C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Calcitonin ; blood ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins ; analysis ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Leukocyte Count ; Male ; Meningitis, Bacterial ; diagnosis ; Meningitis, Viral ; diagnosis ; Protein Precursors ; blood

Steroidal saponins have a wide range of pharmacological effects and biological activities, such as anti-tumor, antifungal, hypoglycemic, immune regulation, insecticides, etc. In the last ten years, some new structures of steroidal saponins compounds were found from natural plants, they have some new and different activities. In order to accelerate the research on the drug innovation of steroidal saponins, we summarized the new progress of the research on such compounds.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Antifungal Agents ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; pharmacology ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Steroids ; pharmacology

Objective To investigate the effect of Ulinastatin on the delivery of cytokines in patients with septic shock.Methods It was a prospective and controlled clinical study.Seventy-eight patients with septic shock were randomly divided into control group and treatment group and thirty-nine in every group.Patients in treatment group received Ulinastatin 200 000 units intravenous everyday for 3 days,while those in control group received equal volume of normal saline as placebo.At different time points (at 24 th,48 th,72 th hour after start of treatment),the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-?),interleukin-1 (IL-1),interleukin-6 (IL-6 ),interleukin-8 (IL-8) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in serum were assayed.Results In comparison with control group,the levels of TNF-?,IL-1,IL-6,IL- 8 of treatment group decreased markedly (P＜0.05,P＜0.01) at different time points,whereas the level of SOD was higher markedly (P＜0.05,P＜0.01) at various time points.Conclusion Ulinastatin has protective effect on patients with septic shock through decreasing the levels of TNF-?,IL-1,IL-6,IL-8 and increasing in the level of SOD.

Cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) is a key regulator of high density lipoprotein (HDL). Owing to its important role in the reverse of cholesterol transport, CETP has become a hotspot target in modulating lipid drug design. In this paper, structure based pharmacophore (SBP) models for CETP inhibitors were built based on the protein structure 4F2A from Protein Database (PDB). The best pharmacophore contained six hydrophobic features, one hydrogen bond acceptor feature and nine excluded volume features, with the N and CAI value was 3.33 and 2.31 respectively. Then the model was used to search the traditional Chinese medicine database (TCMD) and 629 compounds originated from 315 TCM herbs were obtained. Molecular docking was also used to validate SBP by analyzing the critical amino acid residue and the interaction between potential active compounds and receptor. In this study, several TCM herbs, like Lycii Frutus and Schisandrae chinensis fructus, which contained more optimal SBP based screening results, have been reported hypolipidemic effect, and need to be studied deeply in a more focused research on herbal active constituents. Therefore, this study could provide reliable fundamental data for exploring the action mechanisms of TCM, and be applicable to identify lead candidates, which can be utilized as starting scaffolds for natural CETP inhibitors.
Cholesterol Ester Transfer Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Molecular Docking Simulation

Objective To explore the ameliorative effects of standardized tertiary rehabilitation(STR)on the quality of life(QOL)of stroke patients with hemiplegia.Methods Eighty-two stroke patients were randomly divided into two groups:a rehabilitation group(R group)and a control group.All patients were given routine inter- nal medicine treatment,but STR was also administered to the R group.The QOL of all of the patients was assessed with the brief scale of quality of life(QOL-BREF)at the beginning,and at the end of the Ist month,3rd month and 6th month after stroke.Results There were two deaths in the control group,but no deaths in the R group.At ever- y stage,the R group returned better scores for physiological health,psychological state,social and environment rela- tionships,the subjective QOL and health items,and in comprehensive self-evaluation.QOL scores,except for social relationships,were consistently,significantly higher in the R group.The R group's QOL scores improved obviously in the first 3 months after stroke,and then more slowly in the next 3 months.Conclusions STR markedly improved the QOL of stroke patients.Their QOL scores improved obviously soon after stroke,but slowly later on.

Objective To examine the reliability,validity and sensitivity of FCA for stroke patients. Methods A total of 82 patients with stroke were divided into a treatment group and a control group randomly.The patients in the control group were given routine internal medicine treatment,while those in the treatment group were given standardized rehabilitation therapy in addition to the routine internal medicine treatment.All patients were as- sessed with FCA and Modified Barthel Index(MBI),at admission and the end of the 1st month,3rd and 6th month,respectively after the onset of stroke.The internal consistency,split-half reliability,content validity,crite- ria validity and sensitivity of FCA were tested.Repeat measure ANOVA and correlation analysis were used in the statistical analysis.Results There existed a good internal consistency(Cronbach?=0.901～0.973)as well as a good split-half reliability(R=0.949～0.981)of FCA.There was a medium to strong correlation among the 18 items scores of the FCA and FCA scores(P

OBJECTIVETo study 3 different strategies of urine drainage following hypospadias urethroplasty, the clinical nursing in their application, and their effects.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 595 cases of hypospadias treated by urethroplasty. After surgery, 133 of the patients underwent urine drainage by suprapubic cystostomy (group A), 202 by urethral stent- tube indwelling (group B), and 260 by early initiative micturition with the urethral stent-tube (group C). All the patients received routine postoperative nursing care required for hypospadias repair.

RESULTSOperations were successfully completed in all the cases. Group C showed a remarkably shorter hospital stay and lower incidence rates of urinary fistula and urethral stricture than groups A and B (P<0.05), but there were no significant differences in the three indexes between A and B (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONFor urine drainage following hypospadias repair, early initiative micturition with the urethral stent-tube can significantly reduce postoperative complications, decrease difficulties and workload of nursing care, and shorten the hospital stay of the patient.

Cystostomy ; Drainage ; methods ; Humans ; Hypospadias ; surgery ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Urethra ; surgery ; Urethral Stricture ; prevention & control ; Urinary Fistula ; prevention & control ; Urine ; Urologic Surgical Procedures, Male

Objective To study the expression of co-stimulatory molecules, GL50-ICOS, in thyroid tissue of patients with Graves' disease (GD) and to explore their relationship with the immune pathogenesis of GD.Methods RT-PCR, Western blot, immunohistochemistry were applied to detect the expression of GL50-ICOS in thyroid of GD. Thyrocytes were cultured in the absence or presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The expression of GL50 on thyroid follicular cells (TFC) was further measured by flow cytometry. Results (1) In GD patients,the percentage of CD4+ CD28- T cells was significantly increased as compared with the control healthy individuals. The expression of co-stimulatory molecule ICOS was up-regulated. (2) The mRNA level of ICOS was significantly increased in GD patients than that in nontoxic goiter(NTG) patients(P＜0.01). (3)Compared with NTG control group, the GL50 protein expression was much higher in thyroid tissues of GD patients (P ＜0.01). (4)The results of immunohistochemistry showed that GL50 expression was observed in all GD thyroid tissues, while no expression of GL50 was detected in NTG thyroid tissues(P＜0. 01). (5) The expression of GL50on primary cultured thyroid follicular cells was significantly increased under the stimulatation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in vitro. Conclusion GL50-ICOS is expressed abnormally in thyroid tissue of patients with GD.

Objective To evaluate the application value of hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp in the diagnosis and treatment of newly-onset diabetic patients. Methods Totally 11 newly-onset diabetic inpatients (10 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 1 patient with latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood) who were diagnosed in the Department of Endocrinology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2009 to August 2009 were included in this study. Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp was applied to measure the glucose disposal rate (M value). Afterwards insulin pump therapy was applied and the total insulin dosage per day to get to the target of the fasting and postprandial blood glucose was calculated. Final]y the relationships between insulin dosage per day and the M value, body mass index (BMI) , fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin level were separately analyzed. Results The insulin dosage was only negatively correlated with M value (r = - 0. 83, P = 0. 003), and was not significantly correlated with BMI (r = 0.54, P = 0.106), fasting blood glucose (r = - 0. 16, P =0. 657) , and fasting insulin (r = 0. 16, P = 0. 659). The formula of insulin dosage and M value according to the mathematic model as follows: insulin dosage per day = - 3. 327 M + 49. 849. Conclusion Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp can effectively evaluate the insulin sensitivity in the newly-onset type 2 diabetic patients, and thus can be a useful tool in deciding the clinical insulin dosage.

To investigate the effects of gambognic acid (GA) on TRAIL-induced apoptosis of cancer cells, human colon HT-29 cancer cells were treated with GA to promote apoptosis. Inhibition of the cell proliferation was measured with MTT assay and cell apoptosis was detected with formation of DNA ladders in agarose gel electrophoresis, and activation of caspase activity. The content of cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured with flow cytometry. The activities of Caspase-3, -8, -9 were detected using spectrophotometric assay. The levels of c-FLIP, CHOP, DR4 and DR5 in cells were tested by Western blot. Combination of GA (1 µg · mL(-1)) and TRAIL (40 ng · mL(-1)) significantly reduced proliferation and increased apoptosis of HT-29 cells over those induced by each agent alone. Percentage of apoptotic cells was increased to 45.5%. GA markedly enhanced the intracellular ROS generation. Expression of CHOP, DR4 and DR5 was up-regulated to 7.38, 5.41, and 4.85 times of the control group, respectively. GA promoted activation of Caspase-3, -8, and -9 by TRAIL (P<0.05). Furthermore, the expression of anti-apoptotic protein c-FLIP was down-regulated to 0.22 ± 0.08 times of the control group. In conclusion, GA sensitizes HT-29 cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis by promoting ROS-activated ERS pathways, up-regulating of DR4 and DR5, and inhibiting c-FLIP expression.
Apoptosis ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; metabolism ; Caspases ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Colonic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; HT29 Cells ; Humans ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; pharmacology ; Up-Regulation ; Xanthones ; pharmacology