Objective To investigate the association between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism and the memery function of schizophrenia treated with Aripiprazole.Methods Schizophrenic patients were diagnosed in according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV).A total of 78 Chinese Han subjects were involved in this study.The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP) was used to identify COMT genotypes.The Chinese revised version of Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-RC) was used twice to evaluate the memory function of patients treated with Aripiprazole alone before and after drug treatment for 8 weeks.ANOVA,rank sum test and t-test were used to statistical analysis.Results There was statistical difference of cumulative memory among the three groups (F=12.371,P=0.002),and Met/Met genotype showed much poorer cumulative memory than Val/Met and Val/Val genotypes (Z=-3.168,-2.641 ; P=0.002,0.008,respectively) Memory function was significantly improved after patients been treated with Aripiprazole except the associative memory(P＜0.05).Met/Met genotype showed more improvement of cumulative memory than other genotypes after Aripiprazole treatment (t=4.203,P＜0.01 ; t=3.024,P ＜0.01,respectively).Conclusions There may be a relationship between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and the memory function of schizophrenia in Aripiprazole treatment.Met/Met genotype of schizophrenia showed worst cumulative memory but best responsiveness in Aripiprazole treatment.

Objective To evaluate the short-term clinical efficacy and safety of administration of levosimendan or milrinone added to conventional therapy in patients with decompensated heart failure.Methods A total of 180 patients admitted due to heart failure [NYHA (New York Heart Association) class Ⅲ or Ⅳ] were randomly (random number) divided into control group,milrinone group and levosimendan group (n =60,each group).A continuous infusion of milrinone added to conventional therapy was administered for 72 hours in milrinone group,while administration of levosimendan for 24 hours in levosimendan group.The changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF),left ventricle end-diastolic diameter (LVDD) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) plasma level were compared between before and after treatment,respectively,and comparisons of improvement in cardiac function (NYHA class) and hospital mortality were carried out among three groups.Patients were further followed up at 3 months after treatment.Results The LVEF in levosimendan group after treatment had significantly more increased than that in control group [(32.0±6.3)％ vs.(30.6 ±5.5)％,P =0.007].Compared BNP before treatment,the sums of BNP deducted were 444.0 (-74.0,1068.0) pg/mL,469.0 (141.5,1151.5) pg/mL and 936.5 (437.8,1566.8) pg/mL in control group,milrinone group and levosimendan group,respectively after treatment (all P ＜ 0.01).Moreover,the deduction in BNP was more dramatic in levosimendan group compared with control or milrinone group (t =3.256 or 2.665,P =0.004 or 0.026).After treatment for 5 days,the probability at least of achieving more effectively better improvement in NYHA class (cardiac function) in levosimendan group was 2.036 times that of control group (95％ CI:1.030-4.028,P =0.041).The incidence of combined end point events (death or readmission) in levosimendan group was significantly lower than that in milrinone group (50％ vs.70％,HR =0.573,95％ CI:0.358-0.917,P=0.020),while in hospital mortality,readmission or 3-month mortality incidence was similar among 3 groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The short-term clinical efficacy of levosimendan is superior to that of milrinone or conventional therapy in patients with decompensated heart failure.

Objective To evaluate the improvement effect of levosimendan by vein injection on short term cardiac function of patients with decompensated heart failure.Methods One hundred and sixty patients admitted due to heart failure were randomly divided into levosimendan group and control group (80 subjects for each group).Patients in control group were given a regular therapy including diuretics,vasodilators (including the recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide),angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor(ACEI) or angiotensin Ⅱ receptorantagonists(ARB),β blockers,spironolactone and stain.Patients in levosimendan were administered levosimendan for 24 hours plus regular therapy.The improvements of dyspnoea in 9 days and cardiac function classification in 30 days after therapy were assessed.Mortality of 1 month and 3 month in two group were calculated and compared during follow-up.Results The dyspnoea improvement rate was superior than that of control group during 9 days (OR =1.956,95％ CI:1.156-3.310,P =0.013).The improvements in the levosimendan group were better than in the control group at 1 st day (OR =2.261,95 ％ CI:1.280-3.999,P =0.005),at 3rd (OR =2.002,95 ％ CI:1.111-3.607,P =0.021) and 5th day (OR =1.846,95 ％ CI:1.009 -3.377,P =0.047).However,there was no significant difference in term of improving dyspnoea between the levosimendan group and the control group at 9th day (P =0.126).Similarly,the improvement of cardiac function classification in the levosimendan group was superior than the control group during 30 days (OR =1.933,95％ CI:1.229-3.040,P =0.004).Although no significant difference was seen regarding of improving cardiac function classification between the two groups at 30th day after treatment (P =0.115),the improvements in the levosimendan group were better than in the control group at 3rd (OR =1.986,95％ CI:1.195-3.300,P =0.008),5th (OR =2.268,95 ％ CI:1.329-3.873,P =0.003),9th (OR =2.627,95 ％ CI:1.419-4.860,P =0.002) and 14th day(OR =2.212,95％ CI:1.189-4.112,P =0.012).Moreover,there was a nonsignificant reduction in terms of mortality in levosimendan group during 1-month and 3-month follow-up compared with control group (P ＞ 0.05).Condusion Levosimendan can effectively improve the short-term cardiac function in patients with decompensated heart failure.

