Lysimachiae Herba and Desmodii Styracifolii Herba are common traditional Chinese medicines for treating lithiasis. Both of them have efficacies of clearing heat, diuresis and eliminating calculi. However, there are some differences in their clinic applications. The former is mainly used to treat hepatolithiasis, gallstones, jaundice, stranguria and gout; Whereas the latter is mainly used to treat urinary calculus. In this paper, the pharmacological effects of Lysimachiae Herba and Desmodii Styracifolii Herba on removing calculus, choleresis, anti-inflammation and oxidation resistance were compared and analyzed based on document retrieval. In conclusion, both of them show the preventive and therapeutic effects on kidney stones and gallstones. Particularly, Desmodii Styracifolii Herba has a better effect in treating the kidney stones, while Lysimachiae Herba has a better effect in treating cholesterol gallstones.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Fabaceae ; Gallstones ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Kidney Calculi ; drug therapy ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phytotherapy ; Primulaceae

BACKGROUND:Retinal diseases are caused by damage or apoptosis of the retinal cel s and lack of ideal treatment. Induced pluripotent stem cel s have self-renewal ability and differentiation potential. A new potential source from which to produce stem cel s as a therapeutic platform for the treatment of retinal diseases and avoid ethics issues is the research focus currently.
OBJECTIVE:To review recent advancement of induced pluripotent stem cel s and the potential utility for retinal diseases.
METHODS:The first author searched related articles published from 2006 to 2011 by computer retrieval in PubMed database using the keywords of“induced pluripotent stem cel s, retinal, photoreceptor, retinal pigment epithelium, retinal ganglion cel”in English. Final y, total y 42 papers were involved.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Induced pluripotent stem cel s can be induced to differentiate into retinal cel s which have a possibility to be used as donor cel s for transplantation therapies. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cel s can be used as disease models for mechanistic studies and drug screening. It is a promising therapy for retinal degenerative diseases. However, some problems stil remain, such as risk of teratoma formation and low efficiency of somatic cel s to be successful y induced into induced pluripotent stem cel s. It stil requires further more studies.

Objective To examine the changes in the expression of voltage-gated sodium channel?subunit mRNA in the dorsal root ganglion(DRG)and the role it plays in the neuropathie pain.Methods Thirty- two male SD rats weighing 250-400g were randomly divided into 2 groups:groupⅠneuropathic pain(SNL,n= 20)and groupⅡsham operation(n=12).Neuropathic pain was produced by ligation of right sciatic nerve according to Seltzer.Paw withdrawal latency to noxious thermal(PWHL)and mechanical(PWML)stimulation were measured before(baseline)and 1,2,3,5,8,11,14,28 day after sciatic nerve ligation(SNL).DRG at L_(4,5) was isolated on the 14th day after SNL in 8 SNL and 4 sham-operated animals for determination of sodium channel?subunit mRNA expression(by in-situ hybridization).Results PWHL and PWML were significantly decreased on the 2nd-28th day after SNL as compared to the baseline in SNL group.There was no significant difference in?_1 subunit mRNA expression between the 2 groups.The?_2 subunit mRNA expression in DRG was hardly detectable.The?_3 subunit mRNA expression in DRG on the operated side was significantly higher in SNL group than in sham-operation group.Conclusion The up-regulation of sodium channel?_3 subunit mRNA expression in DRG may play an important role in neuropathic pain.

Objective To observe the effect of ephedrine on the expression of eotaxin in human bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE) stimulated by tumor necrosis factor‐α(TNF‐α) and to explore the mechanism of Chinese medicine ephedra in treating asthma .Methods The in vitro cultured 16HBE were randomly divided into the control group ,TNF‐αstimulation group(TNF‐α20 ng/mL) and TNF‐αplus ephedrine group (TNF‐α20 ng/mL plus ephedrine 300 μg/mL) .Three complex holes in each group were set to culture for 18 h ,the eotaxin mRNA expression was measured by real time fluorescent quantified PCR and protein level was detected by immunocytochemical stain and Western blot .The eotaxin concentration in cells culture supernatant was quantified by ELISA .Results Compared with the the control group ,the expression level of eotaxin mRNA and protein ,and the concentration of eotaxin in cell culture supernatant in the TNF‐α stimulation group were increased obviously ,there being statisticaly significant difference between them(P<0 .01);however ,all above these parameters in the TNF‐αplus ephedrine group showed decreased obvi‐ously as compared with the TNF‐αgroup ,the difference between them was statistically significant (P<0 .01) .Conclusion Ephed‐rine can inhibit the expression and secretion of eotaxin in TNF‐α induced 16HBE inflammatory model ,which may be one of the mechanisms of Chinese medicine ephedra in treating asthma .

Objective To explore the characteristics and influential factors of resilience in empty-nest elderly with mild cognitive impairment(MCI) living in the poor area.Methods A total of 1 188 empty-nest elderly in the poor area of Hunan was sampled,analysis of covariance (ANCOVA),path analysis was used to analyze the data which were investigated by the two questionnaires including Index of SRQS.Results The prevalence of MCI in these 1 188 empty-nest elderly in rural area was 37.6％.The empty nest elderly in MCI group reported low resilience scores than those in cognitive normal group((58.84t 11.53) vs (63.58± 11.62) ; P＜0.001).ANCOVA and path analysis indicated that direct influences of income (β=3.324),education level (β=2.041),MoCA score (β=0.281) while age had indirect influences on it(β=-0.173).Conclusion Resilience in empty-nest elderly with MCI is low.Cognitive function,income and education are the direct influencing factor for resilience of the empty-nest elderly in the rural area.

OBJECTIVE To design and construct eukaryocyte expression vector of SV40 virus large T antigen and induce its targeted expression in eukaryocyte.METHODS SV40 large T gene which excised intron was cloned by SOE(splicing by overlapping extension) and digested with restricted enzymes EcoR Ⅰ and BamH Ⅰ.By the same methods,we got the digested product of pEGFP-N1.After that,the two fragments were ligated to form SV40(TEGFP) by Ligation Kit,and sequenced by TaKaRa ABI Prism Terminator Cycle Sequence Kit.The reconstructed vector was transfected into primary cultured human fibroblast using a Lipofectin transfection method.At 48 h(after) transfection,the expression of SV40T was detected with PCR and RT-PCR using specific primer of T gene.(RESULTS) The restricted enzymes digested and sequencing results showed that SV40 large T gene had cloned into pEGFP-N1 vector successfully.The genome DNA and total RNA were isolated from the positive cells.With these samples,the specific 288 bp fragment was amplified using PCR and RT-PCR.CONCLUSIONS The recombinant plasmid SV40TEGFP will be a stable and valuable molecular tool for human eukaryocyte study.

AIM: To build an allergic rhinitis model to evaluate the effect of budesonide on the eosinophils and histamine in nasal mucosa in allergic rhinitis guinea pig.METHODS: 33 guinea pigs were randomly divided into three groups: natural controlled group,allergic rhinitis(AR) group and budesonide treatment group.Allergic rhinitis model in guinea pigs were built by using toluene-2,4-disocyanate(TDI) nasal immunization and challenge.The indexes of clinical symptoms,pathomorphological diagnosis and content of histamine in mucosa were used to evaluate the potency of budesonide when used to treat allergic rhinitis.RESULTS: The expression of eosinophils and the content of histamine in nasal mucosa in AR group both were significantly higher than that of in natural controlled group(respectively,P(0.05)).CONCLUSION: Budesonide could effectively reduce the expression of eosinophils and content of histamine in nasal mucosa,but it is invalid in releasing the symptoms of AR in guinea pig.The reason of this phenomenon may be concerned with the method of model building.

Objective To isolate melanocytes from epidermis and identify their biological characters. Methods Taking TPA/bFGF/IBMX as basic supplements in medium DMEM/F12(1∶1), the cultured cells from the resected foreskin were purified with trypsin digestion and G418 selection, and the cellular structure and function were observed by Dopa-staining, melanin content assay, tyrosinase activity assay and immunohistochemical staining. Results Dopa-staining showed that the cultured melanocytes had melanin synthesis, melanin content assay and tyrosinase activity assay showed the tyrosinase function of the cells was normal, immunohistochemical staining demonstrated the cell differentiation was normal. Conclusion Melanocytes could be cultured by TPA/bFGF/IBMX and would maintain normal structure and biological function under such conditions.

Objective To investigate the value of myocardial contrast echocardiography(MCE)combined with high-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography(DSE)in the early diagnosis of coronary artery disease(CAD).Methods The dobutamine stress MCE and SonoVue contrast infusion were performed before an elective percutaneous coronary intervention in 38 patients with suspected CAD.The total and regional perfusion were scored as normal or abnormal and attributed to the three main epicardial coronary arteries using a 16-segment left ventricular model.Results An intermediate stress level was obtained in 22(58%)patients,and 9(24%)patients were obtained with peak stress.Twenty seven of 38 patients were diagnosed as CAD by quantitative coronary angiography.A perfusion defect was detected in 89% of the patients at peak stress,compared to 37% at baseline,there was significant difference(χ2=15.565,P<0.01).ConclusionsThe MCE combined with DSE can increase the sensitivity of myocardial ischemia detection.As a new non-invasive method,MCE combined with DSE could be used in the early diagnosis of CAD.

Objective To evaluate the relationship between carotid plaque neovascularization and coronary heart disease using contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Methods We studied carotid plaques in 312 patients with coronary artery disease by contrast-enhanced ultrasound [51 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and 261 patients with stable coronary artery disease (sCAD) ]. We analyzed sonographic features of each plaque, including the enhancement intensity of plaque (A value), the ratio of plaque to carotid artery lumen in enhancement intensity (Ratio), plaque thickness and plaque echo (soft plaque, hard plaque, mixed plaque, calcified plaque). Results The average thickness of plaque in patients with ACS and in patients with sCAD had no significant difference in statistics [(2.6±0.4) mm vs (2.9±0.8) mm, t=-1.903, P=0.058) ]. The group with ACS:soft plaque 43 (84.3%, 43/51), mixed plaque 8 (15.7%,8/51), no hard plaque and calcified plaque. And the group with sCAD:soft plaque 174 (66.7%,174/261), hard plaque 19 (7.3%,19/261), mixed plaques 16 (6.1%,16/261), calcified plaque 52 (19.9%,52/261). The percentage of soft plaque in the acute coronary syndrome group was significantly higher than that in stable coronary artery disease group (χ2=6.274,P=0.012). The A value and Ratio in patients with ACS were prominently larger than those in patients with sCAD [ (11.3±3.2) vs (8.9±3.3) dB, t=7.150,P<0.01;0.6±0.2 vs 0.4±0.2, t=7.419,P<0.01].Conclusion Carotid artery plaque neovascularization density was significantly higher in patients with ACS than that in patients with sCAD by using contrast-enhanced ultrasound, revealing that the neovascularization density is closely related to clinical symptoms of patients with coronary heart disease.