Effective components of Chinese herbs reduce central nervous system function decline induced by iron overload.

Abnormally increased levels of iron in the brain trigger cascade amplification in Alzheimer's disease patients, resulting in neuronal death. This study investigated whether components extracted from the Chinese herbs epimedium herb, milkvetch root and kudzuvine root could relieve the abnormal expression of iron metabolism-related protein in Alzheimer's disease patients. An APPswe /PS1ΔE9 double transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease was used. The intragastric administration of compounds from epimedium herb, milkvetch root and kudzuvine root improved pathological alterations such as neuronal edema, increased the number of neurons, downregulated divalent metal transporter 1 expression, upregulated ferroportin 1 expression, and inhibited iron overload in the cerebral cortex of mice with Alzheimer's disease. These compounds reduced iron overload-induced impairment of the central nervous system, indicating a new strategy for developing novel drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Neuroprotective effect of the active components of three Chinese herbs on brain iron load in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder and the most common cause of dementia. New treatments for AD are required due to its increasing prevalence in aging populations. The present study evaluated the effects of the active components of Epimedium, Astragalus and Radix Puerariae on learning and memory impairment, ß-amyloid (Aß) reduction and brain iron load in an APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mouse model of AD. Increasing evidence indicates that a disturbance of normal iron homeostasis may contribute to the pathology of AD. However, the underlying mechanisms resulting in abnormal iron load in the AD brain remain unclear. It has been hypothesized that the brain iron load is influenced by the deregulation of certain proteins associated with brain iron metabolism, including divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and ferroportin 1 (FPN1). The present study investigated the effects of the active components of Epimedium, Astragalus and Radix Puerariae on the expression levels of DMT1 and FPN1. The treatment with the active components reduced cognitive deficits, inhibited Aß plaque accumulation, reversed Aß burden and reduced the brain iron load in AD model mice. A significant increase was observed in the levels of DMT1-iron-responsive element (IRE) and DMT1-nonIRE in the hippocampus of the AD mouse brain, which was reduced by treatment with the active components. In addition, the levels of FPN1 were significantly reduced in the hippocampus of the AD mouse brain compared with those of control mice, and these levels were increased following treatment with the active components. Thus, the present study indicated that the active components of Epimedium, Astragalus and Radix Puerariae may exert a neuroprotective effect against AD by reducing iron overload in the AD brain and may provide a novel approach for the development of drugs for the treatment of AD.

Factors potentially affecting the function of kidney grafts / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Donor and recipient risk factors on graft function have been well characterized. The contribution of demographic factors, such as age, gender, and other potential factors of donor and recipient at the time of transplantation on the function of a graft is much less well understood. In this study, we analyzed the effects of factors such as age, gender, etc., on the short-term and long-term graft function in kidney transplant recipients from living donor.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 335 living donors and their recipients, who had kidney transplantation in our center from May 2004 to December 2009, were included. Serum creatinine level was used as the assessment criterion (serum creatinine level lower than 115 mmol/L is normal). Factors related to graft function such as age, gender, blood relation by consanguinity, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch, ABO type, etc., were analyzed separately.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Donor age is the key factor affecting both the short-term and long-term function of a grafted kidney from a living donor. The group with donors younger than 48 years showed the best kidney function post transplantation. Match of gender and age is another important factor that influences the function of grafted kidney from a living donor. The older donor to younger recipient group had the worst outcome after kidney transplantation. After 36 months post transplantation, female donor to male recipient group had worse kidney function compared to other groups. We also found that calcinerin inhibitor used in the maintenance period may influence the function of a grafted kidney. No significant statistical differences were found in consanguinity, blood type, and mismatch of HLA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Donor age is an important factor affecting the function of a grafted kidney from a living donor. We also recommend taking nephron, immunology factor, infection, and demographic information all into consideration when assessing the outcome of kidney transplantation.</p>

