Objective To investigate the clinical pathologic features of a distinct variant of focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) characterized by neuronal loss of layer four.Methods Between 2005 and 2017,approximately 3 000 surgeries were performed for the treatment of intractable epilepsy at Xuanwu Hospital,Capital Medical University and Yuquan Hospital,Tsinghua University.Retrospective analysis of clinic-pathological data of patients with epilepsy surgery was made and histological manifestations of neuronal loss of cortical layer four were included in this study.Results In this cohort,25 patients (22 males and three females) were identified with early onset pharmaco-resistant epilepsy and regionally circumscribed neuronal loss of cortical layer four in surgical specimens from the occipital lobe.Histologically,except for neuronal loss in cortical layer four in all cases,glial scar lesions were found in some patients.Thus the histology of those cases can be subdivided into two groups:group A (13 cases):neuronal loss of cortical layer four without glial scar lesions;and group B (12 cases):neuronal loss of cortical layer four with glial scar lesions.Due to the prominent horizontal disorganization of cortical layering and lack of any other microscopically visible principle lesion,group A should be classified hitherto as FCD International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) type Ⅰ b,however,group B with scar lesions and cortical dysplasia around the main leision,should be classified as FCD ILAE type Ⅲd.This retrospective analysis of clinical histories revealed a perinatal distress in 20 patients (80％),suggesting an acquired pathomechanism.Magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormal signals in the occipital lobe in all patients,and signal changes suggestive of encephalomalacia were found in 18 patients.Surgical treatment achieved favorable seizure control (Engel class Ⅰ and Ⅱ) in 18 patients (75％ among 24 available follow up).Comparion of the two groups with age at epilepsy onset (group A:5.00±2.76,group B:5.01±3.78),the proportion of perinatal distress (group A:11/13,group B:9/12) and the follow-up results (favorable seizure control of the two groups was 9/13,9/11 respectively) showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups.Conculsion Neuronal loss of cortical layer four in the occipital lobe should be classified as a distinct variant of FCD ILAE type Ⅲd.

OBJECTIVE： To compare the quality of original preparations of Thioctic acid injection and generic preparations from 2 domestic manufacturers， discuss the acute toxicity test of mice and to investigate the project of consistency evaluation methods. METHODS： According to the quality standard that stated in Chinese Pharmacopeia， physicochemical properties （characters， pH， osmotic pressure， etc.， contents and related substances of samples of Thioctic acid injection as well as LD50 in acute toxicity test （n＝10）， and mortality of mice after administration of injection solution （n＝30） were compared among 3 manufacturers. RESULTS： The physicochemical properties as and related substances of the original drug and 2 generic drugs were all in line with the quality standard； the contents of 3 samples ranged 95％-105％. The acute toxicity test results showed that the LD50 values of 2 generic drugs （LD50： 247.911 mg/kg， 95％ confidence interval： 222.209-277.999 mg/kg；LD50： 215.291 mg/kg， 95％ confidence interval： 196.637-235.053 mg/kg） were smaller than that of original drug （LD50： 266.534 mg/kg， 95％ confidence interval： 250.597-283.418 mg/kg）， but there was no statistical difference （P＞0.05）. The results of 3 repeated experiments showed that there was statistical significance in the number of animal death caused by the 2 generic drugs （26， 28） was more than that of the original drug （19） （all P＜0.05）， when injection solution was injected into mice in a single dose. After administration of the original drug， mice showed excitatory reactions such as movement and squeal， while 2 generic drugs showed inhibitory reactions. CONCLUSIONS： 2 generic drugs of Thioctic acid injection and the original drug all conform to the relevant regulations of Chinese Pharmacopoeia in terms of preparation quality standards， but the results of acute toxicity test are quite different， so it is difficult to prove the consistency between the 2 generic drugs and the original drug. Therefore， acute toxicity test is necessary for the consistency evaluation of injections.

AIM:To investigate the molecular mechanism of Xijiao Dihuang decoction combined with Yinqiao powder (XDY) in treating viral pneumonia, and the effects of XDY on TNF-α-induced permeability in pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVEC) and the role of PKC-SSeCKS pathway involved.METHODS:The electric conductivity method was used to detect transendothelial electrical resistance (TER) of primarily cultured PMVEC on Transwell chamber at different time points to determine the permeability of PMVEC.After pretreatment for 24 h, the activity of PKC, TER, and the expression of SSeCKS at mRNA and protein levels were detected.Laser scanning confocal microscopy was used to observe the location of SSeCKS and construction of F-actin in PMVEC.RESULTS:The permeability of PMVECs induced by TNF-α reached the peak at 24 h.Compared with control group, the TER in TNF-α group was decreased, and the activity of PKC was increased.Compared with TNF-α group, the activity of PKC in TNF-α with PKC inhibitor group and TNF-α with XDY group was decreased, while the TER was increased, without difference from control group.Compared with control group, the mRNA expression of SSeCKS and phospho-SSeCKS was increased in PMVEC of TNF-α group, but decreased in TNF-α with XDY group compared with TNF-α group.In control group, F-actin was mainly located around the nucleus and at cytoplasmic borders of PMVEC, forming the dense peripheral bundle, and SSeCKS was evenly scattered in the cell.In TNF-α group, the dense peripheral bundle of F-actin surrounding the cells almost disappeared, and SSeCKS was concentrated around the nucleus.Compared with TNF-α group, the distribution and the structure of F-actin and SSeCKS nearly returned to normal in TNF-α with XDY group.CONCLUSION:XDY inhibits the activation of PKC signaling pathway in PMVEC caused by TNF-α to reduce the mRNA expression of SSeCKS and the phosphorylation of SSeCKS, thus preventing the deformation of endothelial cells and reducing the permeability of PMVEC.

Aim To investigate the role of endothe-lium in the enhancement of phenylephrine-mediated vasoconstriction by bupivacaine in the isolated rat aor-ta.Methods The isolated rat aortic rings were pre-pared, and the vascular endothelium was removed chemically or physically .Phenylephrine-mediated vas-oconstriction was recorded .Results A pretreatment with bupivacaine at 30 μmol · L-1 for 20 min signifi-cantly increased the Emax value of vasoconstrictive re-sponses to phenylephrine from 2.22 ±0.07 g of sol-vent-controlled group to 2.50 ±0.05 g ( P<0.01 ) in the isolated endothelium-intact rat aorta.However, the Emax value was not significantly changed by a pretreat-ment with bupivacaine at 30 μmol · L-1 for 5 , 10 or 15 min ( P>0.05 ) .A pretreatment with bupivacaine at 30 μmol · L-1 for 20 min slightly but significantly inhibited the vasoconstrictive responses to low concen-tration of phenylephrine in the isolated endothelium-de-nuded rat aorta (P<0.05).In the isolated endotheli-um-intact rat aorta under a combined treatment with in-dometacin, ChTX, apamin and L-NAME, the vasodi-lator responses to acetylcholine were completely sup-pressed , and a pretreatment with bupivacaine at 30μmol· L-1 for 20 min did not significantly affect the vasoconstrictive responses to phenylephrine ( P >0.05 ) .Conclusion Bupivacaine enhances α1-adre-noceptor-mediated vasoconstriction by inhibiting vascu-lar endothelium in the isolated endothelium-intact rat aorta, Which potentiates indirectly the vasoconstrictive responses to phenylephrine .

Aim To investigate the selective inhibition of ethanol on muscarinic receptor-or 5-HT receptor-me-diated contractile responses in the circular smooth mus-cle strips isolated from the different regions of rat stom-ach. Methods Circular muscle strips isolated from the rat gastric fundus, body, cardia and pylorus were prepared, and the contractile responses to carbachol ( CCh ) or 5-HT were recorded. Results Ethanol (0. 000 05~0. 000 5, V/V) did not affect the contrac-tile response to CCh in circular muscle strips from the rat gastric fundus and cardia, and that to 5-HT in the strips from rat gastric fundus and body ( P >0. 05 ) . However, ethanol(0. 000 1 and 0. 000 5) significantly inhibited the Emax value of the contraction by CCh from (12. 18 ± 0. 33) g of control level to (10. 88 ± 0. 41) g and -lgEC50 value from ( 6. 33 ± 0. 05 ) of control level to (6. 12 ± 0. 06)(P <0. 05) in the strips from rat gastric body. Ethanol(0. 000 1 and 0. 000 5) also significantly inhibited the Emax value of the contraction by CCh from (2. 87 ± 0. 15) g of control level to (2. 2 ± 0. 13) g and -lgEC50 value from (6. 49 ± 0. 10) of control level to (6. 05 ± 0. 09)(P<0. 01) in the strips from rat gastric pylorus. Moreover, ethanol ( 0. 000 1 and 0. 000 5) significantly inhibited the Emax value of the contraction by 5-HT from (2. 93 ± 0. 35) g of con-trol level to ( 2. 1 ± 0. 30 ) g ( P<0. 05 ) , but did not affect the -lgEC50 value in the strips from rat gastric cardia. Conclusions Ethanol inhibits the contractile responses to 5-HT only in the circular muscle strips of rat gastric cardia, and it inhibits the contractile respon-ses to CCh more strongly in the circular muscle strips of gastric pylorus than gastric body. In those gastric circular muscle strips, ethanol decreases both the ac-tivity and affinity of CCh to muscarinic receptors, but decreases only the activity of 5-HT to its receptors.

Aim To analyze the blocking effect of ( ± ) doxazosin [ ( ± ) DOX ] , ( -) doxazosin [ ( -) DOX] and ( +) doxazosin [( +) DOX] on the vaso-constriction of rat isolated mesenteric arterioles media-ted by α1-adrenoceptors. Methods The vasoconstric-tion induced by phenylephrine ( Phe) in the rat isola-ted mesenteric arterioles ( the second- and third-order branches) was recorded using DMT wire myograph sys-tem 620M, and theα1-adrenoceptor antagonistic activ-ity of ( ± ) DOX and its enantiomers was analyzed. Results The inner diameter of second- and third-or-der branches of the rat mesenteric artery was (162. 5 ± 5. 3) μm (n=11) and (103. 1 ± 2. 3) μm (n=23), respectively. The values of normalized preload of the second-and third-order branches, which were calculat-ed by the LabChart software, were (2. 93 ± 0. 51) mN ( n =11 ) and ( 2. 64 ± 0. 50 ) mN ( n =23 ) ( P >0. 05 ) . Vasoconstrictive responses to Phe in the sec-ond-order branche of rat mesenteric artery under nor-malized preloads were not significantly different from those under 5 mN preload;however, the Emax values of the Phe-induced vasoconstriction under 10 mN, 15 mN and 20 mN preloads were decreased by 12%, 29%and 43% ( P<0. 01 ) respectively compared with those under normalized preload. The concentration-response curves for Phe were shifted to right in a concentration dependent manner by ( -) DOX or ( +) DOX at 0. 001 , 0. 01 and 0. 1 μmol · L-1 without significant change in their Emax values in the second-and third-or-der branches of rat mesenteric artery. Schild plot anal-ysis indicated that ( -) DOX, ( +) DOX and ( ± ) DOX non-competitively inhibited the vasoconstrictive responses to Phe in the second-order branches, and the rank order of pKB values was ( +) DOX ( 8. 67 ± 0. 10 ) , ( ± ) DOX ( 8. 53 ± 0. 090 ) , ( -) DOX (7. 85 ± 0. 09). However, schild plot analysis indica-ted that ( -) DOX and ( +) DOX competitively inhibi-ted the vasoconstrictive responses for Phe in the third-order branch, and the rank order of their pKB values was ( ± ) DOX ( 8. 68 ± 0. 17 ) , ( +) DOX ( 8. 48 ± 0. 10 ) , ( -) DOX ( 7. 48 ± 0. 140 ) . Conclusion The α1-adrenoceptor blocking activity of ( -) DOX is much weaker than that of ( +) DOX or ( ± ) DOX in the rat isolated mesenteric arterioles, and there is a tendency to enhance the activity of ( ± ) DOX in third-order branches of the rat mesenteric artery though theα1-adrenoceptor blockade effect of ( ± ) DOX is not significantly different from ( +) DOX.

OBJECTlVE To investigate the effect of stretch on muscarinic receptor- and 5-hydroxytryptamine( 5-HT)receptor-mediated contractiIe responses in isoIated circuIar muscIe strips taken from the rat stomach. METHODS The contractiIe responses to carbachoI(CCh)0.001-30 μmoI·L-1 or 5-HT 0.0001 -30 μmoI·L-1 administered cumuIativeIy were recorded in isoIated circuIar muscIe strips taken from the gastric fundus,body,cardia and pyIorus of rats under different preIoads of 1.0,1.5,2.0, 2.5 and 3. 0 g,but a singIe concentration of CCh 0. 3 μmoI·L-1 was administered to the antrum. RESULTS The -Log EC50 vaIue for CCh in the isoIated circuIar muscIe strips of the gastric fundus, body and pyIorus under 1.0 g preIoad was the Iargest,but decreased significantIy with higher preIoads (P﹤0.05,P﹤0.01). A simiIar resuIt was obtained in the isoIated circuIar muscIe strips of the gastric body when 5-HT was used as an agonist. The Emax vaIue of contractiIe responses to CCh and 5-HT in the cir-cuIar muscIe strips of the gastric cardia under 3.0 g preIoad was increased by 117.4% and 75.7% com-pared to that under 1.0 g preIoad. The Emax vaIue of contractiIe responses to 5-HT in the circuIar muscIe strips of the gastric body under 3.0 g preIoad was aIso increased by 115.9% when compared to 1.0 g preIoad. The Emax( g) vaIue of contractiIe responses to CCh in four types of muscIe strips was 10.453±2.956(cardia under 3.0 g preIoad),13.878±2.618(fundus under 2.5 g preIoad),10.244±1.843 (gastric body under 2.5 g preIoad)and 2.585±1.098(pyIorus under 2.5 g preIoad),respectiveIy. The Emax(g)vaIue of contractiIe responses to 5-HT in three types of muscIe strips was 4.363±1.705(cardia under 3.0 g preIoad),3.931±0.615(fundus under 3.0 g preIoad)and 3.161±0.680(gastric body under 3.0 g preIoad),respectiveIy. CONCLUSlON 0.5 g or 1.0 g preIoad is inadequate for accurate determi-nation of contractiIe responses mediated by muscarinic receptors and 5-HT receptors in isoIated circuIar muscIe strips taken from the rat gastric cardia,fundus,body and pyIorus,but 2.0 g preIoad is optimaI for investigating muscarine receptor- or 5-HT receptor-mediated contractiIe responses of isoIated gastric strips of rats.

Traditional medicine (herb medicine) began to prevail again over last two decades, and it is about 70% of the world population taking herb medicine as supplement or alternative medicine according to a recent survey. The consumption of herb medicine increased exponentially in Canada, Australia and Europe during last 10 years. Since concomitant administration of herbal and western medicine has become a trend, it requires paying close attention to the problem. Herb-drug interactions have been extensively investigated worldwide, and there is an increasing concern about the clinical herb-drug interaction. In this review we introduced the current progress in the herb-drug interactions including evidence-based clinical studies and establishment of levels of evidence for herb-drug interaction; and in the related mechanisms including the induction and inhibition of metabolic enzymes, inhibition and induction of transport and efflux proteins, alteration of gastrointestinal functions, and alteration in renal elimination. We also analyzed both the achievements and the challenges faced in the concomitant administration of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine.

Aim To study the mechanisms of inotropic responses to doxazosin enantiomers in the isolated rat atrium.Methods We analyzed the positive inotropic response to (-)doxazosin and the negative inotropic response to (+)doxazosin in the left atrium of rat u-sing receptor-pharmacological technique.Results In the preparation treated with verapamil,the positive in-otropic responses to 3 μmol·L-1 (-)doxazosin were significantly inhibited from the control level (245.7 1 ± 44.29)mg to (172.50 ±43.34)mg,(P<0.05).In the preparation treated with methylene blue,the posi-tive inotropic responses to 3 μmol·L-1 (-)doxazosin were significantly potentiated from the control level (245.7 1 ±44.29 )mg to (303.33 ±45 .90 )mg,(P<0.05 ).In the preparation treated with H-89 ,the positive inotropic responses to 3,10 and 30 μmol · L-1 (-)doxazosin were (338.57 ±96.86 ) mg, (471.43 ±107.61)mg and (520.00 ±103.44)mg, which were significantly (P<0.05 ~0.01)larger than the control levels of (245.71 ±44.29)mg,(314.29 ±90.34)mg and (357.14 ±68.49 )mg.Treatment with phenoxybenzamine,atropine,propranolol or indo-methacin did not significantly affect the responses to doxazosin enantiomers.Conclusion The positive ino-tropic responses to (-)doxazosin in the isolated left a-trium of rat are partially involved in L-type Ca2+chan-nels and intracellular cGMP level.However,α-adre-noceptors,muscarinic receptors,β-adrenoceptors and cyclooxygenases are not related to the responses to doxazosin enantiomers.

The study is to establish an HPLC method using fluorescence detector for the determination of doxazosin enantiomers and investigate their chiral inversion in vitro and in vivo. Ultron ES-OVM was taken as the chiral chromatographic column, and the column temperature was 30 degrees C. Isocratic elution using a mobile phase of phosphate buffer-acetonitrile (85 : 15, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL x min(-1) was done. The fluorescence detection was set at lambda(Ex) = 255 nm and lambda(Em) = 385 nm. Prazosin was used as the internal standard. (-) Doxazosin or (+) doxazosin added into rat plasma in vitro was determined after incubating in 37 degrees C water bath for 2, 5 and 10 days. (-) Doxazosin or (+) doxazosin was administered orally to the rats for one months. Plasma samples were taken at 8 h after the last administration. A good linear relationship was achieved when the concentration of doxazosin enantiomers was within the range of 4 - 2 000 ng x mL(-1). The average recovery for (-) doxazosin was 99.5% with RSD 3.6%, and for (+) doxazosin was 99.3% with RSD 4.3%. Chiral inversion was observed neither in vitro nor in vivo studies. The method is selective, accurate and reproducible, which is suitable for the detection of doxazosin enantiomers in rat plasma. The in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that chiral inversion occurs uneasily between (-) doxazosin and (+) doxazosin in the rat.