Summary of experience with patterning cropped and shaped mesh repair for perineal hernia after abdominoperineal excision in rectal cancer / 中华外科杂志

Objective: To examine the patterning cropped and shaped mesh repair for perineal hernia after abdominoperineal excision (APE) in rectal cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 8 patients with perineal hernia after APE who accepted surgical treatment in the Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary and Hernia Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University from March 2017 to December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 3 males and 5 females, aged (67.6±7.2) years (range: 56 to 76 years). Eight patients developed a perineal mass at (11.3±2.9) months (range: 5 to 13 months) after APE. After surgical separation of adhesion and exposing the pelvic floor defect, a 15 cm×20 cm anti-adhesion mesh was fashioned as a three-dimensional pocket shape to fit the pelvic defect, then fixed to the promontory or sacrum and sutured to the pelvic sidewalls and the anterior peritoneum, while two side slender slings were tailored in front of the mesh and fixed on the pectineal ligament. Results: The repair of their perineal hernias went well, with an operating time of (240.6±48.8) minutes (range: 155 to 300 minutes). Five patients underwent laparotomy, 3 patients tried laparoscopic surgery first and then transferred to laparotomy combined with the perineal approach. Intraoperative bowel injury was observed in 3 patients. All patients did not have an intestinal fistula, bleeding occurred. No reoperation was performed and their preoperative symptoms improved significantly. The postoperative hospital stay was (13.5±2.9) days (range: 7 to 17 days) and two patients had postoperative ileus, which improved after conservative treatment. Two patients had a postoperative perineal hernia sac effusion, one of them underwent placement of a tube to puncture the hernia sac effusion due to infection, and continued irrigation and drainage. The postoperative follow-up was (34.8±14.0) months (range: 13 to 48 months), and 1 patient developed recurrence in the seventh postoperative month, no further surgery was performed. Conclusions: Surgical repair of the perineal hernia after APE can be preferred transabdominal approach, routine application of laparoscopy is not recommended, combined abdominoperineal approach can be considered if necessary. The perineal hernia after APE can be repaired safely and effectively using the described technique of patterning cropped and shaped mesh repair.

Spicy food consumption and risk of lip, oral cavity and pharynx cancers: a prospective cohort study of Chinese adults / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To explore the association of spicy food consumption and risk of lip, oral cavity, and pharynx cancers (LOCPs) in Chinese adults. Methods: Based on the baseline survey and long-term follow-up of the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study, Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for associations between spicy food consumption and LOCPs incidence. Results: Of the 510 145 participants included at baseline, 30.1% reported daily spicy food consumption. During a mean follow-up of 10.8 (2.0) years, we documented 767 LOCPs cases. Multivariate adjusted analyses showed that the risk of LOCPs incidence decreased with the frequency of spicy food intake (trend P=0.003), with HR of 0.69 (95%CI:0.54-0.88) for daily spicy food consumers, compared with never or occasional consumers. Participants who preferred moderate pungency degrees had the lowest risk of LOCPs, with a 33%[0.67(95%CI:0.52-0.87)] reduced risk compared to those who consumed spicy food less than once per week. The later the starting age, the lower the risk (trend P=0.004). Those who started eating spicy food after 18 years old had the lowest risk of LOCPs incidence, with adjusted HR (95%CI) of 0.70(0.54-0.92). Conclusions: Spicy food intake might be associated with a decreased risk of LOCPs incidence. Such association was independent of healthy lifestyles. Advocating moderate-pungency spicy food consumption and healthy lifestyles might help prevent LOCPs.

Professor LU Fan's clinical experience in shallow needling technique of acupuncture / 中国针灸

Professor LU Fan adheres to the principle in clinical practice, "the needling principle concentrated on regulating qi ". She takes the advantages of shallow needling technique of acupuncture in treatment of various diseases, e.g. exogenous disease, initial onset of disorder, chronic bi disorder, intractable diseases, disorder of yang nature, disorder of heat nature, thin body, pediatric diseases, disorders on the unilateral side of the body and acute diseases. Besides in compliance with classics, she has broadened the application scope of shallow needling technique of acupuncture and improved the clinical therapeutic effect.

