Objective: To investigate the effect of sole and combined utilizing of carriers to prepare solid dispersion for improving dissolution rate of hydrophilic and lipophilic components in extracts of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Danshen). Methods: Solid dispersions were prepared with PVP10 and F127 as sole carrier or their combinations by Spray Drying (SD) method. The prepared powders were characterized by various methods. Three hydrophilic (danshensu, rosmarinic acid, and salvianolic acid B) and two lipophilic components (cryptotanshinone and tanshinone IIA) of Danshen were determined as bioactive markers. The simulating factor (f2) was utilized to evaluate similarities of dissolution profiles of hydrophilic and lipophilic components, respectively. Results: SEM and PXRD results showed that solid dispersion prepared by SD method was amorphous spheroid particles without intensive characteristic peaks. The hydrophilic components were completely released from the bulk Danshen extract and from the prepared solid dispersions. However, no lipophilic components could be completely dissolved from solid dispersions prepared by sole carrier. When combined using carriers (e.g. PVP10-F127 = 5:4), both of the lipophilic and hydrophilic components could be rapidly and completely released from the solid dispersion. Combined use of carriers could increase the wetting angle without changing the specific surface area. Conclusion: The combined use of carriers significantly increases the in-vitro release of lipophilic components in Danshen extract, which: may be attributed to the increased wettability of powders. The simulating factor evaluation results suggest that the release profiles of either the lipophilic or the hydrophilic components in Danshen extract are complete and similar, which could meet the requirements of Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

Objective To understand the pathogenetic role and clinical significance of interleukin 6(IL－ 6 ),tumor necrosis factor(TNF) and soluble interleukin－ 2 receptor(sIL－ 2R) in patients with cerebral infarction(CI) .Methods The IL－ 6,TNF and sIL－ 2R levels were measured in 46 CI patients with ELISA. Results The serum IL－ 6,TNF and sIL－ 2R levels of CI group were much higher than those of controls group .The variation of IL－ 6,TNF and sIL－ 2R levels was closely related to the size of cerebral infarction. The serum IL－ 6,TNF and sIL－ 2R levels of recovery period were much lower than those of acute period in patients with CI .Conclusions The IL－ 6 ,TNF and sIL－ 2R take part in the pathologic process after CI .The measurement of IL－ 6, TNF and sIL－ 2R is useful in determining the size of cerebral infarction.

Key trial activities include: development of the trial protocol;development of standard operating procedures;development of support systems and tools;generation and approval of trial information documents;selection of trial sites and the selection of properly qualified,trained,and experienced investigators and study personnel;ethics committee review and approval of the protocol;review and approval by applicable regulatory authorities;enrollment of subjects into the study: recruitment,eligibility,and informed consent;the investigational product(s): quality,handling,and accounting;trial data acquisition: conducting the trial;trial data acquisition: conducting the trial; safety management and reporting;monitoring the trial;managing trial data;quality assurance of the trial performance and data;reporting the trial.

Aged ; Giant Cells ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology

Objective To explore the interaction between serum melatonin and the status of disease and probe the effect factor of serum melatonin change in asthmatic children.Methods Serum melatonin was measured in asthmatic children with 15 cases of mild persistent asthma,15 cases of moderate persistent asthma,15 cases of severe persistent asthma,15 cases of stable asthma and 15 cases of normal subjects by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The levels of serum melatonin in the 5 groups of mild persistent asthma,moderate presistent asthma,Severe Persistent asthma,Stable asthma,control subject were(22.76?5.16)ng/L,(16.79?3.35)ng/L,(11.54?1.45)ng/L,(22.06?3.36)ng/L,(28.72?4.32)ng/L,respectively.There were significant differences between any of them(Pa

Objective To perform a molecular epideminlogical investigation on the types of Leptospira interrogans isolates from leptospirosis patients and animal hosts in Jiangxi province,using a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).Methods The extracted chromosomal DNA from leptospiral isolates were digested with restriction endonuclease Not Ⅰ and the DNA segments were separated by using PFGE.By BiOnurerics V4.0 software and 75% similarity as the standard,the obtained PFGE images from leptospiral isolates were managed to establish a digitization database and then the PFGE maps of leptospiral isolates were compared with those of reference standard strains belonging to 15 serovars in 15 serogroups of L.interrogans,for cluster analysis.Results 139 strains of L.interrogans isolated from different areas of Jiangxi province were classified into 46 PFGE types.Among the PFGE types,LepNot Ⅰ.0071,LepNotⅠ.0072 and LepNot Ⅰ .0043 were the predominant types that accounting for 28.06%,15.11% and 7.19% of all the leptospiral isolates,respectively.The PFGE maps from 84.89% (118/139) of the 139 leptospiral isolates were found to basically match those of 6 reference standard strains belonging to 6 serovar in 6 serogroups of L.interrogans.In the 118 matched ieptospiral isolates,32.37% (45 strains),15.83% (22 strains) and 15.11% (21 strains)belonged to sero-groups Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Lai,sero-groups Australis serovar Australis and sero-group Javanica serovar Javanica,respectively.Conclusion PFGE seemed a fast,accurate and effective method for typing of L.interrogans isolates.Serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Lai and followed by serogroup Australis serovar Australis as well as serogroup Javanica serovar Javanica were the predominant L.interrogans species in humans and animal hosts in Jiangxi province.

