Functional magnetic resonance imaging has been widely used to investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity. However, most functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have focused on acute changes in bra...Functional magnetic resonance imaging has been widely used to investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity. However, most functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have focused on acute changes in brain activation induced by acupuncture. Thus, the time course of the therapeutic effects of acupuncture remains unclear. In this study, 32 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment were randomly divided into two groups, where they received either Tiaoshen Yizhi acupuncture or sham acupoint acupuncture. The needles were either twirled at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints, including Sishencong（EX-HN1）, Yintang（EX-HN3）, Neiguan（PC6）, Taixi（KI3）, Fenglong（ST40）, and Taichong（LR3）, or at related sham acupoints at a depth of approximately 15 mm, an angle of ± 60°, and a rate of approximately 120 times per minute. Acupuncture was conducted for 4 consecutive weeks, five times per week, on weekdays. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging indicated that connections between cognition-related regions such as the insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, inferior parietal lobule, and anterior cingulate cortex increased after acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints. The insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus acted as central brain hubs. Patients in the Tiaoshen Yizhi group exhibited improved cognitive performance after acupuncture. In the sham acupoint acupuncture group, connections between brain regions were dispersed, and we found no differences in cognitive function following the treatment. These results indicate that acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints can regulate brain networks by increasing connectivity between cognition-related regions, thereby improving cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment.展开更多
Background Twist is a highly conserved epithelial-mesenchymal transcription factor that has been reported to be a key factor in tumor malignancy, including lymph node metastasis. It represents the major step of dissem...Background Twist is a highly conserved epithelial-mesenchymal transcription factor that has been reported to be a key factor in tumor malignancy, including lymph node metastasis. It represents the major step of dissemination and serves as a chief prognostic indicator of disease progression. However, the mechanism by which Twist regulates lymph node metastasis remains incompletely understood. Studies on the mechanism of metastasis are thus required for determining appropriate therapeutic strategies.Methods Immunohistochemistry for lymphatic vessel endothelial receptor 1 （LYVE-1）, Ki-67, Twist, vascular endothelial growth factor C （VEGF-C）, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 （VEGFR-3） was performed to detect lymphatic vessel density （LVD）, cell proliferation levels and the expressions of Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3 were determined from 66 primary supraglottic carcinoma tissue samples from 36 patients with lymph node metastasis （pathological N＋, pN＋） and 30 patients without metastasis （pathological NO, pNO）. Western blotting analysis of the proteins in pN＋ and pNO primary tumors was used to characterize the expressions of Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3further.Results The LVD was 22.4±10.3 in pN＋ patients and 6.8±4.1 in pNO ones. For Ki-67, the number of proliferous cells in pN＋ patients was greater than that in pNO ones. Both, however, were associated with their clinical nodal stages. In pN＋patients, Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3 expressions were 86.11% （31/36）, 80.56% （29/36）, and 58.33% （21/36）,respectively. These values were higher than those found for pNO patients （i.e., 13/30, 11/30, and 7/30, respectively） （P 〈0.05）. Among the samples with Twist expression, 88.64% were VEGF-C-positive and 59.09% were VEGFR-3-positive.The pNO counterparts were 4.55% and 9.09%, respectively （P〈0.05）. The expressions of Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3in pN＋ patients obtained through Western blotting analysis were significantly higher than those in pNO patients,展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81173354a grant from the Science and Technology Plan Project of Guangdong Province of China,No.2013B021800099a grant from the Science and Technology Plan Project of Shenzhen City of China,No.JCYJ20150402152005642
文摘Functional magnetic resonance imaging has been widely used to investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity. However, most functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have focused on acute changes in brain activation induced by acupuncture. Thus, the time course of the therapeutic effects of acupuncture remains unclear. In this study, 32 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment were randomly divided into two groups, where they received either Tiaoshen Yizhi acupuncture or sham acupoint acupuncture. The needles were either twirled at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints, including Sishencong（EX-HN1）, Yintang（EX-HN3）, Neiguan（PC6）, Taixi（KI3）, Fenglong（ST40）, and Taichong（LR3）, or at related sham acupoints at a depth of approximately 15 mm, an angle of ± 60°, and a rate of approximately 120 times per minute. Acupuncture was conducted for 4 consecutive weeks, five times per week, on weekdays. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging indicated that connections between cognition-related regions such as the insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, inferior parietal lobule, and anterior cingulate cortex increased after acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints. The insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus acted as central brain hubs. Patients in the Tiaoshen Yizhi group exhibited improved cognitive performance after acupuncture. In the sham acupoint acupuncture group, connections between brain regions were dispersed, and we found no differences in cognitive function following the treatment. These results indicate that acupuncture at Tiaoshen Yizhi acupoints can regulate brain networks by increasing connectivity between cognition-related regions, thereby improving cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment.
文摘Background Twist is a highly conserved epithelial-mesenchymal transcription factor that has been reported to be a key factor in tumor malignancy, including lymph node metastasis. It represents the major step of dissemination and serves as a chief prognostic indicator of disease progression. However, the mechanism by which Twist regulates lymph node metastasis remains incompletely understood. Studies on the mechanism of metastasis are thus required for determining appropriate therapeutic strategies.Methods Immunohistochemistry for lymphatic vessel endothelial receptor 1 （LYVE-1）, Ki-67, Twist, vascular endothelial growth factor C （VEGF-C）, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 （VEGFR-3） was performed to detect lymphatic vessel density （LVD）, cell proliferation levels and the expressions of Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3 were determined from 66 primary supraglottic carcinoma tissue samples from 36 patients with lymph node metastasis （pathological N＋, pN＋） and 30 patients without metastasis （pathological NO, pNO）. Western blotting analysis of the proteins in pN＋ and pNO primary tumors was used to characterize the expressions of Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3further.Results The LVD was 22.4±10.3 in pN＋ patients and 6.8±4.1 in pNO ones. For Ki-67, the number of proliferous cells in pN＋ patients was greater than that in pNO ones. Both, however, were associated with their clinical nodal stages. In pN＋patients, Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3 expressions were 86.11% （31/36）, 80.56% （29/36）, and 58.33% （21/36）,respectively. These values were higher than those found for pNO patients （i.e., 13/30, 11/30, and 7/30, respectively） （P 〈0.05）. Among the samples with Twist expression, 88.64% were VEGF-C-positive and 59.09% were VEGFR-3-positive.The pNO counterparts were 4.55% and 9.09%, respectively （P〈0.05）. The expressions of Twist, VEGF-C, and VEGFR-3in pN＋ patients obtained through Western blotting analysis were significantly higher than those in pNO patients,
