Acupuncture has been shown to lessen the inflammatory reaction after acute spinal cord injury and reduce secondary injury.However,the mechanism of action remains unclear.In this study,a rat model of spinal cord injury...Acupuncture has been shown to lessen the inflammatory reaction after acute spinal cord injury and reduce secondary injury.However,the mechanism of action remains unclear.In this study,a rat model of spinal cord injury was established by compressing the T8-9 segments using a modified Nystrom method.Twenty-four hours after injury,Zusanli(ST36),Xuanzhong(GB39),Futu(ST32)and Sanyinjiao(SP6)were stimulated with electroacupuncture.Rats with spinal cord injury alone were used as controls.At 2,4 and 6 weeks after injury,acetylcholinesterase(ACh E)activity at the site of injury,the number of medium and large neurons in the spinal cord anterior horn,glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF)m RNA expression,and Basso,Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale scores were greater in the electroacupuncture group compared with the control group.These results demonstrate that electroacupuncture increases ACh E activity,up-regulates GDNF m RNA expression,and promotes the recovery of motor neuron function in the anterior horn after spinal cord injury.展开更多
Objective:To judge the efficacies of neural stem cell(NSC)transplantation on functional recovery following contusion spinal cord injuries(SCIs).Data sources:Studies in which NSCs were transplanted into a clinically re...Objective:To judge the efficacies of neural stem cell(NSC)transplantation on functional recovery following contusion spinal cord injuries(SCIs).Data sources:Studies in which NSCs were transplanted into a clinically relevant,standardized rat model of contusion SCI were identified by searching the PubMed,Embase and Cochrane databases,and the extracted data were analyzed by Stata 14.0.Data selection:Inclusion criteria were that NSCs were used in in vivo animal studies to treat contusion SCIs and that behavioral assessment of locomotor functional recovery was performed using the Basso,Beattie,and Bresnahan lo-comotor rating scale.Exclusion criteria included a follow-up of less than 4 weeks and the lack of control groups.Outcome measures:The restoration of motor function was assessed by the Basso,Beattie,and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale.Results:We identified 1756 non-duplicated papers by searching the aforementioned electronic databases,and 30 full-text articles met the inclusion criteria.A total of 37 studies reported in the 30 articles were included in the meta-analysis.The meta-analysis results showed that transplanted NSCs could improve the motor function recovery of rats following contusion SCIs,to a moderate extent(pooled standardized mean difference(SMD)=0.73;95%confidence interval(CI):0.47–1.00;P<0.001).NSCs obtained from different donor species(rat:SMD=0.74;95%CI:0.36–1.13;human:SMD=0.78;95%CI:0.31–1.25),at different donor ages(fetal:SMD=0.67;95%CI:0.43–0.92;adult:SMD=0.86;95%CI:0.50–1.22)and from different origins(brain-derived:SMD=0.59;95%CI:0.27–0.91;spinal cord-derived:SMD=0.51;95%CI:0.22–0.79)had similar efficacies on improved functional recovery;however,adult induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NSCs showed no significant efficacies.Furthermore,the use of higher doses of transplanted NSCs or the administration of immunosuppressive agents did not promote better locomotor function recovery(SMD=0.45;95%CI:0.21–0.70).However,shorter periods between the contusion induction and the NSC transplantation showed slightly higher efficacies(acute:SMD=1.22;95%CI:0.81–1.63;subacute:SMD=0.75;95%CI:0.42–1.09).For chronic injuries,NSC implantation did not significantly improve functional recovery(SMD=0.25;95%CI:–0.16 to 0.65).Conclusion:NSC transplantation alone appears to be a positive yet limited method for the treatment of contusion SCIs.展开更多
Assessment of locomotion recovery in preclinical studies of experimental spinal cord injury remains challenging. We studied the CatWalk XT■gait analysis for evaluating hindlimb functional recovery in a widely used an...Assessment of locomotion recovery in preclinical studies of experimental spinal cord injury remains challenging. We studied the CatWalk XT■gait analysis for evaluating hindlimb functional recovery in a widely used and clinically relevant thoracic contusion/compression spinal cord injury model in rats. Rats were randomly assigned to either a T9 spinal cord injury or sham laminectomy. Locomotion recovery was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan open field rating scale and the CatWalk XT■gait analysis. To determine the potential bias from weight changes, corrected hindlimb(H) values(divided by the unaffected forelimb(F) values) were calculated. Six weeks after injury, cyst formation, astrogliosis, and the deposition of chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans were assessed by immunohistochemistry staining. Compared with the baseline, a significant spontaneous recovery could be observed in the CatWalk XT■parameters max intensity, mean intensity, max intensity at%, and max contact mean intensity from 4 weeks after injury onwards. Of note, corrected values(H/F) of CatWalk XT■parameters showed a significantly less vulnerability to the weight changes than absolute values, specifically in static parameters. The corrected CatWalk XT■parameters were positively correlated with the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan rating scale scores, cyst formation, the immunointensity of astrogliosis and chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan deposition. The CatWalk XT■gait analysis and especially its static parameters, therefore, seem to be highly useful in assessing spontaneous recovery of hindlimb function after severe thoracic spinal cord injury. Because many CatWalk XT■parameters of the hindlimbs seem to be affected by body weight changes, using their corrected values might be a valuable option to improve this dependency.展开更多
Our previous study used regional homogeneity analysis and found that activity in some brain areas of patients with ischemic stroke changed significantly. In the current study, we examined structural changes in these b...Our previous study used regional homogeneity analysis and found that activity in some brain areas of patients with ischemic stroke changed significantly. In the current study, we examined structural changes in these brain regions by taking structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of 11 ischemic stroke patients and 15 healthy participants, and analyzing the data using voxel-based morphometry. Compared with healthy participants, patients exhibited higher gray matter density in the left inferior occipital gyrus and right anterior white matter tract. In contrast, gray matter density in the right cerebellum, left precentral gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus was less in ischemic stroke patients. The changes of gray matter density in the middle frontal gyrus were negatively associated with the clin- ical rating scales of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (r = -0.609, P = 0.047) and the left middle temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with the clinical rating scales of the nervous functional deficiency scale (r = -0.737, P = 0.010). Our findings call objectively identify the functional abnormality in some brain regions of ischemic stroke patients.展开更多
Background:Virtual reality(VR)technology is increasingly used in stroke rehabilitation.This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using the glasses-free VR training to improve motor function of upper limb in...Background:Virtual reality(VR)technology is increasingly used in stroke rehabilitation.This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using the glasses-free VR training to improve motor function of upper limb in patients with stroke.Methods:Twelve patients with stroke were recruited to participate in the intervention of 3 weeks.At the baseline and post intervention,two times of evaluation including Fugl-Meyer upper-extremity scale(FMS-UE),transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS)measurement and motion evaluation were performed.Results:No significant difference was observed between two groups at baseline evaluation.After the intervention,the FMS-UE scores presented a greater improvement in the VR group compared with the control group.TMS measurement showed that there was significant difference in cortex latency and central motor conduction time between two groups after the intervention,but no significant difference in the amplitude of motor event potential was observed.In addition,there was a significant correlation between game scores and FMS-UE scores.Conclusions:The novel glasses-free VR training was at least as effective as conventional occupational therapy in upper limb motor function,improving nerve conduction time and corticospinal excitability in patient with stroke.展开更多
Objective:To summarize the current clinical evidence related to the therapeutic effects and safety of adjuvant scalp electro-acupuncture (SEA) treatment for Parkinson's disease in China.Methods:Following the PRISM...Objective:To summarize the current clinical evidence related to the therapeutic effects and safety of adjuvant scalp electro-acupuncture (SEA) treatment for Parkinson's disease in China.Methods:Following the PRISMA statement,seven electronic databases were searched to retrieve randomized controlled clinical trials that used SEA combined with medication as the treatment intervention,and medication as the control.RevMan 5.3 was used to analyze outcomes,including the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS),Webster scale,effectiveness rate,and UPDRS III.Results:Nine randomized