Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of therapy of soothing liver and clearing heat for the treatment of glucocorticoid-dependent adult chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura ( CITP) . Methods Thirty-two qualified glucocorticoid-dependent adult CITP patients with the syndrome of interior heat due to liver stagnation and liver failing in storing blood were enrolled into the study. Based on the primary regimen, the patients were additionally given Shugan Qingre Recipe ( mainly composed of Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Radix Bupleuri, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Radix Rehmanniae, Cortex Moutan, Herba Artemisiae Scopariae, Poria, Fructus Corni, Fructus Lycii, Herba Agrimoniae , Radix Rubiae, Radix Glycyrrhizae) for 3 months (12 weeks), 2 doses a day, decocting with water for oral use. Before and after treatment, the changes of Chinese medical syndrome scores and the laboratory indexes were investigated. Results (1) After treatment for 12 weeks, 10 cases were markedly effective, 16 effective , 5 improved, one ineffective, and the total effective rate arrived to 81.25%. ( 2) After treatment for one month, the scores of traditional Chinese medical syndrome were not improved ( P>0.05 compared with those before treatment) . At the end of 2-month and 3-month treatment course, the scores were improved obviously compared with those before treatment, the difference being significant (P<0.05 or P<0.01) . (3) Platelet count rose up from the fourth week of treatment, and the difference was significant compared with that before treatment ( P<0.01) . Conclusion Therapy of soothing liver and clearing heat shows certain ef fect for the treatment of glucocorticoid-dependent adult chronic CITP, and has satisfactory clinical prospect.

Objective The regulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) gene expression and enzyme activity by corticosterone, the main glucocorticoid in rat, during rat liver regeneration induced by partial hepatectomy (PH) was evaluated.Methods Bilateral adrenaleetomies (ADX) and sham-ADX were performed on ether-anesthetized rats 3 days before PH.Corticosterone in sesame oil was injected subcutaneously to adrenalectomied rats. ODC mRNA, ODC protein and enzyme activity were detected by RT-PCR, Western blotting and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. Results The ODC mRNA levels, protein accumulation and enzyme activity were lower in the intact liver compared to the regenerating liver.After PH, mRNA levels were remarkably enhanced in all groups (n=6 in each group) and peaked at 5 hours post-PH. Till 7 hours, the contents in all groups from high to low were ADX group,control group (Sham-ADX group), ADX treated with 10mg/kg and 40mg/kg body weight corticosterone group, respectively. ODC protein accumulation in ADX rats was higher than that in control rats (n=13, the same below), but it decreasod in corticosterone-treated (10mg/kg) rats until 24 hours post-PH, with a strong decline seen in 40mg/kg corticosterone-treated rats. ODC activity was rapidly promoted, and the highest levels were observed at 6 hours after PH in all groups (n=6 in each group). After corticosterone treatment, the activities declined significantly at 6 hours post-PH, with the lowest value found in the 40mg/kg group. Conclusion Corticosterone treatment results in dose-dependent decreases in ODC mRNA and enzyme protein both in the intact liver and the regenerating liver. The change in ODC activity is partially related to alterations of ODC mRNA and protein accumulation.

AIM: Stable human macrophage-derived foam cell model is significant for the study on artherosclerosis. This study investigated the feasibility of establishing macrophage-derived foam cell model using U937 cell lines. METHODS: The experiment was performed at Institute of Basic Medicine, Chengde Medical College from March to September 2006. ①U937 cell lines were purchased from Institute of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. ②Sixteen bottles of U937 cells (109 L-1) were incubated at 37 ℃ in saturated humidity containing 5% CO2 for 72 hours. Among them, eight bottles contained 100 ?g/L phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and 100 mg/L low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as experimental group, and the other eight bottles only 100 mg/L LDL as control group. ③Cell morphology was studied under light microscope by Wright's and Oil red O staining. Cell total cholesterol (TC) was measured after 72 hours of incubation. RESULTS: A large amount of lipid droplets were found in the cytoplasm by Oil red O staining in cells of the experimental group, but not found in control group cells. TC in cells of the experimental group was significantly higher than in control group [(520.13?37.52), (39.47?9.26) mg/g, t=35.18, P

