Objective To explore the efficacy of zolpidem in improvement of sleep quality of patients received methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).Methods 80 cases of MMT with insomnia were randomly divided into the study group (administered with zolpidem)and the control group (administered with placebo), 40 cases in each group.Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)and treatment emergent symptoms scale (TESS)were assessed before treatment and at the weekend of 4th,8th after treatment.Results The scores of PSQI in the study group were much lower than those in the control group (t =-2.517,P =0.014;t =-3.611,P =0.000),while the effective rate in the study group was significantly higher than that in the control group (χ2 =4.949,P =0.026). Conclusion Zolpidem could improve the sleep quality of patients with MMT.

China ; Death ; Humans ; Tissue and Organ Procurement

Blood Donors ; Child ; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft vs Host Disease ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; surgery ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of transurethral plasmakinetic vaporization of prostate(PKVP)in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia.Methods Totally 180 BPH patients were treated with PKVP from January 2003 to December 2006.Results The weight of the resected prostatic tissue was)52.4? 26.8)g,operating period was)61.2?32.8)minutes,and the amount of bleeding was)70.1?46.3)ml.No transurethral resection syndrome(TURS)and obturator nerve reflex was observed.The patients were followed up for 1～25 months postoperatively,and the maximum urine flow(Qmax)was increased from)6.2?4.1)ml/s preopera- tively to)21.2?4.6)ml/s postoperatively;the international prostate symptom score(IPSS)was decreased from (25.6?4.8)points to)6.8?2.6)points;the residual urine volume was reduced from)67.8?27.3)ml to)17.5 ?7.3)ml;the quality of life(QOL)score was decreased from)5.1?1.5)to)1.8?0.5),and there were signifi- cant differences before and after operation(P

Objective To investigate the effect of baicalain on high expression of ECM and TGF-?1 in proximal tubular epithelial cells cultured in high glucose concentration. Methods LLC-PK1 cells were divided into six groups: (1)normal glucose group(NG, 5. 5 mmol/L D-glucose), (2)high glucose group(HG, 25 mmol/L D-glucose), (3) HG + PKC inhibitor(10?mol/L chelerythrine chloride), (4)HG + baicalein(50 ?mol/L), (5) HG + baicalein(100 ?mol/L), (6) HG + baicalein (200 ?mol/L) . PKC activity was detected. Expression of ColⅣ, FN and TGF-?1 was examined by in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry(ABC) techniques. Results At concentrations of 100 ?mol/L and 200 ?mol/L, baicalein decreased membranous PKC activity in LLC-PK1 cells by 42% and 68% , respectively ( P

Objective To assess the efficacy of radiofrequency therapy combined with ozone injection in the treatment of lumbar disc protrusion. Methods A total of 202 patients with lumbar disk protrusion were included and divided into three groups:radiofrequency (RF) group, ozone (Oz) group, and combination (Co) group. The efficacy was evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS), Macnab curative effect evaluation, and oswestry disability index (ODI) at 1d, 1m and 6m after treat?ment. Results There were no significant differences in gender, age, the course of disease, preoperative VAS scores and ODI scores (P>0.05). All patients were operated successfully. There were no infection of the intervertebral disc, no compli?cations of spinal cord, nerve and no blood vessel injury. There were no significant differences in preoperative VAS and ODI scores between three groups. The VAS and ODI scores were significantly lower at 6 month and 12 month after operation in Co group combined with those of RF group and Oz group. There were no significant differences in these two scores between RF group and Oz group (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in effective rates at 1d, 6 month and 12 month after operation between three groups (P>0.05). But the excellent and good effective rates were higher in Co group than those of RF and Oz groups. There were no significant differences in excellent and good effective rates between RF group and Oz group. Conclusion The therapy of radiofrequency combined with ozone injection is an efficient and mini-invasive tech?nique for the treatment of lumbar disc protrusion and worth promoting.

