BACKGROUND: Vascular dementia is a syndrome characterized by cognitive impairment, which is induced by ischemic or hemorrhagic apoplexy or ischemic-anoxic brain injury. It is assigned to "imbecility", "dementia", "sluggish consciousness", "susceptible to forget things" etc. By traditional Chinese medicine. Impairments of memory and cognition etc. Caused by dementia seriously affect psychosomatic health and quality of life of elderly people.OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of shuanggen cephalocathartic decoctum on learning, memory and spatial discrimination ability of vascular dementia rats.DESIGN: Randomized control trail taking experimental animals as objects.SETTING: Teaching and Research Section of Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Preclinical Medicine College, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.MATERIALS: The experiment was performed in Laboratory of Viscerastate of Teaching and Research Section of Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Preclinical Medicine College, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, from January to February 2004. A total of 40 male SD rats were selected and randomly divided into sham operation group, model group, model plus traditional Chinese medicine group and model plus Western medicine group, with 10 in each group. Before the experiment, all the rats were adaptively fed for one week, free drinking and eating before and during the experiment. Medicine and reagent are shuanggen cephalocathartic decoctum and Nimotop tablet, and main experimental apparatuses are DTT-2 jumping apparatus and SMG-2 water maze apparatus.METHODS: Blood was collected from left ventricle under aseptic condi tion, and dried in incubator at 37 ℃, after trituration, it was sifted with sieve of 200μm meshes and embolus was prepared. 1 mg embolus and 0.3 mL physiological saline was mixed and shaken up into suspension. Common carotid artery was temporarily occluded with a vascular clamp, and external carotid artery was retrogradely intubated and the embolus suspension was injected into encephalon to establish model of multiple cerebral infarction. In sham operation group, canulate tubule was intubated only to the bifurcation of common carotid artery, with no fluid injected in. Before the experiment, rats in model group and sham operation group were normally fed, while rats in model plus traditional Chinese medicine group were additionally given shuanggen cephalocathartic decoctum [4 g/(kg·d)] infusion and rats in model plus western medicine group were additionally given Nimotop [2 mg/(kg·d)] infusion, once a day for consecutive 15 days. Passive escape jumping experiment was conducted on rats in each group on the 9th day.Recorded the reaction time for rat jumping onto the rubber cushion after electric shock and the frequency of mistakes of suffering electric shock due to jumping down from the platform in 3 minutes, and took the results as learning indexes. The test was repeated on the 10th day. Put the rat into the box for 3-minture adaptation, then put it on the rubber cushion; recorded the latency for rat first jumping down from the rubber cushion and the frequency of jumpingdown from the rubber cushion in 3 minutes, and took the results as memory indexes. Water maze spatial discrimination experiment was conducted on rats in each group on the 11th day, recorded the frequency of mistakes of rats entering dead end and the latency for landing on safe platform. Every time, took a 40-second rest after swimming. Each rat was trained 10 times a day for consecutive three days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Results of passive escape jumping experiment and water maze spatial discrimination experiment. RESULTS: Each group had a rat dead in the process of operation except sham operation group in which all rats moved normally. Totally 37 rats entered results analysis. ① Results of passive escape jumping experiment: On the 9th day, compared with model group, the reaction time of rats in sham operation group, model plus traditional Chinese medicine group and model plus western medicine group significantly shortened (P < 0.01 -0.05), the frequency of mistakes in 3 minutes remarkably decreased in sham operation group and model plus traditional Chinese medicine group (P < 0.05); on the 10th day, the latency was significantly prolonged in sham operation group as compared with model group (P < 0.05); compared with model group, the frequency of mistakes in 3 minutes significantly decreased in sham operation group, model plus traditional Chinese medicine group and model plus western medicine group (P < 0.05). ② Results of water maze spatial discrimination: On the 3rd day, compared with model group, the frequency of mistakes of rats entering dead end significantly decreased in sham operation group, model plus traditional Chinese medicine group and model plus western medicine group (P < 0.001-0.05); the frequency of mistakes in model plus traditional Chinese medicine group obvi ously decreased as compared with model plus western medicine group (P < 0.05). During the 2nd and 3rd days of water maze experiment, the time for the rat reaching terminal was significantly shortened in sham operation group, model plus traditional Chinese medicine group and model plus western medicine group as compared with model group (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: Shuanggen cephalocathartic decoctum can significantly improve learning and memory ability of rat model of vascular dementia, and is more effective than Nimotop in the aspect of improving spatial discrimination ability of rat.

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlation between syndrome types of late-onset acne female patients and constitutions of Chinese medicine (CM).

METHODSA questionnaire was performed in 365 late-onset acne female patients and 135 healthy subjects (as the control) using Professor WANG Qi's. methods and Standards for Chinese Medical Constitutions Classification.

RESULTSTheir CM constitutions were sequenced as damp-heat constitution, yin-deficiency constitution, balanced constitution, yang-deficiency constitution, blood-stasis constitution, qi-stagnation constitution, qi-deficiency constitution, phlegm-damp constitution, inherited special constitution, with statistical difference when compared with those of the control group ( χ2 = 85.206, P < 0.01). In the 365 female late-onset acne patients, 114 (31.23%) were with Chongren imbalance syndrome, 108 (29.59%) were with blood stasis or coagulated phlegm syndrome, 83 (22.74%) were with dampness heat syndrome, and 60 (16.44%) were with wind heat syndrome. There was statistical difference in CM constitution distributions among different CM syndrome types (χ2 = 105.671, P < 0.01). The distribution of CM medical constitutions was different between the two groups. Biased constitutions were often seen in the patient group, while balanced constitution was often seen in the control group. Binary Logistic regression analysis indicated that influencing factors covered sweet food, light diet, roasted food, coffee, stress, work pressure, and family pressure. Of them light diet was one protective factor, while the rest were adverse factors.

CONCLUSIONThe etiology and syndrome types of female late-onset acne female patients were associated with CM constitution.

Acne Vulgaris ; epidemiology ; Body Constitution ; Female ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Syndrome ; Yang Deficiency ; Yin Deficiency

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Shengji Huayu Recipe (SHR)on the expression of MMP-3 and TIMP-1 in the skin ulcer tissue of diabetic rats.

METHODSThe skin ulcer model was established in diabetic mice. Different compatibility proportions of SHR [the ratio of Shengji Recipe (SJR) to Huayu Recipe (HYR) = 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2, respectively] were used to intervene. The expression of MMP-3 protein in the skin ulcer of diabetic rats was detected by Western blot method,and TIMP-1 protein was detected by immunohistochemical assay.

RESULTSAt each time point, there was no statistical difference in the blood glucose level among groups (P > 0.05). But all of them increased significantly,when compared with those of the normal wound group (P < 0.01). As for the difference between after would area treatment and before would area treatment, better effect was obtained in the SHR No. 3 group and the normal ulcer group than in the diabetic ulcer model group (P < 0.05). Results of Western blot showed that the MMP-3 protein expression was higher in the SHR No. 2 group than in the SHR No.3 group (P < 0.05). Immunohistochemical results showed that TIMP-1 protein expression was lower in the SHR No. 2 group than in the SHR No. 3 group and the diabetic ulcer model group (P < 0.05). TIMP-1 protein expression was higherin the SHR No. 3 group than in the SHR No. 2 group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONUsing SHR No.3 was conducive to the promotion of wound healing in early wound repair stage, and using SHR No. 2 might be conducive to inhibiting the formation of pathological scar.

Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 3 ; metabolism ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin ; drug effects ; pathology ; Skin Ulcer ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; metabolism

China ; Cost of Illness ; Demography ; Female ; Humans ; Maternal Mortality ; Poverty Areas

OBJECTIVETo study the changes in hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF1α, HIF2α) in the residual tumor cells in nude mice bearing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following treatment with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

METHODSThirty nude mice bearing human HCC received treatment with HIFU. At 1, 3, and 5 days and 1 and 2 weeks after the treatment, the mice were examined for pathological changes of the residual tumor with HE staining; SP immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR were used to detect the protein and mRNA expressions of HIF1α and HIF2α in the tumor.

RESULTSHE staining revealed the presence of residual tumor cells and large necrotic areas after the treatment. Immunohistochemistry showed a gradual increment of HIF1α protein and mRNA expressions after the treatment, reaching the peak level at 3 days (P<0.05) followed by progressive reduction at 5 days and 1 and 2 weeks. HIF2α expressions at either the protein or mRNA levels exhibited no significant changes within 3 days after the treatment (P>0.05) but increased significantly at 5 days and 1 and 2 weeks (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe changes of HIF1α and HIF2α in the residual tumor after HIFU treatment in nude mice bearing HCC can be associated with tumor cell apoptosis and angiogenesis after the treatment.

Animals ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; therapy ; Mice ; Neoplasm, Residual ; metabolism ; pathology ; Ultrasonic Therapy ; methods

Objective To explore the effects of psychology of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy on family management.Meth-ods From August,2013 to August,2014,the main caregivers of 222 children with cerebral palsy were investigated with questionnaires of de-mography,Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale(CD-RISC),Index of Well-being,Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS),Self-rating Depression Scale(SDS)and Family Management Measure(FaMM).Results The scores of Condition Management Ability,View of Condition Impact, Condition Management Effort, Family Life Difficulty and Parental Mutuality of FaMM were higher than the median (t>8.866, P<0.001). The scores of CD-RISC,SAS and SDS were less than the norms of Chinese(t>5.523,P<0.001).Index of Well-being was(7.63±2.96).The factors related with the dimensions of family management included the time of hospitalization of children,the expectation of rehabilitation, the levels of anxiety and psychological resilience,and the index of well-being of the parents(P<0.05).Conclusion The psychology of care-givers of children with cerebral palsy and family management are dissatisfactory,and the psychology may influence family management.

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Changji'an Capsule (CA) on mRNA expressions of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the hypothalamus and colon and serum levels of adreno-cortico-tropic hormone (ACTH) in rats of diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) model rats.

METHODSTotally 48 SD rats were randomly divided into six groups, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the Pinaverium Bromide group (PB, 0.018 g/kg), the high dose CA group (2.812 g/kg), the medium dose CA group (1.406 g/kg), and the low dose CA group (0.703 g/kg), 8 in each group. The IBS-D rat model was established by using separation of breast milk + stimulation of acetic acid + constraint of four limbs. Normal saline was given to rats in the normal control group and the model group. All medication lasted for 14 successive days by gastrogavage. The serum content of ACTH was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expressions of NPY mRNA in the colon and the hypothalamus were detected using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the serum ACTH content significantly increased (P < 0.01), the NPY mRNA expression in the colon and the hypothalamus obviously decreased (P < 0.01) in the model control group. Compared with the model group, the serum ACTH obviously decreased in the high dose CA group, the medium dose CA group, and the PB group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The NPY mRNA expression in the colon and the hypothalamus were obviously up-regulated in the high dose CA group, the medium dose CA group, the low dose CA group, and the PB group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCA could modulate the abnormity of brain-gut axis of IBS-D rats possibly by up-regulating NPY mRNA expressions in the hypothalamus and the colon and down-regulating the ACTH content in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; blood ; Animals ; Colon ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; metabolism ; Male ; Neuropeptide Y ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical efficacy of Chinese medicine (CM) treatment of Hongyou Ointment and Shengji Powder on diabetic ulcers, and to observe the influence of CM treatment on the expressions of proteins associated with the Wnt signaling pathway, such as β-catenin, c-myc and K6.

METHODSsixty-two patients fitting the registration standards were randomly divided into the CM group (31 patients) and the Western medicine (WM) group (31 patients) by a random number table. The patients in the CM group were treated with Hongyou Ointment and Shengji Powder externally. The patients in the WM group were treated with mupirocin ointment, growth factor (bFGF), and Vaseline gauze for external use and with basic therapies. Wound-healing time and four-week healing rate were recorded. The wounds were measured by digital photography and ImageJ software. Skin biopsies were obtained from 24 patients before CM treatment and 20 patients after CM treatment. Immunohistochemical tests and semi-quantitative imaging with NIH ImageJ 1.42 software were used to analyze the changes in protein expression of β-catenin, c-myc, and K6.

RESULTSFifty-three patients completed the trial; four patients in the CM treatment group and five patients in the WM group dropped out. Among them, four were dissatisfied with the treatment process, two could not continue because of their jobs, two failed to complete the course of follow-up appointments, and one was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma during treatment. The comparison of ulcer healing rates between the two groups showed insignificant differences (P=0.77). The ulcer healing rates were 33.33% (9/27) in the CM group and 26.92% (7/26) in the WM group. However, the effective rate was significantly higher in the CM group (81.48%, 22/27) than in the WM group (57.69%, 15/26, P=0.04). The mean wound healing time was shorter in the CM group (22.71 ±5.46 days) than in the WM group (26.56 ±7.56 days, P=0.04). CM treatment was well tolerated, and there was no withdrawal due to adverse reactions. Immunohistochemical analysis in the refractory wound indicated higher expressions of β-catenin, c-myc and K6 compared with the normal skin. β-catenin was abnormally expressed in the nuclei of the keratinocytes and fibroblasts at the wound margins, and the expressions of c-myc and K6 were highly expressed in the full hyperplastic epidermis, especially in the granular layer (P<0.05). The expressions of these proteins decreased after CM treatment. The expression levels of β-catenin, c-myc, and K6 proteins before and after the treatment were 101.88 ± 10.76 vs. 140.42 ±8.45; 113.27 ± 16.75 vs. 153.79 ±8.32; 90.39 ±11.07 vs. 151.29 ±7.39, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSCM treatment using Hongyou Ointment and Shengji Powder was efficient in the management of diabetic skin ulcers. The mechanism of action might be related to the inhibition of the Wnt signaling pathway.

Adult ; Aged ; Diabetes Complications ; metabolism ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial ; metabolism ; Prospective Studies ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc ; metabolism ; Single-Blind Method ; Skin Ulcer ; metabolism ; therapy ; beta Catenin ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of apigenin on semen parameters in male mice.

METHODSTotally 100 healthy male mice of Kunming strain were randomly divided into 5 groups according to the body weight: negative control, solvent control, low-dose apigenin, median-dose apigenin and high-dose apigenin, the latter three groups given intragastric apigenin at a fixed time every day for 7 and 14 days. At 35 days after the first medication, all the mice were killed and detected for the sperm motion parameters by computer aided sperm analysis (CASA).

RESULTSThere were no statistically significant differences in sperm motion parameters, density and motility between the negative control and the three apigenin groups after 7-day medication. At 14 days, the high-dose apigenin group showed remarkable decreases in average path velocity (VAP), straight line velocity (VSL), straightness (STR), wobbliness (WOB), the percentage of grade b sperm and sperm motility, and a significant increase in beat cross frequency (BCF) as compared with the negative control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONApigenin affects sperm motility in male mice to a certain extent.

Animals ; Apigenin ; pharmacology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred Strains ; Semen ; drug effects ; Sperm Motility ; drug effects

Objective To explore the distribution and characteristics on genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the relationship between Beijing genotype and drug-resistant phenotypes in Tianjin city. Methods 656 clinical strains were collected from Tianjin Center for Tuberculosis Control and ten other Tuberculosis Institute in Tianjin from January 2008 to June 2009.Information regarding administration, clinical as well as laboratory findings of patients were collected.Proportion method was adopted to detect the susceptibility on four anti-tuberculosis drugs, namely streptomycin (SM), isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RFP) and ehambutol (EMB). Both Beijing and non-Beijing genotypes were differentiated by multiplex PCR. The relationship between Beijing genotype and drug-resistant phenotypes was analyzed. Results In this study, the overall resistance rate of MTB was 26.98%, with multidrug-resistant rate was 6.25%. Among 656 MTB strains, 600isolates (91.46% ) belonged to Beijing genotype. There was significant difference between Beijing and non-Beijing genotype (x2=4.26, P=0.039) among the Tianjin household registered population.Concerning the drug resistance, there was no significant difference between the two groups.Conclusion Beijing genotype strains were the predominant one in Tianjin. The proportion of people infected with the Beijing genotype strains in Tianjin household registration of patients was significantly higher than the proportion of patients in the floating population in the same region.Results from the statistical analysis did not reveal any statistically significant association between Beijing genotype and drug resistance.