Objective To explore the relationship of the severity of coronary-artery stenosis with plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and Meprin-α.Methods Totally 237 patients in our hospital were divided into control group (CON group), stable angina group (SA group) and acute coronary syndrome group (ACS group), according to coronary artery angiography.Patients with acute coronary syndrome were divided into 3 subgroups: unstable angina (UA) group, non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) group and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) group.Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) were divided into 3 subgroups: low-score, medium-score and high-score groups, according to coronary angiography and Syntax score.BNP and Meprin-α levels were determined in patients with coronary artery disease, and the degree of coronary artery stenosis was evaluated.The differences in above indexes were analyzed and compared among the three groups.Results Plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α were higher in ACS group than in CON group [(233.16± 78.22)ng/L vs.(33.48 ± 13.71)ng/L, (26.89 ± 6.45) nmol/L vs.(12.83±0.66)nmol/L, both P＜0.05].Compared with UA group, plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α were increased in NSTEMI and STEMI groups (all P＜0.05).Compared with the control group, plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α in the Syntax scores-divided subgroups were increased (all P＜ 0.05).The plasma levels of BNP and Meprin-α in CAD patients were significantly increased along with the increase of Syntax Score.Spearman correlation analysis showed that low density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, BNP and Meprin-α levels had positive correlations with the occurrence of coronary heart disease, while high density lipoprotein level was negatively correlated with the occurrence of coronary heart disease (all P＜0.05).Conclusions BNP and Meprin-α levels in peripheral blood are significantly elevated in patients with coronary heart disease, and they are correlated with Syntax score.The risk of ACS is increased along with the increased BNP and Meprinα levels.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect and safety of Nuanxin Capsule (NXC) in treating patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).

METHODSAdopting the randomized, positive controlled, double-blinded design, 150 CHF patients were assigned to the treatment group and the control group equally, they were treated with optimal western medical therapeutic scheme in combining respectively with NXC and placebo for 24 weeks. The indices for effectiveness and safety evaluation, such as Chinese medicine syndrome, grade of heart function, myocardial contraction, as well as the re-hospitalization rate and mortality, were observed.

RESULTSThe total effective rate on heart function in the treatment group and the control group was 78.87% and 64.38% respectively, that on Chinese medicine syndrome was 85.9% and 63.0% respectively, comparisons of the two indices between the two groups all showed significant difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). And a better efficacy for improving patients' cardiac contraction function and quality of life was shown in the treatment group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The re-hospitalization rates in them were 23.9% and 53.4% respectively (P < 0.05), and 22.54% and 42.5% of the re-hospitalized patients had attack of acute heart failure, a significant difference was found between the two groups (P < 0.05). The mortality in them was 2.90% and 8.95% respectively, showing no significant difference between groups (P > 0.05). No obvious adverse effect was found in both groups.

CONCLUSIONSNXC could improve the heart function of patients, it has obvious curative effect and good safety in treating chronic heart failure.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Failure ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome

Une new flavonoids named as notabilisin K (1), together with four known compounds, morusin (2), mulberrofuran A (3), neocyclomorusin (4) and mornigrol F (5) are separated from 95% ethanol extracts of the twigs of Morus notabilis. Compounds 2-5 are separated from this plant for the first time. Notabilisin I, notabilisin J exhibits certain effect against cells of HCT-116, HepG2 and A2780 with IC50 values ranging from 1.47 μmol x L(-1) to 5.46 μmol x L(-1). Morusin exhibits strong effect against five kinds of human cancer cells (BGC823, A2780, HCT-116, HepG2 and NCI-H1650) with IC50 values ranging from 0.74 μmol x L(-1) to 1.58 μmol x L(-1).
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; chemistry ; Benzofurans ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Morus ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; Terpenes ; chemistry

· AIM: To summarize the clinical features of Chinese primary congenital glaucoma and to investigate the discrepancies of the clinical features between the Chinese and Indian patients.congenital glaucoma patients were reviewed. The clinical features were summarized as several quantifiable clinical parameters and the severity of the disease was evaluated. Both the quantified clinical features and severity were statistically compared with those of the Indian patients, which were cited from the previous published articles.included in the study. In Chinese patients, sex ratio (male to female )was about 2:1, family history was presented in 3 patients (7.5%) and consanguinity was found in one patient (2.5%). The main symptoms and signs observed in Chinese patients spanned a wide spectrum of manifestations. The most frequent signs noted on the initial examination were enlarged eyeball (42.5%) and decreased visual acuity (35.0%). Compared with Indian patients, Chinese patients had a later onset, a delayed diagnosis, more severe corneal changes and more severe optic nerve damages (P＜0.01). The combined tabeculectomy and trabeculotomy operation was preferred by both Chinese and Indian doctors whereas a higher proportion of Indian patients received the combined operation (P＜0.01). The proportions of the severity grade were different between Chinese and Indian patients. Most Chinese patients were in the severe grade while most Indian patients were in the very severe grade (P＜0.01).patients were sporadic and non-consanguineous.Compared with Indian patients, Chinese patients had a relative later onset, a delayed diagnosis and treatment.More attempts are needed in Chinese PCG prevention and treatment.

