Antitussive Agents/*pharmacology ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical/methods

Objective To investigate the effects of astragalus membranaceus parenteral solution combined with recombinant human erythropietin (rHuEPO) on erythrocyte immunity function in patients with hemodialysis. Methods Fifty-one patients of chronic renal failure(CRF) with hemodialysis were divided into 2 groups randomly according to whether treated with astragalus membranaceus parenteral solution or not(therapeutic group, was 26 cases and control group was 25 cases). IgG, IgA, IgM, RBC-C3b,RR,RBC-ICR, erythrocyte percentage of CD35 positive and SOD was measured before treatment and 8 weeks after treatment. Results After 8 weeks' treatment, IgG,IgA,IgM levels in therapeutic group and IgG,IgA levels in control group were higher than those before treatment(P < 0.01 ). IgM [ (2.03±0.73 ) g/L ] was higher than that in control group (P< 0.05). RBC-C3B,RR, erythrocyte percentage of CD35 positive and SOD were higher and RBC-ICR was lower than those before treatment in two groups (P < 0.05 ) ;compared with that in control group, RBC-C3b, RR was higher [(10.85±2.31 )% ] and RBC-ICR was lower [(5.34±1.91 )% ] (P < 0.05 ).Conclusion Astragalus membranaceus parenteral solution combined with rHuEPO is superior to improve CRF patients' levels of immune globulin and erythrecyte immunity function.

Objective: To evaluate ultrasound biomicroscopy(UBM) in the surgical treatment of glaucoma complicated by cataract and in the observation of the post-operation changes of the anterior chamber angle and its related structure in patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma(PACG).Methods: Combined surgery of phacoemulsification,intraocular lens(IOL) implantation and trabeculectomy was performed in 30 patients(30 eyes) with cataract and PACG.The changes of the anterior chamber angle and anterior chamber distance were determined by UBM before and 1 month after the operation.At the same time,intraocular pressure was recorded and analyzed.Results:Intraocular pressure was obviously decreased after the operation.There were significant differences between pre-and post-operation in ACD,AOD500,TIA and TCPD(P0.05).Conclusion: Combined surgery for glaucoma and cataract could deepen the anterior chamber,widen the chamber angle,and reopen the trabeculae,which contributes to the control of intraocular pressure and reduces postoperative complications such as shallow anterior chamber.Long-term effect of the surgery needs to be further investigated.

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of Survivin in esophageal car-cinoma.Methods Survivin expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in 61 cases of esophageal squamous carcinoma tissues and 26 tumor-adjacent normal tissues.Results The positive Survivin expression rate was 60.7% (37/61)in tumor tissues.The expression of Survivin was significantly correlated with the tumor grading,infiltration, lymph node metastasis and the survival(P<0.01).Conclusion Survivin may be an important marker for tumor di-agnosis and it is of great important to the active treatment of high-risk patients and to increasing of prognosis values.

Objective To detect the relationship between plasma B-type natriuretic peptide(BNP) and left ventricular function in elderly patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Method Plasma BNP concentration were measured in 50 MHD patients (MHD group) and 30 healthy controls (control group). Echocardiographic examinations were performed including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Results The median plasma BNP level in MHD group before and after hemodialysis was 213.5 ng/L and 110.2 ng/L, and obviously higher than that in control group (20.2 ng/L) (P<0.01). Spearman rank correlation showed that plasma BNP level was significantly negatively correlated with LVEF (r=-0.4357, P< 0.05). The median plasma BNP level in the patients with LVEF < 50% before and after hemodialysis was 386.5 ng/L and 232.0 ng/L, significantly higher than that in the patients without left ventricular dysfunction (LVEF≥50%) (59.7 ng/L and 29.1 ng/L)(P<0.01). Conclusions The level of BNP may reflect dynamic change of left ventricular function in MHD patients. It can help to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease in MHD patients early.

Objective To investigate the different impacts of the components of metabolic syndrome (MS) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and Framingham risk value (FRV) in newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients without coronary heart disease (CHD).Methods A total of 212 newly-diagnosed T2DM patients was divided into three groups based on the components of MS,including body mass index (BMI),triglyceride (TG),high density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C),and mean arterial pressure (MAP) tertile,respectively.The general CVD risk factors [smoking,BMI,TG,HDL-C,total cholesterol (TC),low density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C),HbA1 C,homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR),and FRV] were compared among the groups.Logistic regression analysis was used to observe the different impact of MS components on CVD risk.Results With the increasing of BMI,TG and MAP tertiles,all the CVD risk factors and the ratio of FRV middle-risk group or high-risk group had the tendency of augmentation.With the increasing of HDL-C tertiles,all the CVD risk factors and the ratio of FRV middle-risk group or high-risk group was in downtrend.Binary logistic regression analysis indicted that BMI,systolic pressure,diastolic pressure,HbA1 c and TG were risk factors of FRV non-low-risk group (middle-risk and high-risk groups),HDL-C was the protective factor.The odds ratios (ORs) of BMI,systolic pressure,diastolic pressure,HbA1 c,TG and HDL-C were 2.794 (95％ CI:2.390-2.408),2.601 (95 ％ CI:1.974-3.701),1.476 (95 ％ CI:1.231-2.048),2.964 (95 ％ CI:1.925-3.282),1.464(95％ CI:0.934-2.294),and 0.732(95％ CI:0.023-0.962),respectively.Logistic stepwise regression analysis indicated that systolic pressure,BMI,HbA1 C,and HDL-C were entered into the regression equation,and the partial regression coefficient was 0.784,1.213,1.679,and-0.854,respectively (P ＜ 0.05 or P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions All the components of MS in newly-diagnosed T2DM were correlated with CVD risk factors.However,they should be weighed differently.

