Secondary osteoporosis is a feature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In recent years, several attempts have been made to develop specific markers for monitoring connective tissue metabolism in arthritic diseases. Our purpose, in this study was to assess pyridinium crosslinks (PYD and DPYD) excretion in relation to the activity of RA (changes related to sulphasalazine treatment). Fourty premenopausal female patients with active RA (mean age; 36.0 7.2 years), 20 postmenopausal women with active RA (mean age; 60.0 6.8 years), 23 postmenopausal women with OA (mean age; 56.1 6.6 years) and 17 premenopausal healthy subjects (mean age; 28.3 4.28 years) were enrolled in our study. All of the 40 premenopausal female patients with active RA were given sulphasalazine. The mean follow up period for these patients was 10.3 1.1 months. In all of these patients, urine samples were collected both in the active and in the inactive periods. Urine PYD and DPYD levels were measured by ELISA. Urine PYD levels were significantly higher in the active period (14.01 3.16 nmol/mmol cr) than in the inactive (8.25 4.23 nmol/mmol cr) period in patients with premenopausal RA (p 0.05). Urine PYD levels were significantly high in postmenopausal active RA patients (19.06 3.26 nmol/mmol cr) compared to premenopausal active and ind inactive, postmenopausal inactive RA patients, osteoarthritis and healthy controls. Urine DPYD excretion was similar in patients with premenopausal RA in the active (7.46 2.13 nmol/mmol cr) and inactive periods (5.08 0.87 nmol/mmol cr) (p 0.05). In active premenopausal RA patients, a correlation was found between PYD excretion and RAI, ESR, CRP and functional capacity (r=0.5729 p 0.01, r=0.5953 p 0.01, r=0.6125 p 0.01 and r=0.6232, p 0.01 respectively). But in the inactive period, no such correlation was was evident. In disease activity parameters did not correlate with DPYD excretion in either the active or the inactive period. As a result, urine PYD excretion was significantly high in patients with active RA. During sulphasalazine treatment, urine PYD levels decreased. This is attributed to improvement in bone destruction.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones/adverse effects ; Adult ; Aged ; Amino Acids/*urine ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/*urine ; Collagen/*urine ; Female ; Human ; Middle Age ; Osteoporosis/urine ; Sulfasalazine/*pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the therapeutic effects and mechanism of Jiechangning (JCN) decoction on carrageenan induced experimental ulcerative colitis (UC).

METHODSAfter sensitizing guinea pigs with carrageenan, we established UC animal models by free drinking water containing 2% acid degraded carrageenan (ADC). JCN decoction was orally administered once a day for 2 weeks after carrageenan treatment. Salicylazosulfapyridine (SASP) and normal saline were given to the other two groups as control. The levels of colon lipid peroxide (LPO), acid phosphatase (ACP) activity and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) were measured; colitis activity score (CAS) was carried out for assessment of the degree of tissue inflammation and injury; the colonic pathological changes were examined simultaneously with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and toluidine blue staining used to evaluate the therapeutic effects of JCN decoction and SASP.

RESULTSExperimental colitis models resembling human UC were successfully induced. The levels of tissue LPO, ACP activity and the content of tissue TNF-alpha were markedly increased in the model group as compared with the normal control group (P < 0.01) and were positively correlated with CAS. JCN decoction could reverse these changes like SASP. HE staining showed that JCN decoction and SASP could reduce CAS and the degree of tissue injury, toluidine blue staining revealed that mucosa and submucosa red metachromasia pellets in JCN group and SASP group were markedly fewer than those in the model group.

CONCLUSIONJCN decoction is effective in treating experimental UC, which provides theoretical basis for its clinical application.

Acid Phosphatase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Carrageenan ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Colon ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Gastrointestinal Agents ; pharmacology ; Guinea Pigs ; Lipid Peroxides ; metabolism ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Plant Preparations ; pharmacology ; Sulfasalazine ; pharmacology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of the clysters No. 1 of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in inflammatory bowel disease on rats and search the new way and evidence for IBD cures.

