OBJECTIVETo study the anti-immune inflammation efficacy and toxicity of Tripterygium wilfordii decoction, in order to provide experimental basis for studies on its "efficacy-toxicity" correlation.

METHODThe delayed hypersensitivity model was established by dinitrofluorobenzene in mice. Different doses of T. wilfordii decoction was administered for 5 consecutive days. The ear swelling inhibition ratio and the toxic action were observed. After the final administration, the biochemical indexes of PGE2, TNF-α, IL-2, ALT, AST, PA, TBA, TBIL in serum were detected, and the visceral indexes of heart, liver, spleen and kidney were measured.

RESULTThe DNFB-induced ear swelling could be notably inhibited by multiple oral administration of T. wilfordii decoction, with the ED50 and its 95% confidence limit of 0.34 (0.21-0.42) g x kg(-1). The contents of PGE2, TNF-α, IL-2 in serum decreased in a dose-dependent manner. The activities of serum AST, ALT, TBA, TBIL and the PA content reduced.

CONCLUSIONT. wilfordii decoction shows a significant anti-immune inflammation efficacy within the dosage range between 0.59 and 2.34 g x kg(-1) in a dose-dependent manner. With a certain hepatotoxicity, high dose (2.34-4.68 g x kg(-1)) of T. wilfordii decoction can cause substantial liver injury, with a dose dependence in liver function index. Therefore, the efficacy and toxicity of T. wilfordii is dose dependent, which provides reference for preventing adverse drug reactions in clinic and developing early-warning schemes and ensure the clinical medication safety of T. wilfordii.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; toxicity ; Drug Dosage Calculations ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; toxicity ; Edema ; drug therapy ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; genetics ; immunology ; Male ; Mice ; Tripterygium ; chemistry ; toxicity ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; immunology

Objective To investigate the relationship between the apoptosis,expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax protein in perihematomal brain regions of rats and neurologic dysfunctions after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods Seventy Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into two groups:an experimental group and a control group.A model of ICH was established by injection of 0.5 U bacterial collagenaseⅦinto the caudate nucleus in the rats.Neurological impairment was evaluated at 6 h,12 h,24 h,48 h,72 h,7 d and 14 d after 1CH,respectively, before the rats were sacrificed.TUNEL method was used to detect apoptosis,and SP method to detect expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax protein in the perihematomal brain tissues.Results Neurological impairment occurred in all the rats after ICH,and peaked at 48 h after ICH.The apoptosis and expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax protein were peaked at 48 h,6 h and 48 h after ICH,respectively.Conclusion The degree of the neurological impairment after ICH is parallel to that of the apoptosis.Apoptosis may play an important role in neurological impairment after ICH.

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture plus medicine in treating laryngopharyngeal reflux due to liver-qi stagnation and spleen deficiency. Methods: A total of 70 patients were divided into a control group and an observation group by the random number table method, with 35 cases in each group. Both groups were treated with conventional medications, and the observation group was treated with additional acupuncture therapy. The reflux symptom index (RSI) and reflux finding score (RFS) were evaluated. Esophageal motility indicators such as lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP) and upper esophageal sphincter pressure (UESP), and salivary pepsin level were measured. The clinical efficacy was also compared. Results: The total effective rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the RSI and RFS scores in both groups decreased significantly (all P<0.05), and the RSI and RFS scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (both P<0.05). There were no significant changes in the LESP and UESP in the control group (both P>0.05), while LESP and UESP in the observation group increased significantly (both P<0.05), and higher than those in the control group (both P<0.05). The salivary pepsin levels in both groups decreased (both P<0.05), and the salivary pepsin level in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture plus medicine can improve symptoms and signs in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux due to liver-qi stagnation and spleen deficiency, and regulate esophageal motility and salivary pepsin level. Its efficacy is more significant compared with medicine alone.

OBJECTIVETo study the expression of lipoprotein related genes in subchondral bone of early experimental os-teoarthritis, which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.

METHODSAnimals are equally divided into two groups: experimental group and control group, both of which contain fifteen rats of similar weight. The right knee joints of experimental group underwent surgery,which involved in both medial collateral ligament(MCL) transaction and medial meniscectomy, while the control group was only carried out with a sham operation. Rats were killed at 1, 2 and 4 weeks postsurgery to obtain the right knee joints. Total RNA of the subchondral bone was extracted,and then hybridized to Agilent Whole Rat Genome Microarray. Differentially expressed genes analysis was used to study the chemokine signaling pathway.

RESULTSApoa5 expression was down-regulated at 1, 2 weeks post-surgery, Apoc2 expression was up-regulated at 1 week after surgery, Apol3 expression was up-regulated at 1 and down-regulated at 4 weeks post-surgery, Lrp1 expression was down-regulated at 1, 2 weeks after surgery. Lrp5 was down-regulated at 2 weeks after surgery. Gpihbp1, Lpl, Tfpi and Vldlr were up-regulated at 1 weeks after surgery. Lrpap1 and RGD1309808 were down-regulated at 4 weeks after surgery.

CONCLUSIONDysregulation of lipoprotein related genes plays an important role in pathogenesis of early experimental osteoarthritis.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Knee Joint ; metabolism ; Lipoproteins ; genetics ; Male ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Osteoarthritis ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transcriptome

Dibenzothiophene (DBT) was used as a model compound. A bacteria strain, which can degrade dibenzo-thiophene efficiently, was obtained. This strain was identified as Pseudomonas stutzeris UP-1 according to its morphological, physiological and biochemical characters, and 16S rDNA sequence. The strain exhibits strong degradation capacity of DBT, and the end product of degradation is a kind of soluble compound. After the analysis of product of DBT degradation, it was deduced that the degradation of DBT by Pseudomonas stutzeri UP-1 is in accordance with the Kodama mechanism.

