Asthma ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Inflammation Mediators ; metabolism ; Phytotherapy ; Signal Transduction

Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a relatively uncommon neoplasm with poor prognosis. However, the incidence rate of this condition increases. SBA is usually diagnosed at the late stages, and the majority of patients present with the advanced stage. Data are limited when making decisions for treatment because of the lack of randomized trials for SBA. Radical surgery is considered necessary when possible. Adjuvant chemotherapy is predicted to be beneficial, but this procedure has not yet been investigated through randomized trials. Platinum-based chemotherapy is apparently the most effective treatment regimen used in retrospective tri-als for advanced SBA. Targeted therapies, such as those against the angiogenetic pathway or the epidermal growth factor receptor pathway, have not yet been established for this type of cancer. This article reviews the progress in the diagnosis and treatment of SBA.

Objective To study the preventive effects of rh ub arb and dexamethasone(DXM) on stress ulcer. Methods A total of 80 healthy SD rats were made into stress ulcer animal model with tend cold. They were randomly assigned into four groups, including normal control group(20) , DXM intervention group(20), rhubarb intervention group(20) and rhubarb & DXM i ntervention group(20).All of them were observed for the incidence of stress ulce r. Results The stress ulcer incidence were the same in DXM stress ulcer group and normal control group. The stress ulcer incidence in rhuba rb and DXM group was the lowest. Conclusion The DXM doesn't increase the incidence of stress ulcer, while the rhubarb with DXM does decreas e the incidence of stress ulcer.

OBJECTIVETo explore the biomarkers and inflammatory characteristics for microcosmic syndrome differentiation of cold-phlegm syndrome (CPS) and heat-phlegm syndrome (HPS) in patients with bronchial asthma.

METHODSPatients with bronchial asthma of chronic persistent condition were distributed into three groups according syndrome differentiation, the CPS group (27 patients), the HPS group (32 patients) and the non-cold/heat-phlegm syndrome group (NP group, 31 patients), besides, a control group was setup with 33 healthy persons. Percentages of neutrophils and eosinophils (NEU, EOS) in sputum sample (collected by induction) and peripheral blood were counted; and levels of interleukin-8, -5, and -4 (IL-8, IL-5 and IL-4), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), leukotriene B4 (LT-B4), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in sputum supernatant and serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTSPercentage of NEU in sputum of HPS group was higher than that in the other three groups (P < 0.05); while percentages of EOS in serum and sputum of CPS group were higher than that in the other three groups (all P < 0.01). Level of ECP (a parameter closely associated with EOS) also was high in the CPS group, but IL-8 (a parameter closely associated with NEU) showed no significant difference in various groups (P > 0.05). Moreover, the CPS group showed a higher serum IL-4 (P < 0.05) but a lower IFN-gamma/IL-4 level as compared with those in the NP group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONPhlegm, which is considered by Chinese medicine as an inveterate root of asthma, might be closely related with the inflammation in modern medicine. The inflammatory characteristics of asthma in patients with CPS partially present as increase of EOS, possibly show Th2 dominant trend, similar to that presented in eosinophilic asthma. Asthma with HPS embodies increase of NEU in respiratory tract. EOS and ECP might be the important markers for microcosmic syndrome differentiation of CPS, and NEU might be that for HPS.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Asthma ; complications ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Biomarkers ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Eosinophil Cationic Protein ; metabolism ; Eosinophils ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; complications ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Neutrophils ; pathology ; Young Adult

Background Neovascular glaucoma (NVG) is a serious ocular disease which may cause blindness.The primary pathogenesis of NVG is ischemic retinopathy derived by central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).Clinical characteristics of NVG are variable based on the difference of primary diseases,such as CRVO and DR.However,there is a few studies regarding the diffcrcnces of NVG initiated by CRVO and DR.Objective This study was to compare the clinical characteristics in NVG patients secondary to CRVO and DR.Methods A series case observational study was carried out in Hiserve Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2009 to June 2012.Twenty-nine eyes of 27 patients with NVG caused by CRVO (10 eyes of 10 patients) and DR (19 eyes of 17 patients) were included.The history of underlying diseases,course of NVG,intraocular pressure(IOP),fundus findings and complications after treatment were analyzed and compared between the CRVO-derived NVG and DR-derived NVG.All patients underwent panretinal photocoagulation,improving microcirculation therapy,anti-glaucoma (drug or surgery) and causative disease treatment,and some of them received vitrectomy or/and cataract surgery.Two eyes from each group received intravitreal injection of ranibizumab.The follow-up time in both groups was (14.00±10.13) months and (17.89±12.52) months,respectively.Results The median time of underlying disease was 3.3 months (2 weeks to 6 months) in the CRVO patients and 11.1 months (4 to 36 mouths) in the DR patients,with a significant difference between them (Z =-2.40,P＜0.05).CRVO-derived NVG progress was much faster than that of DR-derived NVG.The number of the eyes with visual acuity improvement after treatment was 2 in the CRVO-derived NVG and 15 in the DR-derived NVG;while the number of the eyes with unchanged or worse visual acuity was 8 and 4 in the CRVO-derived NVG eyes and the DR-derived NVG eyes (x2 =9.38,P＜0.01).The difference of IOP in pre-and post-treatment was (37.00±9.91)mmHg in the CRVOderived NVG eyes and (8.92±12.05)mmHg in the DR-derived NVG eyes,showing a significant difference between them (t =6.30,P＜0.01).In the CRVO-derived NVG eyes,optic disc edema,retinal hemorrhage,and vein dilatation were seen in 6 eyes,and mild optic disc edema and retinal hemorrhage were observed in 4 eyes.After treatment,fundus could not be seen in 4 eyes,in other 2 eyes optic disc and retinal laser spots were unclearly observed.In addition,pale optic disc and retinal vessel occlusion appeared in 2 eyes,and silver wire-like arteries exhibited in 2 eyes.In pre-treated DR-derived NVG eyes,fundus could not be seen in 8 eyes and Ⅲ-Ⅳv stages of DR findings appeared in 11 eyes.After treatment,retinopathy was stabilized in 16 eyes of 15 cases.Advanced retinopathy(V-Ⅵ stages of DR findings) was revealed in 3 eyes of 3 cases.The incidence of the complication after treatment was 100.0％ in the CRVO-derived NVG eyes and 21.1％ in the DR-derived NVG eyes (x2=5.18,P＜0.05).Conclusions The clinical characteristics of NVG secondary to CRVO and DR are variable,an appropriate treatment option should be selected according to different features of NVG.

