Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; drug therapy ; Tripterygium

Objective: To study the clinical features, image findings, therapeutic strategies, and prognosis of adult and juvenile patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA). Methods: The clinical data of 125 patients with TA were retrospectively studied. Results: There were 108 female and 17 male patients. The mean age of onset was (26.9±11.0) years and 31 patients were younger than 18 years at onset. Constitutional symptoms, pulse deficit, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were present in 38.4%, 71.2%, and 49.6% of patients, respectively. Compared with adult patients, the incidences of constitutional symptoms, pulse deficit and elevated ESR were lower in juveniles(P<0.05). Angiographic findings showed that Type I(40%), Type IV (20.8%) and Type V (30.4%) were common, and Type IIa (4.8%), Type IIb (1.6%) and Type III (2.4%) were seldom seen. Type I was more frequently seen in adult patients than in juveniles(P<0.05). Biopsy findings of 12 patients with quiescent disease showed active lesions in 7 patients. Eighty patients were followed up for a median duration of 36 months. Glucocorticoid was prescribed to 58 patients; cytotoxic agents were required for 16 of them; and remission was achieved in 57 patients. Bypass and endovascular interventional procedures were performed in 36 and 21 patients, respectively. Restenosis occurred in 34.7% of bypass procedures and 77.3% of endovascular interventional procedures. Conclusion: Diminished pulse is rarely seen in juvenile TA patients than in adults. Active vascular disorders may exist in patients with stable clinical manifestations. The incidence of restenosis is higher in endovascular interventional procedures than in bypass procedures.

Diabetic nephropathy ( DN) is one of the most serious chronic complications of diabetes and it is the main reason leading to end-stage renal disease.Epidemiological studies have shown that genetic susceptibility is one of the important factors in the development of DN . Regions coded by exon 4 of apolipoprotein E ( ApoE ) gene involved in lipid metabolism , which is considered to be a candidate susceptible gene for diabetic nephropathy .Articles on the relationship of APOE and diabetic nephropathy including case-control study , prospective follow-up study and meta-analysis are reviewed , and the conclusion suggests that APOE E2 allele may be one of the genetic risk factors for DN , and APOE E4 allele may be a protective factor.APOE may play its role in the development of DN through the participation in the lipid metabolism, regulation of cell growth factor activity in extracellular matrix and regulating gene expression in kidney protection and other aspects .However, the detailed mechanism of APOE polymorphism in diabetic nephropathy is unclear and needs further research .

Ginseng saponins are a type of important active substances in the ginseng genus plants. They have notable pharmacological activities of antineoplastic, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective activities, which have been drawn more attention to obtain minor ginsenosides by all kinds of methods. In this review, we discussed the latest progress for enrichment of minor ginsenosides by biological transformation of major ginsenosides. At the same time, we have a brief outlook of the research at bioconversion of ginseng saponins.
Bacteria ; metabolism ; Biotransformation ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Ginsenosides ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Panax ; chemistry ; metabolism

Objective To study the correlation between serum homocysteine ( Hcy ) level and C677T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ( MTHFR ) gene C677T polymorphism ( rs1801133) in patients with cerebral infarction, and feature of rs1801133 polymorphism and serum Hcy level in cerebral infarction patients with or without diabetes mellitus.Methods Case-control study.Five hundred and fifty six patients with cerebral infarction admitted to China-Japan Friendship Hospital from January 2014 to January 2015 were included as the case group while 275 subjects from medical examination center without cerebral infarction and diabetes mellitus matched with the case group.MTHFR C677T polymorphism was determined by pyrosequencing and serum Hcy was determined by circulating enzymatic.Chi-square test was used to analyze the distribution of genotype in different group; ANVOA was used to analyze the Hcy level with different genotype in patients with cerebral infarction, and LSD-t was used to pairwise comparison.Results Among the 556 patients with cerebral infarction ,TT genotype were 202 cases (36.33%), CT genotype were 257 cases(46.22%), CC genotype were 97 cases(17.45%).The T allele 44%, higher than the control group T allele frequencies 46.91%(χ2 =23.385,P<0.001).The level of TT genotype serum Hcy level (21.31 ±17.31) μmol/L were higher than CT genotype (14.88 ±7.71) μmol/L(P<0.001)and CC genotype(14.48 ±7.78) μmol/L(P<0.001).There is no significant statistics different in TT genotype frequency between Cerebral infarction patients with diabetes mellitus(36.77%) and without diabetes mellitus(36.44%) (χ2 =0.031,P>0.05), while the level of serum Hcy in Cerebral infarction patients with diabetes mellitus ( 18.16 ±12.90 )μmol/L is lower than Cerebral infarction patients without diabetes mellitus(23.47 ±19.53) μmol/L in TT genotype( F=4.652, P<0.05).Conclusions MTHFR TT genotype was related to serum hyperhomocysteine, and maybe save as the risk of cerebral infarction.The Hcy level in TT genotype cerebral infarction patients with DM is lower than the same genotype patients without DM.(Chin J Lab Med, 2016, 39:205-209 )