controlled trials,with certain methodological flaws and risks of bias,were included that involved 474 participants.SEA combined with medication was more effective than medication alone in overall therapeutic effects,as evidenced by total UPDRS scores (mean difference (MD):7.15,95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24 to 14.07,P =.04),Webster scores (MD:1.60,95% CI 0.20 to 2.99,P =.03),and effectiveness rate (risk ratio:1.35,95% CI 1.19 to 1.54,P <.001).In addition,there was significant improvement in pooled motor function results after adjuvant SEA treatment compared with medication alone (MD:5.75,95% Cl 4.18 to 7.32,P <.001).Conclusion:The combination of SEA and medication may be a promising intervention for patients with Parkinson's disease,especially to improve motor function.However,results were inconclusive,and additional studies with rigorous experimental design and larger sample sizes are needed to verify these results.展开更多
基金supported by a grant from the Shaanxi Province Scientific and Technological Project in China,No.2014TM4193
文摘Acupuncture has been shown to lessen the inflammatory reaction after acute spinal cord injury and reduce secondary injury.However,the mechanism of action remains unclear.In this study,a rat model of spinal cord injury was established by compressing the T8-9 segments using a modified Nystrom method.Twenty-four hours after injury,Zusanli(ST36),Xuanzhong(GB39),Futu(ST32)and Sanyinjiao(SP6)were stimulated with electroacupuncture.Rats with spinal cord injury alone were used as controls.At 2,4 and 6 weeks after injury,acetylcholinesterase(ACh E)activity at the site of injury,the number of medium and large neurons in the spinal cord anterior horn,glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF)m RNA expression,and Basso,Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale scores were greater in the electroacupuncture group compared with the control group.These results demonstrate that electroacupuncture increases ACh E activity,up-regulates GDNF m RNA expression,and promotes the recovery of motor neuron function in the anterior horn after spinal cord injury.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81171147“Key Medical Talents of Qiangwei Project” Research Foundation of Health Department of Jiangsu Province of China,No.ZDRCA2016010+1 种基金“Xingwei Project” Key Personal Medical Research Foundation of Health Department of Jiangsu Province of China,No.RC201156Jiangsu Provincial Key Discipline of Medicine of China,No.XK201117(all to LXL)
文摘Objective:To judge the efficacies of neural stem cell(NSC)transplantation on functional recovery following contusion spinal cord injuries(SCIs).Data sources:Studies in which NSCs were transplanted into a clinically relevant,standardized rat model of contusion SCI were identified by searching the PubMed,Embase and Cochrane databases,and the extracted data were analyzed by Stata 14.0.Data selection:Inclusion criteria were that NSCs were used in in vivo animal studies to treat contusion SCIs and that behavioral assessment of locomotor functional recovery was performed using the Basso,Beattie,and Bresnahan lo-comotor rating scale.Exclusion criteria included a follow-up of less than 4 weeks and the lack of control groups.Outcome measures:The restoration of motor function was assessed by the Basso,Beattie,and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale.Results:We identified 1756 non-duplicated papers by searching the aforementioned electronic databases,and 30 full-text articles met the inclusion criteria.A total of 37 studies reported in the 30 articles were included in the meta-analysis.The meta-analysis results showed that transplanted NSCs could improve the motor function recovery of rats following contusion SCIs,to a moderate extent(pooled standardized mean difference(SMD)=0.73;95%confidence interval(CI):0.47–1.00;P<0.001).NSCs obtained from different donor species(rat:SMD=0.74;95%CI:0.36–1.13;human:SMD=0.78;95%CI:0.31–1.25),at different donor ages(fetal:SMD=0.67;95%CI:0.43–0.92;adult:SMD=0.86;95%CI:0.50–1.22)and from different origins(brain-derived:SMD=0.59;95%CI:0.27–0.91;spinal cord-derived:SMD=0.51;95%CI:0.22–0.79)had similar efficacies on improved functional recovery;however,adult induced pluripotent stem cell-derived NSCs showed no significant efficacies.Furthermore,the use of higher doses of transplanted NSCs or the administration of immunosuppressive agents did not promote better locomotor function recovery(SMD=0.45;95%CI:0.21–0.70).However,shorter periods between the contusion induction and the NSC transplantation showed slightly higher efficacies(acute:SMD=1.22;95%CI:0.81–1.63;subacute:SMD=0.75;95%CI:0.42–1.09).For chronic injuries,NSC implantation did not significantly improve functional recovery(SMD=0.25;95%CI:–0.16 to 0.65).Conclusion:NSC transplantation alone appears to be a positive yet limited method for the treatment of contusion SCIs.
