AIM: The purpose of the present study was to detect intracellular Ca 2+ changes in living brain slices during focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and reveal the role of intracellular Ca 2+ in the cerebral I/R injury. METHODS: The model of focal cerebral I/R was established in rats by reversible inserting a nylon thread, and dynamic change of intracellular Ca 2+ in brain slices was determined using laser confocal imaging system. RESULTS: ① Ca 2+ gradually enhanced with increase in ischemic time in cortex and striatum. ②At 1 h ischemia/ 10 min reperfusion, Ca 2+ increased significantly in striatum, but Ca 2+ decreased at 3 h reperfusion compared with 10 min reperfusion. ③ Ca 2+ markedly enhanced at 6 h ischemia compared with 1 h ischemia, and after 3 h reperfusion Ca 2+ decreased, but was still higher than that in sham-operation group. ④The striatum is more sensitive than cortex to ischemia/reperfusion. CONCLUSION: Ca 2+ overload in the area of cortex and striatum may play an important role in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats.

Objective To determine the frequency of polymorphism at exon 26 (C3435T) of muhidrug resistance 1 gene (MDR1) in epileptic patients in the southern Chinese and to study the association of this polymorphism with pharmacoresistance.Methods DNA samples were obtained from 134 patients,of whom 72 were resistant to antiepileptic drug treatment and 62 were responsive to the treatment. Genotypes of the C3435T polymorphism were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction digestion and gel electrophoresis.Genotype and allele frequencies in the drug resistant group were compared to those in the response group by Chi-square analysis.Results Of all 134 patients,33 (24.6%) had CC genotype,72 (53.7%) had CT genotype,and 29 (21.6%) had TT genotype.The frequency of CC genotype was significantly higher in the pharmaeoresistance group (33.3%) than that in the responsive group (14.5%,P=0.012).The frequency of the C allele was also significantly higher in the pharmacoresistance group (57.6%) than that in the responsive group (44.4%,P=0.03).When patients were divided by types of seizure into three groups:generalized seizure group,partial seizure group,and undefined seizure group,the CC genotype and C allele were associated with pharmacoresistance in the partial seizure group.Conclusions In the southern Chinese,the CC genotype and C allele are associated with resistance to the antiepileptic treatment.This finding needs to be verified in studies with larger sample size.

Objective To explore the effects of lamotrigine on the cognitive function and the quality of life in epilepsy patients.Methods This was a prospective study and 91 newly diagnosed epilepsy patients were enrolled.The neuropsychological tests score and the quality of life in epilepsy inventory(QOLIE-31) were obtained before and after the treatment with lamotrigine.A battery of neuropsychological tests comprised the auditory verbal learning test(AVLT), the logical memory test(LMT), the digital symbol test(DST), the stroop color word test(SCWT), the trail making test(TMT), the verbal fluency test(VFT), the WAIS block design test(WBDT), the WAIS digital span test(WDST)and the Boston naming test(BNT). Results The repeated assessments in the patients taking lamotrigine were associated with significant improvements in many domains.The greatest changes were observed in the immediate and delayed recall of AVLT, DST, the time consuming of SCWT card C and TMT test A and B, the immediate and delayed recall of LMT, VFT, WBDT and BNT.For the quality of life, significant improvements were recorded in the fields of the seizure worry(38.81?16.06 vs 45.68?15.18), the overall quality of life(59.12?13.50 vs 64.99?13.33), the social function(64.59?25.14 vs 69.41?22.70)and the self-health evaluation (71.18?13.73 vs 76.75?11.30).Conclusion Improvements of the cognitive function and the quality of life can be observed in the initial period of medication with lamotrigine in epilepsy patients.

The current situation and the latest development of TCM aerosols were reviewed based on referring up-to-date periodicals and activities in the world, thus giving supports to the future development and application of the dosage form. A relatively slow developing trend was shown, however, good protrusive kinds of TCM aerosols are not seldom.
Aerosols ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; trends ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; trends

UNLABELLEDObjective: In order to assess the integrative cardiopulmonary function after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD), we used symptom limited maximum cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

METHODSAll 59 patients diagnosed stable CAD by coronary angiography and echocardiography from August to December of 2014 in our hospital, were divided two groups. PCI group, 31 patients received PCI and drugs. Control group, 28 patients received drugs therapy only. All patients performed CPET before and after the treatment.

RESULTSAll patients safely completed CPET without any complications. The control group, all functional parameters were unchanged (P > 0.05). PCI group, the anaerobic threshold, peak oxygen uptake and peak oxygen pulse increased significantly (P < 0.05) from baseline,but not for others (P > 0.05). For individual analysis, PCI group had higher rates of increase (≥ 10% of baseline) in both peak oxygen uptake and peak oxygen pulse than those of control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCPET is an objective, quantitative, safe and effective method to evaluate the clinical therapeutic efficiency. PCI can improve the integrative cardiopulmonary function in CAD patients.

Anaerobic Threshold ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; surgery ; Exercise Test ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Oxygen ; Oxygen Consumption ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Plasma concentrations of ?-endorphin (?-EP), leucine enkephalin (L-EK), neurotensin (NT), arginine vasopressin (AVP), renin activity (PRA) and angiotensin Ⅱ (AT Ⅱ ) were measured by radioimmunoassay in 60 normal persons and 120 hypertensive patients. There were lower levels of ?-EP and L-EK (P

AIM To determine the dynamic changes of monoamine neurotransmitters and their metabolites in various brain regions of cerebral ischemia reperfusion mice. METHODS Concentrations of monoamine neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT) and metabolites were determined by HPLC-ECD on d 0,1,3,5 and d 20 after cerebral ischemia reperfusion by common carotid artery occlusion. RESULTS The cerebral ischemia reperfusion mice showed decreased concentrations of NE, MHPG, DA, DOPAC, 5-HT and 5-HIAA in various brain regions, especially in hippocampus. CONCLUSION Several neuron systems play an important role in neurons damage of cerebral ischemia reperfusion, especially the NE and DA in hippocampus which is sensitive to the ischemia damage. The data offer useful guides for clinical treatments of cerebral ischemia diseases.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic technique of Alport syndrome(AS)by immunohistochemical staining of type Ⅳ collagen ? chains on paraffin-embedded renal sections.Methods Renal biopsies were obtained from 2 patients with autosomal recessive form of AS,2 female patients and 2 male patients with X-linked dominant form of AS and 2 patients with hematuria(1male and 1 female).AS was diagnosed according to symptoms,family history,pathology,immunofluorescence staining of type Ⅳ collagen ? chains on renal and skin biopsies and gene analysis.Normal portions of nephrectomized kidneys from 2 patients with renal tumor were used as controls.Type Ⅳ collagen ? chains were stained by two-step immunohistochemistry staining method on paraffin-embedded renal sections.Three antigen retrieval methods including autoclave heating,pepsin digestion and proteinase were investigated to find the best antigen retrieval method for type Ⅳ collagen ? chains.The findings were compared with those examined by immunofluorescence staining on fresh frozen sections.Results By immunohistochemistry staining,type Ⅳ collagen ?3 and ?5 chains showed continuous linear pattern along glomerular basement membrane on sections from the controls and the hematuria patients,intermittent linear pattern for X-linked dominant female AS patients,negative for X-linked dominant male AS patient.For patients with autosomal recessive AS,the staining of type Ⅳ collagen ?3 and ?5 chains were negative on glomerular basement membrane,but ?5 chain was positive on glomerular capsules and partial tubular basement membrane.The results were the same as those examined by immunofluorescence staining.Conclusion AS can be diagnosed by immunohistochemistry staining of type Ⅳ collagen on paraffin-embedded renal sections,which is a new technique for diagnosis of AS in China.

Objective In order to improve the understanding of Kimura's disease,the clinical features and the pathological changes of 12 patients were analyzed.Methods Twelve cases with Kimura's disease ad- mitted to Qilu Hospital of Shandong University were retrospectively reviewed.Results All 12 patients were in relatively good condition and presented as subcutaneous nodules or swelling lymph nodes.Peripheral blood eosinophilia did not occur in 5 cases,4 out of 6 patients had high-level serum IgE.Biopsies were taken in all cases and the characteristic histological presentations were discovered.Only one patient developed pulmonary inflammation and acute myocardial infarction which were rare in Kimura's disease.Conclusions Definite di- agnosis of Kimura's disease mainly relies on biopsy.A patient with Kimura's disease can suffer from severe pulmonary and cardiac diseases,but the relationship between them should be studied further.

Background and aim:Overdose of acetaminophen(APAP)leads to liver injury,which is one of the most common causes of liver failure in the United States.We previously demonstrated that pharmacological activation of autophagy protects against APAP-induced liver injury in mice via removal of damaged mitochondria and APAP-adducts(APAP-ADs).Using an image-based high-throughput screening for autophagy modulators,we recently identified that chlorpromazine(CPZ),a dopamine inhibitor used for anti-schizophrenia,is a potent autophagy inducer in vitro.Therefore,the aim of the present study is to determine whether CPZ may protect against APAP-induced liver injury via inducing autophagy. Methods:Wild type C57BL/6J mice were injected with APAP to induce liver injury.CPZ was administrated either at the same time with APAP(co-treatment)or 2 h later after APAP administration(post-treat-ment).Hemotoxyline and eosin(H&E)staining of liver histology,terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling(TUNEL)staining of necrotic cell death as well as serum levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT)were used to monitor liver injury. Results:We found that CPZ markedly protected against APAP-induced liver injury as demonstrated by decreased serum levels of ALT,liver necrotic areas as well as TUNEL-positive cells in mice that were either co-treated or post-treated with CPZ.Mechanistically,we observed that CPZ increased the number of autolysosomes and decreased APAP-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation without affecting the metabolic activation of APAP.Pharmacological inhibition of autophagy by chloroquine partially weak-ened the protective effects of CPZ against APAP-induced liver injury. Conclusions:Our results indicate that CPZ ameliorates APAP-induced liver injury partially via activating hepatic autophagy and inhibiting JNK activation.