A total of 169 patients with short-duration type 2 diabetic mellitus (DM) were divided into atherosclerosis (AS) group and non-AS group according to the intima-media thickness (IMT) of three conducting arteries.The level of serum amyloid A (SAA) was assayed by ELISA.The results showed that SAA level of type 2 DM patients increased significantly, patients in AS group showed higher SAA level than that in non-AS group, and SAA level was positively correlated with age, body mass index, waist hip ratio and IMT of common carotid artery.Age, C-reactive protein and SAA level are the major risk factors for IMT of common carotid artery.

In order to clarify the pharmacodynamic substances and mechanism of Xiangju Preparations (Xiangju Tablets, Xiangju Drops) in the treatment of rhinitis and sinusitis, the multi-level network integration analysis of "ingredients-targets-pathways" was conducted. 137 chemical constituents were identified in Xiangju Preparations by high pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF/MS) for the first time. Network pharmacology analysis was performed on 59 potential active components. The results of network pharmacology analysis demonstrated that the medicinal ingredients in Xiangju Preparations included caffeic acid, senkyunolide F, rosmarinic acid, ligustilide, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, linarin, magnolin, luteolin, senkyunolide I and gallic acid. These ingredients act on the crucial targets of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 1B (IL1B), protein kinase B (AKT1), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and participate in the regulation of advanced glycosylation end products-receptor of AGEs (AGE-RAGE), TNF, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and cyclic guanosine monophosphate-protein kinase G (cGMP-PKG) signaling pathways to effectively treat rhinitis and sinusitis. The excellent binding performance between above 10 active components and 5 key target proteins was further confirmed by molecular docking, indicating that these 10 ingredients are pharmacodynamic substances of Xiangju preparations. In conclusion, this study preliminarily clarified the effective components and mechanism of Xiangju preparations in the treatment of rhinitis and sinusitis, and provided a theoretical basis for the clinical application of Xiangju preparations.

Animals ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic ; drug therapy ; Female ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Saponins ; therapeutic use ; Trigonella

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Songling Xuemaikang Capsule (, SXC) for the treatment of primary hypertension.

METHODSAn extensive search including Cochrane Library, PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), KoreaMed, Japanese database, and online clinical trial registry websites was performed up to February 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding SXC for the treatment of primary hypertension were searched without no language restrictions. The quality of each trial was assessed according to the Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook 5.0, and RevMan 5.0 provided by the Cochrane Collaboration.

RESULTA total of 17 RCTs involving 1,778 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference between SXC and antihypertensive agents on systolic blood pressure [mean difference (MD): -0.10 [-4.83, 4.63]; P=0.97] and diastolic blood pressure (MD: 1.00 [-1.16, 3.16]; P=0.36), but SXC combined with antihypertensive drugs was more effective in lowering systolic blood pressure (MD: -6.17 [-7.86, -4.49]; P<0.00001) and diastolic blood pressure (MD: -7.24 [-8.62, -5.85]; P<0.00001) compared with the antihypertensive drugs alone.

CONCLUSIONSSXC used alone or combined with antihypertensive drugs appear to be an effective treatment for lowering elevated blood pressure and improving symptoms in patients with primary hypertension. However, the conclusion cannot be drawn definitely due to the poor quality of the included studies. There is still an urgent need for well-designed, long-term studies to address the benefits of SXC for treating primary hypertension.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antihypertensive Agents ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Essential Hypertension ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; statistics & numerical data ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the assessment and influencing factors of the cerebrovascular function in 40-60 years old women in Guiyang city,and to provide information for the prevention of stroke in menopausal women.Methods Self-designed questionnaire was used among randomly selected healthy women aged 40-60 years who received health checkup from April 2016 to April 2017 in the Medical Examination Center of Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University.Levels of height,weight,blood pressure,blood lipid,blood glucose,blood uric acid and the cerebral hemodynamics were checked,comparing the influence of different factors for cerebrovascular function integral value differences,and assess the risk of stroke.Results A total of 439 cases were included in the study,the number of cases with abnormal cerebro vascular function (the score of cerebro vascular function score ＜75) accounted for 13.2％ (58/439).Increased age,being ethnic minorities,menopause,obesity,high blood pressure,high blood sugar,high blood uric acid,increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),total cholesterol and triglycerides were related to the abnormal scores of brain function,and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis indicated that minority,High HDL-C [OR(95％CI):0.38 (0.25-0.58),P=0.036],obesity [OR(95％CI):11.62 (5.17-26.14),P=0.001] and hypertension [OR(95％CI):14.87(2.46-89.75),P=0.001] are the factors influencing the cerebro vascular function.Conclusion The proportion of abnormal cerebrovascular function was 13.2％.Increased HDL-C is the protective factor for perimenopausal cerebro vascular function.Minority,obesity and high blood pressure are risk factors for cerebro vascular function,of which,the association between hypertension and cerebro vascular function worsens with elevated blood pressure.

BACKGROUNDThe auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) have been used to treat deafness for patients with neurofibromatosis Type 2 and nontumor patients. The lack of an appropriate animal model has limited the study of improving hearing rehabilitation by the device. This study aimed to establish an animal model of ABI in adult rhesus macaque monkey (Macaca mulatta).

METHODSSix adult rhesus macaque monkeys (M. mulatta) were included. Under general anesthesia, a multichannel ABI was implanted into the lateral recess of the fourth ventricle through the modified suboccipital-retrosigmoid (RS) approach. The electrical auditory brainstem response (EABR) waves were tested to ensure the optimal implant site. After the operation, the EABR and computed tomography (CT) were used to test and verify the effectiveness via electrophysiology and anatomy, respectively. The subjects underwent behavioral observation for 6 months, and the postoperative EABR was tested every two weeks from the 1 st month after implant surgery.

RESULTThe implant surgery lasted an average of 5.2 h, and no monkey died or sacrificed. The averaged latencies of peaks I, II and IV were 1.27, 2.34 and 3.98 ms, respectively in the ABR. One-peak EABR wave was elicited in the operation, and one- or two-peak waves were elicited during the postoperative period. The EABR wave latencies appeared to be constant under different stimulus intensities; however, the amplitudes increased as the stimulus increased within a certain scope.

CONCLUSIONSIt is feasible and safe to implant ABIs in rhesus macaque monkeys (M. mulatta) through a modified suboccipital RS approach, and EABR and CT are valid tools for animal model establishment. In addition, this model should be an appropriate animal model for the electrophysiological and behavioral study of rhesus macaque monkey with ABI.

Animals ; Auditory Brain Stem Implants ; Deafness ; surgery ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; physiology ; Female ; Macaca mulatta ; Male

Objective To explore the relationship between blood lipid levels and cerebrovascular hemodynamic indices (CVHI) in a young and middle?aged population, and to identify reference values for early warning of stroke. Method Between June 2015 and June 2016, a total of 6 252 young and middle?aged patients were assessed for cerebrovascular function in The Health Management Center of Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University. Patients were divided into abnormal and normal blood lipid groups. Differences in CVHI indicators and scores between the groups were determined, and factors influencing CVHI indices were compared using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Mean (Vmean), maximum (Vmax), and minimum blood flow velocity (Vmin) and cumulative scores for CVHI indices in the abnormal blood lipid group were significantly lower than in the normal blood lipid group (P<0.001). However, pulse wave velocity, characteristic impedance, peripheral vascular resistance, dynamic resistance, critical pressure, and differences between diastolic blood pressure and critical pressure were greater than those in the normal blood lipid group (P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that a high triglyceride level, overweight or obesity, high systolic blood pressure, high diastolic blood pressure, and age were risk factors for low CVHI scores, with odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 1.455 (1.195- 1.771), 2.271 (1.782-2.895), 5.967 (4.557-7.815), 4.251 (3.349-5.396), 2.560 (1.993-3.287), and 1.448 (1.189-1.763). Conclusion Abnormal blood lipid levels can lead to abnormal cerebrovascular function in young and middle?aged population; elevated triglyceride level was an independent risk factor for impaired cerebrovascular function.

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of cathepsin-B and -D in different time point after traumatic brain injury. METHODS: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) model was established on rats, cathepsin-B and cathepsin-D immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscope analysis were performed. Positive cells were counted by confocal microscope and image analysis techniques were used to determine the morphological changes in each group. RESULTS: Immunofluorescence staining results showed that cathepsin-B was activated 1 hour after TBI while cathepsin-D was not activated until 12hour after TBI. Both of them got to their peak during 4 to 8days, and kept a high level of activating 32days after TBI. Cathepsin-B and -D positive cells did not merge with caspase-3 positive cells until 6 h after TBI. CONCLUSION Cathepsin-B and -D could be the diagnostic markers of TBI and can estimating time course of lateral TBI. They blocked caspase-3 activation at the beginning period after TBI and started to promote cell death with caspase-3 6 h after TBI.
Animals ; Brain/pathology* ; Brain Injuries/pathology* ; Caspase 3/metabolism* ; Cathepsin B/metabolism* ; Cathepsin D/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Forensic Pathology ; Hippocampus/pathology* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lysosomes ; Male ; Neurons/metabolism* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate changes of autophagy after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its possible role.