The stability of melittin in different solvents (water, deoxygenated water, physiological saline, PBS, 50% ethanol, ethanol, glycerol)was studied and the results showed that the stability of melittin is not influenced by light, temperature and pH in 50% ethanol, which melittin can be completed dissolved when compared with ethanol and glycerol, in such, 50% ethanol was chosen as solvent storage when measured content of melittin. Then the effect of different concentrations of PBS, the pH of PBS and rat skin ho- mogenates were tested, and the results showed that melittin was degraded rapidly at low concentration solution and low ionic strength. Increasing pH of PBS and rat skin homogenate can accelerate the degradation of melittin. These researches provide an experimental ba- sis for further study of melittin.
Animals ; Drug Stability ; Ethanol ; chemistry ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Melitten ; chemistry ; Rats ; Skin ; drug effects ; Solvents ; chemistry ; Temperature

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Modified Wenjing Decoction (MWJD) on the ovarian oxidative damage of cold coagulation blood stasis (CCBS) model rats, thus consummating the action mechanisms of MWJD for treating gynecopathy of CCBS syndrome.

METHODSFemale SD rats were randomly divided into the normal group, the model group, and the treatment group. Rats in the model group and the treatment group were placed in the ice water (0 -1 degrees C) to establish the rat model of CCBS syndrome. Meanwhile, MWJD was given by gastrogavage to rats in the treatment group for 2 weeks. Rats were decapitated during the oestrous cycle. The serum levels of estradiol (E2), progestone (P), testosterone (T) were detected. The bilateral ovarian tissues were taken out and operated on ice. The total bilirubin (TBIL), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxygen capacity (T-AOC) were detected after homogenate.

RESULTSCompared with the normal group, serum levels of E2, P, T, and ovarian levels of TBIL, SOD, T-AOC all obviously decreased in the model group, and the ovarian MDA level increased, showing statistical difference (P <0. 05, P <0.01). After treated by MWJD, when compared with the model group, serum levels of E2, P, T, and ovarian levels of TBIL, SOD, T-AOC increased, the ovarian MDA level decreased, showing statistical difference (P <0.05, P <0.01). All indices except serum T level and the ovarian MDA content restored to the normal levels (all P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe ovarian functions are abnormal in CCBS model rats. MWJD could restore the ovarian functions by improving the ovarian oxidative damage state, thus treating gynecopathy of CCBS syndrome.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Ovary ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

0.05),the MTT values were(5.2?1.1)and(10.9?2.6)s, respectively(t=7.24,P

Objective To evaluate the association of thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI)and its encoding gene CPB2 polymorphism with myocardial infarction.Methods CPB2 gene (Thr325Ile)polymorphism were typed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)in patients of myocardial infarction(n=100)and a control group(n=90).The antigen(Ag) and the activity(Act)of TAFI were determined by ELISA and chromogenic assay respectively.The relationship between Thr325Ile gene polymorphism and TAFI Ag and Act were also analyzed.Results In MI group TAFI Ag and Act[TAFI Act(51.4?9.3)?g/ml,TAFI Ag(145.6?33.5)%]were significently higher than those of control group[TAFI Act(25.7?5.6)?g/ml,TAFI Ag(76.5?24.8)%] (t=22.927 2,P

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of trascranial sonography (TCS) in measuring hyperechogenic substantia nigra ( SN) area and area ratio of SN to midbrain ( S/M) for the diagnosis of Parkinson′s disease( PD).Methods A total of 109 PD patients ( PD group) and 115 normal controls (control group) underwent TCS.The area of midbrain and SN and the area ratio of S/M were measured and compared between PD group and control group .Statistical analysis of the two parameters in predicting PD was performed with receive operating characteristic ( ROC) curves.The sensitivity and specificity of each parameter and their combination were calculated .Results The hyperechogenic SN area and S/M were (0.34 ±0.27)cm 2 and (12.15 ±4.57)%in PD group,whereas (0.14 ±0.08)cm 2 and (6.37 ±3.30)%in control group respectively .The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t=82.68, 100.83,both P<0.01).ROC analysis showed that using the cut-off of 0.20 cm 2 for SN hyperechogenicity, the sensitivity and specificity were 80.40%and 74.50%.With the cut-off of 7.52%for S/M,the sensitivity and specificity were 89.10% and 63.30%.By using the combination of SN hyperechogenicity≥0.20 cm 2 and S/M>7.52%,the sensitivity was 80.4%and the specificity was 78.6%.Conclusions TCS is a fast, convenient,effective and useful tool for screening PD .The combination of the SN area and S/M provided the best diagnostic parameters.