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Background: The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is part of the neurovascular unit (NVU) which plays a key role in maintaining homeostasis. However, its 3D structure is hardly known. The present study is aimed at imaging the BBB using tissue clearing and 3D imaging techniques in both human brain tissue and rat brain tissue. Methods: Both human and rat brain tissue were cleared using the CUBIC technique and imaged with either a confocal or two-photon microscope. Image stacks were reconstructed using Imaris. Results: Double staining with various antibodies targeting endothelial cells, basal membrane, pericytes of blood vessels, microglial cells, and the spatial relationship between astrocytes and blood vessels showed that endothelial cells do not evenly express CD31 and Glut1 transporter in the human brain. Astrocytes covered only a small portion of the vessels as shown by the overlap between GFAP-positive astrocytes and Collagen IV/CD31-positive endothelial cells as well as between GFAP-positive astrocytes and CD146-positive pericytes, leaving a big gap between their end feet. A similar structure was observed in the rat brain. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated the 3D structure of both the human and rat BBB, which is discrepant from the 2D one. Tissue clearing and 3D imaging are promising techniques to answer more questions about the real structure of biological specimens., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Aiwen Chen et al.)

Objective: To observe the effects of conventional drug therapy combined with acupuncture and conventional drug therapy on the morbidity of post-stroke depression and recovery of neurological function in patients with acute stroke, and provide new ideas for prevention and treatment of post-stroke depression., Methods: Sixty patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one.Conventional drug therapy was given in the control group;on the basis of conventional drug therapy,acupuncture was applied at Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN1), Neiguan (PC 6), Hegu (LI 4), Taixi (KI 3), etc. The treatment was given once every day, 6 times a week for 4 weeks in the two groups. The 24 Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD), modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian stroke scale (MESSS) scores were recored before treatment, after 1 week of treatment, and after 4 weeks of treatment in the two groups,and the morbidity of post-stroke depression was compared between the two groups., Results: After 1 week of treatment, the HAMD scale scores of the two groups were higher than those before treatment (both P <0.05), and the MESSS scores were lower than those before treatment in the two groups (both P <0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, the HAMD scale scores in the observation group were lower than that before treatment ( P <0.05), and significantly better than that in the control group ( P <0.01), but there was no significant difference in the control group before and after treatment ( P >0.05). The MESSS scores were lower than those after 1 week of treatment in the two groups (both P <0.05), and the score in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group ( P <0.01). After 4 weeks of treatment, the morbidity of post-stroke depression in the observation group was 23.3% (7/30), which was lower than 66.7% (20/30) in the control group ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: Early acupuncture intervention on stroke patients can not only promote the recovery of neurological function, but also reduce the morbidity of post-stroke depression effectively.

Objective: To observe the effect differences between herb-partition moxibustion and starch-partition moxibustion at navel for constipation with excess syndrome., Methods: Sixty patients were randomly assigned into an herb-partition moxibustion at navel group (herbal group) and a starch-partition moxibustion at navel group (starch group), 30 cases in each one. The acupoint was Shenque (CV 8) in the two groups. The treatment was given once a week and 4 times totally. Scores for constipation degree and quality of life (PAC-QOL) were observed before and after treatment and at follow-up; clinical effects were compared between the two groups as well., Results: After treatment, the scores of constipation degree and QOL were lower than those before treatment in the herbal group ( P <0.01, P <0.05), which were better than those of the starch group ( P <0.01, P <0.05). Good effects were achieved for heat constipation (84.6%), qi constipation (77.8%) and cold constipation (87.5%) in the herbal group, and the improvements of heat constipation and qi constipation were better than corresponding results in the starch group (both P <0.05). The effective rate of the herbal group was 83.3% (25/30), and it was better than 43.3% (13/30) of the starch group. The two scores at follow-up had no statistical significances compared with those after treatment in the herbal group (both P >0.05), but superior to ones of the starch group ( P <0.01, P <0.05); the effective rate of the herbal group was 86.6% (26/30), which was better than 50.0% (15/30) of the starch group ( P <0.01)., Conclusions: Herb-partition moxibustion at navel achieves better short-term and long-term effects than starch-partition for constipation with excess syndrome.