Clinical study on influences of enteric coated aspirin on blood pressure and blood pressure variability.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of oral administration of enteric coated aspirin (ASA) on blood pressure and blood pressure variability of hypertension patients before sleep. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We observed 150 hypertension cases, classified as Grade 1-2, from September 2006 to March 2008. They are divided into a control group with 30 cases, ASA I group with 60 cases and ASA II group with 60 cases randomly. Subjects in the control group had proper diets, were losing weight, exercising and maintaining a healthy mentality and were taking 30 mg Adalat orally once a day. Based on the treatment of control group, patients in ASA I group were administered 0.1 g Bayaspirin (produced by Bayer Company) at drought in the morning. Also, based on the treatment of control group, patients in ASA II group were administered 0.1 g Bayaspirin at draught before sleep. RESULTS: The course of treatment is 3 months and then after the treatment, decreasing blood pressure and blood pressure variability conditions in three groups will be compared. Through the comparison of ASA II group with the control group, they have differences in terms of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), decreasing range of blood pressure and blood pressure variability (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The oral administration of ASA before sleep has synergistic effects on decreasing blood pressure of hypertension patients and improving blood pressure variability.

The clinical significance of level changes of hs-CRP, IL-10 and TNF for patients with MS during active and relieving period.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical significance of the change of the level of hs-CRP, interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factors (TNF-α) for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) during the active and the relieving period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 36 patients with MS during the active stage and the relieving stage after therapy (experimental group) were compared with 10 healthy people at the relieving period, considered as control group. Immunoturbidimetry was used to examine levels of hs-CRP while the level of IL-10 and TNF-a were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Levels of hs-CRP, TNF-a and IL-10 in the serum and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) were different for MS patient at different stages. Levels of hs-CRP, TNF-a and CSF IL-10 at attacking stage were higher than those at the relieving stage (p <0.05, p <0.01 or p <0.001). The levels of IL-10 in the serum at relieving stage were higher than in the CSF (p <0.05). The levels of TNF-a and IL-10 of MS patients at relieving stage in the serum and CFS were higher than those of healthy people (p <0.05 or p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The significantly increased levels of hs-CRP, TNF-a and CSF IL-10 in the serum and CSF reflect MS at attack stage. The levels of TNF-a and IL-10 in the serum and CSF at the relieving stage of MS patients were higher than those of healthy individuals, suggest that at relieving stage, MS may be still developing. Finally, the increased level of hs-CRP in the serum can be used as an evidence to diagnose MS at the active stage.

Effect of docosahexaenoic acid on hippocampal neurons in high-glucose condition: involvement of PI3K/AKT/nuclear factor-κB-mediated inflammatory pathways.

Accumulating evidence suggested that hyperglycemia played a critical role in hippocampus dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus. However, the multifactorial pathogenesis of hyperglycemia-induced impairments of hippocampal neurons has not been fully elucidated. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been shown to enhance learning and memory and affect neural function in various experimental conditions. The present study investigated the effects of DHA on the lipid peroxidation, the level of inflammatory cytokines and neuron apoptosis in the hippocampal neurons in high-glucose condition. High-glucose administration increased the level of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-6, induced oxidative stress and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in vitro. DHA treatment reduced oxidative stress and TNF-α expression, protected the hippocampal neurons by increasing AKT phosphorylation and decreasing caspase-3 and caspase-9 expression. These results suggested that high-glucose exposure induced injury of hippocampal neurons in vitro, and the principle mechanisms involved in the neuroprotective effect of DHA were its antioxidant and anti-apoptotic potential. DHA may thus be of use in preventing or treating neuron-degeneration resulting from hyperglycemia.

The fabrication of cubic boron nitride nanocone and nanopillar arrays via reactive ion etching.

High-density (2 x 10(9) cm(-2)) uniform arrays of cubic boron nitride (cBN) nanocones and nanopillars with a high aspect ratio were fabricated by employing sequential growth and bias-assisted reactive ion etching using gold nano-dots as an etching mask. The mechanism of formation of the nanopillar and nanocone morphologies was discussed in terms of the relative action of ion bombardment etching and chemical etching due to activated hydrogen plasma constituents. The presented method enabled nanostructuring of cBN surfaces over large areas with great uniformity and reproducibility with a controlled aspect ratio. The unique morphology of the nanostructures offers diverse application opportunities in microelectromechanical devices.