BACKGROUND: About one fourth of diabetic patients suffer from diabetic retinopathy(DR) and has greatly impacted their quality of life due to the decreased vision. Social support plays important role on rehabilitation of patients.OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between social support and quality of life(QOL) in patients with diabetic retinopathy in order to direct clinical practice and improve the patients' QOL.DESIGN: Cross-sectional study based on patients with diabetic retinopathy.SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Nanjing Military Area Command of Chinese PLA.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 81 patients admitted into Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Nanjing Military Area Command of Chinese PLA with diabetic retinopathy during January 2002 to May 2003 were selected. Inclusion criteria: suffer from diabetic retinopathy and willing to attend this study. Exclusion criteria: people with other complications (hypertension, kidney disease) . The patients were divided into two groups according to vision: 28 cases in the group with binocular vision between 0.06 -0. 1; 53 cases in the group with vision less than 0. 05.METHODS: Investigation was conducted to the two groups from three dimensions including objective support, subjective support and usage in order to assess the social support to patients with diabetic retinopathy of different vision. And modified quality of life index (MQLI) was used to assess the QOL in patients with diabetic retinopathy that covered 5 dimensions: somatic health, mental health, social function, self-image and material base.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The total score of social support and QOL of patients with diabetic retinopathy, score of somatic health, mental health,social functions and material base as well as the correlations among them.RESULTS: The total score of social support, score of objective support factor, subjective support factor and usage factor in roup with vision between 0.06 and 0. 1 were much higher than those in group with vision less than 0.05 ( P < 0.01 ). For patients with diabetic retinopathy, the social support had strong correlation with total score of QOL and factor score of other dimensions except of self-image( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).CONCLUSION: Social support is an important factor that impacts QOL to patients with diabetic retinopathy. It will improve their QOL by reinforcing the social support.

Purpose To investigate the expression and clinical significance of the cell cycle inhibitors p16 protein and specific recogni-tion of viral replication intermediate TLR3 in the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia ( CIN) and cervical invasive carcinoma. Methods Immunohistochemical stain was used to detect the expressions of p16 and TLR3 in 19 cases of normal cervical epithelium ( NCE) , 62 cases of CIN, and 17 cases of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Results The positive rates of p16 protein were 0, 72. 5%and 100% in NCE, CIN and SCC respectively in which the difference among those groups were statistically significant ( P<0. 01 ) . Similarly, the positive rates of TLR3 protein were 26. 3%, 87% and 100% in NCE, CIN and SCC respectively and the difference a-mong those groups was significant (P<0. 01). Furthermore, there was a significant and positive correlation between the expression of p16 and TLR3 (rs =0. 538, P<0. 01). Conclusion Increased expression is observed in CIN and SCC compared with NCE and the expression of p16 and TLR3 is associated with level of CIN. Those could provide certain experiment basis for the pathologica diagnosis of early cervical cancer.

It has been reported that the small type of neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) play an important role in pain regulation by a presynaptic mechanism via the metabotropic type-B γ-aminobutyric acid receptors ( GABABR ). In order to understand whether the 2populations of the small type of the neurons, peptidergic and nonpeptidergic, in DRG share the same role, immunoflourescent histochemical methods and confocal laser scanning microscope were employed to investigate the expression of the GABABR in the peptidergic and nonpeptidergic small DRG neurons. The results revealed that 92% of the peptidergic and 90% of nonpeptidergic small DRG neurons express GABABR in their perikarya and central processes, which distribute in the various laminae of the spinal dorsal horn. These results suggest both the peptidergic and nonpeptidergic populations of the small neurons in the DRG share similar role in pain modulation via presynaptic mechanisms but in given laminae of the spinal dorsal horn.

AIM:To investigate the effects of C1q/TNF related protein 3 (CTRP3) on the insulin sensitivity of insulin resistant 3T3-L1 adipocytes.METHODS: The insulin resistance model of 3T3-L1 adipocytes was induced by palmic acid cultivation.The adipocytes were treated with different concentrations of recombinant CTRP3 protein (10, 50, 250,1 250 μg/L) for 12 h, and for different times (2, 6, 12, 24 h) at the concentration of 250μg/L.The glucose con-sumption was detected by the glucose oxidase method.The glucose transport ratio was measured by 2-deoxidation-[3H]-glucose intake method.The contents of TNF-αand IL-6 in the supernatant were detected by ELISA.The mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and glucose transporter-4 (GLUT-4) was measured by real-time PCR.The protein expression of GLUT-4 was detected by Western blotting.RESULTS:Compared with normal control ( NC) group, the glucose consumption and glucose intake ratio of insulin resistance ( IR) group was decreased by 50.6%and 57.9%, respectively.Compared with IR group, with the increase in CTRP3 (10, 50, 250,1 250 μg/L) in intervention groups, the glucose consumptions were in-creased by 22.1%, 42.9%, 76.6% and 80.5%, respectively, and the glucose intake ratios were increased by 39.0%, 68.0%, 108.0%and 111.0%, respectively.With the increased duration (2, 6, 12 and 24 h) of CTRP3 treatment at the concentration of 250 μg/L, the glucose intake ratio was increased by 23.0%, 79.0%, 109.0%and 114.0%, respectively. The contents of TNF-αand IL-6 in the supernatant were decreased by 17.4%and 17.1%respectively as treated with CTRP3 at the concentration of 250 μg/L for 12 h, and the mRNA expression of TNF-αand IL-6 was decreased by 26.0% and 18.9%respectively, while the mRNA and protein expression of GLUT-4 was increased by 61.5%and 55.6%respectively. CONCLUSION:CTRP3 may increase the insulin sensitivity of insulin resistant 3T3-L1 adipocytes by down-regulating the expression of inflammatory factors, improving the insulin signal transduction and increasing the expression of GLUT-4.