Objective To investigate the ischemic preconditioning time for inducing rat brain ischemia tolerance.Methods Procerebrum ischemic preconditioning injury was caused by occlusion of two-side common carotid artery for 10 minutes or 20 minutes,and subsequent cerebral ischemic injury was caused by occlusion of middle cerebral artery for 2 hours after 72 hours of reperfusion.The percentage of brain infarct size was calculated for the investigation of the proper ischemic preconditioning time for rat brain ischemia tolerance.Results Ischemic preconditionaing for 10 minutes and 20 minutes can reduce the percentage of brain infarct size significantly.The difference of the percentage of brain infarct size between 10-minute preconditioning group and 20-minute preconditioning group is insignificant,but the mean percentage of brain infarct size in 10-minute preconditioning group is less than that in 20-minute preconditioning group.Conclusion Ten minutes are the suitable time of ischemic preconditioning for rat brain ischemia tolerance.

Background Deficiency of neurotrophic factor is associated with the damage of optic nerve in glaucoma.Reaserches showed that ectopically applied neurotrophic factor has a transient neuroprotective effect in glaucoma model,and the viral expression of adeno-associated neurotrophie factor may provide long-term supplementation of neurotrophic factor and neuroprotection in tissues.Objective The present study Was to investigate the neuroproteetive effect of adeno-associated viral(AAV)-mediated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)on retinal ganglion cells(RGCs)in DBA/2J mice with experimental glaucoma. Methods 10 clean DBA/2J mice were administered intravitreal injection with 1 microliter of AAV-BDNF-GFP in the left eyes at the age of 6 months,and the right eyes were injected with the same volume of saline solution as control.Intraocular pressure (IOP)was measured with Tonolab in the mice every month.Retinas were obtained after 3 months for the investigation of GFP expression in RGCs using fluorescence microscopy.Immunohistochemistry Was performed by applying TUJ1 and Cy3 antibodies to identify surviving RGCs. Results The IOP of DBA/2J mice were 11.90 mmHg and 11.40 mmHg in the right eyes and left eyes,respectively,at 4 months.The IOP of DBA/2J mice began to rise at 5 months and reached its peak in 8 month-old mice.There was no statistically significant difference in IOPs between the right eyes and the left eyes from 4 month-through 9 month-old mice(t=-1.78-0.61,P=0.11-0.90).Three months after intrlavitreal injection of AAV-BDNF-GFP,GFP was positively expressed in RGCs of retinas with the expression rate of 46.33%±8.08%.The over-expression of BDNF led to more RGCs survival than the control eyes (3168.13±1319.33/mm2 vs 2024.81±796.38/mm2,t=2.75,P=0.02). Conclusion These data suggest that BDNF can exert a protective effect in DBA/2J glaucoma mice.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Jinshuibao capsules in the treatment of silicosis.

METHODSA total of 270 patients with silicosis were randomly divided into treatment group (n = 141) and control group (n = 129). Both groups received conventional therapy. Additionally, the patients in the treatment group took 3 Jinshuibao capsules three times day for 2-3 courses of treatment (each course = 6 weeks). The therapeutic efficacy and the changes in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-β(1) (TGF-β(1)) levels were observed after treatment.

RESULTSAfter treatment, cough, expectoration, chest pain, shortness of breath, and other respiratory symptoms were relieved significantly (P < 0.05). The treatment group showed significantly lower TNF-α and TGF-β(1) levels than before treatment and the control group (P < 0.05) and significantly higher forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, and maximum mid-expiratory flow than before treatment and the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONJinshuibao capsules can decrease inflammatory response, increase vital capacity and maximum voluntary ventilation, reduce airflow limitation, and improve quality of life and thus have good therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of silicosis.

Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Silicosis ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Treatment Outcome ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic efficacy of tetrandrine tablets combined with matrine injection in the treatment of silicosis.

METHODSSixty-three patients with silicosis were randomly divided into treatment group (n = 33) and control group (n = 30). Both groups received anti-inflammatory, cough-relieving, and anti-asthmatic treatment. Meanwhile, the treatment group was given tetrandrine tablets (100 mg bid) and matrine injection (150 mg qd). There were 4 courses of tetrandrine treatment (each course = 3 months), with one-month intervals among them. Matrine injection was used for 15 consecutive days in each month. There were 2 courses of matrine treatment (each course = 3 months), with a one-month interval in between. The clinical symptoms, pulmonary function, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and chest X-ray images were observed before and after treatment.

