ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the correlation between blood concentrations of tacrolimus (FK506) and cystatin C (Cys C) and the effect of FK506 on glycolipid metabolism in renal transplant recipients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 325 patients receiving renal transplantation between August, 2014 and September, 2015 in Nanfang Hospital were divided into 4 groups according to the postoperative time (1 month group, 1-3 months group, 4-6 months group, and 7-12 months group). FK506 blood trough concentration was measured at the time of postoperative follow-up, and creatinine (Scr) and Cys C levels were also detected. Results Plasma FK506 concentration decreased with age in the recipients and showed a positive correlation with Cys C (r=0.985, P=0.015) but no obvious correlation with Scr (r=0.259, P=0.741). FK506 had no effect on blood glucose (5.53-5.59 mmol<L) or blood lipids (TG 1.47-1.55 mmol<L, TC 5.04-5.17 mmol<L, LDL-C 3.00-3.07 mmol<L, and VLDL 0.73-0.76 mmol<L) in patients 1-6 months after renal transplantation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>FK506 does not affect the level of glycolipid metabolism in patients after renal transplantation. Cys C is positively related to blood concentration of FK506 in the renal transplantation recipients. The rational use of FK506 can improve the effectiveness and safety of the treatment in the recipients.</p>
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To optimize the formulation of an emollient for treatment of atopic dermatitis prepared using ceramide, sodium hyaluronate, paeonol, and camellia-seed oil.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The emollients with different ratios of the 4 components were designed according to the L9(34)orthogonal table with 4 factors and 3 levels. The efficacy of the prepared emollients was tested in 4-6 week-old BALB/c mouse models of atopic dermatitis to determine the optimal formulation of the emollient by evaluating skin water content, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), pharmacodynamics and skin irritation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Range analysis of the orthogonal table and analysis of variance showed that ceramide and camellia seed oil contents had the greatest impact on the skin water content and TEWL, respectively, and the optimal composition of the emollient contained the 4 components at the ratios of D1E1F1G1. Pharmacodynamic experiments showed that at high, medium and low doses, the emollient with the optimal formulation significantly improved the skin water content, pH and TEWL in the mice (P<0.05) with similar effects in the positive control group (P>0.05) and a skin irritation test score of 0.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The emollient we prepared can significantly improve skin water content, pH and TEWL in the mouse model of atopic dermatitis without skin irritations.</p>
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of carbamazepine on serum metabolic profiles in rats using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-four healthy male Wistar rats were randomized into 4 groups (n=6) for daily intragastric administration of high-, medium- or low-dose carbamazepine or distilled water (control) for 7 days. Blood samples were collected from the abdominal aortic under anesthesia after the treatment to determine serum carbamazepine concentration using high-performance liquid chromatography. ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectra were acquired for pattern recognition analysis. Histopathological changes of the renal and liver tissues of the rats were also examined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Steady-state blood concentration of carbamazepine in high-, medium- and low-dose groups were 14.64 ± 1.41, 8.54 ± 1.19, and 4.56 ± 0.64 µg/ml, respectively. Slight liver swelling was found in high-dose group, but none of the groups showed renal pathologies. Compared with the control group, the high-dose carbamazepine group showed lowered serum concentrations of 1,3-diaminopropane, deoxycorticosterone, 7-dehydrocholesterol, betaine, beta-alanine, L-cystathionine, 4-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid, and creatine with increased levels of saccharides, lactate, succinic acid, acetyl phosphate, and adipic acid. Principal component analysis revealed significant differences of the metabolites between carbamazepine-treated groups and the control group. The metabolic profiles showed no differences in the kinds of metabolites although the concentrations of the metabolites varied between the carbamazepine groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Carbamazepine significantly affects metabolism in normal rats. This finding provides evidence for clinical drug monitoring and drug safety of carbamazepine. NMR technique has important values for pharmacodynamic and toxicological evaluation of drugs.</p>