To study the in vitro anti-angiogenesis effect of three curcumin pigments (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin). In the study, the inhibitory effect of the three curcumin pigments on proliferation of HUVEC cells induced by OX-LDL and the effect on migration of HUVEC cells were detected. The effect on neovascularization was observed by chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) test. The effect on cell adhesion factors ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 of HUVECs were tested by Real-time RT-PCR. It was found that the three curcumins could inhibit the proliferation of HUVEC cells induced by OX-LDL within the dosage range 4, 8, 16 mg x L(-1), with a dose-dependence. The proliferative effect of curcumins on HUVECs was greater than the other two derivatives (P < 0.01). All of the three curcumin pigments inhibited the migration of HUVEC cells and the angiogenesis of chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). The migration inhibition rate of curcumins at middle and high concentrations was greater than the other two (P < 0.01). All of the three curcumin could down-regulate the expression of VEGF and ICAM-1, and curcumins showed more obvious effect in down-regulating VEGF than demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin(P < 0.01); Bisdemethoxycurcumin showed the most significant effect in down-regulating ICAM-1 (P < 0.01). All of the three showed no remarkable effect on expression of VCAM-1, and only bisdemethoxycurcumin showed the down-regulating effect (P < 0.05). According to the findings, all of the three curcumin pigments could resist angiogenesis by inhibiting proliferation and migration of endothelial cells and down-regulating the expression of VEGF and adhesion molecules ICAM-1.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Chorioallantoic Membrane ; drug effects ; Curcumin ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; genetics

Objective:To investigate the inhibitory effect of TNF-?on hTERT gene expression in human myelogenous leukemia cell line K562 and K562/ADM and to study the influence of changed telomerase activity on expression of multi- drug resistance-1(mdr 1)gene.Methods:K562 and K562/ADM cells were treated with 5?10~6 U/L TNF-?for 24 h, then cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay and cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry.The expression of hTERT and mdrl mRNA was detected by RT-PCR and the telomerase activity was detected by ELISA.Results:TNF-?in- hibited the growth of K562 and K562/ADM cells and the inhibition showed a time-effect relationship(P

Ictal semiology is essential for the pre-operative evaluation of candidates for epilepsy surgery. We propose an ictal sign of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) termed tonic-automotor (TA), defi ned as contralateral tonic spasm of upper limb associated with ipsilateral hand automotor seizure and often accompanied ipsilateral head turning. We assessed the occurrence and lateralizing/localizing value of TA in TLE, we analyzed 129 seizures in 41 patients with TLE: 90 seizures in 30 patients with TLE of hippocampal sclerosis (TLE/HS) and 39 seizures in 11 patients with TLE of other lesions (TLE/ non-HS). When compared with unilateral automotor seizure and unilateral tonic spasm, TA occurred more frequently in TLE/HS patients (40% vs 10% and 16.7%). In addition, 24 seizures in 12 patients with TA were observed only in TLE/HS patients and contralateral to the seizure focus based on the side of tonic spasm. However, there was no signifi cant difference in the TLE/HS between dominant side and nondominant side. In addition, TA sign occurred relatively early in the ictal phase. Thus, TA may be a more reliable lateralizing sign of epileptogenic zone and a semiologic marker of TLE/ HS patients.

Objective The exam quality of ‘Probability’ course for foreign medical undergraduates was analyzed,aiming at providing some reference for the improvement of the student evalua-tion system and course quality.Methods The ‘Probability’ course exam scores of 167 foreign un-dergraduates of 2014 batch were collected,the students were divided into two classes according to their entrance date,the former part class A consisted of 90 students,the latter part class B consisted of 77 students.The reliability of the test paper was judged according to Cronbach's α,Hotelling's T2 and Pearson correlation coefficient.The Spearman correlation analysis was adopted to evaluate the cor-relation between the question items.For the two classes,the impact of the entrance time on the test scores was explored on the basis of Student's t-test of question item scores and the total scores.Results The average score of the course exam was 82.587 points with the standard deviation of 13.520,Kol-mogorov-Smimov statistic was 1.627 (P=0.010),the exam scores could not follow normal distribution.The Cronbach's α for the exam paper was 0.808,the standardized Cronbach's α was 0.815.The Spearman correlation coefficients between the five question items were all with statistical significance and varied from 0.315 to 0.657.As the students were divided into two classes according to their entrance date,for the ‘Probability’ section scores of the latter batch students were less than the scores of the former batch,with the difference 4.017 points,the same situation was also found that all the five items in the ‘Probability’ section.Conclusions The entrance time for the foreign medical freshman has an impact on their exam scores,suggesting that more attention should be paid to those students.

The composition of intestinal microflora is closely related to the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer (CRC). Among them, Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) has been proved directly related to the recurrence, metastasis and chemotherapy resistance of CRC. Therefore, it is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer by the exploration potential anti-Fn drug targets and discovery small molecule drugs. However, no selective anti-Fn small molecule inhibitors have been reported so far as well as their anti-Fn thereby "anti-Fn further anticancer" mechanisms are unclear. Herein, this article reviews the potential therapeutic targets and small molecule ligands of Fn in order to provide a reference for the development of anti-Fn and anti-CRC small molecule drugs.

