UNLABELLEDTo observe the efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil(ADV) in combination with Anluohuaxian capsule in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.

METHODS72 cases with CHB were randomly divided into two groups. 36 cases of treatment group were given ADV combined with Anluohuaxian capsule for 48 weeks. 36 cases of control group were given ADV. The levels of serum ALT, AST, Alb, TBil, HA, LN, CIV, HBV DNA and hepatic tissue were compared before and after being treated.

RESULTSAfter 48 weeks treatment,the liver function, serum fibrosis index and histology of treatment group and control group all have improved. After treatment, the two groups in the levels of ALT(t=0.746, P=0.342), AST (t=0.369, P=0.713), TBil (t=0.146, P=0.684), Alb(t=0.148, P=0.883), liver tissue inflammation mobility scoring (t=1.666, P=0.100) and HBV DNA negative rate (x2=0.141, P=0.708) were no evident difference.The level of HA, LN, CIV were significantly lower in treatment group(101.58+/-30.11, 147.89+/-41.72, 38.75+/-9.50) compared with control group(182.25+/-117.59, 181.50+/-56.96, 74.92+/-31.14) (P less than 0.05). After the treatment, the liver tissue fibrosis scoring was significantly lower in treatment group (10.61+/-2.37) compared with before the treatment (12.28+/-3.16) (P less than 0.05).There was no difference found between after the treatment (11.36+/-2.93) and before the treatment (12.17+/-3.01) in control group (P more than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe results show that the treatment with ADV in combination with Anluohuaxian capsule can play promoting antifibrotic effect and significant improved liver histology of chronic hepatitis B patients.

Adenine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organophosphonates ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome

Phytoestrogens, which can bind with estrogen receptor and produce estrogen-like effects, are a kind of nonsteroidal compound in plant. Phytoestrogens chemically include isoflavones, coumarins, lignans and other compounds. Phytoestrogens are selective estrogen receptor modulator, and have therapeutical effects on breast cancer, prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis and other disease, however, do not produce stimulatory hyperplasia effects on uterus, mammary glands and other tissues and organs with positive estrogen receptor. Long-term exposure or excessive use of phytoestrogens maybe affects male reproductive system and hematopoietic function of fetus. Some questions need to be further studied, such as evaluation criteria on biological activity, adverse effects, and action mechanism of phytoestrogen. This review covers plant sources, chemical structure, pharmacological activity and safety of phytoestrogens. It will provide a useful reference for intensive research and rational utilization the phytoestrogens.
Animals ; Humans ; Phytoestrogens ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

BACKGROUNDRecent research suggests that beta(2)-adrenergic agonists increase alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) under physiologic and pathologic conditions. It is unknown whether beta(3)-adrenergic agonists also increase AFC under pathologic conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of beta(3)-adrenergic agonists on AFC following hypoxic lung injury and the mechanisms involved.

METHODSHypoxic rats were exposed to 10% oxygen. BRL-37344 (beta(3)-adrenergic agonist) or CGP-12177 (selective beta(3)-adrenergic agonist) alone or combined with beta receptor antagonists, sodium channel blockers, or Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase blockers were perfused into the alveolar space of rats exposed to 10% oxygen for 48 hours. Total lung water content (TLW) and AFC were measured.

RESULTSAFC did not change for the first 24 hours but then decreased after 48-hour exposure to 10% oxygen. The perfusion of BRL-37344 or CGP-12177 significantly increased AFC in normal and hypoxic rats. The AFC-stimulating effect of CGP-12177 was lowered with amiloride (a Na(+) channel blocker) and ouabain (a Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase inhibitor) by 37% and 49%, respectively. Colchicine significantly inhibited the effect of CGP-12177.

CONCLUSIONSThese findings suggest that beta(3)-adrenergic agonists can increase AFC during hypoxic lung injury in rats and accelerate the amelioration of pulmonary edema.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Body Fluids ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Ethanolamines ; therapeutic use ; Hypoxia ; physiopathology ; Male ; Propanolamines ; therapeutic use ; Pulmonary Alveoli ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Pulmonary Edema ; drug therapy ; etiology ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of phenylephrine (an α-adrenergic agonist) on alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) in ventilator-induced lung injury and the possible mechanism involved.

