ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of Chaiqin Chengqi Decoction (CQCQD), a compound of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, acting on the pancreatic acinar cell calcium overload in rats with acute pancreatitis (AP). METHODS: A total of 30 SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group, untreated group and CQCQD group (n=10, respectively). AP was induced in rats by caerulein (5x50 mug/kg) intraperitoneal injection within 4 h. The pancreatic tissue SERCA1 and SERCA2 mRNA expressions were detected by fluorescent quantization polymerase chain reaction method; intracellular calcium fluorescence intensity (FI) of pancreatic acinar cells and the pancreatic pathological score were measured by laser scanning confocal microscopy and light microscopy respectively. RESULTS: There were no SERCA1 mRNA expressions in pancreatic acinar cells of rats in the normal control group and the untreated group. The expression of pancreatic SERCA2 mRNA in the untreated group was down-regulated compared with that in the normal control group (expression ratio=0.536; P=0.001); the expression of pancreatic SERCA2 mRNA in the CQCQD group was up-regulated compared with that in the untreated group (expression ratio=2.00; P=0.012). The pancreatic pathological score in the CQCQD group was lower than that in the untreated group and the FI of Ca(2+) was also lower. CONCLUSION: CQCQD can up-regulate the expression of pancreatic SERCA2 mRNA, release the calcium overload, and hence reduce the pathological changes in pancreatic tissue.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical features of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in aged patients, and to explore the measures of its diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: The clinical data of 100 aged patients (55-85 years old) with SAP admitted from January 2003 to December 2005 were reviewed and compared with those of 221 non-aged SAP patients (11-54 years old) admitted at the same period. RESULTS: Totally 112 times of onset occurred in 100 aged patients, and the main causes for senile SAP were biliary diseases and hyperlipemia. Both acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) and Ranson scores of the aged patients with SAP were higher than those of the control group (P0.05). The incidences of low serum calcium, low albumin and high aspartate aminotransferase (P<0.05), liver, kidney or brain impairment as well as the mortality were higher in the senile SAP group than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Biliary disease and hyperlipemia are the main causes of senile SAP, which lacks characteristic clinical symptoms and is often associated with multiple complications such as infection and lung, gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidney, and brain impairment. Individualized differential treatment with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine based on stage classification is an effective approach.