New method of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease mouse models and mechanism about immune cells / 中国药理学通报

Aim To establish non-alcoholic fatty liver disease mouse model and study different kinds of lymphocytes in C57BL/6J mouse model. Methods SPF male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group ( normal diet ) and model group( normal diet with high fat diet by gavage) . Models of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were established. At 12th and 16th weeks, body weight, liver index, serum TC, TG, HDL, LDL, ALT, AST were measured. Pathological examination of fat deposition in liver was performed. Flow cytometry was used to assay the percentage of natural killer cells, T helper cells, natu-ral killer T cells and IL4 +NKT cells in mouse liver. Results Liver index, serum TC, LDL, ALT, AST were significantly higher in model group(P<0.05) after 16 weeks. Pathological sections showed that liver fat deposition in model group was quite severe and large lipid droplets spread through the mouse liver. The percentage of natural killer T cells increased significantly( P<0.05 ) and the percentage of IL4 +NKT cells increased even more obviously(P<0.01). Conclusions C57BL/6J mice fed with normal diet and high fat diet by gavage can form a good non-alcoholic fatty liver disease mouse model. In this model, the number and activity of natural killer T cells are significantly changed, and natural killer T cells may be the new target of the mechanism and drug treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver dis-ease.

Analysis of Forensic Identification on 32 Cases of Lumbar Spondylolysis / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To explore the casual relationship and the significance of identification among the injury, disease and damage consequence in the disability evaluation of lumbar spondylolysis by the standard for identifying grading of disability caused by work-related injuries.@*METHODS@#The general data, injury manner, clinical treatment and the imaging examination of 32 lumbar spondylolysis cases were collected and retrospectively analyzed. According to the degree of participation in the injury and damage consequence, the identification and assessment of casual relationship was made, and the grading of disability was assessed.@*RESULTS@#For 32 cases, injury had no effect on damage consequence in 7 cases, slight effect in 5 cases, secondary effect in 13 cases, equivalent effect in 4 cases, and complete effect in 3 cases. According to the related items in the standard for identifying grading of disability caused by work-related injuries, 3 cases were rated level 7, 5 cases were level 8, 6 cases were level 9, 11 cases were level 11 among the cases which existed causal relationship.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The formation of lumbar spondylolysis is connected to the factors of age, anatomy, occupation and injury manner etc. The degree of disability should be accessed comprehensively after the analysis of the casual relationship among the injury, disease and damage consequence.

Development and evaluation of gamma-interferon sandwich ELISA kit in herds infected with Mycobacterium bovis / 中国人兽共患病学报

This study was aimed to develop a sandwich ELISA kit for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis.And it was applied and evaluated in the quarantine of bovine tuberculosis.We established a bovine IFN-γ release method in vitro and developing three batches of kits.The sensitivity,repeatability and retention period of the kit were all evaluated.Totally 961 serum samples were tested using the developed sandwich ELISA kit tuberculin skin test and a commercial ELISA kit.Our results showed that the detection limit of this ELISA was 8.21 mg/mL.The repeatability tests showed good reproducibility in the intraassay and inter-assay.At the same time,the retention period of the kit was more than 12 months.Compared with the tuberculin skin test,the positive coincidence rate was 70.59％ and the negative coincidence rate was 99.20％,while the total coincidence rate was 98.44％.And compared with the BOVIGAMTM kit,the positive coincidence rate was 91.30％ and the negative coincidence rate was 99.78％,while the total coincidence rate reached 99.58％.At the same time,the sensitivity and specificity of the sandwich kit were 85.00％ and 100％,respectively.We established a bovine IFN-γ release method in vitro and developing corresponding kits successfully have a good application prospect.

National survey of doctor-reported secondary preventive treatment for patients with acute coronary syndrome in China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Long-term use of antiplatelet agents, statins, beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are proven therapies for secondary prevention in acute coronary syndrome. However, little is known of physicians' opinion about their use in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In 2010, standard questionnaires were posted to chief cardiologists in 1397 geographically diverse and representative sample of tertiary and secondary hospitals in China, collecting information about their opinions on the recommended treatments for acute coronary syndrome.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 1009 (72%) cardiologists responded with a valid questionnaire. Of them, 77% reported routine use of all the four main secondary preventive treatments, with little difference between secondary and tertiary hospitals (75% vs. 79%, P = 0.16). Of the cardiologists reporting routine or selective use of aspirin, beta-blockers, statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, 94%, 85%, 73% and 86% would recommend indefinite use respectively. For all the 4 treatments combined, only 63.5% reported indefinite use at the same time, with no significant difference between secondary and tertiary hospitals (62% vs. 65%, P = 0.17), nor between hospitals with or without fast track for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (66% vs. 61%, P = 0.50).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Although Chinese cardiologists seem well informed about the value of main secondary preventive treatments for acute coronary syndrome, there is still gap in their understanding of the need for combined and prolonged use of these treatments.</p>

ACEI/ARB use among high risk patients with coronary heart disease in China: a cross-sectional study / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This study investigated current use of ACEI/ARB among high risk patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) in China and factors affecting ACEI/ARB use in these patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This cross-sectional survey was performed between June to December 2007 and May to November 2009 in 51 hospitals from 14 cities. The characteristics of patients with established CHD were collected by electronic questionnaire.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Only 45.8% high risk CHD patients were taking ACEI/ARB and the ACEI/ARB medication decreased significantly with time after initial CHD diagnosis. ACEI/ARB was taken in 46.1% CHD patients complicated with diabetes mellitus and in 56.3% CHD patients complicated with hypertension. Logistic regression analysis showed that comorbid hypertension was the strongest factor associated with ACEI/ARB use. In addition, male gender, history of myocardial infarction (MI), PCI and the time after initial CHD diagnosis were independent factors affecting the use of ACEI/ARB. Captopril was the most commonly prescribed ACEI in this cohort.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ACEI/ARB is underused in secondary prevention among high risk CHD patients in China. It remains a major challenge for healthcare professionals and policy makers to make efforts on narrowing the gap between evidence and practice.</p>

Underuse of statins in patients with atherosclerotic ischemic stroke in China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Well designed randomized trials and meta-analyses have clearly shown that statins reduce the risk of major vascular events, including ischemic stroke, in a wide range of patients and their routine use is recommended for patients at an increased cardiovascular risk. Survivors of a first ischemic stroke are at a risk of recurrence and of other vascular events and statins are generally recommended to reduce this risk. This study investigated how widely statins were being used for such patients in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 6422 patients with a history of ischemic stroke were identified by reviewing medical records at 51 highest-ranking hospitals in 14 cities in China, and invited to attend a screening clinic to assess eligibility for a randomized trial. Their current statin and other drug uses were recorded alongside clinical and demographic characteristics. Univariate chi-square test and multivariate Logistic regression were used to determine the factors associated with treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Only 24% of these patients reported currently taking a statin. The most important predictor of statin use among these patients was prior history of coronary heart disease. History of diabetes or hypertension, as well as treated in university affiliated hospitals is related to increased use. The status had improved significantly during a 2-year period. Atorvastatin (40%) and simvastatin (39%) were the most commonly used.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>In China, statins are still underused for secondary prevention among survivors of ischemic stroke. Reasons for this poor use need to be understood in order to increase use of these evidence based therapies.</p>

Use of secondary preventive medications in patients with atherosclerotic disease in urban China: a cross-sectional study of 16, 860 patients / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Despite considerable improvements in the care of patients with cardiovascular disease in various populations over the last few decades, there are still limited data about long-term treatment patterns among patients with various atherosclerotic vascular conditions in China, especially the use of statin therapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Between June 2007 and October 2009, 16 860 patients aged 50 - 80 years with established history of atherosclerotic vascular disease (coronary heart disease (CHD), atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease (CVD), or peripheral arterial disease (PAD)) from 51 hospitals in 14 cities of China were screened for a large randomized trial. Detailed information about current use of statins and various other treatments was recorded and analyzed by prior disease history, adjusting for various baseline characteristics.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the 16 860 patients, the mean age was 63 years and 74% were male. Overall, 78% of the patients had documented CHD, 40% had CVD, 5% had PAD and 21% reported more than one condition. The median time from initial diagnosis of vascular disease to screening was 18 months. At screening, the proportions who took various treatments were 83% for antiplatelet agents, 49% for beta-blockers, 47% for statins and 28% for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The proportion treated with statin was much higher in CHD than in CVD or PAD patients (61% vs. 10% vs. 22% respectively) and decreased significantly with time from initial diagnosis. Simvastatin (mainly 20 mg) and atorvastatin (mainly 10 mg) each accounted for about 40% of total statin use.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>In urban China, there is still significant underuse of various proven secondary preventive therapies, with particularly low use of statins in patients with ischaemic stroke.</p>

