Abstract Background: Studies have shown that the overall incidence rate of herpeszoster (HZ) in China is 6.64 cases per 1000 people, despite such harms brought by postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the mechanism of the disease remains unclear in China. Currently, effective biomarkers to predict PHN remain unavailable, which makes it difficult to prevent and successfully treat PHN. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the serum interleukin-6 level in PHN. Methods: The serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) were measured by multi-antibody sandwich ELISA. The likert scale was used to represent the degree of neuralgia in the patients. Patients with PHN were divided into a mild PHN group and a severe PHN group according to the Likert scale. ROC curve was performed for evaluating the diagnostic efficiency of IL6 for PHN. The correlation between the IL6 level and the Likert scale before and after treatment with gabapentin and mecobalamin was analyzed. Results: IL6 levels in PHN patients resulted higher compared to volunteers. Patients in the severe PHN group had a higher serum IL6 level than in the mild PHN group. The Likert scale score was related to the serum IL6 levels and the frequency of IL6 levels above the cutoff value (4.95pg/mL) in PNH groups before and after treatment (p<0.05). Study limitations: Pain is subjective. Some mental states, such as anxiety and depression, greatly influence an individual’s perception of pain, and pain tolerance can vary between people. Therefore, pain scores can be affected by different individual factors. Conclusions: The serum IL6 levels may be used as a biochemical indicator of the severity of PNH.

OBJECTIVES: Limited information is available concerning the post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in critical limb ischemia patients who receive conservative therapy. Accordingly, this study was designed to evaluate the predictive value of the post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in critical limb ischemia patients without surgery. METHOD: From January 2009 to January 2011, critical limb ischemia patients were admitted to a vascular center. The demographic data, patient histories, comorbidities and risk factors were documented, and the differential cell count was determined at admission and seven days later after conservative therapy. The cutoff value of the post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was determined by an ROC curve. Patients were divided into groups A and B according to the cutoff value. Amputation-free survival was compared between groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify independent risk factors. RESULT: A total of 172 patients were identified with a mean age 71.98±10.09 years; among them, 122 were male. A value of 3.8 was identified as the cutoff value of the post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio. Groups A (post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio ≥3.8) and B (post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio <3.8) showed a significant difference in amputation-free survival (P<0.001). The 1-year, 2-year and 3-year amputation-free survival rates were 79.6%, 55.6% and 46.3%, respectively, in group A; however, in group B, these values were 89.7%, 79.3% and 75.9%, respectively. The post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was identified as an independent predictive factor for amputation in critical limb ischemia patients (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is an independent predictive factor for amputation in critical limb ischemia patients. Patients with a post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio ≥3.8 are likely to suffer from amputation; amputation-free survival usually occurs in patients with a post-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio <3.8.

BACKGROUND: Diets are the important players in regulating plasma lipid profiles. And the R219K polymorphism at the gene of ATP-binding cassette transporter 1(ABCA1) was reported to be associated with the profiles. However, no efforts have been made to investigate the changes of lipid profiles after a high-carbohydrate and low-fat diet in different subjects with different genotypes of this polymorphism. This study was to evaluate the effects of ABCA1 R219K polymorphism on serum lipid and apolipoprotein (apo) ratios induced by a high-carbohydrate/low-fat (high-CHO) diet. After a washout diet of 54.1% carbohydrate for 7 days, 56 healthy young subjects (22.89 ± 1.80 years old) were given a high-CHO diet of 70.1% carbohydrate for 6 days. Height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, glucose (Glu), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apoA-1 and apoB-100 were measured on the 1st, 8th and 14th days of this study. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratios (WHR), log(TG/HDL-C), TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C and apoA-1/apoB-100 were calculated. ABCA1 R219K was analyzed by a PCR-RFLP method. RESULTS: The results indicate that the male subjects of all the genotypes had higher WHR than their female counterparts on the 1st, 8th and 14th days of this study. The male K carriers had higher log(TG/HDL-C) and TC/HDL-C than the female carriers on the 1st and 14th days, and higher LDL-C/HDL-C on the 14th day. When compared with that on the 8th day, TC/HDL-C was decreased regardless of the genotypes and genders on the 14th day. Log(TG/HDL-C) was increased in the males with the RR genotype and the female K carriers. Lowered BMI, Glu and LDL-C/HDL-C were found in the male K carriers, but only lowered BMI in the female K carriers and only lowered LDL-C/HDL-C in the females with the RR genotype. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ABCA1 R219K polymorphism is associated differently in males and females with elevated log(TG/HDL-C) and decreased LDL-C/HDL-C induced by the high-CHO diet.

Both genetic background and diet have profound effects on plasma lipid profiles. We hypothesized that a high-carbohydrate (high-CHO) diet may affect the ratios of serum lipids and apolipoproteins (apo) differently in subjects with different genotypes of the SstI polymorphism in the apoCIII gene (APOC3). Fifty-six healthy university students (27 males and 29 females, 22.89 ± 1.80 years) were given a washout diet of 54% carbohydrate for 7 days, followed by a high-CHO diet of 70% carbohydrate for 6 days without total energy restriction. Serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apoB100, apoAI, and the APOC3 SstI polymorphism were analyzed. The ratios of serum lipids and apoB100/apoAI were calculated. At baseline, the TG/HDL-C ratio was significantly higher in females, but not in males, with the S2 allele. The differences in the TG/HDL-C ratio between genotypes remained the same after the washout and the high-CHO diet in females. When compared with those before the high-CHO diet, the TC/HDL-C (male S2 carriers: 3.13 ± 1.00 vs 2.36 ± 0.65, P = 0.000; male subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 2.97 ± 0.74 vs 2.09 ± 0.55, P = 0.000; female S2 carriers: 2.68 ± 0.36 vs 2.24 ± 0.37, P = 0.004; female subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 2.69 ± 0.41 vs 2.09 ± 0.31, P = 0.000) and LDL-C/HDL-C (male S2 carriers: 1.44 ± 0.71 vs 1.06 ± 0.26, P = 0.012; male subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 1.35 ± 0.61 vs 1.01 ± 0.29, P = 0.005; female S2 carriers: 1.18 ± 0.33 vs 1.00 ± 0.18, P = 0.049; female subjects with the S1S1 genotype: 1.18 ± 0.35 vs 1.04 ± 0.19, P = 0.026) ratios were significantly decreased after the high-CHO diet regardless of gender and of genotype of the APOC3 SstI polymorphism. However, in female S2 carriers, the TG/HDL-C (1.38 ± 0.46 vs 1.63 ± 0.70, P = 0.039) ratio was significantly increased after the high-CHO diet. In conclusion, the high-CHO diet has favorable effects on the TC/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C ratios regardless of gender and of genotype of the APOC3 SstI polymorphism. Somehow, it enhanced the adverse effect of the S2 allele on the TG/HDL-C ratio only in females.

OBJECTIVE: The Global Campaign Against Epilepsy demonstration project in rural China aimed: to reduce the treatment gap and morbidity of people with epilepsy by using community-level interventions; to train and educate health professionals; to dispel stigma; to identify potential for prevention and to develop models of integration of epilepsy control into the local health systems. We report the overall results of the demonstration project, focusing on the prevalence and the change in the treatment gap of epilepsy after an intervention. METHODS: Door-to-door epidemiological surveys were carried out before, and 6 months after the end of, an intervention project for epilepsy in rural settings in five provinces of China. The intervention consisted of a treatment programme available to patients without prior appropriate treatment and a public health educational programme about epilepsy. The sampled population in the second survey was 51 644 people. FINDINGS: In the second survey, epilepsy was confirmed in 320 people, yielding a lifetime prevalence of 6.2/1000 and a prevalence of active epilepsy of 4.5/1000. The lifetime prevalence and prevalence of active epilepsy in the first survey were 7.0/1000 and 4.6/1000, respectively. The treatment gap of active epilepsy in the second survey was 49.8%, 12.8 percentage points lower than that of the first survey (62.6%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the intervention measures used were possibly effective and evidently feasible in rural China, contributing to a decrease in the treatment gap of epilepsy.

