Objective To investigate the correlation between caspase-3 and left ventricular function at different phases after ischemia-reperfusion. Methods Totally 36 wistar rats were randomly divided into Sham operation group and ischemia-reperfusion(IR)group. The rat ischemic cardiac region of IR group was taken after 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24-hour reperfusion followed to 30-minute ischemia and detected for the activity fragment of caspase-3 P20, the activity of caspase-3, myocardial apoptosis index, left ventricular function (LVF) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) respectively. Results With reperfusion time prolonging, the activity fragment of caspase-3 P20 increased, the activity of caspase-3, myocardial apoptosis index, left ventricular function and CK-MB all changed. The activity fragment of caspase-3 P20 and CK-MB peaked at 6 h, and the activity of caspase-3 and myocardial apoptosis index at 12 h, and then maintained platform; LVSP and ?dp/dt_max increased while LVEDP decreased gradually with the reperfusion time prolonging. All indexes mentioned above of IR group had statistical significance as compared with that of Sham operation group(P

Objective: To quantitatively study the incidental extra-cardiac ifndings (ECFs) by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) in order to better recognize those lesions in clinical practice.
Methods: A total of 1169 suspected CAD patients received CCTA in our hospital from 2011-06 to 2013-03 and 1030 patients were enrolled in this study. There were 589 in-patients, 441 out-patients and 549 patients≥60 years of age,481 patients < 60 years of age. 3 physicians evaluated the incidental ECFs in the full ifeld of view (FOV) in different window level and window width for lung, mediastinum, thorax and upper abdominal areas. Clinical relevance of ECFs were classiifed by corresponding scores. Score 1, the patients with severe lesion need immediate treatment, score 2, the lesion with clinical and prognostic signiifcance and score 3, the ifnding without clinical signiifcance.
Results: There were 197/1030 (19.1%) patients having 224 ECFs and 27 (2.6%) patients having 2 ECFs; 90/1030 (8.7%) patients having 106 signiifcant lesions including 3 (0.3%) of lung cancer and 8 (0.8%) of pulmonary embolism; 107 patients with 118 lesions without signiifcance. ECFs were found in 114/589 (19.4%) in-patients and in 83/441 (18.8%) out-patients, P>0.05; 76/481 (15.8%) of patients < 60 years of age and 121/549 (22.0%) of patients≥60 years,P<0.05.
Conclusion: Unexpected ECFs detection rate was 19.1% in patients undergoing CCTA without further radiation exposure by reconstruction with the full FOV setting, and 8.7% of ECFs had clinical signiifcance. Radiologists should routinely analyze the extra-cardiac organs in CCTA.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effieacy and safety of 18 α-Diammonium glycyrrhizinate phosphatidylcholine complex (DGPC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B and or C with elevated aminotransferase. Methods 55 patients with chronic hepatitis B and or C, with serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of 2 to 10 times the upper limit of normal were randomly assigned to receive DGPC or Diammonium glyeyrrhizinate (DG) for 12 weeks. Then they were followed up for an additional 4 weeks. From week 1 to 10, DGPC or DG was given as 150 nag,three times a day (TID). At the 11th week,the drug was given as 100 mg,TID. Then 50 mg,TID for the 12th week. Results ALT was markedly decreased after receiving DGPC 4,8,12 weeks (P=0.00). ALT normalization rate at the end of therapy was similar (38.5% vs 34.5% ,P =0.76). Drug-related adverse events were similar. Conclusion DGPC can rapidly and safely decrease aminotransferase in patients with chronic viurs hepatitis.

Objective To investigate the effects of advanced glycosylation end-products (AGEs) on the expression of acyl coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase-1 (ACAT-1) in cultured THP-1 macrophages. Methods THP-1 cells were differentiated into macrophages after cultured in RPMI1640 media containing 0.1 ?mol/L PMA for 72 h. THP-1 macrophages were then exposed to AGE-modified bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA, at concentration of 50, 100, 200 mg/L) for 24 h or to 200 mg/L AGE-BSA for 0, 12, 24, 36 h. Expression of ACAT-1 mRNA and protein in THP-1 macrophages was measured by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Results After induced by 0.1 ?mol/L PMA, THP-1 cells stopped proliferation and differentiated into macrophages. Treatment of THP-1 macrophages with AGE-BSA resulted in an increase in the mRNA and protein levels for ACAT-1 in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Conclusion AGEs upregulate the expression levels of mRNA and protein for ACAT-1 in cultured THP-1 macrophages, which might be partly involved in the atherogenesis in diabetic patients.

