OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical efficacy and action mechanism of acupuncture for premature ovarian failure (POF).

METHODSAccording to prospective cohort study design, 30 cases were included. Based on theory of regulating Chong and Conception Vessels as well as soothing the liver and calming the nerves, acupuncture at Guanyuan (CV 4), Dahe (KI 12), Taixi (KI 3), Taichong (LR 3), Baihui (GV 20) was applied, three times per week and 3 months were considered as one session. Totally two sessions were performed. The menstruation condition, estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and scores of the clinical perimenopausal symptoms were taken as treatment outcomes.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 86.7% (26/30) and the cured rate was 16.7% (5/30). The recovery rate of menstruation was 16.7% (5/30) and the regain rate of menstruation was 56.7% (17/30). After the treatment, the level of E2 was significantly increased from (45.41 +/- 18. 09) pmol/L to (59.07 +/- 24.21) pmol/L (P < 0.05), and the score of perimenopausal symptoms was obviously reduced from 14.28 +/- 8. 30 to 4.04 +/- 3.28 (P < 0.01). However, no statistical differences could be seen in FSH before and after treatment (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture has certain effect on improving menstruation and perimenopausal symptoms in POF patients, which is likely to he related with increasing the level of E2.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Estradiol ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Luteinizing Hormone ; metabolism ; Primary Ovarian Insufficiency ; metabolism ; therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of terpene penetration enhancers on membrane fluidity and membrane potential using HaCaT keratinocytes, and study the potential mechanisms of these terpene compounds using as natural transdermal penetration enhancer. Six terpene compounds, namely menthol, limonene, 1,8-cineole, menthone, terpinen-4-ol and pulegone, were chosen in this study on account of their good penetration-enhancement activities. The cytotoxicity of these terpene compounds was measured using an MTT assay. The fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) technique was employed to measure the change of membrane fluidity of HaCaT cells. The flow cytometer was used to study the alteration of membrane fluidity of HaCaT cells, and investigate the effect of terpene compounds on intracellular Ca2+. It was found that 6 terpene compounds possessed low cytotoxicity in comparison to the well-established and standard penetration enhancer azone. Those terpene compounds could significantly enhance HaCaT cells membrane fluidity and decrease HaCaT cells membrane potentials. Meanwhile, after treated with various terpene compounds, the Ca2(+)-ATPase activity and intracellular Ca2+ of HaCaT cells was decreased significantly. Terpene penetration enhancers perhaps changed the membrane fluidity and potentials of HaCaT cells by altering the Ca2+ balance of the cell inside and outside, resulting in the low skin permeability to increase the drug transdermal absorption.
Cell Line ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacokinetics ; Humans ; Keratinocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Membrane Fluidity ; drug effects ; Skin Absorption ; drug effects ; Terpenes ; pharmacokinetics

In order to identify the chemical constituents of Yushu tablets comprehensively, we studied the chemical constituents of CHCl3 extract from Yushu tablets by the ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-ion trap-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-IT-TOF/MS). It showed that there were more than 100 compounds separated, and forty-nine peaks among these were identified on the basis of high resolution mass spectrometry data and literature data reported. Determination of twelve peaks was further confirmed by standard substances. These components assigned to the different plant sources mainly included phenylpropanoids, triterpenoids, quinones and m-trihydroxybenzene compounds. By analyzing the chemical components of CHCl3 extract from compound Chinese medicine Yushu tablets comprehensively, this study provided the foundation for studying chemical components, pharmacodynamic substance and quality control of Yushu tablets.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Tablets ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Objective To investigate the preventive effect of Indomethacin for post-ERCP pancreatitis and hyperamylasemia.Methods A total of 600 patients,who were undergoing ERCP,were randomly divided into 3 groups to receive anal Indomethacin (n=200),intravenous octreotide (n=200) or no special medication (n=200) before ERCP.The level of serum amylase before and 24h after ERCP were measured,and the rate of acute pancreatitis and hyperamylasemia after ERCP were assessed.Results Serum amylase levels before ERCP of all groups were normal.The mean serum amylase level of Indomethacin group (101.3±77.7 U/L) after ERCP was significantly lower than those of octreotide group ( 176.6±138.3 U/L,P =0.040 ]and control group (227.2±264.9 U/L,P=0.048),while there was no difference between octreotide group and control group ( P＞0.05 ).The incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis in Indomethacin group (2.5％) was significantly lower than that of control group (9.5％,P=0.003),while there was no difference between octreotide group (4.5％) and control group ( P=0.05 ).The incidence of hyperamylasemia after ERCP in Indomethacin group (5.5％) was significantly lower than that of control group ( 13.5％,P=0.006 ),while there was no difference between octreotide group (10.0％) and control group ( P＞0.05 ).Conctusion Anal administration of Indomethacin before ERCP can effectively reduce the incidence of acute pancreatitis and hyperamylasemia after ERCP.

