OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of total flavones of Epimedium leptorrhizum (YYH-C) on osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats.

METHODOvariectomized female rats were randomly divided into the model group, YYH-C lower, middle and high dose (0.7, 1.4, 2.8 g x kg(-1)) groups, the positive drug Bujiale (0.15 mg x kg(-1)) group, and the sham group. The rats were orally ad-ministrated with drugs for three months. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), procollagen I N-terminal peptide (PINP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), calcium (Ca) and phosphrous (P) in serum were detected. Femur bones and vertebrae bones of left side were collected to determined bone metrological indexes, including bone mineral density (BMD), bone Ca, and bone ash weight/dry weight percentage. Femur bones of right side were collected to for a morphological observation of bone.

RESULTCompared with the sham group, the model group showed significantly higher PTH and ALP content but obviously lower PINP and Ca content. The three YYH-C 3 groups could resist the decrease of PINP. Specifically, low and middle dose groups could remarkably inhibit the increase of PTH, and the high dose group could increase the Ca content in serum, but without significant effect on the rise in ALP. There was no significant difference in P content in serum in each group. BMD, ash weight/dry weight percentage, Ca and P content of the model group were significantly lower than those in the sham group. The high dose YYH-C group could significantly increase BMD. All of the three YYH-C groups could notably increase ash weight/dry weight percentage and Ca, P content in femur bones and vertebrae bones. YYH-C could significantly increase average thickness, area, area percentage of bony trabeculae, cortical bone area percentage of femoral shaft and the number of osteoblasts on the surface of bony trabeculae, and decrease the number of osteoclasts.

CONCLUSIONYYH-C can effectively control the bone mass loss of rats with ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis, prevent the changes in bone microstructure, and inhibit bone absorption, so as to resist high turn-over osteoporosis after ovariectomy. [Key words] total flavones of Epimedium leptorrhizum; ovariectomized rat; osteoporosis

Alkaline Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Bone Density ; drug effects ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Epimedium ; chemistry ; Female ; Flavones ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Ovariectomy ; Parathyroid Hormone ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To assess the influencing factors of the progression of carotid atherosclerotic stenosis using color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI). Methods From January 2009 to December 2014, a total of data 279 consecutive patients first assessed by CDFI as moderate stenosis of carotid atherosclerosis (stenosis rate 50 -69%)and regularly reexamined with CDFI at 12,24 and 36 months after initial examination were enrolled retrospectively. The residual diameter of vascular lesions and the changes of hemodynamic parameters were documented,and they were divided into either a progression group (n = 40)or a non-progression group (n = 239,and the non-progression group was divided into steady group[n = 210]and improved group [n = 29])according to whether the degree of stenosis progressed into severe stenosis (stenosis rate 70 -99%)or occlusion. The effects of the risk factors for common cerebrovascular disease and taking lipid lowering drugs (atorvastatin 20 mg/ d)on stenosis progression were compared in patients between the 2 groups. There were significant differences in hypertension,smoking and the regular use of atorvastatin . The effects of those factors on the progression of carotid stenosis were compared further through Logistic regression analysis. Results The residual vascular diameters of stenosis at 24,and 36 months were reduced obviously in the progression group compared with those of the non-progression group. There was significant difference (all P < 0. 05),and both the stenotic sites and distal peak systolic flow velocity ratio were significantly higher than those of the steady group and improved group (all P < 0. 05). Among the risk factors for cerebrovascular disease,hypertension (OR,2. 686,95% CI 1. 120 -6. 442,P = 0. 027)and smoking (OR,2. 265,95% CI 1. 081 -4. 746,P = 0. 030)were the major risk factors for affecting the progression of carotid stenosis. Regularly taking atorvastatin was a protective factor of delaying the progression of carotid stenosis (OR,0. 383,95% CI 0. 178 -0. 827,P = 0. 015). Conclusions CDFI may objectively evaluate the progression of carotid stenosis. Smoking and hypertension are the independent risk factors for affecting the progression of carotid stenosis,and regularly taking atorvastatin contributes to delay the progression of carotid stenosis.

Objective To investigate the correlation between carotid artery plaque and blood pressure variability (BPV) in elderly patients with hypertension.Methods One hundred sixty elderly patients with hypertension were divided into plaque and non-plaque groups according to the results of carotid artery ultrasonography.All the patients were measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.The mean blood pressure,mean pulse pressure,and blood pressure variability coefficient of two groups were calculated and compared during whole day,daytime,and nighttime.The related factors of carotid artery plaque were analyzed by multivarite logistic regression analysis.Results The 24 h systolic blood pressure standard deviation,daytime and nighttime of systolic blood pressure standard deviation,daytime diastolic blood pressure standard deviation of plaque group were higher than those of non-plaque group (P ＜ 0.05).The 24 h systolic blood pressure variation (24 h SBPV) and night systolic blood pressure variation (nSBPV) were higher than those of non-plaque group (P ＜0.01).Multivariate regression analysis results showed that carotic artery plaque was associated positively with 24 h BPV and blood pressure variability coefficient of nighttime (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The elderly hypertensive patients with carotid artery plaque is associated positively with 24 h systolic blood pressure variability coefficient and blood pressure variability of nighttime.

Objective To compare the safety and effectiveness between treatments with autologous platelet gel (APG) versus standard care for treating refractory diabetic dermal ulcers.Methods The 46 patients with proved nonhealing diabetic dermal ulcers were enrolled. Eligible for the study were patients with grade II/III ulcers according to Wagner, lasting for at least 2 weeks and with no signs of infection at recruitment.Patients were given their informed consent document and randomly assigned to two groups: standard care (ST, n=23) or standard care plus topic application of APG (APG, n=23) for twelve weeks.The treatment of blood glucose, blood pressure and lipids was optimized and the empiric antibiotic treatment was further adjusted according to the results of culture and sensitivity testing in all patients. APG treatment consisted of wound dressing with APG, followed by topical washing and cleaning. The APG was then covered with vaseline gauze for 72 hours, after which the ulcers were treated by standard care. Participants were seen thrice a week, twice a week, or at weekly intervals. Twelve weeks observation was set as the end point.Results The would of APG group were improved in 22 patients with ulcers healed completely and 1 case with would area reduced. In the ST group, 13 ulcers were healed, 6 worsened and 4 with would area reduced. The cumulative rate of ulcer healing was 95.7% in the APG group versus 56.5% in the ST group (P=0.002). The total effective rate in APG vs ST group was 100.0% vs 73.9% (P=0.009). By Kaplan-Meier analysis,the time-to-healing of ulcer and time-to-lutation of sinus were significantly different between two groups (log-rank, P=0.006, 0.000, respectively). No treatment-related adverse events were observed. Conclusions Treatment with APG in addition to standard care results in a significantly faster and better healing for a refractory diabetic dermal ulcer and does not raise any safety concerns. So APG treatment can be a valuable and effective aid in the management of diabetic foot ulcers.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of diabetic foot(DF) in the hospitalized diabetic patients and analyze the clinical characteristics and therapeutic efficacy of patients with diabetic foot. Methods The 313 patients (180 males and 133 females) were divided into two groups：group A (1/1996-12/2003) and group B (1/2004-12/2006). Results 2.79% of the hospitalized diabetic patients had diabetic foot. The mean age and duration of diabetes were 66±10 years old and 9.33±6.52 years respectively, the mean duration of diabetic foot was 8.13±17.06 months and the average days in hospital was 29.62±28.36d. Many patients suffered from diabetic nephropathy, cataracts, retinopathy, neuropathy, vascular disease, hypertension, infection, and so on. The blood pressure and blood glucose were poorly controlled in many of the patients. Of all patients, 28.1% were completely healed, 40.6% were improved without amputation and 31.3% had not healed at the time of death or follow-up (including 9.3 % of them were amputated in leg and 6.2% were dead). But group B versus group A showed higher cure rates of DF (37.04 % vs 18.54 %). Conclusions The prevalence of DF in the hospitalized diabetic patients is gradually increased, most patients with DF accompany with one or multiple other complications. A multifactorial treatment by a multidisciplinary foot care team is a superior treatment strategy for improving prognosis of patients with DF.

Objective: To observe the time-effect relationship of moxibustion for primary dysmenorrhea (PD) due to stagnation and congelation of cold-damp, thus explore the optimal choice of moxibustion duration, and provide evidence for achieving satisfactory efficacy in moxibustion treatment. Methods: A total of 90 patients with PD due to stagnatin and congelation of cold-damp were divided into three groups by the random number table method, with 30 cases in each group. All the patients in the three groups were given moxibustion treatment at Guanyuan (CV 4), 20 min in group A, 40 min in group B and 60 min in group C. The changes in the pain measurement score in the three groups were observed after treatment. Results: After treatment, there were significant differences in the clinical efficacy among the three groups (P<0.05); the clinical efficacy was better in group B and group C than that in group A (P<0.05), and that in group B was better than that in group C (P<0.05). Besides, the pain measurement score changed significantly after treatment in the three groups (all P<0.05), and the between-group differences were also statistically significant (P<0.05); the pain measurement scores in group B and group C were lower than that in group A (P<0.05), and that in group B was lower than that in group C (P<0.05). Conclusion: Given the same stimulating frequency and intervention time of moxibustion, 40-minute duration demonstrates relatively better efficacy for PD due to stagnation and congelation of cold-damp.

Objective To find out the potential risk factor of plague in Wanzhou section of the Three Gorges Reservoir area, and to provide scientific basis for prevention and control of plague. Methods Rodents were captured by rat traps/cages at night and identified into species in Wanzhou section of the Three Gorges Reservoir area from 2001 to 2009. Flea was counted and serum antibodies against plague F1 of rats, cats and dogs were detected by indirect hemagglutination (IHA). Plague surveillances were performed in human beings and rats. Results The rodents captured belonged to 9 species, 2 families, 2 orders and 1 classes. The average indoor rodent density was 1.16% (961/82 558), and was 1.12% (1345/119 671) outdoors. Rattus norvegicus was the dominant species,accounting for 50.37%. The proportion of R. Flavipectus was 3.80% in 2004, 4.50% in 2008 and 10.12% in 2009,showing an increasing trend year by year. There were three kinds of mice infected fleas in Wanzhou, which including Xenopsylla cheopis, Leptopsylla segnis and Ctenocephalides felis. The average rate of flea infected mice was 1.18%(82/6959) and the total flea index was 0.036. No F1 antibody against plague was detected in 6959 dogs and 160 cats serum samples. Conclusions No plague is found in Wanzhou section of the Three Gorges Reservoir area. But R.Flavipectus, Xenopsylla cheopis and Leptopsylla segnis are dominant species in Wanzhou section, and the proportion of which shows an increasing trends year by year. There is a potential risk of plague outbreaks in Wanzhou section of the Three Gorges Reservoir area.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of Coptis chinensis on jaundice of G6PD deficient neonates.

METHOD122 G6PD deficient neonates with jaundice who were in People' s Hospital of Guigang of Guangxi province from January 1999 to October 2004 were divided into two groups: C. chinensis group (62 neonates with C. chinensis administration before jaundice' s appearance) and none C. chinensis group (60 neonates without C. chinensis administration before jaundice' s appearance). The initial time, duration of jaundice, hemoglobin and serum bilirubin level and the incidence of kernicterus were analyzed between the two groups.

RESULTThe initial time of jaundice is significantly later and the duration of jaundice is markedly shorter in the neonates with C. chinensis than that without C. chinensis. Simultaneously, the level of hemoglobin is significantly increased, and there is a low tendency of serum total bilirubin and direct bilirubin level in C. chinensis group as compared to that in none C. chinensis group. Moreover, there is no kernicterus in C. chinensis group and no difference in the treating result out of hospital between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONOur results do not support the view that C. chinensis could aggravate jaundice of G6PD deficient neonates.

Bilirubin ; blood ; China ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Female ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency ; blood ; chemically induced ; complications ; Hemoglobins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Jaundice, Neonatal ; blood ; chemically induced ; complications ; Kernicterus ; blood ; chemically induced ; complications ; Male ; Plant Preparations ; adverse effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombi-nant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor ( rhG-CSF) used for chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. Methods Two hyndreds twenty-two cases suffering from small cell lung cancer of PLA General Hospital from 2002 to 2006 were chosen in our retrospective study, and 62 of these cases, used rhG-CSF after chemotherapy,were included in a statistics analysis. Results rhG-CSF was effective for chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression reactions and increasing significantly the number of neutropenia leukocyte and WBC (white blood cell). Average duration of recovery was 3 days and the effective rate was 95. 2%. Conclusion rhG-CSF showed high overall response rate of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression reaction with only a few adverse reactions. But dosage and administration should be adjusted to different patients in different situations.

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV), an enveloped positive-stranded RNA virus in the genus Pestivirus of the Flaviviridae family, is the causative agent of a highly contagious swine disease characterized by symptoms of hemorrhagic fever and immune depression, usually leading to substantial economic losses. The serological methods for detection of CSFV antibody such as ELISA are important means for the diagnosis of CSFV and immune surveillance. It is difficult to obtain CSFV antigen with high quality using traditional method because its titration titer is low in cell culture. CSFV has four structural protein named C, E0, El and E2. The E2 protein contains major antigenic determinants that are conserved between different CSFV strains and involved in neutralization by antibodies. So recombinant E2 protein can be developed as an alternative to the intact viral antigen. So far, CSFV E2 have not been expressed in E. coli with high level. Many factors, such as the secondary structure, the stability of 5' and 3' terminus of gene, the location of SD sequence and the bias of codes, are involved in the expressing level of foreign gene in E. coli . In this study, two sites of the E2 gene sequence were confirmed to be detrimental to its expression efficiency in E. coli through the computer-aided analysis. So they were mutated using recombinant PCR without changing the amino acids sequence of CSFV E2 gene. A plasmid was constructed by inserting the mutated E2 gene into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-28a(+) and named pETE2. The E. coli competent host BL21 (DE3)lysS transformed with pETE2 could express the E2 gene at high level, amounting to 28% of the total protein of the induced recombinant bacteria at the presence of IPTG. Except the hydrophobic transmembrane domain at C terminus, the recombinant E2 protein includes the total aa sequence. So it contains all the potential linear antigen epitopes of E2 protein because hydrophobic aa region can not form epitope. The recombinant E2 protein was CSFV-specific as proved by Western blotting and indirect ELISA. The rabbits immunized with the recombinant E2 can be protect from the challenge of hog cholera lapinized virus. This is the first report that E2 gene is expressed with high level expression in E. coli. In conclusion, it is an effective measure that mutate the CSFV E2 gene to increase its expression level in E. coli. The recombinant CSFV E2 protein possess fine immunonicity and can be used the antigen for the detection of CSFV antibody.
Antigens, Viral ; genetics ; immunology ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed ; methods ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; metabolism ; Viral Envelope Proteins ; genetics ; immunology ; metabolism