Objective To investigate the effect of exercise therapy on I° adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Methods 70 cases with I°AIS were included. 32 patients correcting posture themselves for 0.5 year or above were as control group, and the other 38 cases who accepted exercise therapy for 0.5 year were as treatment group. Their X-ray of spine before and after treatment were compared. Results The Cobb's angle, rotation of the spine, and compensatory improved after treatment in the treatment group (P<0.01), but no significant improvement was obsereved in the control group after 0.5 year. Conclusion Exercise therapy is safe and effective on I° AIS.

Objective to explore the current situation and related influencing factors on the retention time of patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Methods Information on basic situation and daily treatment of the patients were collected from the 7 MMT clinics opened in the pro-two batch in Hunan province. Retention rate and influencing factors were analyzed. Results (1) The retention rates after 6 and 12 months of MMT became 72.06% and 49.65% respectively. (2) The retention rates of high-dosage group and low-dosage group were 85.03% and 68.03% after 6 months on MMT program while became 60.48% and 46.28% after 12 months of MMT respectively. (3) The mean retention time of HIV+ patients and HIV- patients were 9.46 months and 8.62 months respectively during the 12 months follow-up observation, showing a significant difference. (4) Patients who took large dose methadone, did not share needles, at older age or HIV+ , were prone to keep MMT at a long period. Conclusion The retention rates for 6 months and 12 months in the MMT program in Hunan province were similar to the national data. Dose, type of drug abuse, age and HIV status were related to the period of retention.

OBJECTIVETo study the features of hypertension and vessel endothelium functional parameter in people living at the community level as well as the risk factors of hypertension. Differences of angiotensin II (Ang II ), prostacyclin (PGI2) and nitric oxide (NO) among normal group and three hypertension groups were also studied.

METHODSBy cluster sampling, 1134 adult Han people were selected from the residential communities. Medical history was documented and measurements of body height, body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference and blood pressure were performed. Serum NO levels were determined by cadmium reduction method while plasma Ang II and PGI2 concentration were determined by radioimmunoassay. SPSS 13.0 was used for data analysis.

RESULTSThe total ratio of hypertension from people living at the community was 44.5%, with the standardized prevalence of hypertension as 15.3%. With the increase of age, the prevalence of hypertension also increased. Overweight and obesity seemed to be independent risk factors for hypertension. History of smoking and drinking and gender did not enter the logistic equation for hypertension. The amount of plasma Ang II concentration of the three hypertension groups was significantly lower than that in the normal group while the lowest group appeared to from the one that hypertension was under control. The NO and PGI2 levels of the two groups whose hypertension had been known were significantly higher than in the normal group while the difference between the group whose hypertension had not been measured and the normal group was not found.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence of hypertension had been increasing. Control of body weight seemed to be a useful way for prevention of hypertension. We assumed that the negative feedback regulation of renin-angiotonin-aldosterone system in hypertension patient still existed which called for the research on the mechanism of hypertension.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Angiotensin II ; analysis ; Cluster Analysis ; Endothelium, Vascular ; physiology ; Epoprostenol ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nitric Oxide ; analysis ; Obesity ; epidemiology ; Overweight ; epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

To develop and validate an ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantification of baicalin and chlorogenic acid in human plasma after iv infusion of Yinhuang injection, the analytes were isolated from plasma by protein precipitation with methanol. Then they were chromatographied on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column (50 mm x 2.1 mm ID, 1.7 microm) at 40 degrees C. The mobile phase A consisted of water and 0.1% formic acid. The mobile phase B consisted of methanol and 0.1% formic acid. The analytes were eluted from the column with a linear gradient from 5% B to 80% B in 5 min, then hold for 0.5 min before returning to initial condition. The flow rate was 0.35 mL x min(-1). A tandem mass spectrometer equipped with electrospray ionization source was used as detector. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using the precursor to product ion pairs of m/z 447-->271 (for baicalin), m/z 353-->191 (for chlorogenic acid) and m/z 287-->287 (for internal standard) were used to quantification. The linear concentration ranges of the calibration curves for baicalin and chlorogenic acid ranged from 9.6 to 1540 ng x mL(-1) and from 7.5 to 1200 ng x mL(-1), respectively. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation (RSD) across three validations run over the entire concentration range was less than 10.2% for both baicalin and chlorogenic acid. After iv infusion of Yinhuang injection to the volunteers, the concentration-time curves of baicalin and chlorogenic acid fitted the two-compartment and three-compartment model. T(1/2)alpha were (4.47 +/- 0.89) and (7.65 +/- 4.42) min, T(1/2)beta were (46.22 +/- 10.03) and (34.40 +/- 19.16) min, respectively. The method was proved to be highly sensitive, selective, and suitable for pharmacokinetic investigations of both baicalin and chlorogenic acid.
Area Under Curve ; Chlorogenic Acid ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Chromatography, Liquid ; methods ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacokinetics ; Female ; Flavonoids ; blood ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Injections, Intravenous ; Lonicera ; chemistry ; Male ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; methods ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEThis study aims to establish and evaluate the methodology of isolated rabbit eye (IRE) test.

