Ginseng and its effective components are famous for their influence to enhance human immunity, regulate endocrine and antioxidant action. However, the different effects of different components are not clear. In this study, Wistar rats were used to study the effects of main components of ginseng, including total ginsenoside, panaxadiol saponins, panaxtrol saponin and ginseng polysaccharide. The results showed that the effects of panaxadiol saponins and ginseng polysaccharide on improving animal immune organ weight, plasma interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6), plasma gamma-interferon (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were better than that of the other groups. Total ginsenoside and panaxtrol saponin can effectively increase the concentration of spleen NK cells (NKC) while panaxadiol saponins and ginseng polysaccharide can significantly increase the concentrations of rat plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), corticosterone (CORT) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). As for the effect of increasing organization nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA), total ginsenoside is better than that of other groups. In brief, different components in ginseng possess different effects on enhancing immunity, regulating endocrine and resisting oxidation. Panaxadiol saponins and ginseng polysaccharide are better in enhancing immune, and total ginsenoside shows advantages in resisting oxidation and stress.
Adrenal Glands ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; blood ; Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Corticosterone ; blood ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; Glutathione ; metabolism ; Immune System ; drug effects ; physiology ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Killer Cells, Natural ; drug effects ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Organ Size ; drug effects ; Panax ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats, Wistar ; Saponins ; pharmacology ; Spleen ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Thymus Gland ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Thyrotropin ; blood

AIM: To analyze neuron-related gene expression before and after mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiating into neuron-like cells. METHODS: MSCs were induced to neuron-like cells with ?-mercaptoethanol. Before inducement and at 8 h after inducement, the total RNA was extracted, then the expression of microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2), growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43), NSE, nestin and neurofilament (NF) mRNA were detected with RT-PCR. RESULTS: NSE mRNA expressed before and after inducement, MAP-2, GAP-43, nestin and NF mRNA only expressed after inducement. CONCLUSION: The differentiation of MSCs into neuron-like cells may be related to MAP-2, GAP-43, nestin and NF expression. [

Objective To investigate the change of wave-front aberrations after Ortho-K contact lens(CL)by day and overnight wear.Design Retrospective case series.Participant 180 eyes of 92 myopic patients wearing Ortho-K CL.Method Wave-front aberra- tions of 180 eyes of 92 myopic patients wearing Ortho-K CL were analyzed.Patients were divided into by day wear and overnight wear groups.Wave-front aberrations were measured with WFA 1000B subjective aberrometer before and 1 month after Ortho-K CL wear. Wave-front aberrations at initial,after one month of CL fitting and without CL were measured in same condition,and RMS values for overall wave-front aberrations and each order of the Zernike aberrations were analyzed with Matlab software.Main Outcome Measures RMS value of Zernike coefficient of each order.Result Compared with initial aberration in wear by day group,total RMS and each or- der aberrations(except 2nd order)with lens fitting significantly increased(P0.05).Compared with initial aberration in overnight wear group,overall wavefront aberrations and the RMS(except 2nd,3rd and 6th order Zernike aberrations)with lens fitting significantly increased(P0.05).Conclusion The high order aberrations with lens fitting and without lens fit- ting increased in each group.The aberration with lens fitting in wear by day group was higher than that in overnight wear group,while the aberration without lens fitting in overnight wear group was higher than that in wear by day group.(Ophthalmol CHN,2007,16: 351-354)

Forty-two patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) were refered to 3 groups:type 2 DM without diabetic nephropathy (DN),type 2 DM with DN in the initial stage and type 2 DM with DN in the clinical stage.Ten healthy subjects were served as control group.Plasma adrenomedullin (ADM),urinary?_1- microglobulin (MG) and?_2-MG were detected.The results showed that the level of plasma ADM rose gradually with the development of DN and was positively correlated with markers of tubulointerstiial injury such as urinary?_1- MG and?_2-MG (both P

