Background A multitude of studies reported statins prevent the myocardial hypertrophy induced by pressure overload,but the mechanism is unclear.Objective To study the protective effect of atorvastatin on the myocardial hypertrophy caused by pressure overload and it's anti-inflammation effect.Methods Forty Wistar rats were randomized to untreated group(n=10),atorvastatin group(2 mg/kg?d,by gavage,n=10),sham op- eration group(n=10)and control group(n=10).Ventricular hypertrophy model was achieved by surgical con- stricting the abdominal aorta.All rats were sacrificed 8 weeks after the operation and the heart weight to body ratio,left ventricular weight to body ratio,and the size of cardiomyocyte were determined.The expressions of interleukin 18(IL-18)and cardiotrophin 1(CT-1)in the cadiocyte were assessed by reverse transcription polymer- ase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results Compared with control group,SBP in myocardial hypertrophy group was significantly increased(174?9 vs control 112?15 mmHg,P

To developing a simple, rapid and sensitive immunoaffinity method for extracting DNA before amplification by the polymerase chain reaction(PCR). Using monoclonal anti-DNA bound to colloidal-gold beads(which called immunocolloidal-gold ) and extracting DNA from the specimen before amplification by PCR. The immunoaffinity method we use is extremely efficient in extracting DNA at low concentration, also, the beads carrying the DNA/anti-DNA complexes can be added directly to a PCR mixture without elution, and the presence of PCR inhibitors in specimens has no effect on amplification. When applied to serial dilution bacteria suspension, the detection of limit can be 100 CFU/mL, and the sensitivity of detecting artificial soil sample and milk sample were 101 and 100 CFU/mL. The immunoaffinity method described here can sever as a sensitive and practicable method for extracting DNA , particularly where samples have low concentrations of DNA or where the material is in poor condition.

Objective To observe the influence of long-term treatment with inhaled corticosteroid on biochemical bone indexes and bone mineral density (BMD) in children with asthma. Methods The design was a randomized, paralleled group study with 3 low dose regiments of 100, 200,300 micrograms of budesonide per day in 45 children with asthma aged 5-8 years old for 12 months. Before inhaled corticosteroid therapy and 6th,12th month,clinical effects were observed and lung function(FEV1) was measured; concentration of serum osteocalcin(OST),insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1),bony alkaline phosphatase (BALP) and urinary deoxypyridinolin: creatinine (DPD/Cr) were measured; BMD was examined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results Clinical evaluation was improved and there was significant increase in FEV1 of asthmatic children. The amount of serum OST was slightly higher,yet no significant compared with that of normal control group. There was significant increase of serum BALP in asthmatic children after treatment; there was significant increase in serum IGF-1 of patients group after treatment compared with in normal children at the same age group; there was significant decrease in urinary DPD/Cr after treatment.There was no significant decrease in BMD before and after treatment at the hip (neck of femur , trochanter of femur ,Ward′s triangle),the lumber area of the spine (L2-4) and forearm (ultradis, distal). Conclusion Long-term treatment with low does corticosteroid dose not restrictedly affect bone metabolism and BMD in children with asthma.

OBJECTIVETo observe effect of acupuncture combined with Chinese medicine for improving vision on visual function of optic atrophy.

METHODSFifty-eight cases were randomly divided into an observation group of 30 cases and a control group of 28 cases. The observation group were treated with acupuncture combined with Chinese medicine, and the control group with Chinese medicine. Their visual function improvement and therapeutic effects were compared.

RESULTSThe vision increasing rate was 75.76% in the observation group and 56.67% in the control group, with a significant difference before and after treatment in the observation group (P < 0.05) and no significant difference in the control group (P > 0.05), and with significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). After treatment, no significant improvement was found in visual field and color sense in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture combined with Chinese medicine can improve visual function of optic atrophy to a certain extent.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Evoked Potentials, Visual ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Optic Atrophy ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Vision, Ocular ; Visual Fields

OBJECTIVETo summarize clinical results of the microdecompression for the treatment of intraforaminal lumbar disc herniations.

METHODSFrom September 2005 to May 2013,16 patients( 12 males, 4 females)with intraforaminal lumbar disc herniations underwent microdecompression, ranging in age from 32 to 56 years old with a mean of 38.6 years old. The lumbar disc herniations were located at L(3,4). in one patient, L(4,5) in 10 cases and L5S1 in 5 cases.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up, and the duration ranged from 20 to 48 months, with a mean period of 36 months. According to Macnab evaluation, 12 cases got an excellent result, 4 good. No apparent complications related to the technique occurred. Satisfactory clinical results were obtained in this series.

CONCLUSIONMicrodecompression may be particularly useful in the treatment of intraforaminal lumbar disc herniations. The microdecompression procedures are more likely to be well tolerated by older patients.

Adult ; Decompression ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effects of Dalitong Granule (DG) combined proton pump inhibitors (PPI) on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

METHODSTotally 186 patients with GERD were randomly assigned to three groups, i.e., the control group A (61 cases, only PPI group, Rabeprazole Capsule 20 mg, once daily), the control group B (61 cases, PPI with domperidone group, Rabeprazole 20 mg, once daily; Domperidone 10 mg each time, thrice daily), and the experimental group (64 cases, PPI + DG group, Rabeprazole 20 mg, once daily; DG, 6 g each time, thrice daily). The treatment lasted for 4 weeks for all. The symptom scoring, the overall efficacy, local efficacy, and adverse drug reactions were compared among the three groups before and after treatment.

