Research on Mechanisms of Chinese Medicines in Prevention and Treatment of Postoperative Adhesion / 中国结合医学杂志

Postoperative adhesion (PA) is currently one of the most unpleasant complications following surgical procedures. Researchers have developed several new strategies to alleviate the formation of PA to a great extent, but so far, no single measure or treatment can meet the expectations and requirements of clinical patients needing complete PA prevention. Chinese medicine (CM) has been widely used for thousands of years based on its remarkable efficacy and indispensable advantages CM treatments are gradually being accepted by modern medicine. Therefore, this review summarizes the formating process of PA and the efficacy and action mechanism of CM treatments, including their pharmacological effects, therapeutic mechanisms and advantages in PA prevention. We aim to improve the understanding of clinicians and researchers on CM prevention in the development of PA and promote the in-depth development and industrialization process of related drugs.

Therapeutic Effect and Mechanism of Tongnao Pills in Treating Senile Posterior Circulation Ischemic Vertigo with Phlegm and Blood Stasis Type / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the curative effect and mechanism of Tongnao pill in the treatment of senile posterior circulation ischemic vertigo with phlegm and blood stasis type. Method:The 80 elderly patients with posterior circulation ischemic vertigo (phlegm and blood stasis type) admitted to Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine were selected as the research subjects and were randomly divided into two groups according to the hospital admission number. Those with odd numbers were classified into control group and those with even numbers were classified into observation group, with 40 cases in each group. All of the patients in both groups were given basic treatment, and the patients in control group additionally received intravenous infusion of vinpocetine on the basis of basic treatment, while the patients in observation group additionally received Tongnao pill on the basis of the treatment in control group. The clinical efficacy, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome score, European Evaluation of Vertigo(EEV) score, dizziness handicap inventory-screening (DHI-S) score, vertebral basilar artery average blood flow velocity(Vm) and pulsatility index(PI), hemodynamic changes[mean arterial pressure(MAP), central venous pressure(CVP), right atrial pressure (RAP), left atrial pressure(LAP), cardiac output(CO), cardiac stroke volume(SV)], changes in blood viscosity and blood lipid levels，symptom disappearance time, and safety of the two groups were compared. Result:The total effective rate in the observation group was 95.00% (38/40), significantly higher than 75.00% (30/40) in the control group (χ2=4.804, P<0.05). After treatment, the symptoms were significantly improved in both groups (P<0.05), and the scores of dizziness, nausea and vomiting, tinnitus and deafness, tiredness and fatigue in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), the EEV and DHI-S scores were decreased significantly in both groups(P<0.05), and such scores in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05), the Vm of bilateral vertebral artery (VA) and basilar artery (BA) on both sides were significantly increased in both groups, while the PI was significantly reduced (P<0.05), and these two indicators in the observation group were better than those in the control group (P<0.05), the MAP, CVP, RAP and LAP were significantly reduced in both groups after treatment, while the CO and SV were increased after treatment(P<0.05), and the SV of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group(P<0.05). The high blood viscosity, low blood viscosity, plasma viscosity and TG, TC, LDL-C levels were decreased significantly while HDL-C increased significantly in both groups (P<0.05), and the blood viscosity and blood lipid levels in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group(P<0.05). The time to disappearance of dizziness, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus and deafness, malaise, fatigue, and confused mind in observation group was less than that in the control group (P<0.05), no serious adverse events occurred in both groups. Conclusion:Tongnao pills for the treatment of senile posterior circulation ischemic vertigo (phlegm and blood stasis type) can significantly alleviate the symptoms of vertigo, improve hemorrheology, increase the blood flow velocity of the vertebrobasilar artery, improve the abnormal blood supply to the brain, and improve the quality of life for patients, with fewer adverse reactions, high safety, and good therapeutic effect. Therefore, it is worth to be applied in clinical use.

Induction of Interleukin-22 (IL-22) production in CD4+ T Cells by IL-17A Secreted from CpG-Stimulated Keratinocytes

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is mainly secreted from Th17 cells that are activated by various stimuli including CpG oligodeoxynucleotide, a Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) ligand. Recently, it has been demonstrated that keratinocytes play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential role of keratinocytes, we examined whether TLR9 ligand CpG induces IL-17A expression in keratinocytes. METHODS: We used HaCaT keratinocytes as a model system, and determined CpG-induced IL-17A using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot. RESULTS: When HaCaT keratinocytes were treated with CpG, the expression of several cytokines including IL-17A, tumor necrosis factor-α and CCL20 was markedly increased. Treatment with nuclear factor (NF)-κB inhibitor significantly blocked the CpG-induced IL-17A production, indicating that CpG induced IL-17A expression through the NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, IL-17A secreted from keratinocytes stimulated the CD4⁺ T cells, resulting in strong induction of IL-22 production. CONCLUSION: Since IL-22 is an important mediator for psoriatic inflammation, our data suggest that keratinocytes can participate in the pathogenesis of psoriasis via the TLR9-dependent IL-17A production.

Changes in Transepidermal Water Loss and Skin Hydration according to Expression of Aquaporin-3 in Psoriasis

BACKGROUND: Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of water transporting proteins present in many mammalian epithelial and endothelial cell types. Among the AQPs, AQP3 is known to be a water/glycerol transporter expressed in human skin. OBJECTIVE: The relationship between the expression level of AQP3 and transpidermal water loss (TEWL) in the lesional and peri-lesional skin of psoriasis-affected patients, and skin hydration in the lesional and peri-lesional skin of psoriasis patients, was investigated. METHODS: The expression of AQP3 in psoriasis-affected and healthy control skin was determined using immunohistochemical and immunofluroscence staining. TEWL and skin hydration were measured using a Tewameter(R) TM210 (Courage & Khazaka, Cologne, Germany) and a Corneometer(R) CM 820 (Courage & Khazaka), respectively. RESULTS: AQP3 was mainly expressed in the plasma membrane of stratum corneum and the stratum spinosum in normal epidermis. Unlike the normal epidermis, AQP3 showed decreased expression in the lesional and peri-lesional epidermis of psoriasis. TEWL was increased, and skin hydration was decreased, in the lesional and peri-lesional skin of psoriasis patients, compared with the healthy control sample. CONCLUSION: Although various factors contribute to reduced skin hydration in the lesional and peri-lesional skin of psoriasis, AQP3 appears to be a key factor in the skin dehydration of psoriasis-affected skin.

Prognostic factor analysis in 203 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore prognostic factors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred and three CLL patients in our hospital between 2000 to 2007 were retrospectively reviewed for prognostic factor analysis. Survival was analysed by Kaplan-Meier analysis, univariate analysis by Log-rank test and multivariate analysis by COX regression model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>With a median follow-up time of 48.0 (3.0-156.0) months, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was (87.3 +/- 2.4)% and 10-year OS rate was (77.4 +/- 3.3)%. Forty-eight (23.6%) patients died. Univariate analysis indicated that advanced clinical stage, B symptoms, extranodal involvement, number of lymph node regions involved > or = 3, enlarged liver, Hb < 100 g/L, BPC < 100 x 10(9)/L, absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) > 50 x 10(9)/L, atypical cell morphology, progression to stage, non-response to treatment, complicating infections and secondary cancer or disease transformation were associated with poor prognosis. And on multivariate analysis, lymph node region involved > or = 3 and atypical cell morphology were independent poor prognostic factors. Based on the two independent poor prognostic factors, three risk groups were defined: low--(0 factor), intermediate--(one factor) and high--(two factors) groups. The 5 year OS rates were (89.8 +/- 3.5)%, (66.4 +/- 7.2)% and (15.0 +/- 13.8)%, respectively, and the difference between them was statistically.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The number of lymph node region involved and cell morphology are useful for assessing CLL patients prognosis.</p>

Comparison of expanding dendritic cells derived from cord blood and mobilized peripheral blood by two-step culture method / 中国实验血液学杂志

To compare the expansion efficiency and function of dendritic cells derived from CB-CD34+ cells and MPB-CD34+ cells by using two-step culture method, enriched CB-CD34+ cells or MPB-CD34+ cells with immunoadsorption were primarily cultured in the presence of FL, SCF, TPO, GM-CSF for 10 days, and then further cultured with a combination of GM-CSF, IL-4, TNF-alpha, CD40Ab and PGE2 to induce DC. The DC phenotypes were detected by flow cytometry, the expansion efficiency and cell function were evaluated by mix-lymphocyte reaction (MLR), IL-12 level was detected by using ELISA and the chemotactic function mediated by secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine (SLC) was determined with Transwell plate. The results indicated that after 10 days of expansion, there were no significant difference in the percentage of CD14+CD1a- cells between CB and MPB [(40.48 +/- 16.85)% vs (28.07 +/- 23.19)%, P > 0.05], but the expansion of total cells in CB was higher than that in MPB (388.88 +/- 84.63-fold vs 79.67 +/- 10.32-fold, P < 0.01), so the yield of CD14+CD1a- cells from CB was significantly higher than that from MPB too (189.42 +/- 25.02-fold vs 28.74 +/- 23.27-fold, P < 0.01). The percentage of CD83+ DCs cultured with CD40Ab/PGE2 derived from CB were higher than those cultured with TNF-alpha derived from MPB respectively [(34.52 +/- 11.22)% vs (3.70 +/- 2.27)% and (36.69 +/- 13.36)% vs (7.34 +/- 3.364)% respectively, P < 0.01]. In the same circumstance, the yield of CD83+ DCs derived from CB was much more than that from MPB (198.72 +/- 117.53 times vs 33.95 +/- 6.19 times, P < 0.01). There were no difference in stimulating capacity, IL-12 secretion and migration capacity between DCs derived from CB and MPB. It is concluded that DCs induced from CB-CD34+ cells by two-step culture possess similar functions with that from MPB-CD34+ cells, but the yield of DCs from CB CD34+ cells is much more than that from MPB CD34+ cells.