Objective To assess the clinical value of measuring the concentration of serum osteoprotegerin (OPG) in detecting the bone metastases in patients with prostate cancer. Methods The concentration of serum OPG in 40 patients was determined by ELISA. The data of ECT bone scan and Gleason score was collected simultaneously. The correlations between serum OPG and bone metastases, Gleason score were tested. Results The concentration of serum OPG in patients with bone metastases by ECT scan was( 16 237. 19 ±5144. 26) ng/L,which was significantly higher than the concentration in patients without bone metastases , which was (12 123.32 ±4136. 50)ng/L. There was no significant correlation between serum OPG and Gleason score. Conclusions The serum OPG has an important clinical value in prediction of prostate cancer with bone metastases. There is no significant correlation between serum OPG and the Gleason score.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of jin’s three-needle scalp electroacupuncture on Cyt-c and Caspase-3 expressions in the cerebral cortex in Intrauterine distress-induced HIBD rats and reveal the mechanism of its protective action on the brain. MethodThe abdomen was incised in a female SD rat at 21 days of pregnancy. Bilateral uterine horn blood vessels were tightly clamped with a hemostat for five minutes. An infant rat was then taken out by a cesarean section. A rat model of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage was confirmed by the use of a behavior test and braintissue sections. The rats were randomized into model and acupuncture groups. The model group was not needled. Acupuncture groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 began to be needled at 3, 5, 7 and 14 days after birth, respectively. Acupuncture treatment was given for seven consecutive days. The normal control group was naturally delivered, not used to make a model and not needled. All groups of rats were decapitated to take the brain tissue at 21 daysafter birth. Cyt-c and Caspase-3 expressions in the cerebral cortex were detected.ResultCyt-c optical density value decreased somewhat in the four acupuncture groups; there was a statistically significant difference between acupuncture group 1 or 2 and the modelgroup (P<0.05). Caspase-3 expression was significantly down-regulated in acupuncture group 1; there was a statistically significant difference compared with the model group (P<0.05).ConclusionThe protective effect of acupuncture beginning at 3 days after birthon the brain is related to the down-regulation of Cyt-c and Caspase-3 expressions in intrauterine distress-induced HIBD rats.

Objective To test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Profile of Fatigue Scale (PROF)among the patients with Sjogren′s syndrome. Methods The English version of PROF was translated into Chinese according to Brislin Translation Model. 107 patients with Sjogren′s syndrome were investigated to test its reliability and validity. Results The Cronbachαcoefficient , Guttman split-half coefficient, test-retest reliability and content validity of Chinese version of PROF were 0.976, 0.953, 0.872 and 0.875. Two factors were extracted by factor analysis and the cumulated variance was 80.75%. The structure of PROF was in line with the original scale. The criterion-related validity was 0.621 measured by comparing with visual analog scale of fatigue, and was -0.707 measured by comparing with vitality domain in the MOS item Short From Health Survey (SF-36). Conclusions The Chinese version of PROF has been proved to be reliable and valid. It can be used to measure the fatigue in Chinese patients with Sjogren′s syndrome.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of nostril width method in intubation model choose in children with cerebral pal‐sy FSPR surgery .Methods Three hundred and fifty six cases of cerebral palsy FSPR surgery were selected ,the endotracheal intu‐bation were selected by nose width method and modified weight method ,and then we made a comparison between the two methods . Kappa consistency test and rank correlation analysis were both used to analyze the consistency .Results With Kappa=0 .81 ,rank correlation coefficient 0 .905 ,we could know that there was high degree of consistency between the two methods (P<0 .01) ,of which 298 cases (83 .7% ) children selected the same model intubation strengthen model in different method ,58 cases (16 .3% ) pe‐diatric intubation choice of two methods differ by one model .Conclusion Nostril width method was simple and reliable to select in‐tubation in pediatric surgery to strengthen FSPR model .

Objective To evaluate the effect of cerebral palsy factor on the sensitivity of postopera?tive pain in the pediatric patients. Methods Twenty?five pediatric patients with cerebral palsy of both se?xes, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical statusⅠorⅡ, aged 3-7 yr, weighing 11-25 kg, scheduled for elective lower abdominal or lower extremity surgery, served as cerebral palsy group ( group P). Another 25 pediatric patients without cerebral palsy of both sexes, of American Society of Anesthesiol?ogists physical status Ⅰ orⅡ, aged 3-7 yr, weighing 11-25 kg, served as control group ( group C) . At 2 h after surgery, pain was evaluated by using CRIES ( crying, requires O2 saturation, increased vital sign, expression and sleeplessness) . Peripheral venous blood samples were collected before surgery, and at 2 and 24 h after surgery, and the concentrations of plasmaβ?endorphin were measured by radio?immunity method, and the concentration of plasma catecholamine ( adrenaline) was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Results Compared with the value before surgery, the plasma concentrations of β?endorphin were significantly decreased, and the concentrations of plasma catecholamine were increased after surgery in the two groups (P < 0?01). Compared with group C, the CRIES score was significantly in?creased after surgery, the concentration of plasmaβ?endorphin was decreased before and after surgery, and the concentration of plasma catecholamine was increased after surgery in group P ( P< 0?05 or 0?01) . Con?clusion The sensitivity of postoperative pain is increased in the pediatric patients with cerebral palsy.