Objective To develop a method for separation and determination of safrole and 6-methyl coumarin in cosmetics by GC-MS. Methods The cosmetics were extracted with methanol and then dehydrated,and filtrated through the membrane of 0.45 ?m. The filtration liquid was injected into GC and GC-MS for detection and quantitative analysis with external standard method. Results The recovery rates of safrole and 6-methyl coumarin were 101.3%-106.0% and relative standard deviations of safrole and 6-methyl coumarin were 0.9%-1.4% and 0.9%-2.1% respectively. The detection limits were 5 and 10 ?g/g. Conclusion This method is accurate and sensitive for detection of safrole and 6-methyl coumarin in cosmetic.

Objective To investigate the effect of rosiglitazone on non-alcoholic fatty liver (NA and to explore the relationship between insulin resistance and NAFL. Methods Animal model of NAFL was established by feeding Sprague-Dawley rats a high-fat diet for 8 weeks. The model rats were then randomized into rosiglitazone-treated and untreated groups. The animals were sacrificed after being treated with rosiglitazone or vehicle for 4 weeks. The histological changes of liver were examined, and liver function, fasting plasma glucose, fasting serum insulin, serum lipid profile, leptin, and adiponectin were measured. Results As compared with untreated group, hepatic steatosis and liver function were significantly improved in rosiglitazone-treated group. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was 54±19 U/L vs 101±24 U/L, aspartic acid aminotransferase (AST) 151±37 U/L vs 198±48 U/L, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) 87±16 U/L vs 115±39 U/L, respectively (P<0.01). Serum adiponectin level was higher, and serum leptin level and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) were lower in rosiglitazone-treated group than in untreated group. HOMA-IR was 6.9±1.8 vs 12.0±1.2 (P<0.01). Serum triglyceride, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol level were significantly decreased in rosiglitazone-treated group as compared with untreated group (P<0.01). Conclusions Insulin resistance might play important role in the pathogenesis of NAFL. Rosiglitazone effectively reverses NAFL in animal model.

A 16-year-old "female" patient presented as hypertension,hypokalemia,male pseudohermaphroditism,lowered gonadal steroids and cortisol,elevated adre nocorticotropic hormone and pituitary gonadotropin,and 46 XY karyotype.The pat ient was diagnosed as 17?-hydroxylase deficiency,a rare case of congenital ad r enal hyperplasia."She" chose to remain female appearance and social gender af te r negotiation with the parents.Cryptor-chidism of both inguinal canals was surgi cally removed for preventing canceration.After the surgery,a very small daily dose of dexamethasone(0.187 5 mg at bedtime)was enough to control hypertension and hypokalemia,and the therapy of conjugated estrogens(Premarin)was given t o promote the development of female characters.After 6 months of treatment,nor motension and normokalemia remained,and pubarche and mammogenesis emerged.

Objective:To investigate whether ghrelin, a novel endogenous ligand of growth hormone secretagogue receptor ( GHS-R) , was expressed in the thyroid tissues of different thyroid diseases, and its implication. Methods:The paraffin-embedded specimens of thyroid tissues from 2000 to 2004 were obtained from 57 patients with different thyroid diseases, including 5 subacute thyroiditis, 8 Hashimoto' s thyroiditis, 7 hyperthyroidism (Graves disease) , 8 nodular goiter, 5 thyroid adenoma, 3 thyroid lympho-ma, 8 papillary carcinoma, 3 follicular carcinoma, 5 medullary carcinoma and 5 undifferentiated carcinoma cases. The specimens of normal peri-adenoma thyroid tissues served as controls. Immunohistochemi-cal staining was used to detect ghrelin expression. Results:(1) ghrelin expression was undetectable in the thyroid tissues of normal control, subacute thyroiditis, Hashimoto' s thyroiditis and Graves disease. (2) ghrelin expression was also undetected in the tissues of nodular goiter, thyroid adenoma and thyroid lymphoma. (3 ) ghrelin-positive staining was found in the tumor cells of different types of thyroid carcin-moma. Five cases were positive within 8 cases in papillary carcinoma, 2 cases were positive within 3 cases in follicular carcinoma, 3 cases were positive within 5 cases in medullary carcinoma, 3 cases were positive within 5 cases in undifferentiated carcinoma. Conclusion:Ghrelin is expressed in malignant epithelial thyroid neoplasmas, but not in autoimmune or inflammatory thyroid diseases and benign nodular thyroid diseases. The results indicate that ghrelin expression may play an important role in the occurrence and development of thyroid carcinoma.