Event-related potentials P₃₀₀ with memory function and psychopathology in first-episode paranoid schizophrenia / 浙江大学学报·医学版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the variability of event-related potentials P(300) and the relationship with memory function/psychopathology in patients with first-episode paranoid schizophrenia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty patients with first-episode paranoid schizophrenia (patient group) and twenty health subjects (control group) were enrolled in the study. The auditory event-related potentials P₃₀₀ at the scalp electrodes Cz, Pz and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) were examined in both groups, Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was evaluated in patient group.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In comparison with control group, patients had longer latency of P₃₀₀ [(390.6 ± 47.6)ms at Cz and (393.3 ± 50.1)ms at Pz] (P<0.01), lower amplitude of P₃₀₀ [(7.7 ± 3.4) μV at Cz and (8.5 ± 3.9)μV at Pz] (P<0.05-0.01). The memory quotient (88.1 ± 10.0) scores and short-term memory, immediate memory in patient group were damaged significantly (P<0.05-0.01). In patient group, the latency of P300 was correlated positively with PANSS scores and negatively with WMS scores (P<0.05-0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>First-episode paranoid schizophrenia has memory deficit, which can be evaluated comprehensively by P₃₀₀ and WMS. The longer latency of P₃₀₀ might be associated with the increased severity of first-episode paranoid schizophrenia.</p>

Clinical observation of Shen No. 9 Recipe with Qingre Moshen Granule on the treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy after treated by multiple Western drugs with no efficacy / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical efficacy of Shen No. 9 Recipe (SR) combined with Qingre Moshen Granule (QMG) in treatment of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) patients with no efficacy after treated by hormone or immunosuppressive agent, and further to explore the possible mechanism of this method in treatment of IMN by detecting the cellular immune function and cytokine interleukin-2 (IL-2).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-four IMN patients with no efficacy after treated by multiple Western drugs were recruited from October 2007 to October 2009. They took SR (one dosage daily, oral administration in two portions) and QMG (each package each time, thrice daily) for 24 weeks. The 24-h urine protein, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), plasma albumin (Alb), serum creatinine (SCr), urea nitrogen (BUN), triglyceride (TG), serum total cholesterol (TC), levels of cellular immune function (CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+ ratio), and IL-2 were detected before and after treatment. The changes of Chinese medicine syndrome and adverse reactions were observed and recorded.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After treatment the complete remission rate, the basic remission rate, and the total effective rate was 4.5%, 68.2%, 84.1%, respectively. The total markedly-effective rate of Chinese medicine syndrome was 90.9%. The Chinese medicine syndrome was significantly lower than before treatment (P < 0.01). The 24-h urine protein obviously decreased (P < 0.01), Alb obviously increased (P < 0.01), levels of TC and TG obviously decreased (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). There was no obvious change in levels of SCr and BUN (P > 0.05). The GFR significantly increased (P < 0.05). CD4+ and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ were obviously elevated (P < 0.01) and the CD8+ obviously decreased (P < 0.01). The expression level of IL-2 obviously increased, but it still was lower than the normal value, showing statistical difference (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>SR + QMG showed definite efficacy in treatment of IMN patients with no efficacy after treated by multiple Western drugs. It could improve the level of cellular immunity and improve abnormal expression levels of IL-2.</p>

