Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of Kuntai Capsule (KC) on premature ovarian failure in rats.Methods Totally 40 SD female rats were randomly divided into four groups:control group,model group,Kuntai Capsule (KC) group and conjugated estrogens tablets (CET) group.The premature ovarian failure model in rats was made by ig administration of 75 mg/kg tripterygium.After the model was established,rats were continually treated with 0.6 and 0.625 g/kg of KC and CET respectively by ig administration for 36 d.HE staining was used to observe the morphology of ovary and count the number of follicle.The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Elisa) method was used for the detection of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH),luteinizing hormone (LH),serum estradiol (E2),and anti-Mueller tube hormone (AMH) level.The real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) method was used to detect the mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).Results Compared with control group,the number of primordial follicles,preantral follicles and antral follicles were significantly reduced,the number of atretic follicles was increased (P ＜ 0.05),E2 and AMH significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.05),FSH and LH levels increased significantly (P ＜ 0.05),and the levels of VEGF and bFGF mRNA in model group were significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with model group,the number of primordial follicles,preantral follicles,and antral follicles were significantly increased,the number of atretic follicles was significantly reduced (P ＜ 0.05),E2 and AMH significantly increased (P ＜ 0.05),FSH and LH levels significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.05),and the levels of VEGF and bFGF mRNA in KC group were significantly increased (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion By regulating the level of hormone and up-regulating the expression of VEGF and bFGF,KC can repair the damaged ovarian tissue and promote the growth and development of the follicle,so as to inhibit the premature exhaustion of mRNA.

Objective To respectively analyze the patterns and possible predictors of recurrent strokes among patients with initial ischemic stroke.Methods Three hundred and sixty-one patients with recurrent strokes (acute ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage) after initial ischemic strokes were collected from Jan 2004 to Dec 2009.The data about conventional risk factors such as smoking,heavy alcohol drinking,hypertension,diabetes,hyperlipidemia,heart diseases,head trauma,migraine,family history of cardiovascular disease,and the use of preventive medications were collected and analyzed among patients with different types of recurrent strokes.Results Patients (n =361) were divided into ischemic stroke group (n =321) and hemorrhagic stroke group (n =40) according to the recurrent stroke type.The ischemic stroke group was further divided into the anterior circulation stroke subgroup (n =234),the posterior circulation stroke subgroup (n =75) and watershed cerebral infarction or multiple infarction subgroup (n =12).Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that older age at initial stroke onset (OR =1.036,95 ％ CI 1.006-1.067,P =0.02) and hyperlipidemia (OR =2.253,95 ％ CI 1.092-4.647,P =0.028) were both the independent risk factors for the recurrent ischemic stroke.Comparing the subgroups,multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that atrial fibrillation (OR =4.217,95％ CI 1.489-11.942,P =0.007) was the independent risk factor for the recurrent ischemic stroke in the posterior circulation territory.Conclusion Aging and hyperlipidemia are possible predictors of recurrent ischemic stroke after the initial ischemic stroke which would be useful for individualized secondary prevention of stroke.

Maili moxibustion can alleviate cancer pain, reduce bone marrow suppression, alleviate gastrointestinal reaction of chemotherapeutic drugs, alleviate cancer-related fatigue, inhibit neurotoxic reaction, improve quality of life and prolong patients' survival. It plays therapeutic effects by regulating immunity, inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and regulating tumor microenvironment. The researches of Maili moxibustion for tumor focus on reducing the toxic or side effects of radiotherapy or chemotherapy. In the future, we should continue to study the combination of Maili moxibustion and other therapies on the treatment of tumor.

Objective:To investigate the effect of paeoniflorin on toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)/nuclear transcription factor(NF-κB) signaling pathway of streptozotocin combined with ovariectomized mice, and to explore whether it can improve the cognitive impairment of ovariectomized diabetic mice.Methods:Ninety female C57BL/6J mice were divided into SHAM group, ovariectomy group, diabetes group(intraperitoneal injection of STZ 50 mg·kg -1·d -1 for 5 consecutive days), dual model group(DM modeling and OVX operation), paeoniflorin low-dose intervention group(OVX+ STZ+ L-PF 50 mg·kg -1·d -1), paeoniflorin high-dose intervention group(OVX+ STZ+ H-PF 100 mg·kg -1·d -1; all groups n=15). After 8 weeks of paeoniflorin intervention, their cognitive function was tested by behavioral experiments(Morris water maze and Y maze). The pathological changes of hippocampal tissue were observed by HE and Nissl staining. The mRNA expressions of TLR4, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β) and interleukin-6(IL-6) in hippocampal tissues were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The expression of TLR4, NF-κB P65, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, β-amyloid protein(Aβ), tau proteins, and p-tau proteins were detected by Western blot. Results:Compared with SHAM group, the learning and memory ability of ovariectomy group, diabetes group and dual model group decreased, hippocampal cells were damaged, and the expression of related gene mRNA and protein were increased, especially in dual model group; Compared with dual model group, paeoniflorin intervention could delayed the learning and memory impairment, improve cognitive function, reduce the degree of hippocampal injury, and decrease the expression levels of related gene mRNA and protein, The above changes were the most pronounced at paeoniflorin high-dose intervention group.Conclusion:Paeoniflorin improves cognitive dysfunction in ovariectomized diabetic mice by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Background/Aims: Existing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prediction models are derived mainly from pretreatment or early on-treatment parameters. We reassessed the dynamic changes in the performance of 17 HCC models in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) during long-term antiviral therapy (AVT). Methods: Among 987 CHB patients administered long-term entecavir therapy, 660 patients had 8 years of follow-up data. Model scores were calculated using on-treatment values at 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5 years of AVT to predict threeyear HCC occurrence. Model performance was assessed with the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). The original model cutoffs to distinguish different levels of HCC risk were evaluated by the log-rank test. Results: The AUROCs of the 17 HCC models varied from 0.51 to 0.78 when using on-treatment scores from years 2.5 to 5. Models with a cirrhosis variable showed numerically higher AUROCs (pooled at 0.65–0.73 for treated, untreated, or mixed treatment models) than models without (treated or mixed models: 0.61–0.68; untreated models: 0.51–0.59). Stratification into low, intermediate, and high-risk levels using the original cutoff values could no longer reflect the true HCC incidence using scores after 3.5 years of AVT for models without cirrhosis and after 4 years of AVT for models with cirrhosis. Conclusions The performance of existing HCC prediction models, especially models without the cirrhosis variable, decreased in CHB patients on long-term AVT. The optimization of existing models or the development of novel models for better HCC prediction during long-term AVT is warranted.

Objective: To investigate the methods for qualitative pathological assessment of dynamic changes in liver fibrosis/cirrhosis after antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), since antiviral therapy can partially reverse liver fibrosis and cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B and semi-quantitative, rather than qualitative, pathological assessment is often used for the research on liver fibrosis regression. Methods: Previously untreated CHB patients with liver fibrosis and cirrhosis were enrolled, and liver biopsy was performed before treatment and at 78 weeks after the antiviral therapy based on entecavir. The follow-up assessment was performed once every half a year. Based on the proportion of different types of fibrous septum, we put forward the new qualitative criteria called P-I-R classification (predominantly progressive, predominantly regressive, and indeterminate) for evaluating dynamic changes in liver fibrosis. This classification or Ishak fibrosis stage was used to evaluate the change in liver fibrosis after treatment and Ishak liver inflammation score was used to evaluate the change in liver inflammation after treatment. Results: A total of 112 CHB patients who underwent liver biopsy before and after treatment were enrolled, and among these patients, 71 with an Ishak stage of ≥3 and qualified results of live biopsy were included in the final analysis. Based on the P-I-R classification, 58% (41/71) were classified as predominantly progressive, 29% (21/71) were classified as indeterminate, and 13% (9/71) were classified as predominantly regressive; there were no significant differences between the three groups in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, albumin, HBeAg positive rate, HBV DNA, and liver stiffness (P < 0.05). After treatment, the proportion of predominantly progressive, indeterminate, or predominantly regressive patients changed to 11% (8/71), 11% (8/71), and 78% (55/71), respectively. Among the 35 patients who had no change in Ishak stage after treatment, 72% (25/35) were classified as predominantly regressive and had certain reductions in the Laennec score, percentage of collagen area, and liver stiffness. Conclusion This new P-I-R classification can be used to assess the dynamic changes in liver fibrosis after antiviral therapy in CHB patients.