The specimens of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with early invasion, and specimens collected by core needle biopsy (CNB) tend to contain limited amount of invasive component, so it is imperative to explore a new technique which can assess HER2 gene status accurately for the limited invasive cancer component in these specimens. Dual staining technique of combining immunohistochemistry (IHC) for myoepithelial cells and single or dual probe chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) for HER2 gene was performed on routinely processed paraffin sections from 20 cases diagnosed as having DCIS with invasive cancer. Among them, 10 had fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-confirmed amplification of HER2 and 10 had FISH-confirmed non-amplification of HER2. We successfully detected HER2 genetic signals and myoepithelial IHC markers (SMM-HC or CK5/6) simultaneously on a single section in all 20 specimens. Myoepithelial markers and HER2 signals detected by dual staining assay were consistent with those by individual technique performed alone. HER2 gene amplification results determined by dual staining assay were 100% consistent with those of FISH. Dual staining technique which allows simultaneous detection of myoepithelial marker protein and cancerous HER2 gene is feasible, and it has potential to be used in clinical practice for effective determination of HER2 amplification in limited invasive component.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chromogenic Compounds ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; methods ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; methods ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; methods ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Gastric carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells (OGCs) is an extremely rare tumor. So far, only six cases have been reported in the literature. Here we report an additional case of this tumor in a Chinese 78-year-old man presented with abdominal pain, vomiting, and hematemesis. Physical examination and gastroscopy revealed a tumor in the gastric antrum. The biopsy and pathological findings indicated a gastric adenocarcinoma with OGCs, which were present in both the tumor and the metastatic lymph nodes. Further immunohistochemical staining indicated that OGCs were reactive with CD68, CD45, and vimentin protein, but not with pancytokeratin, carcinoembryonic antigen, or epithelial membrane antigen, suggesting the monocytic/histiocytic derivation of these OGCs. In situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus showed no nuclear positivity in either adenocarcinoma or OGCs. Postoperative follow-up showed that the patient had survived for at least 6 months without recurrence. Further investigation is warranted to clearly define the prognostic significance of OGCs in gastric carcinoma.
Aged ; Giant Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization ; Male ; Osteoclasts ; metabolism ; pathology ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at Quchi (LI 11) on blood pressure and blood plasma catecholamines in the patient of essential hypertension and to investigate the mechanism.

METHODSSixty cases of essential hypertension were randomly divided into an EA group (n=30) and a control group (n=30). In the EA group, bilateral Quchi (LI 11) were selected; and in the control group, western medicine Nicardipine was taken. The variation of blood pressure and blood plasma catecholamines were examined before and after the treatment.

RESULTS(1) After treatment, there were significant reduction in the levels of systolic blood pressure and diastole blood pressure in both groups (P < 0.01); (2) After treatment, significant reduction in levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline were also found in both groups (P < 0.01), however, no significant differences in the level of dopamine were observed in both groups (P > 0.05); (3) The effective rate of 66.7% in the EA group was similar to that of 70.0% in the control group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONBoth EA at Quchi (LI 11) and western medicine are able to beneficially regulate blood pressure of patients with essential hypertension through adjusting blood plasma catecholamines.

Acupuncture Points ; Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Catecholamines ; blood ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; blood ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo compare the difference in clinical efficacy on lumber disc herniation (LDH) treated with Yaoyangguan (GV 3) between mild moxibustion under thermosensitive condition and that under non-thermo-sensitive condition.

METHODSFifty-seven LDH patients were selected as the study objects. Mild moxibustion at Yaoyangguan (GV 3) was applied for 45 min each time. Additionally, the conventional acupuncture was given, once a day, for 20 days. At the end of treatment, two groups were classified. A thermosensitive acupoint group (thermosensitive group) was composed of the cases with thermo-sensitization at Yaoyangguan (GV 3) and presenting for > or =4 times in the entire treatment. A non-thermosensitive acupoint group (tranquilization group) was composed of the cases without thermo-sensitization or the frequency of thermo-sensitization <4 times in the entire treatment. The modified Japanese orthopedics association scoring system (M-JOA) was adopted to observe the cases before and after treatment and 6 months after treatment in the two groups. The efficacy was compared between the two groups.

RESULTSAfter treatment and in 6 months after treatment, the score of M-JOA was apparently reduced as compared with that before treatment in the two groups (all P<0.05). The score reducing in the thermosensitization group was more obvious than that in the tranquilization group (both P<0.01). After treatment and in 6 months after treatment, the curative rate and remarkably effective rate were 89.7% (26/29) and 79.3% (23/29), which was better than 71.4% (20/28) and 60.7% (17/28, both P<0.05) in the tranquilization group separately.

CONCLUSIONMild moxibustion at acupoint under thermosensitive condition achieves the better short-term and long-term effects as compared with that under non-thermosensitive condition.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Treatment Outcome