OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Xinshuai Mistura (XM) on plasma angiotensin II (Ang II), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and N terminal pro- brain natriuretic peptide (Nt-proBNP) in patients with heart failure (HF).

METHODSFifty-nine patients with HF (NYHA class II-IV) were randomly divided into two groups, the treated group treated with XM and the control group with Wuling Pulvis (WP), both on the base of captopril treatment. The treatment course was two weeks. Plasma levels of Ang II , ANP and Nt-proBNP were observed.

RESULTSThe plasma levels of Ang I, ANP and Nt-proBNP showed an ascending tendency along with the increasing in severity of HF(P < 0.01), and significantly decreased after treatment in the treated group (P < 0.01), but with no remarkable difference as compared with those in the control group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONXM had definite therapeutic effects on excessive neuroendocrine activation in HF patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Angiotensin II ; blood ; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; blood ; Captopril ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Failure ; blood ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; blood ; Peptide Fragments ; blood ; Phytotherapy ; Single-Blind Method ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To study the effects of salt sensitivity on evolution of blood pressure and develope- ment to hypertension from adolescents to youth.Methods A baseline survey was carried out in 4623 adolescents aged 6-15 years old in Hanzhong rural area in 1987,310 of them were recruited for determination of salt sensitiv- ity using the tests of oral saline load and furosemide sodium-volume depletion.Salt sensitivity (SS) were diag- nosed in 101 while 209 subjects as no-sah sensitivity (NSS).This cohort of adolescents were followed up for av- erage 18 years.Results The response rate for this cohort of adolescents was 71.9%.At the end of follow up period,BP in subjects with baseline SS was higher in youth than that in NSS (SBP:122.9?13.1 vs 117.3?12.4, P

Objective To study the anatomy basis and biomechanical stability of euthyphoria reduction and percutaneous cannulated screw fixation for sacroiliac dislocation,and to evaluate the primary clinical efficacy of this method.Methods The distances from the anterior branches of the nerve roots at L4,and L5 and obturator nerve on the superior border of sacral ala to the sacroiliac joint were measured on 12 adult cadavers (24 sides) fixed and preserved by formalin.Models of sacroiliac dislocation were made on six pelvic specimens of fresh cadavers.A comparison of stability was made on the six models between the fixation studied here and the traditional fixations by posterior percutaneous sacroiliac screws and by anterior sacroiliac joint plates.At the same time,17 patients with type C Tile fracture were treated with our method.The clinical efficacy was analyzed for the 17 patients.Results The distances from the anterior branches of the nerve roots at L4,and L5 and obturator nerve on the superior border of sacral ala to the sacroiliac joint were 20.24?1.20mm,23.80?1.43mm,and 16.26?2.07 mm respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in stability between our method and the traditional fixation by posterior percutaneous sacroiliac screws,though ours seemed better.Follow-ups for the 17 cases averaged 2.2 years,re- vealing fine functional recovery in all according to Matta scoring.Conclusions Euthyphoria reduction and per- cutaneous cannulated screw fixation can lead to sufficient biomechanical stability for the sacroiliac joint and effec- tively avoid nervous injuries.In addition,our method is simple and clinically effective,It is recommendable for small and middle-sized hospitals.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of low T3 syndrome in patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) and explore the effect of low T3 syndrome on outcome of AMI.MethodsThree hundred and thirty-eight patients with AMI admitted to cardiac care unit(CCU) underwent examinations of thyroid function and cardial ultrasound,and were further categorized according to thyroid hormone profile.The records of noninvasive bi-level positive airway pressure(BiPAP)ventilation utilization,length of hospital stay,mortality during hospitalization were evaluated,and the related factors were analysed.ResultsOne hundred and thirty-nine of the 338 patients(41.12%) with AMI complicated with low T3 syndrome.Free triiodothyronine(FT3) was the independent influential factor for length of hospital stay.Low FT3 was significantly correlated with noninvasive BiPAP ventilation utilization and mortality during hospitalization.The average time of follow-up was(21.4?8.1) months.It was revealed by multivariate Cox regression analysis that FT3 was the chief predictor for cumulative death(risk ratio,4.25;95% confidential interval,2.30-7.87),followed by age and left ventricular ejection fraction.ConclusionThe recognition of AMI complicated with low T3 syndrome plays an important role in predicting the disease severity and outcome.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Nasal Cavity ; Nasal Lavage ; Nasal Obstruction ; prevention & control ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; prevention & control ; Rhinitis ; prevention & control ; Saline Solution, Hypertonic ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

