Objective lo evaluate the effects ot different types oi nitric oxide synthase inhibitors on cerebral mitochondrial structure and function in fetal rats with intrauterine distress. Methods Rats were divided into control group, acute ischemia group, treatment group 1 injection of [ N omega-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) 4 mg/kg into pregnant rats' abdomen before ischemia], reperfusion group, treatment group 2 [injection of L-NNA 4 mg/kg into pregnant rats' abdomen before ischemia followed by injection of aminoguanidine (AG) 500 mg/kg before operation]. Changes of mitochondrial structure were observed by transmission electron microscopy and expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) mRNA (A) through RT-PCR. Inducible nitric oxide synthase ( iNOS) activity and mitochondrial Na+ K + -ATPase and cytochrome oxidase activity were measured. Results (1) The A of NOS(5 min,15 min) in acute ischemia group was higher than that of treatment group 1 ( P 0. 05). But the A of nNOS in two groups was higher than that in control group ( P 0. 05 ). Mitochondrial Rsv in reperfusion group was all smaller than those in treatment group 2. And mitochondrial Rsv in all the groups was smaller than that in control group( P

AIM To study the effects of Lotusine(Lot), a pure alkaloid extracted from the green seed embryo of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn, on the action potentials(APs) in myocardium and slow inward current(Isi) in cardiac Purkinje fibers(PF). METHODS standard microelectrode and two microelectrodes voltage clamp techniques were used. RESULTS Lot 1～100 ?mol?L -1 could concentration dependently prolonged APD 20 and APD 90 of fast AP and increase the contractile force(Fc) in guinea pig papillary muscles. In papillary muscles pretreated with reserpine, similar results were also observed but the effect of Lot was weaker than those pretreated without reserpine. In guinea pig left atria, Lot 30 ?mol?L -1 could partly antigoniste the shortening APD effect of acetylcholine. Lot 3～100 ?mol?L -1 could enhance the action potential amplitude(APA)and maximal velocity of phase 0 depolarization ( V max ) of slow AP of papillary muscles induced by high K + (24 mmol?L -1 )and isolated sinoatral node(SAN) pacemaker cells of rabbits with dose dependent manner,But not obvousely short the sinus cycle length of SAN. Moreover, Lot increased the Isi of in canin cardiac PF with with time dependent and dose dependent manner. CONCLUSION The results suggest that Lot has effect of prolongation of APD and increase of Ca 2+ influx and these are very important in contribution to its positive inotropic effect, which may be related to inhibition of phosphodiesterase Ⅲ.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the diagnosis of T staging for rectal cancer.

METHODSClinicopathologic data and MR images of 46 patients with rectal cancer in our hospital from July 2013 to September 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of T2WI were compared with those of T2WI plus DWI in T staging for rectal cancer. The relationship of mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value with different T stages of rectal cancer was analyzed.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy between T2WI and T2WI plus DWI (all P>0.05). The mean ADC value of DWI performed in pathologic T2, T3a, T3b, T3c and T4 stage was (1.110 ± 0.117) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, (1.035 ± 0.121) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, (0.948 ± 0.109) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, (0.932 ± 0.122) × 10⁻³ mm²/s and (0.843 ± 0.050) × 10⁻³ mm²/s, respectively (F=6.972, P=0.000).

CONCLUSIONDWI can serve as a complement for T2WI in the diagnosis of T stage patients with rectal cancer, and its ADC value presents a downward trend with the advance of T stage.

Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Humans ; Neoplasm Staging ; Rectal Neoplasms ; Retrospective Studies

UNLABELLEDTo investigate the relationship between imbalance of cardiac autonomic nervous system and sudden death in fetuses of rats with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), the animal model of ICP was induced by hypodermic injection of 17-alpha-ethinylestradiol and progesterone. The electrocardiograms and frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) including low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) and the ratio between low and high frequencies (LF/HF) of fetal rats by the 21st day of gestation were evaluated with Chart 5 software of Powerlab biologic signal extracting and analyzing system.