METHODSIRE test was performed according to modifications of the in vitro toxicology (INVITTOX) Protocol No.85: Rabbit enucleated eye test by European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), and then 26 chemicals and 26 cosmetic products were tested in both in vitro IRE and in vivo Draize tests. A statistical analysis was conducted to determine the relevance of the IRE test to the data generated in the Draize test.

RESULTSIRE test was established successfully in our laboratory. It was shown that ranking correlation and class concordance were fairly well between the IRE test and the Draize test for 26 reference chemicals (Fisher's Exact Test χ(2)=51.314, P<0.001; McNemar P=0.261; Gamma=0.960, P<0.001; Kappa=0.843, P<0.001) and 26 cosmetic products (Fisher's Exact Test χ(2)=15.522, P<0.001; McNemar P=0.311; Gamma=0.967, P<0.001; Kappa=0.611, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONIRE test was established successfully for in vitro testing of eye irritation as an alternative to Draize test.

Animal Testing Alternatives ; Animals ; Cosmetics ; toxicity ; Eye ; drug effects ; Irritants ; toxicity ; Rabbits ; Toxicity Tests ; methods

Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Female ; Humans ; Hypercalcemia ; etiology ; Mediastinal Cyst ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Parathyroid Diseases ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Ultrasonography

Aim To study the combination of lysinespecifc demethylase 1 (lysine-specifc demethylase 1, LSD1) inhibitor pargyline and the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin on the proliferation, migration and invasion of murine triple negative breast cancer 4T-1 cells. Methods In vitro, the effect on the proliferation, invasion and migration of 4T-1 cells of the combination of these two drugs were detected with CCK-8 method, lactate dehydrogenase release test, Chou-Talay method, Scratch test, Transwell assay, Western blot and etc. Tumor-bearing mice were used to investigate the combined effect of these two drugs on the proliferation of 4T-1 cells in vivo. Results The combination of pargyline and doxorubicin effectively inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of 4T-1 cells. Compared with single drug group, the combination of these two drugs could significantly inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer and prolong the survival time of mice with triple negative breast cancer. Conclusions The combined application of pargyline and doxorubicin has a synergistic inhibitory effect on the proliferation, migration and invasion of mouse breast cancer 4T-1 cells, and has potential value for clinical treatment on triplenegative breast cancer.

Tanshinone IIa is a key ingredient extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), and is widely used to treat various cardiovascular diseases. Vascular calcification is a common pathological change of cardiovascular tissues in patients with chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis. However, whether Tanshinone IIa inhibits vascular calcification and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. This study aims to investigate whether Tanshinone IIa can inhibit vascular calcification using high phosphate-induced vascular smooth muscle cell and aortic ring calcification model, and high dose vitamin D₃ (vD₃)-induced mouse models of vascular calcification. Alizarin red staining and calcium quantitative assay showed that Tanshinone IIa significantly inhibited high phosphate-induced vascular smooth muscle cell and aortic ring calcification. qPCR and Western blot showed that Tanshinone IIa attenuated the osteogenic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells. In addition, Tanshinone IIa also significantly inhibited high dose vD₃-induced mouse aortic calcification and aortic osteogenic transition. Mechanistically, Tanshinone IIa inhibited the activation of NF-κB and β-catenin signaling in normal vascular smooth muscle cells. Similar to Tanshinone IIa, inhibition of NF-κB and β-catenin signaling using the chemical inhibitors SC75741 and LF3 attenuated high phosphate-induced vascular smooth muscle cell calcification. These results suggest that Tanshinone IIa attenuates vascular calcification at least in part through inhibition of NF-κB and β-catenin signaling, and Tanshinone IIa may be a potential drug for the treatment of vascular calcification.
Animals ; Mice ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; beta Catenin/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/metabolism* ; Vascular Calcification/metabolism* ; Phosphates/metabolism*