Consensus on diagnosis and treatment of very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency / 浙江大学学报·医学版

Very long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLCAD) deficiency is a metabolic disease of long chain fatty acid oxidation. The clinical manifestations are heterogeneous, mainly with heart, liver, skeletal muscle and brain damage, and the onset of which can be from newborn to adult. Cardiomyopathy type is more serious with high mortality. The liver failure type and myopathy type would be potentially lethal, but generally the prognosis is relatively good. Recurrent hypoglycemia, energy metabolism disorder, liver dysfunction, cardiomyopathy and serious arrhythmia are the main causes of death. Most patients can be identified through neonatal screening, and the prognosis is usually good in patients with early diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of this consensus is to standardize the diagnosis, treatment and management of VLCAD deficiency, so as to improve the prognosis of patients and reduce death and disability.

Piperazine ferulate exerts antihypertensive effect and improves endothelial function in vitro and in vivo via the activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

To investigate the effect of piperazine ferulate (PF) on hypertension and endothelial function, and to assess the possible underlying mechanism. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), adult male Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats aged 12 to 14 weeks, and spontaneously hypertensive (SH) and Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were used for this study. Cell viability, activities of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), in vivo NO synthesis, arterial systolic blood pressure, vascular function, expressions of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and phosphorylated-eNOS (p-eNOS) were determined or assessed as appropriate. The results of MTT assay showed the number of viable cells were significantly increased with increase in PF concentration (p < 0.05). The level of expression of ACE was significantly reduced with increase in PF concentration (p < 0.05), while the level of HO-1 expression significantly increased (p < 0.05). Results of DAF-FM fluorescent staining showed that the amounts of NO synthesized in vivo was significantly higher in aortic rings of SH and SD rats treated with PF than in the corresponding control groups (p < 0.05). Treatment with PF in vivo significantly improved impaired acetylcholine-induced aortic relaxation in SH rats. Total eNOS expression was significantly increased after treatment with PF (p < 0.05). The expressions of total eNOS and p-eNOS in both groups were not affected by PF when compared to the control group. These results indicate that PF exerts antihypertensive effect and improves endothelial function in vitro and in vivo via the activation of eNOS.

Effect of abnormal left ventricular diastolic function on occurrence of atrial or ventricular arrhythmia in elderly essential hypertensive patients / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To study the effect of abnormal left ventricular diastolic function(LVDF)on the onset and severity of atrial or ventricular arrhythmia in elderly essential hypertensive patients.Methods The 210 elderly essential hypertensive patients were enrolled in this study. Their arrhythmias were monitored by 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram. The essential hypertensive patients were referred for Doppler echocardiography to evaluate left ventricular function, while patients with abnormal systolic function were excluded, and then the patients were classified as normal LVDF and abnormal LVDF including, impaired relaxation, pseudonormal, and restrictivelike filling patterns. Results In 210 elderly essential hypertensive patients, 147 (70%) cases were diagnosed as atrial arrhythmia and 102 (49%) cases as ventricular arrhythmia (χ2 = 19. 975, P ＜ 0.05 ).Morbidities of atrial (89%) or complex atrial arrhythmia (49%) as well as ventricular (63%) orcomplex ventricular arrhythmia (30%) were significantly higher in abnormal LVDN group than in normal LVDN group (40%, 13%, 26% and 7%, χ2 = 56. 723 、 28. 359 、 28. 076、15. 9102 , all P＜0. 05). The morbidities of arrhythmias were higher in hypertensive patients with pseudonormal and restrictiveike filling patterns than in other groups 93.6% and 96. 4%. Conclusions Abnormal left ventricular diastolic function affects on the onset and severity of atrial or ventricular arrhythmia in elderly essential hypertensive patients, and complex atrial or ventricular arrhythmia is easier found in hypertensive patients with pseudonormal and restrictivelike filling patterns.

Preparation and in vitro evaluation of pH, time-based and enzyme-degradable pellets for colonic drug delivery.

The preparation of pH-dependent, time-based and enzyme degradable pellets was investigated for use as an oral colonic drug delivery system. It was expected that drug would be released immediately once the pellets reached the colon. The pellets were prepared using extrusion-spheronizing equipment and subsequently coated with three layers of three functional polymers by an air-suspension technique. The core consisted of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) as a model drug, CaP as an enzyme-degradable material and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as an additive. As far as the three coated layers were concerned, the outer layer was coated with Eudragit L30D-55 for protection against gastrointestinal juices, the intermediate layer was coated with ethylcellulose (EC) to inhibit drug release during passage through the small intestine, and the inner film was coated with pectin for swelling and enzyme-degradation, which required a 30, 10, and 12% weight gain, respectively. Several micromeritic properties of the core pellets, including particle size distribution, particle size, degree of circularity, and friability, were evaluated to investigate the effects of the formulations of the cores and preparation conditions. Also, dissolution testing of the cores showed that the presence of calcium pectinate (CaP) markedly increased the drug release rate from the cores, as determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In-vitro release studies indicated that the coated pellets completely protected the drug release in 0.1 mol/L HCl, while the drug release was delayed for 3-4 hr in pH 6.8 PBS. A synergistic effect of enzyme dependence for the coated pellets was seen following removal of the coated layer and during contact with colonic enzymes. Consequently, it was possible to achieve colon-specific drug delivery using this triple-dependence system.

Reverse effect of losartan on myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular hypertrophy in treatment of essential hypertensive patients / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

AIM: To investigate the effects of losartan on myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients. METHODS: 35 essential hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy were treated with losartan 50-100 mg for 6 mon. Before and after the treatment, serum procollagen typeⅢ (PCⅢ), laminin (LN), and hyaluronic acid (HA) were measured by radioimmunoassay; and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was determined with ultrasonic cardiogram. RESULTS: After treatment with losartan: the serum levels of PCⅢ, LN, HA, and LVMI were all decreased (P

Antibacterial constituents of Senecio cannabifolius(Ⅱ) / 中草药

Objective To study the antibacterial constituents of Senecio cannabifolius.Methods The antibacterial effect of all the extracts was tested in vitro with Staphylococcus aureus,Bacillus subtilis(Gram-positive bacilli),and Escherichia coli(Gram-negative bacillus).Chemical constituents were isolated by chromatography.Physicochemical characters and spectroscopic analyses were employed for their structural identification.Results Five compounds were isolated and their structures were elucidated by chemical and spectral methods as follows: methyl-5-hydroxy-2-pyridinecarboxylate(E-13),6-hydroxy-7,7a-dihydro-2(6H)-benzofuranone(E-14),2-(1,4-dihydroxycyclohexanyl)-acetic acid(E-16),3-hydroxycyclohexanecarboxylic acid(E-17),and 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde(B-14).Conclusion All of them are isolated from the plants of Senecio L.for the first time.