An investigation on the changes of serum CCK-8, substance P, and 5-HT in patients with post-stroke insomnia

BACKGROUND

At present, the pathogenesis of post-stroke insomnia (PSI) is still inconclusive.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the changes and significance of serum cholecystokinin-8 (CCK-8), substance P (SP), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in patients with PSI.

METHODS

Ninety-one patients with stroke were selected as the research subjects, and according to the score of the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), they were divided into the insomnia group and the non-insomnia group. The serum levels of CCK-8, SP, and 5-HT in the two groups were compared to explore their relationships with PSI.

RESULTS

Among the 91 patients, 56 were in the insomnia group and 35 were in the non-insomnia group, and the incidence of insomnia was 61.5%. There was no significant difference in the serum levels of CCK-8, SP, and 5-HT between the two groups (P= 0.696, 0.980, and 0.809, respectively). One-way analysis of variance showed that there was no significant correlation between the serum levels of CCK-8, SP, 5-HT, and the AIS score (P= 0.7393, 0.9581, and 0.5952, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The incidence of PSI was relatively high, but it could not be proved that CCK-8, SP, and 5-HT were involved in the pathogenesis of PSI. There might exist other neurotransmitters involved in the pathophysiological process of PSI, which should be further explored.

The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Functional Electrical Stimulation on the Lower Limb Function of Stroke Patients

Objective: This study aimed to research the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and functional electrical stimulation (FES) on the lower limb function of post-convalescent stroke patients.

Methods: A total of 122 patients in the stroke recovery stage who suffered from leg dysfunction were randomly divided into two groups: a tDCS group (n = 61) and a FES group (n = 61). All patients received same routine rehabilitation and equal treatment quality, the tDCS group was treated with tDCS, while the FES group received FES. The lower limb Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), modified Barthel index (MBI), functional ambulatory category (FAC), and somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) were used to assess the patients at three different stages: prior to treatment, 4 weeks after treatment, and 8 weeks after treatment.

Results: The assessment scores for FMA, MBI, and FAC for the lower extremities after treatment (P > 0.05) were compared with those before treatment. The FMA, MBI, and FAC scores of the tDCS group were significantly higher than those of the FES group in all three stages (P < 0.05). The FMA, MBI, and FAC assessment scores of both groups were significantly higher after 4 weeks of treatment than that before treatment, and the scores after 8 weeks of treatment were significantly higher than those after 4 weeks after treatment (P < 0.05). The P40, N45 latencies decreased and the P40, N45 amplitudes increased, but there was no significant difference before treatment and after treatment (P >0.05), and there was no significant difference of the tDCS and FES groups before treatment and after treatment.

Conclusion: In conclusion, FMA, MBI, and FAC indicate that both tDCS and FES can significantly promote the recovery of a patient’s leg motor function and tDCS is more effective than FES in the stroke recovery stage. The application value of SEP in stroke patients remains to be further studied.

The Clinical Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on the Disturbance of Consciousness in Patients in a Vegetative State

Objective

To explore the effect of combining repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and conventional rehabilitation on the recovery of consciousness in patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS).

Methods

A total of 48 patients in a PVS were randomly divided into a treatment and control group. Patients in the treatment group were treated with rTMS to stimulate the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and patients in the control group were treated with false stimulation. All patients were evaluated using scales and neuroelectrophysiological assessment before treatment, after 30 days of treatment, and following 60 days of treatment.

Results

Based on the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) and electroencephalogram (EEG) grading indexes, the treatment group was significantly higher than those of the control group after 30 and 60 days of treatment. The average difference in the three measurements between the two groups before treatment, at 30 days, and 60 days was 0.04, 1.54, and 2.09 for CRS-R and 0.08, −0.83, and −0.62 for EEG indexes, respectively. The latency periods of each wave of the brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) in the treatment group were shorter than those in the control group after 30 and 60 days of treatment. In both groups, the BAEP scores after 30 days of treatment were significantly higher than the scores before treatment, and the scores after 60 days of treatment were higher than the scores after 30 days.

Conclusion

In patients in a PVS, rTMS assists in the recovery of consciousness function.

TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β contributes to TLR3/TLR4 triggered apoptosis and inflammation in nucleus pulposus cells