To analyze the regularity in combined medication with Xiyanping injection (Xiyanping for short) in the real world by as- sociation rules. Totally 5 822 patients using Xiyanping injection was collected from the 18 Class III Grade I hospitals nationwide to study the combined medication information of the patient with lung infection and make the analysis by using association rules and Apriori. According to the results, major drugs combined with Xiyanping in treatment of lung infection included compound amino acid, inosine, coenzyme A, cytidine triphosphate, vitamin C. Common drugs combined with Xiyanping can be divided into 5 categories: nutrition support therapy (vitamin C, compound amino acid) , coenzymes (coenzyme A, cytidine triphosphate, inosine), expectorants and antiasthmatics (ambroxol, salbutamol, doxofylline), hormones (dexamethasone, budesonide), antibiotics (mainly cefminox). The main combined medicines mostly conformed to the regularity for drugs treating lung infection. In addition, there were two most common medical combination models: the model for Xiyanping combined a single medicine is Xiyanping + nutrition support therapy, while the model for Xiyanping combined two or more than two medicines is Xiyanping + nutrition support therapy + coenzyme. Pharmacologically, Xiyanping is mostly combined with western medicines with similar pharmacological effects to substitute or supplement the antibiotic effect in treating lung infection. However, further studies shall be conducted for the safety and rationality of the combined medication based on clinical practices, in order to provide reference for clinical medication.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; Ascorbic Acid ; administration & dosage ; Cephamycins ; administration & dosage ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Hospital Information Systems ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the effects of rigid gas permeable contact lens (RGPCL) wearing 3 years on ocular surface in keratoconus.Design Retrospective case series.Participants 73 patients with keratoconus.Methods From July 2001 to July 2004,73 patients (142 eyes) wearing RGPCL for more than 3 years were collected in Peking University Optometry & Ophthalmology Center.Be- fore and at 1 year,2 years and 3 years of RGPCL wearing,density and morphologic changes of corneal endothelium were examined with non-contact specular microscope.Eye axial length,central and peripheral thickness of cornea were measured with A-scan pachymeter. All eyes were examined with slit-lamp microscope periodically.Main Outcome Measures Corneal endothelial density and morphology, corneal thickness,eye axial length,ocular surface changes.Results Before and at 1 year,2 years and 3 years of RGPCL wearing,aver- age corneal endothelial density was 2901.92?445.20,2862.78?497.13,2854.71?526.80,3015.61?421.22 (cells/mm~2)without significant difference statistically (F=1.571,P=0.20).Morphologic changes were not significant during 3 years.Eye axial length was 25.15?1.50, 24.93?1.36,24.78?1.25,25.39?1.31 (mm) without significant difference statistically (F=2.218,P=0.10).Corneal central thickness was 489.09?59.64,484.02?60.80,496.61?59.74,487.44?54.25(?m)without significant difference statistically (F=0.991,P=0.40).Peripheral thickness changes were also not significant statistically during 3 years.69 eyes with mild conjunctival congestion,12 eyes with corneal fluorescence stain and 6 eyes with corneal epithelial rough were found with slit-lamp microscope during follow-up.Conclusions For the patients with keratoconus,long term of RGPCL wear will not lead to significant ocular changes or severe ocular complications.

