OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between serum testosterone levels and the plaque formation of the carotid artery in a population-based cohort of independently living healthy women above 60 years of age.

METHODSAnalysis of the healthy elders from a population-based cohort study in 9 communities of Beijing. Carotid intima-media thickness and atherosclerotic plaques were determined ultrasonographically. Serum testosterone levels were measured by immunoassay. The data were analyzed with ANOVA and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTSThere was an inverse correlation between testosterone and plaque formation in old females (P < 0.01), while no association was found in males. Female with testosterone levels in the lowest quartile (< 0.49 nmol/L) had more risk of plaque formation (OR = 3.805, P < 0.01) after adjusted with age and other traditional factors of atherosclerosis.

CONCLUSIONTestosterone concentrations are negatively associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis in old women in Beijing, experimental and prospective studies are needed to determine the possible therapeutic role of testosterone in atherosclerosis.

Aged ; Atherosclerosis ; blood ; Carotid Arteries ; pathology ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Carotid Stenosis ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Testosterone ; blood

OBJECTIVETo investigate clinical effects of arthroscopy in the treatment of medial meniscal cyst.

METHODSFrom June 2011 to January 2013, 7 patients with medial meniscal cyst were treated with arthroscopy. There were 3 males and 4 females,ranging in age from 27 to 63 years old,with a mean age of (43.93±2.10) years old. The cysts have been discovered for 3 to 30 months,with a mean time of (10.6±1.3) months. All the patients complained of knee pain,especially in the medial joint gap. The Pisani sign, Caklin sign and medial McMurray sign were all positive. Preoperative MRI examination confirmed the diagnosis. Lysholm score changes and clinical efficacy were observed through a six-month follow-up.

RESULTSThe postoperative Lysholm scores were all significantly higher than the preoperative scores. According to Sarimo standard, 6 patients got an excellent result, and 1 good.

CONCLUSIONArthroscopic treatment of medial meniscal cyst has replaced the traditional method, which could retain the normal meniscus as much as possible and repair the meniscus injury simultaneously, as well as get a good curative effect and a good recovery of knee function. This method is worthy of clinical application.

Adult ; Arthroscopy ; methods ; Cysts ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Menisci, Tibial ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Middle Aged

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Fistula ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Recurrence ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroglossal Cyst ; surgery ; Young Adult

Face ; Facial Paralysis ; Humans

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Heart ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Kidney ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Young Adult

Under the shaking-flask culture, fermentation medium of honggumycin produced by Streptomyces 702 were studied.The experiment was used response surface methodology to optimize the shaking-flask fermentation medium.Firstly, we applied full factorial design to screen important factors soybean meal and industrial peptone which affected hongmycin produced by Streptomyces 702.Furthermore, we designed experiment to obtain the steepest ascent path and optimal level by the central composite design.The optimum medium consisted of (g/L): maize starch 20, maize meal 20, glucose 20, soybean meal 23, industrial peptone 9, KNO_ 3 2.5, (NH_ 4 )_ 2 SO_ 4 2.5 KH_ 2 PO_ 4 0.3, NaCl 3, CaCO_ 3 6, bean oil 5mL/L.Under the optimal medium, the yield of honggumycin was up to 1500 g/mL, which was increased by 308% than the original medium.

To assess the effect of prostaglandin E_1(PGE_1)on renal blood flow and serum endothelin of liver recipients.Methods PGE_1 was administered in 38 liver recipients at the dose of 0.6?g?kg~(-1)?h~(-1)during liver transplantation and every day after operation.The effects of PGE_1 on serum endothelin concentration and creatinine(Cr)were observed and these indexes were compared with those in the control group(n=18).The renal blood flow resistance indexes(RI)were measured by Doppler ultrasound.Results Cr and RI were significantly lower in PGE1=treated group than those in the control group.PGE_1-treated group also showed a significantly lower serum endothelin concen- tration.Conclusion Administration of PGE_1 in liver recipients can significantly improve the early re- nal function by reducing serum endothelin concentration and dilating renal blood vessels.

The biochemical mechanism of degrading keratins by S.fradiae var S-221 was primarily studied.The compounds (Na_ 2 SO_ 4 , Na_ 2 SO_ 3 and sulfdryl acohol), which respecitively enhance specific activity of keratinase, activate keratinase intensively and mainly act on the disulfide bonds reductase in the keratinase, Na_ 2 SO_ 3 activates intensively both disulfide bonds reductase and polypeptide hydrolytase at 0.01 mol/L, whereas Na_ 2 S_ 2 O_ 3 , which acts on the disulfide bonds reductase, inhibits keratinase.On the condition that substrate, keratins exists, S.fradiae var S-221 is induced to produce exo-keratinase, which is a multiproteinase, containing disulfide bonds reductase, which is a key enzyme degrading keratins, then, with polypeptidic, hydrolytase, graduately hydrolyzates denatured keratins into polypeptides, oligopeptides and free amino acids, so that keratins have been decomposed completely.Sulfur in the keratins was transferred into sulfhydryl compounds, H_ 2 S and sulfates in the course of keratinolysine.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of total flavonoids of Elsholtzia splendens (TFES) on isolated ischemia/reperfusion rat hearts and its underlying mechanisms.

METHODSHearts isolated from male SD rats were perfused on the Langendorff apparatus and subjected to global ischemia for 30 min followed by 120 min of reperfusion. The cardiac infarct size was measured by TTC staining. Hemodynamic parameters and the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the coronary effluent were measured. Absorbance at 520 nm was determined in isolated cardiac mitochondria exposed to 200 micromol/L CaCl2 to detect the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore.

RESULTSPretreatment with TFES (1, 10, 100 microg/ml) for 5 min decreased infarct size and LDH release and improved the recovery of the left ventricular developed pressure. In mitochondria, the decrease of absorbance at 520 nm evoked by CaCl2 was greatly inhibited by TFES.

CONCLUSIONTFES prevents myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and this cardioprotective effect is probably via inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening.

Animals ; Cardiotonic Agents ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Flavones ; pharmacology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Lamiaceae ; chemistry ; Male ; Mitochondria, Heart ; drug effects ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; drug effects ; Myocardial Reperfusion ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

A phytochemical investigation on the aerial parts of a Tibetan medicine Meconopsis horridula, by solvent extraction, repeated chromatographies on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and preparative TLC techniques, led to the isolation of 9 compounds. By spectroscopic analysis and comparison of its 1H and 13C-NMR data with those in literatures, their structures were identified as oleracein E(1), N-( trans-p-coumaroyl) tyramine (2), chrysoeriol (3), apigenin (4), hydnocarpin (5), p-coumaric acid glucosyl ester (6), stigmast-5-ene-3beta-ylformate (7), 3beta-hydroxy-7alpha-ethoxy-24beta-ethylcholest-5-ene (8), and beta-sitosterol (9), respectively, among which compounds 6-8 were isolated from the genus for the first time,and 1,3 were isolated from the species for the first time. A MTT method was applied to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of compounds 14 against the human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2), and compound 1 showed significant cytotoxicity against HepG2,with its inhibitory rate of 52.2% at 10 micromol x L(-1).
Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Molecular Structure ; Papaveraceae ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization