Objective To investigate the effects of icariin on the expressions of osteoprotegerin(OPG)and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand(RANKL)mRNA in rat osteoblasts cultured in vitro.Methods Calvarial osteoblasts were obtained from newborn SD rats aged＜24 h by trypsin-collagenase digestion method. After treatment with different concentrations of icariin(10~(-10)-10~(-4) mol/L)for 48 h,total RNA was isolated from osteoblasts.Expressions of OPG and RANKL mRNA were detected by semiquantitative RT-PCR.Results Icariin remarkably increased OPG mRNA levels and decreased RANKL mRNA levels in calvarial osteoblasts in a dose- dependent fasion with a maximum effect at a concentration of 10~(-7)mol/L(P＜0.05).Osteoblasts pre-treated with icariin prevented the inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on OPG mRNA(0.570?0.093 vs 1.083?0.081)and the stimulative effect on RANKL mRNA(1.079?0.050 vs 0.718?0.082)(both P＜0.05).Conclusion Icariin upregulates OPG expression and downregulates RANKL expression in osteoblasts,which may explain the beneficial role of icariin in preventing and treating osteoporosis.

Angiotensin-II-induced apoptosis was widely involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, etc. The mechanism of angiotensin-II-induced apoptosis is complicated, including the receptor (AT1R and AT2R) level regulation, Fas/FasL pathway, and the regulation by p53 family, Bcl-2 family, Caspase family, Ang-(1-7), etc. Mitochondria damage and oxidative damage play important roles in the apoptosis process. This article reviews the previous researches on angiotensin-II-induced apoptosis.

The special environmental features of high altitude, such as hypobaric hypoxia, low temperature, arid, high solar radiation, variable climate and geochemical anomaly, cause great effects on human physiology and health. It will provide valuable references and new ideas to study drug's metabolism in special environment of high altitude hypoxia, and give the guidance to clinical reasonable medication, avoiding adverse reactions and personalized medicine in plateau areas. This article reviewed the effect of high altitude hypoxia on drug metabolism, elaborated metabolic characteristics of some drugs and the activity and expression of drug metabolism enzymes under hypoxia environment at high altitude, and discussed related mechanism.
Altitude ; Climate ; Cold Temperature ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; metabolism

AIM: To know the psychological conditions of various cataract patients in pre- and post-operative periods.METHODS: From June 2008 to June 2009, 278 cataract patients had been asked to complete a questionnaire anonymously of their self-evaluation of symptoms scale (SCL) before and after operation. In their pre-operative and post-operative surveys, the results were compared with the norms respectively. Patients were divided into two groups. Group A were age-related cataract patients; while Group B were cataract patients with glaucoma, trauma or metabolic disease.RESULTS: When cataract patients' masculine scores of somatization, depression, anxiety and fear factors before and after the operation rank higher than the norms, the differences had statistical significance(P＜0.05), especially the somatization factor(P＜0.01).While cataract patients with diseases such as glaucoma, trauma or diabetes got higher marks than age-related cataract patients in the aspects of anxiety, somatization, depression (P<0.05), and fear factors, the differences were of statistical significance(P<0.01).CONCLUSION: Cataract patients both in pre- and post- and operative periods have somatization behaviors and emotions of depression, anxiety and fear. Cataract patients with glaucoma, trauma or diabetes especially anxiety have more obvious symptoms than age-related cataract patients.

Objective To observe and evaluate the effect of ultrasound guided percutaneous ethanol injection for hyperparathyroidism secondary to chronic renal failure. Methods Fifty-three patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism in Nanjing General Hospital Military Command from January 2011 to May 2013 were treated by percutaneous ethanol injection. The echogenicity, size and blood supply of parathyroid glands were observed by color Doppler ultrasound before and after treatment. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and volumes of parathyroid glands were analyzed and compared with non-paired t test. Results Before treatment, the parathyroid gland volume was (5.28±0.84) cm3. The enlarged parathyroid glands had homogeneous hypoechogenicity and abundant blood supply, and the PTH was (1041.6±37.1) ng/L. After treatment, the size of solitary parathyroid gland was (3.93±0.67) cm3 which did not change significantly compared with that before treatment. The echogenicity of parathyroid glands enhanced and blood supply decreased after injection ethanol into solitary parathyroid. PTH [(509.2±27.6) ng/L] decreased obviously (t=3.792, P < 0.05). Conclusion Color Doppler ultrasound guided percutaneous injection of ethanol has an important role in the treating of secondary hyperparathyroidism and the curative effect can be observed timely.

ObjectiveTo investigate the role of the anti-podocyte antibody in the pathogenesis of membranous nephropathy(MN).Methods Thirty-six frozen section slice from biopsies of normal kidney were randomly divided into 3 groups:A,B and C groups(n=12,respectively),then,serum of MN and IgA nephropothy patients,and normal saline were added by drops to frozen section respectively,then the changes were observed by fluorescence microscope.Twenty-one male New Zealand white rabbits were feed with standard diet for 1 week,then were randomly divided into 3 groups:D,E,F groups (n=7,respectively),and injected with the serum of MN and IgA nephropathy,and normal saline respectively through ear-border vein.24-h urinary protein, serumalbumin, serumcreatinineweredetected. Atweek8afterinjection, the histopathological changes in kidney tissue of rabbits were observed by light microscope,electron microscope and immunofluorescence staining. Results Immunofluorescenee staining displayed IgG deposition in glomerular podocytes in group A,and there was no positive expression in other two groups.The quantitative measurement of 24-h urinary protein increased significantly after injection of MN serum (P＜0.01),meanwhile the serum albumin markedly decreased (P＜0.01).The inmnunofluorescence staining showed that IgG deposited in the glomerulus capillaries wall,which presented spherical particles.Light microscope revealed the thickening of GBM without nailing process formation.Electron microscope showed the podocyte foot processes,subepithelial dense deposits.Such pathological changes were not found in E group and F group.Conclusion There is anti-podocyte antibody in blood of MN patients,which may play a role in the pathogenesis of MN.

OBJECTIVE:To develop an HPLC method for the determination of the content of curcumine in Rujiexiao tablets.METHODS:The separation of sample was performed on VP-ODS C18 column (250 mm?4.6 mm,5 ?m).The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.2% phosphoric acid(61∶39) with a flow rate of 1.0 mL?min-1.The detection wavelength was set at 428 nm. RESULTS:The calibration curve of curcumine was linear within the range of 0.036～0.216 ?g (r=0.999 8) with an average recovery of 98.93%(RSD=0.99%,n=9).CONCLUSION:This method was proved to be simple,reliable and reproducible,and applicable for the quality control of Rujiexiao tablets.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a high-performance liquid chromatographic(HPLC)-fluorometric method for the concentration determination of itraconazole (ITZ) and its metabolite hydroxy-itraconazole(HITZ) in rabbit plasma simultaneously.METHODS: Separation was achieved with Agilent Eclipse C18,the mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile(adjusted to pH=2.5 with 85% phosphoric acid)-water(63∶37),and the flow rate was 1.0 mL?min-1.The excitation and emission wavelengths were 260 nm and 365 nm.The analysis was performed at room temperature..RESULTS: The linear concentration range of ITZ and HITZ were 7.4～296 0 ng?mL-1(r=0.999 1)and 5.4～216 0 ng?mL-1(r=0.999 3), respectively.The limit of detection was 0.518 and 0.318 ng?mL-1,respectively.The extraction and method recovery rate of ITZ and HITZ were more than 80%.The intra-day and inter-day RSD of ITZ and HITZ were less than 4.47%. CONCLUSIONS: The method is simple,sensitive,accurate and reliable for monitoring ITZ and HITZ in rabbit plasma and pharmacokinetic studies.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the quality of Isatis indigotica of different growing periods.METHODS:The property and the microscopic characteristics of Isatis indigotica of 1 or 2 growing years were identified and the contents of adenosine,indigo and indirubin were determined by HPLC. RESULTS:Isatis indigotca of 1 growing year showed wide liber and sparsely arranged parenchyma cells while Isatis indigotca of 2 growing years showed narrow liber and tightly arranged parenchyma cells. Without timely open-air drying or proper storage after harvesting,the Isatis indigotca was likely to experience color change of darkening in cross-section,increase of the content of the indigo,and decrease of the contents of adenosine and indirubin. The Isatis indigotica of too short growing period or two growing years were low in contents of adenosine,indigo and indirubin. CONCLUSION:The planting of Isatis indigotica should be standardized and which should be given a quality control to avoid the great quality difference arose from differences of habitat,planting and harvesting,initial processing and storing method,etc.

Objective To study the effect of sodium hyaluronate(SH) on cornea preservation to provide a basis for eyes banks cornea preservation. Methods SH was applied in the short-term and middle-term cornea preservation. The preservation effect was evaluated by corneal morphology, trypan blue-alizarin red staining, activity assay of SDH and G-6-P enzymes, and ultrastructural observation of corneal endothelium. Results The above indices were obviously better in the experiment group than in the control group (P