Objective To Observe the influence of Zaoshi Jiedu Zhupi Sanjing (ZPSJ) Recipe on insulin sensitivity, serum resistin and inflammatory factors related to the effects of Chinese herbal compound in type 2 diabetic patients with insulin resistance. Methods A single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted. 80 patients with 2 type diabetic patients with insulin resistance were recruited into a control group and a treatment group. The treatment group was treated with ZPSJ Recipe, and the control group was treated with metformin. Results In each group before and after treatment: blood glucose, serum insulin levels, HOMA-IR were significantly decreased (t=7.14, P<0.01 ) ; between the two groups, FPG, FINS showed no significant difference, while TG TCH, HOMA-LR showed significantly differences (t=2.62, P <0.05 ). Within the two groups before and after the treatment: serum IL-6, TNF-a, hs-CRP were decreased in treatment group, (t= 1.85, P<0.05 ) , while TNF-a, hs-CRP were decreased in the control group (t=2.56, P<0.05 ) , while IL-6 did not change significantly. The serum resistin levels were not statistically changed in both groups before and after treatment. Conclusion ZPSJ Recipe can regulate blood sugar, blood fat and improve insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic patients with insulin resistance.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical and imaging features and infarct pattern in patients with middle cerebral artery(MCA) stenosis and occlusion,to clarify its infarct pathogenesis. Methods35 MCA moderate and severe stenosis or occlusion patients diagnosed by TCD were studied;the clinical and imaging features and infarct pattern were retrospectively analyzed. Results( 1 ) Clinical features :The clinical manifestations of 35 patients was hemiplegia symptoms,in which 16 cases(45.7％ ) involved to the face,upper and lower limb,11 cases(31.4％ ) involved to the upper and lower limb,3 cases(8.6％ ) involved to the facial and upper limb,2 cases(5.7％ ) involved only to the facial,2 cases(5.7％ ) involved to the facial and upper limb,1 cases(2.9％ ) involved only to the upper limb. (2) MRA imaging characteristics and infarct pattern: 29 cases ( 82.9％ ) of patients with stenosis or occlusion showed moderate severe stenosis,6 cases( 17.1％ ) showed MCA occlusion. 30 cases( 85.7％ ) showed ischemic infarction,in which perforating artery infarction was the most common infarct pattern of middle cerebral artery stenosis or occlusive patients( 53.3％ ) ,followed by water-shed infarct ( 26. 7) ％, pial infarct was ielatively small (20. 0％ ). ConclusionThe hemiplegia was the most common clinical symptoms in patients with MCA stenosis and occlusion, and mainly involves to the face,upper and lower limb;The perforating artery infarction was the most common infarct pattern,and its infarct mechanism was an artery-to-artery embolism or hemodynamic abnormalities.

Acute paraplegia is a rare presentation for a spinal cord ependymoma. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to spinal ependymoma is also very rare. We report a 32-year-old woman who presented with acute paraplegia and typical clinical signs of SAH with normal cerebral angiography, and further diagnostic work-up revealed an spinal cord ependymoma as the source of the hemorrhage. There is evidence that some spinal cord ependymomas have intratumoral hemorrhage, but most of these bleedings occur without symptoms. We discuss the clinical and neuroradiological findings of this rare case and review the literature related to this unusual presentation.431

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between blood stasis (BS) syndrome and coronary lesion in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).

METHODSSyndrome types of 500 patients collected from multiple centers whose diagnosis of CHD confirmed by coronary angiography were differentiated. And the relationship between BS syndrome, its subtypes, and coronary lesion (affected branches, degree of constriction) were analyzed.

RESULTSThe affected branches of coronary artery in patients of BS syndrome was 2.28 +/- 0.28, while that in the non-BS syndrome patients was 2.07 +/- 0.86, showing significant difference between them (P < 0.05); as compared to patients of non-BS syndrome, the coronary lesions in patients of BS syndrome were mostly multi-vascular, and of more severe degree (P < 0.05). In patients of various BS syndrome subtypes, the average number of affected coronary branches in patients of yang-deficiency subtype was 2.58 +/- 0.65, which was significantly more than the number in patients of other BS syndrome subtypes. The constriction degree of coronary lesions in patients of yang-deficiency BS syndrome subtype were mostly severe or moderate, and single branch lesion was rarely seen, as compared with those in patients of phlegm-stasis obstruction subtype, the difference was significant (P < 0.05). The corresponding correlative analysis showed that close correlation was found between yang-deficiency subtype of BS syndrome and severe coronary constriction with the correlation distance of 0.1899.

CONCLUSIONRelationship between BS syndrome and coronary lesion (its number of branches and degree of constriction) truly exists to a certain extent.

Adult ; Aged ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Disease ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Coronary Thrombosis ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVE: Aimed to analyse the clinical features of the patients with sphenoid sinus mucocele, achieve earlier diagnosis and more timely intervention and decrease the occurrence of misdiagnoses. METHOD: A retrospective study was first conducted in patients with sphenoid sinus mucoele treated in Xiangya hospital from Jan 2000 to Jan 2015. Then literature reports on this disease were collected and analyzed from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wan Fang database. RESULT: We collected 82 patients with sphenoid sinus mucocele treated in Xiangya hospital. There were 52 patients presented with headache, 31 patients presented with visual impairment, 10 patients presented with cranial nerve palsy, 2 patients presented with exophthalmos, 15 patients presented with nasal symptoms, and 5 patients with no obvious symptoms. There was no significant difference for symptoms distribution between male and female patients (P > 0.05). Among 45 patients with headache as first symptom and 10 patients with ethmoid sinus mucocele, there were 18 patients and 8 patients subsequently suffering from visual impairment, respectively. We also collected 161 patients in literature except for enrolling, the 82 patients treated in Xiangya hospital, and found that headache was the most common symptom, followed by visual impairment, in the two independent cohorts. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge, this is the study of maximum sample for sphenoid sinus mucocele in China. Headache and visual impairment are the most common symptoms for sphenoid sinus mucocele. Surgical treatment should be early performed when the desease accompanied with headache or ethmoid sinus mucocele, to avoid other complications such as visual impairment and even blindness.
China ; Cranial Nerve Diseases ; etiology ; Databases, Factual ; Diagnostic Errors ; Ethmoid Sinus ; Exophthalmos ; etiology ; Female ; Headache ; etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Mucocele ; complications ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Paranasal Sinus Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Sphenoid Sinus ; pathology ; Vision Disorders ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo identify the specific protein in the epididymal luminal fluid that may play a role in sperm epididymal maturation or modification on the surface of spermatozoa.

METHODSWe compared the differential protein components in the lumen fluids from the caput and cauda segments of the epididymis of normal rats as well as from the cauda segment of experimental left varicocele (ELV) rats by SDS-PAGE or 2D-electrophoresis. The protein spots of interest were selected for MS identification, and the target proteins further characterized by immuno-blot assay.

RESULTSMS analysis showed that one of the most prominent proteins, M(r) 22 000, was identical to the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PBP), and it was further identified as PBP by immuno-blot assay.

CONCLUSIONPBPs were present in a variety of molecular forms in the epididymal luminal fluid, including the glycosylated form, and ELV markedly elevated the PBP level in the cauda luminal fluid of the rats. Thus, the association of this molecule with sperm surface modification remains an interest for future investigation.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Epididymal Secretory Proteins ; isolation & purification ; Epididymis ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Varicocele ; metabolism

This study was aimed to establish an HPLC method for simultaneous content determination of valtrate, acevaltrate, and their degradation products, which were baldrinal and 11-ethoxyviburtinal, in Valeriana jatamansi Jones. The separation and quantification of 4 constituents mentioned above were performed on an Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase consisted of water (A) - acetonitrile (B) with an optimized gradient program. The flow rate was 1 mL·min-1. The column temperature was set at 25℃. The wavelength was set at 241 nm. And the injection volume was 10μL. The results showed that among 14 different places of V. jatamansi, the 4 contents determined were different. The contents of valtrate, acevaltrate, and baldrinal in the Yunnan Baoshan Mount were the highest. And the content of 11-ethoxyviburtinal was the highest in Yunnan Dali. It was concluded that the method was with good precision, reproducibility and stability. And it was suitable for the determination of 4 valepotriates ingredients in V. jatamansi. It also provided references for the quality control and exploitation of V. jatamansi.

Objective: To study the effect of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) on human pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis (mainly early stage) in vitro. Methods: SW1990 cells line were trea ted with As2O3 at different concentration. Cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT and apoptosis by Annexin-Ⅴ-fluostaining, electron-microscopy, flow cytometry and immunocytochemical staining of Bcl-2 and Bax. Results: As2O3 and cisplatin had the same cytotoxity on SW1990. The cytotoxic effe ct on tumor cell was produced by induction of apoptosis. Twelve hours after cult ure with 10 μg/ml As2O3, much more SW1990 cells went into apoptosis than t he control. The apoptosis rate reached 24% after 48 h with the similar concentra tion of As2O3. Immunohistochemical study revealed that the expression of Bcl -2 was decreased after treated with As2O3. Conclusion: As 2O3 can depress the proliferation of SW1990 in vitro, mainly through the i nduction of apoptosis, and it is a potential agent for pancreatic cancer chemoth erapy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Pentoxifylline(PF) on the conventional ICSI program undergone in severe asthenozoospermia. METHOD: Total 348 cycles of ICSI programs undertaken at CHA General Hospital from January, 1996 to September, 2000, were divided into two groups - injected with pentoxifylline-treated sperm(PFT, 204 cycles) or non-treated sperm(NPFT, 144 cycles) and the clinical results of PFT group were compared with those of NPFT. RESULTS: PF-treatment on sperm increased their motility of normozoospermia and severe asthenozoospermia. Fertilization rate of PFT group was higher than those of ICSI programs undertaken using sperm of NPFT(70.6% vs. 62.9%, p<0.01). And, ET and clinical pregnancy rates of PFT were slightly higher than those of NPFT(93.1%, 44.2% vs. 90.3%, 36.2%). CONCLUSION: These results showed that treatment of pentoxifylline has a beneficial role on selection of viable sperm in severe asthenozoospermia.
Asthenozoospermia* ; Fertilization ; Hospitals, General ; Pentoxifylline* ; Pregnancy Rate ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic* ; Spermatozoa

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of subchronic exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) on the mRNA and protein expression levels of apoptosis-related genes (bax, bcl-2, caspase-3, caspase-6, and caspase-9) and the activities of Caspase-3, Caspase-6, and Caspase-9 in the hippocampal neurons of rats and to investigate the neurotoxic mechanism by which B[a]P induces the apoptosis of neurons.

METHODSFifty-two healthy SD rat were randomly divided into five groups according to preliminary neurobehavioral test results: blank control group, solvent control group, and 1.0, 2.5, and 6.25 mg/kg B[a]P exposure groups; the rats in exposure groups were intraperitoneally injected with B[a]P every other day for 90 days. The Morris water maze was used to test the learning and memory ability of rats; flow cytometry was used to measure the apoptosis ratio of hippocampal neurons; real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to measure the mRNA and protein expression levels of apoptosis-related genes; spectrophotometry was used to measure the activities of their en-coded proteins.

RESULTSCompared with the blank control group, solvent control group, and 1.0 mg/kg B[a]P exposure group, the 2.5 and 6.25 mg/kg B[a]P exposure groups hada significantly longer mean escape latency period (P < 0.05) and a significantly increased number of times of platform crossing (P < 0.05), and the 6.25 mg/kg B[a]P exposure group had significantly lower length and percentage of time spent in the platform quadrant (P < 0.05). The early apoptosis ratio rose as the dose of B[a]P increased (P trend < 0.05); the early apoptosis ratios of 1.0, 2.5, and 6.25 mg/kg B[a]P exposure groups were significantly higher than those of blank control group and solvent control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the blank control group, solvent control group, and 1.0 and 2.5 mg/kg B[a]P exposure groups, the 6.25 mg/kg B[a]P exposure group had significantly increased Bax expression (P < 0.05) and significantly decreased Bcl-2 expression and Bcl-2/Bax ratio (P < 0.05). The 2.5 and 6.25 mg/kg B[a]P exposure groups had significantly higher expression levels of Caspase-3 and Caspase-6 than the blank control group, solvent control group, and 1.0 mg/kg B[a]P exposure group (P < 0.05). The activities of Caspase-3, Caspase-6, and Caspase-9 were significantly higher in the 2.5 and 6.25 mg/kg B[a]P exposure groups than in the blank control group and solvent control group (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the activities of Caspase-3, Caspase-6, and Caspase-9 and early apoptosis ratio of hippocampal neurons in rats (r = 0.793, P = 0.019; r = 0.886, P = 0.006; r = 0.773, P = 0.025). There were no significant differences in the mRNA expression of Bax, Bcl-2, Caspase-3, Caspase-6, and Caspase-9 among these groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSubchronic exposure to B[a]P can induce apoptosis of hippocampal neurons; its mechanism may be related to the fact that B[a]P can induce upregulated expression of Bax, inhibit expression of Bcl-2, lead to decrease in Bcl-2/Bax ratio, induce upregulated expression of Caspase-3 and Caspase-6, and cause increase in the activities of Caspase-3, Caspase-6, and Caspase-9.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Benzo(a)pyrene ; toxicity ; Caspases ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; cytology ; drug effects ; Male ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism