Objective To approach the mechanisms and myocardial protective effect of Qishen Yiqi dropping pills on rats with myocardial infarction. Methods Sixty clean healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, model group and observation group (each n = 20). The rat model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was established by ligation of left anterior descent (LAD) branch of coronary artery. After modeling, the rats in observation group were given 0.135 g/kg of Qishen Yiqi dropping pills, and sham operation group and model group were administered the same amount of normal saline, once a day for consecutive 28 days. At the end of treatment, the levels of serum inflammatory factors of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); the changes of the indexes of hemodynamic [left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), the maximal rate of increase/decrease in left ventricular pressure (±dp/dt max)], the ratio of the heart weight/body weight, and the ratio of the left ventricular weight/heart weight (LVW/HW), the myocardial infarction area, myocardial histopathological changes were observed in the three groups; myocardial tissues inflammatory related factors [the mRNA and protein expressions of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX)], and the expression levels of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smads signal transduction pathway related protein (TGF-β1, Smad2/3, Collagen Ⅰ, Collagen Ⅲ ) and cell apoptosis related factors (Bcl-2, Bax) protein were measured. Results Compared with the sham operation group, levels of serum inflammatory factors, the index of LVEDP, the ratio of the heart weight/body weight, LVW/HW, myocardial infarction area, the mRNA and protein expression levels of inflammatory factors in myocardium, the expression levels of TGF-β/Smads signal transduction pathway related protein and the cell apoptosis related factors protein in model group were all significantly elevated, while LVSP and ±dp/dt max were obviously decreased in model group. Compared with the model group, the levels of inflammatory factor in serum [LTB4 (ng/L): 370.11±46.98 vs. 633.23±83.37, PGE2 (ng/L):48.75±26.35 vs. 131.25±29.75, TNF-α (μg/L): 177.28±22.65 vs. 248.47±16.21, IL-6 (μg/L): 493.22±165.99 vs. 638.41±191.66], LVEDP [mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa): -2.03±2.98 vs. 7.03±1.39], the ratio of the heart weight/body weight [(6.53±0.11)% vs. (7.14±0.24)%], LVW/HW (0.26±0.01 vs. 0.32±0.02), myocardial infarction area [(27.21±2.87)% vs. (44.98±1.52)%], mRNA and protein expression of myocardial inflammatory factors, the expression of TGF-β/Smads signal transduction pathway related protein, and the protein expression of Bax were all significantly decreased in observation group (all P < 0.05), LVSP (mmHg: 129.01±11.93 vs. 108.11±12.69), the +dp/dt max (mmHg/s: 3101.3±378.6 vs. 2105.3±245.9), the -dp/dt max (mmHg/s: 2612.4±249.7 vs. 1654.4±188.1), while the protein expression of Bcl-2 in observation group were obviously increased (all P < 0.05). It was demonstrated by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining that there were no obvious pathological changes in the sham operation group; obvious infiltration of inflammatory factors in myocardium was shown in model group; pathological changes in the observation group were significantly improved as compared with those in the model group. It was shown by Masson staining that there were slight hyperplasia of myocardial fibers and no obvious pathological changes in the sham operation group. Severe collagen hyperplasia was found in model group, and the degree of fibrosis in the observation group was significantly improved. Conclusions Qishen Yiqi dropping pills can reduce the degree of myocardial fibrosis and inhibit the ventricular remodeling via TGF-β/Smads signal transduction pathway. The dropping pills can also suppress the release of inflammatory factors by reducing cPLA2 to decrease the inflammatory response and inhibit apoptosis and alleviate myocardial injury by up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and down-regulating the expression of Bax.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between prolactin (PRL) cleavage and the occurrence of hypertension, heart failure (HF) in post-menopausal female patients.
Methods: A total of 216 post-menopausal female subjects were enrolled in our study and they were divided into 3 groups: Hypertension group,n=80 patients with essential hypertension, Hypertension + HF group,n=76 and Control group,n=60 post-menopausal women form regular physical examination. The full length (23 kD PRL), 16 kD PRL fragment, lipid peroxide (LPO), total antioxidant status (TAS), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), NT-proBNP, creatinine, uric acid, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and BMI were examined and compared among different groups.
Results:①There were no real differences in age, creatinine, uric acid, FBG and BMI among groups,P>0.05.②Compared with Control group, Hypertension group had increased LPO and decreased TAS; compared with Control group and Hypertension group, Hypertension + HF group had increased LPO and decreased TAS.③Compared with Control group, Hypertension + HF group showed lower level of 23KD PRL, higher level of 16KD PRL and the higher ratio of 16KD PRL/23KD PRL,P<0.05-0.01.④Pearson correlation analysis indicated that LPO was negatively related to 23KD PRL (r=-0.784,P<0.01), positively related to 16KD PRL (r=0.807, P<0.01); TAS was positively related to 23KD PRL (r=0.768, P<0.01), negatively related to 16KD PRL (r=-0.777P<0.01); 23KD PRL was positively related to LVEF (r=0.852, P<0.01), negatively related to NT-proBNP (r=-0.832P<0.01); 16KD PRL was negatively related to LVEF (r=-0.850,P<0.01), positively related to NT-proBNP (r=0.814,P<0.01).