RESULTSAfter treatment, chest distress, chest pain, shortness of breath, and other respiratory symptoms were relieved significantly (P < 0.05). The treatment group showed significantly higher SOD activity than before treatment and the control group (P < 0.05) and significantly higher forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second than before treatment and the control group (P < 0.05). After treatment, 5 patients (4 stage II cases and 1 stage III case, all in rapidly progressive forms) in the treatment group showed smaller, lighter, and clearer shadows with decreased overall intensity on chest X-ray; 12 patients showed significantly fewer and clearer lung markings on chest X-ray.

CONCLUSIONTetrandrine tablets combined with matrine injection have some therapeutic effect on silicosis.

Aged ; Alkaloids ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Benzylisoquinolines ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Injections ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quinolizines ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Silicosis ; drug therapy ; Tablets ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To explore the correlation of the operation effects of the miorovascular decompression(MVD) and the findings on magnetic resonance tomographic angiography(MRTA) in patients of neurovascular compression of the cranial nerves.Methods Two hundred and twenty three patients treated with the microvascular decompression were analyzed retrospectively.They were grouped and graded according to the vessel compression on the cranial nerves.The compression were grouped as none, moderate and severe, and the operation effects were graded as Ⅰ ( complete relief), Ⅱ ( partial relief) and Ⅲ ( no relief).The operation effects grades were correlated according to the compression groups by Kruskal-Wallis test and the operation effects between each two of the groups were compared using Nemenyi test.P < 0.05 was defined as statistic significant.Results Of the 53 cases of non-compression group, 31 cases were graded as Ⅰ , 13 cases were graded as Ⅱ and 9 cases were graded as Ⅲ, according to the operation-effects of the decompression.Of the 110 cases of moderate group,95 cases were grade as Ⅰ , 11 cases were graded as Ⅱ and 4 cases were graded as Ⅲ.Of the 60 cases of severe group, 48 cases were graded as Ⅰ, 7 cases were graded as Ⅱ and 5 cases were graded as Ⅲ.There were statistic significance among the three groups,where χ2= 16.84 and P <0.05.The mean rank of the non-compression, the moderate and the severe group was 134.21,102.37 and 110.4 ,respectively.The difference of the mean ranks between the non-compression group and the moderate group was 31.84, and between the non-compression and the severe group was 24.17, respectively, where P < 0.05 both.Conclusions There was close relationship between the findings on magnetic resonance tomographic angiography and the operation effects of the MVD.The operation effects of patients with moderate and severe vessel compression were much better than the non-compression group.MRTA is helpful for MVD surgical indication and its prognosis.

As a kind of commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, ginseng has a high reputation at home and abroad. The research of ginseng has been expanded to medicine, pharmacy, biology, food science and other fields, with great achievements in recent years. Ginseng contains ginsenosides, volatile oil, carbohydrates, amino acids, polypeptides, inorganic elements and othser chemical constituents. Each component has extensive physiological activity, and is the base of ginseng's effect. After processing, the complicated changes are taken place in the constituents of ginseng, and some new substances produced. This paper aims to review the studies on chemical constituents and their mechanisms during ginseng processing, and the ideas, methods and the direction of the development of traditional Chinese medicine processing in the future.
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Panax ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

Objective To investigate the characteristic and clinical significance of airway inflammation in children with acute asth-ma. Methods Underwent sputum induction and sputum induction in children (n=34) with acute asthma was repented in recovered children ( n = 24).Induced sputum were also taken from 15 healthy children as controls.Total and differential cell counts were per-formed. Interleukin(IL)-8、IL-6 were measured,The relationship between inflammatory cells and IL-8、 IL-6、peak expiratory (PEF) were analyzed.Results The inflammatory cell infiltrate was mixed including eosmophilic granulocytes, neutrophils, and macrophages. They decreased significantly, but eosinophilic granulocyte remained a higher percentage compared with healthy subjects. There was low-er percentage of lymphocytes at acute exacerhation.Eosinophilic granulocytes were correlated with the degree of airflow obstruction. Levels of IL-8、IL-6 were elevated during the acute exacerbation and decreased at resolution.IL-8 was correlated significantly with neutrophils at acute exacerhation and resolution.IL-6 was correlated signifficantly with eosinophilic granulocytes at acute exacerbation. Conclusions Airway inflammation is chataeterized by infiltration of eosinophils, neutrophils and macrophages.IL-8、IL-6 possibly is the important cytokines of airway inflammation in children with acute asthma. Increased eosinophils in induced sputum correlates with asthma severity. Therapy to the cytokines may have potential values.J Appl Clin pediatr,2004,19(12): 1023-1025

OBJECTIVETo explore the methylation status in promoter region of norepinephrine transporter gene (NET, SLC6A2) in heart failure ( HF) patients and its correlation with qi deficiency/blood stasis syndrome (QDS/BSS).

METHODSThirty-six patients with heart failure (NYHA classification III to IV) were recruited in the study (as the heart failure group) and their scores of QDS/BSS were evaluated. Besides, a healthy elderly group (30 cases) and a healthy youth group (30 cases) were also set up. They were recruited from Physical Examination Center of Fujian Provincial Hospital. Pyrosequencing was applied to detect the methylation in promoter region of SLC6A2 gene, and the total methylation index (MTI) of CpG island was calculated. The correlation between the methylation status in promoter region of SLC6A2 and scores of QDS/BSS was assessed using Pearson and Partial analyses. Risk factors were screened and adjusted using Logistic regression.

RESULTSBy one-factor analysis of variance, the total MTI in the HF group (219.72% ± 54.03%) was obviously higher than that in the healthy elderly group (194.47% ± 34.92%) and the healthy youth group (161.60% ± 41.11%) (all P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the total MTI was higher in the healthy elderly group than in the healthy youth group (P < 0.01). By covariance analysis , after controlling age and BMI, the total MTI was higher in the HF group than in the healthy elderly group (P = 0.041), while it was higher in the healthy elderly group than in the healthy youth group (P = 0.016). Age was found to play an essential role in affecting MTI of SLC6A2 gene promoter region among the 3 groups (F = 16.447, P = 0.01). The total MTI was quite lower in the healthy youth group. Results of Partial correlation analysis showed MTI was positively correlated with scores of qi deficiency and blood stasis respectively (r = 0.494 and 0.419 respectively, both P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed after adjusting confounding factors, the relative risk (OR value) of total MTI of SLC6A2 gene in promoter region was 1.038 (95% CI, 1.006 to 1.071, P = 0.020).

CONCLUSIONSAbnormally elevated methylation of the promoter region of SLC6A2 gene is one of risk factors for HF. In addition, the degree of methylation of the promoter region of SLC6A2 gene was positively correlated with the severity of QDS/BSS.

Adolescent ; Aged ; DNA Methylation ; Heart Failure ; genetics ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins ; genetics ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Qi

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Phragmites communis polysaccharide on aging mice induced by injections of D-gulactose.

METHODAging mice were used as experimental objective.

RESULTPhragmizes communis polysaccharide could obviously increase the activity of CAT, SOD, GSH-PX in blood, lower the levels of LPO in plasma and the thick liquid made of grinding the tissues of brain and liver, and markedly resist the atrophy of the thymus, spleen and brain tissues of aging mice.

CONCLUSIONPhragmites communis polysaccharide has good anti-aging actions.

Aging ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Animals ; Catalase ; blood ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Female ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; blood ; Lipid Peroxides ; blood ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Poaceae ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Superoxide Dismutase ; blood

It has need to separate red blood cells (RBC) from marrow graft in ABO group unmatched BMT and auto-BMT with purging tumor cells, the separating effect of methylcellulose was observed. The mixture of 0.5% methylcellulose and bone marrow was laid up in an open transfusion system, and then sedimentation of RBC was performed in the transfusion tube. The separating results of 18 marrow grafts showed that the recovery rates of mononuclear cells and CD34(+) cells were (83.8 +/- 55.2)% and (90.3 +/- 7.2)%, respectively. RBC residual rate was (4.3 +/- 1.5)%. The yield of CFU-GM was (60.8 +/- 22.4)/2 x 10(5) MNC, and there was no difference to [(69.8 +/- 23.4)/2 x 10(5) MNC] yielded from same marrow samples, separated by Ficoll-Hypaque separation. It is concluded that this method could be used for bone marrow transplantation.
Bone Marrow Transplantation ; methods ; Cell Separation ; methods ; Erythrocytes ; immunology ; Humans ; Methylcellulose ; pharmacology