OBJECTIVETo seek effective drugs for anti-hepatitis C virus by screening 20 Chinese herbs often used for clearing heat and dissipating toxin with nude mice model of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection.

METHODSAfter the model mice had been treated with selected drug for 3 months, transmission electron microscope was used to observe whether the HCV-like particles in human fetal hepatocytes (HFH) transplanted into mice spleen still existed, and quantitative RT-PRC technique was used to detect the serum content of HCV-RNA before and after treatment.

RESULTS(1)HCV-like particles existed in all the model mice after treatment. (2) Serum content of HCV-RNA decreased after treated with Radix Gentianae, Radix Scutellariae, Radix Sophorae tonkinensis, Fructus Gardeniae and Fructus Sophorae flavoscentis, but unchanged after treatment with other drugs.

CONCLUSIONAll the 20 herbs screened has not effect in directly eradicating HCV, but Radix Gentianae, Radix Scutellariae, Radix Sophorae tonkinensis, Fructus Gardeniae and Fructus Sophorae flavoscentis could significantly inhibit the replication of HCV-RNA.

Animals ; Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Gentiana ; chemistry ; Hepacivirus ; drug effects ; Hepatitis C ; virology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Phytotherapy ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; chemistry ; Sophora ; chemistry ; Virus Replication ; drug effects

Objective To discuss the improving effect of tenuigenin on learning and memory ability and its influence on cerebral monoamine neurotransmitters in senescence-accelerated mice prone 8(SAMP8).Methods The senescence-accelerated mice(SAMP8)were chosen as subjects,and then randomly divided into the model group,tenuigenin group and Donepezil group.SAMR1 were chosen into the the control group.After intragastrical treatment for 3 months,the learning and memory ability and the levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT),5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid(5-HIAA),dopamine(DA)and norepinephrine(NE)were detected respectively by applying Morris water maze and high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC).Results In the tenuigenin group the hidden platform test showed that the escape latency was,respectively,(43.56±10.87)s,(41.37±9.71)s,(37.62±10.05)s and (41.60±13.61)s from the 2nd to 5th day,and the reversed test showed that the escape latency was (37.10±14.04)s on the 9th day,which were all shortened compared with those in the model group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).In the tenuigenin group the level of 5-HT,5-HIAA,DA or NE was,respectively,(5.95±0.93)mmol/L,(4.43±1.08)mmoL/L,(2.61±0.87)mmol/L and(9.44±3.76)mmol/L,which all increased compared with those in the model group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion Tenuigenin can improve the learning and memory ability of SAMP8,and the effect may related to that it can regulate the level of cerebral monoamine neurotransmitters.

Background Accurate evaluation of response following chemotherapy treatment is essential for surgical decision making in patients with breast cancer.Modalities that have been used to monitor response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) include physical examination (PE),ultrasound (US),and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of PE,US,and MRI in predicting the response to NAC in patients with breast cancer.Methods According to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors guidelines,the largest unidimensional measurement of the tumor diameter evaluated by PE,US,and MRI before and after NAC was classified into four grades,including clinical complete response,clinical partial response,clinical progressive disease,clinical stable disease,and compared with the final histopathological examination.Results Of the 64 patients who received NAC,the pathologic complete response (pCR) was shown in 13 of 64 patients (20％).The sensitivity of PE,US,and MRI in predicting the major pathologic response was 73％,75％,and 80％,respectively,and the specificity was 45％,50％,and 50％ respectively.For predicting a pCR,the sensitivity of PE,US,and MRI was 46％,46％,and 39％,respectively,and the specificity was 65％,98％,and 92％ respectively.Conclusions Compared with final pathologic findings,all these three clinical and imaging modalities tended to obviously underestimate the pCR rate.A more appropriate,universal,and practical standard by clinical and imaging modalities in predicting the response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in vivo is essential.