Conclusion: PRL cleavage was highly related to the occurrence of hypertension and HF in post-menopausal female patients.

Objective To investigate the left atrium (LA) function and structure changes in the paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) patients after catheter ablation using tissue Doppler imaging. Methods After complete pul-monary vein, radiofrequency ablation guided by Ensite NavX System, LA systolic function and LA diameter, volume, mean mitral gradient and mitral annulus early and advanced diastolic peak velocity were assessed in 32 cases of par-oxysmal AF patients,which were compared with age-matched controls before and after 24 hours, 1 week, 1 month) AF ablation. Results AF did not occur again in 32 AF paroxysmal patients after isolation. LA diameter and volume in AF groups before ablation were larger than controls(P<0.01), which were also larger 24 hours after ablation than before (P>0.05 ), but LA volume was larger than before (P<0.05), and decreased in I week after ablation (P< 0.05), but had no significant difference compared with controls in 1 month(P>0.05 ) ;mitral annulus advanced di-astolic peak velocity decreased in AF groups before ablation (P<0.01 )and was lower than that 24 hours after cathe-ter ablation (P<0.05 ), but increased after 1 week (P<0.05 or P <0.01 ), and had no significance after 1 month. Conclusion Catheter ablation is the effective way to manage AF because LA is distended and atrial systolic func-tion is reduced within 24 hours after procedure, then gradually increased in a week and will nearly recover to that be-fore procedure in a month, which may be correlated with LA repair, implicating that postprocedural thromboembollc risk and procedure injury should be taken into consideration.

Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic ; Humans ; Pulmonary Edema

Background Retinal neovascularization (RNV) occurs in multiple eye diseases,which can lead to bleeding and retinal detachment.Therefore,inhibition of pathological RNV is becoming crucial to the treatment of ocular diseases.Research has shown that α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) inhibits retinal angiogenesis during physiological development;however,the effects of α-MSH on pathological RNV remain unknown.Objective This study was to investigate the effects of intravitreal injection of α-MSH at different concentrations on pathological RNV in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR).Methods Forty healthy clean C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into OIR+0.33 μg/μl α-MSH,OIR+ 1.67 μg/μl α-MSH,OIR+3.30 μg/μl α-MSH,OIR,and normal control groups at postnatal day 7 (P7),with 8 pups in each group.The α-MSH intervention groups and OIR group were exposed to high oxygen (75 ±2)％ for 5 days,then maintained under normal air condition for another 5 days;whereas the normal control group was raised under normoxia for 10 days.Retro-orbital injection of high molecular weight fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-dextran) was performed on P17 mice.The retina whole mounts were prepared to reveal retinal vasculature and quantify relative area of vessel obliteration.The mouse eyeballs were subjected to paraffin sections and hematoxylin-eosin staining,and the average number of pre-retinal nuclei per section was quantified.Results FITC-dextran labeled retinal whole mounts showed that the relative vessel obliteration area in normal control,OIR,OIR+0.33 μg/μl α-MSH,OIR+ 1.67 μg/μl α-MSH,and OIR+3.30 μg/μl α-MSH groups were (0.00±0.00) ％,(23.01 ±3.39) ％,(18.14±7.20) ％,(15.64±7.07) ％,and (7.62±6.52) ％,respectively.There was a statistical significance in the relative avascular area among the groups (F=19.635,P＜0.05).The relative avascular area in the OIR group was significantly higher than that in the OIR+3.30 μg/μl α-MSH group (t=4.293,P＜0.01).The results of histopathological examinations showed that the average number of pre-retinal nuclei per section in normal control,OIR,OIR+0.33 μg/μl α-MSH,OIR+1.67 μg/μl α-MSH,and OIR+3.30 μg/μl α-MSH groups were 0.00±0.00,11.45 ±4.26,6.35 ±2.34,4.96 ± 1.79 and 1.03 ± 1.25,respectively.There was a statistical significance in the average number of pre-retinal nuclei per section among the groups (F =147.87,P＜0.05).The average number of pre-retinal nuclei per section in the OIR group was significantly higher than that in the OIR+0.33 μg/μl α-MSH,OIR+ 1.67 μg/μl α-MSH,and OIR+3.30 μg/μl α-MSH groups,the differences between the groups had statistical significances (all at P＜0.001).Conclusions α-MSH reduces the relative area of vessel obliteration and the average number of pre-retinal nuclei in the retinas of OIR mouse model.The inhibitory effects of α-MSH on the pathological RNV are dose-dependent.