Oxidation and free radicals participate in the pathological process of multiple diseases in organisms, and acupuncture shows good effect in antagonizing oxygen stress (OS). This article reviews the effect of acupuncture in antagonizing oxygen stress and the mechanism of its anti-free radical effect in various diseases. The authors hold that acupuncture not only has a chain-blocking effect, but also has preventive and repairing effects of anti-oxidation. And anti-OS action is one of the important mechanisms of acupuncture.
Acupuncture ; Chronic Disease ; therapy ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Oxidative Stress

OBJECTIVETo observe effect of formula of removing both phlegm and blood stasis (TYTZ) in improving hemorheology and blood fat of mini-swine with coronary heart disease of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome.

METHODThirty-six Chinese mini-swine were randomly divided to six groups: the normal control group, the model group, the Shujiangzhi group and TYTZ groups with doses of 2.0, 1.0 and 0.5 g x kg(-1), with six mice in each group. Except for the normal control group, all of other groups were fed with high-fat diet for 2 weeks. Interventional balloons are adopted to injure their left anterior descending artery endothelium. After the operation, they were fed with high-fat diet for 8 weeks to prepare the coronary heart disease model of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome. In the 8th week after the operation and administration, the changes in hemorheological parameters, serum lipid level, myocardial ischemia level and range were observed.

RESULTCompared with the normal control group, the model group showed significant increase in serum TC, TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C levels (P < 0.01), whole blood viscosity under the shear rate of 5 s (-1) and 60 s (-1) (P < 0.01), and myocardial ischemia degree and range (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, TYTZ groups revealed significant decrease in myocardial ischemia degree and range (P < 0.01), serum TC, TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C levels (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) and whole blood viscosity under the shear rate of 5 s(-1) and 60 s(-1) (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTYTZ could improve the abnormal hemorheology in Chinese mini-swine with coronary heart disease of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome, and regulate serum lipid, with a certain efficacy for coronary heart disease of phlegm-stasis cementation syndrome.

Animals ; Coronary Disease ; blood ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Female ; Hemorheology ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Mucous Membrane ; secretion ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of formula of removing both phlegm and blood stasis (TYTZ) in inhibiting the inflammatory reaction in Chinese mini-swine with coronary atherosclerosis.

METHODTotally 36 Chinese mini-swine were randomly divided to six groups: the normal control group, the model group, the Shujiangzhi group and TYTZ groups with does of 2.0, 1.0 and 0.5 g x kg(-1), and six each in every group. Except for the normal control group, all of other groups were fed with high-fat diet for 2 weeks. Interventional balloons are adopted to injure their left anterior descending artery endothelium. After the operation, they were fed with high-fat diet for 8 weeks to prepare the coronary atherosclerosis model. In the 8th week after the operation and administration, the intravascular ultrasound was adopted to observe the coronary artery plaque burden of each group and the pathological morphology of coronary artery. Such inflammatory factors as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6 were detected by ELISA. The expression of NF-kappaB p65 nuclear translocation was observed by the immunohistochemical method.

RESULTCompared with the normal control group, the model group showed significant increase in the coronary artery plaque burden at the end of the experiment (P < 0.01), notably abnormal structural changes in atherosclerotic vascular tissues, luminal stenosis, a large number of foam cells and inflammatory cell infiltration, remarkable growth of hs-CRP, TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels (P < 0.01). The immunohistochemical staining also showed the significant increase in the NF-kappaB p65 nuclear translocation of coronary artery of Chinese mini-swine in the model group. Compared with the model group, TYTZ could significantly attenuate atherosclerotic plaque burden (P < 0.01), inhibit the coronary luminal stenosis, reduce inflammatory cell infiltration, decrease such inflammatory cell factors as hs-CRP, TNF-alpha and IL-6 in serum, and inhibit the NF-kappaB p65 nuclear translocation of coronary artery (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONTYTZ can reduce the downstream inflammatory reaction by controlling NF-kappaB p65 nuclear translocation, so as to inhibit the occurrence and development of coronary atherosclerotic plaque in Chinese mini-swine.