RESULTS(1) The serum total bile acids (TBA) levels of pregnant rats were (78.5 +/- 4.5) micromol/L in Group ICP and (24.6 +/- 3.6) micromol/L in Group control; significant difference was noted between the two groups (P < 0.01). (2) In Group ICP, fetal rats arrhythmias appeared after (29.3 +/- 6.4) minutes' observation, and fetal rats died suddenly after (23.5 +/- 4.6) minutes' arrhythmias; However, the fetal rats in Group control all showed normal electrocardiograms over 90 minutes' continuous observation. (3) The values of LF and LF/HF of fetal rats in Group ICP within 20 minutes before fetal rats arrhythmias were significantly higher than those in Group control (LF 48.45 +/- 4.11 nu vs. 33.87 +/- 4.31 nu, and LF/HF 0.99 +/- 0.14 vs. 0.61 +/- 0.10, respectively, P < 0.01). (4) Dynamic power spectral analysis of HRV indicated that the values of LF and LF/HF of fetal rats in Group ICP increased progressively within 15 minutes before the sudden death of fetal rats. These demonstrated that autonomic imbalance in association with increased sympathetic activity has been strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of fetal arrhythmogenesis and sudden death in ICP. HRV analysis could be a useful tool for fetal surveillance, especially for ICP.

Animals ; Cholestasis, Intrahepatic ; physiopathology ; Death, Sudden ; etiology ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Fetal Death ; etiology ; Heart Rate, Fetal ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; physiopathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

UNLABELLEDThis investigation was made to explore the chaotic characteristics of cardiac system and differences of autonomic nervous system development of normal pregnant rats and fetuses. The electrocardiograms, chaotic graphics and digital characteristics of heart period signal (HPS) of normal pregnant rats and fetuses by day 21st were evaluated with a computerized HPS extracting and analyzing system.

RESULTS(1) The mean values of frequency and voltage of fetal rats electrocardiograms were lower than those of pregnant rats significantly (P < 0.01). (2) Being similar to those in human, the chaotic graphics showed three-amplitudes spectral features in both normal pregnant rats and fetuses. However, the second amplitude and third amplitude were lower in fetal rats than in pregnant rats. (3) The Heart Relative Dispersion, Lyapunov Exponent and Fractional Dimension were significantly lower in fetal rats than in pregnant rats (P < 0.01). These findings demonstrated that the autonomic nervous system development of fetal rat was still immature and it exhibited lower complexity of HPS and chaotic degree than that of pregnant rat did.

Animals ; Autonomic Nervous System ; embryology ; physiology ; Electrocardiography ; methods ; Female ; Fetal Heart ; physiology ; Heart ; physiology ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

OBJECTIVETo investigate retrospectively the efficacy of cyclosporine A (CsA) in the treatment of membranous lupus nephropathy (MLN).

METHODSTwenty-four patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and biopsy-proven MLN were treated with CsA in combination with prednisone. CsA was given at a starting dosage of 5 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) for 3 months, with a 1 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) reduction every month and then maintained at a dosage of 2 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1). The dosage of oral prednisone differed from person to person according to levels of extra-renal activity. Clinical efficacy and adverse reactions were retrospectively analyzed. Complete remission was defined as having a urinary proteinuria level (Upr) of < 0.4 g/d, and normal serum albumin and serum creatinine (SCr) levels, without SLE activity. Partial remission was defined as having a UPr decrement > 50% of baseline value and a serum albumin value of 30 - 35 g/L, without SLE activity. No response was defined as having a Upr decrement < 50% of baseline value and > 2.0 g/d, or as a deterioration of renal function, or as having active SLE.

RESULTSOne patient could no longer undergo follow-up, and the other 23 patients were treated with CsA and followed up for 6 - 36 months (mean 16.8 +/- 8.4 months). The mean starting dosage of CsA was 4.7 +/- 0.5) mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) and the trough level of the whole blood CsA was 248 +/- 110) micro g/L. Twelve patients (52.2%) achieved complete remission, 10 patients (43.3%) achieved partial remission after CsA treatment, and one patient showed no response. At different CsA treatment timepoint, the complete remission rates were 17.4% (3rd month), 21.7% (6th month), 40% (12th month), 88.9% (18th month) and 100% (24th month) respectively. SCr elevation, when within a normal limit was not observed in most patients during early CsA administration, and at the end of the follow-up all the patients had a normal SCr. Relapse occurred in 33.3% of the patients after withdrawing CsA for 4 - 24 months. No chronic CsA renal toxicity was observed in 4 patients who had a repeat renal biopsy after CsA treatment for 6 - 24 months.