RESULTSTotally 183 patients completed the experiment. After 4 weeks of treatment, the symptom scores in the three groups were significantly lowered. It was the lowest in the experimental group with statistical difference (P < 0.01). The markedly effective rate and the effective rate of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control A and B groups. The local markedly effective rate and the effective rate of the reflux esophagitis (RE) in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control A and B groups (P<0.05). No serious adverse reactions occurred in the three groups during the treatment period.

CONCLUSIONDG combined PPI could improve the symptoms of GERD safely and effectively.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Rabeprazole ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEIn order to determine the influence of bFGF on the biological characteristics of osteoblasts and periodontal ligament cells, the author investigate the influence of bFGF on the migration, proliferation of osteoblasts and periodontal ligament fibroblasts between osteoblasts and fibroblasts.

METHODSThe forth generation of osteoblasts and periodontal ligament fibroblast were obtained and the wounding model in vitro of them was founded. The cells were cultured in mediums with or without bFGF. Their migration and proliferation were observed and measured.

RESULTSOsteoblasts migrated faster than fibroblasts in common culture medium without bFGF and the periodontal ligament fibroblasts in culture medium with bFGF had higher migration rate than other groups. bFGF promoted the proliferation of both two kinds of cells.

CONCLUSIONbFGF could accelerate periodontal fibroblasts' proliferation and migration.

Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; Fibroblasts ; Osteoblasts ; Periodontal Ligament

OBJECTIVEIn order to determine the effect of factors pertaining to the development and metabolism of periodontal ligament, the author investigated the interaction between osteoblasts and fibroblasts.

METHODSThe cell co-culture model was established by cell culture inserts. The expression difference of protein related to mineralization (ALP, Type I collagen) between these two kinds of cells cultured individually and co-cultured were evaluated.

RESULTSCo-culture changed the ALPase activity of the two kinds of cells greatly .The ALP expression of osteoblasts decreased, but the ALP expression of periodontal ligament fibroblasts increased. The Col-I expression of these two kinds of cells did not change significantly when they were co-cultured.

CONCLUSIONPeriodontal ligament fibroblast could restrain the osteogenesis function of osteoblast, while osteoblast could induce the differentiation of fibroblast when both of them existed in periodontal tissue.

Alkaline Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Differentiation ; Coculture Techniques ; Collagen Type I ; metabolism ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; Humans ; Osteoblasts ; cytology ; Osteogenesis ; Periodontal Ligament ; cytology

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a newly recognized fibro-inflammatory condition of autoimmune etiology in recent twenty years, mainly manifesting as mass-forming lesions in single or multiple organs. In the past, it was often missed or misdiagnosed as inflammation or tumor. Patients may die from multiple organ failure due to end-stage fibrosis if they are not treated promptly. However, the number of clinically confirmed cases has gradually increased with the improvement of diagnostic level in recent years, and these patients have benefited greatly after receiving early treatment. Although patients generally respond well to traditional immunosuppressors including glucocorticoids and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, refractory and recurrent cases, even patients with glucocorticoid contraindication are common. Important mechanistic insights have been derived from studies of B-cell depletion therapy, but greater awareness of the pathophysiology of IgG4-RD is still badly needed to identify novel therapeutic targets. In this article, we reviewed the pathogenesis progress and promising therapy of IgG4-RD to seek better clinical management of IgG4-RD.

Objective To investigate the current conditions of water iodine,childrens'iodine nutrition and residents'edible circumstance of iodized salt in the villages with high iodine in drinking water and the adjacent three villages in Xiamen city of Fujian province.Methods Four natural villages of Qianbian,Donglian,Dazhong and Dongshan of Xiangan county were chosen as survey spots in 2008.In each village,one running water sample and all well water samples were collected to obtain the benchmark for each location.All children aged 7-13 year in the four villages underwent thyroid palpation and were selected to measure the urine iodine and the salt iodine.The water iodine and urine iodine were determined by As3+-Ce4+ catalytic spectrophotometry digestion,salt iodine was determined by direct titration.Results In four investigated villages,iodine of four running water samples were all 1.5μg/L.The range of 237 well water iodine samples was from 0.1 μg/L to 506.0 μg/L.There were 18.6% (44/237)specimens in which the well water iodine less than 10 μg/L,73.4%(174/237)between 10 μg/L and 150 μg/L and 8%(19/237)more than 150μg/L.The median of urinary iodine was 153.3 μg/L in 79 urine samples,which was 114%(9/79)more than 200μg/L and less than 300μg/L,12.7%(10/79)equal or more than 300 μg/L and less than 500μg/L,7.6%(6/79)equal or more than 500μg/L and less than 800 μg/L in all samples.Seventy-nine students were examined by palpation and the total goiter rate of children measured was 11.4% (9/79).Seventy-one samples of iodine salt were detected and the coverage rate of iodized salt was 77.5%(55/71).Conclusions The well water iodine contents have a wide distribution in the investigated villages.We should enhance the community awareness by educating them on the damage of iodine excess and iodine deficiency.