AIM: To investigate the effect of ginsenoside-Rg3 on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in retina with diabetic rats and its roles in preventing neovascularization in diabetes. METHODS: Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups randomly: negative control group, diabetic control group and ginsenoside-Rg3 treatment group (5mg/kg, 0.2mg/mL) followed by establishing diabetic model. The expression of VEGF and TNF-α were measured after 8 weeks. RESULTS: There were significant differences among negative control group, diabetic control group and ginsenoside-Rg3 treatment group in the expression of VEGF and TNF-α (F=129.363, 211.992; all the P<0.01). VEGF and TNF-α expression were significantly higher in diabetic control group and ginsenoside-Rg3 treatment group than that in negative control group (P<0.01), with a significant reduction in ginsenoside-Rg3 treatment group than that in diabetic control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Ginsenoside-Rg3 can down-regulate the expression of VEGF and TNF-α in retina, which may interfere in the development of diabetic retinopathy.

Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture at Huatuo jiaji points plus virtual balancing game on balance function in stroke patients.Methods Fifty patients with poststroke balance dysfunction were randomly allocated: 25 cases to the treatment group and 25 cases to the control groups. The treatment group received acupuncture at Huatuo jiaji points plus virtual balancing game-based rehabilitation training and the control group, virtual balancing game-based rehabilitation training alone. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score, the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) score, the COP offset distance indices (EO2, EC2, EOTS and EO1) and the modified Barthel Index (MBI) score were recorded in the two groups before and after treatment.Results There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in the BBS score, the TUGT score, the COP offset distance indices and the MBI score in the two groups of patients (P<0.05). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in the BBS score, the TUGT score, the COP offset distance indices and the MBI score between the treatment and control groups (P<0.05).Conclusion Acupuncture at Huatuo jiaji points plus virtual balancing game is an effective way to treat poststroke balance dysfunction.

Objective To observe the clinical curative effect of cinobufacini injection in the treatment of primary bronchopulmonary carcinoma.Methods 120 patients with primary bronchopulmonary carcinoma were randomly divided into the control group and treatment group,60 cases in each group.Patients of the control group were treated with the general,symptomatic and dialectical therapy.Patients of the treatment group were given general,symptomatic,dialectical treatment and cinobufacini injection.The curative effect was determined by the standard efficacy of tumor,the survival quality of the patients was judged by the Karnofsky score.The adverse reactions,median survival time and the survival rate were compared between the two groups.Results The effective rate of the control group was 40.0％,that of the treatment group was 56.7％,the difference was statistically significant (x2 =4.034,P ＜ 0.05).By the Karnofsky score,27 patients of the control group were stable,39 patients of the treatment group were stable,the difference was statistically significant(x2 =12.265,P ＜0.05).Median survival time of the control group was (168 ± 16) d,that of the treatment group was (178 ± 20)d,the difference was statistically significant(x2 =12.265,P ＜ 0.05).One year survival rates of the control group and the treatment group were 5.0％,10.0％,the difference was statistically significant.There was no statistically significant difference between two groups in adverse reactions (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Cinobufacini injection can improve the quality of life and prolong survival of patients with primary bronchopulmonary carcinoma.It is effective and safe in clinical application.

Aim Toinvestigatetheeffectofhigh,me-dium and low doses of Mahuang decoction on the re-lease amount of rat hippocampal neural transmitter (Glu,Gly,Asp,GABA),then compare Mahuang de-contion with ephedra alkaloids and ephedra.Methods Ratswererandomlydividedinto6groupsandgiven orally with Mahuang decoction of high dose (calculated by ephedra 4 g·kg-1 ),medium dose (calculated by ephedra 2 g·kg-1 ),low dose (calculated by ephedra 1 g · kg-1 ),ephedra (calculated by ephedra 2 g · kg-1 ),ephedra alkaloids (ephedrine 7 mg · kg-1 , pseudoephedrine 2. 4 mg · kg-1 , methylephedrine 1. 12 mg · kg-1 )and blank control group.Samples were obtained from the hippocampus of conscious rat by microdialysis sampling technique.The content of ami-no acid neurotransmitters in dialysates was detected u-sing the established HPLC-ECD with OPA pre-column derivationmethod.Results Fouraminoacidneuro-transmitters could be well separated in 28 min.High, medium and low doses of Mahuang decoction,ephedra and ephedra alkaloids significantly increased the con-tent of these four amino acid neurotransmitters,com-pared with blank control group (P<0. 05 ).Ephedra alkaloids significantly reduced the levels of inhibitoryamino acid neurotransmitters GABA and Gly in 90 min,compared with the medium dose of Mahuang de-coction.Excitatory neurotransmitters of ASP and Glu in hippocampus showed the trend of increase first and then decrease after oral administration of Mahuang de-coction and ephedra. The levels of Glu and Asp reached peaks from 90 min to 120 min after treatment with Mahuang decoction,and also increased along with dose increase of Mahuang decoction.In comparison with the medium dose of Mahuang decoction group,the level of Glu reached peak at 90 min and 150 min in ephedra alkaloids group and ephedra group respective-ly,and the content of Glu significantly increased at peaktime.Conclusions Increasedcontentofexcita-tory amino acid neurotransmitters (Asp and Glu ) shows positive correlation with the dose of Mahuang de-coction.Other components in Mahuang decoction in-hibits the up-regulation effect of ephedra and ephedra alkaloids on Glu,and promotes the up-regulation effect of ephedra alkaloids on GABA and Gly.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Fibula ; injuries ; Fractures, Bone ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Manipulation, Orthopedic ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Splints ; Tibial Fractures ; therapy ; Traction ; methods ; Treatment Failure

Background Retinopathy of prematurity is mainly due to retinal neovascularization.Objective This laboratory work was to evaluate the efficacy of different dosage of avastin for inhibiting retinal neovascularization.Methods Ninety 7-day-old clean C57BL/J6 mice were randomized into six groups as follows:air control group,hyperxia control group,hyperxia BSS group and avastin groups.C57BL/J6 mice in air control group were raised in regular air environments.The fifty mice were fed under the environment with 75％ ±2％ oxygen for 5 days to establish the retinal neovascularization models.The 1.25,2.50 and 5.00 g/L avastin (0.5 μl) were injected inteavtreally in forty-five mice models as low,moderate and high dosage avastin groups respectively,and 0.5 μl BSS was used at the same way in fifteen models as hyperxia BSS group.The mice were sacrificed in the 17-day-old age using excessive anesthesia method and the retina sections were prepared for the calculation of the numbers of vascular endothelial cell nuclei broken retinal inner membrane after hemotoxylin and eosin staining.The expression of CD34 in the retina was detected by immunochemistry.The morphology and distribution of retinal neovascular vessel in various groups were observed using retinal flat.The use of the animals followed the Regulations for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals by State Science and Technology Commission.Results The numbers of cell nuclei broken the inner limiting membrane was significant increased in the hyperxia group compared with the air control group( P＜0.01 ),and those in difference doses of avastin were considerably reduced in comparison with hyperxia BSS group (P＜0.01) and hyperxia group (P＜0.01 ).The decrease of numbers of cell nuclei broken the inner limiting membrane was obvious in low dose of high dose of avastin compared with low dose of avastin (P＜0.05 ).CD34 was positively expressed in retina internal membrane of hyperxia group.Retinal flat revealed the regular distribution and normal structure of retinal vessels in air control group and avastin groups.However,retinal and vitreous cavity neovascularization,leakage and enlarged non-perfusion regions in the perimeter of the retina were seen in hyperxia group and hyperxia BSS group. Conclusions Intravitreal injection of avastin can arrest retinal angiogenesis in oxygen-induced retinal neovascularization models in a dose-dependent manner.

The sequences of ITS, matK, rbcL and psbA-trnH of 9 Gynostemma species or variety including 38 samples were compared and analyzed by molecular phylogeny method. Hemsleya macrosperma was designated as outgroup. The MP and NJ phylogenetic tree of Gynostemma was built based on ITS sequence, the results of PAUP phylogenetic analysis showed the following results: (1) The eight individuals of G. pentaphyllum var. pentaphyllum were not supported as monophyletic in the strict consensus trees and NJ trees. (2) It is suspected whether G. longipes and G. laxum should be classified as the independent species. (3)The classification of subgenus units of Gynostemma plants is supported.
Gynostemma ; classification ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Objective To explore the role of apoptosis-inducing factors (AIF) mediated non-apoptosis classic pathway involved in neuron apoptosis of rats with chronic fluorosis.Methods Sixty Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (body weight 100-120 g) were divided into two groups (30 rats in each group,half male and half female) by random number table according to body weight.Control group was fed with tap water with fluoride content ＜ 0.5 mg/L and fluorine group was fed with water with fluoride content of 50.0 mg/L.Both groups were fed with standard food with fluorine content ＜ 0.5 mg/kg.After 10 months,all the animals were sacrificed though heart perfusion using phosphate buffer,and brain tissue was taken.Immunohistochemical method was employed to detect the distribution of AIF in brain tissue.Western blotting was used to test the protein expression of AIF,cl-caspase-3 and cl-caspase-9.Flow cytometry was used to examine apoptosis rate.Results The AIF positive distribution and degree of staining in the neurons of hippocampal CA1,CA2 and CA3,as well as the parietal cortex (7.50 ± 2.17,9.00 ± 1.63,8.00 ±0.82,10.24 ± 1.80) in rats with chronic fluorosis were significantly higher than those of the control group (5.18 ±1.66,6.27 ± 1.42,6.36 ± 1.96,6.96 ± 2.62,t =2.76,4.09,2.45,5.77,all P ＜ 0.05).The AIF protein expression of neuronal mitochondria in the cerebral tissue of rats with chronic fluorosis [(89.46 ± 8.47)％] was significantly lower than that of the control group [(100.00 ± 7.12)％,t =3.16,P ＜ 0.01],while the AIF protein expression of the neuronal nucleus [(112.80 ± 7.10)％] was significantly higher than that of the control group [(100.00 ± 8.20)％,t =3.75,P ＜ 0.01];cl-caspase-3 and cl-caspase-9 protein expression in the neurons of hippocampus and cortex from the rats with chronic fluorosis [(132.14 ± 18.66)％,(107.31 ± 2.58)％,(121.33 ± 14.86)％,(112.97 ± 7.97)％]were significantly higher than those of the control group [(100.00 ± 11.99)％,(100.00 ± 3.74)％,(100.00 ± 16.87)％,(100.00 ± 8.04)％,t =3.55,3.94,2.32,2.81,P ＜ 0.01 or ＜ 0.05].As compared with those of the control group [(1.28 ± 0.59)％,(1.88 ± 0.25)％],the apoptosis rates in hippocampus and cortex of the rats with chronic fluorosis [(2.55 ± 0.58)％,(3.05 ± 0.65)％] were significantly increased (t =3.08,3.40,all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Both of AIF-mediated caspase-independent apoptosis and the classic caspase-dependent apoptosis pathways have participated in neuron apoptosis in rat induced by chronic fluorosis,which may be one of the mechanisms of brain damage of the disease.

· AIM: To explore the relationship between the expression of Fas/FasL and the apoptosis in retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury of rats, as well as the therapeutic effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)on the ischemic retina.injury were made by transiently elevating introcular pressure. A total of 28 rats were divided into Normal Group and Operative Group. The latter were subdivided into 1, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72h after reperfusion, in which the left eyes of the rats were in the ischemia/reperfusion groups and the right ones were in the treatment groups (bFGF intracameral injection). Apoptosis was assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labelling (TUNEL) method, and theexpression of Fas/FasL ligand was studied by strept avidin-biotin complex (SABC) immunohistochemistry.mai rats' retinae, but there were a significant number of TUNEL positive cells in 6-24h after transient ischemia followed by a decrease at 48h. The number of TUNEL positive cells reached a maximum at 24h after ischemia.The expression of Fas gradually increased as early as at 6h, reached a peak at 24h, then decreased at 48h. Similarly, the expression of Fas ligand was at peak in 24-48h in GCL and INL of retina. bFGF ministered before reperfusion inhibited apoptotsis and ameliorated the tissue damage. It also diminished Fas and FasL expression in ischemic/reperfused retina.siently elevated IOP induced apoptosis of cells in the retina. Fas/FasL may have an important role in the early events of the apoptotic pathways. bFGF can rescue RGCs from retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury through down-regulation of Fas and Fas ligand expression and may represent an important mechanism for therapeutic neuroprotection.

Objective To evaluate the application of non-bioartificial liver support system (ALSS) combined with liver transplantation(LT) in treating mid-or end-stage chronic severe hepati- tis.Methods ALSS plus liver transplantation were employed in treating 28 patients with mid-or end- stage chronic severe hepatitis.Clinical data from the patients before and after treatment were collect- ed.The survive rate of ALSS plus LT group were compared with that of medication group 99 cases and medication plus ALSS group 30 cases.The data were analyzed with t test and X~2 test.Results After 57 times ALSS treatment,the serum total bilirubin(TBil),prothromin time(PT),bile acid, blood urea nitrogen(BUN),creatnine(Cr) and ammonia of all the 28 patients got improved(P 0.05).The clinical symptoms and signs of the patients were ameliorated at median 3 d(1～153 d). All patients were bridged to liver transplantation successfully after median 20 d(1～153 d).The 3 and 6 months post-operation survival rate of ALSS plus LT group(71.4%,71.4%) were significantly higher than those in medication group(18.2%,11.1%) and medication plus ALSS group(36.7%, 26.6%)(P