Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a common disease in males, which is characterized by persistent discomfort or pain in the pelvic region. As currently used drug therapies fail to produce satisfactory results, it is an urgent task to find new and effective methods for the treatment of CP/CPPS. In recent years, many reports are seen on the extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for CP/CPPS. ESWT can significantly improve the symptoms of pelvic pain and urination disorders in CPPS patients, and its therapeutic effect is attributed to the improvement of angiogenesis and block of pain nerves.
Chronic Pain ; therapy ; High-Energy Shock Waves ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Pelvic Pain ; therapy ; Prostatitis ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo comparatively study the effects of Rhubarbs from different regions on blood lipid and antioxi dation of hyperlipidemia rats.

METHODSMale rats were randomly divided into 9 groups ( n = 8) and fed with high-fat diet to replicate the hyperlipidemia model. Meanwhile, Rheum tanguticum was administrated intragastrically at two doses (3.0 g/kg and 1.0 g/kg), once a day for continuous 28 days. The effects of Rheum tanguticum planted in Gannan (RT-GN), Rheum tanguticum planted in Xinin (RT-XN) and Rheum plmatum planted in Lixian (RP-LX) were evaluated through detecting the parameters of blood lipids, blood viscosity and antioxidant system.

RESULTST-GN, RT-XN and RP-LX in the range of 1.0-3.0 g/kg could decrease the blood levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and malonaldehyde (MDA) in blood. Besides, they could reduce blood viscosity, increase high density lipoprotein (HDL) level and upregulate the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Interestingly, their effects on blood viscosity was obviously in a dose dependent manner. In addition, the effects of RT-GN on LDL, MDA and blood viscosity were not significantly different from those of RT-XN and better than those of RP-LX.

CONCLUSIONThe RT has better hypolipidemic effects than the RP, but RT-GN and RT-XN are not different from the above effects.

Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Blood Viscosity ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Diet, High-Fat ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Hyperlipidemias ; drug therapy ; Lipids ; blood ; Lipoproteins, HDL ; blood ; Lipoproteins, LDL ; blood ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; blood ; Rats ; Rheum ; chemistry ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Triglycerides ; blood

Cholestasis, Intrahepatic ; etiology ; Citrullinemia ; complications ; Humans ; Infant ; Male

The biochemical mechanism of degrading keratins by S.fradiae var S-221 was primarily studied.The compounds (Na_ 2 SO_ 4 , Na_ 2 SO_ 3 and sulfdryl acohol), which respecitively enhance specific activity of keratinase, activate keratinase intensively and mainly act on the disulfide bonds reductase in the keratinase, Na_ 2 SO_ 3 activates intensively both disulfide bonds reductase and polypeptide hydrolytase at 0.01 mol/L, whereas Na_ 2 S_ 2 O_ 3 , which acts on the disulfide bonds reductase, inhibits keratinase.On the condition that substrate, keratins exists, S.fradiae var S-221 is induced to produce exo-keratinase, which is a multiproteinase, containing disulfide bonds reductase, which is a key enzyme degrading keratins, then, with polypeptidic, hydrolytase, graduately hydrolyzates denatured keratins into polypeptides, oligopeptides and free amino acids, so that keratins have been decomposed completely.Sulfur in the keratins was transferred into sulfhydryl compounds, H_ 2 S and sulfates in the course of keratinolysine.

To determine the optimum conditions of supercritical CO2 extraction of Xiaoyaosan, and establish its fingerprint by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the yield of extract were investigated, an orthogonal test was used to quantify the effects of extraction temperature, pressure, CO2 flow rate and time, and fingerprint analysis of different batches of extracts were by GC-MS. The optimal extraction conditions were determined as follows: extraction pressure 20 MPa, extraction temperature 50 degrees C, CO2 flow rate 25 kg x h(-1), extraction time 3 h, and average yield 2.2%. The GC-MS fingerprint was established and 27 common peaks were found, whose contents add up to 81.89% of the total peak area. Among them, 21 compounds were identified, accounting for 53.20% of the total extract. The extraction process is reasonable and favorable for industrial production. The GC-MS method is accurate, reliable, reproducible, and can be used for quality control of supercritical CO2 extract from Xiaoyaosan.
Carbon Dioxide ; chemistry ; Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; methods

Nowadays, nanotechnologies have shown wide application foreground in the biomedical field of medicine laboratory tests, drug delivery, gene therapy and bioremediation. However, in recent years, nanomaterials have been labeled poisonous, because of the disputes and misunderstandings of mainstream views on their safety. Besides, for the barriers of technical issues in preparation like: (1) low efficacy (poor PK & PD and low drug loading), (2) high cost (irreproducibility and difficulty in scale up), little of that research has been successfully translated into commercial products. Currently, along with the new theory of "physical damage is the origin of nanotoxicity", biodegradability and biocompatibility of nanomaterials are listed as the basic principle of safe application of nanomaterials. Combining scientific design based on molecular level with precision control of process engineering will provide a new strategy to overcome the core technical challenges. New turning point of translational medicine in nanotechnology may emerge.
Biocompatible Materials ; Nanostructures ; toxicity ; Nanotechnology ; Translational Medical Research

Breast Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Leiomyosarcoma ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Skin Neoplasms ; pathology ; secondary

OBJECTIVETo investigate the potential protective effect of the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant Mitoquinone (MitoQ) on post-thaw human sperm.

