Stroke is one of the major diseases that threaten human health, early diagnosis and treatment are very important for stroke. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is measured noninvasively to diagnosis stroke, and it is a independent predictor for stroke because its thickening can timely predict the incidence and development of stroke. As an important predictor of cardiovascular disease, more and more attention is played on CIMT. In this review, we will make a summary on the important role of CIMT in stroke and the mechanisms of carotid intima-media thickening in stroke as well as the potential use of traditional Chinese medicine in treating carotid intima-media thickening.
Animals ; Carotid Arteries ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Stroke ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; physiopathology

Child ; Humans ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; diagnosis

Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Humans

Objective To explore the effect of glutamine(Gln) on expression of nuclear factor kappa B(NF-?B) and heat shock protein 70(HSP70) in brain of young rats induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS).Methods Ten days old Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups by injection intraperitoneally different agonts,LPS group,normal saline control group(NS group) and Gln group(Gln 1.346 g/kg,1 hour before LPS).NF-?B and HSP70 distribution and expression in brain were deteted by immunohistochemistry.The levels of HSP70 in rats brain induced by LPS were detected by Western blot.SPSS 12.0 software was used.Results The nuclei of neuron in cerebral cortex in LPS group obviously cleared at 6 hours.The positive stain of nuclei in Gln group at 2 hours could not be seen.The stain of nuclei in cerebral cortex was weakened in LPS group at 6 hours by immunohistochemistry.HSP70 protein expression decreased with the measurement of Western blot,especially at 24 hours.HSP70 expression in LPS group was similar as that in NS group.The stain of nuclei in neuron in Gln group at 2 hours increased.It also showed the amount of protein expression increased in Western blot in group Gln at 2,6,12,24 hours(Pa

Retinal ganglion cells are crucial in the formation of vision. Injury or death of retinal ganglion cells may lead to irreversibly damage of visual function. Glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, hypertension, and other blind leading diseases can cause the damage or progressively apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells. Currently, there is no specific treatment to restore vision damage caused by those diseases. Scholars at home and abroad focus on stem cells transplantation in order to recover the visual function of patients. Two categories are mainly involved in stem cell transplantation, one is the replacement therapy based on stem cells, the other is to promote the secretion of some factors to protect ganglion cells through stem cell transplantation. In this review, we aim to summarize the potential of stems cell transplantation to treat retinal ganglion cells related diseases, and discuss the differentiation of different types of stem cells to retinal ganglion cells.

Background5-Nitro-2-(3-styrene-acrylic amine) benzoic acid ( NPPB),a chloride channel inhibitor,has a promoting effect on cell apoptosis in myocardial ischemia and reperfusion of domestic rabbit.The CIC chloride channel has been found in the ocular trabecular cells.However,the effect of NPPB on the shape and function of trabecular cells is unclear. Objective This study was performed to investigate the effect of NPPB on the proliferation,cell cycle progression and apoptosis of human trabecular meshwork cells.MethodsThe immortalized human trabcular cell strain was cultured,and logarithmic-phase cells were incubated in 96-well plates at a density of 1 ×106/ml.Different concentrations of NPPB (10,50,100 μ mol/L) were added to the medium,and the MTT assay was used to assess the growth and proliferation of the cells.Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the cell cycle.Then,100 mg/L 5-FU or 100 mg/L 5-FU + 100 μmol/L NPPB was used to induce cell apoptosis,which was assessed by Annexin V-PI.The membrane potential of mitochondria was examined using rhodamine 123 (△ψm).Results After 48 hours of treatment with NPPB,the abosorbency (A value) of the cells was gradually lowered with the increasing dose of NPPB,with significant differences among the 4 groups (F =7.230,P =0.006).Compared with the 10 μmol/L NPPB group,the A values were significantly declined in the 50 and 100 μmol/L NPPB groups (t =1.610,P =0.025 ;t =12.270,P =0.001 ).Forty-eight hours after exposure to NPPB,the percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase was increased and that in the S phase was decreased.The percentages of cells in different phases of cell cycle were significantly different in comparison with their control groups (without NPPB)( P＜0.05 ).Twenty-four and 48 hours after the treatment with 100 mg/L 5-FU,the apoptosis rates of the cells were raised in the 100 mg/L 5-FU group and 100 mg/L 5-FU + 100 μmol/L NPPB group compared to the without NPPB group (t24h =2.130,P =0.023;t48h =4.810,P=0.011 ) ;while that in the 100 mg/L 5-FU+100 μmol/L NPPB group was higher than the 100 mg/L 5-FU group ( t24 h =1.980,P =0.037 ; t48 h =1.290,P =0.028 ),and the mitochondrial membrane potential was lowered ( t24h =1.580,P =0.029 ; F48 h =6.200,P =0.015 ).Conclusions NPPB suppresses the proliferation of human trabecular cells and promotes the cells to enter S phase via the G1/S check point.In addition,ClC might be involved in an anti-apoptosis mechanism through the internal mitochondrial pathway.

