Aim To investigate the effects of Shaoqiduogan(SQDG)on immunological hepatic fibrosis induced by human albumin in rats as well as its possible mechanisms.Methods The model of immunological hepatic fibrosis induced by human albumin was prepared.The rats were randomly divided into 6 groups,namely normal control group,liver fibrosis model group,SQDG(42.5,85,170 mg·kg~(-1))treated groups and colchicine(0.1 mg·kg~(-1)) treated group.HE staining was used to examine the histopathological change.The activities of transaminase in serum,malondiadehyde(MDA)content,superoxide dismutase(SOD)and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)activities,hydroxyproline(Hyp)content in liver homogenate were assayed byspectrophotometry.The levels of hyaluronic acid(HA)and procollagen Ⅲ (PCⅢ)in serum were determined by radioimmunoassay.In vitro,the collagen production of hepatic stellate cell(HSC)-T6 stimulated with transforming growth factor beta1(TGF-β1)was measured with 3H-Proline uptake.Results SQDG had obvious protective effects on human albumin induced hepatic fibrosis in rats.The results showed that the serum ALT and AST decreased by SQDG treatment,but had no significant difference compared with model group.Pathological examination showed that SQDG could remarkably alleviate the hepatic fibrosis.SQDG not only decreased the Hyp content in liver homogenates,but also the elevated level of HA,PCⅢ in serum.SQDG also ameliorated the oxidative stress state of hepatic fibrosis rats,decreased the production of MDA and enhanced the activities of antioxidative enzyme including SOD and GSH-Px.Furthermore,SQDG(20～160 mg·L~(-1))inhibited the collagen production of HSC stimulated with TGF-β1 in vitro.Conclusion sSQDG has protective effect on liver fibrosis rats induced by human albumin.The mechanisms of its anti-fibrotic effects may be associated with its action of ameliorating the oxidative stress in liver,and inhibiting the production of collagen in HSC.

Objective To study prognosis of patients with fulminant hepatitis after plasma ex- change treatment using model for end-stage liver disease(MELD)scoring system.Methods 160 pa- tients were randomly divided into plasma exchange group and control group,and MELD score was calculated according to the original formula for each patient.The efficacy of plasma exchange was as- sessed by mortality and improvement in biochemical parameters and MELD score.Results The levels of total bilirubin(TBIL),INR and MELD score of patients whose MELD scores were between 30 and 40[TBIL,(379.4?40.4)?mol/L; INR,2.5?0.2; MELD,30.8?3.8]were lower than before PE treatment[TBIL,(509.7?64.6)?mol/L;INR,3.5?0.3;MELD,37.3?3.5].The levels of TBIL and INR and MELD score of patients whose MELD scores were higher than 40 [TBIL,(595.6?61.5)?mol/L;INR,3.8?0.4;MELD,39.8?3.5]were lower than before PE treatmem [TBIL, (650.4?66.3)?mol/L;INR,4.4?0.6;MELD,45.2?4.2].The mortality of patients in PE group with MELD score from 30 and 40 was 50.0%,while it was 86.7% in control group,showing significant differ- ence between PE group and control group(P＜0.01).The mortality of patients with MELD scores higher than 40 was 91.2% in PE group and 100% in control group,showing no significant difference between these two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusions Plasma exchange treatment can decrease the serum TBIL level, INR and MELD score of patients with fulminant hepatitis and improve liver function.Compared with the control group,plasma exchange can significantly decrease the mortality of patients in PE group with MELD score from 30 to 40,but no effect on patients with MELD score higher than 40.

Objective Labial gland biopsy is one of major diagnostic methods for Sj(o)gren's syn-drome(SS).Meanwhile,99TcmO-4 parotid scintigraphy has been proven useful for the clinical evaluation of SS.This study was performed to investigate the correlation between the two examinations and evaluate the semi-quantitative parotid scintigraphy in the early diagnosis and staging for SS patients.Methods There were 135 SS patients and 30 normal subjects as control group in this study.They all underwent 99TcmO-4 pa-rotid scintigraphy.Semi-quantitative analyses of parotid scintigraphy were conducted with parameters inclu-ding maximum accumulation ratio (MAR),maximum secretion ratio(MSR),time interval from stimulation to minimum count(tparotid),prestimulatory oral activity index (PRI) and poststimulatory oral activity index (POI).For comparison, the biopsy of labial gland was performed in each patient and the pathological se-verity was classified into grade 0,1,2,3,4 (also defined as subgroups).One-way ANOVA and q-teat were applied for the correlation analyses between the two examinations.Results There was significant difference between pathological subgroup 3 or subgroup 4 and the control in all the semi-quantitative parame-ters (q=6.79-38.64,P<0.O1).In subgroups 1 and 2,only PRI and POI showed significant changes compared with the control(q=8.33,8.63,all P<0.01).The pathological stages were negatively correla-ted with MAR(r=-0.679,P<0.01),MSR(r=-0.601,P<0.01),PRI(r=-0.724,P<0.01)and POI(r=-0.751,P<0.01),but only positively correlated with tparotid(r=0.364,P<0.01).Con-clusions Most semi-quantitative parameters of 99TcmaO-4 parotid scintigraphy may be well correlated with the pathological severity of labial gland biopsy in SS patients.Further,the semi-quantitative indices espe-eially PRI and POI may be helpful for the early diagnosis and staging of SS patients.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Polygonatum sibiricum on Yin deficiency model rats induced by long-term overload swimming.

