Research progress on cholesterol ester transfer protein inhibitors / 医学研究生学报

For many years, studies on cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitors(CETP) have not been interrupted, intending to achieve further cardiovascular protection through increasing the level of HDL-C on the basis of statin-lowering LDL-C. However, the failure of large clinical studies of CETP inhibitors represented by torcetrapib has caused continuous controversy in this area of research. The 2017 European Society of Cardiology Annual Conference published the results of Phase 3 clinical trials on Anacetrapib, which regained significant attention to CETP inhibitors. Based on these, this article reviewed the development of the four major CETP inhibitors, and briefly discusses their clinical effects and differences.

Application and progress of hybrid technique in cardiovascular surgery / 天津医药

The hybrid technique is a technique that combines minimally invasive cardiac surgery with intracardiac intervention. It has the advantages of definite curative effect, good visual field and slight trauma. It provides advanced treatment options for patients with cardiovascular diseases.With the gradual improvement of technical level,diagnosis and treatment concept and medical equipment,especially the popularization of"hybrid operation room",hybridization technology has been applied in many sub-specialized fields of cardiac surgery. In some fields this technology has become a routine treatment program.At present,it is mainly used for treatment of congenital heart disease,coronary heart disease,heart valve disease,aortic disease and atrial fibrillation.

Clinical value of apolipoprotein B versus low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in assessing risks of coronary artery disease / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the value of apolipoprotein B (apoB) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in assessing the risk of coronary heart disease in patients with inconsistent apoB and LDL-C levels.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In a total of 603 patients undergoing coronary angiography, apoB and LDL-C levels were categorized into high and low levels relative to the median levels of apoB and LDL-C, based on which the patients were divided into 4 groups with low apoB/low LDL-C, low apoB/high LDL-C, high apoB/low LDL-C, or high apoB/high LDL-C. According to the results of coronary angiography, we evaluated the number of coronary artery branches with lesions and the severity of coronary artery stenosis in the 4 groups to assess the correlation of apoB and LDL-C with cardiovascular risks.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>We found significant differences in the number of coronary artery branches with lesions and the severity of coronary artery stenosis among the 4 groups (P<0.05). The number of coronary artery branches involved and the severity of stenosis differed significantly between patients with consistently high and low apoB/LDL-C levels (P<0.005). Compared with those with low apoB/low LDL-C levels, the patients with high apoB/low LDL-C levels showed a significantly greater number of coronary artery branches with lesions (P=0.017) and more severe stenosis (P=0.034), but such differences were not found in patients with low apoB/high LDL-C levels. Pearson correlation analysis identified LDL-C and apoB as the risk factors for cardiovascular disease with areas under the ROC curve of 0.579 (P=0.014) and 0.589 (P=0.006), respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>In patients with inconsistent levels of apoB and LDL-C, apoB and LDL-C levels are both risk factors of coronary heart disease in close relation with the disease severity. LDL-C and apoB are comparable for their important values in predicting the risk of coronary heart disease.</p>

Red blood cell distribution width combined with lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 detection for improving diagnostic accuracy of coronary artery stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the association of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (LP-PLA2) with the degree of coronary artery stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and the value of RDW combined with LP-PLA2 detection in accurate evaluation of coronary artery stenosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 224 patients including 119 non-CAD cases and 105 CAD cases admitted in our hospital between June, 2013 and June, 2014 were enrolled in this study. The patients' baseline clinical data were collected and venous blood samples were obtained for detecting WBC, RDW-CV and LP-PLA2. The Gensini score of the CAD patients was calculated based on coronary angiographic findings.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the non-CAD patients, CAD patients had significantly higher RDW-CV (P=0.009) and LP-PLA2 (P=0.004) levels. The CAD patients with high Gensini scores had also significantly higher RDW-CV (P=0.001) and LP-PLA2 (P<0.001) levels than those with low scores; RDW-CV and LP-PLA2 were significantly correlated with the Gensini score, and the area under curve of their combined detection was 0.931.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Combination of RDW and LP-PLA2 can improve the diagnostic accuracy of the degree of coronary artery stenosis in patients with CAD.</p>