OBJETIVO: El proyecto piloto de la Campaña Mundial Contra la Epilepsia en la China rural se propuso los siguientes objetivos: reducir la brecha de tratamiento y la morbilidad de las personas con epilepsia aplicando intervenciones comunitarias; capacitar y educar a los profesionales de la salud; combatir la estigmatización; identificar las posibilidades de prevención, y desarrollar modelos de integración del control de la epilepsia en los sistemas de salud locales. Se informa aquí de los resultados globales del proyecto piloto, haciendo hincapié en la prevalencia y en la variación de la brecha de tratamiento de la epilepsia después de una intervención. MÉTODOS: Se llevaron a cabo encuestas epidemiológicas domiciliarias antes de iniciar y a los 6 meses de finalizar un proyecto de intervención contra la epilepsia en entornos rurales de cinco provincias de China. La intervención consistió en un programa terapéutico ofrecido a los pacientes sin tratamiento previo apropiado y un programa de educación de salud pública sobre la epilepsia. La población muestreada en la segunda encuesta fue de 51 644 personas. RESULTADOS: En la segunda encuesta se confirmó la existencia de epilepsia en 320 personas, lo que indica una prevalencia durante toda la vida de 6,2/1000 y una prevalencia de epilepsia activa de 4,5/1000. La prevalencia durante toda la vida y la prevalencia de epilepsia activa en la primera encuesta fueron de 7,0/1000 y 4,6/1000, respectivamente. La brecha terapéutica en el caso de la epilepsia activa en la segunda encuesta fue del 49,8%, un 12,8% menos que en la primera encuesta (62,6%). CONCLUSIÓN: Los resultados de este estudio parecen indicar que las medidas de intervención aplicadas fueron posiblemente eficaces y sin duda factibles en la China rural, reduciéndose en consecuencia la brecha de tratamiento de la epilepsia.

OBJECTIF: Le projet de démonstration en Chine rurale de la Campagne mondiale contre l'épilepsie avait pour objectifs : de réduire l'écart de prise en charge thérapeutique et de morbidité entre les épileptiques faisant appel à des interventions communautaires ; de former et d'éduquer les professionnels de santé ; de dissiper la stigmatisation ; d'identifier les possibilités de prévention et de développement de modèles d'intégration de la lutte contre l'épilepsie dans les systèmes de santé locaux. Nous rendons compte des résultats globaux de ce projet de démonstration, en nous concentrant sur la prévalence et l'évolution du déficit de traitement de l'épilepsie après une intervention. MÉTHODES: Des enquêtes épidémiologiques «porte à porte» ont été effectuées avant et 6 mois après un projet d'intervention concernant l'épilepsie dans des zones rurales de cinq provinces chinoises. L'intervention con sistait en un programme de traitement proposé aux patients n'ayant bénéficié auparavant d'aucun traitement approprié, et en un programme d'éducation en santé publique concernant l'épilepsie. La population échantillonnée dans la seconde enquête comprenait 51 644 personnes. RÉSULTATS: Dans la seconde enquête, l'épilepsie a été confirmée chez 320 personnes, ce qui donne une prévalence sur la durée de vie de 6,2/1000 et une prévalence de l'épilepsie active de 4,5/1000. Dans la première enquête, la prévalence sur la durée de vie et la prévalence de l'épilepsie active étaient respectivement de 7,0/1000 et de 4,6/1000. Le déficit de traitement de l'épilepsie active dans la seconde enquête était de 49,8 %, soit 12,8 % de moins que dans la première enquête (62,6 %). CONCLUSION: Les résultats de cette étude laissent à penser que les mesures d'intervention utilisées pouvaient être efficaces et étaient à l'évidence applicables en Chine rurale, où elles ont contribué à une diminution du déficit de traitement de l'épilepsie.