Animal models with kidney disease are generally divided into two types. One belongs to the models which imitate human kidney disease by the artificial operations, such as anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody nephritis, Heymann nephritis, anti-Thyl. 1 antibody nephritis, BSA nephritis and puromycin nephropathy. The other one pertains to the models which make themselves kidney disease, and appear the pathological characteristics naturally as like as human, such as HIGA mice with IgA nephropathy and NZB/WF1 and MRL/1pr mice with lupus nephritis. In addition,the transgenic animal models with kidney disease can also be established by the modern molecular biologic techniques including gene knockout and siRNA transfection. As for the studies related with kidney disease in pharmacodynamics and pharmacology of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), it is important to understand deeply the features of each animal model with kidney disease, and select accurately the proper models according to the different experimental objectives, and then, build the special models provided with the combination of disease with syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Therefore,it is the developmental direction for the further study to establish animal models with kidney disease, which should possess the characteristics of syndrome in TCM.
Animals ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; etiology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases ; etiology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Mice ; Streptozocin

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

Background and purpose:Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is one of the hot studied area in breast cancer research.Our aim was to explore the relationship between the clinical effect,pathological changes and the neoadjuvant chemotherapy containing THP and docetaxel on breast cancer.Methods:The expression of ER, PR and CerbB-2 in breast cancer tissue of patients who had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were detected by immunohistochemistry method.The relationship of age,ER,PR,CerbB-2,pathological stage and axillary lymph node metastasis with pathological complete response(pCR) was analysed.Results:For the patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy,the pCR of the positive ER(0%),PR(9.38%) was lower than that of negative ER(20.27),PR(90.63%) respectively.The pCR of the positive CerbB-2(33.33%) was higher than that of negative CerbB-2(9.74%,P

Objective To study effect of excessive iodine intake on sodium-iodide symporter(NIS)mRNA and protein expression of breast in lactating rats.Methods60 Wistar rats,having been weaned for one month,were randomly divided into three groups according to their body weights,I.e,①normal iodine(NI,30 rats);②ten fold high iodine(10 HI,15 rats);③one hundred fold high iodine(100 HI,15 rats).Eating food containing iodine of 300μg/L and drinking water of iodine at 5,1845,20 295μg/L,respectively.After fed for 3 months,the rats mated and had offspring,and urine and milk iodine of lactating rats were determined by As-Ce-catalytic spectrophotometric method.Their marmnary glands were sampled at lactation day 10.Then NIS mRNA expression by RT-PCR was determined and NIS protein by immunohistochemistry(SABC)was observed.Results The urine iodine of 10 HI group(3597.5μg/L)and 100HI group(25 404.3μg/L)increased obviously compared with that of NI group(344.7μg/L).The milk iodine of 10HI group(27.1×103μg/L)and 100HI group(191.0×1μg/L)was higher than that of NI group(6.0×103μg/L),but the increased fold of milk iodine was not paralleled with that of urine iodine.Difference of NIS mRNA expression was significant(F=24.19,P＜0.01)among the groups,and the NIS mRNA expression in 10HI(1.250±0.034)and 100HI(1.272±0.039)group were less than that in NI (1.532±0.044)group(P＜0.01).The breast NIS mRNA expression in lactating rats(1.532±0.044)was significantly higher than that in unlactating rats(0.879±0.018,P＜0.01).With the increasing iodine uptake,NIS protein expression decreased.Conclusions The NIS mRNA and protein in rat breasts is down-regulated by excessive iodine intake.So increasing extent of milk iodine concentration is inhibited,which is important to prevent off-spring from getting excessive iodine intake from parental generation.