The senescence and degeneration of the intervertebral disc are closely related to the reduction of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells caused by apoptosis. TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-β (TRIF) is an adapter for Toll-like receptors 3/4 (TLR3/4), which involves in cell apoptosis. The aim of this study is to detect the role of TRIF in the apoptotic progress of NP cells. The expression of collagen II, aggrecan, TLR3/4, and TRIF were analyzed in different degrees of degenerated human NP samples from patients. NP cells were isolated from mild degenerated tissues and cultured with IL-1β to accelerate the degradation, and treated with TLR3/4 protein. siRNA was used to silence TRIF gene expression, and TRLF-plasmid was used to upregulate TRLF gene expression. We used flow cytometry assay to analyze cell apoptosis. The expression of collagen II, aggrecan, TLF3/4, TRIF, caspase-8/3, MMP-13, TNF-α was determined by immunofluorescence, Western blot, or RT-PCR. That the expression of collagen II and aggrecan markedly decreased, but TLF3/4, TRIF, caspase-8/3, MMP-3, TNF-α, and IL-1β were increased in severely degenerated disc tissues. IL-1β treatment induced NP cell degeneration and TLF3/4, TRIF, caspase-8/3, MMP-3, TNF-α overexpression. TLF3/4 protein treatment promoted NP cell degeneration and apoptosis by upregulation of TRIF, caspase-8/3, MMP-3, and TNF-α. Furthermore, TRIF silencing reversed the negative effect of TLF3/4 overexpression, and TRIF overexpression played the same role in NP cell apoptosis. Based on these results, we believe that TRIF is activated in a degenerated intervertebral disc. TLF3/4 promotes NP cell apoptosis and inflammation through the TRLF adaptor. TRLF expression is positively related to the apoptosis and inflammation in NP cells. These results suggest a therapeutic potential of the TRIF in the treatment of disc degeneration.

Emergence and complete genome of Senecavirus A in pigs of Henan Province in China, 2017

Senecavirus A (SVA) the only member of the Senecavirus genus within the Picornaviridae family, is an emerging pathogen causing swine idiopathic vesicular disease and epidemic transient neonatal losses. Here, SVA strain (CH-HNKZ-2017) was isolated from a swine farm exhibiting vesicular disease in Henan Province of Central China. A phylogenetic analysis based on complete genome sequence indicated that CH-HNKZ-2017 was closely related to US-15-40381IA, indica- ting that a new SVA isolate had emerged in China.

[Analysis of related factors of coins foreign bodies crossing the esophagus in 204 cases of children]

Objective:To explore the anti-tumor effect of Stat3 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide on human Hep-2 cell tumor-bearing BALB/c nude mouse, to study the therapeutic value of Stat3 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide on laryngeal cancer. Method:Hep-2 cells from human laryngeal carcinoma in logarithmic phase were inoculated subcutaneously into BALB/c mice to establish a model of human Hep-2 cell tumor-bearing BALB/c mice. They were divided into blank group, control group and different concentrations of AS3 groups(1 group, 2 group, 3 group, 4 group), and then intraperitoneally administered once a day for 4 weeks, measuring body weight twice a week, and the long and short diameters of the tumors were recorded. After 4 weeks, the mice in each group were weighted. The subcutaneous transplanted tumors were dissected, weighted, and inhibitory rate was obtained.Result:Stat3 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide can obviously inhibited the growth of human Hep-2 cell tumor-bearing BALB/c mice with the concentration of antisense oligodeoxynucleotide heightened. The IR in different concentration AS3 groups was obviously higher than that in the control group(P<0.01) .Conclusion:Stat3 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide can obviously inhibit the growth of subcutaneous transplanted tumors in human Hep-2 cell tumor-bearing BALB/c mice, and may have therapeutical effect on laryngeal cancer.

[The application of radiofrequency ablation in the resection of lateral skull base tumor through an endoscopic endonasal approach]

Objective:To summarize our experience of resecting tumors in lateral skull base via a radiofrequency ablation-assisted endoscopic approach to investigate the safety and feasibility of the technique and to assess its treatment outcomes.Method:Twelve patients with lateral skull base tumor were operated through a radiofrequency ablationassisted endoscopic transnasal or transoral approach. In this study, the operative technique was described,and the degree of resection, complications and the clinical outcomes was analyzed.Result:Complete resection was achieved in all patients using this technique. No patient in the series experienced a new neurological deficit, cerebrospinal fluid leak or meningitis after surgery. One patient suffered from dissecting aneurysm on 4th day after operation. And the dissecting aneurysm were treated by vascular interventional therapy. No recurrence and death related skull base tumor in the follow-up period(28-30 months) were found. The volume of intraoperative blood loss was from 60 ml to 500 ml(medium 190 ml). The duration of operations was from 60 min to 180 min(medium 95 min).Conclusion:Our limited experience indicates that this technique is feasible and safe for the complete resection of some skull base tumors in selected cases.

Association of MMP3 genotype with susceptibility to frozen shoulder: a case-control study in a Chinese Han population

Genetic factors may play an important role in frozen shoulder etiology, which may involve matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) gene polymorphisms. In this study, we examined single nucleotide polymorphisms in MMP3 for their association with frozen shoulder susceptibility in a Chinese Han population. The rs591058, rs650108, and rs679620 polymorphisms in the MMP3 gene were genotyped in 112 subjects diagnosed as having frozen shoulder and in 143 healthy controls. rs650108 was found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of frozen shoulder. For other single nucleotide polymorphisms, no statistically significant associations with frozen shoulder were found. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that the MMP3 rs650108 variant was significantly associated with increased frozen shoulder susceptibility in a Chinese Han population.