Aortic Diseases ; Aortic Valve ; Aortic Valve Stenosis ; Calcinosis ; Humans ; Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II

To evaluate the cohort study in Chinese medicine research, especially in acupuncture study field. This paper introduced the concepts, methods and applications of cohort study; furthermore, it introduced the applications and progress of cohort study in clinical Chinese medicine research at present. In China, cohort study has been mainly used in Chinese medicine research focusing on tumors, any researches using cohort study in acupuncture were not retrieved. Contrarily, the cohort study has been used earlier and advocated to apply in abroad acupuncture research. As one of methods in classic epidemiological observational studies, cohort study is fit to evaluate clinical researches of Chinese medicine and acu-moxibustion, so it is worthy of being promoted in applications.
Acupuncture Therapy ; China ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Research Design

Objective To investigate BAALC(brain and acute leukemia cytoplasmic)gene expression in patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia(AML)and its clinical significance. Methods BAALC expression was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RQ-PCR) in 63 de novo AML patients.The association between BAALC expression and therapeutic effect was analyzed.Results The correlation coefficiencies were over 0.99 for standard curves of RQ-PCR method. BAALC expression was detected in 49(78%)AML patients.The peripheral WBC counts,hemoglobin, platelet counts and the bone mahow blast cell percentage at onset in 31 AML patients with high BAALC expression were(26.3?18.1)?10~9/L,(78.3?21.8)g/L,(76.9?64.5)?10~9/L and(61.2?22.3)% and those of 32 AML patients with low BAALC expression were(30.2?21.7)?10~9/L,(81.6?30.9)g/L, (73.9?57.2)?10~9/L,(54.3?16.3)%,respectively.No statistic differences were found between these two groups.The AML patients with normal chromosome karyotypes are more likely to have a high BAALC expression(68%)compared with those with abnormal chromosome karyotypes(23%,?~2=12.093,P= 0.001).AML patients with normal cytogenetics and high BAALC expression shows significant lower CR rate (65%)compared with those with low BAALC expression(84%,?~2=6.573,P=0.013). Conclusion High BAALC expression may define an important risk factor in AML with normal cytogenetics and predicts an adverse prognosis.

Objective To determine the effects of individual antibiotic and immunosuppressive regime on postoperative infection in liver transplant recipients. Method There were 31 cases of liver transplantation from March 2001 to May 2005. The recipients received individual antibiotic and immunosuppressive regime based on the drug susceptibility testing and monitoring of blood drug concentration. The incidence and pattern of infection and the mortality in these recipients were analyzed retrospectively. Results There were 15 episodes of infection during recipients' staying in hospital. The common etiologies were Enterobacter cloacae, pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Staph. epidermidis. According to the drug sensitive test, targocid/tienam and tazocin were mostly used in antibiotic regime for treatment of postoperative infection. With monitoring of blood concentration, appropriate application of immunosuppressive agents decreased the incidence of infection from 86.7% before 2003 to 48.4% after 2003 (P0.05). Conclusion Individual application of antibiotic and immunosuppressive regime leads to the suppression of infections and other complications in liver transplant recipients.

Background Diabetic complication is associated with lipid peroxidation.Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) catalyze the irreversible oxidation of a variety of biological aldehydes,including lipid-derived aldehydes (LDAs),and thus protect organs and tissues from toxic LDAs.Understanding the activity of ALDH in different ocular tissues in diabetic subjects is very important for prevention and treatment of diabetic ocular complications.Objective This research aimed to investigate the activity and expression of ALDH in different ocular tissues in diabetic rats and to explore the mechanism of ALDH in diabetes-induced eye disease.Methods Twenty-eight healthy SPF male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats weighted 170-180 g were randomly divided into the normal control group and diabetic group.The diabetic animal model was established by intraperitonial injection of 4％ streptozotocin at 65 mg/kg.Isometric citric acid buffer was injected in the rats of the normal control group.The rats were sacrificed in each group 2 and 4 months after the establishment of the diabetic models,and eyeballs were obtained for the preparation of corneal,lens and retinal homogenates.ALDH activity was detected using a multifunctional microplate reader SpectraMax M5,and ALDH content was measured by ELISA at the wavelength of 450 nm with the SpectraMax M5 ELISA reader.Results The blood glucose level in diabetic rats was significantly elevated at various time points compared with the normal control group(P=0.000),and body weights were evidently lower in the diabetic group than in the normal group (P =0.000).The activities of ALDH (A340) in corneal,lens and retinal tissues in the diabetic group were increased in comparison with the normal control group (F =396.601,P=0.000),and showed an enhancement with the lapsing of time (F =53.139,P =0.000).In addition,the highest level of ALDH was found in the cornea and the lowest level in the lens(F =6973.000,P=0.000).The expression level of ALDH in the corneal,lens and retinal homogenates was significantly higher in the diabetic group compared with the normal control group (F=312.985,P =0.000) and showed a considerable increase over the course (F =19.203,P=0.000).The highest expression level was seen in the cornea and the lowest was in the lens,with a significant difference among these three kinds of tissues (F =3243.000,P =0.000).Conclusions ALDH can protect ocular tissue from the damage of lipid peroxidation.Thess results suggest that ALDH plays a role in preventing diabetes-related ocular complications.

Objective To investigate the full-term newborn′s weight in Zhengzhou city and nearby areas around Zhengzhou in Henan province.Methods Each group newborn′s weight was divided with sex and city.We studied the regularity of full-term newborn′s weight,and examined the cause of the newborn′s weight rising.Results The average newborn′s weight in Zhengzhou was (3449.06?453.97) g,which in nearby areas around Zhengzhou was (3352.07?429.91) g.The average newborn′s weight in Zhengzhou was 86.97 g higher than other cities (P

OBJECTIVETo reveal the quality variation of polysaccharides, triterpenoids and proteins in spores and fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum from producing areas, different varieties, harvesting parts and periods, and wall-breaking treatments.

METHODSpores and fruiting bodies from varieties of Longzhi No. 1 and Hunong No. 1 were collected as test samples, together with wall-broken spores sold in domestic main producing areas. The anthrone-sulfuric acid colorimetric method was used to determine the content of total polysaccharides. The vanillin-glacial acetic acid-perchloric acid colorimetric method was used to determine the content of total triterpenoids. The Lowry method was used to determine the content of total proteins.

RESULTThe content ranges of total polysaccharides, total triterpenoids, and total proteins from 6 domestic main producing areas were 0.40% - 2.25%, 1.36%-3.15% and 0.74% -1.91% respectively. The content ranges of total polysaccharides, triterpenoids, and proteins in the fruiting bodies from 2 varieties cultured in Zhejiang were 0.25% -1.42%, 0.44% -1.42% and 1.82% -3.67% respectively. In addition, the ranges of samples from wall-unbroken spores were 0.41% - 0.91%, 0.09% - 0.12%, 0.78% - 0.90% respectively and wall-broken spores are 1.03% - 2.25%, 1.89% - 3.15%, 0.96% - 1.04% respectively.

CONCLUSIONThere are significant differences in the contents of main chemical ingredients of wall-broken G. lucidum spores saled in the markets. The samples from Zhejiang contain high content of total polysaccharides and triterpenoids, and samples from Fujian contains more proteins. Between the 2 major varieties cultured in Zhejiang, Longzhi No. 1 contains higher content of triterpenoids, but Hunong No. 1 has more polysaccharides. Contents of triterpenoids and polysaccharides from wall-broken spores are much higher than those of fruiting bodies. The stipes from fruiting bodies contains more polysaccharides than those of the pileus, while the triterpenoids contents are higher in the pileus than stipes. The pileus and stipes collected in the second year contain higher content of polysaccharides than the first year's samples, but the contents of triterpenoids are lower. Wall-breaking treatment would significantly improve the extraction and dissolution rate of total triterpenoids and polysaccharides.

Fungal Proteins ; analysis ; Polysaccharides ; analysis ; Reishi ; chemistry ; Spores, Fungal ; chemistry ; Triterpenes ; analysis

This study is to explore new lead compounds by inhibition of Pin1 for anticancer therapy using temperature sensitive mutants. As Pin1 is conserved from yeast to human, we established a high-throughput screening method for Pin1 inhibitors, which employed yeast assay. This method led to the identification of one potent hits, 8-11. In vitro, 8-11 inhibited purified Pin1 enzyme activity with IC50 of (10.40 +/- 1.68) micromol x L(-1), induced G1 phase arrest and apoptosis, showed inhibitory effects on a series of cancer cell proliferation, reduced Cyclin D1 expression, was defined as reciprocally matched for protein-ligand complex in virtual docking analysis and reduced cell migration ability. In vivo, we could observe reduction of tumor volume after treatment with 8-11 in xenograft mice compared with vehicle DMSO treatment. Altogether, these results provide for the first time the involvement of 8-11 in the anticancer activity against Pin1.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cyclin D1 ; metabolism ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor ; methods ; G1 Phase ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; methods ; Humans ; Mice ; NIMA-Interacting Peptidylprolyl Isomerase ; Neoplasms ; pathology ; Peptidylprolyl Isomerase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Temperature ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; Yeasts

The diagnosis and treatment pattern using combination of disease and syndrome, fully developing the advantages of both traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine (WM) and being widely used clinically, has been constructed in the long history of TCM. Prof. MA Rou, as a hematology specialist of integrative medicine (IM), uses modern medical equipment to diagnose diseases and takes traditional Chinese medical methods to treat diseases. He is loyal to TCM sciences and refers to the advantages of WM. He holds the essence of MDS lies in toxic stasis according to its pathogenic features. He detoxifies and removes stasis using Qinghuang Powder. Meanwhile, according to patients' clinical manifestations, he summarized two common syndrome types, Pi-Shen yang deficiency syndrome and Gan-Shen yin deficiency syndrome. Better efficacy could be achieved by combining Chinese herbs for tonifying Pi-Shen. In recent years the application of Qinghuang Powder won some achievements in clinical study and experimental study, thus providing scientific reliance for Prof. MA Rou's academic thought on treating MDS.
Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Yang Deficiency ; Yin Deficiency

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relative contribution of lifestyle and obesity to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

METHODSAll baseline survey data were based on the program Prevention of Multiple Metabolic Disorders and Metabolic Syndrome in Jiangsu Province (PMMJS) which was conducted during April 1999 to May 2004. In the baseline survey, 8685 participants were selected using multi-stage sampling method. Frem March 2006 to November 2007, 4582 participants who had been in the study for at least 5 years were included in the follow-up survey. A total of 3847 participants were followed and of them 3461 non-diabetic subjects were included in this analysis. High fat diet or not, low fiber diet or not, sedentary or not and occupational physical activity classification were defined as lifestyle variables and the incidence of type 2 diabetes at follow-up survey was defined as outcome variable. It was prospectively examined that the separate and joint association of lifestyle and obesity with the development of type 2 diabetes in subjects recruited from PMMJS, using logistic regression model.

RESULTSA total of 162 incident cases of type 2 diabetes during 6.3 years of follow-up in total 3461 participants were documented. The incidence rate was 4.7%. After adjusted for sex, age, family history of diabetes, blood pressure, lipids and fast plasma glucose, risk of type 2 diabetes increased with lighter occupational physical activity (compared with vigorous group, moderate group aRR = 2.15, 95%CI: 1.26 - 3.68; light group aRR = 2.39, 95%CI: 1.12 - 4.87), sedentary lifestyle (aRR = 2.94, 95%CI: 1.90 - 4.54), low fiber diet (aRR = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.01 - 2.53), overweight (aRR = 1.33, 95%CI: 1.01 - 1.90) and obesity (aRR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.07 - 3.75). In joint analysis of lifestyle and obesity, the impact of sedentary lifestyle (in BMI < 25 group, aRR = 3.42, 95%CI: 1.99 - 5.86; in BMI ≥ 25 group, aRR = 2.41, 95%CI: 1.13 - 5.12) and low fiber diet (in BMI < 25 group, aRR = 1.42, 95%CI: 0.81 - 2.54; in BMI ≥ 25 group, aRR = 2.63, 95%CI: 1.15 - 6.03) on diabetes were independent of overweight and obesity. When stratified by sedentary lifestyle or low fiber diet, there was no association between overweight/obesity and diabetes risk (sedentary aRR = 2.04, 95%CI 0.87 - 4.71, non sedentary aRR = 1.21, 95%CI: 0.82 - 1.78; non low fiber diet aRR = 1.26, 95%CI: 0.87 - 1.84, low fiber diet aRR = 1.88, 95%CI: 0.80 - 4.80).

CONCLUSIONUnhealthy lifestyle, overweight and obesity independently increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. The magnitude of risk contributed by sedentary lifestyle and low fiber diet are much greater than that imparted by overweight and obesity.

Adult ; Aged ; Body Mass Index ; China ; epidemiology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; epidemiology ; Overweight ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Sedentary Lifestyle