Objective: To evaluate the effect of clinical Western medicine and integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine on vertigo. Methods: One hundred and twenty outpatients and inpatients suffered vertigo participated in the trial. Randomly, 60 cases were distributed into test group, and the other 60 cases were selected into control group. The patients in control group were given Alprostadil, Vinpocetine, Flunarizine, and Betahistine. The patients in test group, based on dialectical type, took Chinese herb decoction individually. Results: Visual analog scale (VAS) and dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) score results in the test group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The total effective rate of the test group was 93.33%. In the control group, the total effective rate of Western medicine was 81.67%. There was a significant statistical difference (P < 0.05) between the two groups. Conclusion: The therapy by integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine could significantly improve the efficacy in vertigo treatment.

Objective To determine if pregnancy affects the toxicity of bupivacaine and to investigate the effect of Shenfu injectio,a preparation of Chinese herbal medicine,on central nervous system and cardiac toxicity of bupivacaine in pregnant rats.Methods Twenty-four SD rats weighing 320-360 g were assigned to 3 groups(n =8 each):Ⅰ non-pregnant control group,Ⅱ pregnant control group and Ⅲ Shenfu injectio pretreatment group. The animals were anesthetized with isoflorane(2%-4%)-O_2 inhalation which was stopped before bupivacaine infusion was started.Femoral artery was canunlated for MAP monitoring and blood sampling and femoral vein was cannulated for bupivacaine infusion.MAP,HR and ECG were continuously monitored.All animals in the 3 groups received continuous infusion of 5% bupivacaine at 2 mg?kg~(-1).min~(-1).In group Ⅲ Shenfu injectio 10 ml?kg~(-1) was injected intraperitoneally(IP)30 min before bupivacaine infusion whereas in the two control groups(group Ⅰ and Ⅱ)equal volume of normal saline was injected IP instead of Shenfu injectio.The duration between the beginning of bupivacaine infusion and onset of convulsion/arrhythmia(QRS≥90 ms)/asystol was recorded and the amount of bupivacaine infused was calculated.Results There was no significant difference in the amount of bupivacaine causing convulsion and asystol between group Ⅰ and Ⅱ but the amount of bupivacaine causing arrhythmia was significantly larger in group Ⅰ(non-pregnant) than in group Ⅱ(pregnant control group)(P＜0.05).The amount of bupivacaine causing convulsion,arrhythmia and asystole was significantly larger in Shenfu injectio pretreatment group(group Ⅲ)than in pregnant control group(group Ⅱ)(P＜0.05 or 0.01).Conclusion Bupivacaine- induced cardiotoxicity is increased in pregnant rats and Shenfu injectio pretreatment can reduce the systemic toxicity of bupivacaine in pregnant rats.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the neuroprotective effect of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) against focal cerebral ischemic injury in rats with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI).

METHODSRat models of focal cerebral ischemic injury were established in 16 male SD rats. They were randomly divided into the TMP group and the control group, eight in each group, and pretreated with TMP and normal saline respectively before modeling. Change of infarcted cerebral focus was observed with DWMRI at 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 hrs after infarction, and the infarction volume (IV) at 24 hrs after modeling was estimated by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) stain.

RESULTSThe IV in all time points observed in the TMP group with DWMRI was significantly smaller than that in the control group (P<0.01). Compared with that at 1 hr after infarction, in the control group at 2, 6, 12 and 24 hrs after modeling, the IV enlarged by 13.3%, 29.7%, 50.3% and 57.3% respectively, while that in the TMP group 9.9%, 21.3%, 37.1% and 40.5% respectively. The cerebral IV estimated by TTC stain 24 hrs after modeling was larger than that estimated by DWMRI.

CONCLUSIONTMP pretreatment before modeling was effective in protecting brain against cerebral ischemic damage in rats. DWMRI dynamic scanning observation has important significance in observing the cerebral ischemic developing process and evaluating the effectiveness of brain protective measures.

Animals ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Male ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Pyrazines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

AIDS caused by HIV-1, is a major threat to human being. An anti-HIV formulation from Chinese herbs, so called "Qu Du Zeng Ning", have been recently developed. In this work, the pharmacodynamics of the formulation in vitro was studied. The results showed that Qu Du Zeng Ning inhibit the replication of HIV-1 efficiently in all cell-based assay, with IC50 at 105.2, 70.7, 77.4 microg mL(-1), separately. A significant synergy between the formulation and zidovudine (AZT) was observed, and it also showed a potent activity against HIV-1 drug-resistant mutant.
Anti-HIV Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; virology ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Resistance, Viral ; Drug Synergism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; HIV Protease Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; HIV-1 ; drug effects ; physiology ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Scutellaria ; chemistry ; Virus Replication ; drug effects ; Zidovudine ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effect of high-pressure carbon monoxide for preservation of ex vivo rabbit heart graft in comparison with the conventional HTK cardioplegic solution preservation.

METHODSHeart grafts isolated from 85 New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into Naive group (n=5), HTK group (n=40) and CO group (n=40). The grafts underwent no preservation procedures in Naive group, preserved at 4 degrees celsius; in HTK cardioplegic solution in HTK group, and preserved at 4 degrees celsius; in a high-pressure tank (PO2: PCO=3200 hPa: 800 hPa) in CO group with Krebs-Henseleit solution perfusion but without cardioplegic solution. After preservation for 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 18, and 24 h, 5 grafts from the two preservation groups were perfused for 30 min with a modified Langendorff apparatus and examined for left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular diastolic pressure (LVDP), arrhythmia score (AS), myocardial ultrestructure, and cardiac enzyme profiles.

RESULTSAfter preservation for 6 to 24 h, the cardiac enzyme profiles and systolic and diastolic functions were significantly better in CO group than in HTK group, but these differences were not obvious between the two groups after graft preservation for 2 to 4 h. Significant changes in the myocardial ultrastructures occurred in the isolated hearts after a 24-h preservation in both CO and HTK groups, but the myocardial damages were milder in CO group.

CONCLUSIONPreservation using high-pressure carbon monoxide can better protect isolated rabbit heart graft than the conventional HTK preservation approach especially for prolonged graft preservation.

Animals ; Carbon Monoxide ; Cardioplegic Solutions ; Glucose ; Heart ; physiology ; Heart Transplantation ; Myocardium ; ultrastructure ; Rabbits ; Tissue Preservation ; methods ; Tromethamine

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of Bufei Yishen Granule BFYSG) combined with Shufei Tie acupoint sticking therapy on quality of life of patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

METHODSA multi-center, double-blinded, double-dummy and randomized controlled method was adopted in this trial. A total of 244 patients were randomly assigned to a trial group and a control group according to the random number, each with 122 patients; treatment allocation occurred when the participants met the inclusion criteria and signed the informed consent form. In the trial group, patients were treated with BFYSG combined with "Shufei Tie" acupoint sticking therapy and sustained-release theophylline dummy, and in the control group patients were treated with oral sustained-release theophylline and BFYSG dummy combined with "Shufei Tie" acupoint sticking therapy dummy. The therapeutic course for two groups was 4 months and the follow-up was 6 months. The frequency and duration of acute exacerbation calculated by adding up each frequency and duration of acute exacerbation in treatment and follow-up time respectively, the quality of life measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF scale and adult COPD quality of life (COPD-QOL) scale were observed.

RESULTSAmong the 244 enrolled patients, 234 were screened for full analysis set (FAS); 221 were screened for per-protocol analysis set (PPS). After 4-month treatment and 6-month follow-up there were differences between the trial group and the control group in frequency of acute exacerbation (FAS: P=0.013; PPS: P=0.046); duration of acute exacerbation (FAS: P=0.005; PPS: P=0.006); scores of physiological, psychological and environment aspects of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (FAS: P=0.002, P=0.006, P=0.000; PPS: P=0.00, P=0.001, P=0.000); scores of daily living ability, social activity, depression symptoms aspects of the COPD-QOL questionnaire (FAS: P=0.000, P=0.000, P=0.006; PPS: P=0.002, P=0.001, P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONBFYSG combined with acupoint sticking therapy could improve the quality of life of patients with stable COPD.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Aged ; Anxiety ; complications ; psychology ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Depression ; complications ; psychology ; Disease Progression ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; complications ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Treatment Outcome

To explore the genetic characteristics of viral quasispecies in HIV-1 CRF07_BC infections among intravenous drug users (IDU), the gp120 fragments of HIV-1 env gene were amplified from plasma samples collected from 6 CRF07_BC infected persons using single genome amplification and sequencing (SGA/ SGS) method, and 11 to 28 sequences were obtained from these samples, respectively, A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was reconstructed to describe the genetic characteristics of viral quasispecies. The Simplot, segments' phylogenetic trees and diversity plots based on average pairwise distance (APD) were used to identify the recombination events between quasispecies. The SGA sequences derived from single specimen formed a large monophyletic cluster in the neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree and showed the complex topologic structures of viral quasispecies. Of the 6 CRF07_BC infected patients, only one possessed the high genetic homogeneity, whereas the other five individuals showed high heterogeneity, with two to four subclusters inside the monophyletic cluster for each specimen. In addition, the recombinant events were identified among viral quasispecies from 3 cases. The results show SGA technique and phylogenetic analyses are useful tool to investigate the intrahost CRF07_BC gp120 complex quasispecies variation and high genetic diversity.
Adult ; Drug Users ; Female ; HIV Infections ; virology ; HIV-1 ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Substance Abuse, Intravenous ; virology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the feasibility of single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) as one of lab tests to examine DNA breakage for the diagnosis of Fanconi anemia (FA). Case Record A 4-year-and-10-month old boy presented with cryptorchism, deformities of both thumbs and esotropia of right eye. He developed thrombocytopenia and anemia when he was 3 year- and -2-month old. He was clinically diagnosed as FA.

METHODS AND RESULTSDNA breakage of peripheral white blood cells from the patient and his parents was examined with SCGE. The percentages of cells with chromosome breakage (comet-tail positive cells) were 100%, 90% and 52% for the patient,his father and mother, respectively, while that were only 2% and 5% in two normal same-age children (P <0. 001). The micronucleus-positive lymphocytes was 6.74% in the patient, being also much higher than normal value (0.40%).

CONCLUSIONSCGE disclosed DNA breakage in the patient with FA, suggesting that it could be used as a test for determining DNA breakage of FA.

Child, Preschool ; Comet Assay ; Fanconi Anemia ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Male

Objective To investigate the expression feature of peroxiredoxin Ⅲ in cervical lesions and to further understand the mechanism for cervical cancer development/progression.Methods Expression of peroxiredoxin Ⅲ was immunohistochemically detected in cervical cancer.In addition.cervical epithelia were transfected with recombinant adeno-associated virus vector containing human papillomavirus 16 E6/E7 and pemxiredoxin Ⅲ expression was detected by quantitative real time PCR and Westem blotting.Results Peroxiredoxin Ⅲ was significantly up-regulated in cervical cancer tissues.Nevertheless,expression of peroxiredoxin Ⅲ remained unchanged in cervical epitllelial cells after transfection.Conclusion It seems that Prx Ⅲ is not related to cervical cancer initiation. Up-regulation of peroxiredoxin Ⅲ in cervical cancer might be an active response to oxidative stress in malignant cells,which protects against oxidatiton-induced apoptosis.