AIM: To campare the therapeutic effects and security between actarit (MS 932) and methotrexate(MTX) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA). 　METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients with RA were randomly divided into two groups. Eighty patients of actarit group receved actarit, 100 mg, po, tid for 12 wk. The other forty patients received methotrexate 10 mg, po, qw for 12 wk as control.　RESULTS: The total effective rates were 73 % for actarit and 78 % for MTX (P>0.05). The adverse reactions were 9 % and 18 %(P<0.05).　CONCLUSION: Actarit is as same as methotrexate in the therapeutic effect, but actarit is better than MTX in security.

The aim of the paper is to reveals the variations of Dendrobium officinale amino acids in different strains and parts for breeding excellent varieties, and providing scientific basis for the expanding of medicinal or edible parts. The contents of 17 amino acids in 11 strains of D. officinale were determined by hydrochloric acid hydrolysis method. The total amino acids content of leaves was from 6.76 to 7.97 g per 100 g, and the stems was from 1.61 to 2.44 g per 100 g. As the content of amino acids in leaves was significantly higher than that of stems, and the composition was close to the ideal protein standard proposed by FAO/WHO. The leaves of D. officinale had the good prospect for the development of functional foods. The 9 x 66 strain which with high yield and polysaccharide content had the highest amino acids content both in stems and leaves, indicated crossbreeding could improve the quality of varieties. Compared the amino acids content of D. officinale in two main harvest periods, the harvest time has a significant impact on amino acids content of D. officinale. This study demonstrates that the harvesting time of D. officinale stems is suitable for leaves as well, which is the period before bolssom.
Amino Acids ; chemistry ; Dendrobium ; chemistry ; classification ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Phylogeny ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; classification

Objective To investigate the effect of coupled plasma filtration adsorption (CPFA) on plasma cytokines:TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6,cellular immunity,blood lactate acid concentration,heart rate,respiration rate,oxygenation index,hemodynamics,blood cells counts,and prognosis in patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS).Methods This was a prospective,randomized clinical trial in 45 patients diagnosed as MODS.Patients were randomly assigned to hemoperfution with resin adsorption (HP) + continuous venous-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) group,CPFA group and CVVH group.The general clinical data,APACHE Ⅱ score,number of failure organ and previous mentioned biomarkers were documented.Blood samples were collected before and after blood filtration with any one of these procedures.The plasma samples were isolated and stored with frozen at-60 ℃.Data were statistically analyzed with SPSS 13.0 version software.Results In CPFA group,plasma cytokines,TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6,decreased markedly after plasma adsorption for two hours (P ＜ 0.01);and plasma concentrations of IL-6 were further descended after subsequent CVVH for 10 hours (P ＜ 0.05).In HP + CVVH group,plasma cytokines,TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6,decreased markedly after HP (P ＜ 0.01),and plasma concentrations of IL-6 were further descended after subsequent CVVH for 10 hours (P ＜ 0.05).In CVVH group,plasma cytokines,TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6,decreased after CVVH for 12 hours (P ＜ O.05).Blood lactate acid concentration,heart rate,respiration rate,oxygenation index,T-lymphocytes subgroups (CD3 +,CD4 +,CD8 +,CD4 +/CD8 + ratio),clinical symptoms were improved and dose of vasoactive agent was reduced in the patients of three groups without differences among them.The counts of red blood cells,white blood cells and platelets after CPFA and CVVH showed no significant changes.There was no significant difference in blood cell counts between CPFA and CVVH groups.After HP + CVVH,there was a trend of decrease in platelet count (P ＜ 0.05).Platelet counts were significanfly higher in patients treated with CPFA and CVVH group than those in patients treated with HP + CVVH group (P ＜ 0.05).There were 6 patients died in HP + CVVH group,6 patients died in CPFA group and 5 patients died in CVVH group within 28days.Conclusions The comparison of efficacy of blood filtration among 3 modalities of HP + CVVH,CPFA and CVVH showed CPFA had higher capacity of Inflammatory medium scavenging than CVVH,and had less damage effect on blood visible component,especially on platelet compared with HP + CVVH.CPFA was an effective and safety modality in the treatment of the patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

OBJECTIVEAnalyzing the relationships between peripheral blood CD4+ CD25hi regulatory T (Treg) cells and peripheral blood immune status or plasma HIV-lviral load in HIV-infected individuals,so as to determine whether Treg were related to the progression of HIV-infected disease.

METHODS116 HIV-infected patients in different stages and 21 healthy control individuals were included in this study. The CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts were determined by a standard 4-color flow cytometry technique. The Treg cells were examined with 3-color immune staining flow cytometry. The plasma HIV-1 viral load was detected by real time PCR.

RESULTSThe frequencies of Treg cells decreased in HIV-infected individuals with high CD4+ T cell counts( > 300/microl) compared with normal controls. With the progression of disease the frequencies of Treg cells were raised gradually, until were increased in HIV-infected individuals with low levels of CD4+ T cell counts ( < 100/microl). In addition, the frequencies of Treg cells were inversely related to CD4+ T cell counts and CD4+ /CD8+ ratio, data showed a statistically significant (respectively, r = -0.564, P < 0.001; r = -0.377, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the proportions of Treg cells were closely related to plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load (r = 0.514, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONCD4 CD25hi Treg cells should be a kind of important cells participating the immunopathogenesis of AIDS. It may play different roles in different stages of HIV-infected disease. The exact mechanism of Treg cells in the progression of the HIV-infected disease needs to be investigate further.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Cells, Cultured ; Disease Progression ; Female ; HIV Infections ; immunology ; pathology ; virology ; HIV-1 ; genetics ; immunology ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology ; Viral Load