METHODSSemen samples were collected from 60 normal fertile men, each divided into six parts of equal volume to be incubated at 37 °C in normal saline (G0, control) or in the extender with 2 nmol/L (G1), 20 nmol/L (G2), 200 nmol/L (G3), 2 µmol/L (G4), and 20 µmol/L of MitoQ (G5). After one hour of incubation, the samples were subjected to computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) for sperm motility, flow cytometry for reactive oxygen species (ROS), thiobarbituric acid assay for the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), and MitoTracker fluorescent staining and flow cytometry for the sperm mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Then, the semen were cryopreserved with none (B0), 200 nmol/L (B1), and 2 µmol/L of MitoQ (B2), followed by detection of the changes in the ROS, MDA, and MMP of the post-thaw sperm.

RESULTSThe percentage of progressively motile sperm and total rate of sperm motility were significantly higher in G3 ([30.8 ± 10.2]% and [70.6 ± 9.0]%) and G4 ([32.7 ± 13.5]% and [70.3 ± 11.9]%) than in G0 ([17.6 ± 5.0]% and [54.9 ± 11.5]%) (P < 0.05). The level of ROS dropped markedly with the increased concentration of MitoQ, 86.5 ± 31.6 in G3, 93.6 ± 42.0 in G4, and 45.1 ± 15.0 in G5, as compared with 160.8 ± 39.7 in G0 (P < 0.05). The content of MDA was remarkably lower in G3 ([0.9 ± 0.5] µmol/mg) and G4 ([0.9 ± 0.5] µmol/mg) than in G0 ([1.9 ± 1.1] µmol/mg) (P < 0.05), but not in G5 ([1.7 ± 0.7] µmol/mg), which was even higher than in G3 and G4 (P < 0.05). The MMP showed a significant reduction in G5 (1156 ± 216) in comparison with G0 (1701 ± 251) (P < 0.05) but exhibited no remarkable difference between G0 and G1 (1810 ± 298), G2 (1995 ± 437), G3 (1950 ± 334), or G4 (1582 ± 314). The percentage of progressively motile sperm and total rate of sperm motility after freezing-thawing were significantly decreased as compared with those of the fresh semen (P < 0.01), but both were remarkably higher in B1 ([3.2 ± 2.3]% and [ 43.0 ± 9.5]%) than in B0 ([0.8 ± 0.6]% and [26.5 ± 11.4]%) (P < 0.05). The ROS level was significantly lower in B1 and B2 than in B0 (34.6 ± 12. 3 and 37.0 ± 10.5 vs 56.9 ± 14.3, P < 0.05), and so was the MDA content ([1.4 ± 0.5] and [1.4 ± 0.6] µmol/mg vs [2.6 ± 1.0] µmol/mg, P < 0.05), but the MMP was markedly higher in B1 and B2 than in B0 (1010.0 ± 130.5 and 880.6 ± 128.6 vs 721.1 ± 24.8, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAddition of MitoQ to the freezing extender at 200 nmol/L may effectively improve the quality of human sperm and MitoQ is a good protective addictive for human sperm cryopreservation.

Antioxidants ; Cryopreservation ; Humans ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; analysis ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; Mitochondria ; Organophosphorus Compounds ; pharmacology ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Semen Preservation ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects ; Ubiquinone ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology

Anion Exchange Protein 1, Erythrocyte ; metabolism ; Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Cadherins ; metabolism ; Female ; Fibrocystic Breast Disease ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; S100 Proteins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effects of Yuyin Ruangan Decoction(YRD, traditional Chinese medicine) on experimental hepatic injury in mice.

METHODSThe mice were randomly divided into control group, model group and YRD low, middle and high dose group(n = 11). By ip injection of D-GalN, CCk or thioacetamide (TAA), three models of hepatic injury mice were established to investigate the effects of YRD through detecting the indexes of liver function in serum and, the content of antioxidant system in the hepatic tissue.

RESULTSYRD could decrease the content of alanine aminotransferase (ALT)and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum and that of malonaldehyde (MDA) in the hepatic tissue, upregulate the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the hepatic tissue. Furthermore, the above effects were dosedependent in a certain degree. CoNCLUSION: YRD has some protection effects on the model of experimental hepatic injury in mouse.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Liver ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Mice ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism