Antibodies, Bacterial ; blood ; Antigens, Bacterial ; biosynthesis ; Bacterial Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Carrier Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Gastritis ; microbiology ; Helicobacter Infections ; immunology ; Helicobacter pylori ; immunology ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of compound tianpupian (TPP) and its compositions against oxidative damage in mouse erythrocytes. The protective effect of TPP and its compositions against the red cell hemolysis induced by (2)O(2) or auto-oxidation were observed by scanning electron microscopy and spectrophotomety. The result indicated that compound TPP and all of its four components including extract of Rhodiola sachalinensis, Grape Seed Extract proanthocyanidins, Acanthopanax senticosus extract, and tea polyphenols had significant inhibitory activities for the oxidative damage of mouse erythrocytes, out of which the Grape seed extract proanthocyanidins showed the maximal protective effect. It is concluded that compound TPP can protect erythrocytes against oxidative stress and can be used as a valuable Chinese traditional medicine.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Erythrocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Grape Seed Extract ; pharmacology ; Hemolysis ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Proanthocyanidins ; pharmacology ; Rhodiola

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the enhancing effects of ginsenoside Rg3 combined with mitomycin C and tegafur (MF) on postoperative chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer.

METHODSSeventy-one postoperative patients with advanced gastric cancer were randomly divided into two groups, the control group (n=33), which received treatment with only MF (Mitomycin C+Tegafur), and the trial group (n=38), which were treated with ginsenoside Rg3+MF. The serum VEGF levels in the control group and trial group were detected preoperatively and postoperatively, meanwhile, the serum VEGF levels in 30 healthy persons were detected as comparison. The relations between patients survival and serum VEGF levels were analyzed.

RESULTSThe levels of serum VEGF in advanced gastric cancer were higher than those in healthy persons [(297.8+/-129.6) pg/ml vs (212.3+/-67.5) pg/ml] (P<0.01), and were correlated with the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, tumor size > 4 cm and TNM stage (P<0.05). Fourteen weeks after operation, the levels of serum VEGF in trial group decreased below those of preoperation and approached to normal range, while in the control group, the levels of serum VEGF decreased near those of preoperation only. The median survival of patients in trial group and control group were 40 and 25 months respectively. The survival rate of patients in trial group was significantly higher than that in control group (P=0.047).

CONCLUSIONThe combined application of ginsenoside Rg3+MF chemotherapy can decrease the concentration of serum VEGF and improve the survival rate in advanced gastric cancer patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Ginsenosides ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mitomycin ; therapeutic use ; Neoplasm Staging ; Phytotherapy ; Stomach Neoplasms ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Survival Rate ; Tegafur ; therapeutic use ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; blood

BACKGROUNDThere remains significant debate as to the relationship between fragmented QRS (fQRS) complexes on electrocardiogram (ECG) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Few studies have reported on this relationship in non-ST elevated AMI (NSTEMI), and thus, we attempt to assess this relationship and its potential short-term prognostic value.

METHODSThis was a single-center, observational, retrospective cohort study. A total of 513 consecutive patients (399 men, 114 women) with NSTEMI within 24 h who underwent coronary angiography at our department, between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of fQRS complex on the admission ECG. fQRS complexes were defined as the existence of an additional R' or crochetage wave, notching in the nadir of the S wave, RS fragmentation, or QS complexes on 2 contiguous leads. All patients were followed up for 6 months, and all major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were recorded.

RESULTSIn this study, there were 285 patients with fQRS ECG in the 513 patients with NSTEMI. The number of patients with 0-2 coronary arteries narrowed by ≥50% in fQRS group were less while patients with 3 narrowed arteries were more than in the non-fQRS group (P = 0.042). There were fewer Killip Class I patients in the fQRS group (P = 0.019), while Killip Class II, III, and IV patients were more in the fQRS group than in the non-fQRS group (P = 0.019). Left ventricular ejection fraction levels were significantly lower in the fQRS group (P = 0.021). Baseline total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, creatinine, creatine kinase, homocysteine, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), and red blood cells distribution width levels were significantly higher in the fQRS group. Total MACE (MACE, P = 0.028), revascularization (P = 0.005), and recurrent angina (P = 0.005) were also significantly greater in the fQRS group. On final logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for baseline variables, the following variables were independent predictors of fQRS: Coronary artery narrowing (P = 0.035), Killip classification (P = 0.026), and total cholesterol (P = 0.002). The following variables were found to be independent predictors of preoperative MACE: Hemoglobin (P = 0.000), gender (P = 0.026), fQRS (P = 0.016), and time from myocardial infarction to balloon or coronary artery bypasses grafting (P = 0.013).

CONCLUSIONSThe fQRS complexes are commonly present in NSTEMI and the fQRS complexes are an independent predictor of MACE in NSTEMI patients. The number of narrowed coronary arteries, Killip classification, and total cholesterol are all independent predictors of the fQRS complexes.

Aged ; C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; physiopathology ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of adjuvant hormonal therapy (AHT) immediately after radical surgery for high- risk organ-confined or locally advanced prostate cancer using the PSA-related biochemical relapse rate within 2 years after surgery.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed 62 cases of high-risk organ-confined or locally advanced prostate cancer. The patients were treated by laparoscopic radical prostatectomy or radical retropubic prostatectomy after MRI and ECT systemic bone imaging examination, which revealed no regional lymph node or bone metastasis. Thirty-two of the patients (group A) received AHT orally or subcutaneously from 2 weeks to 1 months after operation, and another 30 (group B) were left untreated. We followed up the patients for 2 years, measuring the serum PSA level every 3 months, performing ECT every 6 months, and recording the adverse reactions, medication dura- tion, and the patients'quality of life.

RESULTSAll the operations were successfully accomplished. The rate of 2-year biochemical relapse-free survival was 78.13% (25/32) in group A and 53.33% (16/30) in group B.

CONCLUSIONAHT immediately after radical surgery can improve the rate of biochemical relapse-free survival of the patients with high-risk organ-confined or locally advanced prostate cancer and check the progression and metastasis of the disease.

Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal ; therapeutic use ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; blood ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatectomy ; methods ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo establish a high-throughput chemiluminescence assay of serotype 5 specific neutralizing antibody and understand the epidemiology of this antibody in the healthy adults and children in Guangzhou.

METHODSUsing rAd5 carrying the reporter gene of secreted alkaline phosphatases (SEAP), serum samples from 116 healthy adults and 94 healthy children were examined with chemiluminescence assay to detect the presence of Ad5 neutralizing antibody. The reliability of this assay was tested against conventional cytopathic effect observation.

RESULTSThe chemiluminescence assay using secreted alkaline phosphatases (SEAP) as the reporter allowed rapid, sensitive, specific and reproducible detection of serotype 5 specific neutralizing antibody for epidemiological study of Ad5, which was positive in 26.72% of the adults and 17.02% of the children in this study.

CONCLUSIONAd5 neutralizing antibody is prevalent in the population of Guangzhou, suggesting the necessity of developing other serotype adenovectors for better vaccination and therapeutic effects.

Adenoviridae ; classification ; genetics ; immunology ; Adult ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; genetics ; Animals ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; immunology ; Artifacts ; Blotting, Western ; China ; DNA, Recombinant ; genetics ; Female ; Genes, Reporter ; genetics ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Humans ; Luminescent Measurements ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Serotyping ; Time Factors ; Young Adult

To investigate the prevalence of drug-resistance mutations, resistance to antiretroviral drugs, and the subsequent virological response to therapy in treatment-naive and antiretroviral-treated patients infected with HIV/AIDS in Henan, China, a total of 431 plasma samples were collected in Queshan county between 2003 and 2004, from patients undergoing the antiretroviral regimen Zidovudine + Didanosine + Nevirapine (Azt+Ddi+Nvp). Personal information was collected by face to face interview. Viral load and genotypic drug resistance were tested. Drug resistance mutation data were obtained by analyzing patient-derived sequences through the HIVdb Program (http://hivdb.stanford.edu). Overall, 38.5% of treatment-naive patients had undetectable plasma viral load (VL), the rate significantly increased to 61.9% in 0 to 6 months treatment patients (mean 3 months) (P＜0.005) but again significantly decrease to 38.6% in 6 to 12 months treatment patients (mean 9 months) (P＜0.001) and 40.0% in patients receiving more than 12 months treatment (mean 16 months) (P＜0.005). The prevalence of drug resistance in patients who had a detectable VL and available sequences were 7.0%, 48.6%, 70.8%, 72.3% in treatment-na(1)ve, 0 to 6 months treatment, 6 to 12 months treatment, and treatment for greater than 12 months patients, respectively. No mutation associated with resistance to Protease inhibitor (PI) was detected in this study. Nucleoside RT inhibitor (NRTI) mutations always emerged after non-nucleoside RT inhibitor (NNRTI) mutations, and were only found in patients treated for more than 6 months, with a frequency less than 5%, with the exception of mutation T215Y (12.8%, 6/47) which occurred in patients treated for more than 12 months. NNRTI mutations emerged quickly after therapy begun, and increased significantly in patients treated for more than 6 months (P＜0.005), and the most frequent mutations were K103N, V106A, Y181C, G190A. There had been optimal viral suppression in patients undergoing treatment for less than 6 months in Queshan,Henan. The drug resistance strains were highly prevalent in antiretroviral-treated patients, and increased with the continuation of therapy, with many patients encountering virological failure after 6 months therapy.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the risk factors related to mortality in old patients with coronary heart disease after revascularization.

METHODSA total of 675 patients (498 males) with age >or= 70 years old who received revascularization during July 2003 to June 2004 and followed up > 30 days after discharge were included in this study. Clinical characteristics, death and major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (MACCE) during follow up were recorded.

RESULTSThe patients were followed up for a mean period of (754 +/- 355) days. 27 patients (4.0%) died and MACCE developed in 50 patients (7.4%) during follow up. Female and patients with anemia took a significantly higher risk of mortality (RR = 2.750, 95% CI 1.116 - 6.779, P = 0.028, RR = 0.385 95% CI 0.164 - 0.904, P = 0.028, respectively); Creatinine level is positively related to mortality rate. When comparing patients with Cr > 115 micromol/L and Cr > 177 micromol/L with patients with Cr < 115 micromol/L, the hazard rate was 2.963 and 10.785, respectively (95% CI 1.114 - 9.952, P = 0.035 and 95% CI 2.659 - 78.097, P = 0.000) after adjustment for other risk factors.

CONCLUSIONPreexisting anaemia (male Hb < 120 g/L, female Hb < 110 g/L), renal insufficiency (Cr > 115 micromol/L) and female gender were found to be independent risk factors for mortality in old patients with coronary heart disease post revascularization.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Coronary Disease ; mortality ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Postoperative Period ; Prognosis ; Regression Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Survival Analysis

Food intake has a great influence on blood glucose in patients with diabetes.This study was to determine the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of a particular pomelo named Majia pomelo and its effects on postprandial glucose (PPG) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Twenty healthy subjects and 20 T2D patients (controlled on lifestyle measures and/or metformin) were tested on 2 separate days with 50 g of glucose and 50 g equivalent of carbohydrates from Majia pomelo for GI measurement.To test effects of Majia pomelo on PPG,19 hospitalized T2D patients (controlled on insulin therapy) were selected for a 9-day study.The dose of insulin for each patient was adjusted on the first 3 days.A total of 100 mg Majia pomelo was consumed per meal in the last 3 tested days.Blood glucose was measured to evaluate the glycemic excursions.The GIs for Majia pomelo in healthy individuals and T2D patients were 78.34± 1.88 and 72.15±1.95 respectively.The value of GL was as low as 4.23 in diabetic patients with serving size of 100 g pomelo,indicting Majia pomelo as a high GI but low GL fruit.Consumption of Majia pomelo in hospitalized T2D patients did not cause significant glucose fluctuation.It was concluded that high GI pomelo can serve as a low GL fruit if it is consumed with a limited daily amount and thus can be supplied to diabetic patients.These results may mean more varieties of food choices for T2D patients.

BACKGROUNDAlthough it was widely accepted that full-length HIV genome sequences is important in studying virus genetic evolution and variation as well as developing vaccine candidate, to directly sequencing HIV-1 genome of virion RNA remains as a challenge worldwide. Up to date, no published genomic sequences from virion RNA are available for Chinese prevalent HIV-1 strains due to the absence of specialized protocol and appropriate lab equipments. In this study we developed a straightforward approach for amplifying and sequencing HIV virion RNA from plasma by modifying published protocols and further confirmed it is suitable to process Chinese samples.

METHODSThe methods for viral RNA extraction and gene amplification was modified and optimized as could be widely used in most Chinese labs. Gene alignment of Chinese HIV-1 strains was employed for designing specialized primer sets for Thai-B and BC recombinant strains. Based on comprehensively consideration of high variable gene region and recombinant breakpoints in BC recombinant strains, a three-amplicon strategy (including 4.3-kb gag-pol, 2.9-kb pol-env and 2.7-kb env-nef) was developed. In addition, one amplicon (9 kb near full-length genome) was also used in 32 samples with varied viral loads. All amplicons were directly sequenced by DNA automated sequencer.

RESULTSTwenty-five percent (8/32) amplification efficiency was achieved by the one-amplicon strategy and 65.6% (21/32) by three-amplicon strategy. For one amplicon strategy, none of complete near full-length genome sequences was obtained by DNA sequencing. For three-amplicon strategy, 75% sequences were achieved in DNA sequencing. Amplification efficiency but not sequencing efficiency was closely associated with viral loads.

CONCLUSIONThree-amplicon strategy covering all encoding regions of HIV-1 is suitable for Thai-B and BC recombinant strains and could be potentially employed in less-well equipped Chinese labs.

Genome, Viral ; genetics ; HIV-1 ; genetics ; RNA, Viral ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Virion ; genetics