0.05),but all were lower than those of the control group(P

OBJECTIVETo observe the protective effect of active fractions of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction (HJD) on primary cortical neuron injury after oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)/reperfusion (R) injury. Methods Using macroporous resin method, HJDFE30, HJDFE50, HJDFE75, and HJDFE95 with 30%, 50%, 75%, and 95% alcohol were respectively prepared. Then the content of active components in different HJD fractions was determined with reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The OGD/R injury model was induced by sodium dithionite on primary cortical neurons in neonate rats. MTT assay was used to observe the effect of four fractions (HJDFE30, HJDFE50, HJDFE75, and HJDFE95) and seven index components of HJD on the neuron viability.

RESULTSRP-HPLC showed active component(s) contained in HJDFE30 was geniposide; baicalin, palmatine, berberine, and wogonside contained in HJDFE50; baicalin, berberine, baicalein, and wogonin contained in HJDFE75. The neuron viability was decreased after OGD for 20 min and reperfusion for 1 h, (P <0. 01), and significantly increased after administered with HJD, HJDFE30, HJDFE50, and HJDFE75 (P <0. 05, P <0. 01). Geniposide, baicalin, baicalein, palmatine, wogonside, and wogonin could increase the cortical neuron viability (P <0. 05, P <0. 01).

CONCLUSIONSHJDFE30, HJDFE50, and HJDFE75, as active fractions of HJD, had protective effect on primary cortical neuron injury after OGD/R. Furthermore, geniposide, baicalin, and baicalein were main active components of HJD.

Animals ; Berberine ; Berberine Alkaloids ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Flavanones ; Flavonoids ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Iridoids ; Models, Animal ; Neurons ; Oxygen ; metabolism ; Rats ; Reperfusion Injury ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVEThe study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of astragaloside IV (ASI) on the activation of microglial cells.

METHODAfter pre-incubated with ASI for 2 h, microglial cells BV-2 were stimulated with interferon-γ (IFN-γ) for 1. 5 h and 24 h, respectively. Secretion of nitric oxide (NO) in the medium was measured by Griess method. Production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) was detected by ELISA approach. Cellular gene expressions of CD11b, TNF-α, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were examined by quantitative-PCR analysis. Total and phosphorylation of STAT1, IκB and NF-κB was analyzed by Western blot method.

RESULTASI could significantly inhibit the increased secretion of TNF-α and NO from BV-2 cells upon IFN-γ stimulation (P < 0.001). Further study showed that ASI significantly down-regulated gene expression of IL-1β and TNF-α (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) and exhibited a trend to reduce that of iNOS. IFN-γ and ASI have no obvious effect on gene expression of CD11b. Moreover, ASI inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT1, IκB and NF-κB elicited by IFN-γ stimulation.

CONCLUSIONASI could restrain microglial activation through interfering STAT1/IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway, reducing gene expres- sion of IL-1β and TNF-α, and thus inhibiting the production of proinflammatory mediators such as NO and TNF-α.

Animals ; Astragalus Plant ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; I-kappa B Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Interferon-gamma ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; genetics ; metabolism ; STAT1 Transcription Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Triterpenes ; pharmacology

Dust ; analysis ; Humans ; Magnoliopsida ; Pneumoconiosis ; epidemiology ; Prevalence

Objective To investigate the effects of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) on myelin phagocytosis during Wallerian degeneration after early peripheral nerve injury in rats.Methods Fifty male Wistar rats were recruited and randomly divided into LPS group(n=20),model group(n=20) and sham group(n=10).The right sciatic nerves of rats in the LPS and model groups were cut and sutured end-to-end,while the sciatic nerve of sham group rats were only exposed.Immediately after surgery,the rats in LPS group were given microinjections of LPS(2 g/L) into the surgical site in a final volume of 1 μL,and the rats in other two groups were injected with the same volume of saline.The sciatic nerves were taken at 1.5 h,24 h and 7d after surgery.Real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR) was applied to detect the dynamic expressions of IL-1β mRNA and MCP-1 mRNA.Immunofluorescence staining was used to test the expression of CD68+ macrophages in sciatic nerves.HE staining was used to observe the pathological alterations of sciatic nerves tissue.ORO staining was used to observe sciatic nerves demyelination.LFB staining was used to detect the sciatic nerves myelin.Sciatic function index was used to evaluate the recovery of motor function in rats.Results Compared with the model group,qRT-PCR indicated that the expression of IL-1β and MCP-1 from LPS group were increased at 1.5 h and 24 h after surgery(P<0.001, P<0.001),respectively.Compared with the model group,the expression of CD68+ cells was increased significantly at 7th day after surgery(P<0.05).Histological examination showed that compared with the model group,a lot of inflammatory cells and Schwann cells were found at sciatic nerve stump in the LPS group at 7th day after operation.ORO staining showed that the degree of demyelination in the LPS group was higher than that in the model group.LFB staining showed that the sciatic nerve stump demyelination appeared in both model group and the LPS group at 7th day after operation,but compared with the model group,myelin debris clearance in the LPS group was significantly accelerated(P<0.05).Finally,compared with the model group,the SFI in the LPS group was increased significantly at 20 d after surgery(P<0.05).Conclusions The results confirm that LPS is possible to manipulate the innate immune response to accelerate myelin clearance during Wallerian degeneration after early peripheral nerve injury in rats.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the allergens in patients with allergic rhinitis in Yichang, so that to find common allergens of Yichang and to provide statistic basis for a reasonable prevention and treatment to allergic rhinitis. METHOD: 1,979 patients with allergic rhinitis in Yichang were detected for allergens by skin prick test and the distribution of positive rates to inhaled allergens was compared between different genders and ages. RESULT: 1,545 (78.1%) of 1,979 suspected allergic rhinitis patients presented positive reaction. The positive rate in male was significantly higher than in female, and that in juvenile group was significantly higher than in adults. Among positive cases in inhalation group, the most common allergen was flour mite (80.4%), followed by house dust mite (64.9%), cockroach (13.3%) and artemisia pollen (8.2%). CONCLUSION The study shows that the flour mite and house dust mite are the most common inhaled allergens causing allergic rhinitis in Yichang. We should pay more attention to the prevention and treatment for the juvenile patients.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Allergens ; immunology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; immunology ; Skin Tests ; Young Adult

Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics of female pseudohermaphroditism (FPH) in the publication from 1994 to 2009 and the cases diagnosed and treated in our hospital from 2000.Methods We employed Chinese and English name of female pseudohermaphroditism as a key word separately to retrieve published articles of FPH during 1994 to 2009.A meta-analysis was performed together with the ten cases in our hospital.Results Among 342 cases involved in this study,only twenty-seven children were diagnosed immediately after birth and the other 315 cases at the age of 1 month to 59 years with median age of 29.54 years.The etiological factors were mostly congenital adrenal hyperplasia (70.47%).Clinical manifestations were advanced bone age (95.52%),clitoromegaly (84.14%) and early virilization (77.24%).The treatment mainly included drug and operation.Early diagnosis and available therapy were very important for the prognosis.Conclusion FPH is not rare,so we should improve our knowledge for its early diagnosis,good intervention and final better prognosis.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of standardized three-stage rehabilitation program on spasticity and motor function in the upper extremities after cerebral hemorrhage.Methods A total of 364 patients were included and randomly assigned to a control group (n =181) and a rehabilitation group (n =183).The standardized three-stage rehabilitation program,which included early-stage bedside rehabilitation,specialized treatment in rehabilitation ward during recovery and rehabilitation follow-up at regular intervals was applied in the rehabilitation group,but only rehabilitation guidance and follow-up after discharge were provided for the control group.The modified Ashworth scale (MAS) and Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) were performed at the time of recruitment,1 month (M1),3 months(M3) and 6 months(M6) later.Results There was no statistical difference between the groups at recruitment.The occurrence rate of spasticity was 22.7％ in the control and 23.5％ in the rehabilitation group.At M6 the occurrence rate of spasticity was about 59.7％ and 43.2％ in control group and rehabilitation group respectively,and the number of patients grade 1 + and grade 2 on the MAS was 50/181 in the control group,significantly more than in the rehabilitation group (25/183).At all time points,MAS grade 0 accounted for a large proportion of both groups.At M6,both MAS distributions and scores of the two groups were different statistically (P ＜ 0.01).FMA scores in both groups increased significantly (P ＜ 0.01) with time,with the score being (17.13 ± 16.46),(24.87±18.36),(30.68±19.41) at M1,M3 and M6 in the control group and (24.71 ±19.80),(39.83 ± 19.50),(48.87 ± 18.25) in the rehabilitation group,but the average scores of the latter were consistently significantly higher than the former (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions Standardized three-stage rehabilitation can alleviate spasticity and improve motor function of the upper extremities in cerebral hemorrhage patients.

Objective To explore the factors influencing the recovery of ability in the activities of daily living (ADL) after intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods A total of 108 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage admitted for rehabilitation to the rehabilitation medicine department of Huashan Hospital between January 2007 and June 2011 were studied.Twelve items of clinical data were collected with regard to the patients' medical history,physical status,modified Barthel index (MBI) score and Brunnstrom stage at admission.Functional status was classified according to the MBI scores and Brunnstrom stages assessed at admission and before discharge.Linear regression analysis was used to relate the variables. Results After rehabilitation,the MBI scores and Brunnstrom stages had improved relative to the scores at admission.Factors influencing the MBI improvements included the intervention timing of rehabilitation and the course of therapy employed. Conclusions It is very important to comprehend the factors influencing the recovery of ADL ability after cerebral hemorrhage in order to design effective rehabilitation strategies,better predict functional outcomes and improve patients' ADL ability effectively.

Objective To analyze the effects of rehabilitation training,acupuncture and the combination of these two therapies on the motor function of stroke survivors,and to evaluate their health economics.Methods Two hundred and five stroke survivors were randomly divided into a rehabilitation group (64 cases),an acupuncture group (69 cases) and a combined group (72 cases).The rehabilitation group received conventional rehabilitation training for 28 days,while the acupuncture group received scalp needling combined with body acupuncture.The combined group received both the training and the acupuncture.The clinical neural functional deficiency scale (NDS) and functional comprehensive assessments (FCA) were evaluated at baseline and on the 28th day after treatment and 28th day after the treatment had ended.The total cost including the direct medical costs,direct non-medical costs and indirect costs were calculated and analyzed.Results The NDS and FCA scores showed no significant difference between the three groups at baseline.At the 28th day after treatment and and 28th day after the treatment had ended,both the NDS and FCA scores had improved significantly in all groups compared with the baseline.However,there was no significant difference between the groups.At the 28th day there was a significant difference in the NDS results of the combined group compared to the other two groups.Significant differences in NDS results among all three groups had appeared by the 56th day,but there was still no significant difference in average FCA scores.At the 28th day no significant difference in cost was observed among the three groups,but the combined group spent significantly less in total cost,direct medical costs,direct non-medical costs and indirect costs for a one point NDS decrement.However,there was no significant difference in the cost of producing a one point increment in FCA among the three groups.Conclusion Combining rehabilitation training with acupuncture is more economical and effective than either treatment alone.