METHODThe rats were divided into four groups: normal control group (I), model control group (II), Sulfasalazine( SASP) treating control group (III) and traditional Chinese medicine clysters No. 1 group (IV). There were 20 rats per group. Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid was used to induce the experimental models. The WBC, RBC, platelets of peripheral blood were monitored. The animals are put to death by dislocation in 4, 7, 14 and 21 d after giving the medicine respectively. The pathological changes of the intestines were observed in different times.

RESULTCompared with group II, the counting of platelets of group IV got rise in seventh day after administration, as of well as the group III. There were no statistical differences in WBC and RBC, compared with group II after the medicine administration for two weeks. There was no witness in effect of SASP for IBD on rats on organize pathology in this experiment. The enema No.1 lightened pathological injure and promoted the effect of restoration of IBD on rats obviously.

CONCLUSIONThe TCM enema No. 1 has anti-IBD activities on inflammatory bowel disease in rats. The foundation is established that the IBD cure on clinic and the basis have been provided the action mechanism of Chinese medicine which is utilized to IBD further.

Animals ; Colon ; pathology ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Enema ; methods ; Hemoglobins ; metabolism ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; blood ; pathology ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymphocyte Count ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Platelet Count ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sulfasalazine ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVES: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mainly characterized by inflammation, ulceration and erosion of colonic mucosa and submucosa. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is an important mediator of visceral pain and inflammatory bowel disease. This study aims to investigate the protective effect of water soluble propolis (WSP) on UC colon inflammatory tissue and the role of TRPV1. METHODS: Male SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=8): a normal control (NC) group, an ulcerative colitis model (UC) group, a low-WSP (L-WSP) group, a medium-WSP (M-WSP) group, a high-WSP (H-WSP) group, and a salazosulfapyridine (SASP) group. The rats in the NC group drank water freely, and the other groups drank 4% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution freely for 7 d to replicate the ulcerative colitis model. Based on the successful replication of the UC, the L-WSP, M-WSP, and H-WSP groups were given 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of water-soluble propolis by gavage for 7 d, and the SASP group was given 100 mg/kg of sulfasalazine by gavage for 7 d. The body weight of rats in each group was measured at the same time every day, the fecal traits and occult blood were observed to record the disease activity index (DAI). After intragastric administration, the animals were sacrificed after fasted 24 h. Serum and colonic tissue were collected, and the changes of MDA, IL-6 and TNF-α were detected. The pathological changes of colon tissues were observed by HE staining, and the expression of TRPV1 in colon tissues was observed by Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: The animals in each group that drank DSS freely showed symptoms such as weight loss, decreased appetite, depressed state, and hematochezia, indicating that the model was successfully established. Compared with the NC group, DAI scores of other groups were increased (all P<0.05). MDA, IL-6, TNF-α in serum and colon tissues of the UC group were increased compared with the NC group (all P<0.01), and they were decreased after WSP and SASP treatment (all P<0.01). The results of showed that the colon tissue structure was obviously broken and inflammatory infiltration in the UC group, while the H-WSP group and the SASP group significantly improved the colon tissue and alleviated inflammatory infiltration. The expression of TRPV1 in colon tissues in the UC group was increased compared with the NC group (all P<0.01), and it was decreased after WSP and SASP treatment. CONCLUSIONS WSP can alleviate the inflammatory state of ulcerative colitis induced by DSS, which might be related to the inhibition of inflammatory factors release, and down-regulation or desensitization of TRPV1.
Animals ; Male ; Rats ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Colitis, Ulcerative/chemically induced* ; Colon/pathology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Interleukin-6/pharmacology* ; Propolis/therapeutic use* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sulfasalazine/therapeutic use* ; TRPV Cation Channels ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/pharmacology*