AIM To investigate the consistency of chemical constituents between formula granules and standard decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma.METHODS Eighteen batches of standard decoctions were prepared,after which the extraction rate and contents,transfer rates of magnolflorine,jatrorrhizine,columbamine,epiberberine,coptisine,palmatine,berberin were determined,HPLC characteristic chromatograms were established.RESULTS There were 11 common peaks in the characteristic chromatograms of 18 batches of standard decoctions and 24 batches of formula granules with the similarities of 0.861-1.000,which were clusterd into two categories.The formula granules and standard decoction demonstrated approximated extraction rate and contents,transfer rates of index constituents.CONCLUSION The chemical constituents between formula granules and standard decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma display good consistency,which can provide references for the quality control,process research and clinical application of the former.

AIM To evaluate the quality of Beidougen Formula Granules.METHODS Fifteen batches of standard decoctions and three batches of formula granules were prepared,after which paste rate and contents,transfer rates of magnoflorine,daurisoline,dauricine were determined.HPLC specific chromatograms were established,and cluster analysis was adopted in chemical pattern recognition.RESULTS For three batches of formula granules,the paste rates were 15.1%-16.6%,the contents of magnoflorine,daurisoline,dauricine were 18.93-19.39,9.42-9.60,6.79-6.85 mg/g with the transfer rates of 34.42%-35.25%,43.81%-44.65%,27.27%-27.51%from decoction pieces to formula granules,respectively,and there were seven characteristic peaks in the specific chromatograms with the similarities of more than 0.95,which demonstrated good consistence with those of standard decoctions and accorded with related limit requirements.Fifteen batches of standard decoctions were clustered into two types,and the medicinal materials produced from Jilin,Hebei,Shangdong could be used for the preparation of formula granules.CONCLUSION This reasonable and reliable method can provide references for the quality control and clinical application of Beidougen Formula Granules.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the risk factors for hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) in children with β-thalassemia major (TM) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data of 247 children with TM who underwent allo-HSCT at Shenzhen Children's Hospital from January 2021 to November 2022. The children were divided into an HC group (91 cases) and a non-HC group (156 cases) based on whether HC occurred after operation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors for HC, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the predictive efficacy of related factors for HC. RESULTS: Among the 247 TM patients who underwent allo-HSCT, the incidence of HC was 36.8% (91/247). Univariate analysis showed age, incompatible blood types between donors and recipients, occurrence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), positive urine BK virus deoxyribonucleic acid (BKV-DNA), and ≥2 viral infections were associated with the development of HC after allo-HSCT (P<0.05). Multivariable analysis revealed that incompatible blood types between donors and recipients (OR=3.171, 95%CI: 1.538-6.539), occurrence of aGVHD (OR=2.581, 95%CI: 1.125-5.918), and positive urine BKV-DNA (OR=21.878, 95%CI: 9.633-49.687) were independent risk factors for HC in children with TM who underwent allo-HSCT. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that positive urine BKV-DNA alone or in combination with two other risk factors (occurrence of aGVHD, incompatible blood types between donors and recipients) had a certain accuracy in predicting the development of HC after allo-HSCT (area under the curve >0.8, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Incompatible blood types between donors and recipients, occurrence of aGVHD, and positive urine BKV-DNA are risk factors for HC after allo-HSCT in children with TM. Regular monitoring of urine BKV-DNA has a positive significance for early diagnosis and treatment of HC.
Humans ; Child ; Retrospective Studies ; beta-Thalassemia/therapy* ; Cystitis/epidemiology* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects* ; Risk Factors ; Hemorrhage/etiology* ; Graft vs Host Disease/complications* ; DNA ; Polyomavirus Infections/epidemiology*

Depression is a serious mental illness with a high incidence. At present, we do not fully understand the specific pathological mechanisms of depression, and the efficacy of drug treatments is very limited. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic changes that occur in specific brain regions may be a key mechanism by which environmental factors to interact with individuals to influence the risk of depression. Therefore, drugs that target epigenetic regulation may become a new direction for the development of antidepressants. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are a class of compounds that inhibit histone deacetylase activity, which has been reported to be associated with depression; this article addresses the use of HDACi in preclinical studies, and their potential therapeutic role and limitations of use in depression.

