Objective To study the effect of local mild hypothermia on serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage.Methods Sixty patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage were divided into local mild hypothermia group (30 cases) and routine therapy group (30 cases) by random digits table method.Routine therapy group was given conventional therapy,and local mild hypothermia group was given local mild hypothermia treatment besides conventional therapy.The neurologic impairment was evaluated according to American National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores on admission,and on the 3rd,7th and 14th day after treatment.Serum BNP levels in patients were determined dynamically on admission,and on the 3rd and 14th day after treatment.The effect was evaluated on the 14th day after treatment.Results There was no significant difference in serum BNP on admission between two groups (P ＞ 0.05).Serum BNP on the 3rd,14th day after treatment in local mild hypothermia group was lower than that in routine therapy group[(153.47 ± 32.01) ng/L vs.(187.45 ± 40.21)ng/L and (111.02 ± 38.27) ng/L vs.(139.71 ± 29.53) ng/L],and there was significant difference(P ＜ 0.01 or ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in NIHSS scores on admission and on the 3rd day after treatment between two groups (P ＞0.05).NIHSS scores on the 7th and 14th day after treatment in local mild hypothermia group was lower than that in routine therapy group [(13.84 ± 6.00) scores vs.(16.59 ± 4.62)scores and (9.23 ± 4.48) scores vs.(13.02 ± 6.76) scores],and there was significant difference (P ＜ 0.01).The total effective power in local mild hypothermia group was higher than that in routine therapy group[90.0％(27/30) vs.66.7％ (20/30)],and there was significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The local mild hypothermia therapy can not only significantly improve the defect of nerve function in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage but also reduce the serum BNP.It can improve the curative effect in patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage.

BackgroundThe neutrophils infiltration and vascular endothelium damage are found in the patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR).Calprotectin existes in the cytosol outside lysoome.It is thought to be a marker of inflammation.The effect of calprotectin in the development of DR is still in the study. Objective This study was to investigate the contents of plasma calprotectin in different stages of DR in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods This was a case-control study.Sixty consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were enrolled in this study.The patients were assigned to non-DR (NDR) group,non-proliferative DR (NPDR) group and proliferative DR (PDR)group according to fundus appearance and fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA) manifestation and 20 patients for each group.Twenty healthy subjects matched in gender,age and blood biochemical indicators were collected as the normal control group.The periphery blood samples were collected from the subjects for the detection of plasma calprotectin by ELISA.The plasma calprotectin levels were compared among different stages of DR and normal subjects.All subjects had signed informed consents.Results The contents of plasma calprotectin were (57.70±12.29 ),( 72.07± 10.14 ),( 87.70 ± 10.37 ),( 94.36 ± 9.40 ) ng/L in the normal control group,NDR group,NPDR group,PDR group respectively,with a statistically significant difference among 4 groups (F =73.09,P＜0.001 ).The content of calprotectin in PDR group showed a highest value in comparison with normal control group,NDR group and PDR group(q =20.157,10.648,4.497,P＜0.01 ).The content of calprotectin in NPDR group was significantly higher than that in NDR group( q=6.216,P＜0.01 ). ConclusionsPlasma calprotectin may play a role during the development of DR in type 2 diabetes mellitus patient.

The effects of continuous subcutaneous insulin injection (CSII, n=306) and multiple subcutaneous insulin injection (MSII, n=310)on hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes mellitus were compared. The results suggest that the effect of CSII is more prompt and efficient with lower incidence of hypoglycemia as compared with MSII.

AIM:To conduct the relevance analysis of serum Dickkopf-1 (Dkk-1) and bone mineral density (BMD) in the different ages of female populations.METHODS: The women volunteers (n=100, 20~80 years old) were selected and divided into young group (20~39 years old), middle age group (40~59 years old) and elderly group (60~80 years old).The serum levels of Dkk-1 in the 3 groups of volunteers were detected by ELISA.In the middle age group, 25 people of 45~55 years old were selected and divided into postmenopausal group and premenopausal group to de-tect the serum level of Dkk-1 in the 2 groups of volunteers by ELISA.The BMD was measured by the method of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.The differences of Dkk-1 expression levels among different ages of female populations, and the rele-vance with BMD were compared.RESULTS:With the increase in age, the serum Dkk-1 expression level increased ( P<0.05), and BMD were reduced (P<0.05).The blood level of Dkk-1 and BMD negatively correlated (P<0.05) in the 3 groups of volunteers.The serum levels of Dkk-1 and BMD had stronger negative correlation in postmenopausal women group than that in premenopausal women group.CONCLUSION:With the increase in age, the expression level of serum Dkk-1 increases and the BMD level decreases, which contribute to a risk of osteoporosis.In the same age range, the postmeno-pausal women express higher level of Dkk-1, and the decreased BMD is more obvious, which contribute to a greater risk of osteoporosis.The increased level of Dkk-1 also inhibits bone formation and promotes bone resorption.It may become a new target for preventing and treating osteoporosis.

Objective:To study the effects of several herbal medicines on SMMC-7721 liver cancer cells with Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR). Methods: FTIR was employed to determine the infrared spectra(IRs) of SMMC-7721 liver cancer cells cultivated for 20 h with the extracts of Spica prunellae, Herba houttuyniae, Radix bupleuri and Herba artemisiae scopariae. Cluster analysis of IRs was also performed. Results: IR spectral parameters such as band shape, intensity and frequency of the blank, control and herbal-extract-treated cells were compared. There existed obvious blue shift of ? s(PO 2 -), ? as (PO 2 -) bands, red shift of ? as (CH 3), ?(CH 2) bands on the herbal-extract-treated cells IRs. The decreasing ratio of ? as (CH 3) to ? s(CH 2) peak intensity and the increasing ratio of ? s(PO 2 -) to ?(N-H) peak area indicated the destructive effect of herbal extracts on the membrane structure of SMMU-7721 cells and inhibitory effect on the DNA replication respectively. Cluster analysis successfully discriminated the herbal-extract-treated cells from the blank cells and the liver-oriented medicines from the non-liver-oriented medicine. Conclusion: FTIR provides another fast and effective approach to analyze the changes of cells treated with Chinese herbal medicines, which may help to illuminate the functional mechanism of Chinese herbal medicines.

BACKGROUND:IKVAV-containing peptide sequence is an active region that promotes the adhesion, growth, and differentiation of neural cells in the laminin. It can be fabricated into a novel tissue-engineered scaffold material by self-assembly into hydrogel.OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to synthesize IKVAV-containing (C16H31O-AAAA GGGEIKVAV) peptide. The peptide was observed self-assembly into three-dimensional and porous hydrogel after triggered with phosphate buffered saline (PBS).DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: Single-sample experiment, performed in the Laboratory of Department of Orthopedics,Union Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology between September 2004 and January 2005.MATERIALS: IKVAV-containing peptide was synthesized by solid phase method.METHODS: Peptide purity and relative molecular mass were detected by high performance liquid chromatogram and mass-spectrometry, respectively. 1% peptide, whose pH value was equal to 9.5, was self-assembled into hydrogel with the addition of PBS. The ultramicrostructure of the hydrogei was observed through the use of transmission electron microscope (TEM).MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Peptide purity and relative molecular mass were detected. Moreover, gross observation of the peptide after self-assembly and TEM observation of peptide ultramicrostructure were performed.RESULTS: Peptide relative molecular mass was 1351.6, which was in accordance with its theoretical value. Peptide purity was 95%. After triggered with PBS, 1% peptide was self-supported into hydrogel in a few seconds. TEM results showed that self-assembled hydrogel consisted of the interconnected nanofibers which varied from 3 to 6 nm in diameter and 100 to 1 500 nm m in length.CONCLUSION: The IKVAV-containing peptide was synthesized and self-organized successfully into porous hydrogel,which was triggered with PBS solution.

Animals ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Genistein ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Guinea Pigs ; Interleukin-4 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Janus Kinase 1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; Male ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

Objective Pathogen and antimicrobial susceptibility in children with bacterial meningitis were reviewed.Methods The positive cultures of cerebrospinal fluid samples or blood samples and its antimicrobial susceptibility were analyzed in 401 patients with the clinical diagnosis of bacterial meningitis.Results 401 cases cerebrospinal fluid samples and blood samples submitted to microbiology laboratory, 97 cases (24%) were microscopically and culturally proven to be bacterial meningitis. The most frequent pathogen was staphylococcus aureus (28%), followed by the streptococcus pneumoniae (19%) and escherichia coli (13%). Pediococci as conditioned pathogen, were found in purulent meningitis patients. One of the isolates of Staphylococcus aureus was simultaneously resistant to both vancomycin and teicoplanin. Three isolates showed simultaneous resistance to imipenem/cilastatin.Conclusions Staphylococcus aureus as the predominant pathogens of pediatric ranks first among pediatric patients of purulent meningitis. Serious drug resistance of isolated pathogenic bacteria and its in antimicrobial susceptibility in the bacterial meningitis should be considered in clinical therapy.

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes of glutamic acid(Glu) levels,ATP levels,free calcium ion,mitochondrial membrane potential,apoptosis related to mitochondrial pathways of apoptosis and Na+-K+-ATPase activity,and explore the mechanism of mitochondrial pathways of apoptosis in neuron injury of rats with kainite acid(KA)-induced epilepsy.Methods KA-induced epilepsy model was induced by injection of KA into the hippocampus.Forty SD rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: control group(n=8)and KA group(6 h,1 d,3 d,7 d,n=8).The concentration of Glu in hippocampus CA3 area was detected by high performance liquid chromatography.The apoptosis of hippocampus neurons and the concentration of Ca2+ were assayed by flow cytometry.The mitochondrial membrane potential was detected by JC-1.The Na+-K+-ATPase activity was examined.Results 1.The concentration of Glu in hippocampus increased at 3 d after KA injection and reached the peak after 7 d injection.2.The concentration of Ca2+ level,mitochondrial membrane potential,and the number of apoptosis neurons were significantly increased,wherase the mitochondrial membrane potential decreased after 6 h of KA injection,7 d after KA injection,and the changes were more severe.3.In the hippocampus,the activities of the Na+-K+-ATPase significantly decreased at 1 d after KA injection,and they decreased more over at 7 d after KA injection.4.The levels of ATP,mitochondrial membrane potential,and the activity of the Na+-K+-ATPase were negatively correlated with the neuron apoptosis(Pa

Objective To examine the relationship between plasma homocysteine level and status of congestive heart failure. Methods Plasma homocysteine level was determined in 106 patients with congestive heart failure(CHF).Among them,40 patients were diagnosed as having recent onset of CHF(group 1) and the remaining 66 were receiving conventional treatment(group 2).Thirty healthy subjects were served as a control group. Results(The plasma) homocysteine levels in group 1,group 2 and the control group were(14.87?5.22),(13.25?5.45) and((7.52)?1.73) ?mol/L,respectively.The plasma homocysteine level was significantly higher in group 1 and group 2 than in the control group(P