At present,depression is mainly treated by drugs,while the remission rate of the first-line antidepressant selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor is only about 60％-70％.Many studies showed that the gene polymorphisms might be important factors influencing inter individual differences in drug reactions.Recent pharmacogenomics researches suggested that some related genes may affect the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor in the world.Here we briefly reviewed the pharmacogenomic research progress of several commonly used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,such as fluoxetine and sertraline from the aspect of clinical efficacy.

Lysostaphin is highly effective on eliminating methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In order to achieve controlled release of lysostaphin, a biocompatible drug carrier is needed. Hydroxyapatite/chitosan (HA/CS) composites were chosen to carry lysostaphin and sample composites with different weight ratios of HA to CS, including 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, and 40/60, were prepared. Multiple analyses were performed to determine the structural and physicochemical properties of the composites, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. We immersed HA/CS composites loaded with 1 wt% lysostaphin to test in vitro release activity and cultured MC3T3-E1 cells to carry out biocompatibility test. The result of the release behavior of the composites revealed that the controlled release of lysostaphin from 60/40 HA/CS composites was the highest release rate of (87.4 ± 2.8)%, which lasted for 120 hours. In biocompatibility testing, MC3T3-E1 cells were able to proliferate on the surface of these composites, and the extract liquid from the composites could increase the growth of the cells. These results demonstrate the controlled release of lysostaphin from HA/CS composites and their biocompatibility, suggesting the potential application of these composites to bone injury and infection applications.
3T3 Cells ; Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Chitosan ; chemistry ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Durapatite ; chemistry ; Lysostaphin ; pharmacology ; Materials Testing ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Mice ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; X-Ray Diffraction

OBJECTIVETo observe the clinic effect of combined use of berberin hydrochloride (Ber) with cyclosporine A (CsA) on the blood concentration of CsA in heart transplanted recipients.

METHODSThe blood concentration of CsA, liver-renal function and blood lipids in 22 heart transplanted recipients, who received Ber-CsA combined therapy, were measured.

RESULTSThe whole blood steady state concentration of CsA, C0 and C2, in recipients after being treated with Ber-CsA significantly increased than those before applying Ber-CsA (P < 0.01), with the mean increment of 26% and 18% respectively; the dosage of CsA used decreased in 21 patients by 25-100 mg/d; and the Ber-CsA showed no significant effect on liver-renal function or blood lipids (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCombined use of CsA with Ber could markedly increase the blood concentration of CsA in heart transplanted recipients and reduce the dosage of CsA required, save the fee for medical service, and shows no obvious adverse reaction.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Berberine ; administration & dosage ; Cyclosporine ; administration & dosage ; blood ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Graft Rejection ; blood ; drug therapy ; Heart Transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

INTRODUCTIONCirculating insulin concentrations provide important information for the evaluation of insulin secretion and insulin resistance. Reference intervals are the most widely applied tool for the interpretation of clinical laboratory results. We carried out an analysis of the data available from the Fangchenggang Area Male Health and Examination Survey in order to derive a reference interval for fasting insulin specific to the Chinese population.

METHODSA total of 1,434 fasting serum insulin results were obtained from healthy nondiabetic adult men aged 20-69 years, after taking into consideration the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Serum insulin was measured using electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. Nonparametric statistical methods were used to calculate and analyse the data.

RESULTSThe reference interval for fasting serum insulin for Chinese adults was in the range 1.57-16.32 μU/mL (median 5.79 μU/mL). Significant correlations were found between fasting serum insulin and glucose and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001). Statistically significant differences were observed in insulin concentration with respect to age and body mass index (BMI; p < 0.001). Younger people had a higher fasting serum insulin concentration. Increased fasting serum insulin was also found to be associated with BMI.

CONCLUSIONWe established a reference interval for fasting serum insulin in healthy nondiabetic adult Chinese men that is lower than what was previously suggested. BMI and age (but not smoking, alcohol consumption or physical activity) were found to be important factors associated with fasting serum insulin. Our results will help improve the diagnostic interpretation of investigations for metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in a Chinese population.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Body Mass Index ; China ; Fasting ; blood ; Humans ; Insulin ; blood ; Insulin Resistance ; physiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nomograms ; Reference Values ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the curative effect of surgical treatment of drug-resistant spinal tuberculosis.

METHODSFrom March 2005 and April 2009, the clinical data of 60 patients with drug-resistant spinal tuberculosis were retrospectively analyzed. Including 36 males and 24 females; aged from 5 to 79 years with an average of 47.3 years. Thirty-four patients had neurological deficits, among them, 2 cases were grade A, 5 cases were grade B, 13 cases were grade C, 14 cases were grade D according to ASIA standard. According to the severity and location of the infection, the patients underwent anterior, posterolateral costotransversectomy or posterior debridement and bone grafting and internal fixation. The antituberculous chemotherapy for a total of 12 to 18 months was guided by conventional and genotypic drug susceptibility testing. Tubercular relapse, neurological function, spinal fusion were observed by ASIA grade, X-ray and CT scan.

RESULTSAll cases were followed up from 1 to 5 years with an average of 3.1 years. Recurrence was found in 2 cases who were cured after second operation. 34 cases with neurological deficits recovered totally or partially. X-ray or CT films showed spinal fusion in 57 patients.

CONCLUSIONThe therapeutic effect of individuall operative options is good in treating drug-resistant spinal tuberculosis after antituberculous chemotherapy based on conventional and genotypic drug susceptibility testing.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antitubercular Agents ; therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycobacterium ; drug effects ; genetics ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; surgery ; Tuberculosis, Spinal ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; surgery ; Young Adult