Objective:To develop a new cocrystal form to improve bioavailability and druggability of curcumin. Methods:Solvent crystallization was used to prepare curcumin-lysine cocrystal, and two crystal forms ( a and b) were obtained. The two cocrystal forms were characterized by elemental analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. The dissolution profiles of the two crystal forms were detected and compared with that of curcumin. Results:Curcumin combined with lysine at a stoichiometry of 1: 1 to form the cocrystal with much better solubility than curcumin. Conclusion: Curcumin-lysine cocrystal has ideal druggability, which means the cocrystal can be a new chemical entity used for subsequent development.

Objective:To obtain the optimum extraction conditions for quercetin and kaempferol from Lindera aggregate leaves. Methods:On the basis of single factor investigation, Box-Behnken experimental design was used to provide the experimental data for establishing a regression model for the extraction of quercetin and kaempferol. Response surface and contour diagrams with the extrac-tion yield of quercetin and kaempferol as the response values,were plotted for analyzing the pairwise interactive effects of hydrochloric acid concentration, hydrolysis temperature and hydrolysis time. Results:The hydrochloric acid concentration of 4. 1%, the hydrolysis temperature of 83℃ and the hydrolysis time of 45min were the optimum extraction conditions. With the above conditions, the content of quercetin and kaempferol from Lindera aggregate leaves was 6. 97 mg·g-1 and 2. 82 mg·g-1 , respectively. The Lindera aggregate beaves from five different habitals were analyzed,and the total content of quercetin and kaempferide from Taizhou Tiantai were highest. Conclusion:The quercetin and kaempferol extraction from Lindera aggregate leaves is optimized by Box-Behnken response surface method and the process is convenient and feasible.

Objective:To obtain the optimum extraction conditions for quercetin and kaempferol from Lindera aggregate leaves. Methods:On the basis of single factor investigation, Box-Behnken experimental design was used to provide the experimental data for establishing a regression model for the extraction of quercetin and kaempferol. Response surface and contour diagrams with the extrac-tion yield of quercetin and kaempferol as the response values,were plotted for analyzing the pairwise interactive effects of hydrochloric acid concentration, hydrolysis temperature and hydrolysis time. Results:The hydrochloric acid concentration of 4. 1%, the hydrolysis temperature of 83℃ and the hydrolysis time of 45min were the optimum extraction conditions. With the above conditions, the content of quercetin and kaempferol from Lindera aggregate leaves was 6. 97 mg·g-1 and 2. 82 mg·g-1 , respectively. The Lindera aggregate beaves from five different habitals were analyzed,and the total content of quercetin and kaempferide from Taizhou Tiantai were highest. Conclusion:The quercetin and kaempferol extraction from Lindera aggregate leaves is optimized by Box-Behnken response surface method and the process is convenient and feasible.