Impact of depression on prognosis of patients with coronary heart disease undergoing revascularization / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the impact of depression on clinical outcome of patients undergoing revascularization.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Self-rating depression scale (SDS) assessment was made before and after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG, n = 345) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, n = 308) procedure. Patients were divided into depression and non-depression group. All patients were followed up for 12 months after procedure for the occurrence of rehospitalization and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including all-cause mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction or target lesion revascularization.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Depression was present in 40.9% (n = 141) of patients after CABG, which was significantly higher than before procedure (24.3%, P < 0.01). The MACE rate was significantly higher in patients with post-procedure depression [8.5% (12/141)] than in patients without depression [2.9% (6/204), P < 0.05] and the incidences of target lesion revascularization and rehospitalization were also significantly higher in depression patients than in non-depression patients during the 12 months follow-up (all P < 0.05). Depression was present in 36.4% (n = 112) of patients after PCI, which was significantly higher than that before procedure (28.6%, P < 0.05). The MACE rate [8.0% (9/112) vs. 2.0% (4/196)] and rehospitalization rate [12.5% (14/112) vs. 4.6% (9/196)] were significantly higher in depression patients than in patients without depression during the 12 months follow-up (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference on SDS score between the PCI and CABG before the procedure. However, after the procedure, the SDS score for patients undergoing CABG was significantly higher than in patients undergoing PCI (48.9 ± 9.8 vs. 45.7 ± 10.5 P = 0.01). The level of serum IL-6 was significantly higher in depression patients than in patients without depression (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Prevalence of depression is high in patients treated with revascularization procedures and is linked with poor post-procedure prognosis.</p>

Evaluation of two arterial closure devices, Angioseal and Perclose, in coronary catheter interventions / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the efficacy and safety of two arterial closure devices, Angioseal and Perclose, in patients undergoing coronary angiography and invasive interventions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From January 2001 to April 2011, 997 inpatients underwent coronary angiography and interventions with arterial closure using Perclose (486 cases) or Angioseal (511 cases). The time to ambulation and hemostasis, major vascular complications and deployment success rate with the two devices were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The time to hemostasis was significantly shorter in Angioseal group than in Perclose group (3∓0.9 min vs 10.8∓4.8 min, P<0.001), but the time to ambulation was comparable between the two groups (6.4∓1.2 h vs 6.3∓0.7 h, P>0.05). The incidences of vascular complications showed no significant differences between the two groups (4.5% vs 3.7%, P>0.05), and none of the cases in either group developed femoral artery thrombosis or low limb embolism following the procedures. The deployment success rate was comparable between the two groups (97.8% vss 98.6%, P>0.05), and deployment failure was associated mainly with mishandling and design defect of the devices.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Angioseal and Perclose are both effective and safe for arterial closure with reduced hemostasis and ambulation time and low incidences of vascular complications. Angioseal appears to have better performance than Perclose in shortening the hemostasis time and is easier to handle.</p>

Management of subacute myocardial infarction in a patient with left coronary artery originating from the right coronary artery / 南方医科大学学报

Although the majority of coronary artery anomalies are found incidentally and not clinically significant, the interarterial course between the major vessels of the aberrant artery may be responsible for syncope, angina, arrhythmias or sudden death. There are only a few case reports describing the origination of all the coronary arteries from a single ostium. This anomaly occurs in only 0.024%-0.044% of the population. Left coronary artery originating from the right coronary is a rare coronary abnormality. Here we report a case of acute myocardial infarction in a patient with anomalous left coronary artery originating from the right coronary artery, as was confirmed by computerized tomography angiogram, which showed that only one single coronary artery stem originating from the right sinus of Valsalva trifurcated into a right coronary artery, left circumflex artery and a hypoplastic left anterior descending artery. Subsequent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures were performed successfully. PCI procedures should be carried out with great caution in such cases, and this condition should be managed as a left main lesion.