Objective:To analyze the electrocardiographic characteristics of patients with chronic pulmonary artery stenosis (PAS), and to explore their relationship with disease severity indicators.Methods:The study was a retrospective case-series analysis. Patients with chronic PAS admitted to Gansu Provincial Hospital from January 2018 to July 2021 were enrolled. The clinical data and the results of electrocardiography, transthoracic echocardiography, right cardiac catheterization, N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) measurement and 6-min walking distance test of patients were analyzed. The linear regression model or logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between electrocardiographic characteristics and the disease severity in patients with chronic PAS.Results:Sixty-three patients aged (62.1±9.7) years including 43 females (68.3%) were enrolled in the study. Among them, 62 patients (98.4%) had (R 1+S Ⅲ)-(S Ⅰ+R Ⅲ)<1.5 mV, and no patients had V 5lead R: S ratio to V 1 lead R: S<0.04 and V 6 lead R: S ratio<0.4. There were 55 patients (87.3%), with flat or inverted T-waves in V 1, and 10 patients (15.9%) with flat or inverted T-waves in all precordial leads (V 1-V 6). There were 18 patients (28.6%) with flat or inverted T-waves in inferior leads (Ⅱ, Ⅲ, aVF). Multiple liner regression analysis showed that Max R V1, 2+Max S I, aVL-S V1 combined with the number of flat or inverted T-waves in limb leads was independently correlated with atrial area ( R2=0.290, P=0.002); R V1+S V5 was independently correlated with right ventricular area ( R2=0.257, P=0.001); R peak V 1 combined with the number of flat or inverted T waves in precordial leads was independently correlated with tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion ( R2=0.407, P<0.001); (R 1+S Ⅲ)-(S Ⅰ+R Ⅲ) combined with the number of flat or inverted T waves in precordial leads was independently correlated with NT-proBNP ( R2=0.504, P<0.001); Max R V1, 2+Max S I, aVL-S V1 were independently correlated with right atrial pressure ( R2=0.803, P=0.036); (R 1+S Ⅲ)-(S Ⅰ+R Ⅲ) were independently correlated with mean pulmonary artery pressure ( R2=0.302, P<0.001); R aVRcombined with the number of flat or inverted T-waves in precordial leads was independently correlated with cardiac index ( R2=0.173, P=0.003); (R 1+S Ⅲ)-(S Ⅰ+R Ⅲ) was independently correlated with pulmonary vascular resistance ( R2=0.173, P=0.002); R peak V 1 combined with the number of flat or inverted T-waves in precordial leads was independently correlated with mixed vein oxygen saturation ( R2=0.302, P<0.001). Conclusion:The vast majority of patients with chronic PAS have (R 1+S Ⅲ)-(S Ⅰ+R Ⅲ)<1.5 mV and flat or inverted T-wave in V 1 lead, and some characteristic electrocardiographic manifestations are correlated with indicators of disease severity.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and safety percutaneous pulmonary vein intervention in patients with severe pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) caused by fibrosing mediastinitis(FM). Methods: This retrospective analysis included 5 FM patients (2 male, 3 female, 54-77 years old) confirmed by clinical presentation and chest computed tomography (CT) scan from January to June 2018 who were from Gansu Provincial Hospital and Shanghai Chest Hospital. CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) further revealed severe PVS caused by fibrotic tissue compression in mediastinum. After selective pulmonary vein angiography, gradually balloon angioplasty was used to expand the pulmonary vein and then stents were implanted in the pre-dilated stenotic pulmonary veins. Evaluation of therapeutic effect was made at 6 months after the procedure. Results: All of 11 serious compression PVS were treated with stent implantation (diameter: 7-10 mm, length: 17-27 mm). After stenting, degree of pulmonary vein stenosis decreased from (83±16)% to (12±4)% (P<0.01). The minimal diameter of the stenotic pulmonary vein was significantly increased from (0.8±0.5)mm to (7.5±0.8)mm (P<0.01). Trans-stenotic gradient decreased from (27.0±15.1)mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) to (2.50±0.58)mmHg (P<0.05). Mean pulmonary pressure measured by cardiac catheter decreased from (45.0±9.0)mmHg to (38.7±8.4)mmHg (P<0.05). One patient experienced cardiac arrest due to vagal nerve reflex during big sizing balloon stent dilation and recovered after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. There were no other serious procedure related complications. During the follow-up, severe stenosis at end of proximal stent was evidenced in 1 patient due to fibrotic compression, and another patient developed in-stent thrombosis due to discontinuation of prescribed anticoagulant. Conclusion Percutaneous intervention for severe pulmonary vein stenosis caused by FM is feasible and safe, and can improve hemodynamic caused by the compression of mediastinal vascular structures in these carefully selected patients.