PEG-modified magnetic Fe3O4 (Fe3O4-PEG) nanoparticles were sythesized using a solvothermal reaction and characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). The photothermal effect and photothermal destruction of cancer cells were evaluated. Then the doxorubicin loaded Fe3O4-PEG (DOX-Fe3O4-PEG) nanoparticles were prepared. The cytotoxicity and combined chemotherapy/photothermal therapy (PTT) effect were investigated. Uniform PEG coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles with particle size of 155 nm were obtained in the experiment. The loading and release of doxorubicin on Fe3O4-PEG were pH-dependent. The drug loading capacity in water was 21%. The results of MTT indicated a good biocompatiblity of Fe3O4-PEG nanoparticles and high cytotoxicity of DOX-Fe3O4-PEG. In combined therapy experiment, photothermal therapy demonstrated unambiguously enhanced chemotherapy efficacy. In conclusion, the obtained Fe3O4-PEG nanoparticles which exhibit good photothermal effect and drug loading capacity can be used for chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. The synergetic anti-tumor activity indicates the potential for the combined application of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy in cancer treatment.
Antibiotics, Antineoplastic ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Doxorubicin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Drug Carriers ; Ferrosoferric Oxide ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; MCF-7 Cells ; Magnetite Nanoparticles ; chemistry ; Particle Size ; Polyethylene Glycols ; chemistry

Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is a pathological process correlated with multiple disease causes and actively regulated by cardiac valve cells. In this study, porcine aortic valve myofibroblasts cultured in vitro were treated with 50 μg z L(-1) of pathological factor tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Tanshinone II A (TSN) with the concentration of 50 mg x L(-1) and TNF-α were combined in incubating cells for 72 h (3 d) and 120 h (5 d). The Western blotting and Real-time PCR were adopted to detect the changes in smooth muscle α actin (α-SMA), bone morphogenetic protein 2 ( BMP2), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in cells, and expressions of key effect proteins GSK-3β and β-catenin on Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway. According to the findings, TNF-α can significantly increase the expression of myofibroblasts α-SMA and add the transformation activity to them, with nearly no expression of BMP2, ALP and mRNA in the control group and the TSN group but significant increase in their expressions in the TNF-α group (P < 0.01), which showed osteoblast-like phenotype. Moreover, TNF-α down-regulated the expression of up-streaming regulator GSK-3β and mRNA expression (P < 0. 01) , notably increased the expression of key effect protein β-catenin, but with no significant difference in mRNA with the control group and the TSN group. The result demonstrated that TSN showed a certain inhibitory effect on TNF-α's pathological impact (P < 0.05) in a time-dependent manner. Inflammatory factor TNF-α may promote the transformation of aortic valvular myofibroblasts to osteoblast-like phenotype by activating Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway in aortic valvular myofibroblasts, so as to cause AVC. Tanshinone II A can have a preventive effect in AVC by activating GSK-3β proteins and regulating signal transduction of Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway.
Animals ; Aortic Valve ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ; Myofibroblasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Osteoblasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Swine ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; metabolism ; beta Catenin ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the effects of Houpupaiqi mixture on the recovery of gastrointestinal function after open gastrointestinal surgery,and evaluate the efficacy and safety of Houpupaiqi mixture.Methods A total of 144 selected patients who underwent open gastrointestinal surgery were enrolled into the multi-center prospective randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial from October 2010 to September 2011.Of the 144 patients,66 were from People's Hospital of Peking University,72 were from Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital University of Medical Sciences,and 6 were from People's Hospital of Guangdong Province.All the patients were randomly divided into 2 groups (test group:96 patients,control group:48 patients) at the ratio of 2∶1 according to the random number table.Five patients who did not meet the criteria were excluded from the study,and then there were 92 patients in the test group and 47 patients in the control group.The study was assessed by the ethics committees,and all the patients signed the informed consent form.Houpupaiqi mixture (50 ml) or placebo (50 ml) were administered in the test group and control group at postoperative 16 and 20 hours,respectively.Parenteral and enteral nutritional support were given after pulling out of gastric tube.A standard intravenous analgesia was applied in the 2 groups,and agents which stimulate or suppress gastrointestinal motility were prohibited.The time for the recovery of regular bowel sounds,the first exhaust and first defecation time,and the time of first solid food intake of the 2 groups were recorded.Vital signs were recored before operation and after drug administration.Blood and urinary routine test,hepatic and renal function test,electrocardiogram examination,record of adverse drug event were carried out at postoperative day 6.The time for the indexes above and relevant frequencies were calculated,and the survival curve were drawn by Kaplan-Meier method.All the time points were analyzed using the Log-rank test.The measurement data were analyzed using the t test or rank-sum test,and the enumeration data were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability.Results The median time for the recovery of regular bowel sounds,median time for first exhaust and defecation were 21.4 (20.0,23.7)hours,45.0 (40.0,54.0) hours and 65.5 (54.7,74.0) hours in the test group,and 47.5 (44.0,56.5) hours,91.0 (87.0,93.8)hours,98.0 (94.0,113.5)hours in the control group,there were significant differences between the 2 groups (Log-rank values =21.67,53.15,11.81,P＜0.05).The median time of first solid food intake were 72.5 (66.2,110.5) hours of the test group and 116.3 (114.8,117.3) hours of the control group,with no significant difference between the 2 groups (Log-rank value =13.70,P ＞ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the body temperature,respiration,heart rate,systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure before and after medication between the 2 groups (Z =0.03,0.68,0.97,0.22,0.72,P ＞ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the number of patients with abnormal results of blood test,hepatic function,renal function and electrocardiogram between the 2 groups (P ＞ 0.05).No severe adverse event was observed in the clinical trial.Conclusion Houpupaiqi mixture significantly promotes the recovery of gastrointestinal function of the patients who underwent open gastrointestinal surgery with relatively low adverse events.