Current statin use for patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in 39 large Chinese hospitals / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the current statin use among high-risk patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases in Chinese large hospitals.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical history and current medication were recorded in 11 783 patients with a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) from 39 highest-ranking hospitals in 10 Chinese cities.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Indication for statin use was given for all screened patients and statin was not prescribed in up to 59.6% (7022) patients. For patients with statin use, medication time was shorter than their atherosclerotic CVD history in 1120 (23.5%) patients. The proportion of statin use among patients with ischemic stroke was 19.6%, among patients with coronary heart disease without ischemic stroke was 59.2%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Statin is underused in secondary prevention among patients with atherosclerotic CVD in China. There is a large gap between guideline recommended statin use and in practice. Thus, it remains a major challenge for healthcare professionals and policy makers to resolve this problem rapidly.</p>

Efficacy of microencapsulated HepG2 cells transplantation in rats with hepatolenticular degeneration / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy of intraperitoneal transplantation of microencapsulated HepG2 cells in rats with hepatolenticular degeneration (HLD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HLD was induced by copper-overloaded diet with forage containing 1 g/kg copper sulfate and water with 0.185% copper sulfate for 12 weeks in rats. One hundred and twenty three-month-old male Wistar rats were randomly intraperitoneal injected with normal saline (NS), microencapsulated HepG2 cells or non-microencapsulated HepG2 cells 9 weeks after copper-overloaded diet. Blood or liver samples were obtained at five time points: 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after transplantation (n=8). The other 8 rats receiving normal diet were used as the control group. Serum levels of ALT, AST, albumin and Cu and liver Cu contents were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Serum ALT, AST and Cu levels and liver Cu contents in the NS-treated HLD, microencapsulated HepG2 cells and non-microencapsulated HepG2 cells transplantation groups increased significantly at all time points, in contrast, serum albumin levels decreased significantly in the NS-treated HLD and non-microencapsulated HepG2 cells transplantation groups compared with those in the control group at all time points (P<0.05), but serum albumin levels in the microencapsulated HepG2 cells transplantation restored to the level of the control group 28 days after transplantation. Serum ALT, AST and Cu levels and liver Cu contents in the microencapsulated HepG2 cells and non-microencapsulated HepG2 cells transplantation groups were significantly lower, in contrast, albumin levels were higher than those in the NS-treated HLD group on almost time points (P<0.05). Serum levels of ALT, AST and Cu and liver Cu contents in the microencapsulated HepG2 cells transplantation group decreased 7 or 14 days after transplantation, while serum albumin levels increased significantly 14 days after transplantation compared with those in the non-microencapsulated HepG2 cells transplantation group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Intraperitoneal transplantation of microencapsulated HepG2 cells can relieve hepatic damage, reduce serum and liver Cu levels, and improve copper metabolism, therefore it is promising for the treatment of HLD.</p>

A cross-sectional study on the use of statin among patients with atherosclerotic ischemic stroke in China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To investigate the degree and determinants of the use on statin among patients with atherosclerotic ischernic stroke in China. Methods In the context of an international multi-center clinical trial being undertaken in China, 5585 patients with atherosclerotic ischemic stroke were screened in 39 prestigious hospitals in 10 cities. The characteristics collected through electronic questionnaire were described and analyzed. Results All the screened patients had indications for statins. Among those, 60% of the patients had a history from 3 months to 2 years of suffering from stroke. However, up to 80% of the patients were not using statins when screened. Even in those with statins, about 1/4 of the patients took statins for much shorter period than the history of stroke. The proportion using statins among IS patients with CHD was 4 times more than in those without CHD. Simvastatin and Atorvastatin were most commonly used. Conclusion Statins were greatly nnderused for secondary prevention among patients with atherosclerotic ischemic stroke in China. There was a large gap between evidence and practice. It remains a major challenge for healthcare professionals and policy makers to tackle this problem more positively.

Plasma levels of D-dimer and von Willebrand factor and the therapeutic effect of compound glycyrrhizin in children with cytomegalovirus hepatitis / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the significance of plasma D-dimer and von Willebrand factor (vWF) and the therapeutic effect of compound glycyrrhizin in children with cytomegalovirus (CMV) hepatitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty healthy children, 16 asymptomatic cases with CMV infection and 52 cases of CMV hepatitis (21 cholestatic and 31 non-cholestatic) were enrolled. The 52 children with CMV hepatitis were randomly administered with conventional treatment alone or conventional treatment plus compound glycyrrhizin treatment. Plasma D-dimer and vWF levels were measured before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Plasma D-dimer and vWF levels in the CMV hepatitis group were markedly higher than those in the healthy control and asymptomatic CMV infection groups (P<0.01). The cholestatic hepatitis group had more increased plasma D-dimer and vWF levels compared with the non-cholestatic hepatitis group (P<0.01). Plasma D-dimer and vWF levels in the CMV hepatitis group were markedly reduced after conventional or compound glycyrrhizin treatment (P<0.01). Compound glycyrrhizin treatment decreased more significantly plasma D-dimer and vWF levels compared with the conventional treatment in children with CMV hepatitis (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The detection of plasma D-dimer and vWF is useful in the early assessment of liver damage in children with CMV hepatitis. Compound glycyrrhizin can decrease obviously plasma D-dimer and vWF levels and might thus provide protective effects against liver damage.</p>

Effect of Astragalus and Arctium in different combinations on reactive oxygen species content and nuclear transcription factor kappaB expression in renal tissue of streptozotocin rats / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and nuclear transcription factor-kappa B expression (NF-kappaB) in renal tissue of diabetic rats and the effect of Astragalus and Arctium in combination on them.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic model rats were established. Astragalus and Arctium in different dosages (low, moderate, high) were combined after orthogonal design and administered respectively to the model rats via gastrogavage for 4 or 8 weeks. Content of ROS in the renal tissue was detected by flow cytometry and expression of functional NF-kappaB p65 was assessed by Western blot at the 4th and 8th weekends (4th week and 8th week).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>ROS content of renal tissue in the model rats was 36.55 +/- 7.46% at the 4th week and 31.91 +/- 5.83% at the 8th week, NF-kappaB p65 expression was 165.00 +/- 3.14 at the 4th week and 214.00 +/- 5.11 at the 8th week, all higher than those in normal rats (6.21 +/- 1.83% and 129.00 +/- 1.58 at the 4th week, 6.95 +/- 1.41% and 148.00 +/- 2.32 at the 8th week) respectively. The combined use of Astragalus and Arctium showed decreasing effects on both indexes significantly, and the decreasing effects of the combination with moderate and high dose Astragalus were better than those with low dose, with the details as follows: those of ROS at the 4th week were 11.43 +/- 2.42%, 18.37 +/- 7.58% and 22.10 +/- 4.71% for high, moderate and low dose Astragalus combination respectively (same hereinafter), at the 8th week 12.55 +/-4.40%, 19.15 +/- 6.64% and 23.48 +/- 3.13%; and for NF-kappaB p65 expression at the 8th week, 185.00 +/- 6.99, 183.00 +/- 3.89 and 194.00 +/- 4.98 respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Combined use of Astragalus and Arctium may ameliorate the condition of diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting the activation of the ROS-NF-kappaB signal passage.</p>

Triptolide protects against 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity in rats: implication for immunosuppressive therapy in Parkinson's disease / 神经科学通报·英文版

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Neuroinflammation with microglial activation has been implicated to have a strong association with the progressive dopaminergic neuronal loss in Parkinson's disease (PD). The present study was undertaken to evaluate the activation profile of microglia in 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium (MPP+)-induced hemiparkinsonian rats. Triptolide, a potent immunosuppressant and microglia inhibitor, was then examined for its efficacy in protecting dopaminergic neurons from injury and ameliorating behavioral disabilities induced by MPP+.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The rat model of PD was established by intranigral microinjection of MPP+. At baseline and on day 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 following MPP+ injection, the degree of microglial activation was examined by detecting the immunodensity of OX-42 (microglia marker) in the substantia nigra (SN). The number of viable dopaminergic neurons was determined by measuring tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive neurons in the SN. Behavioral performances were evaluated by counting the number of rotations induced by apomorphine, calculating scores of forelimb akinesia and vibrissae-elicited forelimb placing asymmetry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Intranigral injection of MPP+ resulted in robust activation of microglia, progressive depletion of dopaminergic neurons, and ongoing aggravation of behavioral disabilities in rats. Triptolide significantly inhibited microglial activation, partially prevented dopaminergic cells from death and improved behavioral performances.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These data demonstrated for the first time a neuroprotective effect of triptolide on dopaminergic neurons in MPP+-induced hemiparkinsonian rats. The protective effect of triptolide may, at least partially, be related to the inhibition of MPP+-induced microglial activation. Our results lend strong support to the use of immunosuppressive agents in the management of PD.</p>

