Caveolae are cholesterol-rich pits on the surface of cell membrane,and participate in various physiological processes.Caveolin-1 is an important membrane protein constituting caveolae.It exerts biological effects through binding a variety of signaling proteins.In the pathophysiological processes of cerebrovascular disease,caveolin-1 participates in maintaining the integrity of blood-brain barrier and stability of atherosclerotic plaques,and has regulating the release of inflammatory mediators and neuroprotection.This article reviews the associated advances in research on the correlation between caveolin-1 and cerebrovascular disease in order to provide a new idea for clinical therapy.

Purpose:To compare the survival rates of hyperf ractionated radiotherapy plus concurrent chemotherapy with hyperfractionated rad iotherapy alone in the treatment of stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) a nd analyze the prognostic factors. Methods:Between December 1992 and December 1995, 144 NPC patien ts were randomized into hyperfractionated radiotherapy plus concurrent chemother apy (R +C) and hyperfractionated radiotherapy alone (R alone).Radiotherapy were similar in the two groups: 1.2 Gy/f, twice a day. Chemotherapy was given to R + C patients before and during the course of radiotherapy. Results:The 5-year overall survival rates of the R + C and R alone groups were 63.3% and 50.7%,repectively . The factors influencing the resu lts were N stage,chemotherapy and the peripheral blood hemoglobin concentration . Conclusions:Hyperfractionated radiotherapy plus concurrent chem otherapy can improve the survival rate, especially for the patients with N2-N3 stage.The negative prognostic factors for Ⅲ/Ⅳ NPC are N2-N3 stage, radiothera py alone and the reduction of hemoglobin during treatment.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have indicated that hyperhomocysteinemia can induce atherosclerosis by enhancing oxidative stress, whereas Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) can scavenge oxygen-derived free radicals.OBJECTIVE: To observe the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) induced by homocysteine (Hcy), and investigate the effect of GbE.DESIGN: A randomized controlled animal trial.SETTING: Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.MATERrALS: Twenty-four healthy male rabbits of 6 months old. Dl-methionine (Sigma Chemical, Co.,Ltd.); GbE (Guizhou Yibai Pharmaceutical Company; powder).METHODS: The experiment was accomplished in the Laboratory of Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from March 2003 to April 2004. ① After adaptive feeding for 2 weeks, the rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: Model group (n =12): The rabbits were treated with subcutaneous injection of dl-methionine (80 mg/kg per day); GbE group (n =8): The rabbits were administrated with GbE (mixed with feed, 50 m/kg per day) at 1 hour before the subcutaneous injection of dl-methionine; Control group (n=4): The rabbits were injected with equivalent sodium chloride. They were administrated for 7 weeks continuously. ②Histological changes were observed under light and electron microscopes: ROS level was determined with colorimetries (721 visible spectrophotometer); The expressions of CAMs and NF-κB in endothelial cells were detected with immunohistochemical methods; The concentration of plasma Hcy was measured with high-performance liquid chromatography.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Histological changes, ROS level and expressions of CAMs and NF-κB in endothelial cells.RESULTS: All the 24 rabbits were involved in the analysis of results. ① ROS level: After administration, the ROS level in the model group was obviously increased (2.92±0.20,2.48±0.26, P ＜ 0.05), whereas those in the GbE group and control group (2.41±0.23, 2.43±0.20) had no obvious differences as compared with those before administration (2.31±0.27,2.47±0.32, P ＞ 0.05). ② Histological changes: Aortas of rabbits in the model group presented initial changes of atherosclerosis, including shedding or necrosis of endothelial cells and nuclear pyknosis or standing in a clutter of smooth muscle cells. There were scarcely any changes in the GbE group and control group. ③ Expressions of CAMs and NF-κB in endothelial cells: After treatments, the expressions of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and NF-κB in the model group were obviously higher than those in the control group (P ＜0.05), and there were no significant differences between the GbE group and control group (P ＞ 0.05). ④ Concentration of plasma Hcy: After 7 weeks, the concentration of plasma Hcy was higher in the model group and GbE group than in the control group [(25.01±6.80), (26.71±2.36), (16.85± 1.64) μmol/L, P ＜ 0.05].CONCLUSION: Hcy-induced oxidative stress plays an important role in NF-κB activation. GbE might suppress the activation of NF-κB and expression of CAMs by reducing ROS.

Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; complications ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Mesenteric Vascular Occlusion ; complications ; drug therapy ; Middle Aged ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Treatment Outcome

To study the effect of different storage conditions and storage time on herb quality of Lonicera macranthoides, different packaging materials including vacuum plastic bags, plastic bags, woven bags, sealed with endometrial bags, paper bags, sack bags were selected for the study under different storage conditions including room temperature, 5 degrees C refrigerator, low temperature of - 20 degrees C refrigerator and desiccator. Twenty-four batches of samples were used for the study, and active ingredients were determined. The experimental results showed that the ingredients in each storage group changed with the storage time, storage conditions (storage environment, packaging). Under the same storage time, the storage environment (temperature, humidity) had effect on the stability of herb quality. Low temperature had less effect on herb quality. The effect of packaging on herb quality was as following: plastic vacuum packaging > woven with endometrial sealed packaging > plastic bag > woven bag > sack bags > paper bags. Under the same storage conditions, with the increase of storage time, caffeic acid content increased slowly, and other five ingredients content decreased gradually. Storage time affected significantly on the intrinsic quality (chemical composition) and appearance of herb. It is suggested that low temperature (5 degrees C), dark and sealed storage are suitable for storage of L. macranthoides herb, the storage time should be not more than 24 months.
Desiccation ; Drug Packaging ; Drug Storage ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Lonicera ; chemistry ; Organic Chemicals ; analysis ; Quality Control ; Time Factors

Objective To investigate clinical value of procalcitonin (PCT ) in guiding treatment of infection in elderly patients with heart failure .Methods A total of 120 cases of elderly patients with heart failure and infection were divided into control group (50 cases) ,receiving conventional anti-infection treatment ,and observation group(70 cases) ,receiving adjusted anti-infection treat-ment based on serum PCT levels .Treatment efficiency ,cost of treatment ,hospitalization duration and other indicators were com -pared between the two groups .Results Effective rate of observation group was 78 .57% ,which was not significantly different with the 78 .00% of control group ( P > 0 .05) .Cost of treatment ,hospitalization duration ,application time of antibiotics ,antibacterial drug costs ,superinfection and mortality were significantly different between the two groups (P< 0 .05) .After treatment ,levels of e-rythrocyte sedimentation rate ,C-reaction protein ,white blood cells and neutrophil in the two groups were significantly improved (P< 0 .05) .After treatment ,C-reaction protein level of observation group was lower than control group (P < 0 .05) .Conclusion PCT based anti-infection treatment could help shorten the treatment time ,reducing treatment costs and improving outcomes ,and might be worthy of clinical application .

Alzheimer’ s disease ( AD) , a central nervous system degenerative disease, is characterized by progressive cognitive impairment and memory damage. Although intensive research leads to a better understanding of AD pathology, no new medi-cines are found to prevent, delay or stop the progression of AD. Three cholinesterase inhibitors ( donepezil, rivastigmine and ga-lantamine) and an N-methyl D-aspartase NMDA receptor antag-onist, memantine have been approved in clinic for AD treat-ment, but these treatments only have modest symptomatic effects for relatively short time periods. Therefore, to find effective medicines to prevent, improve and treat AD is urgent. It is well known, the traditional Chinese medicine resources are abundant in China. Chinese medicines, including the active ingredients and compounds, have been used in dementia treatment for a long history. The review is aimed to summarize the application and related mechanisms of natural products such as huperzine A, ginsenosides, L-3-n-butylphathlide, TSG and so on in AD treat-ment.