Fourteen compounds were isolated from 95% ethanol extract by silica gel, MCI, and ODS column chromatography. These compounds were respectively identified as quercetin (1), kaempferol (2), (+)-catechin (3), fraxin (4), protocatechuic acid (5), gallic acid (6), methyl gallate (7), ethyl gallate (8), apocynol A (9), baccatin (10), cerevisterol (11), ellagic acid (12), 3, 3',4'-tri-0-methylellagic acid(13) and N-benzoyl-L-phenylalaninyl-N-benzoyl-L-phenylalaninate(14) by analyzing their spectral data and comparing with the previously reported literatures. Except for gallic acid (6), all other compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 1, 2 and 6 showed moderate anti-proliferation activities on tumor cells.
Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; toxicity ; Euphorbiaceae ; chemistry ; Humans ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Objective To assess the value of integrated 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT in differentiation of malignant and benign pericardial effusion. Methods 18F-FDG PET/CT were performed in 23 patients with pericardial effusion. The detected soft tissue tumor or nodulous lession in pericardium or the thickened pericardium, with the maximum standardized uptake value( SUVmax ) ≥2.5, was defined as PET/CT-positive. The invaded lession in pericardium with SUVmax ≥2.5 was also as the positive. The difference of SUVmax of benign and malignant lesions was analyzed with two-independent-sample test of nonparametric tests. The final diagnosis was confirmed by biopsy or post-operative pathology. Results The diagnosis were confirmed with 14 malignant and 9 benign lesions. The median of SUVmax was 6.0 in malignancy group and 2.2 in benign group (z= -3. 279, P =0.001 ). According to the pathology results, there were one false negative case and two false positive cases with PET/CT imaging interpretation. The sensitivity, specificity,accuracy, positive predictive value ( PPV ) and negative predictive value ( NPV ) of 18 F-FDG PET/CT in diagnosis of benignity or malignance of pericardium effusion were 92.9% ( 13/14), 7/9, 87.0% (20/23),86.7% (13/15) and 7/8, respectively. Conclusion For the patients with pericardium effusion 18F-FDG PET/CT may be a helpful modality for malignancy differentiation

Scavenger receptor CD36 could bind and endocytose oxLDL into macrophages which were then differentiated into foam cells that constitute the atherosclerotic lesion core, and was considered to be a potential target to treat atherosclerosis. In the establishment of the compound library of berberine (BBR, 1) analogues, we discovered that 13-hexylberberine (2) showed an antagonistic activity against CD36. Taking 2 as the lead compound, 21 derivatives were synthesized and their antagonistic activities were evaluated via an ELISA-like high-throughput screening (HTS) model. The primary structure-activity relationships were studied. It was indicated that the introduction of suitable groups at the 2- and 3-position of the aromatic ring A or at the 9-position of the aromatic ring D could enhance the activity. Among the 21 studied compounds, 7g bearing a benzyloxyl group at the 9-position provided a highest CD36 antagonistic activity with the IC50 value of 7.7 micromol L(-1). Besides, its antagonistic activity was further verified with Sf9 insect cell HTS model. So berberine analogues are a new family of CD36 receptor antagonists and worthy to be studied further.

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment of Caroli′s disease in children.Methods The clinical data,laboratory examination and radiological feature of 8 children with Caroli′s disease between Feb.1998 and Dec.2007 were analyzed retrospectively.All children underwent CT and abdominal ultrasonogram.Results Five cases of the 8 children were male and 3 cases were female.The mean age was 6.3 years old.The cases′ history were from 5 days to 4 months.The clinical symptoms showed that 3 cases had hematemesis,5 cases had hepatosplenomegaly,and 1 case had fever and turbid urine.Of the total 8 cases,5 cases were hepatic fibrosis and liver cirrhosis and hepatosplenomegaly,3 cases were portal hypertension,and 1 case had cholangitis.The other 3 cases were simple types.One case had infantile polycystic kidney disease.Laboratory analysis revealed 2 cases had dysfunction of liver and 1 dysfunction of renal.The imaging characteristics showed multiplied irregular dilatation of the intrahepatic bile ducts in enlarged liver,with central dot sign on CT scan.One case presented enlarged gastroesophageal vein.The 8 cases undertook conservative treatment,with no surgery.Conclusions The symptoms of Caroli′s disease are highly variable.Caroli′s disease should be focused especially on children with abdominal pain and hepatomegaly.CT is important for diagnosis of Caroli′s disease at earlier stage.The disease can be conservatively treated,and(or) surgically operated.

Objective: To observe the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) plus Luohua Anshen oral liquid for patients with perimenopausal insomnia. Methods: A total of 66 participants who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the randomized controlled trial and allocated to a treatment group and a control group at a ratio of 1:1, with 33 cases in each group. Both groups were given Luohua Anshen oral liquid as a basic treatment. The treatment group was additionally given EA every other day, three times a week. Both groups were treated for four weeks and a four-week follow-up was conducted. The scores of Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Kupperman index (KI) and traditional Chinese medicine sleep syndrome scale (TCMSSS) were recorded at pre- and post-treatment, and at the follow-up. Meanwhile, adverse effects were monitored and recorded. Results: After four-week treatment, the global scores of PSQI, KI and TCMSSS in both groups declined significantly (all P<0.05), and the decreases in the treatment group were more significant than those in the control group (allP<0.05). The global scores of PSQI, KI and TCMSSS in both groups at the follow-up visit were significantly different from the corresponding baseline (allP<0.05), while insignificantly different from those assessed at post-treatment (allP>0.05). The total effective rate was 93.9％ in the treatment group, significantly higher than 72.2％ in the control group (P<0.05). No significant adverse event was reported in this trial excepted one patient experienced slight dizziness in the first acupuncture treatment. Conclusion: EA plus Luohua Anshen oral liquid is safe for perimenopausal insomnia with satisfactory short- and long-term effectiveness, and it shows certain advantage compared with using Luohua Anshen oral liquid alone.

Objective:To observe the efficacy and safety of dexzopiclone plus auricular acupressure in intervening primary insomnia.Methods:A total of 72 participants who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial,with 36 cases allocated to a treatment group and 36 cases allocated to a control group.Both groups were given dexzopiclone as the routine treatment.Patients in the treatment group were given auricular acupressure with Wang Bu Liu Xing (Semen Vaccariae) seeds at the auricular acupoints related to sleep and emotion based on meridian theory,whereas for patients in the control group,the medical plasters with Wang Bu Liu Xing (Semen Vaccariae) seeds were only gently stuck to acupoints unrelated to sleep without stimulation.Patients in both groups were required to visit the hospital once a week for replacing the seeds and plasters.The course of intervention lasted for 8 weeks and the patients were followed up for another 4 weeks.Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Karolinska sleep diary (KSD) were used to evaluate the outcomes.Meanwhile,adverse effects were monitored and recorded.Results:In the enrolled 72 cases,4 patients (one in the treatment group and three in the control group) reported thirst and a bitter taste,and one case in the control group reported nausea and vomiting.At last,3 cases in the control group dropped out for adverse reactions,and 69 cases completed the clinical trial.After 8 weeks of treatment,the global scores of PSQI in both treatment and control groups decreased significantly compared with the baseline (both P＜0.001).Furthermore,the global score of PSQI in the treatment group was lower than that in the control group (P＜0.01).The global scores of PSQI in both groups at the follow-up were significantly different from the baseline (both P＜0.001),but insignificantly different compared with the post-treatment results (both P＞0.05).According to KSD,both treatment protocols could prolong the total sleep time,shorten sleep-onset latency,improve sleep efficacy and sleep quality significantly,and the changes in the treatment group were more significant.The total effective rate was 88.9％ in the treatment group,higher than 81.8％ in the control group,though the difference was statistically insignificant (P＞0.05).Conclusion:Dexzopiclone plus auricular acupressure is effective and safe for patients with primary insomnia both in short and long terms,and it is more effective than monotherapy of dexzopiclone.