BACKGROUND: Panax notoginseng is an effective medicine for curing gastric mucosal ulcer. There are many clinical reports that Panax notoginseng protects gastric mucosa.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective mechanism of Panax notoginseng on the gastric mucosal injury induced by water immersion restraint stress in rats.DESIGN: A randomized controlled animal trial.SETTING: School of Basic Medical Sciences, Daqing Branch of Harbin Medical University.MATERIALS: The study was conducted in the laboratory of Department of Pathophysiology of Harbin Medical University from September 2004 to October 2005. Forty-eight Wistar rats were used, either male or female, weighing 180-230 g.METHODS: The 48 Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups with 8 rats in each group: normal control group, stress model group, cimetidine treatment group, Panax notoginseng of low, middle and high-dose groups (4, 8, 12 mg/time). In the cimetidine treatment group, cimetidine tablets were grinded into powders, then mixed with distilled water to prepare into suspension (1 tablet:10 mL), which was perfused intragastrically (5 mL), 3 times a day; In the Panax notoginseng groups, the powders in Panax notoginseng capsules were mixed with distilled water to prepare into suspension of corresponding concentrations (0.8, 1.6, 2.4 g/L), then administrated the same as those in the cimetidine treatment group. Stress models in rats were established by means of water immersion restraint stress. The gross and pathohistological changes of gastric mucosa were observed, and the activity of superoxide oxidase (SOD) and contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) were determined.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:①Gross and pathohistological changes of gastric mucosa;②Changes of MDA and NO contents and SOD activity in the homogenate of gastric mucosa.RESULTS: All the 48 rats were involved in the analysis of results. The gastric mucosal hemorrhage and erosion in the cimetidine treatment group were reduced obviously as compared with those in the stress model group, SOD activity was obviously decreased [(12.61±0.87), (1.03±0.60) mkat/g], whereas the NO content was a little higher [(5.76±1.35), (0.97±0.58) nmol/g]. The MDA content was obviously higher in the stress model group than in the normal control group [(3.10±1.13), (0.09±0.02) μmol/g, P＜0.01]. There were no obvious differences between the Panax notoginseng groups and the cimetidine treatment group except that the NO contents were decreased in the in Panax notoginseng groups.CONCLUSION: Gastric mucosal injury induced by water immersion restraint stress can be significantly protected by Panax notoginseng, which is not dose-dependent. The protective mechanism may be associated with that Panax notoginseng can eliminate the product of oxygen-derived free radicals, and it is not totally the same as that of cimetidine

Objective To observe the clinical effect on cervicogenic headache (CEH) of pulsed radiofrequency stimulation (PRF) applied to the C2 dorsal root ganglion combined with nerve block.Methods A total of 78 cases diagnosed as CEH were randomly divided into a combined treatment group,a PRF treatment group and a nerve block group.The combined treatment group was given both PRF applied to the C2 dorsal root ganglion and blocking therapy.The other two groups were given only one treatment or the other.All the treatments were once weekly for 3 weeks.Before treatment and 1,3 and 6 months after treatment,all of the patients' headaches were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS).Results At 1,3 and 6 months after treatment,the average VAS scores of all three groups had decreased significantly.The VAS ratings dropped the most in the combined treatment group,followed by the PRF group and then the nerve block group.All the intergroup differences were statistically significant.The combined treatment group's cure rate (88％) was significantly better than that of the PRF group (81％),which was significantly better than that of the nerve block group (54％).Conclusion Combining PRF applied to the C2dorsal root ganglion with nerve block therapy has a synergistic effect on CEH.The curative effect of the combined treatment was better than either PRF or blocking alone.

The change of hemodynamics and hemorrheology induced by hypoxia challenge in the dog were investigated. The results showed that hypoxia caused significant decrease of cardiac output,increased pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance. Hypoxia also caused increase of blood viscosity. In terms of changes of the reduced viscosity is directly related to the deformation and agglutination properties of red blood cells.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes of the cardiac hemodynamics after acute high altitude exposure in healthy young males and the relationship with acute mountain sickness(AMS).

METHODSLeft ventricular function and oxyhemoglobin saturation (SaO2), heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) were measured in 218 healthy young males before and after high altitude exposure within 24 h respectively. According to the lake louise score criteria, the subjects were divided into two groups: acute mountain sickness group (AMS group) and non acute mountain sickness group (non-AMS group).

RESULTSHR, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), stroke volume (SV), stroke index (SI) cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI) were significantly increased upon acute high altitude exposure (P < 0.05). Whereas SaO2 and end-systolic volume (ESV) were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). In addition, HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and MAP in AMS group were significantly higher than those in non-AMS group (P < 0.05). But stroke index (SI) and end-diastolic volume (EDV) in AMS group were significantly lower than those in non-AMS group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCardiac function in healthy young males upon acute high altitude exposure was enhanced. EDV, HR and SI might become the indexes of predicting the acute mountain sickness in the future.

Objective To investigate the effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) on expression of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in brain tissues following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats.Methods Sixty male SD rats weighing 220-250 g were randomly divided into three groups (n =20 for each):sham operation group,TBI group,and IPC group.Cerebral IPC models were induced by transient occlusion of the bilateral common carotid arteries; TBI models were induced by Feeney's freefalling method; rats in sham operation group were only performed exposure of dura of the right parietal lobe.Ten rats were sacrificed respectively at 6 and 72 hours after TBI and injured brain tissues were harvested to estimate wet/dry weight (W/D) ratio for the brain,determine ICAM-1 expression by immunohistochemistry and perform microscopic examination.Results Brain W/D ratio was significantly increased in TBI group compared with sham operation group (6 h:4.2 ± 0.4 vs 2.7 ± 0.4 ; 72 h:5.0 ±0.1 vs 3.1 ± 0.2,P ＜ 0.05).ICAM-1 expression was up-regulated in TBI group compared with sham operationgroup (6h:25.4±3.5vs8.6±1.3; 72 h:36.5±5.4 vs8.4±1.6,P＜0.05).W/D ratio was significantly decreased in IPC group compared with TBI group (6 h:3.5 ±0.6 vs 4.2 ±0.4; 72 h:3.7 ± 0.4 vs 5.0 ± 0.1,P ＜ 0.05).ICAM-1 expression was down-regulated in IPC group compared with TBI group (6 h:16.5 ± 2.7 vs 25.4 ± 3.5 ; 72 h:24.3 ± 4.6 vs 36.5 ± 5.4,P ＜ 0.05).Milder injury to brain tissues was observed in IPC group than in TBI group.Conclusion IPC can attenuate TBI in rats by down-regulating the expression of ICAM-1.

Objective To investigate the effect of excessive all-trans retinoic acid (atRA) on mouse embryonic palatal fusion and the mechanism. Method Palatal shelves from embryonic D 13 embryonic mice were cultured in BGJb medium and treated with vehicle control only or 5 ?mol/L atRA for 72 h. Palatal fusion was examined by hemagglutinin esterase. Apoptosis and laminin were detected by TUNEL and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The level of Smad2 phosphorylation (pSmad2) was analyzed by Western blot. Results atRA led to failure of palatal fusion and inhibited the migration and apoptosis of medial edge epithelial cells (MEE) and degradation of basal lamina within, compared with control palatal shelves in cultures. Additionally, apoptosis was detected in mesenchyme of atRA-treated palatal shelves. Further experiment revealed that pSmad2 was abrogated by atRA. Conclusion atRA induced failure of palatal fusion through inhibition of apoptosis of the MEE cell and degradation of basal lamina within medial edge epithelial seam. Inhibition of pSmad2 may account for the failure of palatal fusion by atRA.

AIM: To investigate the mechanism of berberine’s inhibiting growth and metastasis of tumor by observing the effects of berberine on proliferation and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). METHODS: Cultured HUVECs were incubated with berberine. MTT assay and quantitative immunocytochemistry were used to detect cell proliferation and the expression of proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Morphologic changes of apoptosis were observed by fluorescent staining, and Rhodamin123 was used to determinate mitochondrial membrane potential under the laser confocal microscopy. RESULTS: HUVEC proliferation was inhibited by co-incubating with berberine (20 mg/L) for 24 h and berberine (10 mg/L, 20 mg/L) for 48 h (P

Background Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) leads to blindness in many fundus diseases.Study showed that naringenin suppresses CNV,but it presents with poor bioavailability because of its poor solubility in water.β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) can increase the water-solubility of drugs, however, whether the inhibitory effect of naringenin on CNV can be improved after clathrated with β-CD remains unclear.Objective This study was to compare the inhibitory effects of naringenin with naringenin/β-CD compounds on CNV in rats.Methods Naringenin/β-CD clathrate compounds were prepared with saturated solution,the solubility of naringenin in water was calculated based on standard curve.Thirty-two male Brown Norway rats were randomized into normal control group, model control group, naringenin group and naringenin/β-CD group.Laser-induced CNV models were created in the right eyes of rats from the model control group, naringenin group and naringenin/β-CD group.Naringenin and naringenin/β-CD clathrate compounds were intraperitoneally injected at a dose of 20 mg/kg in the rats of naringenin group and naringenin/β-CD group since the day after modeling, respectively, once per day for 4 weeks, and equal volume of DMSO was injected in the same way in the model control group.Fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-D) was injected via rat hypoglossal vein for the preparation of flatmounts of choroid in the fourth week,and the areas of CNV were measured and compared among the groups.The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choroid-sclera tissues were isolated from the rats, and the relative expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) , cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2),phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K),p38mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9 mRNA and their proteins in RPE-choroid-sclera tissue were detected using real-time PCR and Western blot.Results The solubility of naringenin in water increased by 11.8 folds after encapsulated with β-CD.The CNV areas in the model control group, naringenin group and naringenin/β-CD group were (34.56± 1.67), (20.90± 1.47) and (13.20± 1.38) × 103 μm2 , respectively, showing significant reduces in the naringenin group and naringenin/β-CD group compared with the model control group (t =3.973 ,P＜O.05;t =5.532, P＜0.01) ,and the CNV area in the naringenin/β-CD group was significantly smaller than that in the naringenin group (t =3.605,P＜0.05).The relative expression levels of VEGF, COX-2, PI3K, p38MAPK, MMP-2, MMP-9 mRNA and their proteins were significantly declined in the normal control group,naringenin group and naringenin/β-CD group in comparison with the model control group (all at P＜0.05).In addition, the expression levels of VEGF mRNA and COX-2 mRNA and their proteins were significantly lower in the naringenin/β-CD group than those in the naringenin group (all at P＜0.05).Conclusions The naringenin/β-CD clathrate compounds can improve the water solubility of naringenin and enhance their inhibitory effect on rats CNV.The inhibitory effect of naringenin on rats CNV probably is associated with anti-inflammatory pathway.

