Objectives:To study working memory deficit after stroke.Methods:118 patients with stroke di- agnosed by CT scans(study group)and 118 healthy people(control group)were collected from April to December in 2003.All objects were evaluated with Wechsler Memory Scale(WMS),Trail Making Test A and B,and Wisconsin Card Test(WSCT).Results:There were significant difference between the study group and control group in execu- tive function,attention function,visual recognition and visual recall;The study group had more error in Trail making Test B,A and executive error((?)?SE was 200.0?15.2,76.3?10.4,23.9?0.9)than control group(133.3?7.2, 24.2?1.6,9.9?0.5).Compared with control,patients with stroke of different locations had different deficits in work- ing memory:①for frontal stroke,the deficit manifested in executive function,digital span(P0.05).④for thalamic stroke,the deficit manifested in executive function,digital span,visual recognition and visual recall,(P

OBJECTIVETo explore the association of 8-hydroxyguanine glycosidase OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism with semen quality and the risk of male infertility.

METHODSThis case-control study included 620 idiopathic infertile patients and 385 normal fertile controls. We determined their genotypes by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and analyzed their semen quality by computer-aided semen analysis (CASA).

RESULTSThe individuals with OGG1 326 Cys/Cys showed significantly lower sperm motility and concentration ([52.1 +/- 26.7]% and (3.75 +/- 0.91) x 10(6)/ml, ln transformed value) than the Ser/Ser carriers ([59.0 +/- 21.8] % and (4.12 +/- 0.88) x 10(6)/ml, ln transformed value) (P < 0.05). The risk of male infertility increased 69% in the OGG1 326Cys allele carriers as compared with the Ser carriers (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.24 -2.31).

CONCLUSIONOGG1 326 Ser/Cys polymorphism might contribute to the risk of male infertility in the southern Chinese population.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; DNA Glycosylases ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Semen Analysis ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate MR imaging features of femoral marrow in treated ?-thalassemia major.Methods MR imaging of the proximal femoral marrow was performed in 35 cases of ?-thalassemia major and 45 age-and sex-matched normal children as control.Coronal images of femoral marrow with the techniques of spin echo and fast field echo(FFE)were obtained.On T_1-weighted imaging the red and yellow femoral marrow were judged and marrow distribution was classified into five groups.The hemosiderosis of marrow was judged on the basis of signal intensity of marrow on FFE imaging.The marrow distribution classification and the hemosiderosis on MR imaging were correlated with clinical features.Results On FFE,marrow hemosiderosis occurred in 15 patients with a marked hypo-intensity signal and was related to the age(P=0.032).On T_1-weighted imaging,the femoral marrow in 35 patients was classified as groupⅢand IV,while the marrow distribution was groupⅠorⅡin all normal children,there was statistically significant difference(P

BACKGROUNDSericin peptide (SP) has shown a powerful anti-oxidant property in a host of studies. The present study was designed to investigate the possible protective effects of SP against alcohol-induced gastric lesions in mice and to explore the potential mechanisms.

METHODSAnimals were randomly divided into 5 groups: control, alcohol (56%, 14.2 ml/kg), SP-treated mice (0.2, 0.4, 0.8 g/kg). Mice were pretreated with SP before administering alcohol, the concentration of ethanol in serum and urine, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the gastric mucosa were measured, subsequently, the pathological evaluation of stomach was also observed.

RESULTSOf the animals pre-treated with SP (0.4, 0.8 g/kg), the concentration of ethanol in serum was significantly decreased, while increased in urine as compared to the alcohol-administered alone animals. Alcohol administration caused severe gastric damage as indicated by markedly increased MDA levels and decreased antioxidants, such as reduced GSH, GSH-PX and SOD in the gastric tissue while the CAT activity was not altered. On SP administration there was a reversal in these values towards normal. Histopathological studies confirmed the beneficial role of SP, which was in accordance with the biochemical parameters.

CONCLUSIONSSP could protect gastric mucosa from alcohol-induced mucosal injury. These gastroprotective effects might be due to increasing 'first-pass metabolism' in the stomach and hastening ethanol elimination directly through the urine. SP might also play an important role in the protection of the structure and function of gastric mitochondria, at least partly based on their anti-oxidant effect.

Amino Acids ; analysis ; Animals ; Cytoprotection ; Ethanol ; blood ; toxicity ; urine ; Gastric Mucosa ; drug effects ; pathology ; Glutathione ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Sericins ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

Objective： The current study was designed to clarify whether hepatopoietin (HPO) stimulates autonomous growth of hepatoma cell by autocrine loop. Methods： The authors conducted experiments in vitro with hepatoma cell lines. RT-PCR, ELISA and Western blot were used to examine HPO expression in hepatoma cells. Blocking effect of HPO by HPO neutralizing antibody was utilized and the changes of cell proliferation was observed. Results： HPO was expressed by hepatoma cells and secreted into the medium. Moreover, the HPO antibody inhibited specifically the autonomous proliferation of hepatoma cell and antagonized the stimulatory effect of concentrated conditioned medium derived from hepatoma cell HepG2. Conclusion： The results strongly suggest that HPO acts as an autocrine factor to maintain the autonomous growth of hepatoma cells.

OBJECTIVETo constitute HPLC fingerprint of the methanol extract from Swertia mussotii grown in Sichuan Province.

METHODRP-HPLC, methanol and water including 0.02% acid as mobile phase, gradient elution, flow rate 1.0 mL x min(-1), the detection wavelength was 260 nm, temperature was 30 degrees C.

RESULTThe RSD values of peak area and retention time of common peaks in precision, repeatability and stability were lower than 5.0%, respectively, similarity was over 0.805 in S. mussotii collected from 10 different habitats.

CONCLUSIONAll results above exhibit that this method is simple, practicable, and reliable as a standard method in controlling the quality of S. mussotii.

China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Swertia ; chemistry

To investigate the secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi Pericinia sp. F-31. Column chromatography on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC were used to separate and purify the compounds. Two compounds were isolated from the fermentation broth of Periconia sp. Their structures were identified as 5-(1-hydroxyhexyl) -6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one (1) and 2-(3-hydroxy-4-methylphenyl) -propanoic acid (2). Compound 1 was a new lactone compound, compound 2 was new natural product, and the NMR data of compound 2 was reported for the first time.
Annona ; microbiology ; Ascomycota ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Endophytes ; chemistry ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Lactones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Mass Spectrometry ; Molecular Structure

OBJECTIVETo study the protective effects of Panax japonics (PJ) on alcohol-induced gastric lesion in mice and the possible mechanisms.

METHODMale ICR mice were randomized into six groups: normal, control, PJ (1.5, 3.0, 6.0 g x kg(-1)) and Yinduoan (1.5 g x kg(-1)). The mice were pretreated with PJ before administering ethanol to observe the effect on the concentration of ethanol in serum and urine. The contents of MDA, GSH and GSH-PX, CAT and SOD activities were measured in serum and gastric mucosa, and subsequently, the pathological evaluation of stomach was also observed.

RESULTThe concentration of ethanol in serum was evidently decreased after PJ (1.5, 3.0 g x kg(-1)) was administrated because the ethanol was eliminated fleetly through urine. Synchronously the PJ reduced the content of MDA and increased the GSH increased in serum and gastric, besides, it increased the enzymatic activities of GSHPX, CAT and SOD, and the ethanol-induced gastric mitochondria structure injury were ameliorated so as to make the function to normal.

CONCLUSIONBased on these observations, one could conclude that the PJ is a potent protective agent against ethanol-induced gastric damages. One mechanism may be related with inhibiting the absorbability of ethanol at gastrointestinal tract, decreasing the concentration of ethanol in serum, and accelerating the ethanol elimination through urine so as to alleviate the ethanol-induced damage to gastrointestinal mucosal, enhancing the first-pass metabolism in stomach, and particularly increasing the antioxidant levels in serum and gastric. These gastroprotective effects might be, at least partly, through ameliorating the gastric mitochondria structure.