Multicentered, randomized, controlled clinical trial on patients with IgA nephropathy of Qi-yin deficiency syndrome type / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect and safety of Chinese medicine Compound Shenhua Tablet (SHT) on IgA nephropathy patients of TCM Qi-yin deficiency syndrome type, by using angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) fosinopril as the positive control.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Adopting prospective, multicentered, double-blinded, double-dummy, randomized, controlled trial design, 131 patients with IgA nephropathy of Qi-yin deficiency syndrome type were assigned to two groups, the 65 patients in the treated group (SHG) and the 66 in the control group treated with SHT and fosinopril respectively for 12 weeks. The indexes of efficacy, including TCM syndrome scores, urinary protein, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen and endogenous creatinine clearance rate, as well as the indexes of safety, including liver function and occurrence of adverse events were observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no significant statistical difference between the two groups in aspects of baseline demographic characteristics and clinical figures, including gross hematuria, hypertension, incidence of renal insufficiency, total course of disease, urinary protein, TCM syndrome score, renal pathological Katafuchi score, glomerular score, tubular-interstitial score, vascular score and Lee grading. Afte 12 weeks of treatment, the content of 24-h urinary protein significantly decreased by 0.26 +/- 0.95 g/24 h and 0.26 + 0.92 g/24 h respectively in the two groups, showing significant difference in comparing with baseline, but insignificant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05); the scores of TCM dominant syndromes in them decreased by 2.52 +/- 2.34 scores and 1.74 +/- 2.12 scores respectively with significant difference as compared with baseline (P < 0.01), and in comparison between groups (P < 0.05). No significant change in levels of serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, endogenous creatinine clearance rate in both groups was found (P > 0.05). Scores of TCM accompanied syndromes in the two groups was significantly decreased (P < 0.01), but the difference between them was insignificant (P > 0.05). No severe adverse event occurred during treatment, and the occurrence in the two groups was similar.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SHT, just like the positive control medicine fosinopril, can effectively decrease the proteinuria and improve clinical syndrome of IgA nephropathy patients of Qi-yin deficiency syndrome type, and shows no serious adverse reaction.</p>

Community Structure and Ecological Distribution of Airborne Microbes in Autumn in Xi'an / 环境与健康杂志

Objective To understand the air microorganisms pollution and the community structure and distribution characteristics of outdoor airborne microbes in Xi'an in autumn.Methods Airborne microbes were sampled by fallen plates method in autumn,2006 in Xi'an at three typical sites,factories region,garden greenbelt region and main traffic region.Results The results showed that the total concentration of airborne microbes at the factories region and garden greenbelt region,main traffic region was 2 500 cfu/m~3,1 354 cfu/m~3 and 4 404 cfu/m~3 respectively.Bacteria and fungal genus were predominant.Gram positive bacteria were much more than Gram negative bacteria.There were 20 genera of bacteria and 8 fungal genus were detected. Micrococcui,Bacillus,Staphylococcus and Pseudornonus were predominant.The most frequently isolated fungal genus were Penicillium,Paecilomces,Cladosporium and Nonsporulatiny mycelia.The community structure of airborne fungal genus and the dominant genus in different function region was significantly different.The distribution characteristic of airborne microbe concentration in different function region was different.The concentration of airborne bacteria was significantly lower in garden greenbelt region than factories region and main traffic region,whereas the concentration of airborne fungi in garden greenbelt region was higher than that in factories region and main traffic region.Conclusion The distribution of the airbome microbes shows a characteristic of time and space,it is affected not only by the environment and pollution,but also by the other factors such as human activities,animals and plants.