METHODExcept for the normal group, all of the remaining rats performed the long-term overload swimming for eight weeks, with five days every week and once every day, to establish the Yin deficiency model. The daily swimming time increased from 10 min to 180 min at the end of the 7th week, with the water depth of 60 cm and the water temperature at 30 degrees C. After the success of the modeling, the rats were orally administered with different doses of aqueous extracts from P. sibiricum (2.5, 10 g x kg(-1)) for eight weeks. After the final administration, their blood were collected from orbits to measure immunoglobulin A, G and M (IgA, IgG, IgM), interleukin 2 and 6 (IL-2, IL-6) and cAMP, cGMP contents in plasma General behavioral indicators (weight, facial temperature, pain threshold and holding power) of rats were observed during the drug administration.

RESULTCompared with the model control group, aqueous extracts from P. sibiricum was given for eight weeks to significantly increase the rat weight and holding power of Yin deficiency model rats, decrease the facial temperature and the sensitivity of pain threshold, and increase IgA, IgG, IgM and IL-6 content and IgG content in serum, but without statistical difference. Aqueous extracts from P. sibiricum (10 g x kg(-1)) could also increase IL-2 content in serum, and decrease cAMP content and cAMP/cGMP ratio.

CONCLUSIONP. sibiricum could improve the general behavioral indicators (weight, holding power, pain threshold and facial temperature), immunologic functions (IgA, IgG, IgM) and cyclic nucleotide (cAMP, cAMP/cGMP), so as to ameliorate such Yin deficiency symptoms as dysphoria in chestpalms-soles, weight loss, soreness and weakness of waist and knees, immunologic dysfunction and cyclic nucleotide system disorders.

Animals ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Polygonatum ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Swimming ; Yin Deficiency ; drug therapy ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo explore the association of 8-hydroxyguanine glycosidase OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism with semen quality and the risk of male infertility.

METHODSThis case-control study included 620 idiopathic infertile patients and 385 normal fertile controls. We determined their genotypes by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and analyzed their semen quality by computer-aided semen analysis (CASA).

RESULTSThe individuals with OGG1 326 Cys/Cys showed significantly lower sperm motility and concentration ([52.1 +/- 26.7]% and (3.75 +/- 0.91) x 10(6)/ml, ln transformed value) than the Ser/Ser carriers ([59.0 +/- 21.8] % and (4.12 +/- 0.88) x 10(6)/ml, ln transformed value) (P < 0.05). The risk of male infertility increased 69% in the OGG1 326Cys allele carriers as compared with the Ser carriers (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.24 -2.31).

CONCLUSIONOGG1 326 Ser/Cys polymorphism might contribute to the risk of male infertility in the southern Chinese population.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; DNA Glycosylases ; genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Semen Analysis ; Young Adult

A RP-HPLC method was developed to evaluate the quality of Picrasmae Ramulus et Folium by simultaneous determination of five constituents including 1-hydroxymethyl-beta-carboline (1), 1-methoxicabony-beta-carboline (2), 4-methoxy-5-hydroxy-canthin-6-one (3), 4, 5-dimethoxy-canthin-6-one (4) and maackiain (5) in Picrasmae Ramulus et Folium. The samples were separated on a Kromasil RP-C18 (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) column eluted with acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid as mobile phases in gradient mode. The detection wavelength was set at 254 nm. The calibration curves and linearity of the above five standards were determined as (1) Y = 6 525.6X + 37.25 (0.009-1.780 microg, r = 0.996 8), (2) Y = 3 662.3X + 41.55 (0.005-0.920 microg, r = 0.999 5), (3) Y = 3763.1X + 146.87 (0.015-3.060 microg, r = 0.999 0), (4) Y = 2 174.1X + 21.52 (0.003-0.620 microg, r = 0.999 5), and (5) Y = 276.25X + 7.65 (0.010-1.960 microg, r = 0.998 9), respectively. The method is simple and repeatable, and can be used for the quality assessment of Picrasmae Ramulus et Folium.
Alkaloids ; analysis ; Calibration ; Carbolines ; analysis ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Chromatography, Reverse-Phase ; methods ; Flavonoids ; analysis ; Indole Alkaloids ; analysis ; Picrasma ; chemistry ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Pterocarpans ; analysis ; Reproducibility of Results

Objective:To study the effects of Tongxinluo,a traditional Chinese medicine,on the proliferation of peripheral blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs)in vitro.Methods:The Tongxinluo solution was prepared through ultrasonication according to the pervious literature.The mononuclear cells(MNCs)were isolated from the peripheral blood with Ficoll by density gradient centrifugation.MNCs were suspended in Medium 199 containing 20% fetal blood serum(FBS)and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF).After cultured for 7 d,the attached cells were characterized by Di-LDL uptaking and FITC-lectin binding by laser confocal microscope,and further identified through detection of CD34 and CD133 expression by flow cytometry.Then the cultured EPCs were incubated with Tongxinluo at a series of concentrations(0,50,100,200,500, 750,1000?g/ml)for different durations(0,6,12,24 and 36 h).The cell morphology was observed and cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay.Results:Incubation with different concentrations of Tongxinluo increased the proliferative ability of EPCs.Tongxinluo at 500?g/ml had the most prominent effect on proliferation and the effect increased as time went by and reached peak at 36 h(growth rate 54.18%,P

Objective To investigate the impact of fatty liver and its related factors on the effi- cacy of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.Methods ninety-eight patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with 180?g peginterferon?-2a plus ribavirin.Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and fatty liver were detected by ultra sonography.The body mass index (BMI),waist to hip ratio (WHR) and ho- meostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated.The serum HCV RNA level was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serum insulin level was detected by chemiluminescence analysis.The impact of fatty liver and its related factors on the efficacy of antiviral therapy were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Results Of 98 patients with chro- nic hepatitis C,35 (35.7%) were genotype 1,41 (41.8%) were genotype 2,13 (13.3%) were gen- otype 3,9 (9.1%) were undetermined genotype.The incidence of fatty liver in HCV infection of genotype 1,2,3 and undetermined genotype was 11.4%,9.8%,38.5% and 11.1%,respectively (X~2=7.83,P

AIM: To observe the efficacy of surgical excision combined with autologous limbus conjunctival flap transplantation in the treatment of pterygium accompanied with conjunctival cyst.METHODS: Totally 126 patients 188 eyes with pterygium were hospitalized in Department of Ophthalmology of Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology during August 2013 and August 2015.The patients were divided into two groups: observation group (11 eyes of 11 patients) with pterygium accompanied with conjunctival cyst and control group (177 eyes of 115 patients) with primary pterygium.All patients underwent slit lamp microscope examination, anterior segment photography, and anterior segment optical coherence tomography(OCT).The size of pterygium was calculated by multiplying neck width and length of the covered corneal.All patients underwent excision combined with autologous conjunctival flap transplantation, and the resections were performed pathological section with hematoxylin and eosin staining.All patients were followed up postoperatively for 4-28mo.RESULTS: All cases in the observation group were confirmed by postoperative pathological examination.All cyst walls were complete, and containing single layer of epithelial cells.The mean size of pterygium of the observation group was 6.9±1.7mm2, and 6.3±1.8mm2 for the control group.There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05).The mean postoperative healing time of observation group was 2.1±0.9d, and 1.9±0.8d for the control group.There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05).Recurrence was seen in two eyes within the follow-up period in the control group, and no recurrence in the observation group.CONCLUSION: Surgical excision combined with autologous limbus conjunctival flap transplantation is a safe and effective treatment for pterygium accompanied with conjunctival cyst.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of meatoplasty with the pedicle flap in the treatment of meatal stenosis secondary to chronic balanitis.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed 32 cases of meatal stenosis secondary to chronic balanitis treated by meato- plasty with the pedicle flap. All the patients had a history of chronic balanitis and had received meatal dilatation or simple ventral mea- totomy without significant effect. Their mean maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax) was (4.3 ± 2.4) ml/s. During the operation, A "/\"-shaped incision was made in the healthy epidermis and a flap was harvested from the frenulum. After complete removal of the scar, the flap was placed into the urethral wall, followed by reconstruction of the external urethral orifice.

RESULTSThe patients were fol- lowed up for 6 to 30 months, which revealed smooth urination in all the patients with Qmax of (26.7 ± 4.5) ml/s and normal erectile function and uresiesthesis.

CONCLUSIONWith little invasiveness and few complications, meatoplasty with the pedicle flap is an ideal surgical method for the treatment of meatal stenosis secondary to chronic balanitis. However, there might be some change in the normal appearance of the balanus postoperatively, and its long-term effect needs further observation.

Balanitis ; complications ; Constriction, Pathologic ; etiology ; surgery ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Male ; Postoperative Period ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Flaps ; Urethra ; surgery ; Urethral Stricture ; etiology ; surgery ; Urination