The expression of TF-1 cell apoptosis-related gene 19 (TFAR19), a novel apoptosis-related protein, in the thyroid tissues of Hashimoto′s thyroiditis (HT) was investigated. TFAR19 expression was barely detectable in normal thyroid tissues, whereas positive expression was found in the thyrocytes of HT patients. The results suggested that the activation of TFAR19 apoptosis pathway may play an important role in the pathogenesis of HT.

Islet β cell protection is one of the key strategies for diabetes treatment. The new antidiabetic drug sodium-glucose cotransporter 2(SGLT2)inhibitor decreases blood glucose by inhibiting glucose reabsorption in the renal tubule, independent of insulin. Various clinical studies have shown that SGLT2 inhibitors improve β cell function. Furthermore, animal experiments have indicated that SGLT2 inhibitors increase β cell mass. SGLT2 inhibitors promote islet regeneration through stimulating β cell proliferation, inhibiting β cell apoptosis and dedifferentiation, enhancing transdifferentiation of α cells to β cells, and initiating progenitor-derived β cell neogenisis. Indirect effects of metabolic improvement(i.e.lowering glucose, losing weight, improving lipid metabolism), inhibiting inflammatory reaction, inducing glucagon-like peptide-1 secreted from α cells, and regulating gene changes might be involved in the β cell protection of SGLT2 inhibitors.

In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus,β-cell mass (BCM) is lost.Various treatments are developed to restore or reconstruct BCM.The development of non-invasive methods to quantify BCM in vivo offers the potential for early detection of β-cell dysfunction prior to the clinical onset of diabetes.PET imaging with radioligands that directly target the pancreatic β-cells appears promising.The ability to determine the BCM has been investigated in several targets and their corresponding radiotracers,including radiolabeled receptor ligands,antibodies,metabolites and reporter genes.Therefore,we summarize the recent progress in radionuclide molecular imaging of pancreatic β-cells.

One hundred patients with type 2 diabetic neuropathy were divided into L-carnitine group and control group with 50 eases in each group. Data showed significant improvements in clinical symptoms scores, visual analogue scale and quantitative sense test after 16-week L-earnitine treatment (all P < 0.05). The study demonstrates that L-earnitine has affirmative effect on patients with diabetic neuropathy, especially in alleviating pain.

Objective To evaluate the effects of metabolic factors on the quality of 18F-fluorode oxyglucose (18F-FDG) myocardial metabolic imaging in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods Seventy CAD patients aged 60 years or over with T2DM were studied with myocardial 18 F-FDG dual isotope simultaneous acquisition (DISA) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Fasting plasma glucose, total triglyceride (TG),total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-eholesterol(LDL-C), insulin, C peptide and glyeosylated hemoglobia (HbAlc) were detected. Insulin resistance and islet β cell function were calculated by using the Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) equation. Results Compared with the bad image quality group (36 cases), patients in the excellent image quality group (34 cases) were younger [with average age of (62.2±8.5) years vs. (67.6±8.3) years, P<0.01] and slimmer [with BMI of (24.7±2.6)kg/m2 vs. (26.1±2.5)kg/m2, P<0.05]. The levels of fasting insulin and C peptide were lower in the excellent image quality group than those in the bad image quality group [with fasting insulin level of 8.3 (5.1～12.4) mIu/L vs. 12.7,(6.1～17.9)mIu/L and C-peptide level of 0.6(0.5～0.9)nmol/L vs. 0.9(0.6～1.2)nmol/L, respectively,both P<0.05]. The HOMA insulin resistant index was reduced in the excellent image group [2.7(1.6～4.0) vs. 4.1(1.7～6.5), P<0.05]. Logistic regression analysis showed that obesity and age≥65 years were independent risk factors for image quality, with OR value of 3.73 (95% CI: 1.12～12.45,P=0.022)and 3.75 (95%CI:0.96～14.6,P=0.058)after adjustment of other metabolic factors. Conclusions Insulin resistance is the main factor that influences the quality of 18F-FDG myocardial metabolic imaging in patients with T2DM. In addition, age≥65 years and obesity are also risk factors for image quality.

Whether levothyroxine ( LT4 ) treatment improves outcomes following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer ( IVF-ET) in euthyroid women who have tested positive for thyroid autoantibodies remains unclear. In Pregnancy Outcome Study in enthyroid women with Thyroid Autoimmunity after Levothyroxine ( POSTAL) trial, which was a randomized controlled study involving 600 euthyroid women undergoing IVF-ET who were tested positive for thyroperoxidase antibodies, the miscarriage rate, clinical pregnancy rate and live-birth rate were not significantly different between the LT4 intervention group and control group. Therefore, LT4 treatment did not appear to improve pregnancy outcomes among women with thyroid autoantibodies undergoing IVF-ET.