Animals ; Catalase ; blood ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Ethanol ; Gastric Mucosa ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Glutathione ; blood ; metabolism ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; blood ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Microscopy, Electron ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; ultrastructure ; Panax ; chemistry ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Protective Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Stomach Diseases ; blood ; chemically induced ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of polysaccharide nucleic acid of BCG (BCG-PSN) injection on immune and pulmonary function in asthmatic children complicated with allergic rhinitis.

METHODSThirty-seven cases were separated at random into two groups, the BCG-PSN group (17 cases) was treated with BCG-PSN plus inhaled glucocortisteriods, and the control group (20 cases) was treated with inhaled glucocortisteriods only. The children in both groups were followed up for 6 months to record their lung function, allergic rhinitis scores, frequency of asthmatic attacks and respiratory infection. The levels of interleukin (IL)-4, interferon-gamma (IFN-g) and plasma total IgE were detected by using double antibody sandwich ELISA at the beginning and the end of treatment.

RESULTSIn comparison with the control group, after treatment, the levels of IFN-g and the ratio of IFN-g/IL4 in the BCG-PSN group significantly increased, whereas the level of IL-4 and the plasma total IgE significantly decreased (P less than 0.05), while those of the control group had no significant change. The lung function of both groups had significant improvement (p less than 0.05). The frequencies of asthmatic attacks in BCG-PSN and control groups were 0.81 +/- 0.20 vs. 1.72 +/- 0.80, and the difference was statistically significant. The frequencies of respiratory tract infection in BCG-PSN and control groups were 1.15 +/- 0.55 vs. 3.21 +/- 0.73, the difference was significant.

CONCLUSIONBCG-PSN may be able to correct the imbalance of Th1/Th2 and improve the lung function of children with asthma complicated with allergic rhinitis, which suggest that the immune adjusting treatment should be emphasized besides anti-inflammation therapy.

Adjuvants, Immunologic ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Adolescent ; Asthma ; blood ; complications ; drug therapy ; BCG Vaccine ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-4 ; blood ; Male ; Nucleic Acids ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial ; chemistry ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; blood ; complications ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of leukotriene receptor antagonist on the levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines and the serum cysteinyl leukotrenes (CysLTs) in infants and young children with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) pneumonia.

METHODSThirty-seven infants and young children with RSV pneumonia were divided into two groups after discharge. The cases in group 1 (n=24) were treated with a leukotriene receptor antagonist, Singulair 4 mg once daily for 12 weeks; the cases in group 2 (n=13) were treated with budesonide aerosol 200 ug once or twice daily for 12 weeks. The serum CysLTs, IFN-gamma and IL-4 were detected with enzyme_linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for all the 37 cases, and 10 healthy infants of the same age served as controls.

RESULTSThe serum CysLTs level in the cases with RSV pneumonia was significantly higher than that in controls (P<0.05). There was an imbalance in expression of Th1 and Th2 cytokines (IFN-gamma and IL-4 ) in these cases. Both Singulair and budesonide aerosol could correct the imbalance of Th1 and Th2 cytokines. The serum CysLTs level declined after treatment with Singulair in 24 cases, but no significant change occurred after treatment with budesonide aerosol in the remaining 13 cases.

CONCLUSIONSThe serum CysLTs level in children with RSV pneumonia was higher than that in healthy children, and there was an imbalance of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in these infants, which was similar to those with asthma. Leukotriene receptor antagonist may be effective in preventing children with RSV pneumonia from evolving into asthma.

Child, Preschool ; Cytokines ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Leukotriene Antagonists ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Male ; Pneumonia, Viral ; drug therapy ; immunology ; virology ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections ; drug therapy ; immunology ; virology ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; drug effects ; immunology ; Th1 Cells ; drug effects ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; drug effects ; immunology