Viral hepatitis was the most common infectious disease in china. But the diagnosis and treatment were varied because the viral hepatitis patients were hospitalized in different kinds of hospital such as infectious disease hospital, general hospital and Chinese medical hospital. It was necessary to know clinical characters and information of viral hepatitis patients in different hospitals. The general information, subtype distribution, prognosis, complication, medication and relations of onset with solar term from 41 180 viral hepatitis patients based on HIS data were analyzed. It was found that the age of patients between 18 to 59 years old was most; most patients were males. The national basic medical insurance was the most type of payment. The outcome of viral hepatitis in the youth and female were better than that in the old and male. Acute hepatitis was easer to restore than chronic hepatitis. Liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma were the two most complications. The peak of onset was during summer solstice, slight heat and great heat. The most common Chinese medicine was Diammonium glycyrrhizinate and the most common western medicine was reduced glutathione. The combination of D. glycyrrhizinate with reduced glutathione, polyene phosphatidylcholine and thymosin was the main pattern. But It was not knew if the combination of western and Chinese medicine was the most effective therapy to protect liver function. It was necessary to take deeply research of the relationship between the combination therapy and their effectiveness.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Glutathione ; therapeutic use ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; therapeutic use ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human ; drug therapy ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the mechanism of three kinds extracts (saponins, volatile components, polysaccharide components) of Qingxin Kaiqiao Recipe (QKR) in improving learning and memory capabilities of Alzheimer's disease (AD) rats.

METHODSA controlled comparison method was used. Totally 56 male SD rats were randomly divided into seven groups, i.e., the normal control group, the sham-operation group, the model group, the Aricept group, the saponin group, the benzene group, and the polysaccharide group, 8 in each group. AD rat model was established by bilateral hippocampus injection of Aβ1-40 (2 µL, 2.5 µg/µL). The next day after modeling rats in the saponin group, the benzene group, and the polysaccharide group, the saponin group, the Aricept group were intragastrically administered with saponin (at the daily dose of 9 mL/kg, 2.1 g/mL) , benzene (at the daily dose of 3.33 mL/kg, 5.7 g/mL) , polysaccharide (at the daily dose of 8.33 mL/kg, 2.28 g/mL), Aricept (at the daily dose of 1.67 mg/kg), respectively, once a day for 2 consecutive weeks from 10 am every day. Equal volume of normal saline was intragastrically administered to rats in the normal control group and the model group. Learning and memory capabilities were detected using water maze 2 weeks later. Expression levels of synaptotagmin-1 (Syt-1), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), glia fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) in the cortex and hippocampus of AD rats were detected using immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSLearning and memory capabilities could be improved by three kinds extracts of QKR. There was no statistical difference in the escape latency between the polysaccharide group and the model group (P >0. 05). The escape lacency was shortened in the rest treatment groups (P < 0.05). The escape latency was obviously prolonged in three kinds extracts of QKR groups, when compared with the Aricept group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, times for crossing platforms were significantly increased in the saponin group and the Aricept group (P < 0.05). Compared with the Aricept group, average times for crossing platforms were significantly lessened in three kinds extracts of QKR groups (P < 0.01). Compared with the sham-operation group, expression levels of Syt-1, IL-1β, GFAP, and βAPP in the cortex and hippocampus were increased in the model group (P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the expression of cortical Syt-1 increased in the saponin group and the benzene group; the expression of cortical IL-1β increased in the benzene group and the polysaccharide group; the expression of hippocampal GFAP increased in the three kinds extracts of QKR groups; expression levels of Syt-1, IL-1β, GFAP, and β-APP in the cortex and hippocampus decreased in the rest treatment groups (all P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the Aricept group, expression levels of Syt-1, IL-1β, GFAP, and βAPP in the cortex and hippocampus were significantly increased in three kinds extracts of QKR groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThree kinds extracts of QKR might play roles in anti-AD possibly by decreasing expression levels of Syt-1, IL-1β, GFAP, and βAPP in the cortex and hippocampus.

Alzheimer Disease ; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; Hippocampus ; Interleukin-1beta ; Learning ; drug effects ; Male ; Memory ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Saponins