ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of secukinumab in the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).Methods:Thirty active PsA patients in the out-patient clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of the PLA Air Force Military Medical University between July 2020 to December 2021 were included in this study. Patients were categorized into one group with axial involvement ( n=17, 57%) and the other group with peripheral joint involvement ( n=13, 43%) according to arthritis subtypes. Patients in both groups received a subcutaneous injection of 300 mg of secukinumab at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks, and then every 4 weeks. The CRP, ESR, VAS pain score (VAS-pain, 0~10 cm), physician comprehensive assessment of disease activity by VAS score (VAS-gh, 0~10 cm), psoriasis involvement area and severity index (PASI), skin quality of life index (DLQI), psoriatic arthritis disease activity index (DAPSA), psoriatic arthritis activity score (PASDAS), Bath ankylosing spondylitis activity index (BASDAI) were recorded at week 0, week 12, and week 24. DAP-SA response (score ≤4) and minimum disease activity (MDA) were also used to assess the proportion of overall patients who responded to secukinumab treatment. The measurement data with normal distribution were analyzed by repeated measure analysis of variance. Non-normally distributed data were expressed as median (IQR). Count data were expressed as frequency and percentage (%) and analyzed by Fisher exact probability method. Results:The mean duration of skin disease in both axial involvement and peripheral joint involvement groups was (14±8)years and (12±7)years ( t=0.70, P=0.256), respectively. The mean duration of arthritis symptoms in both groups was (3.2±3.7)years and (1.8±2.1)years ( t=1.17, P=0.125), respectively. All patients completed 24 weeks of secukinumab treatment. At 24 weeks, VAS-pain, VAS-gh, PASI, DLQI, DAPSA, PASDAS and BASDAI were all decreased significantly ( P<0.05). Patients with axial involvement seemed more likely to benefit in CRP [2.4 (1.7, 3.5) mg/L vs 8.0 (5.3, 14.0) mg/L, Z=-2.69, P=0.007] and VAS-pain[1.0 (0, 2.0) vs (5.0, 6.0), Z=-3.47, P<0.001]improvement ( P<0.005). Both groups achieved PASI 100, which meant achieving clearance of skin dis-ease. The DAPSA remission rate and MDA of the patients with axial involvement were 88% and 82%, re-spectively, and the DAPSA remission rate and MDA were 92% and 92%, respectively. Secukinumab was found to be safe and well tolerated with no adverse event reported or observed during 24-week treatment. Conclusion:In real-world observations, secukinumab is proven to be safe and effective for the treatment of PsA, with rapid relieving of skin and joint symptoms and reduction of disease activity. Patients with axial involvement may benefit more notably than patients with peripheral arthritis subtype.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the neuroprotective effect of cerebroprotein hydrolysate (CH) -Ⅰ on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats and its mechanism.Methods:Eighty adult healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, model group, CH-Ⅰ intervention group and cerebrolysin (CBL) positive control group. The model of ischemia-reperfusion injury was induced by temporarily occluding the left middle cerebral artery with suture-occluded method. The CH-Ⅰ and CBL groups intraperitoneally injected with CH-Ⅰ and CBL at 0, 3, 6 and 12 h after reperfusion at the dose of 20 mg/kg. The sham operation group and the model group were injected with the same volume of normal saline. At 24 h after reperfusion, the behavior changes of the rats were detected by the modified neurological severity score (mNSS). The volume of cerebral infarction was detected by TTC staining. The morphology and structure of neurons in ischemic cortex were observed by Nissl staining. The apoptosis of neurons in ischemic cortex was detected by TUNEL staining. The expression changes of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) 1/2, phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pMEK) 1/2, phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein (pCREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the ischemic cortex were detected by Western blot.Results:At 24 h after reperfusion, the mNSS score and cerebral infarct volume in the model group were significantly higher and larger than those in the sham group (all P<0.001). The mNSS scores and cerebral infarct volumes in the CH-Ⅰ and CBL groups were significantly reduced compared with those in the model group (all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the CH-Ⅰ group and the CBL group. Nissl and TUNEL staining showed that the degenerative cell index and apoptotic cell index in the CH-Ⅰ group were significantly lower than those in the model group (all P<0.01), but there were no significant difference between the CH-Ⅰ group and the CBL group. Western blot analysis showed that compared with the sham operation group, the pMEK1/2, pERK1/2 and pCREB expressions in ischemic cortex were significantly enhanced and the BDNF expression was significantly attenuated in the model group ( P<0.05). Compared with the model group, pMEK1/2, pERK1/2, and pCREB expressions in the CH-Ⅰ group were significantly decreased (all P<0.05), and the BDNF expression was significantly increased ( P<0.05). Conclution:CH-Ⅰ can reduce cerebral infarct volume and improve neurological function, and its mechanism may be associated with the inhibition of the MEK-ERK-CREB pathway as well as the enhancement of BDNF expression.
ABSTRACT
An HPLC method for the determination of 18alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid and 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid in rat plasma was established, which was used subsequently to determine the pharmacokinetic profiles of both epimers of glycyrrhetinic acid in rats. alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid, beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, and a mixture of alpha-glycyrrhetinic and beta-glycyrrhetinic acids were administered to rats via gastric infusion. Blood samples were collected at different time intervals and extracted by liquid-liquid extraction. Separation was achieved by using a Kromasil C18 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) with the mobile phase composed of acetonitrile--4 mmol x L(-1) ammonium acetate solution (46 : 54, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL x min(-1), and the detection wavelength was set at 250 nm. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using the software DAS 2.0. In a combined administration, the main pharmacokinetic parameters of beta-glycyrrhetinic acid are significantly different from that of alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was obtained when administrated individually. Compared to the single administration, significant differences (P < 0.05) on the values of AUC(0-t) and AUC(0-infinity) of beta-glycyrrhetinic acid were observed when this chemical was administrated together with alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid. In contrast, the pharmacokinetic parameters of alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid were not affected even under the co-administration. Here, a sensitive, specific, rapid and reproducible HPLC method was developed for the pharmacokinetic studies of alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid and beta-glycyrrhetinic acid in rat plasma.