BACKGROUND: With social development, the average life span is prolonged. The issue of aging has increasingly attracted people's attention. It is necessary to promote the health status and the guality of life of the elderly..OBJECTIVE: To understand the status and distribution features of several common diseases which influence the quality of life of elderly.DESIGN: Random cluster sampling methods and a cross-section survey.SETTING: Beijing Institute of Geriatrics of Beijing Hospital.PARTICIPANTS:Totally 1 558 old people aged ≥60 years living in 10 communities affiliated to Jianguomen district office of the Eastern District of Beijing City,and 8 villages affiliated to Xiangyang and Henan Villagers'Commissions of Shunyi County of Beijing from May 1997 and October 1997 were recruited.In fact,1 434 persons responded,with a response rate being 92％,319 males and 498 females came from the city;242 males and 375 females came from the villages.METHODS:Questionnaires were filled up,and physical examinations were conducted in all the elderly. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 6 common diseases were observed among the elderly: Hyperplasia of prostate, abnormal audition, cartaract ,osteoarthritis, fracture and constipation.RESULTS:Totally 1434 elderly entered the stage of result analysis.①The incidence of hyperplasia of prostate in the males from the urban areas was lower than that in the rural areas (61.4％,65.7％, P ＜ 0.01 ). ② The incidence of abnormal audition among the elderly from the urban areas was lower than that in the rural areas (53.9％,64.7％,P ＜ 0.01).③ The incidence of cataract of the two eyes in the elderly from the urban areas was higher than that in the rural areas(46.4％,44.4％, P ＜ 0.01). ④ The incidence of osteoarthropathy in the elderly from the urban areas was higher than that in the rural areas (24.4％,14.9, P ＜ 0.01). ⑤ The incidence of fracture in the elderly from the urban areas was higher than that in the rural areas (14.2％,9.1％, P ＜ 0.05). ⑥ The incidence of constipation of the elderly in urban areas was lower than that in the rural areas(18.2％,23.0％,P ＜ 0.05).CONCLUSION:There is a difference between the elderly from the urban areas and the rural areas in hyperplasis of prostate,abnormal audition, cataract, osteoarthropathy, fracture and constipation, and this is related with the economy, nutrition, medical conditions and cultural traits.Therefore, attention should be attached to nutrition and health knowledge of the elderly and prevention and treatment of common diseases among the elderly people.

Etiological research is necessary for understanding the occurrence and epidemiological patterns of diseases, and is also a prerequisite for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of clinical diseases. Mendelian randomization(MR), a method of research that combines genetics and epidemiology, has the advantage of exploring the causal relationship between exposure and disease genetically as well as avoiding confounding factors and reverse causation. Thus, it has been extensively utilized in the etiological study of diseases. This paper reviews the implementation of MR in the research of ocular diseases and provides ideas and approaches for the investigation of related mechanisms as well as the development of intervention strategies.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features,treatment methods and prognosis of acute thallium poisoning.METHODS: The clinical data of 2 cases of acute thallium poisoning were analyzed retrospectively to observe its clinical features,therapeutic effect of blood purification and sodium dimercaptosulfonate,and prognosis.RESULTS: The typical triads of clinical features of the two cases of acute thallium poisoning were gastroenteritis,polyneuropathy and alopecia.Before treatment,the blood thallium level was 200.6 and 712.7 μg/L and the urine thallium level was 5 206.4 and 11050.2 μg/24 h respectively.After the combined treatment using blood purification and sodium dimercaptosulfonate,the blood thallium decreased to 31.6 and 14.6 μg/L and the urine thallium decreased to 175.2 and 265.3 μg/24 h.The two patients had a good prognosis.The result of re-examination showed that blood thallium was 7.9 and 0.6 μg/L and the urine thallium was 31.5 and 5.5 μg/24 h respectively in 2 and 5 months later.CONCLUSION: The combined treatment using blood purification and sodium dimercaptosulfonate is effective for acute thallium poisoning therapy.

Nasal preparations have unique advantages in drug delivery and are widely used in the treatment of local and systemic diseases. Nasal administration of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a long history in China. In recent years， nasal preparations of TCM have attracted wide attention. Based on the information about nasal preparations of TCM from the database of National Medical Products Administration （NMPA）， Yaozh.com and China National Knowledge Internet （CNKI） in the recent 30 years， the formulation， the listed products， commonly used TCM， pharmaceutical excipients， clinical application and safety research of modern nasal preparations of TCM were summarized and expounded. Focusing on many problems in the development of modern nasal preparations of TCM， such as inaccurate dosage of some products， incomplete quality standard system of pharmaceutical excipients， imperfect safety evaluation， lack of research and development of nasal drug delivery devices and so on， the possible solutions and prospects were put forward from the aspects of optimizing the extraction and separation process of TCM， the quality control and application method of pharmaceutical excipients， the development of new dosage forms， the safety evaluation of nasal administration of TCM， and the design and development of nasal administration devices. The aim is to provide ideas for the development of nasal preparations of TCM and provide scientific basis for its sustainable utilization.