Glutamate-releasing BEST1 channel is a new target for neuroprotection against ischemic stroke with wide time window

Many efforts have been made to understand excitotoxicity and develop neuroprotectants for the therapy of ischemic stroke. The narrow treatment time window is still to be solved. Given that the ischemic core expanded over days, treatment with an extended time window is anticipated. Bestrophin 1 (BEST1) belongs to a bestrophin family of calcium-activated chloride channels. We revealed an increase in neuronal BEST1 expression and function within the peri-infarct from 8 to 48 h after ischemic stroke in mice. Interfering the protein expression or inhibiting the channel function of BEST1 by genetic manipulation displayed neuroprotective effects and improved motor functional deficits. Using electrophysiological recordings, we demonstrated that extrasynaptic glutamate release through BEST1 channel resulted in delayed excitotoxicity. Finally, we confirmed the therapeutic efficacy of pharmacological inhibition of BEST1 during 6-72 h post-ischemia in rodents. This delayed treatment prevented the expansion of infarct volume and the exacerbation of neurological functions. Our study identifies the glutamate-releasing BEST1 channel as a potential therapeutic target against ischemic stroke with a wide time window.

The relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia in Chinese residents / 中华预防医学杂志

Objective@#To explore the relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia in Chinese residents.@*Methods@#Based on data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), residents with blood samples provided in the 2009 round (including information of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, medical history, and laboratory examinations etc.) were selected as the participants in the current analysis. Unconditional logistic regression models were utilized to compute the ORs and corresponding 95%CIs for assessing the relationship between smoking and hyperuricemia.@*Results@#Among the 8 785 subjects, 1 435 had hyperuricemia with a prevalence rate of 16.3%, consisting of 886 men and 549 women with prevalence rates of 21.6% (886/4 110) and 11.7% (549/4 675) , respectively. Compared with never smokers, the adjusted OR (95%CI) for hyperuricemia was 0.83 (0.70-0.98) among current smokers, 0.77 (0.63-0.94) among current smokers with 20-39 years of smoking, and 0.79 (0.65-0.97) among current smokers with 11-20 cigarettes per day. When stratified by gender and compared with non-smoker, the adjusted OR (95%CI) for hyperuricemia among current smokers compared with never smokers was 0.83 (0.70-0.98) among men, while no significant association was found in female current smokers (OR=0.73, 95%CI: 0.42-1.26, P=0.260).@*Conclusion@#In Chinese residents, there is an inverse association between smoking and hyperuricemia prevalence, and this association may be related to duration and intensity of smoking among current smokers. The findings need to be validated in large prospective cohort studies.

Clinical significance of H-FABP,hs-CRP and Hcy in patients with atrial fibrillation and chronic heart fail-ure / 实用医学杂志

Objective To investigate the level changes and clinical value of serum H-FABP,hs-CRP and Hcy in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)and chronic heart failure(CHF).Methods 120 patients with AF and CHF were chosen as the observation group,100 patients with sinus rhythm were chosen as the control.The levels of H-FABP,hs-CRP and Hcy of the two groups were compared.H-FABP,hs-CRP and Hcy levels were also compared in the different subgroups divided according to the cardiac function.Risults Compared with the control group,the levels of H-FABP,hs-CRP and Hcy in patients with atrial fibrillation were significantly higher(P<0.05).The lev-els of H-FABP,hs-CRP and Hcy in the observation group were higher than those in the control group in the same cardiac function subgroup(P < 0.05). Conclusion The elevation of the level of H-FABP,hs-CRP and Hcy are closely related to the occurrence and maintenance of atrial fibrillation and the damage of myocardial cells,and it was related with the severity of cardiac function.

