Gastrodin injection alleviates lung injury caused by focal cerebral ischemia in rats through NGF/TrkA pathway-mediated activation of the anti-inflammatory pathway / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the therapeutic mechanism of gastrodin injection for alleviating lung injury caused by focal cerebral ischemia in rats and the role of the NGF-TrkA pathway in mediating this effect.@*METHODS@#Forty SD rats were equally randomized into normal group, sham-operated group, model group and gastrodin group, and in the latter two groups, rat models of focal cerebral ischemia were established by embolization of the right middle cerebral artery. After successful modeling, the rats were treated with intraperitoneal injection of gastrodin injection at the daily dose of 10 mg/kg for 14 days. After the treatment, the wet/dry weight ratio of the lung tissue was determined, the pathological changes in the lung tissue were observed using HE staining, and the levels of IL-10 and TNF-α in the arterial blood were detected with ELISA. The expressions of NF-κB p65 and TNF-α in the lung tissue were detected with Western blotting, and the expressions of NGF and TrkA were detected using immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the normal control and sham-operated groups, the rats in the model group showed obvious inflammatory lung injury, significantly increased wet/ dry weight ratio of the lungs (P < 0.01), increased TNF-α level in arterial blood (P < 0.01), and significantly up-regulated protein expressions of NF-κB p65 (P < 0.01), TNF-α (P < 0.01), NGF (P < 0.05) and TrkA(P < 0.05) in the lung tissue. Treatment with gastrodin injection obviously alleviated lung inflammation, decreased the wet/dry weight ratio of the lungs (P < 0.05), and significantly lowered TNF-α level (P < 0.01) and increased IL-10 level in the arterial blood in the rat models (P < 0.01); gastrodin injection also significantly decreased the protein expressions of NF-κB p65 and TNF-α (P < 0.05) and up-regulated the expressions of NGF and TrkA in the lung tissue of the rats (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The NGF/TrkA pathway may participate in cerebral ischemia-induced inflammatory lung injury, which can be obviously alleviated by gastrodin through the activation of the anti-inflammatory pathway mediated by the NGF/TrkA pathway.

Clinical Research on Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia with Traditional Chinese Medicine： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Benign prostatic hyperplasia （BPH）， a common disease in urology and andrology， is mainly manifested as enlarged prostate glands， bladder outlet obstruction， and lower urinary tract symptoms（LUTS）， which seriously affects the quality of life of middle-aged and elderly men. This disease falls into the categories of "retention of urine" and "prostatic hypertrophy" in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. In recent years，many doctors have put forward their understandings of BPH based on academic classics and their clinical experience. Clinical research on the treatment of BPH with TCM has become increasingly abundant. The basic pathogenesis of BPH lies in the disturbance of Qi transformation in the bladder and poor blood circulation due to kidney Qi deficiency in the aged. The disease is located in the kidney and the bladder and is related to the dysfunction of the lung and the kidney. It is basically characterized by deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality. A large number of clinical research reports have proved that TCM is efficient in alleviating the clinical symptoms of BPH patients， improving their quality of life， reducing the volume of the prostate， and decreasing postoperative complications. In addition， the external treatment methods of TCM， such as acupuncture therapy， moxibustion， hot water bathing， acupoint application， anal suppository， and enema therapy， are also widely used in clinical practice， demonstrating the diverse ways of TCM in treating BPH. TCM and western medicine complement each other's advantages in the treatment of BPH， thus enhancing the clinical efficacy and reducing the occurrence of long-term complications. This study reviewed the etiology， pathogenesis， and treatment progress of BPH with TCM in recent years， and summarized the current research status. From three aspects of producing high-quality clinical research， standardizing the clinical diagnosis and treatment of TCM， and combining cutting-edge research to explore the mechanism of TCM， it provided suggestions for clinical research on the treatment of BPH with TCM to promote the development and application of TCM in the treatment of this disease.

Mechanism of Huoxue Tongluo Decoction in treatment of erectile dysfunction caused by ischemic stroke based on network pharmacology / 中草药·英文版

Objective: To study the therapeutic effect of Huoxue Tongluo Decoction (HXTLD) on erectile dysfunction caused by ischemic stroke and identify the mechanisms involved. Methods: Network pharmacology was used to predict the key active ingredients and targets of HXTLD. Surgical methods were used to create a rat model of ischemic stroke. The rats were then given a suspension of HXTLD by ig administration. Erectile function was evaluated by Apomorphine (APO) induction. Real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of related mRNAs and proteins in rat penile corpus cavernous tissue and brain tissue. Hematoxylin & Eosin (HE) staining was used to investigate structural changes in the penile cavernous tissue. Results: Network pharmacology showed that tumor necrosis factor (TNF), nitric oxide synthase 3 (eNOS), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were the key targets of HXTLD in the treatment of erectile dysfunction caused by ischemic stroke. Experimental studies showed that HXTLD improved erectile dysfunction caused by ischemic stroke. HE results showed that HXTLD improved the structure of the corpus cavernosa. HXTLD also inhibited the expression of TNF and VEGF proteins in penile tissue (P < 0.05) and enhanced the expression of eNOS protein in penile tissue (P < 0.05). Conclusion: HXTLD improved the erectile function of rats with erectile dysfunction caused by ischemic stroke by regulating the mRNA and protein levels of TNF, eNOS and VEGF.

Erectile dysfunction and psychological status in infertile males / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the relationship of erectile dysfunction (ED) with psychological factors in male patients with infertility.@*METHODS@#We conducted a questionnaire investigation among 252 male patients with infertility, which involved the general condition, results of semen routine examination, sexual life, and scores in IIEF-5, self-reported 9-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and 7-item generalized anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7). We analyzed the prevalence of ED, depression, and anxiety and their correlations among the patients in comparison with 100 fertile male controls.@*RESULTS@#In 245 of the infertility patients, the most common symptoms of depression and anxiety were "feeling tired or no vitality" and "easily getting worried or impatient", 20.4% of them with depression disorder and 42.9% with anxiety disorder. The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were significantly higher in the infertile males than in the normal fertile controls (P <0.05), and so was the incidence of ED (28.6% vs 12.4%, P <0.05), while the IIEF-5 scores were markedly lower in the former than in the latter group (P <0.01), and so were sex frequency and sexual satisfaction (P <0.05). The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores were remarkably higher in the infertility patients with ED than in those without (P <0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that the level of libido and results of semen routine examination were the risk factors for depression disorder, while age, education level, disease course and experience of assisted reproduction were those for anxiety disorder.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Male infertility patients have a poorer mental health and a higher incidence of ED than normal fertile men, and there is some interaction between psychological status and ED prevalence.

Does Early Postsurgical Temozolomide Plus Concomitant Radiochemotherapy Regimen Have Any Benefit in Newly-diagnosed Glioblastoma Patients? A Multi-center, Randomized, Parallel, Open-label, Phase II Clinical Trial / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The radiochemotherapy regimen concomitantly employing temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) 4 weeks after surgery, followed by 6 cycles of TMZ is a common treatment for glioblastoma (GBM). However, its median overall survival (OS) is only 14.6 months. This study was to explore the effectiveness and safety of early TMZ chemotherapy between surgery and chemoradiotherapy plus the standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A randomized, parallel group, open-label study of 99 newly diagnosed GBM patients was conducted at 10 independent Chinese neurosurgical departments from June 2008 to June 2012. Patients were treated with concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen plus early postsurgical temozolomide (early TMZ group) or standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen (control group). Overall response was assessed based on objective tumor assessments, administration of corticosteroid and neurological status test. Hematological, biochemical, laboratory, adverse event (AE), and neurological condition were measured for 24 months of follow-up. The primary efficacy endpoint of this study was overall survival (OS). The secondary endpoint was progression free survival (PFS).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The median OS time in the early TMZ group was 17.6 months, compared with 13.2 months in the control group (log-rank test P = 0.021). In addition, the OS rate in the early TMZ group was higher at 6, 12, and 18 months than in the control group, respectively (P < 0.05). The median PFS time was 8.7 months in the early TMZ group and 10.4 months in the control group (log-rank test P = 0.695). AEs occurred in 29 (55.8%) and 31(73.8%) patients respectively in early and control groups, including nausea (15.4% vs. 33.3%), vomiting (7.7% vs. 28.6%), fever (7.7% vs. 11.9%), and headache (3.8% vs. 23.8%). Only 30.8% and 33.3% were drug-related, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Addition of TMZ chemotherapy in the early break of the standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen was well tolerated and significantly improved the OS of the GBM patients, compared with standard concomitant radiochemotherapy regimen. However, a larger randomized trial is warranted to verify these results.</p>

Diagnostic significance of intraoperative ultrasound contrast in evaluating the resection degree of brain glioma by transmission electron microscopic examination / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is a dynamic and continuous modality providing real-time view of vascularization and flow distribution patterns of different organs and tumors. In order to evaluate the diagnostic significance of intraoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound in assessing the resection degree of brain glioma by transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination, it is important to have specific knowledge about contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Methods : Ultrasound contrast was applied in operations of 120 cases of brain glioma, to evaluate the degree of tumor resection. Biopsy tissues were obtained the suspicious residual tumors surrounding the tumor cavity. The sensitivity and specificity of the residual tumors were determined by the intraoperative ultrasound contrast according to TEM examination results.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 44 cases of low-grade gliomas and 76 cases of high-grade gliomas. Three hundred and sixty biopsy tissues were obtained. The sensitivity of intraoperative ultrasound contrast in diagnosing the residual tumor was 62.2%, while the specificity degree of it was 92.8%. The consistency coefficient of the ultrasound contrast diagnosis and TEM examination results was 0.584 (Kappa = 0.584), which was between 0.4 and 0.6, therefore it was of medium consistency. Conclusions : Intraoperative ultrasound contrast was of a high sensitivity and specificity in evaluating the excision degree of tumor. The consistency of the residual tumor rate detected, respectively, by ultrasound contrast and TEM examination was of medium consistency. The application of intraoperative ultrasound contrast can improve the resection rate of brain glioma.</p>

Research progress of mechanisms through which dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors regulate glycemia / 中国医学科学院学报

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are promising new antidiabetic drugs. It had been proposed that DPP-4 inhibitors exert their antidiabetic effect by inhibiting the degradation of glucagon-like peptide 1(GLP-1) . However, new evidence has shown that the increase of GLP-1 is not notable after the use of these drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, the specific mechanisms via which DPP-4 inhibitors in controlling blood glucose has became questionable. In recent years, studies have revealed many possible mechanisms through which DPP-4 inhibitors regulate glycemia: DPP-4 inhibitors may selectively reduce DPP-4 activity in the intestine, causing the increase of portal plasma GLP-1 level and thus promoting the release of insulin via nerve reflex;also, they may decrease the cleavage product of GLP-1 and reduce the degradation of other bioactive peptides.

Clinical characteristics and therapeutic strategies of atypical meningioma / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Atypical meningioma accounts for about 4.7% to 7.2% of all kinds of meningiomas, which is invasive with a relatively high recurrence and mortality. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical manifestations and therapeutic strategies of atypical meningioma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 74 patients who underwent surgical treatment and pathologically confirmed for atypical meningioma in Neurosurgery Department of Beijing Tiantan Hospital from January 2003 to December 2008 were enrolled in this study. The characteristics of the tumors as well as therapeutic regimens and follow-up data were reviewed. After surgery, 56 patients underwent radiotherapy. Patients were followed up for about 3.5 years (range, 0.5 - 6.0 years), and 58 patients completed follow-up.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 58 patients who completed follow-up, good recovery was found in 30, neurological dysfunction in 15, and death in 13. Of the 58 patients, 21 had recurrent meningioma and 18 underwent a second surgery.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Atypical meningioma is difficult to manage, with a high recurrence rate and poor survival. The extent of tumor resection and histological grade are the key determinants of outcome. Radiation therapy can be used as an adjunctive treatment after total or partial resection.</p>

Efficacy of sleeve gastrectomy plus gastric remnant banding on weight reduction and remnant gastric dilatation: an animal experimental study / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the efficacy of sleeve gastrectomy plus gastric remnant banding on weight reduction and remnant gastric dilatation in SD rat model.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sleeve gastrectomy plus gastric remnant banding was performed in 20 male SD rats as the study group; sleeve gastrectomy was performed in 20 SD male rats as the control group, and laparotomy was performed in 10 SD male rats as the blank control group. Body weight was measured before the experiment, at day 1 and at 2-week intervals within 16 weeks after operation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The number of survival rats was 15 in the study group (15/20), 13 in the control group (13/20), and 10 in the blank control group (10/10). Postoperative body weight increased markedly in the blank control group, returned to the pre-operative level two weeks after operation in the control group, and four weeks after operation in the study group. Weight increase of the study group was significantly slower than that of the other two groups (P<0.01). Postoperative gastric dilation of the control group was more obvious as compared to the study group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Sleeve gastrectomy plus gastric remnant banding is safe and effective because of the restriction of postoperative gastric dilation.</p>

Dynamic analysis of major active ingredients of Cortex Moutan cultivated in Dianjiang county of Chongqing / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the change of paeonol and paeoniflorin, the two major active ingredients contained in Cortex Moutan cultivated in Dianjiang county of Chongqing, due to the change of some influence factors, and explore suitable plant conditions and quality cotrol methods of Cortex Moutan.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Paeonol and paeoniflorin were determined by HPLC in samples from Dianjiang.</p><p><b>RESULT AND CONCLUSION</b>The ratio of paeonol and paeoniflorin in Cortex Moutan was regularly influenced by altitude, the growth years and harvest time. Cortex could be cultivated at altitude of 400 m to 800 m but 600 m is the best aria because of the peak of the percentage composition of paeonol and paeoniflorin at 600 m. The first and middle third of October in the fifth year is the best picking time of Cortex Moutan because of the maximum of the percentage composition of paeonol and paeoniflorin.</p>

Effect of total saponins of Rubus parviflolius (TSRP) on change of hydrated amount and blood-brain barrier in rats during focal cerebral ischemic/reperfusion / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of total saponins of Rubus parviflolius (TSRP) on brain edema and blood brain barrier in rats.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The model of local cerebral ischemia was established in rats by reversible inserting a nylon thread into the anterior cerebral artery through the internal carotid artery brain hydrated amount and content change of Evan' s blue (EB) in cortex subjected to 2h middle cererbral artery occlusion (MACO) followed by 6 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h reperfusion and effect of TSRP. penetrability of blood brain-barrier (BBB) the index includes brain hydrated amount and penetrability of blood brain-barrier BBB.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Com- pared with I/R group. Both brain hydrated amount and the EB content decreased significantly in TSRP groups on the 6 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h of reperfusion after 2 hour of cerebral ischemia induced by MACO model.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TSRP could decrease brain hydrated amount and markedly lower permeability of blood-brain barrier subjected to 2 h MACO followed by 24 h reperfusion, and this may be a mechanism of TSRP alleviating brain edema during I/R.</p>

The preotective effects of total glycosides Rubus parviflolius on cerebral ischemic in rat / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the protective effects of total glycosides Rubus parviflolius (TGRP) on local cerebral ischemic.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The local cerebral ischemia in rat was made by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MACO). The infraction weight was determined by TTC stain. SOD, MDA, GSH and apoptotis were determined with different method respectively.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>TGRP 20, 10 mg x kg(-1) ig markedly improved the abnormal nervous symptoms, incredsed the SOD, GSH activity and reduced contentes of MDA in brain of MACO rat, TGRP 20 mg x kg(-1) ig significantly decreased the numbers of apoptotic cells in ischemic cortex.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TGRP has protective effects against cerebral infraction, and its mechanism may be related to anti-apoptotis and free radical.</p>

A comparison of tissue formation and the content of polysaccharide between wild and cultured Dendrobium candidum / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the tissue formation and the content of polysaccharide between the wild Dendrobium candidum and the cultured ones and to find any existed differences.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Bare-handed microtomy and photomicrography; The content of polysaccharide is determined by phenol-sulphuric acid method.</p><p><b>RESULT AND CONCLUSION</b>There are no marked noticeable differences between the wild D. candidum and the cultured ones in terms of the tissure formation and the content of polysaccharide.</p>