METHODSA total of 170 male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into 17 groups (n=10) using random number tables. Short-term (40 minutes) mechanical ventilation with high tidal volume (HVT) was performed to induce lung injury, impair active Na+ transport and lung liquid clearance in the rats. Unventilated rats served as controls. To demonstrate the effect of phenylephrine on AFC, phenylephrine at different concentrations (1×10(-5), 1×10(-6), 1×10(-7), 1×10(-8), and 1×10(-9) mol/L) was injected into the alveolar space of the HVT ventilated rats. To identify the influence of adrenergic antagonists, Na(+) channel, and microtubular system on the effect of phenylephrine, phenylephrine at 1×10(-5) mol/L combined with prazosin (an α1-adrenergic antagonist, 1×10(-4) mol/L), yohimbine (an α2-adrenergic antagonist, 1×10(-4) mol/L), atenolol (a β1- adrenergic antagonist, 1×10(-5) mol/L), ICI-118551 (an β2-adrenergic antagonist, 1×10(-5) mol/L), amiloride (a Na+ channel blocker, 5×10(-4) mol/L), ouabain (a Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase blocker, 5×10(-4) mol/L), colchicine (a microtubular disrupting agent, 0.25 mg/100 g body weight), or β-lumicolchicine (an isomer of colchicine, 0.25 mg/100 g body weight) were perfused into the alveolar space of the rats ventilated with HVT for 40 minutes. AFC and total lung water content were measured.

RESULTSBasal AFC in control rats was (17.47±2.56)%/hour, which decreased to (9.64± 1.32)%/hour in HVT ventilated rats (P=0.003). The perfusion of phenylephrine at 1×10(-8), 1×10(-7), 1×10(-6), and 1×10(-5) mol/L significantly increased the AFC in HVT ventilated rats (all P<0.05). This effect of phenylephrine on AFC was suppressed by prazosin, atenolol, and ICI-118551 in HVT ventilated rats by 53%, 31%, and 37%, respectively (all P<0.05). The AFC-stimulating effect of phenylephrine was lowered by 33% and 42% with amiloride and ouabain, respectively (both P<0.05). Colchicine significantly inhibited the effect of phenylephrine (P=0.031).

CONCLUSIONPhenylephrine could increase the AFC in HVT-ventilated rats and accelerate the absorption of pulmonary edema.

Animals ; Male ; Phenylephrine ; therapeutic use ; Pulmonary Alveoli ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase ; metabolism ; Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology

Cartilage is a tough, elastic, and fibrous connective tissue, composed of chondrocyte and extracellular matrix (ECM) structural entity. Because of the poor self-regeneration capabilities of chondrocytes, cell transplantation is necessanry once the cartilage is damaged. Traditionally autologous chondrocytes implantation is applied at the damage site, which has many problems such as the losing of its primary characteristics. A well-defined and efficient protocol to direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into the chondrocyte will provide a novel choice for cartilage repair. This article reviews some major progresses in this field.
Animals ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; pharmacology ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrocytes ; cytology ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; pharmacology

As an extension of the structure-based drug discovery, fragment-based drug discovery is matured increasingly, and plays an important role in drug development. Fragments in a small library, with lower molecular mass and high "ligand efficiency", are detected by SPR, MS, NMR, X-ray crystallography technologies and other biophysical methods. Then they are considered as starting points for chemical optimization with the guidance of structural biology methods to get good "drug-like" lead and candidate compounds. In this article, we reviewed the current progress of fragment-based drug discovery and detailed a number of examples to illustrate the novel strategies.
Computer-Aided Design ; Crystallography, X-Ray ; Drug Discovery ; methods ; Ligands ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Peptide Fragments ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Protein Conformation ; Small Molecule Libraries ; Surface Plasmon Resonance

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prognostic value of t(11; 18) (q21; q21) in gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

METHODSA cohort of thirty-six gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma patients who were pathologically identify diagnosis from January 1994 to June 2004 were followed up retrospectively and studied using fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH) technique to detect t(11; 18) (q21; q21) chromosomal translocation on preservative paraffin specimen.

RESULTSAmong thirty-six patients, fifteen (41.67%) were positive for t (11; 18) (q21; q21). All but one were followed up to March 2010, general median survival time (MST) was 87 months. The MST were 43 and 130 months for t(11; 18) positive and negative patients, respectively. The MST between these two groups was notably different (chi-square=29.57, P< 0.01).

CONCLUSIONt(11; 18) (q21; q21) is important prognostic factor for gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11 ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastric Mucosa ; pathology ; Humans ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Translocation, Genetic

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of olmesartan medoxomil compared with losartan potassium in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

METHODThis is a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled, parallel, multi-center study. After a 2-week placebo run-in period, a total of 287 eligible subjects were randomized at 1:1 ratio to receive olmesartan medoxomil 20 mg or losartan potassium 50 mg, once daily for 8 weeks. The blood pressure was assessed after 4 weeks treatment. If the subject's seating diastolic blood pressure (SeDBP) was still >or=90 mm Hg, the dosage was doubled for another 4 weeks; for those subjects whose SeDBP was <90 mm Hg after 4-week treatment, the initial dosage remained unchanged and the treatment continued until completion of the study.

