Effects of Shenshao Decoction on the inflammatory response in the aorta of a rat atherosclerotic model / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Shenshao Decoction on the inflammatory status: in the aorta in a rat model of atherosclerosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into: five groups, 8 rats in each group: control untreated group, atherosclerosis group, atherosclerosis with Shenshao Decoction (low dose) group, atherosclerosis with Shenshao Decoction (high dose) group, atherosclerosis with simvastatin group. To stimulate atherosclerosis, the rats were fed vitamin D3 and a high-cholesterol diet. Four weeks later, treatments were maintained for eight weeks. Morphology changes were investigated by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were obtained by enzymatic assays with use of an automated biochemical analyzer. The expression of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) were detected by enzyme-enzymelinked immunosorbent assay. The expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-17A, and IL-23 were detected by linked immunoblotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Shenshao Decoction treatment decreased TC, TG, LDL-C and MDA and increased: GSH-PX levels (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, IL-1β, IL-17A, and IL-23 were lower in the high and <low dose Shenshao Decoction groups and the simvastatin group (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Shenshao Decoction: could attenuate the progression of aortal atherosclerotic plaques by inhibiting the inflammatory response in a rat atherosclerotic model.</p>

Rho-associated coiled kinase inhibitor Y-27632 promotes neuronal-like differentiation of adult human adipose tissue-derived stem cells / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Y-27632 is a specific inhibitor of Rho-associated coiled kinase (ROCK) and has been shown to promote the survival and induce the differentiation of a variety of cells types. However, the effects of Y-27632 on adult human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Y-27632 on the neuronal-like differentiation of ADSCs.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>ADSCs were isolated from women undergoing plastic surgery and cultured. ADSCs were treated with different doses of Y-27632 and observed morphological changes under microscope. The expression of nestin, neuron specific enolase (NSE) and microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP-2) in ADSCs treated with Y-27632 was detected by immunocytochemistry and Western blotting analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Y-27632 had the potency to induce neuronal-like differentiation in ADSCs in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the differentiation induced by Y-27632 was recovered upon drug withdraw. ADSCs treated with Y-27632 expressed neuronal markers such as NSE, MAP-2 and nestin while untreated ADSCs did not express these markers.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Selective ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 could potentiate the neuronal-like differentiation of ADSCs, suggesting that Y-27632 could be utilized to induce the differentiation of ADSCs to neurons and facilitate the clinical application of ADSCs in tissue engineering.</p>

Endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms using coil embolization plus an Enterprise stent / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Several difficulties can arise from wide-neck cerebral aneurysms when treated with endovascular embolization. We aimed to investigate the effect of endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms using coil embolization plus an Enterprise stent.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty patients were treated with coil embolization plus an Enterprise stent between December 2008 and June 2010.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mortality of patients was 0. All stents were successfully implanted without any surgery-related complication.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The Enterprise stent has some advantages to be selected.</p>