cDNA microarray-based screening of differentially expressed genes in macrophages in the spleen of patients with portal hypertension and hypersplenism / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify the differentially expressed genes associated with hypersplenism in patients with portal hypertension.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The total RNA were extracted from the macrophages isolated from normal spleen and the spleen of patients with portal hypertension and reversely transcribed to cDNA with the incorporation of fluorescent (cy3 and cy5)-labeled dCTP to prepare the hybridization probes. After hybridization of Biostar-H140s chip containing 14,112 spots of cDNAs with the prepared probes, the gene chip was scanned for fluorescence intensity to screen the differently expressed genes. Three gene chips were used for hybridization and only the genes with differential expression in all the three chips were considered to associate with hypersplenism in patients with portal hypertension.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totaling 896, 1330 and 898 genes were identified to be differentially expressed by the three chips, respectively, and 121 genes (0.86%) showed differential expression in all the three chips, including 21 up-regulated known genes and 73 down-regulated known genes. The differently expressed genes were functionally related with ion channels and transport proteins, cyclins, cytoskeleton, cell receptors, cell signal transduction, metabolism, immunity, and so forth. These genes might be involved in hypersplenism in the condition of portal hypertension.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>cDNA microarray-based screening of differentially expressed genes in the macrophages in the spleen may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of hypersplenism in patients with portal hypertension.</p>

Evaluation of sexual function in men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the degree of sexual dysfunction in an unselected population of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) accompanied by lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and to assess the correlation between sexual dysfunction and urinary symptoms and age.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 88 men with symptomatic BPH were investigated using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), Brief Sexual Function Inventory (BSFI), and the measurement of urinary flow rate, the total prostatic volume and serum testosterone. Regression analysis was used to determine the correlation among the variables.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean age of the patients was (67.90 +/- 7.59) years, the mean IPSS score was (18.4 +/- 7. 79), and the mean IIEF-5 was (8.50 +/- 8.98). There were 76 cases of erectile dysfunction (86.36%). Among the BSFI scores, the mean sexual drive score was (1.92 +/- 2.21), the mean erectile function score was (4.18 +/- 4.96), the mean ejaculation score was (2.55 +/- 3.57), the mean problem assessment score was (10.44 +/- 3.57), and the mean overall satisfaction score was (1.90 +/- 1.37). Among the 88 cases, 65 (72.86%) had poor sexual drive, 70 (79.55%) erectile dysfunction, and 60 (68.18%) poor ejaculation. There was statistically significant correlation between age and sexual symptom scores for erection (gamma = -0.552, P = 0.000), IIEF-5 scores (gamma = - 0.567, P = 0.000), and IPSS (gamma = 0.213, P = 0.047) as well as between IPSS and sexual symptom scores for erection and overall satisfaction (gamma = -0.332, P = 0.002 and gamma = -0.302, P = 0.005). IIEF-5 scores were significantly correlated with sexual symptom scores for each of the three categories (sexual drive, erection and ejaculation) (P < 0.05). Serum testosterone did not correlate to age, IIEF-5 scores and sexual function (P > 0.05), nor did peak urinary flow rate and total prostatic volume to IPSS, IIEF-5 scores and sexual function (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Results of this study suggest that age and LUTS are risk factors of sexual function, and sexual dysfunction is closely related to the severity of LUTS.</p>

Microscopic autofluorescence study of cardiac cancer and normal gastric tissues / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the microscopic autofluorescent characteristics of cardiac cancer and autofluorescence distribution in different layers of gastric tissues.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A double-channel laser scanning confocal microscopy with Argon ion laser (excitation wavelength 488 nm) and Helium-Neon laser (excitation wavelength 543 nm) were used to detect the autofluorescence emitted from 16 surgical specimens of cardiac cancer and corresponding normal gastric tissue. The autofluorescence image was analyzed between the cardiac cancer tissue and normal gastric tissue.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Autofluorescence was detected successfully in cardiac carcinoma and corresponding normal gastric corpus tissues of all 16 cases. In different layers of gastric tissue, fluorescence presented the strongest signal in submucosa,the second strong in luminal propria with fluorescence mostly distributed in the glands, fluorescence signal from gastric cancer was significantly decreased compared with those in the different layers of normal tissues (P< 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>There are significant differences in the shape, color, distribution and fluorescence intensity of microscopic autofluorescence between cardiac cancer tissues and normal gastric corpus tissues.</p>