OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Wu-He Dipsacus asper (WHDA), Traditional Chinese Medicine, injection on mice-aging model induced by D-galactose.

METHODSForty-eight Kunming mice (24 male and 24 female) were randomly divided into control group, model group, positive control group, 7.2 g/kg WHDA group, 3.6 g/kg WHDA group and 1.8 g/kg WHDA group with eight in each group. The model was induced through injecting D-galactose into peritoneal cavity and Morris water maze was used to detect the learning and cognitive ability of mice. The skin hydroxyproline, brain tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), lipofuscin (LP), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels of mice were detected; the IL-2 and IL-6 levels in serum of mice were detected by using double antibody sandwich ELISA method.

RESULTSEach WHDA group was significantly reduced in latency period compared with the model group during Morris water maze test (P < 0.05) and the number of mice in model group through the platform was less than other mice in each group (P < 0.05). The levels of MAD and LP of the control group and each WHDA group were less than model group in the detection of heart, brain tissue oxidation index (SOD, MAD, LP and GSH-Px, P < 0.05). The activity of SOD and GSH-Px in the control group and each WHDA group was significantly higher than that in the model group (P < 0.05). The skin hydroxyproline content of mice which had been injected with D-galactose was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05) and the skin hydroxyproline content of mice of WHDA group was significantly higher than that in the model group (P < 0.05). The IL-2, IL-6 levels in serum of mice in WHDA group were significantly higher than those in the control group and the model group (P < 0.05) and the IL-2, IL-6 levels in serum of mice in the model group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe effective constituents of WHDA have a variety of biological activity which can have a good effect on anti-aging by different ways, improving learning and memory function, eliminating free radicals antioxidant, and enhancing the body immunity and other aspects.

Aging ; drug effects ; physiology ; Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Dipsacaceae ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Galactose ; toxicity ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Hydroxyproline ; metabolism ; Interleukins ; blood ; Learning ; drug effects ; Lipofuscin ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Memory ; drug effects ; Mice ; Skin ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the clinical value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) in diagnosis of urinary tract infection(UTI) in elderly patients.Methods 114 elderly patients with UTI in the department of infectious diseases of a hospital from January 2013 to December 2014 were analyzed retrospectively, clinical data of patients with abnormal and normal serum PCT were compared, PCT levels in patients with positive and negative blood cultures were compared, PCT receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the diagnosis of bacteremia were drawn.Results Among 114 elderly patients with UTI, 46 were with abnormal PCT, 68 were with normal PCT.In abnormal PCT group, the proportions of patients with highest body temperature within 24 hours of admission, white blood cell count, neutrophil granulocyte percentage, C-reactive protein (CRP), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), creatinine(Cr), and urinary tract obstructive disease were all higher than those with normal PCT (all P<0.05).Among 42 patients with blood culture, PCT level in positive blood culture group(n=12) was higher than negative blood culture group(n=30)(1.93 [0.57-8.32] μg/L vs 0.36[0.15-1.01]μg/L, P=0.028).The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the patients with bacteremia diagnosed by PCT was 0.72(95%CI:0.54-0.90),at the optimal value of 0.52 g/L, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 83.3%, 63.3%, 47.6%, and 90.5% respectively.Conclusion Serum PCT level can well reflect the severity of elderly patients with UTI, and is of great value in early diagnosis of bacteremia in elderly patients with UTI.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of consciousness-restoring needling combined with comprehensive rehabilitation training on motor function and the activities of daily living of poststroke patients with hemiplegia. Methods Sixty qualified patients were evenly randomized into observation group and control group. All of the patients were given conventional medicine treatment and conventional rehabilitation training, and the treatment group was given consciousness-restoring needling additionally. The therapeutic effects were compared at the end of first session of treatment for 4 weeks and 12 weeks after the first session of treatment. The Fugl-Meyer motor assessment scale (FMA), modified Barthel Index (MBI) and Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale ( SS-QQL) were taken as the main evaluation indexes. Results The differences of FMA, MBI and SS-QOL scores were insignificant between the two groups before treatment ( P>0.05). At the end of treatment for 4 weeks, FMA, MBI and SS-QOL scores were increased in the two groups (P<0.05), and the increase was more obvious in the observation group (P<0.05). The results of follow-up till the 12th week showed that FMA, MBI and SS-QOL scores were still higher than the baseline level ( P<0.05). Conclusion Consciousness-restoring needling combined with comprehensive rehabilitation training has better effect on improving motor function and the activities of daily living of poststroke hemiplegia patients than comprehensive rehabilitation training alone.

