AIM To study the effect of dl-3-n-butylphthalide (dl-NBP) on arachidonic acid(AA) release and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) mRNA in cerebral cortex of rats subjected to focal cerebral ischemia. METHODS Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by inserting a monofilament nylon suture into the internal carotid artery and blocking the origin of the middle cerebral artery. AA was determined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The PLA2 mRNA expression was evaluated by Northern blot analysis. RESULTS Six hours of cerebral ischemia induced AA release in the ischemic cerebral cortex. dl-NBP (10 or 20 mg·kg-1) and nimodipine (0.5 mg·kg-1) given intraperitoneally 5 min and 120 min again after the onset of ischemia significantly reduced AA concentration in the cerebral cortex (P<0.01). d-NBP, but not l-NBP, decreased AA release in the brain after middle cerebral artery occlusion. The expression of PLA2 mRNA in cerebral cortex induced by cerebral ischemia was also inhibited by dl-NBP and d-NBP (10 or 20 mg·kg-1, ip). CONCLUSION dl-NBP and d-NBP inhibited AA release and PLA2 mRNA expression in the ischemic brain tissue in vivo.

China ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine in Literature ; Moxibustion ; history ; instrumentation

Child, Preschool ; Congenital Abnormalities ; pathology ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Male

Objective To investigate the effect of MOTOmed movement therapy on balance and ability in the activities of daily living (ADL) of convalescing stroke patients with hemiplegia. Methods Forty convalescent stroke patients exhibiting hemiplegia were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group with 20 cases in each group. The control group received routine rehabilitation training; the treatment group received MOTOmed training in addition. Balance function of all the patients was assessed using Berg's balance scale (BBS) , and the Barthel Index ( BI) was used to assess ADL ability at the beginning of the program and after 6 weeks of treatment. Results Balance and ADL ability improved significantly in both groups after 6 weeks of treatment. The effect in the treatment group was significantly better than in the control group. Balance and ADL ability were positively correlated. Conclusions Applying MOTOmed therapy along with routine rehabilitation training can distinctly improve balance and the ADL ability of hemiplegics after stroke.

Objective To evaluate different expressions of high mobility group box 1(HMGB1)and receptor for advanced glycation end products(RAGE)in placentas and their relationship with preeclampsia.Methods Fifteen early-onset pre-eclaraptic women(early-onset pre-eclampsia group),22 late-onset pre-eclamptic women(late-onset pre-eclampsia group)and 12 normotensive women(control group)in the third trimester were recruited at the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from March 2006 to March 2007.The localization and levels of HMGB1 and RAGE in placentas of the three groups were detected by the strept avidin biotin-peroxidose method.Results (1)Immunoreactivities to HMGB1:positive immnnostaining for HMGB1 was observed in trophoblast,macrophages,decidual cells,vascular muscle cells,endothelial cells and placental mesenchymal cells in the placentas from the pre-eclamptic women,while a low level of immunoreactivities was observed in the placentas from healthy pregnancies;the staining was observed within both the nuclei and the cytoplasm,mainly in the cytoplasm.The cytotrophoblast,especially the nuclei was extensively positive for HMGB1 in early-onset pre-eclampsia. (2)Immunoreactivities to RAGE:positive immunostaining for HMGB1 was observed in syncytiotrophoblast,macrophages and endothelial cells in the placentas from the preeclamptic women,while a low level of immunoreactivities was observed in the placentas from healthy pregnancies:the staining was in the cytoplasm and(or)cell membrane.The trophoblast was extensively positive for RAGE in early-onset pre-eclampsia.(3)Positive rate of HMGB1 expression:the expression of HMGB1 in early-onset group(73%,11/15)and late-onset group(64%,14/22)was significantly higher than that in normal group(17%,2/12;P<0.05),but no significant difference was found in early-onset group and late-onset group(P>0.05).(4)Positive rate of RAGE expression:the expression of RAGE in early-onset group(80%,12/15)and late-onset group (82%,18/22)was significantly higher than that in normal group(25%,3/12;P<0.05),but no significant difference was found in early-onset group and late-onset group(P>0.05).Conclusions The increased expression of HMGB1 and RACE in the placenta may play an important role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsis.The different locations may be associated with the occurrence of different onset types of pre-eclampsia.

Objective To observe the changes of choroidal thickness after ranibizumab treatment for non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) with macular edema,and determine the association between choroidal thickness and visual acuity.Methods Twenty-three eyes from 23 patients diagnosed with NPDR and diabetic macuiar edema were treated with 3 monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab.The subfoveal choroidal thickness and central macular thickness were measured,and the best corrected visual acuity was recorded.Changes of subfoveal choroidal thickness,correlation between subfoveal choroidal thickness and best corrected visual acuity were assessed at 3 months follow-up.Results After 3 monthly anti-VEGF treatments,subfoveal choroidal thickness and central macular thickness decreased significantly,there was no statistical difference at 1 month and 2 months compared with pre-treatment (all P ＞ 0.05),but there was statistical differences at 3 months compared with pre-treatment (P =0.04,0.01).In the treatment,the best corrected visual acuity increased gradually,there was no statistical difference at 1 month and 2 months compared with pre-treatment (all P ＞ 0.05),but there was statistical differences at 3 months compared with pre-treatment (P =0.04).Before the treatment,the subfoveal choroidal thickness was positive correlated with macuiar retinal thickness (R2 =0.94,P =0.00);And the best corrected visual acuity before treatment and 3 months after treatment had a positive correlation (R2 =0.93,P =0.00;R2 =0.82,P =0.00).There was a positive correlation between central macular thickness and best corrected visual acuity at 3 months after treatment (R2 =0.83,P =0.00).There was a positive correlation in the best corrected visual acuity between before treatment and 3 months after treatment (R2 =0.84,P =0.00).Conclusion The subfoveal choroidal thickness is a clinical index to evaluate the efficacy of anti-VEGF in the treatment of diabetic macuiar edema.Baseline subfoveal choroidal thickness can be considered as one of the indicators of clinical efficacy in the short term.

Objective To observe polyclonal antibodies immobilized on magnetic submicron particles (MSP) as affinity adsorbents and test the reliability of predicted maximum adsorption activity of an enzyme/mutant from a cell lysate (Vs) in recognizing positive mutants.Methods Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (ECAP) and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa arylsulfatase (PAAS) were purified by affinity chromatography to serve as immunogens for the preparation of their antisera, which after fractionation by 33％ ammonium sulfate and DEAE-cellulose chromatography yielded the respective polyclonal antibodies.After activation of COOH on MSP, polyclonal antibodies of each enzyme were immobilized to give MSP-polyAb.Activities of an adsorbed enzyme were measured with a chromogenic substrate of 4-nitrphenol by determining absorbance at 405nm after the termination of reaction by alkali.Based on the response curve of activities of the adsorbed enzyme to protein quantities of a lysate, Vs was predicted for comparison.Results The maximum adsorption quantity of ECAP or PAAS on the respective MSP-polyAb was about 2.0mg/g.Specific activity of ECAP after affinity purification was about 70-fold of that of PAAS.ECAP mutant R168K showing about 50％ activity improvement versus ECAP was recognized by comparison of Vs predicted with only 2.5μg of MSP-polyAb;with PAAS mutant G138S as the starting one, the use of 10.0μg of MSP-polyAb to predict Vs recognized the mutants bearing more than 20％ activity improvement.Conclusion With an optimized quantity of MSP-polyAb to predict Vs, weak positive mutants of an enzyme of low activity can be recognized when activities of the adsorbed enzyme/mutant are reliably measured.

Objective To investigate the role of hypoxia inducible factor(HIF)-prolyl hydroxylase 1 (HPHl)and factor inhibiting HIF-1(FIH-1)in placentas in the pathogenesis and development of severe pre-eclampsia.Methods RT-PCR and western blot analyses were used to detect the HPH1 and FIH-1expression levels in placentas of 34 patients with severe pre-eclampsia and 24 cases of term pregnancy (normal pregnancy group)and their correlations with symptoms were analyzed.Results (1)The HPHI mRNA and protein expression levels in placentas of severe pre-eclampsia group were 0.40±0.04 and 59.5±3.4 separately,significantly lower than those of normal pregnancy group,0.84±0.12 and 71.6±1.7(P<0.01).The FIH-1 mRNA and protein expression levels in placentas of severe pre-eclampsia group wereQ 31 ±0.05 and 45.6±2.4 separately,significantly lower than those of normal pregnancy group,0.43±0.04 and 54.9±2.1(P<0.01).(2)The mRNA and protein expression levels of HPH1 and FIH-1 in severe pre-eclampsia group were all negatively correlated with mean arterial pressure(MAP)[the Spearman correlation coefficient was-0.854(P<0.01)],urinary protein per 24 hours[the Spearman correlation coefficient was-0.936(P<0.01)1 and the occurrence of fundus oculi artery spasm[the Spearman correlation coefficient was-0.854(P<0.01)].(3)rrhe expression of HPHl mRNA in placentas of all the 58 cases WBB 0.58±0.27.higher than the expression of FIH-1 mRNA,which was 0.39±0.10.There was a positive correlation between them.The pearson correlation coefficient was 0.686(P<0.01).The expression of HPH1 protein in placentas of all the 58 cases was 64.5±6.7,higher than the expression of FIH-1,which was 49.4±5.2.There was a positive correlation between them.The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.947(P<0.01).Conclusion The expression imbalance of HPH1 and FIH-1in palcenta may play an important role in the pathogenesis and development of severe pre-eclampsia through inhibiting HIF-1a.

[Objective] To determine the effects and possible mechanism of the thrombin antagonist r-RGD-Hirudin (HIR) on ventricular arrhythmia(VA) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). [Methods] Seventy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly subjected to the 10 groups according to duration of left coronary occlusion: HIR 0 min, HIR 5 rain, HIR 10 min, HIR 20 min, HIR 30 min, and normal saline(NS) 0 min, NS 5 min, NS 10 min, NS 20 min, NS 30 min; and the average of every group is 7 rats. Acute myocardial infarction was produced by the occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, then the measurements of arrhythmia and infarction sizing by Evans blue were assessed as well as the expression of three isoforms of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) mRNA in isehemic myocardium by reverse transeriptase polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR). [Results] Compared with NS groups, the measurements of VA in HIR were reduced significantly in 5 to 20 minutes after AMI (P<0.05). The incidence of VA was all positive related to the expression of three isoforms of IP3Rs mRNA (P<0.01). Compared with NS groups, the expression of type2,inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R2) mRNA at 10 min and type3, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor mRNA (IP3R3) at 10 min and 20 min after AMI were significant decreased (P<0.05) in HIR groups. [Conclusion] The thrombin antagonist r-RGD-Hirudin exerts its myocardial protection against ventricular arrhythmia after acute myocardial infarction possible through IP3R2 and IP3R3 and not typel, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R1).