Objective To investigate the short-term clinical efficacy of levosimendan on treating patients with decompensated cardiac insufficiency.Methods One hundred and twenty patients with heart failure (NYHA Ⅲ-Ⅳ or Killip Ⅲ) were randomly divided into levosimendan group(n =60) and control group(n =60).The patients in levosimendan group were given intravenous levosimendan for 24 hours beside conventional heart failure medications.The patients in control group were given the conventional heart failure medications.The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was recorded and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) were measured before and after treatment.NYHA grade and mortality also were recorded.All patients were followed up for 3 months.Results The LVEF in the levosimendan group after the treatment was (35.6 ± 13.3)％,significantly higher than that in the control group ((31.4 ± 6.7) ％,F =8.952,P =0.002).The BNP in two groups after treatment were lower compared with before treatment(P ＜0.05).And it was more remarkable after treatment in levosimendan group compared with control group (441.0 (212.5,1050.0) ng/L vs.870.0 (435.0,1267.0) ng/L,P =0.014).The change of NYHA grade in levosimendan group was better than that in control group after 5 d.The recovery rate and ineffective or deterioration rate in levosimendan group were 45.0％ (27/60),26.7％ (16/30) and 43.3％ (26/60) respectively,higher than that of control group (28.3％ (17/60),20.0％ (12/60),36.7％ (22/60)) (OR =2.280,95％ CI 1.163-4.468,P =0.016).There was no significant difference in term of mortality between in hospital and 3 months follow-up in the levosimendan and the control group (20％ (12/60) vs.25％ (15/60),28.3％ (17/30) vs.41.7％ (25/60),x2 =1.543,P =0.214 and x2 =2.590,P =0.108).There was a decreasing trend regarding of readmission rate during 3 months in levosimendan group compared with that of the control group (21.7％ (13/60) vs.33.3％ (20/60),x2 =3.591,P =0.058),but mortality or readmission rate was lower than that in the control group (46.7 ％ (28/60)vs.66.7％ (40/60),x2 =4.835,P =0.028).Conclusion The short-term clinical efficacy of levosimendan on treating patients with decompensated cardiac insufficiency is remarkable better than the traditional treatment.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of intravenous recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide in acute anterior myocardial infarction complicated with heart failure.Methods Two hundred patients suffered from acute anterior myocardial infarction complicated with heart failure were randomly divided into two groups:rhBNP group ( n =100) and control group ( n =100 ).All patients were given conventional treatment,patients in rhBNP group were given rhBNP on the basis of conventional therapy.The clinical effectiveness including the improvement of cardiac function,cardiac ultrasound data,the incidence of hospital adverse cardiac events,and six month follow-up were compared between the two groups.Results The degree of decompensation and Killip class in rhBNP group were better than those of control group after treatment ( improved dyspnea:significantly improved:36 vs 27 ; improved:49 vs 46; no improvement:11 vs 20 ; deterioration:4 vs 7 ; Ridit value:0.4618 vs 0.5382,P =0.043) ( Killip class:significantly improved:26 vs 20; improved:56 vs 45; no improvement:14 vs 25 ; deterioration:4 vs 10; Ridit value:0.4553 vs 0.5447,P =0.017 ).After treatment for one week,The LVEF improvement in rhBNP group was more remarkable than that of control group ( [ 53.0 ± 5.2 ] ％vs.[ 50.0 ±:6.2 ] ％,P =0.014).The occurrence rate of angina ( 13.0％ vs.27.0％,P =0.013 ),heart failure ( 18.0％ vs.32.0％,P =0.022) and major adverse cardiac events(MACE) ( 17.0％ vs.30.0％,P =0.030) inrhBNP group was lower than that in control group.During 6 months follow-up period,event-free survival in rhBNP group was higher than that in control group ( 69.0％ vs.55.0％,P =0.041 ).Conclusion Transvenous injection of rhBNP combined with other routine treatment can improve cardiac function in patients with myocardial infarction in acute anterior myocardial infarction.It can also decrease adverse cardiac events during hospitalization and increase event-free survival in 6 months follow-up period.

Objective To study the effect of dopamine receptors on neurological and physiological activities. Methods Dopamine D1 receptor gene (DRD1) knockout mice and dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) gene knockout mice were introduced, and double gene knockout mice were bred in our lab.Seven SPF male mice in each group were used in this experiment.The food intake, water intake, body weight gain for 24 hours were tested on the age of 30 d, 50 d, and 70 d and were compared with those of wild type mice.Results DRD1 gene and DRD3 gene showed significant effect on the body weight in mice in age of 21 day and 35 day, but at the age of 90 day, the differences became insignificant among the mice of various genetypes.Conclusions Dopamine may effect on the foraging and satiety in newborn mice through regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal ( HPA ) axis activity, and finally leads to a reduced body weight gain in newborn mice and puppies during lactation.Furthermore, DRD1 gene and DRD3 gene may influence on body weight of newborn mice through regulating mothers’ lactation, lead to a lower body weight at ablactation, and compensatory increase of body weight after ablactation.Our results provide a substantial foundation for studying the function and interaction of DRD1 and DRD3 genes.

Objective To investigate the correlation between interleukin 10(IL‐10) ,tumor necrosis factor (TNF‐α) and serum CD4+ T‐lymphocytes cell in people who infected HIV .Methods The HIV antibody screening test ,IL‐10 and TNF‐αmeasurement adopted enzyme‐linked immune‐sorbent assay(ELISA) .The HIV antibody confirm test adopted western blot(WB) and CD4+ cell count determination used flow cytometry .Results Compared with the normal control group(NC group) ,the concentration of TNF‐αand IL‐10 in patients group have statistically significant difference(P<0 .05) .Moreover ,the extent of the increase in group A(pa‐tients with the CD4+ T cell count less than 3 .5 × 105 cells/mL) was higher than that in group B(patients with the CD4+ T cell count no less than 3 .5 × 105 cells/mL) .Conclusion Due to the defect of the immune system ,the serum concentration of TNF‐αand IL‐10 in people infected with HIV would increased ,and the increase of the concentration could be more significant in patients whose CD4+cell count obviously decrease .This study have shown that dynamic measurement of TNF‐α and IL‐10 concentration would provide data to konw the patients′immune status and illness development .

Objective Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) play important roles in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).The present study was undertaken to investigate the mechanism of calreticulin (CRT) to promote FLS survival in RA.Methods FLS were isolated by enzymatic digestion of synovial tissue specimens obtained from RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients and cultured in vitro.The expression of Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 in FLS at mRNA and protein level was detected by quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR),Western blotting and immunofluorescence respectively.RA and OA FLS were cultured with different concentrations of recombinant human CRT for 48-72 h,the expression of Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 was detected by q-PCR and Western blotting.The proliferation of RA FLS following CRT stimulation was determined by MTT assay.Results ① Compared with FLS from OA patients (1.00±0.39;1.00±0.46),the anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL and Mcl-l mRNA expression (14.51 ±2.20;12.82±1.80) was significantly higher in the FLS from RA patients (t=10.47,1 1.02;P＜0.01);Western blotting analysis also showed increased protein levels of Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 in RA FLS;Immunofluorescence results showed higher expression of Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 in RA at the single FLS level;② CRT up-regulated the expression of Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 in RA FLS:compared with the control group (0 ng/ml),CRT stimulation at 10 ng/ml and 50 ng/ml increased the levels of Bcl-XL mRNA (1.70±0.28 vs 1.00±0.20,q=4.58,P＜0.05;1.87±0.35 vs 1.00±0.20,q=5.69,P＜O.05) and Mcl-1 mRNA (1.85±0.36 vs 1.00±0.20,q=5.63,P＜0.05;1.72±0.26 vs 1.00±0.20,q=4.77,P＜0.05) in RA FLS,while no significant effects of CRT on Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 mRNA expression were observed in OA FLS (F=1.49,1.60;P＞0.05);Western blotting results showed elevated protein levels of both Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 in RA FLS after CRT treatment at a concentration dependent manner.However,neither Bcl-XL nor Mcl-1 expression was significantly changed in OA FLS.③ MTT assay showed that CRT had no significant effect on the proliferation of RA FLS (F=2.88,P＞ 0.05).Conclusion Our results indicate that CRT-mediated up-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 may inhibit apoptosis and promote the survival of FLS from RA patients.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of conventional drug therapy combined with acupuncture and conventional drug therapy on the morbidity of post-stroke depression and recovery of neurological function in patients with acute stroke, and provide new ideas for prevention and treatment of post-stroke depression. METHODS: Sixty patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one.Conventional drug therapy was given in the control group;on the basis of conventional drug therapy,acupuncture was applied at Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN1), Neiguan (PC 6), Hegu (LI 4), Taixi (KI 3), etc. The treatment was given once every day, 6 times a week for 4 weeks in the two groups. The 24 Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD), modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian stroke scale (MESSS) scores were recored before treatment, after 1 week of treatment, and after 4 weeks of treatment in the two groups,and the morbidity of post-stroke depression was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After 1 week of treatment, the HAMD scale scores of the two groups were higher than those before treatment (both <0.05), and the MESSS scores were lower than those before treatment in the two groups (both <0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, the HAMD scale scores in the observation group were lower than that before treatment (<0.05), and significantly better than that in the control group (<0.01), but there was no significant difference in the control group before and after treatment (>0.05). The MESSS scores were lower than those after 1 week of treatment in the two groups (both <0.05), and the score in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (<0.01). After 4 weeks of treatment, the morbidity of post-stroke depression in the observation group was 23.3% (7/30), which was lower than 66.7% (20/30) in the control group (<0.05). CONCLUSION Early acupuncture intervention on stroke patients can not only promote the recovery of neurological function, but also reduce the morbidity of post-stroke depression effectively.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Depression ; therapy ; Humans ; Stroke ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To observe the effects of Chaihu Shugansan on gastric motility and mitochondrial function and mitophagy in rats with functional dyspepsia （FD） and to preliminarily reveal its mechanism in preventing and treating FD. Method:Thirty-two SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into the normal group， model group， Chaihu Shugansan （4.8 g·kg^-1） group， and domperidone group （4.5 mg·kg^-1） after one week of adaptive feeding， with eight rats in each group. Rats in all groups except for the normal group were exposed to modified tail-clamping stimulation for inducing FD. Four weeks later， the semi-solid nutritive medium was used to observe the gastric emptying rate of FD rats， and the serum citrate synthase （CS）， motilin （MTL）， and gastrin （GAS） were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The pathological changes in gastric tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， the mitochondrial characteristics by transmission electron microscopy， and the expression of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 （LC3） and voltage-dependent anion-selective channel 1 （VDAC1） by immunofluorescence co-localization. The mitochondria were extracted from fresh gastric tissue for measuring the reactive oxygen species （ROS）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， and superoxide dismutase （SOD） levels using the biochemical kits. The mitochondrial LC3， yeast Atg6 homologous（Beclin1）， and p62 protein expression was assayed by Western blot. Result:Compared with the normal group， the model group exhibited significantly reduced gastric emptying rate （P<0.01） and serum CS， MTL， and GAS levels （P<0.01）. HE staining showed no pathological changes like erosion or ulcer in the gastric tissue of rats in each group. However， the mitochondria in the gastric tissue were observed swollen and dilated under the transmission electron microscope， and vacuolar lesions appeared. The co-expression of LC3 with VDAC1 increased significantly （P<0.01）. The mitochondrial ROS and MDA levels were elevated significantly （P<0.01）， while SOD content was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. The protein expression levels of LC3 and Beclin1 were significantly up-regulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， whereas p62 protein expression was down-regulated significantly （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， Chaihu Shugansan and domperidone elevated the gastric emptying rate （P<0.05） and serum CS， MTL， and GAS levels （P<0.05， P<0.01）. It was observed under the transmission electron microscope that the mitochondrial nuclear membrane of the gastric tissue was intact， with clear structure and high density of mitochondrial cristae， and mitochondrial fission and fusion were observed in some parts. The co-localization area of LC3 and VDAC1 was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. The mitochondrial ROS and MDA levels declined significantly （P<0.05， P<0.01）， whereas SOD level rose （P<0.05）. The protein expression levels of LC3 and Beclin1 were significantly down-regulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while that of p62 was obviously up-regulated （P<0.01）. Conclusion:The mechanism of Chaihu Shugansan in preventing and treating FD may be related to the improvement of mitochondrial function and the inhibition of mitophagy in gastric tissue.