AIM: To investigate the protective effect and mechanisms of di-ao-xin-xue-kang (DK) on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. METHODS: Models of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion were constructed with sixteen mongrel dogs. The left ventricular pressure (LVSP), the marximal/minimum rate of LVSP (?dp/dt max) and the serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined before and 90 minutes after occlusion, 120 and 240 minutes after reperfusion, and the MDA content in myocardial cell membrane prepared at 240 minutes after reperfusion was determined. The oxygen free radical was assayed with electron spin resonace spectroscopy (ESR) technique. RESULTS: ① LVSP and ?dp/dt max in the normal saline control (NS) group decreased with the time progress of occlusion-reperfusion, and it was the same in DK group, but the levels were significantly higher than that in NS group (P

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can not only differentiate into multiple nonhematopoietic cell lineages, but seek out damaged tissues and repair them as well. Hence, they were largely studied for their potential clinical use. However, their biological characteristics have not been fully discovered. OBJECTIVE: To compare the biological characteristics of BMSCs of different species cultured in vitro, in order to provide basis for the clinical research of stem cell therapy.DESIGN: Randomized controlled observation was designed.SETTING: Medical Research Department of General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Area.MATERIALS: The experiment was performed in Medical Research Department of General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Area from June 2004 to July 2005. Thirty SD rats weighing (160±20) g, aged 35 to 40 days, 30 Kunming mice weighing (16.0±2.0) g, aged about 40 days, 8 New Zealand white rabbits weighing (2.0±0.2) kg, aged 80 to 90 days and 10 healthy volunteers (25-32 years old) were selected. All the animals were of clean grade, which were purchased from the Animal Center of Southern Medical University.METHODS: The BMSCs of mice and rats were prepared according to the protocol developed in the Caplan laboratory, while those of rabbits and human were isolated from bone marrow suspension obtained by iliac puncture.The morphology of BMSCs was observed by light microscope and transmission electron microscope. Cell growth curve was tested by MTT. Expression of Stro-1 was analyzed by immunofluorescence cytochemistry and flow cytometry. To evaluate the specific response of BMSCs to osteogenic supplements(10 nmol/L dexamethasone, 10 mmol/L β-glycerophosphate,and 50 mg/L ascorbic acid), the activity of alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity was tested by a commercial kit. Expression of osteocalcin was examined by immunocytochemistry and hydroxyapatite crystals were shown by von Kossa staining. Adipogenic differentiation was evaluated by estimating percent of cells containing Oil Red-O- stained oil droplets.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Morphological observation and growth situation of BMSCs. ② Expression of Stro-1: BMSC marker. ③ Differentiation in osteogenic medium.RESULTS: ①The morphology of adherent BMSCs ofthose four species observed by optic microscopy was obviously different. When they became mature or aged, the mouse cells turned into flat shape, irregularly polygonal, fell to pieces and deposited on the flask-bottom, while the rat, rabbit and human cells would enlarge and become polygonal, vacuoles would appear in their cytoplasm, finally, the cells were detached from the flask-bottom, floating off like cotton wool. The cultures of different species also had some commonness, such as poly-layer growing manner, without contact inhibition and consisting of two groups. Cells of one group grew into colonies from single cells and expanded quickly, while cells of the other group were sporadic and did not proliferate. Electron microscopy revealed that all of the primary cells had microvilli and that they could be divided into two subpopulations according to their ultrastructures. Some cells were rich in organelles and most chromatin was euchromatin, while the other subpopulation cells had much fewer organelles and more heterochromatin. Growth curves of BMSCs of different species were almost the same. ② The positive rate of human adherent bone marrow-derived cells for Stro-1: BMSC marker was (91.4±8.3) %, and that of mouse adherent cells was (83.5±6.2) % .③Treated with osteogenic supplements, mouse BMSCs differentiated into adipose tissue, rabbit ones died, while rat and human ones differentiated into osteocytes. BMSCs also demonstrated spontaneous differentiation in vitro.CONCLUSION: Mouse, rat, rabbit and human BMSCs can be easily expanded in vitro, although the harvest of the current method is a mixture of mesenchymal cells with various maturities, most of which are poor-differen-tiated cells. BMSCs of those species are different in morphology and response to the same inductive supplements. Therefore, in order to establish a kind of stem cell therapy, it is necessary not only for evidence from animal experiments but for that from human experiments as well.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the bone development activity and differences in safety of ethanol extract (EE) and water decoction (WD) of Psoralea corylifolia L.efficiently.METHODS Zebrafish larvae were co-exposed to prednisolone 25 μmol· L-1 and different concentrations of EE and WD (0.1,1.0,10 and 100 mg crude drug· L-1),and etidronate disodium (ED) 30 mg·L-1.All these groups were incubated at 28.5℃ until 9 dpf.The medium solution was changed every other day.Zebrafish skeleton at 9 dpf was stained with alizarin red and inspected under an optical microscope,in addition,the death toll and organ toxicity of zebrafish were also observed.The mRNA expression of osteoprotegrin (OPG) and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) in 9 dpf zebrafish were determined with fluorescence quantitative PCR.Zebrafish embryos (1 dpf) were exposed to various concentrations of EE (10,20,30,35,40,50 and 60 mg crude drug· L-1),WD (10,50,100,125,150,175,200 and 500 mg crude drug· L-1),psoralen (12.5,25.0,50.0,100.0,200.0 and 400.0 μmol·L-1) and bakuchiol (1,5,10,25 and 50 μmol· L-1).Embryonic morphology of zebrafish (3 dpf) was inspected with an optical microscope and the death toll of embryos or larvale was counted from 2 dpf to 9 dpf and LC50was calculated.Components of EE and WD ware analyzed by HPLC method.RESULTS Both EE (0.1 mg crude drug· L-1) and WD (1.0 mg crude drug· L-1) groups could increase the staining area and optical density values of zebrafish skeleton compared with prednisolone group (P＜0.01),indicating the increase in bone mineralization;the OPG mRNA expression in both EE and WD (1.0 mg crude drug· L-1) groups increased,while the RANKL mRNA expression decreased (P＜0.01) and the ratio of OPG/RANKL improved obviously (P＜0.01).Embryos exposed to EE,WD,psoralen and bakuchiol showed swelling of the heart and yalk sac,and decrease in GOT.The LC50 of WD and psoralen was 5～8 and 5～21 times that EE and bakuchiol,respectively.The composition and relative content of EE and WD also varied considerably.CONCLUSION Bone development activity and toxicity of EE are both stronger than those of WD.The lipid soluble characteristic components of Psoralea corylifolia L.,may be critical components of toxicity.

