254 g) and the lowest in the remote areas (3 115 g) (F = 177.9, P < 0.001), with a decreasing trend. Live birth weight in the first-class rural areas approximated to that in the urban areas, and that in the second-class, third-class and fourth-class rural areas decreased significantly. The average live birth weight in the fourth-class rural areas was 200 g lower than that in the urban areas. CONCLUSIONS: Generally, the average live birth weight in China was closed to that in the developed countries. But, a big difference in the average live birth weight between regions with varied economic development and health care condition was observed. An intervention measure should be implemented in the poverty-stricken rural areas to increase their average live birth weight.

Sampling survey on low-birth weight in China in 1998.

OBJECTIVE: To study the weight of live births and incidence of low-birth weight (LBW) in China. METHODS: A national survey on the weight of live births with gestational ages of 28 weeks or over in 16 cities and 28 counties of 11 provinces in China was carried with stratified sampling during July to October, 1998. RESULTS: Totally 22 350 live newborns, 11 584 males and 10 766 females, with gestational ages of 28 weeks or more in sampling sites were measured at their birth. Rates of multiple births and preterm birth (< 37 weeks of gestation) were 1.8% and 3.5%, respectively. LBW rates were 4.20% and 6.26% for urban and rural areas, respectively, with a national weighted-average of 5.87%. Full term births (>/= 37 weeks of gestation) accounted for 61.2% and 71.6% of the babies with LBW in national and rural areas, respectively. Their average birth weight was 3 301 g and 3 225 g in urban and rural areas, respectively, with statistically significant difference, and 3 280 g and 3 173 g for boys and girls, respectively, approaching to the values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Live birth weight in the coastal, inland, and remote areas appeared a trend of gradual decrease. Early neonatal mortality of babies with LBW was 50.0 per thousand and 179.4 per thousand in urban and rural areas, respectively, with a national average of 151.5 per thousand, significant higher than those with normal birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: The average birth weight and LBW rate in live births of China were close to those in the developed countries, and there was significant difference in them between varied regions. The majority of LBW in China was attributed to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Early neonatal mortality in babies with LBW was significantly higher than that with normal birth weight. Further intervention measures should be implemented.

A case-control study on risk factors for low birth weight in China.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors for low birth weight (LBW) in Chinese newborns with varied characteristics. METHODS: A 1:1 matched case-control study, with 999 babies of LBW was performed in 44 counties of 11 provinces in China during July to October, 1998 for identifying their risk factors using simple and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: The determinants of LBW in China included factors, such as multiparity (OR = 106.9), preterm birth (OR = 18.7), abnormal maternal health status (OR = 2.61) and maternal malnutrition (OR = 3.42), maternal medical conditions during pregnancy (OR = 1.93), maternal schooling (OR = 1.43), et al. Distribution of the risk factors for LBW was significantly different between coastal, inland and remote areas. LBW was mainly attributed to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (71.6%) in the rural areas, and to multiparity and preterm birth, in addition to IUGR, in the urban areas. There was different in the risk factors for LBW with preterm births and IUGR. CONCLUSIONS: It is an effective way to reduce incidence of low birth weight in China that all measures for prevention and control should be relevant to its risk factors.