Objective To establish MSP (methylation-specific PCR) method for detecting bcl-2 gene, to study bcl-2 methylation in the development of breast cancer and the relationship between bcl-2 methylation and expression. Methods Designing the MSP primer of bcl-2 gene, the methylations in CpG island of bcl-2 gene 5'-regulatory region in 30 cases of normal, 25 cases of atypical hyperplasia(precancerous condition), 40 cases of lymphnode(-)(low-stage) and 45 cases of lymphnode(+)(high-stage) breast tissue were detected by using MSP. The expressions of bcl-2 were detected by using SP immunohistochemical technique. Results The positive rates of bcl-2 methylation in normal, atypical hyperplasia, lymphnode(-) and lymphnode(+) breast tissue were 10.0%,32.0%,40.0% and 53.3% respectively. The methylation of bcl-2 was increased and the expression of bcl-2 was decreased in the development of breast cancer(P

Objective To explore the expressions of Topo-Ⅱ,GST-π in gastric cancer tissues and normal gastric mucosa tissues,to reveal its relationship with clinical pathological features and significance.Methods Immunohistochemical method was used to detect Topo-Ⅱ,GST-π expressions in 100 cases of gastric carcinoma and 20 cases of normal gastric mucosa,make a comprehensive analysis combined with clinical pathology data.Results There were significant difference of expression of Topo-Ⅱ,GST-π between the normal gastric mucosa tissues and gastric cancer of different degree of differentiation.Topo-Ⅱ positive expression rate of 5.0 ％ (1/20),100 ％ (30/30),96.7 ％ (29/30) and 87.5 ％ (35/40) respectively; GST-π positive expression rate were 60.0 ％ (12/20),83.3 ％ (24/30),96.7 ％ (29/30) and 100.0 ％ (40/40) respectively (P ＜ 0.05).The expressions of Topo-Ⅱ,GST-π in gastric cancer tissue were not relevant to patient' s sex,age,tumor location,infiltration depth (P ＞ 0.05).Topo-Ⅱ associated with the differentiation degree and lymph node metastasis of tumors,with the decreasing degree of tumor differentiation,lymph node metastasis,Topo-Ⅱ expression also decreased.GST-π was associated with tumor diameter,degree of differentiation and lymph node metastasis,the lower the degree of differentiation,lymph node metastasis,tumor diameter the more,GST-π expression increased (P ＜ 0.05).GST-π and Topo-Ⅱ were negative correlation and both expressed in gastric cancer tissue (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The expressions of Topo-Ⅱ in gastric cancer tissue is associated with the differentiation degree and lymph node metastasis of the tumor.GST-π is associated with tumor diameter,the degree of differentiation and lymph node metastasis.GST-π and Topo-Ⅱ in gastric cancer tissues are negatively correlated.

Objective To investigate the changes in pentane (marker of lipid pemxidation) concentuation in the expired air induced by hepatic ischemia-reperfusion(IR)injury in rabbits.Methods Thirty healthy male Japanese white rabbits weighing 2.4-3.0 kg Were randomly divided into 2 groups(n=15 each):group Ⅰ sham operation and group Ⅱ hepatic IR.Anesthesia was induced with 3% pentobarbital 30mg/kg iv and maintained with The animals were tracheostomized and mechanically ventilated.Femoral artery and vein were cannulated for BP monitoring and blood sampling.Hepatic blood flow was occluded for 25 min followed by 180 min reperfusion.The expired air was collected before(baseline,T0)and at 1,10 and 25 min of ischemia and at 1,10,25,60,120 and 180 rain of reperfusion (T1-9) for determination of pentane concentration which was extracted by solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) and detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrography(GC-MS).Blood samples were also taken at the above time points for measurement of serm ALT,AST and SOD activities and MDA concentration.The animals were killed at the end of 180 min reperfusion.Liver specimens were obtained for histology.Results There was no significant difference in age,body weight,MAP and HR between the two groups.There was no significant change in pentane concentration in the expired air and the ALT,AST and SOD activities and MDA concentration at all time points as compared with the baseline in sham operation group.In IR group the pentane concentration in the expired air was significantly increased at T4,5 and the ALT and AST activities and MDA concentration were significantly increased and SOD activity was significantly decreased at T7-9 as compared with the basehne and the sham operation group.Conclusion The pentane concentration in the expired air can reflect the occurrence of lipid peroxidation during hepatic IR injury.