[Clinical efficacy and mechanism of total glucosides from white paeony for radioactive liver damage].

To discuss the effects of total glucosides from white paeony on preventing and treating radioactive liver damage, and explore its possible mechanisms. Thirty-six patients with primary hepatic carcinoma from 105th Hospital of Chinese PLA were treated with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy and randomly divided into simple irradiation group, total glucosides from white paeony group, and control group. The levels of AST, ALT, HA, LN, PCⅢ, CIV and TGF-ß1 in serum of various groups were determined by using ELISA method. As compared with the simple irradiation group and control group, total glucosides from white paeony could obviously decrease the levels of AST, ALT, HA, LN, PCⅢ, CIV and TGF-ß1(P<0.05, P<0.01). The results showed that the total glucosides from white paeony could effectively prevent and treat radioactive liver damage, and its mechanism might be associated with decreasing the levels of TGF-ß1, and inhibiting the synthesis of collagen synthesis.

A comparison between three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy combined with interventional treatment and interventional treatment alone for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumour thrombosis.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated the therapeutic effects of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumour thrombosis (PVTT). METHODS: Sixty-three HCC patients with PVTT were divided into two groups. Group A (30 patients) was treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy followed by 2-3 series of TACE, while group B (33 patients) was only treated with TACE. RESULTS: The 1- and 2-year survival rates of group A were 62.40% and 20.81%, respectively, with a mean survival time of 13.0 months. The 1- and 2-year survival rates of group B were 56.49% and 18.83%, respectively, with a mean survival time of 9.0 months. There were significant differences between the two groups (log-rank chi-square value = 3.950, P = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy combined with TACE can significantly improve clinical outcomes in patients with HCC and PVTT compared with TACE alone.

Stimuli-triggered growth and removal of a bioreducible nanoshell on nanoparticles.

A new and easy method of stimuli-triggered growth and removal of a bioreducible nanoshell on nanoparticles is reported. The results show that pH or temperature could induce the aggregation of disulfide-contained branched polymers at the surface of nanoparticles; subsequently, the aggregated polymers could undergo intermolecular disulfide exchange to cross-link the aggregated polymers, forming a bioreducible polymer shell around nanoparticles. When these nanoparticles with a polymer shell are treated with glutathione (GSH) or d,l-dithiothreitol (DTT), the polymer shell could be easily removed from the nanoparticles. The potential application of this method is demonstrated by easily growing and removing a bioreducible shell from liposomes, and improvement of in vivo gene transfection activity of liposomes with a bioreducible PEG shell.