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Through searching the literature on the mechanism of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea in the last 15 years, this paper summarizes systematically the current study progress on the analgesic mechanism of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea, from the perspectives of animal experiment and human trials. In terms of research methods, the behavioral observation, evaluation of central and peripheral biochemical indexes, and molecular biological techniques were mainly used in the animal experiments; whilst the clinical symptoms and evaluation of peripheral serum biochemical indexes were focused on in human trials. As for the research results, the animal experiments showed that acupuncture may play an analgesic role by regulating endocrine, promoting the release of central and peripheral neurotransmitters, regulating immune function, and relieving uterine smooth muscle spasm. However, the human trials have found that acupuncture can produce analgesic effects by regulating serum prostaglandin and ovarian hormone levels, promoting the release of peripheral β-endorphin, improving the uterine artery flow status, and relieving uterine smooth muscle spasm. Although different research methods were used in animal and human studies, the similar results were obtained in acupuncture regulating endocrine levels, promoting release of peripheral neurotransmitters, and alleviating uterine smooth muscle spasms. In addition, at present stage, animal experiments are more than human trials in numbers, and there are relatively few studies on the central mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in human trials. Therefore, in view of this phenomenon, this paper proposes to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology to explore the central mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in human body, so as to provide a new idea for further exploring the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia in treating primary dysmenorrhea.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of different acupuncture modalities in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis a tthrough different clinical stages. Methods Ninety patients of adhesive capsulitis weregraded in three different stages based on clinical presentations. Patients in painful stage were treated with silver needles once every 5to 7 days for two courses; patients in adhesive stage were given acupotomy treatment every 7 to 10 days for two courses; while patients in recovery stage were treated with acupuncture with warm needles by moxibustion on tendon knots, once a day 10 times in a course, for two courses of treatment. The disease scores were compared between all groups before and after the treatment, and clinical efficacy was evaluated after the treatment. Results The disease scores in patients of all three stages were higher after treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (all P Conclusion For adhesive capsulitis,different acupuncture modalities targeting patients in different clinical stages were feasible and effective, the disease scores of patients were significantly improved.

Numerous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the brain plasticity is associated with chronic low back pain (cLBP). However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms of thalamic pathways for chronic pain and psychological effects in cLBP caused by lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Combining psychophysics and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we investigated the structural and functional brain plasticity in 36 patients with LDH compared with 38 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. We found that (1) LDH patients had increased psychophysical disturbs (i.e., depression and anxiety), and depression (Beck-Depression Inventory, BDI) was found to be an outstanding significant factor to predict chronic pain (short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, SF-MPQ); (2) the LDH group showed significantly smaller fractional anisotropy values in the region of posterior corona radiate while gray matter volumes were comparable in both groups; (3) resting state functional connectivity analysis revealed that LDH patients exhibited increased temporal coupling between the thalamus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which further mediate the relationship from chronic pain to depression. Our results emphasized that thalamic pathways underlying prefrontal cortex might play a key role in regulating chronic pain and depression of the pathophysiology of LDH.

In this report, acupoint embedding method was used for a 25-year-old female patient with epilepsy. The patient suffered from repeated paroxysmal unconsciousness combined with convulsions of four limbs for 13 years, and exacerbation for 2 months. She was orally administered with antiepileptic drugs which showed poor control. Using the treatment principles of regulating the mind, opening the orifices, extinguishing wind, and relieving epilepsy, suture-embedded acupoints include Dazhuī (大椎 GV14), Baihui (百会 GV20), Xuanlu (悬颅 GB5), Yāoqi (腰奇 EX-B9), Gānshū (肝俞 BL18), Jiūwĕi (鸠尾 CV15), Jiānshĭ (间使 PC5), and Fēnglong (丰隆 ST40), and the patient was treated once a month (qw). After treatment for 6 times, the patient had occasionally a seizure that lasted for several seconds, and the patient's condition was improved obviously. Acupoint embedding method can control the frequency of epileptic seizures effectively, and reduce the dose of antiepileptic drugs, and deserves further research.

Mechanical unloading-induced bone loss is a clinical challenge, and deep understanding for this disease is necessary for developing novel and effective therapies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, and involved in bone remodeling. In the study, we attempted to explore the potential of miR-133a in regulating osteoblast activation and its anti-osteopenia function both in vitro and in vivo. Our in vitro studies at first showed that miR-133a could significantly promote the expression of osteocalcin (OCN), Collagen I, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osterix (Osx), promoting the activation and mineralization of osteoblasts. Then, hindlimb unloading (HU)-challenged mice were established with or without intravenous injection of agomir-miR-133a using an osteoblast-targeting delivery system. We found that miR-133a in osteoblasts significantly alleviated the bone loss, microstructural, and biomechanical property in mice with mechanical unloading, contributing to osteopenia alleviation. Furthermore, both in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that miR-133a could restrain osteoclastogenesis via tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. In conclusion, our results suggested that miR-133a may be a promising factor in mediating the occurrence and progression of osteopenia caused by mechanical unloading, and thus targeting miR-133a could be considered as an effective therapeutic strategy for the suppression of pathological osteopenia.

Background In the last decades, full-endoscopic techniques to treat lumbar disc herniation (LDH) have gained popularity in clinical practice. However, few studies have described the safety and efficacy of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) in treating younger patients with LDH. This study aims to evaluate the preliminary surgical outcome and complication of PTED in treating younger patients with LDH. Methods Between June 2012 and June 2016, 72 young patients (

To observe amplitude changes of low frequency fluctuation in brain spontaneous nervous activities induced by needling at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel, and to preliminarily explore the possible brain function network of Hand Taiyin Lung Channel.By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 16 healthy volunteers underwent resting-state scanning (R1) and scanning with retained acupuncture at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel (acupuncture, AP). Data of fMRI collected were statistically calculated using amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF).Under R1 significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus. Under AP significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, bilateral superior frontal gyrus, cerebellum, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, and so on. Compared with R1, needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly enhance ALFF in right gyrus subcallosum and right inferior frontal gyrus. Significant decreased ALFF appeared in right postcentral gyrus, left precuneus, left superior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and so on.Needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly change fixed activities of cerebral cortex, especially in right subcallosal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, and so on.

：(Ti, Al)N films were deposited on high-speed steel (HSS) by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technique under a nitrogen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction was used to characterize the structure of the films .The micro-hardness was tested. The result shows that the crystal structure and mechanical properties of (Ti,Al)N films are strongly dependent on the nitrogen partial pressure. The structure of (Ti,Al)N films is composed of Ti2N phase, TiN phase and TixAly phase. The hardness increases to a maximum at the nitrogen partial pressure of 8•0×10-2Pa, then decreases with increasing nitrogen partial pressure.

Through study on articles of fMRI and acupuncture-moxibustion of the recent 10 years, application of fMRI on specificity studies of meridians and acupoints such as comparison of single acupoint, point group, various manipulations, essence of needling sensation and indications of acupuncture, etc. were summarized. And it is held that the future study should be focused on the entire meridian. The principle of the relationship among meridians, the centre nerve and Zang-fu organs should be explored as well at a new level so as to promote the further studies on essence of meridian.

Objective To study the effects of Naomaitong Recipe, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on the expressions of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and nitric-oxide synthases (NOSs) in brain tissue after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion in aged rats and the dosage-effect relationship. Methods We adopted the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in aged rats as the focal cerebral ischemia model, with 3-hour ischemia and 12-day reperfusion, and observed the changes of the nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution and the expressions of NF-kappaB, heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) and NOSs in cerebral cortex. Results The nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution, the expressions of NF-kappaB, HSP70, neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS), endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) in the untreated group were higher than those of the sham-operated group. The nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution, the expressions of NF-kappaB, iNOS and nNOS were lower, while the expressions of HSP70 and eNOS were higher in the high-, medium- and low-dose Naomaitong-treated groups and nimodipine-treated group than those of the untreated-group. The nerve dysfunction score and the expression of nNOS were lower, while the expression of eNOS was higher in the medium-dose Naomaitong-treated group than those of the nimodipine-treated group. The expressions of HSP70 and eNOS were higher, while the other indices were lower in the medium-dose Naomaitong-treated group than those of the low-dose Naomaitong-treated group. Conclusion Naomaitong Recipe can protect the brain cells from damage after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury by adjusting the expressions of NF-kappaB, HSP70 and NOSs, and the medium-dose Naomaitong Recipe is more effective.