RESULTS(1) The mean trough reduction in SeDBP from baseline in olmesartan group was significantly greater than that in losartan group after 4 weeks (11.72 mm Hg vs 9.23 mm Hg, P=0.004) and 8 weeks treatment (12.94 mm Hg vs 11.01 mm Hg, P=0.035). (2) The number and percentage of responders in olmesartan group (81, 65.3%) were statistically higher than those (68, 52.7%) in losartan group (P=0.028) after 4 weeks treatment and were similar between the two groups after 8 weeks treatment (P>0.05). (3) Individual and overall trough/peak ratios of DBP and SBP in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were higher in olmesartan group than losartan group. The hypotensive effect of olmesartan was more durable than losartan at 24 hour interval. (4) The incidence of study drug-related adverse events (AEs) in olmesartan group (10.5%) was similar as that in losartan group (13.9%, P>0.05). Most of these AEs were mild and transient.

CONCLUSIONThis study shows that olmesartan medoxomil, at oral dose of 20 mg-40 mg once daily was effective and safe for hypertension treatment and the hypotensive effect was superior to losartan potassium (50 mg-100 mg once daily).

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antihypertensive Agents ; administration & dosage ; China ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Imidazoles ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Losartan ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Olmesartan Medoxomil ; Tetrazoles ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

This study is to investigate the amelioration effect of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist mifepristone on the changes of learning and memory abilities in rat model of depression. In the present study, a 35-day rat chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model was used to observe both depression-like behaviors with sucrose preference test and open-field test and learning and memory-associated behaviors with Morris water maze test. A total of 45 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to three groups of equal size: control group (CON); CUS group (CUS); CUS + mifepristone group (CM). Animals in CM group were first exposed to CUS for 14 days, and then were administered with 50 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) of mifepristone with continued CUS procedure. Corticosterone EIA Kit was used to detect the concentration of plasma corticosterone (CORT). Nissl staining was used to observe the structure of hippocampus. The results demonstrated that CUS exposure induced both depressive-like and learning and memory-associated behaviors and these deficits were reversed by mifepristone. Compared to CON group, the concentration of plasma CORT increased significantly in CUS group. CUS exposure damaged the structure of hippocampus, whereas mifepristone had an amelioration effect. Together, the structural deficits of hippocampus resulting from long-term stress exposure, which could contribute to the impairment of learning and memory in depression, are reversed by the GR receptor antagonist mifepristone.
Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Corticosterone ; blood ; Depression ; blood ; etiology ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Hippocampus ; pathology ; Learning ; drug effects ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; Mifepristone ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Glucocorticoid ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Stress, Psychological ; complications

BACKGROUNDBifurcation angles may have an impact on the clinical outcomes of crush stenting. We sought to compare high (> or = 60 degrees ) with low (< 60 degrees ) bifurcation angle in patients who underwent either classical or double kissing (DK) crush stenting for bifurcation lesions from the DKCRUSH-1 data base.

METHODSThere were 212 patients with 220 lesions, some with low-angle (n = 138) and some with high-angle (n = 74). Angiography was indexed at 8-month after procedure. Primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization (TLR). Secondary endpoint included late lumen loss, the rate of restenosis, and final kissing balloon inflation (FKBI).

RESULTSAt 8 months, clinical follow-up was 100%; angiographic follow-up was 75% in the low-angle group and 83.3% in the high-angle group. There were no significant differences in the FKBI between the high-angle group (91.43%) and the low-angle group (82.39%). In the high angle group, there was a significant difference in contrast volume used (P = 0.005) but no significant difference in acute gain, minimum lumen diameter (MLD), late loss and diameter stenosis in the pre-bifurcation segment, post-bifurcation segment or side branch. When lesions were assigned into with-(n = 133) and without-FKBI (n = 42), significant side-branch late loss was seen in the group without-FKBI ((0.65 +/- 0.49) mm vs (0.47 +/- 0.62) mm, P = 0.02), with a resultant greater restenosis rate (37.68% vs 18.32%, P = 0.001). No difference was detected in the MACE free survival rate between the high and low angle groups (82.39% vs 82.36%, P = 0.84). The rate of stent thrombosis tended to be higher in the lower-angle group although there was no significant difference (P = 0.38). The TLR free survival rate was 87.2% in the with-FKBI group vs 73.5% in the without-FKBI group (P = 0.001). Cox regression analysis showed that the independent predictors for target vessel revascularization were the side branch stent MLD post stenting (hazard ratios (HR) 1.028, 95% CI 2.357 - 16.233, P = 0.002), lack of FKBI (HR 4.910, 95% CI 4.706 - 8.459, P = 0.001) and unsatisfactory kissing (HR 3.120, 95% CI 2.975 - 5.431, P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSBifurcation angles do not influence the clinical outcome of crush stenting. Successful final kissing balloon inflation, regardless of bifurcation angles, can predict TLR.

Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; methods ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; ethnology ; Coronary Angiography ; methods ; Coronary Stenosis ; ethnology ; pathology ; therapy ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; ethnology ; pathology ; therapy ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome