Cassiae Semen is a common traditional Chinese medicine, and contents of anthraquinones of Cassiae Semen different significantly from area to area. According to Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition), only contents of aurantio obtusin and chrysophanol were used to evaluate the quality of Cassiae Semen, another data could be added later. Ten batches of Cassiae Semen from different areas were determined, and total anthraquinones, total free anthraquinones and total combined anthraquinones contents were assessed by ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer, contents of aurantio obtusin, rhein, aloe emodin, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion were determined by HPLC. After that, principal components analysis was used to evaluate these data determined previous by dimension reduction analysis. At last, the result suggests that three main components were found out, it shows that content of aloe emodin could be used to evaluate the quality of Cassiae Semen as well as contents of aurantio obtusin and chrysophanol. And Cassiae Semen from Hebei province posseses higher quality than Cassiae Semen from other different areas. All these results can provide a good reference for quality evaluating of Cassiae Semen medicinal materials at a certain extent.
Anthraquinones ; analysis ; Cassia ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Principal Component Analysis

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) on blood lead concentration and oxidative stress of tissue in prenatal and postnatal lead-exposed rats, and evaluate the potential reparation exerted by SAM on paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) and long-term potentiation (LTP) in lead-exposed rat.

METHODSPregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: control, lead-exposed and lead-exposed with SAM treatment groups. Lead-exposed rats drank 1.5 g/L lead acetate solution through pregnancy until weaning and then the pups received 20 mg/kg SAM or saline daily intraperitoneally depending on their group. Control group rats drank tap water throughout the experiment. At the postnatal 44-60 days, all the pup rats were given an extracellular recording measured in dentate gyrus (DG) area of hippocampus. The blood lead concentration and oxidative stress in liver, brain and hippocampus were also detected.

RESULTSThe blood lead concentration in lead-exposed group was higher (159. 3 +/- 10. 9 microg/L) in comparing with those of control group (27.5 +/-3.8 microg/L) and lead +SAM group (33.1 +/-9.5 microg/L) (F=213.5, P<0.01). A significant recovery of liver, brain glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level was clearly produced in lead-exposed rats after SAM treatment (P <0.05). Chronic lead exposure during development impaired LTP measured on field excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) [(112 +/-2.1)%] compared with control rats [(131+/-4.5)%] and the impaired LTP could be significantly increased by SAM treatment [(120 +/- 2.6)%] (F = 26. 1, P <0. 05).

CONCLUSIONSAM might be beneficial for treatment of lead intoxication, especially in the rescue of learning and memory impairment induced by lead and should deserve more detailed research.

Animals ; Brain ; metabolism ; Female ; Glutathione ; biosynthesis ; Lead ; blood ; Lead Poisoning ; prevention & control ; Long-Term Potentiation ; drug effects ; Male ; Maternal Exposure ; prevention & control ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; S-Adenosylmethionine ; pharmacology

Aging ; physiology ; Animals ; Female ; Male ; Mitochondria, Heart ; enzymology ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Ventricular Function, Left ; physiology

Objective To investigate the levels of plasma homocysteine (Hcy),serum folic acid and serum vitamin B12 in patients with H-type hypertension to provide some reference for intervening the white matter lesions. Methods One hundred and ten patients with hypertension (78 with H-type hypertension and 32 with hypertension),admitted to our hospital from April 2010 to March 2011,and other 50 healthy controls were chosen in our study; plasma Hcy level and serum folic acid and vitamin B12 levels were measured by using radioimmunoassay among control group,hypertension group and H-type hypertension group.White matter lesion changes of all patients were evaluated by MRI. Results The plasma Hcy level and serum folic acid and vitamin B12 levels in H-type hypertension group were significantly higher than those in control group and hypertension group (P＜0.05); the degree of white matter lesions was significantly different between each 2 groups (P＜0.05): the patients of H-type hypertension group had the most obvious white matter lesions, following by hypertension group and control group. Conclusion The patients with H-type hypertension have decreased folic acid and vitamin B12 levels and severe white matter lesion changes, which might be correlated with hyperhomocysteinemia.

In order to evaluate the effect of omega-3 fish oil supplement by gavage (0.4 mL/100 g body weight) on the chronic lead-induced (0.2% lead acetate) impairments of long-term potentiation (LTP) in rat dentate gyrus (DG) in vivo, we designed the experiments which were carried out in four groups of newborn Wistar rats (the control, the lead-exposed, the control with fish oil treatment and the lead-exposed with fish oil treatment, respectively). The excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and population spike (PS) amplitude were measured in the DG of rats with above different treatments at the age of 80-90 d in response to stimulation applied to the lateral perforant path. The results showed (1) postnatal chronic lead-exposure impaired LTP measured on both EPSP slope and PS amplitude in DG area of the hippocampus; (2) in the control rats, omega-3 fish oil had no effect on LTP while in the lead-exposed rats, omega-3 fish oil had a protective effect on LTP. These results suggest that omega-3 fish oil supplement could protect rats from the lead-induced impairment of LTP. Omega-3 fish oil might be a preventive substance in reducing LTP deficits induced by lead.
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Dentate Gyrus ; drug effects ; Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 ; pharmacology ; Fish Oils ; chemistry ; Lead Poisoning ; physiopathology ; Long-Term Potentiation ; drug effects ; Perforant Pathway ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo discuss the treatment effect of immunoglobulin in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

METHODSThe clinical data of AIDS with GBS, diagnosed by clinical and laboratory methods, were retrospectively analyzed, and literature retrieval analyzed.

RESULTSAfter treatment by immunoglobulin and antiviral. The patient's peripheral nerve injury recovered, and the number of HIV decreased.

CONCLUSIONImmunoglobulin has a therapeutic effect for HIV infection related GBS, and beneficial to antiviral treatment.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; complications ; immunology ; Aged ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Guillain-Barre Syndrome ; complications ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; therapeutic use ; Male

OBJECTIVETo explore the changes in spatial learning performance and long-term potentiation (LTP) which is recognized as a component of the cellular basis of learning and memory in normal and lead-exposed rats after administration of melatonin (MT) for two months.

METHODSExperiment was performed in adult male Wistar rats (12 controls, 12 exposed to melatonin treatment, 10 exposed to lead and 10 exposed to lead and melatonin treatment). The lead-exposed rats received 0.2% lead acetate solution from their birth day while the control rats drank tap water. Melatonin (3 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered to the control and lead-exposed rats from the time of their weaning by gastric gavage each day for 60 days, depending on their groups. At the age of 81-90 days, all the animals were subjected to Morris water maze test and then used for extracellular recording of LTP in the dentate gyrus (DG) area of the hippocampus in vivo.

RESULTSLow dose of melatonin given from weaning for two months impaired LTP in the DG area of hippocampus and induced learning and memory deficit in the control rats. When melatonin was administered over a prolonged period to the lead-exposed rats, it exacerbated LTP impairment, learning and memory deficit induced by lead.

CONCLUSIONMelatonin is not suitable for normal and lead-exposed children.

Animals ; Female ; Lead ; toxicity ; Learning ; drug effects ; Long-Term Potentiation ; drug effects ; Male ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Melatonin ; administration & dosage ; toxicity ; Rats ; Spatial Behavior ; drug effects

Adolescent ; Child Abuse, Sexual ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Risk-Taking ; Young Adult

Objective To understand the obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and relative influencing factors among college students with left-behind experience. Methods College students with left-behind experience were selected from three universities in Anhui Province. The Chinese Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and self-edited basic situation questionnaires were used to measure the OCS, self-esteem, depression and left-behind experience. Multivariate logistic regressions model was applied to examine the influential factors of OCS. Results A total of 2 291 college students with left-behind experience were investigated. The detection rate for OCS in college students with left-behind experience were 26.5%. Regarding the OCS in college students with left-behind experience, significant differences were found in the following aspects: frequency of meeting with parents, parenting style, conflicts with caregivers, smoking and drinking (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that caregiver adopts strict parenting style (OR=1.300, 95%CI:1.025-1.649,P=0.030), indulgent parenting style (OR=1.372, 95%CI:1.017-1.852, P=0.038), smoking (OR=1.982, 95%CI:1.305-3.011, P=0.001), depressive symptoms (OR=2.423, 95%CI:1.954-3.005, P<0.001), medium self-esteem (OR=0.604, 95%CI:0.481-0.759, P<0.001) and high self-esteem (OR=0.488, 95%CI:0.362-0.659, P<0.001) were influencing factors of OCS. Conclusions The prevalence rate of OCS among college students with left-behind experience is high. Some interventions should be taken to reduce the OCS among college students with left-behind experience.

Objective To investigate clinical symptoms,pathophysiology and brain imaging features of Chinese familial cerebral cavernous angiomas.Methods Head MRI examination,clinical and pathophysiological examination were performed in a Chinese family with one proband of cerebral cavernous malformation.The disease atlas of the family was drawn.The patients indicative of a surgery underwent resection of hemangioma whose pathophysiology and microstructure were observed.Results Nine familial cerebral cavernous angiomas patients were found to have multiple intracranial lesion in the 18 family members,the penetrance being 50%,conforming to the feature of autosomal incomplete dominance inheritance.Four patients with skin cavernous hemangioma had familial cerebral cavernous angiomas.MRI was the most sensitive modality for the diagnosis of cavernous angioma.With T_2-Weighted sequences,the lesion was typically characterized by an area of mixed signal intensity,with a central reticulated core and a peripheral rim of decreased signal intensity related to deposition of hemosiderin.Gradient-echo(GRE)MRI could find microcavernous hemangiomas that would not be found in other sequences.Cavernous angiomas were typically discrete multilobulated berrylike lesions that contained hemorrhage in various stages of evolution.Histological homogeneity and overlap with other vascular malformations such as capillary telangictasia was common.Cavernous angiomas were composed of endothelial-linked sinusoidal spaces not separated by significant amounts of neural tissue.Hemorrhagic residua were common.Clots at different stages of evolution within the lesion were seen.The basic membranes of sinus became thick and soft.Parts of it were layered.Conclusions Familial cerebral cavernous angiomas is an autosomal incomplete dominance inheritance disease.Cavernous angiomas are composed of endothelial-linked sinusoidal spaces not separated by significant amounts of neural tissue.There are more than one focus in every patients and the skin cavernous angiomas is the foundation of diagnosing familial cerebral cavernous angiomas.Gradient-echo imagine sequence MRI(3.0 T)could be the"golden standard".