Animals ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Coronary Artery Disease ; blood ; complications ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Female ; Inflammation ; complications ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Mucous Membrane ; drug effects ; secretion ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

OBJECTIVETo analyze and summarize changes of syndrome-related biological indices in acute lacuna encephalon infarction patients of upper hyperactivity of Gan yang syndrome (UHGYS), thus providing objective evidence for syndrome typing and disease identification.

METHODSRecruited were 50 patients at Department of Encephalopathy, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, who were in line with diagnostic criteria of UHGYS as the experimental group in this study. Another 40 healthy volunteers were recruited as the control group from May 2010 to July 2012. Blood routines (including WBC, RBC, Hb, NEUT%, and LY%), hepatic and renal functions tests (including ALT, AST, TBIL, TP, ALB, Cr, and BUN) were performed by automatic whole blood analyzer and colorimetric technique. The levels of fasting blood glucose, HbAlc, blood lipids (including TC, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C, and VLDL-C), and coagulation functions (including AT-III, PT, PTA, INR, TT, APTT, and FBG, reaction time), renin, angiotensin II, hs-CRP, and Hcy were also measured. The thyroid functions (including FT3, FT4, T3, T4, and TSH) were detected by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. The levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-6 and IL-1 in serum were measured by ELISA and radioimmunoassay respectively.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, RBC, LY%, ALT, TP, ALB, HDL-C, AT-III activities, contents of PTA and FT4 obviously decreased, TBIL, BUN, Glu, HbAlc, TSH, hs-CRP, renin, Ang II, TNF-alpha, IL-1 and IL-6 significantly increased in the experimental group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe pathological process of acute lacuna encephalon infarction patients of UHGYS was closely correlated with thyroid functions, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, the extrinsic and intrinsic coagulation systems, as well as inflammation reaction.

Acute Disease ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Infarction ; blood ; diagnosis ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Stroke, Lacunar ; blood ; diagnosis

Objective To assess the liver histopathological characteristics of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with alanine aminotransferase(ALT)lower than 2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) through liver biopsy, and try to provide subjective evidence for clinical anti-viral treatment.Methods From October 2005 to August 2010, patients accepted liver biopsy in department of infectious disease, Sichuan provincial people's hospital were enrolled. The criteria for liver biopsy was as follow, (1) HBsAg-positive for more than 6 months, (2) HBeAg-positive patients with HBV DNA ≥103 copies/ml or HBeAg-negative patients with HBV DNA≥ 104copies/ml, (3) ALT was lower than 2 times ULN for more than 6 months,and without any hepatic protectants, (4) never accepted any antiviral treatment before, including IFN or nucleoside analogues, (5) willing to accept liver biopsy. Before liver biopsy, routine blood test, prothrombin time, liver function test, hepatitis B antigen and antibody test, HBV DNA quantification were examined. The biopsy position was located under routine ultrasound, liver biopsy were performed to assess the grading of inflammation and necrosis and the degree of fibrosis. The correlation between all the factors and liver inflammation and fibrosis were analyzed. Results Totally 383 cases (240 males and 143 females) met the diagnostic criteria, aged from 16 to 59 years old and the mean age was 28.0 years old. Cases of liver inflammation in G0, G1, G2, G3andG4 grade was 2 cases (0.5％), 165 cases (43.1％), 191 cases (49.9％), 25 cases (6.5 ％ ) and 0 cases (0 ％ ) respectively, cases≥G2 grade accounted 56.4 ％ of total. Meanwhile,stage of fibrosis in S0, S1, S2, S3 and S4 was 103 cases (26.9％), 265 cases (69. 2％), 13 cases (3.4％), 2 cases (0.5％) and 0 cases (0％) respectively, percentage of liver fibrosis in S2stage and over was only 3.9％. The occurrence of serious liver inflammation was associated with age, ALT levels, HBV DNA levels and HBeAg status (P＜0.05). There was no obvious association between HBV DNA level and liver fibrosis (P＞0.05). Conclusions There were obvious liver inflammation and different degree of liver fibrosis in CHB patients with alanine aminotransferase(ALT)lower than 2 times ULN. The degree of liver injury assessed by liver biopsys is recommended as an evaluation for the necessary of anti-viral therapy.