Objective To estimate the prevalence rate and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in rural residents in Changzhi. Methods With the help of an established resident health data, a epidemiology study was performed on 63 409 residents (ge;15 years old) in the rural area of Changzhi; while the standard of diagnosis of diabetes was in accordance with the standard made by WHO in 1997. Diabetes was diagnosed in 2632 residents, and these patients underwent the investigation and examination including the disease history, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose, visual acuity, ocular diseases and intraocular pressure. The standard of DR was drawn according to the diagnosis standard made by Chinese Ocular Fundus Diseases Society, Chinese Ophthalmological Society, Chinese Medical Association in 1985. The data was statistically analyzed by SPSS 13.0 software. Results A total of 57 500 residents underwent the examination with the participating rate of 90.68%; 2632(4.58%) were diagnosed as with diabetes, in whom 986 were with DR (with DR prevalence of 37.46%). The duration of diabetes was the independent risk factor of DR (r=0.210,P＜0.001). The duration of diabetes and combined with hypertension were the influence factors of the development of DR. The visual acuity in residents with or without DR differed significantly（P＜0.01）. The level of HbA1c was positively related to DR. Conclusions The incidence of DR is high in residents with diabetes in eastern countryside area of Changzhi. The duration of diabetes and combined with hypertension were the influence factors of the development of DR. The level of HbA1c may be the important indicator which can monitor the occurrence and development of DR in patients with diabetes.
Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of flunarizine for refractory epilepsy. Methods Relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched from the database of PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, CBM, and VIP, and the related references were traced to obtain the information. The methodological quality of included RCTs was assessed using Jadad scale and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.0 software. Results A total of eight studies involving 545 patients were included. The results of meta-analyses showed that: based on the conventional therapy, compared with placebo and none-treatment, flunarizine was more effective on adults and children with refractory epilepsy (OR=2.98, 95%CI 1.88 to -4.73; OR=33.75, 95%CI 4.13 to -276.00). Major adverse events of flunarizine were fatigue, dizziness, headache, and weight gain etc. All those symptoms except for the weight gain were observed in the early stage of medication, which might get self-cured or could disappear by constant medication or reducing the dose or symptomatic treatment. Conclusion The present study shows that based on the conventional therapy, flunarizine is effective and safe for refractory epilepsy.