Objective:Comparing the effect of different doses of simvastatin in lowering the serum lipid.Methods:79 patients were randomized into group A and group B,and were given simvastatin 10 mg*d-1 (group A) and 20 mg*d-1 (group B),respectively for a total of 8 weeks.Results:Comparing with baseline,in group A,TC,TG,LDL-C were decreased by 23.4%,20.0% and 30.7%,respectively (P＜0.01); HDL-C was increased by 17.5%.The content of serum TC,TG and LDL-C was decreased to the normal range in 12.8%,28.2% and 15.4% of the patients in group A.For the group B,TC,TG,LDL-C were decreased by 32.7%,22.8% and 42.8%,respectively (P＜0.01); HDL-C was increased by 13.7%.The content of serum TC,TG and LDL-C was decreased to the normal range in 65.0%,57.5% and 65.0% of the group B patients.Conclusion:Oral intake of 20 mg of simvastatin once a day can effectively reduce the serum lipid.The patients can well tolerate and no obvious side effect was observed in our study.

Objective To analyse the changes of a district general hospital before and after management by Shanghai Renji Medical Group through current situation survey,and explore the conditions for the development of district general hospitals.Methods The Zhujiajiao People's Hospital of Qingpu District in Shanghai was selected,and patients(n=50)and hospital staff(n=100) were conducted current situation survey with questionnaires which included the knowledge and evaluation of the hospital's current situation as well as the changes before and after management by Shanghai Renji Medical Group.Results Half year after management by Shanghai Renji Medical Group,great progress in medical work was achieved,with a favourable development trend.The rate of satisfaction on medical service evaluated by inpatients reached 89.60%,and 81.91% hospital staff had confidence in the sustainable development of the hospital. Conclusion Management by Shanghai Renji Medical Group has brought prospects for the Zhujiajiao People's Hospital.Under current environment,only certain conditions are met can a district general hospital achieve sustainable development.

OBJECTIVETo explore the expression of polymorphonuclear leucocyte adhesive molecules CD11b/CD18 and to study the possible mechanism of Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) for activating blood circulation to remove stasis in preventing vascular diseases.

METHODSForty-nine patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) but with no complications of hypertension and nephropathy were randomly divided into the treated group (26 patients treated by TCM) and the control group (23 patients treated by conventional treatment). They were treated for 3 months. The changes of urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER), CD11b/CD18 expression and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) concentration before and after treatment were observed.

RESULTSThe CD11b/CD18 expression and TNF-alpha concentration in DM patients were higher than those of normal range (P < 0.01). After treatment, the UAER, CD11b/CD18 expression and TNF-alpha concentration lowered significantly in the treated group (P < 0.01), but unchanged in the control group. Correlation analysis showed that the lowering of UAER was positively correlated with decreasing of CD11b/CD18 (r = 0.64, P < 0.01) and TNF-alpha (r = 0.56, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONExpression of CD11b/CD18 increases in patients with DM type 2. The mechanism of Chinese herbal medicine for activating blood circulation to remove stasis in preventing vascular disease in possibly related with its effect in inhibiting CD11b/CD18 expression.

Aged ; CD11b Antigen ; biosynthesis ; blood ; CD18 Antigens ; biosynthesis ; blood ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; blood ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

The effects of airborne particulate matter (PM) trace elements on health are widely concerned nowadays. Many achievements have been made while many unknowns exist. This article reports the recent research progresses, describes the effects of exposure to PM trace elements on health epidemiological evidence, toxicology findings, and raises some questions for future studies.
Air Pollutants ; standards ; toxicity ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; Environmental Exposure ; Environmental Health ; standards ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; Trace Elements ; standards ; toxicity

OBJECTIVETo compare the therapeutic effects of Radix Tripterygium hypoglaucum tablet (THT) and Tripterygium glycosides tablet (TGT) in treating erosive oral lichen planus (EOLP).

METHODSThe patients were randomized into two groups, and they were treated with THT (n = 47) or TGT (n = 47), respectively. The therapeutic effects were evaluated after 3 months treatment.

RESULTSFor the patients of grade 1, the total efficacy in TGT group was 85.71%, compared with 52.38% in THT group, the efficacy was statistically greater in the group receiving TGT (P = 0.043). However, for the patients of grade 2, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.173).

CONCLUSIONTGT is more effective in treating EOLP than THT for grade 1 patients. However, TGT is not suitable for patients of child bearing age.

Adult ; Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Female ; Glycosides ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Lichen Planus, Oral ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Tripterygium

Objective To investigate the influence of factors related to metabolic syndrome(MS)on the outcome in subjects without diabetes mellitus in a community.Methods A two-year follow-up study was conducted in 885 subjects who were enrolled in the epidemiologic survey carried out in Pingliang Community, Shanghai in 2002.Oral glucose tolerance test,lipid prefde,blood pressure(BP),body mass index(BMI),waist and hip circumferences were measured.Results (1)The baseline of BMI,fasting plasma glucose(FPG),2h plasma glucose after glucose loading(2hPG),BP,triglyceride(TG)in the subjects with impaired glucose regulation(IGR)increased significantly as compared to those with normal glucose regulation(NGR)(all P

Objective To analyze nucleic acid sequence homology of the 6 kb(pYC) plasmid of Yersina. pestis (Y. pestis) isolated from Yurman by searching GenBank. Method The search of sequence similarity was accomplished with BLAST. Results The pYC plasmid sequence had high homology with some genes in nueleotide sequence, such as: 97.1% homology with Shigella sonnei pKYM, 92.1% homology with Haemophilus influenzae(H. influenzae) gene, Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) gene LT2 and plMVSI with 88.2% and 87.2% of homology respectively, Escherichia coli(E, coli) O157:H7 and K-12, ECOR31 with 81.4%, 81.4% and 84.7% of homology respectively. This plasmid ORFs could code for some proteins which were similar with others in GenBank, such as: ORFi and H. paragallinarum replication protein B(47.2%), ORF4 and E. coli hypothetical protein(52.7%), ORF5 and Y. pseudotuberculosis Tile (48.3%), ORF6 and E. coil Pilx5/VirB5-1ike protein (42.3%), Y. enterocolitica TriD protein(38.5%), ORFIO and S. typhimurium LT2, E. coli O157:H7 hypothetical protein(83.1% and 81.9%, respectively), ORF11 and E. coli, damage-inducible protein J(81.4%). Conclusions The pYC plasmid sequence has high homology with a few bacterial genes of Enterobacteriaceac. This plasmid may code for some proteins that are similar with hypothetical protein, damnge-indncible protein, TriD and TilE protein, Pilx5/VirB5-hke protein of Escherichia or Yersinia.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of periodontal initial therapy together with Chinese herbal compound for clearing heat and detoxification (Abbr. TCM) on the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with chronic periodontitis (CPD).

METHODSThirty-four teeth of 24 patients with CPD were randomly assigned to the control group (17 teeth of 11 patients) and the treated group (17 teeth of 13 patients), they were treated for 8 weeks with periodontal initial therapy, but TCM was given additionally to the treated group. The GCF of the observed teeth was collected at the time before initial therapy (datum line) and at 2 and 8 weeks after treatment. At the same time, the clinical parameters, including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded, and the levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta in GCF were measured by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTSThe levels of TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta in GCF after treatment were significantly lowered in all patients as compared with those before treatment (P<0.01), while PD, CAL and BOP showed significant reduction (P<0.01). After treatment, TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta levels in the treated group were lower than those in the control group (TNF-alpha: 2.5551 +/- 1.0157 microg/L vs 3.4341 +/- 1.0762 microg/L, IL-1 beta: 0.1335 +/- 0.0216 microg/L vs 0.1471 +/- 0.0169 microg/L; P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONTCM could enhance the effect of periodontal initial therapy in lowering TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta levels, which was attributed to reducing the inflammatory reaction of periodontal tissues.

Adult ; Chronic Periodontitis ; metabolism ; therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Gingival Crevicular Fluid ; metabolism ; Humans ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

A sensitive LC-MS/MS method to determine cocaine and its major metabolite benzoylecgonine in guinea pig' s hair has been established. About 20 mg of decontaminated hair sample was hydrolyzed with 0. 1 mol x L(-1) HCl at 50 degrees C overnight, in the presence of cocaine-d3 and benzoylecgonine-d8 used as internal standards, and then extracted with dichlormethane. The analysis was performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Positive electrospray ionization (ESI +) and multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode were used. The limit of detection (LOD) for cocaine and benzoylecgonine was 1 pg x mg(-1). The calibration curves of extracted standards were linear over the range from 5 pg x mg(-1) to 250 pg x mg(-1) (r2 > or = 0.9997). The method was validated and applied to the analysis of guinea pig's hair after a single dose administration of cocaine hydrochloride. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine were not only detected, but also quantified in guinea pigs hair.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Cocaine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; metabolism ; Guinea Pigs ; Hair ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

As a keratinized material, nail recently has attracting researchers' attention in the pharmaceuticals analysis. There are comparatively limited studies concerning nail's xenobiotic determination and its mechanism. This article reported the development of a sensitive, specific and reproducible LC-MS/MS method, which could be as a foundation of other studies on drug determination in nail. It can also be regarded as the first report on organic drug in mainland China. Sixteen nail samples from volunteers, who were ingested clozapine for more than nine months, are confirmed positive after being analyzed by the method. It is found that contents of clozapine in the patients' nails are above the nanogram level. Besides, a comparative study of clozapine concentration in nails and hair was made, with a result that there exists a correlation between the two materials in terms of clozapine concentration.
Adult ; Antipsychotic Agents ; pharmacokinetics ; China ; Chromatography, Liquid ; methods ; Clozapine ; pharmacokinetics ; Female ; Hair ; chemistry ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nails ; chemistry ; Psychotic Disorders ; metabolism ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods