OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic effect of milkvetch injection (MI) combined with Captopril on early diabetic nephropathy (EDN).

METHODSA total of 69 EDN patients were randomly divided into three groups, with 23 in each group. Besides the conventional hypoglycemic therapy, patients in Group A Captopril, in Group B MI plus Captopril and in Group C MI were given respectively. The therapeutic course for all was 3 months. The related indices of EDN before and after treatment were measured and compared.

RESULTSAfter treatment, the blood pressure significantly lowered after treatment in Group A and B (P<0.01), but unchanged in Group C; the levels of blood glucose and HbA1c significantly decreased in Group B and C (P < 0.05 or P<0.01), and significant difference was shown in comparison of Group B with Group A (P<0.05); levels of 24hrs urinary albumin excretion (UAER), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (SCr) significantly decreased in all 3 groups, and the decrement in Group B was more significant than that in the other two groups (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONMI combined with Captopril can not only decrease blood pressure, blood glucose and HbA1c, but also significantly decrease the UAER in treating EDN.

Adult ; Aged ; Albuminuria ; drug therapy ; Astragalus membranaceus ; Captopril ; therapeutic use ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; drug therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Injections ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

BACKGROUNDS AND AIMS: Angiotensin receptors are found on hepatic stellate cells, which participate in hepatic fibrosis. Therefore, it is presumed that angiotensin has a role in hepatic fibrosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of angiotensin blockade on inhibition of hepatic fibrosis in cirrhotic rat model. Material and METHODS: Cirrhosis with portal hypertension was produced by common bile duct ligation (BDL) in the adult Sprague-Dawley rats. They were classified into 4 groups (each group n=6) as follows; G1: BDL without drug, G2: BDL+captopril 100 mg/kg/day beginning 2 weeks after BDL, G3: BDL+captopril 100 mg/kg/day, starting just after BDL, G4: BDL+losartan 10 mg/kg/day, starting just after BDL. After 4 weeks following BDL, hepatic fibrosis was histomorphologically analyzed by Batts & Ludwig score. Alpha smooth muscle actin by immunohistochemical stain, hydroxyproline contents of liver tissue by spectrophotometry and expression of collagen, procollagen, and TGF-beta by real-time PCR were measured. RESULTS: Batts & Ludwig score were 3.8, 3.0, 2.6,and 2.6 in G1, G2, G3, and G4, respectively. The expression of alpha-SMA was significantly lower in G3 and G4 than in G1; 11.9%, 10.9%, 2.6%, and 1.1% in G1, G2, G3, and G4, respectively (p<0.05). The concentration of hydroxyproline (microgram/g liver tissue) was lower in G3 and G4 compared with G1 (p<0.05). Also, the administration of angiotensin blockade just after BDL significantly reduced the expression of collagen, procollagen, and TGF-beta mRNA. CONCLUSIONS: Angiotensin blockades are effective in the prevention of hepatic fibrosis in BDL rats.
Actins/metabolism ; Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Animals ; Bile Ducts/pathology/surgery ; Captopril/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Fibrosis ; Hydroxyproline/metabolism ; Ligation ; Liver/drug effects/metabolism/pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental/*drug therapy/etiology/metabolism ; Losartan/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Tongguan Capsule (TGC) on post-myocardial infarction ventricular remodeling and heart function in rats.

METHODSA rat model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was established by coronary ligation. Experimental rats were randomized to 4 groups including three model groups (Group A: captopril 5 mg/kg * day, n=7; Group B: TGC 10 g/kg * day, n=7; and Group C: placebo, n=8), and a sham-control group (Group D: blank control, n=6). Animals were treated for 4 weeks. The cardiac function of rats was assessed at the end of the experiment based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular short axis fractional shortening (LVFS) detected by colored echocardiography; meanwhile, the condition of ventricular remodeling was observed through the levels of left ventricular mass (LVM), plasma aldosterone (ALD), myocardial angiotensin II (Ang II) and myocardial collagen measurements.

RESULTSAt the end of the experiment, LVEF and LVFS in Group A and B were improved significantly, while those in Group C were unchanged, the LVEF in Group A, B, C, and D was 0.57+/-0.46, 0.61+/-0.08, 0.36+/-0.55 and 0.76+/-0.02, respectively; and their LVFS was 0.31+/-0.52, 0.34+/-0.04, 0.23+/-0.57 and 0.45+/-0.03, respectively. The difference was statistically significant when comparing the two indexes in Group A and B with those in Group C and D (P<0.05). LVM, levels of plasma ALD and myocardial Ang II were lower in Group A and B than in Group C, but a comparison between Group A and B showed an insignificant difference in lowering LVM and ALD, while the lowering of Ang II was more significant in Group B than in Group A (754.7 +/- 18.7 pg/mL vs 952.6+/-17.6 pg/mL, P<0.05). Morphological examination showed that in Group A and B the swollen myocardial cells had shrunk, with regularly arranged myocardial fibers and decreased collagen proliferation, but the improvements in Group B were more significant.

CONCLUSIONTGC could markedly improve the post-infarction ventricular remodeling and cardiac function in rats, showing that the efficacy was better than or equal to that of captopril.

Angiotensin II ; blood ; Animals ; Antihypertensive Agents ; pharmacology ; Capsules ; Captopril ; pharmacology ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Heart ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; rehabilitation ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ventricular Function, Left ; drug effects ; Ventricular Remodeling ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of Breviscapine on essential hypertension (EH) patients complicated with micro-albuminuria of renal impairment.

METHODSSeventy-six EH patients were randomly assigned to the control group and the treated group, the former was given amlodipine, captopril/uropidil and the latter was given in addition Breviscapine intravenously dripped for 2 treatment courses. The indexes of serum creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), blood and urinary beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)-MG), and quantitative determination of 24 hrs urinary protein were evaluated before and after treatment.

RESULTSIn the control group, compared with before treatment, the quantitative determination of 24 hrs urinary protein got reduced significantly (P < 0.05), while in the treated group, both urinary beta(2)-MG and quantitative determination of 24 hrs urinary protein got lowered significantly (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). But after treatment, compared with the control group, urinary beta(2)-MG and quantitative determination of 24 hrs urinary protein in the treated group were obviously reduced (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONBesides lowering blood pressure effectively, Breviscapine could improve the renal function significantly and reduce the urinary micro-albuminuria, hence showing promising effect on renal protection.

Adult ; Aged ; Albuminuria ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Amlodipine ; therapeutic use ; Antihypertensive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Captopril ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Flavonoids ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Flushing ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Injections, Intravenous ; Kidney Diseases ; etiology ; urine ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Proteinuria ; etiology ; physiopathology ; beta 2-Microglobulin ; urine