BACKGROUND:Compared with the normal intervertebral disk, the density of nerve fibers and number of nerve endings and neuropeptides appear to be more in the degenerated intervertebral disk. However, this phenomenon does not occur in the normal y aged disk.
OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the axonal growth and induction of a painful neuropeptide and substance P using rat dorsal root ganglion neurons and degenerated human disc cells in vitro.
METHODS:The human intervertebral discs were harvested from patients with discogenic low back pain and normal people. And extracelluar matrix extracted from human degenerative intervertebral discs was cultured with rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. The promotion of axonal growth and induction of substance P of dorsal root ganglion neurons in extracted medium were evaluated through morphology observation and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the normal group, the content of nerve growth factor in the degenerative group was significantly higher and the average length of neuritis was significantly longer in the experimental group (P<0.05). After intervention with anti-nerve growth factorβ, the average length of neuritis became remarkably shorter. The percentage of substance P-immunoreactive cells was significantly higher in the degenerative group compared with the normal group (P<0.001). Nerve growth factors that highly express in the extracellular matrix from the degenerative intervertebral dick can promote neurite outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion neurons and induce release of neuropeptides related to pain transmission.

Diterpenes, Abietane ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Genital Neoplasms, Female ; drug therapy ; Humans

Objective To evaluate the security and biocompatibility of a new kind of absorbable high-strength PDLLA-CPP composite, which is used for internal fracture fixation. Methods According to the national standard of the procedure of appraise in food security and toxicology, micronucleus test of bone marrow cell, spermatic aberration test, chromosomal aberration test, and teratogenic test were measured with IP maximal tolerance dose of maceration extract from PDLLA-CPP composites. Meanwhile, chondrocyte culture with PDLLA-CPP composite was used to evaluate the effect of PDLLA-CPP composite on cartilage cell proliferation. Results Micronucleus test of bone marrow cell, spermatic aberration test, chromosomal aberration test, and teratogenic test were not affected by IP maximal tolerance dose of PDLLA-CPP maceration extract. PDLLA-CPP composite also had no cytotoxicity on cartilage cell proliferation. Conclusion PDLLA-CPP is a new and safe medical material with good biocompatibility and absorbability.

Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; genetics ; Cells, Cultured ; Female ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; Neurons ; drug effects ; Phenylalanine ; toxicity ; Phenylketonurias ; complications ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; rho GTP-Binding Proteins ; genetics

Action Potentials ; Animals ; Female ; Heart ; physiology ; Male ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; genetics ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; Sodium Channels ; physiology

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Mice ; Microscopy, Electron ; Sputum ; drug effects

Parkinson′s disease(PD),the second neurodegenerative disease in the world,is characterized by a combination of motor symptoms(rest tremor,bradykinesia,rigidity,postural instability,stooped posture and freezing of gait)and non-motor symp?toms(including psychiatric and cognitive disorders). The core neuropathological features of PD are the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the deposition of iron and cytoplasmic protein aggregates(Lewy bodies)inside neurons. Currently,clinical treatment for PD is symptomatic and there is no effective treatment to restore neuronal degeneration. In the PD therapy ,medication re?mains dominant. Anti-PD drugs are mainly based on the critical signal pathways or some specific targets which play a key role in the pathogenesis of PD to relieve the symptoms of PD. Research and development in novel drugs to prevent or treat PD have been a crucial subject,and some novel candidates are under development. In this paper,we summarize and analyze the anti-PD drugs,and make a brief discussion about its pharmacological targets.

By using the method of philology, 65 Hui prescriptions for treating cough were been collected to compare Arabic and Chinese names of pennisetum, anemarrhenae, honey, pease, white mustard, perilla and towel gourd stem. The Countif function in Microsoft Excel 2007 was used to count frequency of drugs in the prescriptions and summarize eight common Hui medicine for treating cough, namely sugar, honey, almond, fritillaria, liquorice, orange peel, white mulberry root-bark and lily. According to the commonly used drugs, philological studies and theories of Hui medicines, pathology and therapy of Hui medicines for treating cough were preliminarily inferred. In this study, 35 practical prescriptions and 30 simple and convenient Halal dietary prescriptions were summarized from collected prescriptions according to relevant literatures. On the basis of the long-lasting unique dietary therapy culture developed for Hui people, the simple and practical dietary prescriptions were defined according indications, therapy, prescription name and composition, and eight types of drug-admixed foods were summarized to relieve pains and improve health awareness and quality of life. Meanwhile, this study could also enrich and perfect the prescriptions, provide new ideas for improving health of patients, and lay a certain realistic foundation for further study of Hui medicines.
China ; ethnology ; Cough ; drug therapy ; ethnology ; Drug Prescriptions ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective To investigate the clinical features of primary retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF), and to find out better method for diagnosis and therapy. Methods Nine patients with primary RPF in Peking Union Medical College Hospital since 1990 to 2003 were analyzed retrospectively. Results All patients had abnormal findings in CT or MRI, and 8 of them had chronic non-specific inflammation of the retroperitoneum in pathology. Six patients had renal involvement and 2 of them had severe renal failure. Eight of the patients had received therapy with corticosteroid or tamoxifene. Conclusions RPF is an uncommon collagen vascular disease characterized by a chronic non-specific inflammation of the retroperitoneum.Because of the atypical manifestations of RPF, awareness of the disease is important.CT and (or) open biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis.Management typically includes surgery and drug treatment.Corticosteroid therapy or more recently,tamoxifen has been used successfully. The clinical and radiographic improvement with drug treatment has been seen in several patients and confirmed the diagnosis,thereby early diagnosis and treatment can bring the patient more excellent renal and general outcome.

Objective To explore the influence of age factor on the treatment of cutaneous hemangioma with (90Sr-90Y) applicator.Methods A total of 224 babies and children of different ages with cutaneous hemangioma were treated by using 90Sr-90 Y applicator.Then,the relation between their therapeutic effects and ages were analyzed respectively.Results The differences in the therapeutic effect between group of one month to less than one year and group of one to less than five years,and group of one month to less than one year and group of five to ten years,and between group of one to less than five ages and group of five to ten years (P＜0.05),were statistically significant.With an increase of the age,the recovery rate gradually decreased,but their effective rate,improvement rate and ineffective rate increased.In the 199 well-healed or effective patients,the differences in the distribution of treatment course between group of one month to less than one year and group of one to less than five years,and group of one month to less than one year and group of five to ten years,were statistically significant (P＜0.05); but the difference in the distribution of treatment course between group of one to less than five ages and group of five to ten years was not statistically significant (P＞0.05).The number of treatment course presented an increased tendency with an increase of the age for patients.Conclusions The age of patients is a factor influencing the therapeutic effect on cutaneous hemangioma with 90 Sr-90Y applicator.The younger the patients,the better their therapeutic effects,the shorter their courses of treatment,and the smaller the adverse reaction of beta ray.