Electro-acupuncture at acupoint ST36 reduces inflammation and regulates immune activity in Collagen-Induced Arthritic Mice

This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic and immuno-regulatory effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) at ST36 on Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. Male DBA/1J mice were divided into five groups: Normal, Control, NR (needle retention), EAI and EAII. All mice except those in the normal group were immunized with Collagen II for arthritis induction. Acupuncture needles were inserted into mice ST36 and electrical currents at a frequency of 2 Hz in a continuous rectangular wave form were conducted through the needles for 15 min, 3 times a week. EA treatments were administered for 5 weeks in the EAI group and for 9 weeks in the EAII group. The mice in the NR group were acupunctured in the same manner as the EA groups and the needles were retained for 15 min without electrical stimulation. CIA incidence analysis, ELISA, histological analysis and FACS analysis were performed to evaluate the effect of EA on CIA. EA at ST36 significantly reduced CIA incidence, IL-6, TNF-a, INF-γ, collagen II antibody, IgG and IgM levels in CIA mice serum and prevented knee joint destruction. EA at ST36 also reduced CD69+/CD3e+ cells and CD11a+/CD19+ cells in CIA mice lymph nodes, and CD11b+/Gr1+ cells in CIA mice knee joints. The ratios of CD3e+ cells to CD19+ cells, and CD8+ cells to CD4+ cells were maintained closer to the normal range in the EA groups as compared with the control group or the NR group. EAII was more effective than EAI throughout all the measurements. The NR was effective as well, though less effective than EA. EA at ST36 may have an anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic and immuno-regulatory effects on CIA in mice. The effectiveness is stronger when EA starts earlier and is applied longer. Needle retention without electrical stimulation may be effective on CIA as well, however less effective than EA. Electrical stimulation and acupoint ST36 may have synergistic effects on CIA

Evaluation of an immunochromatographic assay for the detection of anti-hepatitis A virus IgM

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a causative agent of acute hepatitis, which is transmitted by person-to-person contact and via the faecal-oral route. Acute HAV infection is usually confirmed by anti-HAV IgM detection. In order to detect anti-HAV IgM in the serum of patients infected with HAV, we developed a rapid assay based on immunochromatography (ICA) and evaluated the sensitivity of this assay by comparing it with a commercial microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA) that is widely used for serological diagnosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The newly developed ICA showed 100% sensitivity and specificity when used to test 150 anti-HAV IgM-positive sera collected from infected patients and 75 negative sera from healthy subjects. Also, the sensitivity of ICA is about 10 times higher than MEIA used in this study by determining end point to detect independent on infected genotype of HAV. In addition, the ICA was able to detect 1 positive sample from among 50 sera from acute hepatitis patients that had tested negative for anti-HAV IgM using the MEIA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Conclusively, ICA for the detection of anti-HAV IgM will be very effective for rapid assay to apply clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigation on epidemics due to the simplicity, rapidity and specificity.</p

Impact of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on progression of aortic valve sclerosis and stenosis

BackgroundLittle research has been assessed atherosclerotic risk factors at various stages of calcific aortic valve disease. This study sought to determine risk factors of patients with aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) and mild to moderate aortic stenosis (AS).MethodsThe study included 1,007 patients diagnosed with AVS or mild to moderate AS according to echocardiographic criteria. Patients were identified as a rapid progression group if the annualized difference in peak aortic jet velocity (Vmax) between two echocardiographic examinations was &gt;0.08 m/s/yr in AVS and &gt;0.3 m/s/yr in AS, respectively. We used multivariable logistic regression analyses to assess the factors associated with rapid disease progression or progression to severe AS.ResultsAmong 526 AVS patients, higher LDL-C level (odds ratio [OR] 1.22/per 25 mg/dl higher LDL-C, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–1.43) was significantly associated with rapid disease progression. Compared to patients with LDL-C level &lt;70 mg/dl, the adjusted OR for rapid progression were 1.32, 2.15, and 2.98 for those with LDL-C level of 70–95 mg/dl, 95–120 mg/dl, and ≥120 mg/dl, respectively. Among 481 mild to moderate AS patients, the baseline Vmax (OR 1.79/per 0.5 m/s higher Vmax, 95% CI 1.18–2.70) was associated with rapid progression. Compared to patients with Vmax 2.0–2.5 m/s, the adjusted OR for rapid progression were 2.47, 2.78, and 3.49 for those with Vmax of 2.5–3.0 m/s, 3.0–3.5 m/s, and 3.5–4.0 m/s, respectively. LDL-C and baseline Vmax values were independently associated with progression to severe AS.ConclusionAtherosclerotic risk factors such as LDL-C were significantly associated with the rapid progression in AVS and baseline Vmax was important in the stage of mild to moderate AS

Camptodactyly, Arthropathy, Coxa vara, Pericarditis (CACP)Syndrome: A Case Report

The camptodactyly-arthropathy-coxa vara-pericarditis syndrome (CACP) is characterized by congenital or early-onset camptodactyly, childhood-onset noninflammatory arthropathy associated with synovial hyperplasia. Some patients have pro-gressive coxa vara deformity and/or noninflammatory pericardial effusion. CACP is inherited as an autosomal recessive mode and the disease gene is assigned to a 1.9-cM interval on human chromosome 1q25-31. We describe a 10-yr-old boy who has typical features of CACP without familial association

Bladder Recovery by Stem Cell Based Cell Therapy in the Bladder Dysfunction Induced by Spinal Cord Injury: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Bladder dysfunction induced by spinal cord injury (SCI) can become problematic and severely impair the quality of life. Preclinical studies of spinal cord injury have largely focused on the recovery of limb function while neglecting to investigate bladder recovery. Objective The present study was performed to investigate and review the effect of stem cell-based cell therapy on bladder recovery in SCI. Methods We conducted a meta-analysis of urodynamic findings of experimental trials that included studies of stem cell-based cell therapy in SCI. Relevant studies were searched using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library (January 1990 -December 2012). Final inclusion was determined by a urodynamic study involving detailed numerical values. Urodynamic parameters for analysis included voiding pressure, residual urine, bladder capacity and non-voiding contraction (NVC). Meta-analysis of the data, including findings from urodynamic studies, was performed using the Mantel-Haenszel method. Results A total of eight studies were included with a sample size of 224 subjects. The studies were divided into different subgroups by different models of SCI. After a stem cell-based cell therapy, voiding pressure (-6.35, p < 0.00001, I-2 = 77%), NVC (-3.58, p < 0.00001, I-2 = 82%), residual urine (-024, p = 0.004, I-2 = 95%) showed overall significant improvement. Bladder capacity showed improvement after treatment only in the transection type (-0.23, p = 0.0002, I-2 = 0%). Conclusion After stem cell-based cell therapy in SCI, partial bladder recovery including improvement of voiding pressure, NVC, and residual urine was demonstrated. Additional studies are needed to confirm the detailed mechanism and to obtain an ideal treatment strategy for bladder recovery.open1156sciescopu