BACKGROUNDAppendectomy is the traditional surgical procedure for correcting torsion of the adnexa. Although it prevents pulmonary embolism, ovarian necrosis, and secondary infection, it can have critical adverse effects on the ovarian function.

METHODSWe performed surgery for adnexal torsion in 12 patients, using high ligation of the ovarian vein, followed by removal of the ovarian tumor.

RESULTSBlood flow in the residual ovary gradually returned to normal within 1 - 3 months, and a dominant follicle could be seen in the residual ovary within 2 - 6 months post-surgery in all the 12 cases. Menstruation recovered in these three cases within 2 - 3 months. Postoperative intrauterine pregnancies occurred in two cases, with a corpus luteum graviditatis in the residual ovary in one case, while the other patient underwent labor after 13 months and a normal ovary on the affected side was seen at cesarean section.

CONCLUSIONSThis new surgical technique involving high ligation of the ovarian vein for adnexal torsion allowed successful preservation of the residual ovary and ovarian blood distribution, and can thus be used for the treatment of primary diseases of the ovary. The surgical procedure is simple, safe, and effective, and warrants extensive application in clinical practice.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Ligation ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Ovary ; blood supply ; physiopathology ; Torsion Abnormality ; surgery ; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color

Objective To evaluate the performance of diluted thrombin time (dTT) assay for detecting Dabigatran levels and observe whether this assay may meet the requirements of clinical laboratory.Methods According to EP15-A2,EP6-A,EP7-A and C-24 documents of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI),the precision,trueness,analytical measurement range,carryover rate and anti-biological interference of dTT assay were evaluated and the stability of specimen for dTT assay was observed.Results Both the within-day and between-day coefficient of variation (CV) of dTT assay for detecting Dabigatran levels were consistent with manufacturer's stated CV.Compared with target values of Dabigatran,the relative bias of 3 levels of proficiency test materials from College of American Pathologists (CAP) were less than 10％.The results meet linear verification when Dabigatran concentration was between 30.92 and 249.13 ng/mL.The carryover rate was-0.84％.There was no interference for Dabigatran levels by dTT assay for detecting Dabigatran when Hb≤3 g/L,triglyceride≤873 mg/dL,heparin≤2.2 IU/mL and FDP≤29 mg/L.The results of stability showed that plasma specimens for dTT could not be stored at room temperature more than 4 hours,at 4 ℃ more than 4 days,at-20 ℃ exceed 1 month,while at-80℃ the plasma specimens could be stored at least 6 months for dTT assay.Conclusion The precision,trueness,analytical measurement range,carryover rate,anti-biological interference of dTT assay may meet the requirement of clinical laboratory.The stability of the specimen can fulfill the clinical requirements.

BACKGROUNDAzithromycin can reduce neutrophil accumulation in neutrophilic pulmonary diseases. However, the precise mechanism behind this action remains unknown. Our experiment assessed whether azithromycin inhibits neutrophil accumulation in the airways by affecting interleukin-17 (IL-17) downstream signals.

METHODSMice were pretreated with azithromycin before murine IL-17A (mIL-17) stimulation. After the mIL-17 stimulation, the levels of six neutrophil-mobilizing cytokines were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid; IL-6, CXC chemokine ligand-1 (CXCL-1), CXCL-5, macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The number of neutrophils in BAL fluid were evaluated by cytospin preparations.

RESULTS(1) Azithromycin pretreatment significantly inhibited both the release of three neutrophil-mobilizing cytokines (MIP-2, CXCL-5 and GM-CSF) and the accumulation of neutrophils in airways caused by mIL-17 stimulation. (2) The levels of three neutrophil-mobilizing cytokines (IL-6, MIP-2 and GM-CSF) were positively correlated with the numbers of neutrophil in BAL fluid.

CONCLUSIONSAzithromycin can inhibit neutrophil accumulation in the airways by affecting IL-17 downstream signals. This finding suggests that macrolide antibiotic application might be useful in prevention of neutrophilic pulmonary diseases characterized by high levels of IL-17.

Animals ; Azithromycin ; pharmacology ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; chemistry ; Chemokine CXCL2 ; metabolism ; Chemokines, CXC ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; metabolism ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; metabolism ; Interleukin-17 ; pharmacology ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Neutrophils ; drug effects ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo assess the efficacy and safety of Saw Palmetto Extract Capsules in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

METHODSWe conducted a multi-centered open clinical study on 165 BPH patients treated with Saw Palmetto Extract Capsules at a dose of 160 mg qd for 12 weeks. At the baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks of medication, we compared the International Prostate Symptom Scores (IPSS), prostate volume, postvoid residual urine volume, urinary flow rate, quality of life scores (QOL), and adverse events between the two groups of patients.

RESULTSCompared with the baseline, both IPSS and QOL were improved after 6 weeks of medication, and at 12 weeks, significant improvement was found in IPSS, QOL, urinary flow rate, and postvoid residual urine. Mild stomachache occurred in 1 case, which necessitated no treatment.

CONCLUSIONSaw Palmetto Extract Capsules were safe and effective for the treatment of BPH.

Capsules ; Humans ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; Quality of Life

BACKGROUNDPancreatic β cells are susceptible to fatty acid-induced apoptosis. The 17β-estradiol (E2) protects pancreatic β cells from apoptosis, mediated by the estrogen receptor-α (ERα). The mRNA level and promoter activity of leukemia-related protein (LRP) 16 were significantly increased by E2 in ER-α and LRP16 was a co-activator of ER-α. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of LRP16 on fatty acid-induced apoptosis in MIN6 cells.

METHODSCells with over-expressing LRP16 were obtained by lipidosome transfection. Insulin content and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) were examined by radioimmunoassay. Western blotting was applied to detect protein expression. Apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and flow cytometry. The forkhead boxO1 (FoxO1) subcellular localization was determined by immunocytochemical analysis.

RESULTSMIN6-LRP16 cells with overexpression of LRP16 were successfully established, and protein expression of LRP16 was 2.29-fold of that of control cells (MIN6-3.1, P < 0.05). Insulin content and GSIS in MIN6-LRP16 were substantially increased compared with those in control cells. When cells were stimulated with glucose, increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 and serine-threonine kinase (Akt) were observed in MIN6-LRP16. When cells were under palmitate pressure, the TUNEL-positive rate in MIN6-LRP16 was (17.0 ± 0.5)%, while it in MIN6-3.1 was (22.0 ± 0.4)%. In palmitate-treated cells, attenuated Akt phosphorylation was observed, but the attenuation in Akt activity was partially restored in MIN6-LRP16 cells. Meanwhile, nuclear localization of FoxO1 in MIN6-LRP16 was apparently reduced compared with that in control cells.

CONCLUSIONSLRP16 regulated insulin content and GSIS in MIN6 cells by ERK1/2 and Akt activated way. Meanwhile, LRP16 overexpression protected MIN6 cells from fatty acid-induced apoptosis by partially restoring Akt phosphorylation and inhibiting FoxO1 nuclear redistribution. Therefore, LRP16 played important roles not only in insulin content and GSIS but also in the antilipotoxic effect mediated by Akt/FoxO1 signaling.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Fatty Acids ; pharmacology ; Forkhead Box Protein O1 ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; drug effects ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; genetics

UNLABELLEDOBJECTIVE To verify the correlation between the points of eye acupuncture and zang-fu function so as to provide the theoretical evidence for the principle of point selection in eye acupuncture therapy.

METHODSSixty cases of cerebral infarction were treated with different points according to syndrome differentiation of Chinese medicine.

MAIN POINTSupper energizer area and lower energizer area. Supplementary points: liver area, kidney area and spleen area for hyperactivity of wind, phlegm and fire; liver area and spleen area for blockage of wind, phlegm and stasis; stomach area and large intestine area for excess fu syndrome due to phlegm heat; heart area and spleen area for qi deficiency and blood stasis; liver area and kidney area for yin deficiency and wind stirring. The single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was adopted to observe the changes in blood flow in local foci before and after treatment with eye acupuncture.

RESULTSAfter the treatment with eye acupuncture therapy, the intake ratio of region of interest (ROI) between the lesion area and corresponding area on the opposite side was 0.74 +/- 0.12 before eye acupuncture and was 0.91 +/- 0.08 after treatment, indicating significant statistical difference in comparison (P < 0.05). After eye acupuncture, cerebral blood flow increased apparently.

CONCLUSIONThe point selection according to syndrome differentiation in eye acupuncture therapy may increase local brain blood flow in the patients with cerebral infarction and improve the state of brain ischemia so that the correlation can be proved between the points of eye acupuncture and zang-fu function.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; Cerebral Infarction ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Eye ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

To systematically clarify the effects of apolipoprotein E (aopE) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene mutant on hyperlipidemia, vascular inflammation impairment and pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (AS), total RNA was isolated from fresh aortas of young apoE/LDLR double knockout (apoE(-/-)/LDLR(-/-)) and wild type (WT) mice using TRIzol reagent. Then RNA was reversely transcribed to first-strand cDNA by reverse transcriptase for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and real-time RT-PCR. Primer pairs were designed using primer design software according to the gene sequences available in GenBank. β-actin was used as an internal control. Then RT-PCR assay was used to analyze the expression patterns of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), CD36, endothelin-1 (ET-1), toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), vascular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and platelet-derived growth factor-α (PDGF-α). SYBR Green quantitative real-time RT-PCR was used to validate gene expressions identified by RT-PCR. Blood samples were taken from the retro-orbital venous plexus, and serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured by using biochemical techniques. Serum concentrations of circulating TNF-α, IL-1β and oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) were determined by ELISA. Frozen sections of aortic sinus were stained with Sudan IV to visualize intimal fatty lesions. The results showed that the relative expressions of IL-1β, GM-CSF, ET-1, TLR2, CD36, MCP-1, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in apoE(-/-)/LDLR(-/-) mice at the age of 1 month were higher than those in age-matched WT mice (P<0.05, P<0.01), respectively. The expressions of PDGF-α and TNF-α in apoE(-/-)/LDLR(-/-) mice at the age of 2 months were up-regulated compared to those in age-matched WT mice (P<0.05). All the expressions of target genes continued to be up-regulated (P<0.05, P<0.01) except that ET-1 expression at the age of 2 months, TLR2, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 expressions at the age of 3 months were down-regulated to that in WT mice. NF-κB expression had no significant changes between two genotype mice at different ages. All the gene expressions kept unchanged in WT mice at different ages, except that IL-1b expressions were slightly up-regulated at the ages of 2 and 3 months. Serum levels of TC, TG, LDL, HDL, TNF-α, IL-1β and ox-LDL in apoE(-/-)/LDLR(-/-) mice at different ages were higher than those in age-matched WT mice (P<0.05, P<0.01), and were increasing with age. Primary atherosclerotic lesions were observed in 1-month old apoE(-/-)/LDLR(-/-) mice and were progressing with age. There were no lesions observed in all WT mice at different ages. The data suggest that hyperlipidemia due to apoE and LDLR gene mutant may stimulate the temporal expressions of AS-related genes and contribute to primary atherogenetic lesions and vascular inflammation impairment.
Animals ; Aorta ; metabolism ; Apolipoproteins E ; genetics ; Atherosclerosis ; genetics ; CD36 Antigens ; metabolism ; Chemokine CCL2 ; metabolism ; Endothelin-1 ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; metabolism ; Hyperlipidemias ; metabolism ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; blood ; metabolism ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; blood ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Platelet-Derived Growth Factor ; Receptors, LDL ; genetics ; Toll-Like Receptor 2 ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; metabolism ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDIn-hospital medical complications are associated with poorer clinical outcomes for stroke patients after disease onset. However, few studies from China have reported the effect of these complications on the mortality of patients with acute ischemic stroke. In this prospective work, the China National Stroke Registry Study, we investigated the effect of medical complications on the case fatality of patients with acute ischemic stroke.

METHODSFrom September 2007 to August 2008, we prospectively obtained the data of patients with acute stroke from 132 clinical centers in China. Medical complications, case fatality and other information recorded at baseline, during hospitalisation, and at 3, 6, and 12 months after stroke onset. Multivariable Logistic regression was performed to analyze the effect of medical complications on the case fatality of patients with acute ischemic stroke.

RESULTSThere were 39 741 patients screened, 14 526 patients with acute ischemic stroke recruited, and 11 560 ischemic stroke patients without missing data identified during the 12-month follow-up. Of the 11 560 ischemic patients, 15.8% (1826) had in-hospital medical complications. The most common complication was pneumonia (1373; 11.9% of patients), followed by urinary tract infection and gastrointestinal bleeding. In comparison with patients without complications, stroke patients with complications had a significantly higher risk of death during their hospitalization, and at 3, 6 and 12 months post-stroke. Having any one in-hospital medical complication was an independent risk factor for death in patients with acute ischemic stroke during hospital period (adjusted OR = 6.946; 95%CI 5.181 to 9.314), at 3 months (adjusted OR = 3.843; 95%CI 3.221 to 4.584), 6 months (adjusted OR = 3.492; 95%CI 2.970 to 4.106), and 12 months (adjusted OR = 3.511; 95%CI 3.021 to 4.080). Having multiple complications strongly increased the death risk of patients.

CONCLUSIONShort-term and long-term outcomes of acute stroke patients are affected by in-hospital medical complications.

Aged ; China ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; complications ; Hospital Mortality ; Hospitalization ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia ; complications ; Prospective Studies ; Registries ; statistics & numerical data ; Stroke ; mortality ; Urinary Tract Infections ; complications

Objective: To examine the association of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with frailty among oldest-old adults in China. Methods: A total of 7 987 people aged 80 years and older (oldest-old) who participated in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) in 2017-2018 were included. Information on demographic characteristics, behavior pattern, diet, activities of daily living, cognitive function, health status, disease condition were collected by questionnaire and physical examination. Generalized linear mixed model and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to analyze the association of BMI and WC with frailty. Results: The mean age of all participants was 91.7 years, and their mean BMI and WC were (21.3±3.5) kg/m² and (82.9±10.5) cm, respectively. The proportion of male was 42.3% (3 377/7 987), and the proportion of people with frailty was 33.7% (2 664/7 987). After controlling confounding factors, compared with T₂ (19.1-22.1 kg/m²) of BMI, the OR (95%CI) of the female T₁ (<19.1 kg/m²) and T₃ (≥22.2 kg/m²) group was 1.39 (1.17-1.65) and 1.27 (1.07-1.52), respectively. Compared with T₂ (77-85 cm) of WC, the OR (95%CI) of female T₁ (<77 cm) and T₃ (≥86 cm) group was 1.20 (1.01-1.42) and 1.10 (0.93-1.31), respectively. The results of multiple linear regression model with restrictive cubic spline showed that there was a non-linear association of BMI and WC with frailty in female. Conclusion: There is a U-shaped association of BMI and WC with frailty in female participants.
Adult ; Male ; Female ; Humans ; Aged, 80 and over ; Waist Circumference ; Body Mass Index ; Frailty/epidemiology* ; Activities of Daily Living ; China/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors

The pharmaceutical manufacturing model is gradually changing from intermittent manufacturing to continuous manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing. This paper briefly reviewed the supervision and research progress in continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing in China and abroad and described the definition and advantages of continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing. The continuous manufacturing of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) at the current stage was summarized in the following three terms: the enhancement of the continuity of intermittent manufacturing operations, the integration of continuous equipment to improve physical continuity between units, and the application of advanced process control strategies to improve process continuity. To achieve continuous manufacturing of TCM, the corresponding key technologies, such as material property characterization, process modeling and simulation, process analysis technology, and system integration, were analyzed from the process and equipment, respectively. It was proposed that the continuous manufacturing equipment system should have the characteristics of high speed, high response, and high reliability, "three high(H~3)" for short. Considering the characteristics and current situation of TCM manufacturing, based on the two dimensions of product quality control and production efficiency, a maturity assessment model for continuous manufacturing of TCM, consisting of operation continuity, equipment continuity, process continuity, and quality control continuity, was proposed to provide references for the application of continuous manufacturing technology for TCM. The implementation of continuous manufacturing or the application of key continuous manufacturing technologies in TCM can help to systematically integrate advanced pharmaceutical technology elements and promote the uniformity of TCM quality and the improvement of production efficiency.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Reproducibility of Results ; China ; Quality Control ; Pharmaceutical Preparations