Effect of granulocyte colony stimulating factor EPC on cardiac function in patients with heart failure after myocardial infarction / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the changes of cardiac function following treatment with granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients with heart failure after myocardial infarction.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-eight patients with heart failure after myocardial infarction were randomized into G-CSF treatment group and control group. All the patients received conventional treatment (medication and interventional therapy), and the patients in treatment group were given additional G-CSF (600 µg/day) for 7 consecutive days. The plasma level of brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in the peripheral blood were detected before and at 7 days and 4 months after the treatment. The cardiac functions (LVSD, EDV, and LVEF) were evaluated by ultrasonic imaging before and at 2 weeks and 4 months after the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The number of EPCs was significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group after the treatment especially at 7 days (P<0.01). In both groups, BNP level was lowered significantly after the treatment to recover the normal level (P<0.01). The cardiac functions were improved in all the patients at 7 days and 4 months after the treatment, and the improvement was more obvious in the treatment group (P<0.05), especially in terms of LVEF at 4 months after the treatment (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EPC mobilization by G-CSF can effectively improve the cardiac functions and lessen ventricular remodeling in patients with heart failure after myocardial infarction.</p>

Epidemiological study of the cardiovascular risk factors and clinical medications in patients with cardiovascular diseases in Guangzhou hospitals / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the cardiovascular risk factors and clinical medications in patients with cardiovascular disease in Guangzhou hospitals.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cluster sampling and non-random sampling methods were used to analyze the cardiovascular risk factors and clinical medications among the 6691 inpatients with cardiovascular diseases in the department of cardiology of 9 large general hospitals in Guangzhou during 1995-2005.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the data in 1995, the incidences of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia increased while hypercholesteremia, elevated low-density lipoprotein, and low high-density lipoprotein levels decreased in 2005. The percentage of patients with level 1 (mild) hypertension was lower while that of patients with level 2 (moderate) hypertension higher in 2005 than in 1995. The percentages of use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), angiotensin II receptor antagonist (ARB), beta-blockers, diuretics, and anti-platelet drugs (aspirin, clopidogrel), as well as statins lipid-lowering drugs, increased significantly in 2005 as compared with those in 1995.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The cardiovascular risk factors and clinical medications underwent significant changes in Guangzhou hospitals in the period from 1995 to 2005, and the blood pressure, blood glucose, hypertriglyceridemia of the patients did not appear to be well controlled. The application rate of ACEI, ARB, beta-blockers, diuretics, aspirin, clopidogrel and statins increased rapidly for treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and these drugs have become the first-line drugs.</p>

Coronary stenting does not improve the long-term cardiovascular outcome of patients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Several studies have shown that coronary stenting reduces the frequency of clinical and angiographic restenosis in patients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency. However, less is known about the long-term benefits of stent use in this population. This study was aimed to determine the impact of coronary stenting on extended (5 years) long-term outcomes of patients with chronic renal insufficiency.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The study included 602 consecutive patients who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting. Renal insufficiency was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml x min(-1) x 1.73 m(-2). The major adverse cardiac events were compared for patients with (n = 160) and without (n = 442) renal insufficiency.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After the third year of follow-up, nonfatal myocardial infarction and revascularization rates were significantly increased in patients with renal insufficiency compared with those without renal dysfunction (16.9% vs 7.7%, P = 0.001; 29.4% vs 15.8%, P < 0.001). In patients who had recurrent cardiovascular events, a significantly higher rate of de novo stenosis revascularization was found in patients with renal insufficiency than without renal insufficiency (57.7% vs 22.7%, P < 0.001), while there was no significant difference in target lesion revascularization between the groups (51.9% vs 43.6%, P = 0.323). Multivariate analysis demonstrated an independent impact of the presence of renal insufficiency on the major adverse cardiac events (hazard ratio: 1.488, 95% confidence interval: 1.051 - 2.106, P = 0.025) and de novo stenosis (hazard ratio: 5.505, 95% confidence interval: 2.151 - 14.090, P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The late major adverse cardiac events, after successful coronary stenting, is increased in patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml x min(-1) x 1.73 m(-2). This might be associated with increased risk of de novo stenosis in this population.</p>

Correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and the severity of coronary artery lesions in female patients / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association of the traditional and newly emerged cardiovascular risk factors with the severity of coronary artery lesion in female patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study involved 235 female in-patients undergoing coronary angiography, including 156 with confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD) and 76 non-CAD patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis of the cardiovascular risk factors and the severity of coronary artery lesion were carried out in these patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Univariate analysis showed that in the CAD patients of different severities, increased number of compromised arteries and total Gensini scores for the lesions were associated with increased incidences of the such risk factors including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high triglycerides, high total cholesterol, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level, high low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level, high uric acid level and high fibrinogen level. Multivariate regression analysis showed that high LDL-C level was the most significant independent risk factor for CAD, followed by diabetes, triglycerides, high uric acid, low HDL-C, high blood pressure and age.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Female CAD patients are exposed to multiple risk factors, among which high LDL-C level is the most significant independent risk factor, but the other risk factors, especially the newly emerged factor uric acid, should be given due attention in the patients.</p>

Plasma matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 levels are elevated in patients with acute coronary syndrome and coronary chronic total occlusion / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the changes in plasma matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 (MMP2 and MMP9, respectively) levels in patients with different types of coronary heart diseases (CHD), and assess the value of MMP2/MMP9 detection in predicting acute coronary syndrome (ACS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to the findings by coronary angiography and the clinical manifestations, 118 patients were divided in ACS group including 30 patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) and 19 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and non-ACS group including 23 patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) and 21 with chronic total occlusion (CTO) of the coronary artery. Twenty-five individuals with normal coronary artery (NCA) served as the control group. Plasma levels of MMP9 and MMP2 were determined in these subjects using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both the ACS and non-ACS groups showed significantly higher MMP9 and MMP2 levels than the NCA group (P<0.05), and MMP2 and MMP9 levels were significantly higher in ACS group than in non-ACS group (P<0.05). Compared with the NCA group, the UAP, AMI and CTO subgroups showed obvious increases in plasma MMP2 and MMP9 levels (P<0.01). Significantly increased MMP9, but not MMP2 level was noted in AMI subgroup in comparison with SAP (P<0.01) and UAP subgroups (P<0.05); both MMP2 and MMP9 levels were elevated in CTO subgroup in comparison with those in SAP (P<0.001), UAP (P<0.01), and AMI subgroups (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Increased MMP2 and MMP9 levels in patients with CHD suggest the instability of the atherosclerotic plaque in correlation to the severity of ACS, and may serve as good indicators for the prediction of ACS and diagnosis of CTO of the coronary artery.</p>

Plasma lipid level in patients with cardiovascular diseases: a survey for changes over the 10-year period between 1995 and 2005 in Guangzhou / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the plasma lipid level in patients with cardiovascular disease in Guangzhou and investigate its changes over the 10 years from 1995 to 2005.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to the cluster sampling method, 1768 patients were selected for the study from the total patients admitted in the Department of Cardiology of Nanfang Hospital between 1995 and 2005. These patients were divided into 6 groups, namely uncomplicated hypertension group, coronary artery disease (CAD) or CAD risk equivalent group, CAD complicated by CAD risk equivalent group, hypertension complicated by CAD or CAD risk equivalent group, hypertension complicated by CAD and CAD risk equivalent group, and other cardiovascular disease group. The data of the plasma lipid levels in these patients were analyzed statistically.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Significant changes occurred over the decade in the plasma lipid levels of these surveyed patients, and the TG, TC and HDL-C levels were significantly higher, but LDL-C levels significantly lower in patients surveyed in 2005 than in those surveyed in 1995. In 1995, the patients did not show gender-related difference in the plasma lipids, but till 2005, TG and HDL-C levels of the patients began to exhibit significant difference between genders. In 1995, patients with uncomplicated hypertension had the highest levels of TG, TC, and HDL-C among the patients of different cardiovascular conditions, but in 2005 this picture underwent obvious changes, and TG, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C levels differed significantly between patients with various conditions.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Plasma lipid levels of patients with cardiovascular diseases show significant changes over the 10 years with gender-related differences. In general, patients with uncomplicated hypertension have higher plasma lipid levels than those with other cardiovascular conditions.</p>

