Effects of botulinum toxin type a on mood and cognitive function in patients with parkinson's disease and depression.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of botulinum toxin type A (BtA) in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease and depression. METHOD: 89 patients with Parkinson's disease and depression were assigned into control group and observation group by random number table method, of which 44 patients in the control group were treated with sertraline and 45 patients in the observation group were treated with BtA. The two groups were compared in terms of mood, cognitive function and adverse reactions. RESULTS: The Hamilton Depression Self-Assessment Scale (HAMD) scores of the two groups following treatment were lower than those before treatment while the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores were higher than those before treatment (P<0.05). The incidence rate of adverse events was 11.11% in the observation group and 29.55% in the control group (P<0.05). The Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scores and 39-item PD Questionnaire (PDQ-39) scores after 2 and 3 months of treatment and 2 months after completion of treatment were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with Parkinson's disease and depression receiving BtA treatment can gain treatment effects similar to those of the sertraline, with less adverse reactions.

Reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI) in patients with stroke.

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI) in patients with stroke. Methods In total, 220 patients with stroke were recruited to complete the scale. The reliability of the SSCI was evaluated using internal consistency and test-retest methods. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to identify domains of the SSCI. Convergent validity was determined by analyzing the correlation between SSCI scores, activities of daily living (ADL) and depression. Results Construct validity was determined by factor analysis, extracting three factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, explaining 30.5%, 25.7%, and 8.5% of the variance, respectively, and accounting for 64.8% of the variance. All items had factor loadings above 0.40. The first factor comprised questions related to 'self-stigma' (items 1-13). The second (items 14-22) and third (items 23-24) factors aggregated questions related to 'enacted stigma'. In terms of convergent validity, the SSCI total scale was moderately correlated to the Barthel Index (BI) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Cronbach's alpha value (internal reliability) for the total SSCI score was 0.949, and the intraclass correlation coefficient value (test-retest reliability) was 0.802. Discussion The results provide initial evidence that the SSCI is a reliable and validated measure for evaluating stigma in stroke patients in China.

Current status and influencing factors of post-traumatic growth in maintenance hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the post-traumatic growth level and influencing factors in patients with maintenance hemodialysis. METHODS: A total of 179 patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis from a third-level grade A hospital in Tianjin, China were investigated using Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Perceived Social Support Scale, and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire. RESULTS: The total score for the PTGI was 53.73 ± 16.45. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that social support, coping style, marital status, and family income significantly influenced the post-traumatic growth level in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. These factors explained 41.4% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Medical staff should help patients under maintenance hemodialysis to fulfill their potentials by boosting the level of social support and to effectively cope with internal conflicts. In addition, nursing staff should provide relevant psychological health education to patients to improve their post-traumatic growth.

Experimental treatment of radiation pneumonitis with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate of the curative effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) on rat acute radiation pneumonitis. METHODS: Fourty rats were randomly divided into control group, radiation group, stem cell prevention group, stem cell treatment group and prednisone treatment group. All rats except those in the control group were radiated with X ray to establish the acute radiation pneumonitis damage model. The hUC-MSCs cultured in vitro was administrated to the rats of the prevention group via tail vein (1×10(6) cells/kg BW) 24 h before the radiation, while the same administration was performed in the rats of the treatment group 24 h after the radiation. After 24 h post the radiation, the rats in the radiation group were given 0.4 mL physiological saline, and those in the prednisone group were given 1 mg/kg prednisone. All rats were observed and executed 72 h after the radiation to detect lung histological changes. RESULTS: After the administration of hUC-MSCs, the survival status of the rats in the prevention group and treatment group was obviously better than that in the control group. As shown by the histological staining, the morphology, proliferation activity and bronchial state of lung tissues were better in the prevention group and treatment group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The hUC-MSCs have definite therapeutic effects on acute radiation pneumonitis in rats.

CpBir1 is required for conidiation, virulence and anti-apoptotic effects and influences hypovirus transmission in Cryphonectria parasitica.

Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) are critically important in the regulation of unicellular yeast and metazoan apoptosis. All IAPs contain one to three baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) domains, which are essential for the anti-apoptotic activity of the IAPs. A homolog of IAPs, CpBir1, which bears two BIR domains, was recently identified from the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica genome. CpIAP was deleted by gene replacement, and the phenotypes of ΔIAP were characterized. CpBir1 was significantly down-regulated by hypovirus infection but up-regulated by H(2)O(2). Similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Bir1p, the Cpbir1 mutant was sensitive to H(2)O(2), and constitutive overexpression of CpBir1 increased resistance to H(2)O(2). The Cpbir1 mutant also showed defects in aerial hyphal formation, colony growth, mycelial morphology, conidiogenesis, pigmentation, resistance to stress conditions and virulence. Genetic complementation with native Cpbir1 fully recovered all these defective phenotypes. The CpBir1-eGFP fusion protein was localized to the nucleus in juvenile cultures, while it was found in the cytoplasm in old cultures, suggesting that the localization pattern of CpBir1 may correlate with the process of anti-apoptosis. Increased accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the Cpbir1 deletion mutant further supports the anti-apoptotic function of CpBir1. Among five selected vegetative compatible (vc) types of C. parasitica, Cpbir1 deletion was found to block virus from transferring between Cpbir1 mutants. However, hypovirus infected Cpbir1 mutants showed a similar ability to transmit virus to other virus-free isolates compared with the infected wild-type strain. In summary, Cpbir1 encodes an IAP CpBir1 that is down-regulated by hypovirus infection and required for conidiation, virulence and anti-apoptosis, as well as affects hypovirus transmission in chestnut blight fungus C. parasitica.