Currently, as an important raw material of Chinese traditional patent medicines, Paridis Rhizome is in great demand, which led to its price increases. In order to protect the wild resources and satisfy market demand of Paridis rhizome, the researches in various directions were conducted, involved its chemical composition, pharmacological action, clinical application, resource investigation, artificial cultivation, etc. Herein, the chemical studies of genus Paridis Rhizome, aerial parts of Paridis Rhizome gummy and starchy Paridis Rhizome, and the studies of endophyte in Paridis Rhizome were reviewed and analyzed in order to explore the substitutes of Paridis Rhizome, and provide the reference for the enlargement of medicinal resources of Paridis Rhizome. It manifests that the steroidal saponins, the important chemical compositions in Paridis Rhizome were tested in genus Paridis Rhizome, aerial parts of Paridis Rhizome, gummy Paridis Rhizome and the endophyte in Paridis Rhizome. However, the further experimental studies and clinical verification works should be carried out to confirm the final substitute.
Animals ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Liliaceae ; chemistry ; growth & development ; Rhizome ; chemistry ; growth & development

OBJECTIVE:To study the pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence of both domestic ranitidine hydrochloride capsules and imported ranitidine hydrochloride tablets.METHODS:20healthy volunteers were randomized into groups,whose plasma concentrations of ranitidine were determined at different time after single oral dose of300mg ranitidine hydrochloride capsule or ranitidine hydrochloride tablets300mg by own control by a RP-HPLC method,the pharmacokinetic parameters were computed and which were experienced variance analysis and two-way t-tests and one-way t-tests.RESULTS:The respective pharmacokinetic parameters of ranitidine hydrochloride tablets and ranitidine hydrochloride capsuless were as fol?lows,the C max were(1247.1?547.5)?g/L and(1294.8?613.2)?g/L;t max were(2.98?0.73)h and(2.73?0.80)h;t 1/2 were(3.17?0.36)h and(3.33?0.42)h;AUC 0～t were(5805.9?1403.5)(?g?h)/L and(5941.2?1526.3)(?g?h)/L;AUC 0～∞ were(6163.8?1456.4)(?g?h)/L and(6351.8?1652.7)(?g?h)/L;The relative bioavailability of the ranitidine hydrochloride capsules to ranitidine hydrochloride tablets was(104.3?24.3)%.CONCLUSION:Ranitidine hydrochloride capsules and the ranitidine hydrochloride tablets were bioequivalent.

Objective To compare the efficacy of MRI and DSA in assessment of carotid artery stenosis and atherosclerotic plaque.Methods Forty-six patients with carotid plaque detected by ultrasound were enrolled in this study,and 89 carotid arteries were evaluated by MRI and DSA.MRI examination was acquired with 3.0 T MR scanner and 8 channel phase-array surface coil.The MRI sequences consisted of pre-and post-contrast T1WI,T2WI,PDWI,TOF.Anterior-posterior and lateral views of carotid artery were performed on DSA.The degree of carotid artery stenosis was evaluated by the NASCET standard.Fibrous cap rupture,intraplaque hemorrhage,and calcification were also evaluated on MRI and DSA.Statistical comparison was performed with the Kappa value and paired Chi-square test.Results The degree of carotid artery stenosis was 50％ (16％-78％) on MRI and 47％ (7％-73％) on DSA.Two imaging modalities were in good consistency in evaluation of the degree of stenosis ( Kappa =0.882,P ＜ 0.01 ).There was statistical difference in detecting fibrous cap rupture by MRI and DSA (34 vessels vs 10 vessels,respectively,x2 =20.346,P ＜ 0.01 ).Furthermore,thirty-seven vessels with intraplaque hemorrhage and 71 vessels with calcification in the plaque were found on MRI but none on DSA.Conclusion MRI is a reliable tool in assessment of the degree of the carotid stenosis and it is superior to DSA in detecting fibrous cap rupture,intraplaque hemorrhage,and calcification.

Objective To study the value of carotid plaque magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in pre-operation assessment in the elderly patients with carotid atherosclerosis and explore the possibility of minimizing the contrast weightings to gain sweeptime. Methods Totally 70 elderly patients with cerebral ischemia (average age of 68.8 years) underwent carotid MRI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) due to the appearance of carotid plaque detected by ultrasound. Carotid plaque MRI was acquired with 3.0T MR scanner and 8 channel surface coil. The standard carotid plague MRI program included pre-and post-contrast T1 weighted imaging (T1WI), T2 weighted imaging, proton density weighted imaging and 3D time of flight MR angiography (3D TOF MRA). All these program were divided into two combinations: the 5-sequence MRI (all the sequences) and 2-sequence MRI (T1WI and TOF MRA). Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in coronal and lateral views of carotid artery was performed with GE Advantx LCN+. The software SPSS 13.0 was used to statistically analyze the difference between MRI and DSA, and that of two sequence combinations was used in the detection of luminal stenosis and fibrous cap (FC) rupture. Results Totally 135 arteries were analyzed while 3 arteries in one patient were excluded due to the poor quality image and stent placement. The degree of luminal stenosis were (38.3±31.0)% and (38.5±30.9)%, respectively, detected by the two MRI sequence-combination with no significant difference (t=2.447, P＞0.05) and was (35.1±31.8)% by DSA. There was a good concordance between MRI and DSA in luminal stenosis detection (Kappa value: 0.773). No statistical difference was found between two MR sequence combinations in detecting FC rupture (both in 36 vessels). DSA detected FC rupture of 16 vessels, showing remarkably difference contrast to MRI(χ2=12.0, P＜0.01). Conclusions MRI can accurately detect the luminal stenosis and FC rupture. The short time scanning resulting from sequence optimization could make MRI much more suitable than DSA to do the pre-operation assessment for senile carotid atherosclerotic patients.

Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo study and compare the prophylatic efficacy of levetiracetam, valproate and phenobarbital on febrile convulsions in rats.

METHODSSixty Wistar rats were randomly administered with levetiracetam (200 mg/kg), valproate (250 mg/kg), phenobarbital (30 mg/kg) or normal saline (8 ml/kg) for 5 days. Five days later, febrile convulsions were induced by hyperthermal bath (45 Celcius degree). The latency, duration and the severity of seizures were observed.

RESULTSIn all the three drug-treated groups, the latency was significantly prolonged, and the duration and the severity of seizures were notably reduced compared with the saline group (P<0.05 or 0.01). The phenobarbital group had the shortest duration of seizures and the least severe seizures among the three drug-treated groups. There were no significant differences between the levetiracetam and valproate groups.

CONCLUSIONSContinuous administration of levetiracetam, valproate or phenobarbital is effective in preventing recurrent febrile convulsions in rats. Phenobarbital appears to be more effective than levetiracetam and valproate. There were no significant differences in the prophylactic efficacy between levetiracetam and valproate.

Animals ; Anticonvulsants ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Phenobarbital ; therapeutic use ; Piracetam ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Recurrence ; Seizures, Febrile ; prevention & control ; Valproic Acid ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) modified bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA) on the expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in human renal mesangial cells (HRMCs).

METHODSHRMCs were cultured in vitro with medium containing different doses of AGE-BSA or BSA (50,100, 200, 400 mg/L) for 48 hours, or with AGE-BSA (200 mg/L) for different times (12, 24, 48, 72 h). Immunocytochemistry assay was used to estimate the protein level of RAGE. The ROS in cells were measured by flow cytometry and the mRNA expression of MCP-1 were analyzed by semi-quantiative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) after treatment with AGE-BSA or BSA.

RESULTSThe protein level of RAGE was upregulated in the HRMCs with AGE-BSA. The expression of ROS and MCP-1 significantly enhanced by incubation of AGE-BSA in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The effects of AGE-BSA-induced up-regulation of ROS and MCP-1 level was significantly blocked by neutralizing antibodies to RAGE, while the expression of ROS and MCP-1 stood nearly unchanged after cultured with huamn IgG.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of ROS and MCP-1 in HRMCs is induced by AGE-BSA through RAGE, which may have potential effects in the pathgenic mechanism of diabetic nephropathy.

Cells, Cultured ; Chemokine CCL2 ; metabolism ; Glycation End Products, Advanced ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Mesangial Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products ; Receptors, Immunologic ; metabolism ; Serum Albumin, Bovine ; pharmacology

Steroidal saponins have a wide range of pharmacological effects and biological activities, such as anti-tumor, antifungal, hypoglycemic, immune regulation, insecticides, etc. In the last ten years, some new structures of steroidal saponins compounds were found from natural plants, they have some new and different activities. In order to accelerate the research on the drug innovation of steroidal saponins, we summarized the new progress of the research on such compounds.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; pharmacology ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Steroids ; pharmacology

Objective To explore the effect of lipid raft on cervical cancer cell growth and its mechanisms Methods HeLa cells in logarithmic phase were divided into three groups including control group, lipid raft interference agent group,and NADPH oxidase inhibitors group.Cells were treated with fre sh medium,3 μmol/L Apocynin and 1 mmol/L M-beta CD, respectively, for 24 h.Cell survival rate was detected using the MTT method, and the HIF-1α level was examined by Western-blot. Results Cell growths of the lipid raft interference agent group and NADPH oxidase inhibitors group were significantly slower than control group,(0.612±0.051 vs 0.984±0.034,0.591 ±0.074 vs 0.984±0.034,t=4.062,P＜0.05).HIF-1α expression in the lipid raft interference agent group and NADPH oxidase inhibitors group was also significantly reduced compared with control group (1.79±0.14 vs 2.56±0.22 and 1.54±0.12 vs 2.56±0.22) and the difference was significant (t=2.423,P＜0.05). Conclusion Lipid raft-NADPH oxidase pathway may activate HIF-1α and downstream protocarcinogenic gene expression to promote the growth of cervical cancer cells. The inhibitors of lipid raft and NADPH oxidase may become a new research direction for cervical cancer chemotherapy.

Objective To investigate the characteristics and risk factors of occupationai exposure to bloodborne pathogens among health care workers (HCWs),and evaluate prevention and treatment countermeasures.Methods Record Form for Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Among Health Care Workers was used for retrospective survey on the occurrence of occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens in a hospital between January 1,2013 and December 31,2015.Results A total of 246 cases of blood/body fluid occupational exposure occurred.The main occupational exposure population were nurses (n =95,38.62％);occupational exposure mainly occurred in wards(n =148,60.16％);the main mode of occupational exposure was sharp injury(n =219,89.02 ％);the main opportunity of occupational exposure of HCWs was surgical accident(n =69,28.05 ％);the main exposure source was hepatitis B virus(n =123,50.00 ％);none of HCWs developed infection after local treatment and prophylactic medication.Conclusion Medical institutions should strengthen the training for HCWs about occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens,enhance protection awareness,standardize operation procedures,and improve working environment,so as to minimize the occurrence of occupational exposure.