Role of miRNA-204 targeted LC3B in Ang Ⅱ induced myocardial hypertrophy / 重庆医学

Objective To explore the effects of miRNA-204 targeted LC3B expression on Ang Ⅱ induced cardiomyocytes hypertrophy.Methods The primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes served as the research objects and divided into the control group,AngⅡ group,combination-treated group 1 (cardiomyocytes were given Ang Ⅱ stimulation,meanwhile infected by negative control lentivirus vector),combination-treated group 2 (cardiomyocytes were given Ang Ⅱ stimulation,meanwhile infected by lentivirus carrying miRNA-204 overexpression vector) according to different treatments.About 48 h to 72 h after intervention treatment,the cardiomyocyte hypertrophy change was detected by confocal microscopy,the expression of miRNA-204 was analyzed by real time PCR,the protein expression of LC3B was measured by Western blot and targeted gene of miRNA-204 was demonstrated by dual-luciferase reporter assay system.Results Compared with the control group,the cardiomyocyte relative surface area in the Ang Ⅱ group was significantly enlarged,the protein expression of LC3B was significantly increased,the expression of miRNA-204 was upregulated,the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Whereas comparing the combination-treated group 1 with combination-treated group 2,the protein expression of LC3B in the latter was down-regulated and the cell area was reduced (P＜0.05).The further luciferase activity report gene experiment results suggested that miRNA-204 was able to bind to LC3B 3'-UTR and decreased the luciferase activities (P＜0.05),but not to bind its mutated fragment for inactivating luciferase activity(P＞0.05).Conclusion miRNA-204 is able to inhibit Ang Ⅱ induced cardiomyocytes hypertrophy,its action is realized by targeting the expression of LC3B.

The effect and mechanism of renal denervation combined with Losartan on cardiac hypertrophy induced by Spontaneous hypertensive rats / 实用医学杂志

Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of renal denervation combined with Losartan on cardiac hypertrophy in spontaneous hypertensive rats. Methods Spontaneous hypertensive rats with cardiac hypertrophy underwent renal denervation combined with following 4 weeks drug treatments. Transthoracic two-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiography was performed. The expression of hypertrophy-related gene was detected. Left ventricularmass index was calculated and histological sectionsstained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE). Results The characteristics of cardiac hypertrophy was observed in left ventricular tissues with HE staining in12 weeks old spontaneous hypertensive rats.The thickness was increased in those ventricular (IVSs, IVSd, LVPWs and LVPWd). After4 weeks after treatment, histological improvements were observed in both RDN and R+L groups compared with sham group. The improvement was more obvious in R+L group. Similar results were observed in histological sections, ventricular thicknesses (IVSs, IVSd, LVPWs and LVPWd), related-hypertrophy genes (ANP and β-MHC) expression, left ventricular mass idex (LVMI) and the protein expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6). Conculsion Renal denervation therapy can improve hypertensive-induced cardiac hypertrophy in spontaneous hypertensive rats. The effect was more significant when combined with Losartan. The mechanism might be involved in inhibiting inflammatory cytokines.

The role of miR-34a in AngⅡinduced myocardial hypertrophy via alteration of AMPK/mTOR signal pathway / 天津医药

Objective To explore the effects of miR-34a and the alteration of AMPK/mTOR signal pathway on angiotensin (Ang)Ⅱ-stimulated cardiomyocytes hypertrophy. Methods Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were cultrued in vitro and were divided into 3 groups:negative control for lentivirus carrying miR-34a group (NC), AngⅡplus lentivirus carrying negative control group (AngⅡ+NC) and AngⅡplus lentivirus carrying miR-34a group (AngⅡ+miR-34a). The relative cell area was detected by confocal microscopy. The expression of miR-34a and hypertrophy-related genes (ANP and β-MHC) were analyzed by real time PCR. The AMPK/mTOR signal pathway was measured by Western blot assay. Results Compared to NC group, the relative cell area was increased in AngⅡ+NC group (P<0.05). But compared with AngⅡ+NC group, the relative cell area was decreased in AngII+miR-34a group (P<0.05). Moreover, compared with NC group, the expression of miR-34a was decreased, and the expression of hyperthophy-related genes(ANP and β-MHC) was up-regulated in AngⅡ+NC group. However, the expression of miR-34a was decreased, and the expression of hyperthophy-related genes (ANP and β-MHC) was down-regulated (P<0.05). Finally, compared to NC group, the ratio of phosphop-AMPK/AMPK was significantly induced in AngII + NC group, but the ratio of phosphop-mTOR/mTOR was significantly decreased (P<0.05). However, compared to AngⅡ+NC group, the ratio of phosphop-AMPK/AMPK was significantly decreased in AngII + miR-34a group, but the ratio of phosphop-mTOR/mTOR was significantly increased (P<0.05). Conclusion miR-34a is able to inhibit myocardial hypertrophy of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, and its mechanism is partly carried out by the alteration of the signal pathway of AMPK/mTOR.

Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia: a case report and literature review / 中华全科医师杂志

We reported a case of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia ( COP) who was admitted to the hospital in July 2008 and reviewed the Chinese literature of COP from 2003 to 2008. The most common symptoms of COP are fever, cough and exertional dyspnea. The imaging characteristics of COP are similar to those of pneumonia, therefore is often misdiagnosed as pneumonia with a high misdiagnosis rate. Lung biopsy is the main method for pathological diagnosis; polypoid growth of granulation tissue was noted within respiratory bronchioles, small airways and alveolar spaces.

Analysis of clinical features and current therapy for aspiration pneumonia in the elderly / 中华全科医师杂志

Totally, 125 elderly inpatients with aspiration pneumonia (AP) were enrolled from departments of respiratory medicine and neurology at Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan during June 2005 to October 2009 for analysis. Results showed that listlessness was manifested in 70 cases (56%), primary neurological illness in 80 cases (64%), 57 of them (46%) complicated with respiratory failure and 26 died with case-fatality of 21%. Main pathogen for them was Gram-negative bacillus, accounting for 57% of the total. Two kinds or more of antibiotics had ever been administered in 98 cases (78%), with an average length of antibiotics use for 28 days, ranging from one day to 128 days. Nasal feeding was instituted for those with choking over their feeding and coughing, and their inspired feeding was aspirated from the trachea or bronchi and lavished with bronchoscopy, with 38 cases by tracheal intubation, 26 by tracheotomy and 42 with artificial ventilation. Their average duration of hospital stay spanned 28 days with an average cost of 25 000 RMB yuan per capita, significantly higher than that for those with common pneumonia. In conclusion, clinical features of these elderly patients with AP were not so typical, most of them manifest severe, with lots of medical cost and bad prognosis.

Percutaneous transthoracic biopsy in pathologic diagnosis of stage Ⅰ～Ⅱ lung cancer / 中华全科医师杂志

Fifty-six patients diagnosed as early stage lung cancer by spiral CT scan,underwent CTguided percutaneous transthoracic biopsy with a successful rate of 100%.Forty nice cases were confirmed pathologically including adenocarcinoma in 30 cases,squamous carcinoma in 14,alveolar cell carcinoma in 2 and small cell lung cancer in 3.Three cases were diagnosed as chronic inflammatory lesion,2 cases as tuberculosis and the diagnosis was not confirmed in 2 cases.The results suggest that CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic biopsy is an effective diagnostic measure for patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ lung cancer.

Comparison of Moxifloxacin and Cefuroxime Combined with Azithromycin for Patients with Community-acquired Pneumonia / 中华医院感染学杂志

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy,the eradication rates of pathogens and safety of moxifloxacin in patients with community-acquired pneumonia(CAP) in comparison with therapy using a combination of cefuroxime plus azithromycin.METHODS Seventy eight patients with CAP were randomly divided into two groups:moxifloxacin alone and cefuroxime plus azithromycin,and the efficacy,the eradication rates of pathogens and the rates of side effects were observed.RESULTS From 40 patients in the moxifloxacin group,32 patients(80%) were clinically cured and 6 patients(15%)were improved.And from 38 patients in the cefuroxime plus azithromycin groups,30 patients(78.9%) were clinically cured and 5 patients(13.2%) were improved.The eradication rates of pathogens were 89% and 84%,respectively.And the rates of side effects were 7.5% and 7.9%,respectively.CONCLUSIONS There are no significant differences in the efficacy,the eradication rates of pathogens and safety between 2 groups in treating community-acquired pneumonia.

Effects of ultrashortwave therapy associated with home-based rehabilitation on lung function and quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of ultrashortwave therapy associated with home-based rehabilitation on lung function and quality of life (QOL) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Methods Ninety patients with stable COPD were equally and randomly divided into a combination group (received uhrashortwave therapy combined with home-based rehabilitation and regular treatment), a rehabilitation group (received home-based rehabilitation and regular treatment), and a control group ( received regular treatment). Spirometry and diaphragm function were measured, and St George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ) was administered for QOL assessment at the beginning and after 6-month of treatment. Results FEVI% pred and FEV1% increased and average SGRQ scores decreased in the combination group and rehabilitation group. FEVI% pred and SGRQ scores improved most in combination group (all P < 0.05 ). FEV1% pred, FEV1 % and SGRQ scores in control group did not show any obvious change. Diaphragm function in all groups did not change significantly. Conclusions Ultra-shortwave therapy combined with home-based rehabilitation might have combinative effects in improving lung function and QOL of COPD patients.

Application of percutaneous transthoracic automated biopsy instrument in diagnosis for pulmonary lesions / 中华全科医师杂志

Objective To study clinical application of Bard automated disposable instrument for percutaneous transtheracic biopsy guided by CT in diagnosis of pulmonary lesions. Methods Percutaneons transthoracic biopsy was performed with CT-guided Bard automated disposable instrument for 95 patients with pulmonary lesions but without established diagnosis by clinical and imaging procedures in order to obtain pathological diagnosis. Results Tissue specimens were obtained from all the 95 patients by Bard automated disposable instrument for percutaneous transthoracis biopsy, with a hundred percent of success. After the procedure, 68 of 95 were pathologically diagnosed as lung cancer (including adenocarcinoma in 44,squamous carcinoma in 19, alveolar cell carcinoma in three and small cell carcinoma in two), 10 as chronic inflammatory lesions, eight as tuberculosis, two as inflammatory pseudotumor, one as metastatic cancer, two as fungal infection, and four without an established diagnosis, with an overall diagnosis rate of 95.8%.Pneumothorax occurred in eight and mild haemoptysis in six of 95 patients, respectively, by the procedure.Conclusion Percutaneons transthoracic biopsy with Bard automated disposable instrument is an effective diagnostic procedure for patients with pulmonary lesions but their diagnoses were not established by routine examinations.

The effect of endobronchial decimeter wave therapy on pulmonary function of patients with constrictive endo-bronchial tuberculosis / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To observe the effects of endobronchial decimeter wave therapy on ventilation func-tion of patients with the constrictive endobronehial tuberculosis (EBTB). Methods Forty-four EBTB patients weredivided into an experiment group and a control group. All the patients of the two groups were treated with generalchemotherapy, the patients of experiment group accepted endobronehial decimeter wave therapy at the same time. Thepurulent secretion or caseous necrosis of the diseased region was drawn-off from the bronchi lumina by bronchoseope,then the antenna of the decimeter wave irradiator was inserted into the diseased region through the biopsy pore to per-form the radiation. The vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in the 1st second and maximal voluntary ventilationwere tested before and 60 days after the operation. Results Endobronehial decimeter wave therapy significantly re-duced the constriction of bronchi, improved the lung ventilation function, and relieved the anhelation symptom of pa-tients in the experiment group to a significantly larger extent than those in the controls group (P< 0. 01 ). Moreover,the therapeutic effects of endobronchial decimeter wave therapy were more significant for the endomembrane tuberculo-sis with pulmonary closure due to ulcerous necrosis or granulation hyperplasy ( P < 0. 05 ) , but ineffective for the atro-phy due to fibrous constriction. Conclusion Endobronchial decimeter wave therapy could reduce the incidence oflung closure in endomembrane tuberculosis and improve lung function.