Surgical techniques of arterialized orthotopic liver transplantation in rats / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Recently, much attention has been paid to hepatic artery reconstruction in rat liver transplantation, which can prevent bile duct ischemia and preserve better liver structure. In this study, three methods of graft arterialization, including sleeve, cuff, and stent anastomosis, were conducted and the results were compared.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with rearterialization was conducted in 90 rats, which were divided into sleeve, cuff, and stent groups (n = 30 in each). Ninety-six rats received OLTs with standardized two-cuff technique without rearterialization as a control. The sleeve technique included an end-to-end anastomosis between the donor common hepatic artery and recipient proper hepatic artery, or between the donor celiac artery and recipient common hepatic artery. Cuff technique involved an anastomosis between the donor common hepatic artery and recipient common hepatic artery. In the stent technique, the recipient hepatic artery and donor hepatic artery were connected using an intraluminal polyethylene stent. The arterial anastomosis time and arterial patency rate in each group were recorded. The liver graft survival and bile duct complication rates were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total surgical time of OLT with rearterialization was (118.3 +/- 12.9) minutes in the sleeve group, (106.2 +/- 11.6) minutes in the cuff, (93.8 +/- 10.2) minutes in the stent, and (88.2 +/- 9.6) minutes in the control. The corresponding anhepatic phase was (19.6 +/- 2.8), (19.2 +/- 2.2), (18.6 +/- 1.8), and (20.0 +/- 2.5) minutes respectively in the sleeve, cuff, stent, and control groups. One-week survival rate was 86.5% in the control, and 86.7% in the groups with rearterialization. No significant difference was detected in the survival rate between them (P > 0.05). The incidence of biliary complications in non-rearterialized group (17.7%) was significantly higher than that in the rearterialized group (6.7%, P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in the incidence of biliary complications among the three rearterialized groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The OLT with rearterialization is more physiological than that without rearterialization, and leads to a lower rate of bile duct complications. Among the three methods of rearterialization, sleeve anastomosis is associated with a higher survival rate, allowing less dissection and less injury to the surrounding tissues.</p>

Modulation of inflammatory cytokines by ATP-binding cassette A1 in THP-1 macrophages / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of ATP-binding cassette A1 (ABCA1) on intercellular cell adhesion molecule type 1 (ICAM-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in THP-1 macrophages stimulated with 8-Br-cAMP to identify a possible new mechanism that ABCA1 contributes to atherosclerogenesis (AS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Monocytic THP-1 cells were cultured in the presence of 100 nmol/L phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) for 72 h to transform the cells into THP-1 macrophages. After the macrophages were stimulated with 8-Br-cAMP (final concentration 0.5 mmol/L) for 3, 6, 12 and 24 h respectively, the amounts of ABCA1, ICAM-1 and MCP-1 mRNA were examined by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR, and the protein amounts of ABCA1, ICAM-1, MCP-1 and IL-1beta were determined by Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides of ABCA1 were add into the culture media at a final concentration of 100 nmol/L and the experiments were repeated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>ABCA1, ICAM-1 and MCP-1 mRNA and protein and IL-1beta protein were increased in the macrophages after stimulation with 8-Br-cAMP for 6 and 12 h. The mRNA expressions of ABCA1, ICAM-1 and MCP-1 were decreased significantly at 3 and 6 h (P<0.01), and the protein expressions of ABCA1, ICAM-1, MCP-1 and IL-1beta declined significantly at 12 and 24 h (P<0.01) after transfection of the macrophages with antisense oligonucleotides of ABCA1.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ABCA1 can increase the expressions of the inflammatory cytokines in THP-1 macrophages stimulated by 8-Br-cAMP and plays a role in the pathogenesis of AS.</p>

Detection of single nucleotide polymorphism of all coding regions in ABCA1 gene in patients with coronary heart disease / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of all the coding region in ABCA1 gene in 112 patients with coronary heart diseases.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>With polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) combining argentation and glue retrieval, DNA sequencing, and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), the SNP of the 50 exons in all the coding regions of ABCA1 gene was detected in 112 patients with established diagnosis of coronary heart disease.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the Chinese population with coronary heart disease, besides the SNP variation at R219K and M883I as widely reported, a new single base variation at A1092G in exon 7 was detected, which led to a conversion of the amino-side residue to M223V. This variation was confirmed to represent a novel SNP by RFLP in 108 normal subjects.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The Chinese population with coronary heart disease has not only the reported SNP changes at the sites R219K and M883I, but also changes at the new SNP site of M233V, which is discovered for the first time in M233V of ABCA1 gene. This variation may increase the risks for coronary heart diseases, and its exact function awaits examination in further epidemiologic survey.</p>

A novel polymorphism in the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 gene (M233V) in Chinese patients with coronary artery disease / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) gene polymorphism in Chinese patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the ABCA1 gene were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)-DNA sequence and restriction-fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method in 112 patients with CAD.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A novel polymorphism in the ABCA1 gene was found in two patients: M233V which exists in exon7 of ABCA1 gene and it's cDNA location is A1092G and converse 233 amino acid from Methionine to Valeric. We further collected the blood samples from 16 family members of one proband and M233V polymorphism was found in 5 out 16 family members.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>M233V is a novel polymorphism in the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 gene and this AG genotype had family proneness.</p>

Analysis of contents of berberine in Coptis chinensis of Lichuan / 中国医学科学院学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the contents of berberine in Coptis chinensis of Lichuan and establish its best cultivation scheme.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>We used high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure the contents of berberine at different altitude, growth age, and leaves.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Analytic data showed that the growth age and firry woods shading did not affect the contents of berberine in rhizome of Coptis chinensis. Low altitude was more suitable for Coptis chinensis to synthesize berberine. The contents of berberine in rhizome of Coptis chinensis with floral leaf were higher than those with lusterless and lustrous leaves, but no significant difference.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The synthesis of berberine is closely correlated with shading conditions. It is recommended that the shading ratio should be reduced or the sheds removed in the middle growth age (2-3 years), and then the herb should be reshaped at the last year to enhance the synthesis of berberine, so as to obtain high-quality Coptis chinensis in the harvest.</p>

Comparison on ingredients between cultured cell and cultivated Saffron pistils / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the differences of active ingredients between tissue cultured cells and cultivated saffron pistils.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The experiment was carried out by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The data indicated that the species and contents active ingredients in saffron pistils from different places were different. The species of active ingredients in tissue cultured cells are less than those in cultivated saffron pistils. However, the quantity of crocin A, which showed good anticancer effect, is 2-3 times more than that in cultivated saffron pistils.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The active ingredients of the tissue cultured cells are similar to those of saffron pistils, but their contents are different. Therefore, the tissue cultured cells can only be the part-substitutes of cultivated saffron pistils.</p>

Studies on the pharmacological effects of saffron(Crocus sativus L.)--a review / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Reviewing the studies on the chemical components and medicinal value.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Philological method.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Saffron is a conventional effective medicine in improving blood circulation and curing the bruise. The late of evidesnces indicate that saffron possesses anticancer activity against a wide spectrum of tumors, such as leukemia, ovarian carcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, papilloma, squamous cell carcinoma, and soft tissue sarcoma. It has low biochemical toxic effects on animals. In addition, saffron can be used to cure coronary heart disease and hepatitis, and to promote immunity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Saffron is a highly valuable medicine. And producing it in a large quantity has a wide application prosperity.</p>