Objective To observe the effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE)combined with atorvastatin on carotid atherosclerosis of the elderly. Methods Consecutivly 122 patient aged( 73.2 ±12.8) years with hypercholesterolemia and diagnosed as asymptomatic carotid artery plaques were randomly assigned to single atorvastatin(20 mg/d) treatment group (n=63) and combination treatment (atorvastatin 10 mg/d plus GSPE 400 mg/d) group (n=59).Serum total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C),high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were detected before treatment and 3,6,12 months after treatment.Mean maximum carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT),plaque score and stability were also assessed by carotid ultrasound. Results After 3 months of treatment,serum levels of TC,TG and LDL-C in both groups were lower than before treatment (all P＜0.01),but no difference was found between the two groups (P＞0.05).HDL-C levels was enhanced by 20.2％ in combination treatment group after 3 months of treatment (P＜0.05),there was difference after 6 months treatment between two groups (P＜0.05).Serum hs-CRP concentrations were decreased by 1.7 mg/L and 3.6 mg/L,3.8 mg/L and 6.3 mg/L,5.9 mg/L and 8.3 mg/L after 3,6 and 12 months treatment as compared with pretreatment,respectively in the two groups (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).There was difference in hs-CRP levels between groups after 6 and 1.2months of treatment (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).There were MMCIMT reduction by 1.3％ and 2.0％ (P＞0.05),3.4％ and 5.3％(P＞0.05 and P＜0.05 ),5.1％ and 8.6％ after 3,6 and 12 months of treatment(P＜0.05 and P＜0.01) in the two groups,with distinct difference after 12 month treatment (P＜ 0.01 ).The plaque scores were declined by 6.8 ％ and 13.1％ ( both P ＞ 0.05 ),14.5 ％ and 28.0％ (P＞0.05 and P＜0.05),19.2％ and 45.0％(P＜0.05 and P＜0.01)after 3,6 and 12 months of treatment while significant difference was found between the two groups after 12 months treatment (P＜0.05).Unstable plaque and the total number of plaque was dropped by 8 and 14 in single group,19 and 28 in combination group,respectively,after 12 months of treatment. Conclusions GSPE combined with atorvastatin may inhibit the development of carotid intima-media thickness,reduce carotid plaque and promote stabilization of carotid plaque.