Forty two patients with coronary artery disease were studied by SPECT and planar methods with dipyridamoloe and rest Tc 99m-MIBI myocardial perfusion imaging. For SPECT, the sensitivity for identification of patients with coronary artery disease was 91%, and for planar methods, the sensitivity was 70%. Comparing dipyridamole with rest images, three kinds of defects were presented (persistent defect, reversible defect and defect in the rest imaging reduced in the dipyridamole imaging). The correlation between SPECT and planar methods was better than between SPECT and ECG. The agreement was 86% for the former and 78% for the latter. There were no serious side effects in the dipyridamole test.

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize low molecular weight chitosan-acetylcysteine (LMWC-NAC) conjugate and investigate its renal targeting profile and the rapeutic effects in model mice with acute kidney injury (AKI).METHODS: NAC was conjugated to LMWC by EDC/NHS reaction and the LMWC-NAC conjugate was identified by 1H-NMR. The cellular uptake of LMWC-NAC conjugate and megalin receptor involved in this process was investigated in vitro. In addition, the tissue distribution of ICG-labelled LMWC-NAC conjugate was investigated in nude mice. AKI were induced by LPS intraperitoneal injection (20 mg·kg-1).The parameters including Scr, BUN, inflammatory factors (TNF-α and IL-1β), and oxidative stress (MDA) were determined and renal histology was observed. RESULTS: LMWC-NAC conjugate was successfully synthesized by the amide interaction.The in vitrostudies demonstrated that the uptake of LMWC-NAC conjugate was mediated by the megalin receptor on HK-2 cells, and the tissue distribution experiment indicated that LMWC-NAC conjugate was mainly accumulated in the kidney.LMWC-NAC conjugate significantly suppressed Scr, BUN, inflammatory factors and oxidative stress (P<0.01) and improved kidney injury. CONCLUSION: LMWC-NAC conjugate showed good renal targeting profile and effect in recovering renal functions, which indicates the potential of LMWC-NAC conjugate as a safe and efficient drug delivery system for the treatment of AKI.

Ionic liquids are not limited to the traditional use of solvents because of their high permeability and excellent physicochemical and unique biological properties. Nowadays, with the deep understanding of their toxicity and biocompatibility, ionic liquids have been tailored as novel solutions to address potential problems of marketed drugs. Based on the research and development of modified new drugs, ionic liquids have been incorporated into drug synthesis and emerged as attractive environmental-friendly reaction media with milder reaction conditions, higher yields and easier reaction workups and drug delivery systems. In addition, they have been designed for effective drug carriers removing undesirable properties of solid drugs. Further, ionic liquids forming active pharmaceutical ingredients dedicated to the liquefaction of drugs for promising clinical applications.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the changes of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) expression in muscle of pressure ulcer rats and explore the relationship with apoptosis.

METHODSFifty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into nine groups (n = 6), the experiment groups were pressed 9 circles (3 circles/day, 3 days), then observed on the 1st, 3rd, hematoxylin and eosin staining under the microscope; the expression of TNF-alpha was detected by Western blot; the expressions of NF-kappaB and caspase-3 were determined by immunohistochemistry, and evaluated the relationship of TNF-alpha with NF-kappaB and caspase-3; the number of apoptotic cells in compressed muscle tissue was detected by Hoechst 33258 staining under the fluorescence microscope.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, histology examination showed that the tissue structure in experiment groups was in disorder, inter-space was wider, cell edema and the number of inflammatory cells were increased, the tissue was arranged in order and inflammatory cell recruitment was gradually attenuated. The expressions of TNF-alpha, NF-kappaB and caspase-3 were higher in the experiment groups than those in the control group (P < 0.05), reached their peak on the first day, gradually decreased on the 3nd day, but still had a significantly higher level than that in the control group (P < 0.01) on the 7th day; The number of apoptotic cells of experiment groups had a downward trend after the first rise under the fluorescence microscope; the expressions of TNF-alpha and NF-kappaB caspase-3 were found to have positive correlationship (P < 0.05), the expressions of NF-kappaB and caspase-3 were found to have positive correlationship (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONApoptosis is closely correlated with inflammation in deep tissue injury of pressure ulcer, NF-kappaB plays a role not only in the formation of inflammation, but also triggering apoptosis, which may induce the pathological change and clinical progress of pressure ulcer.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Inflammation ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; pathology ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Pressure Ulcer ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; metabolism ; pathology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between autophagy function in spinal cord and type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain in rats. METHODS: Forty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with a high-sugar, high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce the insulin resistance, and then received a single intraperitoneal streptozocin (STZ) injection to establish type 2 diabetes rat model. Two weeks after STZ injection, mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) of rats were detected, the rats with MWT and TWL decreasing to below 80% compared to baseline were chosen as type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain rats (group DNP, =24), the rest of the rats were chosen as type 2 diabetic non-neuropathic pain rats (group DA, =18). And another 18 normal rats randomly selected from the total were classified as control group (group C) and fed with common forage for 8 weeks. The MWT and TWL were measured again on the 3rd, 7th and 14th day after determining the grouping of DA and DNP, and then, the lumbar segments 4~6 of the spinal cord were removed from the executed rats for determination of the expressions of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3)、Beclin-1and P62 by Western blot. The co-expressions of P62 with GFAP or OX-42 or NeuN in spinal dorsal horn were detected in another 6 lumbar segments of diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) rats on the 7th day by immunofluorescence double dye method. RESULTS: Compared with group C, the insulin level was increased and ISI decreased in SD rats fed with high-sugar, high-fat diet, that meant the rats in insulin-resistance. After STZ injection, blood glucose rose to the standard of type 2 diabetes mellitus, i.e. ≥ 16.7 mmol/L. Compared with group C and group DA, MWT was significantly decreased, TWL shortened and the expression of LC3-Ⅱ and Beclin-1 in the spinal dorsal horn up-regulated, P62 expression down-regulated on the 3rd, 7th and 14th day in group DNP (<0.05). P62 was mainly localized in spinal dorsal horn and coexisted with neurons, and spots of P62 immunoreactivity could be detected in a few microglia but not observed in astrocyte. CONCLUSIONS The changes in expression of LC3-Ⅱ、Beclin-1 and P62 in spinal cord of type 2 diabetes neuropathic pain rats means autophagy activation of spinal, up-regulated autophagy of neurons in spinal dorsal horn mainly involves in the formation and development of type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain in rats.
Animals ; Autophagy ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; Male ; Neuralgia ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord

AIMTo investigate the effects of curcumin on the behavior of chronic constrictive injury (CCI) rats and the p-ERK, p-CREB, c-fos expression in dorsal root ganglion.

METHODS108 male SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: (1) Control group (treated with CCI); (2) Sham operation group; (3) Solvent contrast group; (4) Curcumin treated group(Cur 30, Cur 100, Cur 300), treated with CCI, intraperitoneal injected with curcumin 30 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1), 100 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1), 300 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) for 14 days after operation respectively. Thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) and mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) of rats were determined, respectively. Rats were killed on the 3th, 7h, 14th day after operation. The expression of p-ERK, p-CREB, c-fos in dorsal root ganglion were assessed by immunohistochemical analysis.

RESULTSIn Con group, the MWT and TWL declined gradually after operation. On the 3rd day, the rats represented the severest mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia(MWT was 15.3 +/- 3.0 g, TWL was 4.6 +/- 1.0 s). The expression of p-ERK, p-CREB, c-fos neurons were markedly increased in dorsal root ganglion. In Cur group, the MWT and TWL were also declined gradually, which were higher than Con group. On the 3rd day, the rats represented the severest mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia (MWT was 22.6 +/- 4.0 g, TWL was (5.6 +/- 1.1l)s in Cur 100 group), the expression of p-ERK, p-CREB, c-fos in dorsal root ganglion were lower than control group at each timepoint in each group.

CONCLUSIONCurcumin could attenuate the activation of p-ERK, p-CREB, c-fos in dorsal root ganglion to ameliorate the CCI-induced neuropathic pain.

Animals ; CREB-Binding Protein ; metabolism ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; metabolism ; Ganglia, Spinal ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Neuralgia ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of curcumin on the behavior of chronic constrictive injury (CCI) rats and the CX3CR1 expression in spinal cord dorsal horn and dorsal root ganglia (DRG).

METHODSeventy-two male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: 1) Sham operation group (Sham); 2) Chronic constrictive injury group (CCI); 3) Curcumin treated group (Cur), administrated with curcumin 100 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) ip for 14 days after CCI; 4) Solvent contrast group (SC), administrated with an equal volume of solvent for 14 days after CCI. Paw thermal withdrawal (PTWL) and paw mechanical withdrawal threshold (PMWT) were measured on 2 pre-operative and 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14 post-operative days respectively. The lumbar segments L4-5 of the spinal cord and the L4, L5 DRG were removed at 3, 7, 14 days after surgery. The expression of CX3CR1 was determined by immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTCompared with Sham group, PTWL and PMWT in CCI group were significantly lower on each post-operative day (P<0.01), which reached a nadir on the 3rd day after CCI (PTWL was 6.5 +/- 1.1, PMWT was 22.6 +/- 5.1), and the expression of CX3CR1 were markedly increased in spinal cord dorsal horn and DRG. In Cur group, PTWL were higher than in CCI group on 7, 10, 14 post-operative day (P<0.05), and PMWT were higher than those in CCI group on 10 and 14 post-operative day (P<0.05). The administration of curcumin could significantly attenuate the activation of CX3CR1 induced by CCI.

CONCLUSIONThe study suggests that curcumin ameliorates the CCI-induced neuropathic pain, probably by attenuating the expression of CX3CR1 in spinal cord dorsal horn and dorsal root ganglia.

Analgesics ; administration & dosage ; Animals ; CX3C Chemokine Receptor 1 ; Curcumin ; administration & dosage ; Disease Models, Animal ; Down-Regulation ; drug effects ; Ganglia, Spinal ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Male ; Neuralgia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Posterior Horn Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Chemokine ; drug effects ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of cochlear implantation by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a patient with cochleovestibular nerve hypoplasia. METHOD: Audiometry, radiological examination and fMRI of the auditory cortex were performed to a 15-year-old boy with bilateral hearing loss before cochlear implantation. RESULT: Results of pure tone audiometry and auditory brainstem responses showed profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Transiently evoked otoacoustic emission was absent on both sides. High resolution computed tomography revealed the inner ear malformation (incomplete partition I) on both side. Oblique sagittal reconstruction in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed the malformation of cochleovestibular nerve, fMRI demonstrated the activation of the right primary auditory cortex during 1-kHz monaural stimulation on the left side. No cortical activation appeared during the monaural right acoustic stimulation using the same sound pressure level. The child had subjective auditory response 1 month after cochlear implantation on his left side. CONCLUSION fMRI would be an effective measure in the assessments for the cochlear implantation candidates, combining with audiometry and radiological examination, especially when MRI shows cochleovestibular nerve malformation in these patients.
Adolescent ; Child ; Cochlear Implantation ; methods ; Cochlear Implants ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Vestibulocochlear Nerve ; abnormalities ; physiopathology

Objective: To explore the protective effect and mechanism of Somatostatin (SS) on the mice with Paraquat (PQ) poisoning, and to provide theoretical basis for clinical treatment of PQ poisoning. Methods: 48 SPF male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control group, SS group, PQ group and PQ+SS group, with 12 mice in each group. 20 ml/kg SS solution was intraperitoneally injected into the SS group and PQ+SS group, and the same amount of normal saline was intraperitoneally injected into the PQ group and control group. After 1 hour of the above treatment, PQ group and PQ+SS group were given 60 mg/kg PQ solution by one-time gavage, while the control group and SS group were given the same amount of normal saline by gavage. After the above treatment for 3 hours, the SS group and PQ+SS group were intraperitoneally injected with SS solution (20 ml/kg) again, and the PQ group and the control group were intraperitoneally injected with the same amount of normal saline. 6 eyeballs were randomly selected from each group for blood collection, and the levels of TNF-α, MPO and il-6 in the blood of mice were detected by ELISA and other methods. The left lung was taken after blood collection to calculate the D/W ratio. The levels of SOD, caspase-3 and MDA were detected in some lung tissues by chemical colorimetry, and the amount of NF-κB was detected by Western blot. The lung histopathological changes were observed under light microscope. Results: The mice in the control group and SS group showed normal activity and good general condition; Mice in the PQ group ate less and moved less, responded slowly to stimulation, breathed shallow and fast with thickened breath sound, had messy and dull fur, and had varying degrees of cyanosis on their lips and limbs; The above performance of PQ+SS group was less than that of PQ group. Under the light microscope, the alveolar structure of PQ group was disordered and seriously damaged. The pathological changes of lung tissue in PQ+SS group were significantly improved compared with that in PQ group, and the pathological scores were decreased (all P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, there was no significant change in the levels of various indicators in the SS group (all P>0.05) . While the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, Protein expression of NF-κB) , oxidative cytokines (MPO, MDA) and apoptotic cytokines caspase-3 in PQ mice were significantly increased, and the levels of oxidative cytokines SOD and lung tissue D/W were significantly decreased (all P<0.05) . Compared with the PQ group, the PQ+SS group, the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, Protein expression of NF-κB) , oxidative cytokines (MPO, MDA) and apoptotic cytokines caspase-3 decreased, and the levels of oxidative cytokines SOD and lung tissue D/W increased (all P<0.05) . Conclusion PQ poisoning can cause lung injury in mice, while SS can alleviate lung injury in PQ poisoned mice, improve the general survival state of mice, and play a certain protective role in lung injury caused by PQ poisoning, which may be achieved by SS throμgh reducing the inflammatory response, oxidative stress response and lung tissue apoptosis in lung injury caused by PQ poisoning.

Objective: To investigate the influence of different procedures of testicular sperm retrieval on the levels of serum inhibin B (INHB), antisperm antibodies (AsAb), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone (T) in patients with azoospermia. METHODS: We randomly assigned 210 azoospermia patients to receive testicular sperm extraction (TESE, n = 50), testicular sperm aspiration (TESA, n = 56), testicular fine needle aspiration (TEFNA, n = 64), or microscopic TESE (micro-TESE, n = 40). We measured the levels of serum INHB, FSH, and T and the positive rate of AsAb before and at 1 and 3 months after surgery. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline, the levels of serum FSH at 1 and 3 months after surgery showed no statistically significant differences in the TESE (［8.51 ± 4.34］ vs ［8.76 ± 3.07］ and ［7.24 ± 3.32］ IU/L, P >0.05), TESA (［7.70 ± 2.72］ vs ［7.90 ± 4.57］ and ［8.04 ± 3.65］ IU/L, P >0.05), TEFNA (［6.04 ± 3.17］ vs ［6.08 ± 2.70］ and ［6.10 ± 3.32］ IU/L, P >0.05), or micro-TESE group (［6.59 ± 2.74］ vs ［6.89 ± 1.78］ and ［6.75 ± 2.57］ IU/L, P >0.05); the positive rate of AsAb (IgM) was significantly increased at 1 month in the TESE (0.00 vs 14.00%, P <0.05) and micro-TESE groups (2.50% vs 15.00%, P <0.05), while the serum T level markedly decreased in the two groups (［16.52 ± 6.25］ vs ［9.25 ± 5.76］ nmol/L and ［14.16 ± 5.45］ vs ［8.23 ± 4.12］ nmol/L, P <0.05); the levels of serum INHB were remarkably reduced at 1 and 3 months in the TESE (［70.56 ± 23.17］ vs ［42.63 ± 15.34］ and ［44.05 ± 18.47］ pg/ml, P <0.05), TESA (［68.71 ± 14.74］ vs ［40.55 ± 20.51］ and ［42.11 ± 19.34］ pg/ml, P <0.05), TEFNA (［76.81 ± 27.04］ vs ［46.31 ± 19.28］ and ［48.32 ± 20.54］ pg/ml, P <0.05), and micro-TESE groups (［74.74 ± 28.35］ vs ［45.27 ± 18.83］ and ［47.64 ± 28.34］ pg/ml, P <0.05), but with no statistically significant differences among the four groups (P >0.05). CONCLUSIONS Different procedures of testicular sperm retrieval have different impacts on the testicular function and AsAb in patients with azoospermia.
Antibodies ; blood ; Azoospermia ; blood ; physiopathology ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Inhibins ; blood ; Male ; Sperm Retrieval ; Spermatozoa ; immunology ; Testis ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Testosterone ; blood