OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effect of mannitol therapy on the vital organs and explore the underlying mechanisms in New Zealand rabbits with severe burn injury.

METHODSTwelve New Zealand rabbits with severe burn injury (30% of TBSA) were randomized to receive fluid resuscitation with saline (control) or mannitol therapy starting at 1 h after the injury. Serum and urine samples were collected before and at 1, 4, 8, 24, and 48 h after the injury for detection of TNF-α, IL-6, ALT, AST, GGT, CK, CK-MB, BUN and Cr levels using sandwich ELISA.

RESULTSOne hour after sever burn injury, the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 began to increase along with ALT, AST, GGT, CK, CK-MB, BUN and Cr levels. Compared with control group, the rabbits in mannitol group showed significantly higher 48 h urine excretion of TNF-α (145 ± 8 vs 78 ± 1 0 pg/ml, P<0.05) and IL-6 (93 ± 6 vs 40 ± 8 pg/ml, P<0.05) but with lowered serum levels of TNF-α (0.62 ± 0.02 vs 0.83 ± 0.02 pg/ml, P<0.05) and IL-6 (0.45 ± 0.03 vs 0.56 ± 0.03 pg/ml, P<0.05) as well as lowered serum ALT, AST, GGT, CK, CK-MB, BUN and Cr levels (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn rabbits with severe burn injury, mannitol therapy can decrease serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels early after the injury to ameliorate potential functional impairment of the heart, liver and kidneys.

Animals ; Burns ; blood ; drug therapy ; Fluid Therapy ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Mannitol ; therapeutic use ; Rabbits ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

Objective To explore the characters of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD).Methods From Oct 2013 to Jun 2016,after evaluating of movement disorder by modified Hoehn-Yahr(H-Y) scale and LUTS by international prostate symptom score (IPSS),urodynamic study was performed in PD patients with LUTS.The incidence of every symptom of LUTS,the relationships between the IPSS categories and urodynamic study were analyzed.Results 64 patients (containing 26 male and 38 female) with 40-80 (62.7 ± 10.2) years old were included.2,4,30,19,12 and 6 patients were belonged to modified H-Y scale 1-4,respectively.Frequency (50 patients,78.1％) was the most common LUTS,while frequency all day (20 patients,31.3％) was the most common symptom for the most severe LUTS.IPSS was 1 7.5 ± 7.8 (4-35) and quality of life was 5.1 ± 0.6 (4-6) for the patients.There was no significant correlation between modified H-Y scale and IPSS (P ＞ 0.05).According to the criteria of IPSS,28 patients (43.8％) only had irritative symptoms,3 patients (4.7％) only had obstructive symptoms,while 26 patients (40.6％) had mixed symptoms and 7 patients (10.9％) belonged to no one.Urodynamic study showed 11 patients (39.3％) with only irritative symptoms had detrusor overactivity(DO),6 patients (23.1％) with mixed symptoms had DO + bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) or DO + detrusor underactivity,however,there was no one with BOO in the three patients with only obstructive symptoms.Conclusion Frequency was the most common LUTS,while frequency all day was the most common symptom for the most severe LUTS in PD patients.Irritative and mixed symptoms were common in PD patients with LUTS,but the urodynamic results were not consistent with the category of LUTS in most of the patients.LUTS severity was not correlated with movement disorders in PD patients.

Objective:To investigate the role and mechanism of chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) in renal injury and fibrosis caused by calcium oxalate crystals in mice.Methods:In June 2021, Fifteen male C57/BL6 mice were divided into control group (5 mice), model group (5 mice), and AMD3100 intervention group (5 mice) by random number table method. In model group and AMD3100 intervention group, glyoxylate (100 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneal for 7 consecutive days for modeling. Meanwhile, the AMD3100 intervention group was also given intraperitoneal injection of AMD3100 (1 mg/kg) for 7 days. The control group was continuously injected with equal volume saline intraperitoneally. After 7 days, peripheral blood was collected from each group to determine the levels of serum urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Scr) to assess the renal function; HE, Von-Kossa, Picrosirius Red staining was also taken from the left kidney to observe the pathological changes of renal tissue. CXCR4, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot. The expression levels of PI3K/AKT pathway-related proteins were detected by western blot.Results:The results of biochemical indexes showed that the serum Scr [(108.03±13.56) μmol/L vs. (39.50±4.48)μmol/L, P<0.01)] and BUN[(5.66±0.48)mmol/L vs. (0.77±0.10)mmol/L, P<0.01) levels were significantly increased in model group compared with the control group. The AMD3100 intervention group was significantly lower than the model group in terms of Scr [(65.77±3.27)μmol/L vs. (108.03±13.56)μmol/L, P<0.05) and BUN [(2.97±0.44)mmol/L vs. (5.66±0.48)mmol/L, P<0.05) levels. The results of kidney pathology in mice showed that renal tubules were significantly dilated with inflammatory cell infiltration in the model group compared with the control group, and a large number of calcium oxalate crystals and collagen fibers were deposited. The extent of kidney damage, calcium oxalate crystals and collagen fibers deposition were significantly reduced in the AMD3100 intervention group compared with the model group. The results of western blotting showed that the relative expression of CXCR4(0.639±0.019 vs. 0.158±0.012, P<0.01) and TGF-β1(0.698+ 0.018 vs. 0.314+ 0.015, P<0.05) was significantly increased in the model group compared with the control group. The relative expression of CXCR4(0.322±0.231) in the AMD3100 intervention group compared with the model group (0.322±0.231 vs. 0.639±0.019, P<0.05) and TGF-β1(0.445+ 0.017 vs. 0.698+ 0.018, P<0.05) were significantly decreased. The results of immunohistochemical staining showed the trend of CXCR4 and TGF-β1 expression in each group consistent with the results of protein blotting assay. Western blotting results showed that the expression of p-PI3K (0.613±0.016 vs. 0.213±0.011, P<0.01) and p-AKT(0.149±0.013 vs. 0.047±0.014, P<0.01) was significantly increased in the model group compared with the control group. The expression of p-PI3K in the AMD3100 intervention group compared with the model group (0.292±0.020 vs. 0.613±0.016, P<0.05) and p-AKT (0.098±0.021 vs. 0.149±0.013, P<0.05)was significantly decreased. Conclusion:CXCR4 inhibits calcium oxalate crystal-induced kidney injury and interstitial fibrosis in mice by targeting the PI3K/AKT pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the efficacy of Getong Tongluo Capsule (, GTC, consisted of total flavone of Radix Puerariae) on improving patients' quality of life and lowering blood pressure are superior to the extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGB) for patients with convalescent-phase ischemic stroke and primary hypertension. METHODS: This randomized, positive-drug- and placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was conducted from September 2015 to October 2017. Totally 477 eligible patients from 18 hospitals in China were randomly assigned in a 2:1:1 ratio to the following interventions, twice a day for 12 weeks: (1) GTC 250 mg plus EGB-matching placebo 40 mg (237 cases, GTC group), (2) EGB 40 mg plus GTC-matching placebo 250 mg (120 cases, EGB group) or (3) GTC-matching placebo 250 mg plus EGB-matching placebo 40 mg (120 cases, placebo group). Moreover, all patients were orally administered aspirin enteric-coated tablets 100 mg, once a day for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the Barthel Index (BI). The secondary outcomes included the control rate of blood pressure and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores. The incidence and severity of adverse events (AEs) were calculated and assessed. RESULTS: The BI relative independence rates, the clinical recovery rates of NIHSS, and the total effective rates of NIHSS in the GTC and EGB groups were significantly higher than the placebo group at 12 weeks after treatment (P<0.05), and no statistical significance was found between the GTC and EGB groups (P>0.05). The control rate of blood pressure in the GTC group was significantly higher than the EGB and placebo groups at 12, 18 and 24 weeks after treatment (P<0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in the incidences of AEs, adverse drug reactions, or serious AEs among the 3 groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION GTC exhibited significant efficacy in improving patients' quality of life as well as neurological function and controlling hypertension. (Registration No. ChiCTR1800016667).

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome