Anorexia is a common pediatric and multiple chronic appetite disorder disease. Long-term anorexia can easily lead to adverse effects on nutritional status, growth, intellectual development and physical and mental health of children. Professor LIU Yi-min, the national famous TCM doctor in Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has much experience in treating this disease, believing that the pathogenesis key is spleen and stomach disharmony and inability to transport. According to clinical experience, it should be treated from indigestion of stomach, spleen dampness, spleen qi deficiency, and spleen weakenness and liver excess. The treatment is to eliminate indigestion, tonify spleen and expel humidity, tonify spleen and nourish qi, and tonify spleen and harmonize liver. The commonly used TCM pairs were Charred Triplet and Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum, Plantaginis Herba and Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Hungaian Morningglory Root and Marginate Rockbell Herb and Capsella bursa-pastoris and Chrysanthemi Flos.

Objective To determine the effects of genistein and daidzein on the proliferation and survival of the hippocampal neural cells and underlying mechanism. Methods H19-7/IGF-IR neural cell line was cultured in phenol red free DMEM absented of serum for 72h. Genistein, daidzein or 17β-estradiol was added to the culture at various concentrations. Their proliferation and protective effects on the neuronal cells were determined by BrdU and MTT assay respectively. The effect of phytoestrogens on cell cycle regulation was determined using flow cytometry. The effects of the soy isoflavones on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression were determined by ELISA and RT-PCR respectively. Results It was observed that, with 72h of treatment, 20nM and 200 nM 17B-estradiol significantly promoted the neuronal cell proliferation at 33% and 36% ;20nM and 200nM genistein significantly promoted the neuronal cell proliferation at 15% and 13% ; 200nM daidzein significantly promoted the neuronal cell proliferation at 11% compared to the control (P＜0.05). Genistein and daidzein induced an significantly increase in the S phase arrest at (17.64 ± 0.43) % and (19.48 ± 1.01) % compared to the control (P ＜ 0. 05). Moreover, genistein and daidzein significantly increased the expression of mature BDNF and BDNF mRNA level (P＜0.05). The effect of genistein and daidzein on hippocampal neuronal cell proliferation was blocked by K252a, selective inhibitor of tyrosine kinase receptors. Conclusion Genistein and daidzein improved hippocampal neuronal cell proliferation and viability in vitro. The effects might be mediated by increasing in BDNF expression.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression regulation of thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) and TRH receptor (TRH-R), and their role in the development of rat testis.

METHODSOligonucleotide primers were designed from the sequences of rat hypothalamus prepro TRH (ppTRH) and pituitary TRH-R cDNA for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Specific fragments of ppTRH and TRH-R cDNA were cloned and sequenced. Expression plasmids containing ppTRH and TRH-R genes were then constructed, and expression was found in E. coli DH5-alpha. ppTRH and TRH-R mRNA in the testis was quantitated in RNA samples prepared from rats at different developmental stages by real time quantitative RT-PCR.

RESULTSThe quantitative analyses demonstrated that no ppTRH and TRH mRNA could be detected at the earliest stage (day 8). ppTRH and TRH mRNA signals were detected on day 15 and increased progressively on days 20, 35, 60 and 90.

CONCLUSIONOur results suggest that rat testis could specifically express TRH and TRH-R, and the transcriptions of ppTRH and TRH-R genes in the rat testis were development-dependent. The acquirement of expressed products for ppTRH and TRH-R can be used for further research on the physiological significance of TRH and TRH-R expression in rat testis.

Age Factors ; Animals ; Male ; Protein Precursors ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Testis ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone ; genetics

Objective:To investigate the correlation between peripheral blood renal function indexes and brain frailty imaging score in patients with mild ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).Methods:Patients with mild ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) admitted to the Department of Neurology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from March 2018 to August 2019 were enrolled retrospectively. General clinical data and peripheral blood renal function indexes, including urea, uric acid and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), were collected. eGFR <60 ml/(min·1.73 m 2) was used to reflect chronic kidney disease. According to the findings of MRI examination, the imaging score of cerebral frailty was performed. When there were white matter lesions, brain atrophy and lacunar infarction/lacuna, 1 point was given, and the total score was 3. Ordinal multi-class logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between renal function indexes and brain frailty imaging score in patients with mild ischemic stroke or TIA. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between renal function indexes and brain frailty imaging score >1. Results:A total of 204 patients with mild ischemic stroke or TIA were enrolled during the study. Their average age was 64.82 years old and 78 (38.2%) were females. There were 28 cases (13.73%), 70 cases (34.31%), 63 cases (30.88%) and 43 cases (21.08%) with brain frailty imaging scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. One hundred and six patients (51.96%) were in the brain frailty imaging score >1 group and 98 (48.04%) were in the ≤1 group. Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in age, diabetes mellitus, eGFR, eGFR classification, homocysteine, intracranial vascular stenosis, stroke etiology classification and vascular distribution between the group with brain frailty imaging score >1 and those with brain frailty imaging score ≤1 (all P<0.05). Ordinal multi-class logistic regression analysis showed that urea (odds ratio [ OR] 0.67, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 0.51-0.89, P=0.005) and eGFR ( OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.99; P=0.004) were significantly and independently correlated with brain frailty imaging score. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that eGFR was significantly and independently correlated with brain frailty imaging score >1 ( OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-1.00; P=0.016). However, urea, uric acid and eGFR classification were not independently correlated with brain frailty imaging score or brain frailty imaging score >1. Conclusion:Blood urea and eGFR are correlated with the brain frailty imaging score in patients with mild ischemic stroke or TIA.