Objective To analyze the complications of lower cervical pedicle screw fixation in treatment of the cervical spine disorders and discuss the operative technique. Methods A retrospective study was made in 104 patients with different cervical injuries treated by C3-7 pedicle screw fixation (total use of 624 screws) from July 2004 to March 2008. One stage posterior reduction and fixation using lower cervical pedicle screw-rod system or screw-plat system were performed in 66 traumatic patients and the nerve condition was evaluated by Frankel criteria system. For 46 non-traumatic patients, laminoplasty or laminectomy was performed for decompression, and cervical pedicle screw-rod system or screw-plat system were used in deformity correction and stability reconstruction. Based on exploration to quadric walls of vertebral pedicle during operation, postoperative thin-slice CT scan along operative vertebra segments' pedicle and bilateral oblique position X-ray of cervical spine in all patients, we evaluated screw location, screw angle as well as the distance and the relation between the screws and the internal pedicle wall or lateral wall. Results In this study, the lower cervical pedicles of 104 patients were fixated with 624 screws including 77 screws (12.34% ) for pedicle wall damage, 68 screws (10.8% ) for the lateral wall injury, 56 screws (8.97% ) for grade Ⅰ violation of pedicles, 12 screws (1.92% ) for grade II violation of pedicles Ⅱ violation of pedicles and 9 screws (1.44% ) for inferior wall injury of cervical pedicle. The follow-up lasted for 3-24 months (average 9. 8 months), which showed breakage of two screws (0.32% ) and loosening of one screw (0.16% ). Conclusions Lower cervical pedicle screw fixation has relatively low incidence of complications and is a safe operation. The complications can be minimized by sufficient preoperative imaging studies of the pedicles, familiar with the feature of opography and reasonable surgery technique.

A double targets of high throughput screening model for xanthine oxidase inhibitors and superoxide anion scavengers was established. In the reaction system of xanthine oxidase, WST-1 works as the probe for the ultra oxygen anion generation, and product uric acid works as xanthine oxidase activity indicator. By using SpectraMax M5 continuous spectrum enzyme sign reflectoscope reflector, the changes of these indicators' concentration were observed and the influence factors of this reaction system to establish the high throughput screening model were studied. And the model is confirmed by positive drugs. In the reaction system, the final volume of reaction system is 50 μL and the concentrations of xanthine oxidase is 4 mU x mL(-1), xanthine 250 μmol x L(-1) and WST-1 100 μmol x L(-1), separately. The Z'-factor of model for xanthine oxidase inhibitors is 0.537 4, S/N is 47.519 9; the Z'-factor of model for superoxide anion scavengers is 0.507 4, S/N is 5.388 9. This model for xanthine oxidase inhibitors and superoxide anion scavengers has more common characteristics of the good stability, the fewer reagent types and quantity, the good repeatability, and so on. And it can be widely applied in high-throughput screening research.
Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Free Radical Scavengers ; pharmacology ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Superoxides ; Uric Acid ; Xanthine ; Xanthine Oxidase ; antagonists & inhibitors

ObjectiveTo analyze the risk factors related to perforation of lateral wall by lower cervical pedicle screw instrumentation in the treatment of cervical spinal disorders. MethodsA retrospective review was made to analyze 214 cervical vertebral injury patients ( 1 024 pedicle screws were used) treated with pedicle screw instrumentation at C3-7 from July 2004 to July 2009. Lateral walls of 18 patients were perforated (a total of 28 pedicle screws). The surgeons assessed the position and the angle of the screw in the pedicle, and the relation and the distance between the screw and the pedicle walls by carefully probing intraoperative walls of cervical pedicles and studying postoperative thin-slice computed tomography (CT) scan of the fixed vertebral segments of the cervical spine. The data of patients with lateral wall perforation was recorded and analyzed statistically. ResultsPerforation of the lateral wall occurred in 18 patients (28 pedicle screws). Backward step by step Logistic regression analysis was used and two variables were selected in the end. ConclusionsRatio variance between inner and lateral wall is the risk factor of perforation in the lateral wall associated with lower cervical pedicle screw instrumentation, while the angle variance between implanted screws and CT measurements is the protection factor of perforation in the lateral wall.

Technological improvement for microorgnism isolation is important since isolation provides substantial materials for the exploitation of new microbial resources. In this study, a new approach, dispersion and differential cetrifugation (DDC), was applied in the isolation of acidophilic and acidoduric streptomycetes from 12 acid soil samples. Contrast with traditional method, the new approach yielded satisfying results with 2 - 20 times isolation efficiency and good selectivity. 45 representatives out of 249 streptomycetes isolates, which belonged to 12 color groups, showed morphology and cell wall type consistent with streptomycetes. The optimum pH range for their growth were between pH 4.5 - 5.5. It is proved that we succeeded in the rare-streptomycetes isolation using DDC approach.