Objective To investigate curative efficacy of tetramethylpyrazine in combination with chemotherapy in treatment of medium and advanced liver cancer and its effects on level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor ( BDNF).Methods 90 patients of medium and advanced liver cancer who received therapy from January 2011 to June 2012 were selected as research objects.According to therapeutic schemes, those patients were divided into the control group (n=42) and the observation group (n=48).The control group was treated with transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization ( TACE) , while the observation group was treated with tetramethylpyrazine in combination with TACE.Then, the short-term curative efficacy, long-term curative efficacy, level of BDNF and adverse reactions were compared.Results The total short-term therapeutic efficacy ratio in the observation group was statistically higher than that in the control group ( 83.3% vs 64.3%, P <0.05 ).During the three-year follow-up, the one-year and two-year survival rate in the observation group was statistically same with that in the control group respectively (75.0% vs 66.7%, 66.7% vs 59.5%), while the three-year survival rate was statistically higher than that in the control group (52.1%vs 30.9%, P<0.05).After treatment, in comparison with the control group, level of BDNF in the observation group was statistically lower(P<0.05).During treatment, incidences of liver function deterioration, abdo minal pain and diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, fever and headache in two groups were statistically same.Conclusion Tetramethylpyrazine in combination with TACE is effective for medium and advanced liver cancer, which can increase short-term and survival rate to some extent, significantly reduce level of BDNF with not increasing incidence of adverse reactions.

Objective To study the etiological agent of hand, foot and mouth disease ( HFMD) and the genetic characteristics of coxsackievirus A16 ( CVA16 ) strains isolated from clinical specimens of patients with HFMD in Liaocheng city in 2013.Methods Throat swab and stool specimens were collected from patients with HFMD in the disease surveillance hospitals in Liaocheng city from January to December 2013.Samples pos-itive for CVA16 strains were screened out for the isolation of virus strains with rhabdomyosarcoma ( RD) cells and Vero cells.The entire VP1 coding regions of 9 randomly selected CVA16 isolates were amplified and se-quenced.BioEdit and MEGA4 softwares were used for homology analysis.A phylogenetic tree among the 9 CVA16 isolates and 56 CVA16 representative strains of known genotypes and subgenotypes was constructed.Re-sults The results of PCR analysis showed that 747(77.73%) out of 961 specimens were positive for HFMD and among them, 74 samples (9.91%) were positive for EV71 strains, 130(17.40%) were CVA16 strains and 543(72.69%) were other enterovirus strains.The 9 CVA16 strains clustered into the B2b evolution branch of B genotype with the representative strains, sharing 97.7%to 100%homologies in nucleotide sequences and 99.3%to 100%in amino acid sequences.Conclusion Although EV71 and CVA16 strains were identified, other enteric viruses were the predominant pathogens causing HFMD in Liaocheng city in 2013.The CVA16 iso-lates belonged to B2b subgenotype.The pathogen spectrum of HFMD had already changed.It is necessary to strengthen the surveillance for EV71, CVA16 and other enteric viruses and understand their genetic characteriza-tions, which would be of great significance for the prevention and control of HFMD.

Objective:To study the preventive and therapeutic effects of silk fibroin peptides (SFP) on acute alcoholism in mice. Methods:In first experiment, the mice were randomly divided into four groups, and every group was treated by 56o alcohol (ethanol dosage 7.56 ml/kg bw) via i.g. Eighty mice were fed normal saline (NS) and different dosages of SFP (0.1, 0.5, 2.5 g/kg bw) 30 min later respectively, then the rate of ebriety and time of sobriety were determined. Another 72 mice were also divided into four groups and given NS and SFP similarly. The concentration of ethanol in serum was measured 1 h, 2 h and 4 h later respectively. In second experiment, the mice were also divided into four similar groups, but 56o alcohol was given at 6.16 ml/kg?bw via i.g. NS and SFP were given similarly, 0.5 h before alcohol. Two experiments were performed to observe the effect of SFP on prevention of temulence. Results:The time of sobriety and concentration of ethanol of SFP groups fed 0.5 and 2.5g/kg bw were lower significantly than those of NS group (P

Objective To observe the effects of secoisolariciresinol (SECO) and its metabolites, enterolactone (ENL) and enterodiol (END), on proliferation of MCF-7 cell line and to the probable mechanism. Method Effect of SECO, END, ENL and genistein (GEN) on MCF-7 proliferation was investigated by MTT assay. Cell cycle arrest was measured by flow cytometry (FCM). Cell morphology was observed by optical microscope. The anticarcinogenic mechanism of SECO was analyzed. Results SECO had promotive effect on the cell growth at lower concentration (≤40 ?mol/L) but inhibition effect at higher concentration (100 ?mol/L). ENL and END, however, showed significant inhibition effect at all tested concentrations (10~100?mol/L). The cell cycle progression was arrested at G2/M phase and apoptosis was observed by optical microscope. Conclusion Effect of SECO on the MCF-7 cell proliferation depends on its concentration. Inhibition effect of SECO may relate to its metabolites ENL or END.

Objective: To study diagnostic and predictive value of levels of high sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP) and cystatin C (CysC) for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in aged patients.Methods: A total of 60 ACS patients (ACS group) treated in our hospital and 60 healthy subjects (healthy control group) undergoing physical examination during Dec 2013 to Sep 2015 were randomly selected.Serum levels of hsCRP and CysC, and abnormal rates of hsCRP and CysC were measured and compared between two groups.Results: Compared with healthy control group, there were significant rise in serum levels of hsCRP[(3.02±1.13) mg/L vs.(7.95±2.38) mg/L]and CysC[(0.75±0.11) μg/ml vs.(1.35±0.43) μg/ml], and abnormal rates of hsCRP (0 vs.13.33%) and CysC (0 vs.11.67%) in ACS group, P<0.01 all.Conclusion: Serum hsCRP and CysC level measurements can effectively predict and assess occurrence, development and prognosis of disease in ACS patients, and provide clinical valid evidence for its diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Objective To determine whether p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) signaling pathway is involved in cerebral fractalkine-induced hyperalgesia in mice.Methods Two hundred and twenty-five male Kunming mice weighing 30-40 g were randomly divided into 4 groups:group control ( group C,n =55 ) ;group fractalkine (group F,n =60); group anti-CX3CR1 + fractalkine (group CF,n =55) and group SB203580 (p38MAPK inhibitor) + fractalkine (group SF,n =55).Fractalkine 100 ng was injected into cerebral lateral ventricle (i.c.v.) in groups F,CF and SF.Anti-CX3CR1 1 μg and SB203580 1 μg were injected i.c.v.at 1 h before fractalkine injection in groups CF and SF respectively.Paw withdrawal latency to a thermal nociceptive stimulus (PWL) was measured at 30 min before the drugs were injected into cerebral lateral ventricle and 30,60,120 and 240 min after fractalkine injection.Five animals were sacrificed after PWL measurement at each time point and their brains were removed for determination of phosphorylated p38MAPK protein expression (by Western blot analysis).Five animals were sacrificed at 30 min before the drugs were injected into cerebral lateral ventricle and 6,12 and 24 h after fractalkine injection for determination of IL-1β and TNF-α contents in the brain (by ELISA) in all the 4 groups.In group F 5 animals were sacrificed at 4 h after fractalkine injection for determination of action of fractalkine on microglia or astrocyte (by immunofluorescence).Results Fractalkine i.c.v.injection significantly reduced PWL and increased phosphorylated 38MAPK,IL-1β and TNF-α levels in group F as compared with group C.Pretreatment with anti-CX3CR1 or SB203580 significantly decreased fractalkine-induced hyperalgesia and phosphorylated-p38MAPK,IL-1β and TNF-α levels in groups CF and SF as compared with group F.Fractalkine was localized at microglia.Conclusion p38MAPK signal transduction pathway is involved in cerebral fractalkine-induced hyperalgesia in mice.