Objective To analyze factors influencing short-term effect of presurgical pharmacological thera-py and transsphenoidal microsurgery for somatotropinomas. Methods The clinical data of 53 patients underwent presurgical pharmacological therapy and transsphenoidal surgery for somatotropinomas were retrospectively analyzed in order to search for factors influencing effect of presurgical pharmacological therapy and transsphenoidal surgery for somatotropinomas. Results Serum GH inhibition rates decreased<50.00%from baseline in 62.26%of patients receiving presurgical pharmacological therapy. Statistical analysis concerning the influence of sex , neuropathological evaluation, tumor size and presence of invasion on presurgical pharmacological therapy effect were performed using a chi-squared test, no significant correlation was found among these factors and presurgical pharmacological therapy effect. Total remission rates were 43.40%, Statistical analysis concerning the influence of sex , neuropathological e valuation, tumor size, presence of invasion and presurgical pharmacological therapy effect on remission rate were performed using a chi-squared test, a significant correlation was found among tumor size, presence of invasion, presurgical pharmacological therapy effect and remission rate , while no significant correlation was found among the rest of the factors. Further Logistic regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation among tumor size , presence of invasion and remission rate , while no significant correlation was found between presurgical pharmacolog-ical therapy effect and remission rate. Conclusions Presurgical pharmacological therapy effect revealed no signifi-cant correlation with sex, neuropathological evaluation, tumor size or presence of invasion. Total remission rate cor-related with tumor size and presence of invasion. A better presurgical pharmacological therapy effect may indicated a better outcome, while postoperative remission rate revealed no significant correlation with presurgical pharmacologi-cal therapy in our series.

Objective To observe the angiographic features of patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) by ultra-wide-field fluorescein angiography (UWFA) and compare with the conventional 7 standard field (7SF) imaging. Methods This is a retrospective clinical description study. Fifty-eight eyes of 56 RVO patients were included. There were 25 males (26 eyes) and 31 females (32 eyes). The age ranged from 25 to 69 years, with a mean age of (48.12±18.56) years. The course of disease was from 2 days to 25 months, with a mean course of (12.78±11.35) months. Thirty eyes were diagnosed with central RVO (51.72%), 26 eyes were diagnosed with branch RVO (44.83%) and 2 eyes were diagnosed with hemicentral RVO (3.45%). Retinal laser photocoagulation was performed in 11 eyes (18.97%). All patients received examinations of UWFA (British Optomap 200Tx imaging system) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Using the protocol for obtaining 7SF images as described in the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study, 7 circular regions with a range of 30 degrees were combined as the 7SF template to determine the observation area. This template was then overlaid on the UWFA image to identify the potential viewable area of 7SF. The visualized retinal area, retinal non-perfusion area, retinal neovascularization area, and laser spot area of UWFA and 7SF were quantified by a retinal specialist. In addition, the OCT images of the affected eye were observed and analyzed to confirm the existence of macular edema. Correlation analysis was done between retinal non-perfusion, retinal neovascularization and macular edema detected by UWFA. Results The results of UWFA and 7SF examination were the same. Compared with 7SF, UWFA showed 3.53 times more retinal visual area, 3.31 times more non-perfusion area, 1.94 times more neovascularization area, and 3.59 times more laser spots (t=72.13, 4.69, 1.76, 5.78;P=0.000, 0.005, 0.102, 0.000). Lesions of 11 eyes (18.97%) were found outside the range of 7SF images. By UWFA, non-perfusion area correlated with neovascularization and macular edema (χ2=12.13, 4.82;P=0.000, 0.028;C=0.42, 0.28). Non-perfusion area anterior to the equator have significantly correlations with macular edema (χ2=6.32, P=0.012, C=0.31), but non-perfusion posterior to the globe equator have no relevance with macular edema (χ2=2.88, P=0.090, C=0.22). Conclusions UWFA can detect more peripheral retinal lesions than 7SF images. By UWFA, non-perfusion area has correlation with neovascularization and macular edema.