CONCLUSIONSCsA could be regarded as an effective therapy for patients with membranous lupus nephropathy, but its adverse effects, especially its nephrotoxicity, should be carefully monitored during CsA treatment.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cyclosporine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Lupus Nephritis ; drug therapy ; Male ; Prednisone ; administration & dosage ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To study the significance and distribution of renal infiltrating cells, including monocytes (CD68+ cells), proliferative cell nuclear antigen positive cells (PCNA+ cells), CD4+ and CD8+ cells in diffuse crescent glomerulonephritis (DCGN). Methods Fifty-six patients with DCGN were studied, including 10 cases of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM)-type Ⅰ DCGN, 26 immune complex-type Ⅱ DCGN, and 20 cases of pauci-immune-type Ⅲ DCGN. Glomerular and interstitial infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells, and interstitial infiltrates of CD4+ and CD8+ cells were detected by using four-layer PAP methods. Results There was a significant increase of renal infiltrating CD68+, PCNA+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells in patients with DCGN compared with that in normal controls. In patients with type Ⅰ DCGN, there was a higher number of renal infiltrating CD68+ and PCNA+ cells than that in patients with type Ⅱ and Ⅲ DCGN. A glomerular infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells correlated with the interstitial infiltrates of CD4+ cells in type Ⅰ or Ⅲ DCGN patients. In lupus DCGN patients, the numbers of renal infiltrating CD68+ and PCNA+ cells were similar to vasculitis or type Ⅲ DCGN patients.Conclusion These findings demonstrate that the renal infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells play an important role in patients with DCGN, that the infiltrates of CD4+ cells correlate with the infiltrates of CD68+ and PCNA+ cells may be an active marker of DCGN, and that cell-mediated immunity may contribute to crescent formation in lupus DCGN patients.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of cyclosporin A (CSA) in the treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN), a prospective controlled clinical study was performed. Methods This study included a group of 30 IMN patients, among them 15 were treated with CSA and 15 with captopril (CAP). The diagnosis of IMN was made with exclusion of secondary forms of membranous nephropathy by extensive clinical and pathological studies. No patients received steroids or cytotoxic agents for six months prior to enrollment. In the CSA group, CSA was given at an initial dosage of 5mg*kg-1*d-1, gradually tailed off over the first three months and maintained at 2mg*kg-1*d-1 for 12 months. In the CAP group, CAP was given at a dosage of 37.5mg/day. Results In the first three months, 6 (6/15)complete remissions (CR) and 2 (2/15) partial remissions (PR) were observed in the CSA group while only 2 (2/15) PRs were observed in the CAP group. Before the end of the 15-months, 8 patients in the CSA group experienced CR and 4 patients experienced PR. One CR patient relapsed as the dosage of CSA was reduced, so 7 patients remained in CR at the end of the first 15-months. No additional CR or PR was observed in the CAP group during late follow-up. At the last visit (an average follow-up time of 44 months) in the CSA-group, another 2 CR patients had relapsed and 1 CR patient shifted to PR after stopping the CSA treatment, so 4 CR and 5 PR remained in the CSA group. In the CAP group, 3 spontaneous CRs occurred beyond 1.5 year's follow-up, with 3 CR and 2 PR at the last visit. No difference was found between the averages of the initial and the last serum creatinine levels in either group. No serious adverse effects were found during CSA treatment. Re-biopsy data of three patients responsive to CSA treatment showed that no pathological improvement of glomerular basement membrane was observed, even in cases at remission. Tubulointerstitial fibrosis was found in 1 relapsed CR patient, whoseserum creatinine increased above the normal range, but not in the other 2 patients whose serum creatinine remained in the normal range. Conclusions CSA therapy at a dosage of 5mg*kg-1*d-1 is effective in inducing remission of nephrotic syndrome in adult IMN patients within three months, with a response rate of 80%. A relatively high rate of relapse (50%) was observed within 2 years after the withdrawal of CSA treatment.

Objective To investigate the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the diagnosis of T staging for rectal cancer. Methods Clinicopathologic data and MR images of 46 patients with rectal cancer in our hospital from July 2013 to September 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of T2WI were compared with those of T2WI plus DWI in T staging for rectal cancer. The relationship of mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value with different T stages of rectal cancer was analyzed. Results There were no significant differences in the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy between T2WI and T2WI plus DWI (all P>0.05). The mean ADC value of DWI performed in pathologic T2, T3a, T3b, T3c and T4 stage was (1.110±0.117) ×10-3 mm2/s, (1.035±0.121)×10-3 mm2/s, (0.948±0.109)×10-3 mm2/s, (0.932±0.122)×10-3 mm2/s and (0.843±0.050)×10-3 mm2/s, respectively (F=6.972, P=0.000). Conclusion DWI can serve as a complement for T2WI in the diagnosis of T stage patients with rectal cancer , and its ADC value presents a downward trend with the advance of T stage.