? AIM: To investigate the immunosuppression of artemisinin in the early-phase response( EPR) of allergic conjunctivitis in a murine model induced by pollen.?METHODS:Twenty-five Balb/c mice were divided into five groups at random: A: model group, B: artemisinin topical treatment group, C: oral artemisinin group, D:dexamethasone topical treatment group, E: negative control group. Balb/c mice were first sensitized with mixture of ragweed crude extract and complete Freund’s adjuvant by left footpad and root of tails injection at days 0. At days 7 and 14, mice were strengthen sensitized by intraperitoneal injection. Negative control group replacd with a mixture of equal amounts of Freund’s adjuvant and PBS mixture. Treatment time was between 21-27d:group B received 1% topical artemisinin eye drops 4 times per day; group C received artemisinin at doses of 600mg/kg orally once per day; group D received topical dexamethasone eye drops 4 times per day. The model and naive groups replaced with solvent for control. After treatment, mice were excited by ragweed pollen crude infusion drops. Within 1h after the excitation, the eyes were taken for histopathology testing, the serum for detection of specific IgE for ragweed pollen.?RESULTS:After excitation, allergy symptoms of model group were more significantly compared with negative control group and the treatment groups; allergy symptom score, mast cell degranulation ratios and the ragweed pollen specific IgE in serum in the topical treatment groups and oral group were higher than that in the negative control group, but significantly lower than that in model group.?CONCLUSION: Artemisinin topical treatment and oral treatment for mice could inhibit the symptoms of pollen allergic conjunctivitis, early-phase response of mast cell degranulation ratio and specific IgE generation for ragweed pollen, suggesting that artemisinin has some therapeutic effect for pollen allergic conjunctivitis.

Objective To establish a method for the determination of hymecromone content and dissolution in Compound Dantong Capsules by HPLC.Methods The content and dissolution of hymecromone was determined by HPLC.The chromatographic conditions were: CAPCELL PAK C18 Column(5 ? m,4.6 mm? 150 mm),methanol-0.01 mol/L phosphate buffer solution(465 ∶ 535) as mobile phase,detection wavelength at 365 nm and the injected volume being 10? L.Dissolution test was performed with 150 mL of water as dissolving medium and with a rotation speed of 100 r? min-1.Results A good linearity of hymecromone was in the range of 0.25 ? g/mL～ 1.75 ? g/mL(r=0.9989),and the average recovery was 99.4 %,RSD=1.60 %(n=5).The dissolutions of 3 batches of samples in 45 minutes were higher than 70 % of the labeled amount,which accorded with the standard.Conclusion This method was simple and accurate,has no interference of other components,and can be used for the quality control and evaluation of Compound Dantong Capsules.

Objective To explore the main influencing factors of recurrent stroke.Methods 2 065 new stroke patients were selected as study populations.The recurrent stroke status and kinds of influencing factors were followed up.The follow-up study time was 3 years.Single factor and multi-factor analysis methods were carried out for influencing factom of recurrent stroke by Cox proportional hazaIds regression models.Results By the end.1 881 pa%);45 patients were recurrent in 6accepted visit,184 were lost follow-up.327 patients were recurrent(17.38tients months(13.76%);68 patients were recurrent during 6 months to 1 year(20.80%);97 patients were recurrent during 1 year to 2 years(29.66%);117 patients were recurrent after 3 years(35.78%).Single factor Cox regression analysis:The risk factors of recurrent stroke were advanced age(RR=1.48),smoking(RR=1.35),fat intake(RR=1.83),hypertension history(RR=2.54),diabetes history(RR=1.72),high lipemia(RR=1.83),stroke family history(RR=2.62),depression(RR=1.84),life events(RR=2.53),fibrinogen(RR=1.75),carotid plaques(RR=2.68);The protecting favors of recurrent stroke were female(RR=0.64),sports(RR=0.33),social support(RR=0.36).Multi-factor Cox regression analysis:the risk factors of recurrent stroke were hypertension history(RR=1.86),high lipemia(RR=1.95),stroke family history(RR=2.62),life events(RR=2.38),carotid plaques(RR=2.77);The protecting factors of recurrent stroke were sports(RR:0.35),social support(RR=0.32).Conclusion The prevention of hypertension history,high lipemia,the family history of stroke,more supports and the high ability of answering life events could help to prevent the recurrent stroke.

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic effect of a drug pair of Radix Astragali and Rehmanniae Radix combined with glucocorticoid (GC) in treating lupus nephritis (LN) patients and its influence on some experimental indices.

METHODSTotally 52 LN patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group (treated by routine Western medicine and a drug pair of Radix Astragali and Rehmanniae Radix, 25 cases) and the control group (treated by Western medicine, mainly by GC and cyclophosphamide, 27 cases). All patients received 6-month therapy. The GC dosage, the withdrawal and reduction dosage of GC, clinical efficacy, systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) score, adverse reactions, and laboratory indicators were recorded.

RESULTS(1) All patients got relieved to some degree with the dosage of GC reduced. The total withdrawal and reduction dosage of GC was slightly higher in the treatment group than in the control group [(50.23 +/- 12.43) mg vs (48.76 +/- 13.61) mg, P > 0.05]. Besides, the prednisone dosage in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group, but without statistical difference (P > 0.05). The ratio of patients in need of adding prednisone for aggravating disease was 24.0%, significantly lower than that in the control group (44.44%, P < 0.05). (2) There was no statistical difference in the SLEDAI score, inflammatory indicators, liver and renal functions, blood electrolytes, blood glucose, blood and urine routines between the two groups (P > 0.05). The 24-h urinary protein count was (1.06 +/- 0.22) g/L in the treatment group, obviously lower than that in the control group (1.43 +/- 0.55 g/L, P < 0.05). (3) There was no statistical difference in the incidence rate of infection, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, psychoneuroses, Cushing's syndrome, cardiovascular anomalies, and femoral head necrosis between the two groups (P > 0.05). But the incidence of adverse reactions such as insomnia, tidal fever, spontaneous sweat, and obesity was less in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSUsing a drug pair of Radix Astragali and Rehmanniae Radix combined with GC in treating LN could withdraw the dosage of GC and relieve symptoms it induced. It was advantageous in reducing the dosage of GC and stabilizing patients' conditions.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lupus Nephritis ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase (eEF2K) is well known as a Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent kinase. eEF2K catalyzes the phosphorylation of eEF2 and subsequently inactivates eEF2 by impairing its ability to bind to the ribosome, thereby negatively modulates protein synthesis. The high expression of eEF2K has been found recently in several types of malignancies. As participating in the progress of tumor, eEF2K emerges a potential target for future cancer therapy. The relationship between eEF2K and tumor, and the latest progress of eEF2K inhibitors were summarized in this article.
Elongation Factor 2 Kinase ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Peptide Elongation Factor 2 ; metabolism ; Phosphorylation

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) on pancreatic carcinoma. Methods Forty-four patients with pancreatic carcinoma were treated with HIFU. The response rate, clinical beneficial response, overall survival and side effects were evaluated after the treatment. Results The rate of pain relief was 94.74%, the overall 1-, 3-, and 5-years survival rates were 15.91 %, 6. 82%, 2. 27%, respectively;and the median survival time was 8(3～71) months. No complications, such as pancreatisis and gastrointestinal injury occurred. Conclusion HIFU is an effective, non invasive and safe approach in the treatment of pancreatic carcinoma.For the patients with severe condition and intolerable to other methods, HIFU may be a good choice.

Objective To explore the correlation between heart rate variability ( HRV ) and multiple system atrophy( MSA) .Methods HRV was performed in 34 MSA patients and 32 healthy controls.The parameters of HRV study was compared, parameters studied included time domain and frequency domain.Single factor analysis andreceiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curves were used to analyze the detection of parameters of HRV. ResultsThe HRV of MSA showed significant decreased from the health controls: root mean square successive difference of intervals (rMSSD) [(51.6 ±29.4)ms vs (70.1 ±34.1)ms,P=0.023],percentage of interval differences of successive N-N intervals greater than 50 ms(pNN50%) [ 4.2% (1.8%,9.5%) vs 9.6%(5.1%, 16.2%),P=0.005], coefficient of variation(CV) [(0.06 ±0.01) vs(0.08 ±0.02),P=0.005],very low frequency(VLF) [1003.4(586.5,1702.9)ms2vs1825.5(1407.2,2670.1)ms2,P=0.000],lowfrequency(LF) [162.9(90.6,337.4) ms2 vs 375.5(210.4,559.5) ms2,P=0.001], high frequency(HF) [164.9(77.5,470.7) ms2 vs 349.1(209.7,738.5)ms2,P=0.005].The areas under ROC in patients with MSA for VLF was 0.703(S=0.053), while the areas for CV, LF, HF and pNN50%were 0.667(S=0.054), 0.660 (S=0.055), 0.650( S=0.055) and 0.640( S=0.055) ,the results all have statistical significance(all P<0.05).The cutoff value of VLF for diagnosing MSA in the early stage was 1240.85, the sensitivity and specificity were 86.7 and 55.4(95%CI:0.599-0.807,P=0.002) .Conclusion MSA has sympathetic and vagus nerve involvement at the early stage disease, resulting dysfunction of cardiovascular autonomic system,VLF may have high drgree of assessing accuracy of its dysfunction.

Objective To study the incidence and risk factors of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a single tertiary center during different times(Phase 1:2009 to 2011;Phase 2:2012 to 2014). Methods From 2009 to 2014, fundus examinations were performed on premature infants admitted to NICU of our hospital. The incidence and risk factors of ROP were compared between the two phases. Results During Phase 1,68 (11. 1% ) cases were diagnosed with ROP among 614 premature infants. During Phase 2, 121 (15. 2% ) cases were diagnosed with ROP among 794 premature infants. The incidences of ROP between the two phases were significantly different (P <0. 05). During Phase 1 and 2, 10 (14. 7% ) infants and 12 (9. 9% ) infants were diagnosed with Grade 3 and above or threshold ROP, respectively. The incidence of Grade 3 and above or threshold ROP between the two phases were also significantly different (P < 0. 05). Logistic analysis demonstrated that gestational age(GA), birth weight (BW), duration of oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation(MV) were independent risk factors during hase 1, whereas GA, MV and blood transfusion were independent risk factors during Phase 2. Pulmonary surfactant (PS) was protective factor of ROP in both two groups. GA in Phase 2 was significant lower than Phase 1 (P <0. 05), while duration of oxygen therapy, incidence of MV, PS and blood transfusion were higher in Phase 2 ( P < 0. 05) . Conclusions The incidence of ROP has increased. Reducing the incidence of preterm delivery, duration of oxygen therapy, incidence of MV and blood transfusion has important role in preventing ROP. Reducing the use of MV and the oxygen concentrations, appropriate PS therapy and focusing on early ophthalmic screening are important preventing severe ROP.

Objective To investigate the relation of the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2)and-9(MMP-9)with polymyositis/dermatomyositis(PM/DM).Methods Blood samples were obtained from 8 patients with PM,12 patients with DM and 10 normal human controls.Real-time quantitative RT-PCR and Western-blot were applied to examine the mRNA and protein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 respectively in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC)of these patients.Results The mRNA expression levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the PBMC of patients with PM or DM were 2.41 and 1.66 folds as high as those of the normal controls,respectively;these difierences were significant between the two groups.Increased expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were also noted in the patients with PM or DM.Conclusion MMP-2 and MMP-9 may play a part in the development of polymyositis and dermatomyositis.

Objective To study the influence of resolving phlegm and relaxing bowels decoction(Huatan Tongfu decoction)on plasma tissue type plasminogen activator(t-PA),plasminogen activator inhibitor(PAI)and homocysteine(Hcy)in patients with acute cerebral infarction. Methods With randomized and controlled clinical research,78 inpatients from 2010 to 2012 in Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)Department of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital,Capital Medical University were chosen,including 40 patients in observation group and 38 patients in control group. The patients in control and observation groups were treated by conventional treatment,and additionally the patients in observation group received Huatan Tongfu decoction(ingredients:Trichosanthis 30 g,Arisaema with bile 6 g,Magnolia bark 10 g,Fried rice sprout 15 g),and the rhubarb decoction was made alone,each 20 mL decoction containing crude drug 6 g. 1-4 days after the beginning of the study,the two decoctions were mixed,and the patients took the lukewarm mixture orally twice daily(once 1/2 the dosage);5-12 days after the start of the study, the patients took 200 mL lukewarm mixed decoction daily,being divided into 2 times to administer,and according to the patient defecation situation,the dosage of rhubarb decoction was adjusted individually,the therapeutic course being 12 days. The t-PA,PAI and Hcy were detected before treatment and on the 7th day after treatment. TCM syndrome scores(phlegm syndrome,fire-heat syndrome and sthenic-fu syndrome)were recorded before and on the 12th day after treatment,and the scores of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS)were recorded at the same time. Results Before treatment,the differences in t-PA,PAI,Hcy levels and NIHSS score and phlegm syndrome,fire-heat syndrome and sthenic-fu syndrome scores were not statistically significant;all the indicators improved significantly after treatment compared with those before treatment,and the changes in observation group were more remarkable〔t-PA(mg/L):13.03±2.15 vs. 12.95±2.16,PAI(mg/L):23.64±9.07 vs. 26.81±10.00, Hcy(μmol/L):9.13±1.15 vs. 11.52±3.17,phlegm syndrome:9.16±1.71 vs. 11.17±2.89,fire-heat syndrome:7.51±1.59 vs. 8.81±2.26, sthenic-fu syndrome:0.61±0.87 vs. 1.19±1.14, NIHSS score:5.70±3.16 vs. 5.90±2.97〕. Conclusion The mechanism of Huatan Tongfu decoction in treatment of patients with acute cerebral infarction accompanied by TCM syndromes of phlegm heat and sthenic-fu may be related to the reduction of plasma PAI and Hcy levels,protection of vascular endothelium and promotion of fibrinolysis,thereby the decoction can improve the clinical efficacy.