Objective To explore the correlation of bone metabolism levels and risk of coronary heart disease in elder women patients .Methods A total of 163 elder women patients were divided into three group:CON group ,CAD group ,and CHD group .We explored related atherosclerosis risk factors and factors related to bone metabolism .Results Compared with CON group ,there was no statistical significance in CAD group in factors related to bone metabolism(P>0 .05) .In CHD group ,serum 25‐OH‐Vitamin D significantly decreased and β‐C‐terminal telopeptide of type Ⅰ collagen significantly increased compared with CON group(P<0 .05) .Compared with CAD group ,the serum 25‐OH‐Vitamin C also significantly decreased andβ‐C‐terminal telopeptide of type Ⅰcollagen significantly increased(P< 0 .05) .Spearman correlation analysis showed that BMI ,HDL‐C ,triglycerides ,LDL‐C ,blood glucose and 25‐OH‐Vitamin D were correlated with coronary heart disease .With coronary heart disease as the dependent variable , the results showed lower LDL‐C ,25‐OH‐Vitamin D had independent predictive value for the risk coronary heart disease .Conclusion Lower 25‐OH‐Vitamin D levels in elder patients were positively correlated with coronary heart disease ,and it might also be an in‐dependent predictor .

OBJECTIVETo study the distribution laws of Chinese medicine syndromes in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) by clinical epidemiologic investigation.

METHODS512 CHF patients were studied, including 168 items of symptoms and 48 items of tongue and pulse pictures. A database of Chinese medicine syndromes was established, and 9 disease nature elements and 5 disease location elements were extracted. Frequency analysis was performed on all symptoms, tongue and pulse pictures. The variables with frequency constituent ratio less than 10.0% were deleted. Then the features of clinical epidemiology, syndrome patterns, syndrome elements, main symptoms, as well as tongue and pulse pictures were analyzed.

RESULTS(1) The disease nature elements of CHF covered qi deficiency, yin deficiency, and yang deficiency (categorized as the essential deficiency), as well as blood stasis, turbid phlegm, and the retained fluid (categorized to the superficiality excess). Among them, frequencies of qi deficiency and blood stasis (both more than 85.0%) were the highest. The disease location elements of CHF were ordered in frequency as Xin (97.9%), Pi (88.1%), followed by Shen (43.0%), Fei (30. 1%), and Gan (7.0%). (2) In the distribution of syndrome patterns in CHF patients, qi deficiency phlegm-stasis syndrome was the most (59.2%), followed by qi-yin deficiency with phlegm-stasis intermingle syndrome (20.3%), Xin-yang decline with phlegm-stasis obstruction syndrome (7.0%), and yang-deficiency with water overflowing syndrome (5.5%). (3) Patients with heart function grade II, III, and IV mainly manifested as qi-deficiency with phlegm-stasis syndrome. Besides, qi-yin deficiency with phlegm-stasis intermingle syndrome could be often seen in those with grade III. And Xin-yang decline with phlegm-stasis obstruction syndrome and yang-deficiency with water overflowing syndrome could often be seen in those with grade IV.

CONCLUSIONSThe pathogenesis of CHF is essential deficiency and superficiality excess. The essentiality consists of qi deficiency, yin deficiency, and yang deficiency, and the superficiality consists of blood stasis, turbid phlegm, and retained fluid. The disease was located at the five zang-organs, mainly dominated at Xin and Pi, and associated with Fei, Shen, and Gan. Qi deficiency phlegm-stasis syndrome was dominated in Chinese medicine syndrome patterns. Along with the aggravation of CHF, Chinese medicine syndrome pattern shows certain development laws.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Heart Failure ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Yang Deficiency ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Yin Deficiency ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

AIM:To study the expression and prognostic functions of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 ( PGK1) in prostate cancer. METHODS:The prostatic samples were collected from the patients with prostate cancer and benign pros-tatic hyperplasia (BPH) in TCM-Integrated Hospital of Southern Medical University from Jan 2013 to Dec 2013. The pro-tein expression of PGK1 in the prostate specimens was detected by immunohistochemical analysis and Western blot. Fur-thermore, the correlations of PGK1 expression with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of prostate cancer were al-so evaluate. RESULTS:The expression of PGK1 in the prostate specimens was significantly up-regulated compared with the BPH individuals. In addition, the expression of PGK1 was significantly correlated with the local infiltration, Gleason score, TNM grade, bone metastasis, and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration. Finally, bone metastasis, serum PSA level and PGK1 expression were independent risk factors for prostate cancer illustrated by Cox analysis, and high expression of PGK1 was correlated with poor prognosis. CONCLUSION:PGK1 expression is an independent risk factor for prostate cancer, and it might act as a prognostic biomarker for prostate cancer.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of sunitinib as post-operative adjuvant therapy in patients with high-risk renal cell carcinoma (RCC).Methods A total of 60 patients with resected,histologically confirmed clear cell RCC were enrolled in this study.Patients received orally sunitinib either at a dose of 50 mg on treatment schedule (once daily for 4 weeks followed by 2 weeks off) or at a dose of 37.5 mg once daily for three 6-week cycles from 1 month after surgery.Results All the 60 patients tolerated Sunitinib treatment well and no patient discontinued treatment due to adverse events.Most adverse events were grade Ⅰ to Ⅱ.The most frequently reported adverse events were neutropenia (56.7％),thrombocytopenia (53.3％),leucopenia (48.3％),hand-foot syndrome (46.7％) and hypertension (36.7％).The most frequently reported grade 3 or 4 toxicities were thrombocytopenia (25.0％),neutropenia (15.0％),hand-foot syndrome (11.7％) and leucopenia (8.3％).The majority of adverse events occurred within the first 1-2 cycles of sunitinib treatment,and was ameliorated 1 month after 3 cycles finished.No irreversible adverse event was observed.As of April 5,2012,no recurrence occurred in patients except one death due to cerebrovascular accident unrelated to treatment,with both 6-month and 9-month disease-free survival rate of 100％.Conclusions Myelosuppression occurred less frequently in high-risk RCC patients treated with sunitinib as operative adjuvant therapy than in advanced RCC patients,with a better benefit trend.However,long-term follow-up data are needed to further confirm the efficacy of sunitinib in the adjuvant setting.

Objective To explore the status of depression in patients with advanced schistosomiasis and its influencing fac-tors,so as to provide the evidence for improving psychological interventions. Methods A total of 206 patients with advanced schistosomiasis were investigated with the self-designed general information questionnaire,the Self-Rating Depression Scale,and WHOQOL-BREF Form. Results Among the 206 cases,the incidence of depression was 69.4%,and depression was negatively related to the quality of life(P = 0.000). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the times of hospitalization(β=0.442,P=0.007)was a risk factor for depression,while the high education levels(β=-0.583,P=0.011)and the history of por-tal hypertension operation(β=-0.917,P=0.000)were the protective factors. Conclusion The incidence of depression in ad-vanced schistosomiasis patients is high,and it is influenced by various factors. Therefore,we should take corresponding interven-tions to reduce its occurrence.

BACKGROUNDDiabetic wound is one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus. There are no significantly effective therapies for chronic non-healing diabetes ulcer so far. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of healing impaired wound using artificial dermis constructed with human adipose derived stem cells (ASCs) and poly (L-glutamic acid)/chitosan (PLGA/CS) scaffold in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice.

METHODSASCs were isolated from fresh human lipoaspirates and expanded ex vivo for three passages, and then cells were seeded onto PLGA/CS scaffold to form artificial dermis. Expression of VEGF and TGFβ1 by ASCs presented in artificial dermis was determined. The artificial dermis was transplanted to treat the 20 mm × 20 mm full-thickness cutaneous wound created on the back of diabetic mice. Wound treated with scaffold alone and without treatment, and wound in normal non-diabetic mice served as control.

RESULTSCells growing within scaffold showed great proliferation potential, depositing abundant collagen matrix. Meanwhile, expression of VEGF and TGF-β1 by seeded ASCs maintained at a consistent high level. After treated with ASC based artificial dermis, diabetic wounds exhibited significantly higher healing rate compared with wounds treated with scaffold alone or without treatment. Histological examination also demonstrated an improvement in cutaneous restoration with matrix deposition and organization. Further quantitative analysis showed that there was a significant increase in dermis thickness and collagen content on artificial dermis treated wounds.

CONCLUSIONASC/PLGA artificial dermis can effectively accelerate diabetic wound healing by promoting angiogenic growth factors and dermal collagen synthesis.

Adipose Tissue ; cytology ; Animals ; Chitosan ; administration & dosage ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; physiopathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Polyglutamic Acid ; administration & dosage ; Skin, Artificial ; Stem Cells ; cytology ; Streptozocin ; Tissue Scaffolds ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; analysis ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; analysis ; Wound Healing ; drug effects