italic>N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) is a highly abundant brain metabolite. Nowadays, as an important marker reflecting the function of nervous system, NAA is widely used in the results analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H MRS). NAA is synthesized in mitochondria of neurons and metabolized in oligodendrocytes. Additionally, NAA may be converted to the dipeptide N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), and catabolized into NAA and glutamate in astrocytes. NAA is related to a variety of central nervous system diseases, including Canavan disease, multiple sclerosis, depression, schizophrenia and other mental diseases. Therefore, NAA may be a biomarker of these diseases, and its related enzymes may be used as therapeutic targets for drug screening. Here, we combined the current research on the molecular mechanisms of NAA to reveal the process of NAA generation, metabolism and transport in the brain, explain the possible physiological effects of NAA and discuss its relationship with central nervous system diseases, explore the prospect of NAA in disease prediction and diagnosis, as well as the targeted treatment that may become the breakthrough of refractory diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%. The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (r=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (r=0.196, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Birth Weight ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The 2017 China (Lianyungang) International Medical Technology Conference was held in Lianyungang,Jiangsu Province during November 15-17,2017.During this conference,the Division for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products Pharmacology of Chinese Pharmacological Society (CNPHARS) and Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.jointly held the Forum on R&D and Interna-tionalization of New Drugs and Health Products of Traditional Chinese Medicine.The forum was co-chaired by Professor ZHANG Yong-xiang, President of CNPHARS, Chair of Division for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products Pharmacology of CNPHARS,and Chair of the Natural Product Section of Inter-national Union of Basic&Clinical Pharmacology(IUPHAR), Professor DU Guan-hua,former President of CNPHARS and Vice-Chair of Division for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products Pharmacology of CNPHARS,and Dr.XIAO Wei,Chairman of the Board of Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. And Vice-Chair of Division for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products Pharmacology of CNPHARS. More than 70 scholars attended the forum, including four foreign experts [Michael SPEDDING, Secretary-General of IUPHAR; Professor Valérie B. SCHINI-KERTH, Vice-Chair of the Natural Product Section of IUPHAR; Professor Cherry WAINWRGHT, Director of Centre for Natural Product Drugs of Robert Gordon University; Professor InKyeom KIM, Director of the Korean Society of Pharmacology], members of the Division for Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products Pharmacology of CNPHARS and leading researchers at Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd.GU Jin-hui,Director of the Division of National Science and Technology Major Project for Drug Innovation,Department of Health Science,Technology and Education,National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China was also invited to attend the forum. Representatives discussed the R&D and internationalization of new drugs and health products of traditional Chinese medicine.The summary of views and advice of some experts was published here for the purpose of promoting domestic and overseas academic exchange, and playing an active role in improving the level of R&D and internationalization of new drugs and health products of traditional Chinese medicine in China.

Isolation and purification of chemical constituents of liquid culture of symbiotic Chaetomium globosum ML-4 of oyster was performed through silica gel column chromatography, gel filtration over Sephadex LH-20, preparative TLC and HPLC. Five compounds were obtained and their structures were determined as chaetoglobosin V(1), chaetoglobosin Vb(2), tyrosol(3), 5-methyluracil(4)and uracil(5), respectively, based on HR-MS and NMR data and comparison with literatures. In vitro cytotoxicity of compounds against human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SMMC-7721 were measured byMTT method, and results showed that compound 1 could obviously inhibit the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 60.5 mg•L⁻¹, while the IC₅₀ value of positive control cisplatin was 19.96 mg•L⁻¹. Further studies discovered that compound 1 could lead to G2 phase arrest in SMMC-7721 cells and induce SMMC-7721 cells apoptosis. The ratio of Bcl-2/Bax in SMMC-7721 cells was decreased. The expression of protein Caspases-3,-8,-9 was improved and the expression and phosphorylation level of Akt were reduced. Aforementioned results revealed that in vitro antitumor activity of compound 1 against SMMC-7721 cells were related to G2 phase cell cycle arrest and induced-apoptosis. The induced-apoptosis was involved in both the mitochondrial pathway and the death receptor pathway and connected with activity decline of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Objective:To study the application value of self-made endometrial sampler in the diagnosis of endometrial lesions.Methods:A total of 80 patients with endometrial lesions and indications for diagnostic curettage were enrolled in Department of Gynecology, Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Jiading District from November 2014 to January 2016.All of patients were presenting for endometrial biopsy by self-made endometrial sampler before hysteroscopy and diagnostic curettage.The pathologic diagnostic accordance of the two groups were evaluated.Results:The coincidence rate of pathologic diagnosis between self-made endometrial sampler and hysteroscopic curettage was 87.84%.The pathological diagnosis results of the two groups were in good coherence (Kappa=0.75).No statistical significance of specimen satisfaction was found between two groups (P=0.276).The operation time in self-made endometrial sampler group was significantly shorter than that in hysteroscopic curettage group (P<0.01).Conclusions:The pathological results of self-made endometrial sampler is similar to hysteroscopic curettage.It suggests that self-made endometrial sampler is comparable for the diagnosis of endometrial lesions.

OBJECTIVETo determine the effectiveness and safety of Xinfeng Capsules (XFC) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with decreased pulmonary function.

METHODSThis was a randomized controlled clinical trial of 80 RA patients. Participants were assigned to the trial group (40 cases) and the control group (40 cases) by block randomization. The trial group was treated with XFC, three pills each time three times daily for 2 months. The control group was treated with tripterygium glycoside (TPT), two pills each time three times daily for 2 months. Both groups were followed up after 2 months. The clinical effects, changes in joint and pulmonary function, and quality of life before and after treatment were observed; safety indices were also evaluated.

RESULTSPain, swelling, tenderness, and duration of morning stiffness of joints were obviously decreased after treatment in both the trial and the control groups compared with baseline (P<0.01). Compared with before treatment, hand grip strength increased significantly after treatment in the trial group (P=0.0000); pulmonary function parameters such as forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), 50% of the expiratory flow of forced vital capacity (FEF50), carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLco) were increased (P<0.01 or P<0.05); measures of quality of life such as role-physical, body pain, vitality and mental health were also improved after treatment in the trial group (all P<0.05). Joint swelling in the trial group decreased compared with the control group (P=0.0043), while hand grip strength was increased after treatment (P=0.0000). The increase in FEF50, DLco, and the dimensions of quality of life such as vitality and mental health were all significantly greater in the trial group than the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSXFC not only relieved joint pain in RA patients, but also significantly improved the ventilation and diffusion function of the lungs. Therefore, XFC could improve the whole body function and enhance the quality of life of RA patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Joints ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quality of Life ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Treatment Outcome