文摘Assessment of locomotion recovery in preclinical studies of experimental spinal cord injury remains challenging. We studied the CatWalk XT■gait analysis for evaluating hindlimb functional recovery in a widely used and clinically relevant thoracic contusion/compression spinal cord injury model in rats. Rats were randomly assigned to either a T9 spinal cord injury or sham laminectomy. Locomotion recovery was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan open field rating scale and the CatWalk XT■gait analysis. To determine the potential bias from weight changes, corrected hindlimb(H) values(divided by the unaffected forelimb(F) values) were calculated. Six weeks after injury, cyst formation, astrogliosis, and the deposition of chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans were assessed by immunohistochemistry staining. Compared with the baseline, a significant spontaneous recovery could be observed in the CatWalk XT■parameters max intensity, mean intensity, max intensity at%, and max contact mean intensity from 4 weeks after injury onwards. Of note, corrected values(H/F) of CatWalk XT■parameters showed a significantly less vulnerability to the weight changes than absolute values, specifically in static parameters. The corrected CatWalk XT■parameters were positively correlated with the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan rating scale scores, cyst formation, the immunointensity of astrogliosis and chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan deposition. The CatWalk XT■gait analysis and especially its static parameters, therefore, seem to be highly useful in assessing spontaneous recovery of hindlimb function after severe thoracic spinal cord injury. Because many CatWalk XT■parameters of the hindlimbs seem to be affected by body weight changes, using their corrected values might be a valuable option to improve this dependency.
基金financially supported by the National Program on Key Basic Research Project of China(973 Program)No.2012CB518501the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81072864
文摘Our previous study used regional homogeneity analysis and found that activity in some brain areas of patients with ischemic stroke changed significantly. In the current study, we examined structural changes in these brain regions by taking structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of 11 ischemic stroke patients and 15 healthy participants, and analyzing the data using voxel-based morphometry. Compared with healthy participants, patients exhibited higher gray matter density in the left inferior occipital gyrus and right anterior white matter tract. In contrast, gray matter density in the right cerebellum, left precentral gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus was less in ischemic stroke patients. The changes of gray matter density in the middle frontal gyrus were negatively associated with the clin- ical rating scales of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (r = -0.609, P = 0.047) and the left middle temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with the clinical rating scales of the nervous functional deficiency scale (r = -0.737, P = 0.010). Our findings call objectively identify the functional abnormality in some brain regions of ischemic stroke patients.
基金This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.31771016,32071316,and 81971224)partly supported by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(No.2020A1515011356)+1 种基金Guangzhou Research Collaborative Innovation Projects(No.201907010034)the Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences(No.2020-JKCS005).
文摘Background:Virtual reality(VR)technology is increasingly used in stroke rehabilitation.This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using the glasses-free VR training to improve motor function of upper limb in patients with stroke.Methods:Twelve patients with stroke were recruited to participate in the intervention of 3 weeks.At the baseline and post intervention,two times of evaluation including Fugl-Meyer upper-extremity scale(FMS-UE),transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS)measurement and motion evaluation were performed.Results:No significant difference was observed between two groups at baseline evaluation.After the intervention,the FMS-UE scores presented a greater improvement in the VR group compared with the control group.TMS measurement showed that there was significant difference in cortex latency and central motor conduction time between two groups after the intervention,but no significant difference in the amplitude of motor event potential was observed.In addition,there was a significant correlation between game scores and FMS-UE scores.Conclusions:The novel glasses-free VR training was at least as effective as conventional occupational therapy in upper limb motor function,improving nerve conduction time and corticospinal excitability in patient with stroke.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81573773 and 81774110)Self-determined Project of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine(2017-JYB-JS-004).
文摘Objective:To summarize the current clinical evidence related to the therapeutic effects and safety of adjuvant scalp electro-acupuncture (SEA) treatment for Parkinson's disease in China.Methods:Following the PRISMA statement,seven electronic databases were searched to retrieve randomized controlled clinical trials that used SEA combined with medication as the treatment intervention,and medication as the control.RevMan 5.3 was used to analyze outcomes,including the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS),Webster scale,effectiveness rate,and UPDRS III.Results:Nine randomized controlled trials,with certain methodological flaws and risks of bias,were included that involved 474 participants.SEA combined with medication was more effective than medication alone in overall therapeutic effects,as evidenced by total UPDRS scores (mean difference (MD):7.15,95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24 to 14.07,P =.04),Webster scores (MD:1.60,95% CI 0.20 to 2.99,P =.03),and effectiveness rate (risk ratio:1.35,95% CI 1.19 to 1.54,P <.001).In addition,there was significant improvement in pooled motor function results after adjuvant SEA treatment compared with medication alone (MD:5.75,95% Cl 4.18 to 7.32,P <.001).Conclusion:The combination of SEA and medication may be a promising intervention for patients with Parkinson's disease,especially to improve motor function.However,results were inconclusive,and additional studies with rigorous experimental design and larger sample sizes are needed to verify these results.