METHODSRat TBI model was established by controlled cortical injury system. Autophagic double membrane structure was detected by transmission electronic microscope. Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and Beclin 1 were also used to investigate the activation of autophagy post-TBI. Double labeling with LC3 and caspase-3, or Beclin 1 and Fluoro-Jade to show the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis or neuron degeneration after TBI.

RESULTSAn increase of autophagic double membrane structure was observed in early stage (1 h), and the increase lasted for at least 32 d post-TBI. LC3 and Beclin 1 proteins also began to elevate at 1 h time point post-TBI in neurons, 3 d later in astrocytes, and peaked at about 8 d post-TBI. In both cell types, LC3 and Beclin 1 maintained at a high level until 32 d post-TBI. Most LC3 and Beclin 1 positive cells were near the side (including hippocampus), but not in the core of the injury. In addition, in the periphery of the injury site, not all caspase-3 positive (+) cells merged with LC3 (+) cells post-TBI; In hippocampal area, almost all Beclin 1 (+) neurons did not merge with Fluoro-Jade (+) neurons from 1 h to 48 h post-TBI.

CONCLUSIONAutophagy is activated and might protect neurons from degeneration at early stage post-TBI and play a continuous role afterwards in eliminating aberrant cell components.

Animals ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; metabolism ; Astrocytes ; metabolism ; pathology ; Autophagy ; Beclin-1 ; Brain ; metabolism ; pathology ; Brain Injuries ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Membrane ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cytoprotection ; Disease Models, Animal ; Fluoresceins ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; metabolism ; Nerve Degeneration ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Neurons ; metabolism ; pathology ; Organic Chemicals ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Time Factors ; Up-Regulation

OBJECTIVETo approach the effect of the donor antigenic specificity CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cell (Treg) on cellular immune tolerance function in rat composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA).

METHODSUse the method of immunomagnetic beads to separate CD4+CD25+ Treg, (1 x 10(6))CD4+CD25+ Treg was transfused to rat CTA model. Collected peripheral blood 30 days after operation, and used nylon wool column to separate B cell and T cell. With the stimulation of IgM, detected B cell proliferation and the level of IgG and IgA in serum. Observed the effect of CD4+CD25+ Treg on B cell and T cell function and the survival of allotransplants, and analyzed the data by statistics.

RESULTSThe purity of separated CD4+CD25+ Treg was 95.6%. The CPM of T cell of normal control group, topical intervention group, systemic intervention group and non-intervention group were (2436 +/- 358), (2273 +/- 136), (2338 +/- 228) and (3749 +/- 245). The CPM of B cells of normal control group, topical intervention group, systemic intervention group and non-intervention group were (2418 +/- 348), (2252 +/- 127), (2315 +/- 218) and (3720 +/- 224), there was a significant difference in these groups (P < 0.01). The serum level of IgG and IgA of topical intervention group and systemic intervention group were (12.56 +/- 1.30), (2.38 +/- 0.21), (13.48 +/- 1.23) and (2.86 +/- 0.24) g/L, and of normal control group was (12.35 +/- 1.28), (2.36 +/- 0.12) g/L, had no significant difference (P > 0.05). But Treg of non-intervention group was (16.58 +/- 1.12), (3.75 +/- 0.37) g/L, there was a significant difference in the non-intervention group and the three above groups (P < 0.01). The survival time of CTA in intervention of local and systemic groups were (97 +/- 13) and (63 +/- 10) d, which were significant longer than the non-intervention group [(22 +/- 8) d, P < 0.01].

CONCLUSIONSDonor antigen specific CD4+CD25+ Treg has significantly inhibited B cell and T cell function. It can induce immune tolerance and extend the survival time of CTA; as well local application is better than systemic.

Animals ; B-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Immune Tolerance ; immunology ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; immunology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred BN ; Rats, Inbred Lew ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology ; Transplantation, Homologous ; immunology