Objective To investigate the effects of four tyrosine metabolites on the proliferation, cell cycle and chemosensitivity of lung cancer cells.Methods A549 cells were cultured with different concentrations of tyrosine metabolites:tyrosine, 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate(HPPA), homogentisic acid(HGA) and fumaric acid (FA) in vitro.High content imaging analysis system was used to monitor cell proliferation.Flow cytometry was used to detect cell cycle and apoptosis.Protein and mRNA level of Bax and Bcl-2 were measured by Western blot.Results Tyrosine metabolites had no effect on cell cycle and proliferation of A549 cells.HGA decreased the cell apoptosis of A549 cells induced by Gefitinib with depressed Bax expression and elevated Bcl-2 expression.However, FA increased the apoptosis of A549 cells induced by Gefitinib with up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2.No obvious effect of tyrosine and HPPA was detected on Gefitinib induced cell apoptosis.Conclusion HGA and FA may play an important role in drug sensitivity of lung cancer cells, indicating a critical role of tyrosine metabolism in lung cancer.

Objective To evaluate the difference of carotid intimal medial thickness (IMT) among different glucose tolerance status and to investigate the association of IMT with different glucose levels of 4 time points during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and the lipid metabolic indices in non-diabetic subjects. Methods Eleven normal control subjects, 69 subjects with impaired glucose regulation (IGR) newly diagnosed by OGTT (including 28 patients with non-elevated OGTT 30 min and 60 min glucose values (

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of greenlight photoselective vaporization of prostate(PVP) in high-risk older patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH).Methods A total of 96 high-risk older patients with BPH underwent PVP.The operative time,blood loss,indwelling catheterization and operative complications were observed.The variables such as IPSS,QOL,uroflowmetry,post-void residual urine volume(RUV) were recorded and calculated pre-and post-operatively.Results All the 96 patients safely got through perioperative period.The mean operative time was(24.8?6.5)min,intraoperative blood loss was(55.4?16.8)ml and postoperative indwelling catheterization was(1.6?0.7)d.IPSS and QOL scores decreased form preoperative 29.8?5.2 and 5.2?0.8 to postoperative 8.4?2.3 and(1.4?)0.5,respectively.Qmax increased from(5.6?2.8)ml/s to(16.7?3.2)ml/s,and RUV decreased from(168.0?22.5)ml to(24.6?5.81)ml.There were significant differences of these parameters between pre-and post-operation(P

Objective With density in healthy people pharyngeal flora of the reference[1],study the respiratory tract infection and the treatment process of the change of density and pharyngeal flora infection treatment of correlation analysis,by using the density of the pharyngeal flora changes to evaluate the treatment of patients with respiratory tract infection and progno-sis.Methods Collected 102 cases of patients with upper respiratory tract infection and 219 cases of lower respiratory tract infection in patients with pharyngeal swab for bacterial culture,study clinical symptom change with the change of pharyngeal bacteria density of correlation.Results 62 cases of upper respiratory tract infection and the treatment group patients with pharyngeal flora normal no treatment group on the symptoms improved and recovered,no statistical difference (P >0.05), and 60 patients with upper respiratory tract infection and pharyngeal abnormal bacterium group the treatment group and treatment group in pharyngeal flora and CPIS score was statistically difference (P <0.05).For 219 patients with lower re-spiratory tract,including 121 cases of bacterial pneumonia,74 cases of severe pneumonia,and 24 cases of patients with lung abscess treatment observation,found that when back to normal pharyngeal flora,the accuracy of clinical pathological changes were 92.6%,86.5% and 87.5%,respectively.Conclmion Pharyngeal bacteria density between healthy people maintained a certain bacteria species and the number of stable,but when respiratory infections bacteria can disorders with the application of broad-spectrum antibiotics can lead to serious result in pharyngeal dysbacteriosis should be combined with pharyngeal bacteria in respiratory anti-infection treatment density changes to evaluate the clinical treatment,can reduce the number of days with antibiotics,patients with avoid induce drug-resistant bacteria and respiratory dysbacteriosis.