This study aims to examine amplitude changes of low-frequency oscillations (fALFF) in the blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal associated with acupuncture on NeiGuan (PC6).Ten (10) healthy adults participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (i.e., nuclear medicine; fMRI) study. During the brain-imaging procedure, the participants were instructed to lie quietly; they did not perform any cognitive task.Three (3) fMRI scans were conducted for each participant: a first resting-state scan (R1), a stimulating-acupoint scan (AP), and a second resting-state scan (R2) after AP. Individual fALFF maps were calculated for each scan.During R1, consistent with previous studies, the default network regions showed significantly detectable fALFF amplitudes. Acupuncture on PC6 increased fALFF amplitudes within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), occipital fusiform gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus (PCC/PCU). In contrast, during R2, fALFF within PCC is still significantly higher than R1 while ACC and cerebellum showed decreased fALFF.These findings imply that stimulating PC6 can change the amplitude of the intrinsic cortical activity of the brain. In particular, a continuous and temporally consistent effect of acupuncture within PCC not the common brain circuit of pain including ACC and cerebellum was observed. Considering the cognitive functions and deficits of the relevant areas in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease, acupuncture on PC6 could potentially affect both psychiatric and neurological disorders. Thus, stimulating PC6 may be a candidate method for improving cognitive impairment.

To elucidate the mechanism of angiogenesis after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in the aged rats by observing the changes in expressions of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and transformation growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1).Young Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were classified into groups by random digits table, and aged SD rats were stratified by different body weight. Rats were randomly divided into groups of sham operation, ischemia (I) 3 hours, I/R 1, 3, 6, 12 days, with 6 rats in each group. Focal cerebral I/R model was reproduced by intraluminal filament technique. Microvessel density (MVD) of brain tissue, sum area of lumens were observed, and the expressions of bFGF protein, TGF-β1 protein and TGF-β1 mRNA were assessed with immunohistochemistry and hybridization in situ.MVD in young model group began to increase at I 3 hours, peaking at I/R 6 days, maintained up to I/R 12 days. MVD in aged model group began to descend at I 3 hours and continued to I/R 12 days. Sum area of lumens in young model group increased markedly at I/R 1 day, gradually lowered at I/R 1-6 days, and increased obviously again at I/R 12 days. Sum area of lumens in aged model group reached peak at I/R 1 day, gradually decreased subsequently. MVD in aged sham operation group were higher than that in young sham operation group (6.88±1.60 vs. 5.50±1.53, P0.01). MVD and sum area of lumens in aged model group at I/R 1, 3, 6, 12 days were lower than young model group. Expressions of bFGF protein, TGF-β1 protein in young and aged model group were both gradually up-regulated, all of them reaching peak at I/R 3 days, and lowered gradually at I/R 3-12 days subsequently. Expressions of bFGF protein (grey level) in both aged sham operation group and those of model group at I 3 hours, I/R 1, 3, 12 days were lower than those of young sham operation and those of the model group at the same time points (176.80±5.10 vs. 172.82±1.53, 171.81±2.43 vs. 167.85±2.41, 167.99±5.51 vs. 164.90±2.15, 152.98±4.11 vs. 150.75±1.11, 165.67±3.55 vs. 161.73±1.29, P0.05 or P0.01). Expressions of TGF-β1 protein (grey level) in both aged sham operation and those of model group at I 3 hours, I/R 1, 3, 6, 12 days were all lower than those of young sham operation and those of model group at the same time points (182.69±3.12 vs. 176.13±4.08, 176.89±2.30 vs. 170.56±7.47, 171.74±2.70 vs. 165.43±2.91, 157.17±5.20 vs. 150.43±4.28, 161.72±4.81 vs. 155.37±2.92, 167.69±2.18 vs. 160.28±3.59, all P0.01). TGF-β1 mRNA expressions in both young model group and aged model group reached peak at I/R 1 day, gradually lowered subsequently. Expressions of TGF-β1 mRNA (gray level) in both aged sham operation and those of model group at I 3 hours, I/R 3, 6, 12 days were lower than those of young sham operation and also model group at the same time points (176.51±9.52 vs. 169.09±5.08, 176.75±5.74 vs. 165.36±4.78, 177.33±5.68 vs. 165.25±8.14, 178.46±4.91 vs. 170.51±4.29, 203.95±4.51 vs. 181.98±5.59, all P0.01).Angiogenesis is obviously weak after cerebral I/R in the aged, and the mechanism of which might be related to the down-regulation of expressions of bFGF protein, TGF-β1 protein and TGF-β1 mRNA. Aging factor may be one of the main reasons which induce the down regulation of expressions mentioned above.

Spatial smoothing is typically used to denoise magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Gaussian smoothing kernels, associated with heat equations or isotropic diffusion (ISD), are widely adopted for this purpose because of their easy implementation and efficient computation, but despite these advantages, Gaussian smoothing kernels blur the edges, curvature and texture of images. To overcome these issues, researchers have proposed anisotropic diffusion (ASD) and non-local means [i.e., diffusion (NLD)] kernels. However, these new filtering paradigms are rarely applied to MRI analyses. In the current study, using real degraded MRI data, we demonstrated the effect of denoising using ISD, ASD and NLD kernels. Furthermore, we evaluated their impact on three common preprocessing steps of MRI data analysis: brain extraction, segmentation and registration. Results suggest that NLD-based spatial smoothing is most effective at improving the quality of MRI data preprocessing and thus should become the new standard method of smoothing in MRI data processing. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

To probe into an effective therapy for chronic pain of cervical intervertebral disc.Sixty-six cases of chronic pain of cervical intervertebral disc were randomly divided into an acupoint sticking group and an acu puncture group, 33 cases in each group. The acupoint sticking group was treated with acupoint sticking therapy, and the acupuncture group with acupuncture. Tianding (LI 17), Futu (LI 18), Dazhui (GV 14), Tianzong (S 11), etc. were selected in the two groups. After treatment for 3 therapeutic courses, their therapeutic effects were observed.The effective rate was 93.5% in the acupoint sticking group and 72.4% in the acupuncture group, the former being better than the latter (P0.05); in a 3-month following-up survey, the effective rate was 90.3% in the acupoint sticking group and 65.5% in the acupuncture group, the former being better than the latter (P0.05).The acupoint sticking therapy has an satisfactory therapeutic effect on chronic pain of cervical intervertebral disc.

To explore the mechanism of acupoint thread embedding (ATE) in treating Alzheimer's disease (AD) by means of brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).Twenty-six patients with mild to moderate AD were assigned to the tested group and the control group in pairing, 13 in each group. ATE was performed in patients of the tested group at Shenmen (HT7), Fenglong (ST40), Taixi (KI3) and Zusanli (ST36) acupoints, once every month for 6 times in total; but for patients of the control group only sham operation was done at the same acupoints. The correlation between cognitive ability and fMRI were assessed by comparing the scores of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Alzhemer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive section (ADAS-Cog), monitored at two time points, namely, in one week before starting treatment and 1 week after terminating 6-month treatment. Furthermore, fMRI was detected to obtain the data of the cerebral blood oxygen content before treatment and 6 months after completing the 6-month therapeutic course. Correlation analysis was conducted on the obtained data using software SPM.After treatment, changes of MMSE score significently increased in the test group (P0.01) and decreased in the control group (P0.01), and ADAS-Cog decreased in the test group (P0.01) and increased in the control group (P0.05), showing statistical significance between the two groups (P0.01, P0.05). The activated regions related with the change of MMSE were mainly inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus, on the left cerebrum and superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, hippocampal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, postcentral gyrus, paracentral lobule on the right cerebrum; those related with change of ADAS-Cog were superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, hippocampal gyrus on the left cerebrum, and superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, fusiform gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, middle occipital gyrus on the right cerebrum.ATE could improve the cognitive ability of AD patients, its possible mechanism may be through the activation on the cognition related regions of frontal, temporal lobe and marginal system, as well as those of cerebellum.

To search the mechanism of Huaisanzhen in treating the nerve root pain caused by protrusion of lumbar intervertebra disc.Sixty male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal control group, a sham operation control group, a model control group, an aspirin-DL-lysine control group, a routine body acupuncture group, and a Huaisanzhen treatment group. The aspirin-DL-lysine control group, the routine body acupuncture group and the Huaisanzhen treatment group were treated by aspirin-DL-lysine through intramuscular injection, routine acupuncture and Huaisanzhen therapy, respectively. The pain threshold and the content of brain 5-HT in each group were determined.The pain threshold significantly increased in the Huaisanzhen treatment group as compared with that in the model control group at the same hour points (P0.05). And at the 30 min, the pain threshold in the aspirin-DL-lysine control group and the routine body acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the model control group, and the Huaisanzhen treatment group was significantly higher than that in the aspirin-DL-lysine control group and the routine body acupuncture group (all P0.05). The 5-HT contents at the same time in the Huaisanzhen treatment group were higher than those of the model control group and the aspirin-DL-lysine control group (P0.01). The 5-HT content at 30 min in the Huaisanzhen treatment groups was significantly higher than that of the routine body acupuncture group (P0.05).The analgesic effect of Huaisanzhen treatment is closely related to increase of 5-HT content in the brain.

To observe clinical therapeutic effect of catgut implantation at acupoint on Alzheimer's disease (AD).Twenty-six cases with mild-moderate AD were divided into an acupoint catgut implantation group and a control group by sample-paired method. The acupoint catgut implantation group were treated with cat-gut implantation at Shenmen (HT 7), Zusanli (ST 36), Fenglong (ST 40) and Taixi (KI 3), and the control group with the same manipulation at the same acupoints with no catgut implanted, once each month, for 6 months. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Section (ADAS-Cog) scores were recorded before and after treatment and analyzed statistically.After treatment, the score of MMSE significantly increased (P0.01), the score of ADAS-Cog significantly decreased (P0.01) and the score of ADL did not significantly change in the acupoint catgut implantation group; compared with the control group, the score of MMSE in the acupoint catgut implantation significantly increased (P0.01), the score of ADAS-Cog significantly decreased (P0.05) and the score of ADL did not significantly change in the acupoint catgut implantation.Acupoint catgut implantation therapy increases cognitive function of the patient of AD, which provides a new therapeutic method for aged AD.

To observe the analgesic effect of ankle-three-needle on nerve root pain of prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.Three hundred and eighty cases were randomly divided into an ankle-three-needle group, a routine acupuncture group and a medication group. The ankle-three-needle group were treated with ankle-three-needle therapy, i. e. according to different prolapse segments, points Gentong No. 1, 2 and 3 were selected with lifting-kneading needle insertion method used and the needle was inserted along the skin; the routine acupuncture group were treated with acupuncture at Shenshu (BL 23), Qihaishu (BL 24) and Jiaji (EX-B 2) of the prolapse corresponding segment, and Ciliao (BL 32), etc. with uniform reinforcing-reducing manipulation; the medication group were treated with routine buttock intramuscular injection of aspirin-DL-lysine plus saline.The time inducing analgesia was 6 min in the ankle-three-needle group, 27 min in the routine acupuncture group and 18 min in the medication group. The effect-lasting time was 24.48 h in the ankle-three-needle group, 8.93 h in the routine acupuncture group and 6.36 h in the medication group, with a significant difference as the ankle-three-needle group compared with both the routine acupuncture group and the medication group, but with no significant difference between the routine acupuncture group and the medication group. After treatment, there were very significant differences in change tendency of the analgesic score among the three groups at all the time points (P0.01). And there was very significant differences in the changing tendency of straight-leg raising test among the three groups at 0.5 h, 1 h, 24 h and 48 h (P0.001).Ankle-three-needle has obvious therapeutic effect on nerve root pain induced by prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.

To study the protective effect of Naomaitong on inflammatory cascade response after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion in aged rats.We duplicated focal cerebral ischemia model with MCAO, with ischemia 3 h and I/R 1, 3, 6, 12 d points. The effect of Naomaitong on the nervous dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution and the expression of TNF-alpha, VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and its mRNA were observed, and the group with nimodipine was as control.The nervous dysfunction score (I/R1, 3, 6 d), the water content of cerebral constitution (all the time points), the expression of TNF-alpha, VCAM-1 (I 3 h, I/R 1, 3, 6 d), ICAM-1 (I 3 h,I/R 1, 3, 6 d) and its Mrna (all the time points) in model group were higher than those of the sham-operated group; The nervous dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution (I/R 3, 6, 12 d), the expression of TNF-alpha, VCAM-1 (I 3 h, I/R 1, 3 d), ICAM-1 and its mRNA (I 3 h, I/R 1, 3 d) in model group were decreased compared with that of model group. The nervous dysfunction score (I/R 6, 12 d), the expression of TNF-alpha, ICAM-1 (I/R 1d) and its mRNA (I/R 1, 3 d) in Naomaitong group were higher than that of Nimodipine group.Naomaitong could protect brain cell from damage after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury by inhibiting the expression of TNF-alpha, adhesion molecule.

To investigate the changes in expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha), vascular cellular adhesive molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecular-1 (ICAM-1) and its mRNA expression, and the pathogenetic mechanism of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) in elderly.Thirty six male young SD rats (5-6 months old) and 36 male aged SD rats (20-21 months old) were randomly divided into young sham operated group, young model group, aged sham operated group and aged model group, respectively. The two model groups were randomly divided into ischemia 3 hours (I 3 h), I/R 1, 3, 6, 12 days groups. There were 6 rats in each group. Focal cerebral I/R model was replicated with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The changes of the nervous dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution and the expression of TNF-alpha, VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and ICAM-1 mRNA were observed at each time point.The expression of TNF-alpha in the aged sham operated group were higher than that of the young sham operated group. The nervous dysfunction score (I 3 h and I/R 1-12 d), the water content of cerebral constitution (I/R 1-6 d), the expression of TNF-alpha (I 3 h and I/R 1-6 d), VCAM-1 (I 3 h and I/R 1 d), ICAM-1 (I 3 h and I/R 1-6 d) and ICAM-1 mRNA (I 3 h and I/R 1-12 d) in young model group and aged model group were higher than those of the young sham operated group and the aged sham operated group respectively. The nervous dysfunction score (I 3 h, I/R 6 d), the expression of TNF-alpha (I/R 1, 3 d), VCAM-1 (I/R 3, 6 d), ICAM-1 (I 3 h, I/R 1 d) and ICAM-1 mRNA (I/R 1-6 d) in aged model group were higher than that of young model group.The cerebral I/R injury is correlated with the up regulation of TNF-alpha, VCAM-1,ICAM-1 and its mRNA expression. The cerebral I/R injury of aged rats is more serious than that of young rats which might be associated with up regulation of TNF-alpha, adhesion molecules expression with aging.

To search for an effective method for treatment of prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.Ninety-four cases were randomly divided into a treatment group of 48 cases and a control group of 46 cases. The treatment group were treated by acupuncture and moxibustion combined with sacral injection and the control group with simple sacral injection. Their therapeutic effects were compared.The cured and total effective rates were 64.6% and 97.9% in the treatment group, and 37.0% and 89.1% in the control group, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (both P0.05).Acupuncture and moxibustion combined with sacral injection has a significant therapeutic effect on prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.

To search for an effective therapy for the nerve root pain caused by prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.One hundred and ninety-two cases were randomly divided into a Huaisanzhen group of 96 cases, a drug control group of 48 cases and an acupuncture control group of 48 cases. The Huaisanzhen group were treated by Huaisanzhen therapy, the drug control group by intramuscular injection of aspirin-DL-lysine and the acupuncture control group by routine acupuncture.The time inducing analgesic effect was shorter, the effect-lasting time was longer, and the analgesic effect and the comprehensive therapeutic effect were better in the treatment group as compared with the two control groups with very significant differences (P0.01).Huaisanzhen therapy has a better analgesic effect on the nerve root pain due to prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.