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells are considered as commonly used seed cells to construct tissue-engineered for repair of bone and cartilage defects. It is of great significance for cytology and tissue engineering experiments to study the common problems existing in the basic operation and how to avoid these problems in a timely manner. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the common problems existing in the process of operation in order to provide reliable methods about separation, culture and identification of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for beginners and researchers. These can reduce or avoid some errors and problems during operation. METHODS:Sixteen New Zealand white rabbits were selected as experiment objects, and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were separated from rabbits by iliac puncture, purified and augmented by using density gradient centrifugation combined with adherent culture method. Then cellmorphology was observed by inverted phase contrast microscope, growth curve detected by MTT method and cellphenotype identified by flow cytometry. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:We encountered some problems in the process of separation and culture, when we operated the first five rabbits. After careful y summarizing and analysis of the reasons, the operation was successful y completed on the rest 11 rabbits. Bacteria pol ution and cellaging were not found in the process of cellculture. What is more, the cells at passage 3 appeared with high-expression of CD29, and CD44, but low expression of CD14 and CD34. The cellgrowth curve showed that the proliferation activity of cells at passages 3 and 5 was higher than that at passage 10. Although the technology of separation, culture and identification of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells is mature, the failure wil be happen if we do not pay attention to the details of operation. By strictly carrying out normal operations, we can get high purity of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, which lays a good foundation for celland animal experiments in the future.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; metabolism ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Nitric Oxide ; biosynthesis ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Progesterone ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Animals ; Chlorine Compounds ; toxicity ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Female ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; biosynthesis ; genetics

Objective - （ ）- （ ） To observe the effects of renin angiotensin Ang aldosterone system RAAS in workers exposed to Methods - - occupational noise. Forty five workers with suspected occupational noise induced deafness were selected as noise ， ， exposure group using convenient sampling method. According to their tinnitus symptom noise exposure intensity and work age - ， ， they were divided into no tinnitus and tinnitus subgroups <90 dB and ≥90 dB subgroups work years <10 years and ≥10 years subgroups. Another 45 workers with no occupational noise exposure history were selected as control group. The levels of plasma （ ）， ， ， renin activity PRA AngⅠ AngⅡ and aldosterone of the two groups were detected and the aldosterone to renin activity Results ratio was calculated. The diastolic blood pressure of the noise exposure group was higher than that of the control group ［（ ）vs（ ） ，P ］ ， 80±7 76±8 mmHg <0.05 . However there was no significant difference in systolic blood pressure between the two （P ） （ ： groups >0.05 . The level of plasma AngⅡ in the noise exposure group was higher than that in the control group median vs ，P ） （ P ） 100.98 65.43 μg/L <0.05 . There was no statistical significance in other indexes between the two groups all >0.05 . The （ ： plasma AngⅡ level in < 90 dB subgroup in the noise exposure group was higher than that of the control group median 123.16 vs ，P ） 65.43 μg/L <0.05 . There was no statistical significance in other indexes among the two subgroups of tinnitus symptom or （ P ） work age in the noise exposure group and the control group all >0.05 . There were no significant differences in the abnormal ， （ P ） rates of PRA AngⅡ and aldosterone in plasma between the noise exposure group and the control group all >0.05 . Conclusion Occupational noise exposure may affect RAAS and lead to increased plasma AngⅡ levels in the workers. - Tinnitus and work age may not affect RAAS in occupational noise exposure workers.

Objective - （ ）- （ ） To observe the effects of renin angiotensin Ang aldosterone system RAAS in workers exposed to Methods - - occupational noise. Forty five workers with suspected occupational noise induced deafness were selected as noise ， ， exposure group using convenient sampling method. According to their tinnitus symptom noise exposure intensity and work age - ， ， they were divided into no tinnitus and tinnitus subgroups <90 dB and ≥90 dB subgroups work years <10 years and ≥10 years subgroups. Another 45 workers with no occupational noise exposure history were selected as control group. The levels of plasma （ ）， ， ， renin activity PRA AngⅠ AngⅡ and aldosterone of the two groups were detected and the aldosterone to renin activity Results ratio was calculated. The diastolic blood pressure of the noise exposure group was higher than that of the control group ［（ ）vs（ ） ，P ］ ， 80±7 76±8 mmHg <0.05 . However there was no significant difference in systolic blood pressure between the two （P ） （ ： groups >0.05 . The level of plasma AngⅡ in the noise exposure group was higher than that in the control group median vs ，P ） （ P ） 100.98 65.43 μg/L <0.05 . There was no statistical significance in other indexes between the two groups all >0.05 . The （ ： plasma AngⅡ level in < 90 dB subgroup in the noise exposure group was higher than that of the control group median 123.16 vs ，P ） 65.43 μg/L <0.05 . There was no statistical significance in other indexes among the two subgroups of tinnitus symptom or （ P ） work age in the noise exposure group and the control group all >0.05 . There were no significant differences in the abnormal ， （ P ） rates of PRA AngⅡ and aldosterone in plasma between the noise exposure group and the control group all >0.05 . Conclusion Occupational noise exposure may affect RAAS and lead to increased plasma AngⅡ levels in the workers. - Tinnitus and work age may not affect RAAS in occupational noise exposure workers.