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Objective To investigate the protective effects of a Yiqi Huatan Quyu formulation on liver injury in chronic intermittent hypoxia rats.Methods Thirty healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into 3 groups:Group A(normoxia and normal saline gavage),Group B(chronic intermittent hypoxia and normal saline gavage)and Group C(chronic intermittent hypoxia and Yiqi Huatan Quyu formulation gavage)(n =10 in each group).After 8 weeks of treatment,the liver tissue was extracted for protein and RNA.Western blot was used to test the protein levels of B-cellymphoma-2 associated X protein (BAX) and B-cellymphoma-2 (BCL-2),and Realtime PCR was used to test gene expression of BAX and BCL-2.Transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling(TUNEL)was used to assay the apoptotic rate of liver cells.Results The expression of the BAX protein and BAX gene was higher and the expression of the BCL-2 protein and BCL-2 gene was lower in Group B than in Group A(t =13.490 and 16.480,P =0.005 and 0.002;t =5.142 and 9.776,P =0.036 and 0.001,respectively).The levels of the BAX protein and BAX gene were lower and the levels of the BCL-2 protein and BCL-2 gene were higher in Group C than in Group B(t =6.088 and 15.240,P =0.026 and 0.005;t =5.296 and 16.380,P =0.034 and 0.004,respectively).The apoptosis rate of hepatocytes was higher in Group B than in Group A(t =7.698,P =0.002),and was lower in Group C than in Group B(t=4.345,P =0.012).Conclusions The Yiqi Huatan Quyu formulation may alleviate the apoptosis of liver cells in chronic intermittent hypoxia rats by upregulating BCL-2 and down-regulating BAX levels,thus exerting protective effects on the liver.
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Objective To evaluate the efficacy of the bacterial lysate Broncho-vaxom on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)in elderly patients.Methods A total of 150 patients with stable COPD were randomized into the Broncho-vaxom group(n=78)treated with Broncho-vaxom as add-on to conventional treatment and the control group(n=72)treated with conventional treatment.The number of acute exacerbation of COPD per patient per year,quality of life,lung function,T cell subsets were evaluated for the therapeutic effects.Results After one year of treatment,the number of acute exacerbation per patient per year was lower in Broncho-vaxom group than in control group[(1.44 ± 1.05) times/y vs.(1.82 ± 0.61) times/y,t =2.754,P =0.007].The proportions of acute exacerbationfree patients were higher in Broncho-vaxom group than in control group(20.5％ or 16/78 vs.4.2％ or 3/72,x2 =9.043,P =0.003).There were significant differences in the forced vital capacity(FVC),forced expiratory volume in one second(FEV1),and forced expiratory volume in one second/predicted value ratio(FEV1 ％)between the two groups at 5 different time points(before,at 3,6,9 and 12 months after treatment) (Broncho-vaxom group:F =90.819,50.674 and 51.233,P =0.000;control group:F =84.928,90.654 and 86.117,P =0.000).After treatment,the symptom scores were lower in Broncho-vaxom group than in control group,and the ratios of CD4/CD8 T-cell were increased and level of CD8 T-cell was decreased in Broncho-vaxom group(all P ＜ 0.05).The rate of adverse reactions had no significant difference between Broncho-vaxom group and control group(3/78 or 3.8％ vs.2/ 72 or 2.8％,x2 =0.132,P=0.717).Conclusions The oral administration of Broncho-vaxom for six months can modulate and enhance immune functions,significantly decrease acute exacerbation frequency,improve quality of life and delay the deterioration in lung function in elderly patients with stable COPD.
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The research findings published by National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project have continued to change the clinical practice of early-stage breast cancer over the past decade.Sentinel lymph node biopsy has become the new surgical operation standard.The aromatase inhibitor adjuvant endocrine therapy cycle has been extended from 5 years to 10 years, which benefits the patients with high risk and reactivity.Chemotherapy combined with trastuzumab has become the standard adjuvant therapy strategy of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2-positive invasive breast cancer.In addition, the research progress is also related to the optimization of the fields including the postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy and neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
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Objective To investigate the effect of β-lactam antibiotics on the false positive rate of the serum Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) assay in patients with lung diseases.Methods We selectively recruited 77 lung disease patients who did not meet the diagnostic criteria of invasive pulmonary Aspergillosis (IPA) and received different β-lactam antibiotics,while 41 patients without IPA who did not receive any antibiotic treatment were recruited as the control group.Serum samples for GM detection were collected from all participants.The rate of false-positive Aspergillus galactomannan was compared between the two groups.Results False-positive serum results were found in patients who received piperacillin-tazobactam (30.8％ or 8/26) and cefoperazone sulbactamand (27.8％ or 5/18).The rate of false-positive Aspergillus galactomannan in patients who receive β-lactam antibiotics were significantly higher than that in the control group (24.7％ or 19/77vs.7.3％ or 3/41,x2 =5.315,P=0.025).Taking false-positive serum Aspergillus galactomannan as the dependent variable and β-lactam antibiotic treatment as the independent variable,univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the rate of false-positive Aspergillus galactomannan in patients who received β-lactam antibiotics were 4.149 times more than that in the control group (OR=4.149,P=0.030).Conclusions The administration of β-lactam antibiotics may increase the occurrence of false-positive serum Aspergillus galactomannan,and physicians should be aware of this possible interference.
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Objective To investigate the effect of atovastatin combined with trimetazidine on cardiac function and inflammatory cytokines in patients with chronic heart failure(CHF). Methods Ninety-seven patients with CHF were randomly divided into three groups:control group treated with conventional therapy,atovastatin group treated with atovastatin based on conventional therapy, and combined treatment group treated with atovastatin and trimetazidine based on conventional therapy. The parameters of cardiac function, including left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF) and left ventficular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) ,and the plasma levels of CRP,brain natriuretic peptide(BNP) ,and TNF-α were detected in all patients of each group before and after treatment. Results The plasma levels of CRP,BNP and TNF-α in patients with cardiac function Ⅳ were significantly higher than in those with cardiac function ≤ Ⅲ (P<0. 05). There was significant difference in plasma levels of CRP, BNP,TNF-α,LVEF and LVEDD before and after treatment in all groups(P<0. 05 or P<0. 01). As compared with control group after treatment,the plasma levels of CRP,BNP and TNF-α after treatment in both atovastatin group and combined treatment group were decreased markedly(P<0. 05),so did LVEF, LVEDD and 6-min walk test(P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in changes of CRP,BNP and TNF-α plasma levels,LVEF and LVEDD between atovastatin group and combined group after treatment (P>0. 05),but 6-min walk test lengthened statistically in combined treatment group (P<0. 05). Conclusion Atovastatin based on conventional therapy may play a role in anti-inflammation by lowering the plasma levels of CRP, BNP and TNF-α in patients with CHF, thereby improving cardiac function. Atovastatin combined with tremetazidine could reduce the cardiac muscular oxygen consumption and raise the excise endurance in patients with CHF.