ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Low-frequency ultrasound combined with Tongluo Zhitong herbs can effectively relieve pain and improve joint function of patients with osteoarthritis, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of low-frequency ultrasound combined with Tongluo Zhitong herbs on urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and inflammatory cytokines of osteoarthritis rabbits and the related mechanisms.METHODS: Forty rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: normal, model, control, and experimental groups. The normal group was treated with normal feeding, not for any processing. For the other three groups, papain was injected into the rabbit knee articular cavity to establish osteoarthritis models. One week later, the experimental group was treated with low frequency ultrasound combined with Tongluo Zhitong herbs for 3 weeks, the control group treated with the same volume of normal saline, and the model group received no intervention. The levels of inflammatory cytokines in the serum and synovial fluid were measured, the histological changes of synovial tissues and articular cartilage were evaluated using Mankin's score, and the expression levels of uPA and its receptor were determined by western blot assay.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The levels of inflammatory cytokines in the model group were significantly higher than those in the normal and experimental groups (P 0.05). Compared with the model group, in the experimental group, the expression levels of uPA and its receptor were significantly downregulated,and the expression of uPA inhibitor was notably upregulated. These data show that low-frequency ultrasound combined with Tongluo Zhitong herbs attenuates inflammatory reaction in the synovial tissues, by inhibiting the formation of joint fluid and production of inflammatory cytokines, which is an effective treatment for knee osteoarthritis.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the relationship between serum pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAAA‐A) ex‐pression and gene polymorphism with the severity of coronary lesions in the patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) .Methods Ninety‐eight patients with CHD in the Nanyang Municipal Central Hospital were selected as the observation group and divided into single vessel lesion group and multiple vessel lesion group according to coronary angiographic results .Ninety‐eight individuals un‐dergoing healthy physical examination were selected as the control group .The venous blood was collected at the visiting hospital in the observation group and at the physical examination in the control group for detecting the serum PAPP‐A protein level by ELISA .PAPP‐A gene and IVS6+ 95 polymorphism were analyzed by adopting polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR‐RELP) .Results Compared with the control group ,peripheral blood PAPP‐A protein level in the obser‐vation group was significantly increased(P<0 .05) ,moreover the PAPP‐A protein level in the multiple vessel lesion group was sig‐nificantly higher than that of the single vessel lesion group (P<0 .05) .The peripheral blood PAPP‐A level was positively correlated with the severity of CHD .Three genotypes existed in PAPP‐A gene IVS6+95 locus ,including CG heterozygous ,homozygous CC and GG homozygous type .The CC homozygous allele frequency in the patients with multiple vessel lesion was higher than that in the patients with single vessel lesion (P<0 .05) .Conclusion The PAPP‐A protein level and IVS6+95 polymorphism have a close relation with the severity of coronary lesions in patients with CHD .CC genotype may be one of genetic susceptibility gene markers in the patients with CHD .
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the efficacy and feasibility of combination of leflunomide and clopi-dogrel in the treatment of IgA nephropathy. Methods 84 patients with primary IgA nephropathy were randomly divided into four groups: Control group (group 1) received valsartan; test group (group 2) received valsartan +clopidogrel; group 3 received valsartan + leflunomide; group 4 received valsartan + clopidogrel + leflunomide. The level of 24 h urinary protein,serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate and therapeutic efficacy, adverse reactions were detected and recorded during the 48 weeks follow-up. Results The 24 h urinary protein of 84 patients showed a downward trend during the course of treatment , but there were statistical differences between groups since 8 weeks after treatment (P < 0.05). The level of urine protein in group 3 and group 4 decreased significantly to 61.48% and 67.23% respectively in 48 weeks after treatment. At the end of the follow up , the serum creatinine levels in group 1 and group 2 significantly increased while the glomerular filtration rate de-creased obviously (P < 0.05). Conclusion The combination of leflunomide with clopidogrel could reduce the level of urinary proteins and slow renal function deterioration in the treatment of IgA nephropathy with less ad-verse reactions. This study provides a new idea for treatment of IgA nephropathy.