Objective To investigate the effects of atorvastatin on the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE)and the underlying mechanism of immunoregulation.Method The Wistar rats were used to establish EAE model.After oral administration of 2, 8 mg? kg~(1)?d~(1)of atorvastatin, the rats were examined for the development of neurological signs, changes of histopathology and the expression of IL-4 and MMP-9.Result Though high dose treatment with atorvastatin, the frequency of EAE attacks degreased from 76.67% to 33.33%(P=0.008);the extent of inflammation degreased from 3.2?1.1 to 1.3?0.4(P=0.01);and the number of MMP-9 positive cells degreased from 37?7 to 26?5(P= 0.001), the expression of IL-4 could be increased from(0.35?0.12)ng/ml to(0.68?0.23)ng/ml (P=0.05).Conclusion Atorvastatin can reduce the inflammation and produce the recover of the neurological harm because of the changes of MMP-9 and IL-4.

Objective To explore the adverse effects of formaldehyde(FA)on learning and memory ability of mice and the antagonistic effect of N-acetyl-cysteine(NAC),an antioxidant.Methods Thirty-four ICR mice were randomly divided into four groups,the control(NS,n=8),treated with FA(15 mg/kg,n=9),treated with NAC(100 mg/kg,n=8),treated with FA(15 mg/kg) plus NAC(100 mg/kg,n=9),the treatment was conducted by intraperitoneal injection once a day for seven consecutive days.On the eighth day,the learning and memory ability were tested by using water labyrinth task for seven consecutive days.Results The mice in FA group behaved excited,restless and then turned to repose,moveless and clustering,but this phenomena was not seen in the other groups.There was no significant difference in the body weight of mice among groups.As for learning,latent period in the FA group [(27.15?2.66)s] was significantly longer than that in the control group [(15.83?2.82)s] and the FA+ NAC group[(14.98?2.66)s],and revealed statistical significance(P

In order to investigate the genetic basis of morphological variation of tetraploid plantlets of Atractylodes macrocephala, diploid plantlets were taken as experimental material, sterile filtration colchicine was used to soak 0.5-1.0 cm long buds. The difference between morphology and stomatal of diploid and tetraploid of A. macrocephala was compared, and genome polymorphism was explored by AFLP. The results showed that the buds dipped in 0.1% colchicine solution for 36 h was optimal conditions to induce tetraploid of A. macrocephala with induction rate of 32.0%. Morphological indexes such as leaf area index, leaf length and width, the density of stomas and the number of chloroplast of tetraploid were distinctly different from diploid. Four hundred and fifty-one bands ranging with 80-500 bp were amplified with 24 pairs of primers, the rate of polymorphism was 32.59%. These amplification sites of diploid were different from tetraploid of A. macrocephala, and the differences in morphology of them were reflected in the DNA polymorphism.
Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis ; methods ; Atractylodes ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Tetraploidy

Adult ; Diverticulum ; complications ; Echocardiography ; methods ; Heart Diseases ; diagnosis ; Heart Ventricles ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Young Adult