Objective To explore the effect of xuezhikang on blood lipids,vascular endothelial function and redox balance in patients with carotid atherosclerosis.Methods A total of 108 inpatients with carotid atherosclerosis in cardiology department were randomly divided into two groups:xuezhikang group (n = 54) and cholestyramin group (n= 54).Before and after treatment,the levels of total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C),nitric oxide (NO),endothelin-1 (ET-1),reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) of all patients were measured.The GSH/GSSG as redox potentials were calculated according to Nernst equation.Results After 12 weeks of treatment,the levels of blood lipids were lower than before treatment in xuezhikang group [TC:(3.94±1.36) mmol/L vs.(5.68±1.47) mmol/L;LDL-C:(2.28±1.11) mmol/L vs.(3.43±1.36) mmol/L;TG:(1.54±0.59) mmol/L vs.(1.73±0.66)mmol/L;t=3.915,4.160,2.187;P<0.01,0.01,0.05,respectively],and the levels of blood lipids also decreased in cholestyramin group [TC:(4.15 ± 1.29) mmol/L vs.(5.73 ± 1.52)mmol/L;LDLC:(2.56± 1.06) mmol/L vs.(3.37± 1.35) mmol/L;TG:(1.69±0.57) mmol/L vs.(1.72±0.67) mmol/L;t=3.760,4.035,1.893;P<0.01,0.01,>0.05,respectively].In xuezhikang group,ET-1,GSSG and GSSG/GSH ratios decreased significantly [(121.71 + 59.11) ng/L vs.(154.43±63.06) ng/L;(30.42± 1.59) μmol/L vs.(33.93±1.74) μ mol/L;-146.1±4.4vs.-142.3±4.3;t=2.168,2.325,4.168;P<0.05,0.05,0.01,respectively],and NO,NO/ET-1 ratios,GSH and GSH/GSSG increased significantly [(64.40 ± 18.86) μmol/L vs.(48.41 ±16.53) μmol/L;(0.54±0.19) vs.(0.33±0.16);(321.27±56.47) μmol/L vs.(286.11±38.23)μmol/L;(10.56±1.70) vs.(8.65±1.18);t=3.725,3.987,3.894,4.168;all P<0.01].Conclusions For patients with carotid atherosclerosis,both xuezhikang and cholestyramin could lower blood lipids efficiently,but only xuezhikang could protect vascular endothelial function partly,and makes plasma redox imbalance shift the balance.

Objective To investigate the value of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) detection in the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients with normal ejection fraction.Methods Totally 78 elderly patient were selected in our hospital,with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥45 ％,among which 52 cases of patients were consistent of heart failure criteria (heart failure group),27 cases with normal left ventricular diastolic function as control group.The echocardiographic indices of diastolic function and the change of the concentration of BNP were compared.Results As compared with heart failure group,BNP concentration (108.7 ± 32.2) ng/L vs.(190.3 ± 41.5) ng/L,left ventricular posterior wall thickness (11.3 ± 1.7) mm vs.(13.6 ± 1.4) mm,left ventricular mass index (119.3±10.2)g/m2 vs.(130.7±8.9)g/m2 were elevated in heart failure group (all P＜0.01).Conclusions BNP detection can be used for a diagnosis of heart failure as a simple and easy method.The BNP and ultrasound heart beat graph combination can improve heart failure diagnostic accuracywith normal ejection fraction in elderly patients.