Relation of serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels to bone mineral density in southern Chinese postmenopausal women: A preliminary study.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D insufficiency is prevalent in postmenopausal women and has been related to low bone mineral density (BMD). However, controversial results have been reported for the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and BMD. This study was done to investigate whether serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with BMD in postmenopausal women living in Guangzhou in southern China. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 119 asymptomatic postmenopausal women, aged 48-85 yr, who were consecutively selected from Guangzhou city. BMD was measured at the lumbar spine and femoral neck. The correlation between serum 25(OH)D levels and BMD wes investigated. RESULTS: With increasing serum 25(OH)D levels categorized as <20, 20-30, and ≥ 30ng/ml, the PTH levels decreased gradually ( P=0.031). Bivariate correlation analyses showed an inverse relationship between serum 25(OH)D and PTH levels after controlling for age and BMI (r=-0.209, P=0.023). Although subjects with vitamin D<30 ng/ml had significantly lower BMD, age- and BMI-adjusted serum 25(OH)D was weakly correlated with BMD at femoral neck (r=0.185, P0.045), and not at lumbar spine (r=0.172, p =0 0.063). In multiple regression analyses, serum 25(OH)D was a predictor for BMD at femoral neck (R 2= 0.424). However, serum ß-CTX was a determinant for BMD at lumbar spine (R 2= 0.361). INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Serum 25(OH)D levels showed a positive correlation with BMD at femoral neck and serum ß-CTX levels were inversely correlated with BMD at lumbar spine in postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to elucidate the clinical impact of these findings.

[The expression of DJ-1 protein in proteomic analysis of late-onset Alzheimer disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pathogenicity of late-onset Alzheimer disease from the viewpoint of comparative proteomic technology and to screen it from diseases with related protein markers. METHODS: Cerebral cortex tissue of temporal layer of 8 cases of late-onset Alzheimer disease and 5 cases of age-matched autopsied controls with normal brain was chosen for this study. Cerebral proteins were run through immobilized pH gradient (IPG) isoelectric focusing electrophoresis as the first dimension and then vertical SDS-PAGE electrophoresis as the second dimension. Differential proteins were identified with visionworks LS and then analyzed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Finally, the protein was identified by searching in the data bank. RESULTS: Different 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis maps were obtained for the protein spots in the late-onset Alzheimer disease group and the control group gels.11 protein spots showed a significantly differential expression between the two groups of cerebral cortex samples. It was found that the expression of DJ-1 protein was increased in the late-onset Alzheimer disease group in comparison with the control group after searching in the database. CONCLUSION: DJ-1 protein may be a potential marker related to Alzheimer disease pathogenicity. This finding would be helpful to develop new drugs which focus on this protein and prevent neurodegeneration.

[Study on phenylpropanoids from Dregea sinensis var. corrugata].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of Dregea sinensis var. corrugata. METHOD: The chemical constituents were isolated by various column chromatographic techniques. Structures were elucidated on the basis of NMR data. RESULT: Eight compounds were isolated and their structures were elucidated as syringaresinol (1), syringaresinol-O-3-D-glycopyranoside (2), 3, 4'-dimethoxyl-4, 9, 9'-trihydroxyl-benzofuranneolignan-7'-ene (3), 3, 4'-di- methoxyl-4, 9-dihydroxyl-9'-hydroethyl-benzofuranneolignan-7'-ene (4), conifer-aldehyde (5), sinapic aldehyde (6), 3-hydoxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)-propan-1-one (7), 3-hydroxy-1-(3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-propan-1-one (8). CONCLUSION: Compounds 1-8 were isolated from Dregea sinensis var. corrugata for the first time.

[Mechanism of Ca2+ on the hyperthermia-induced apoptosis of rat hippocampal neurons in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: To study the mechanism of Ca(2+) on the apoptosis induced by hyperthermia in neonate rat hippocampal neurons to provide the applicative evidence of dantrolene for preventing brain injuries. METHODS: Dantrolene, Ca(2+) specific blocking agent, was used in the hyperthermia-induced apoptosis of primary hippocampal neurons in vitro to observe its effect on the apoptosis, fluorescent intensity, and dynamic change of Ca(2+) by flowcytometry and laser confocal microscopy. RESULTS: The rate of apoptosis was decreased significantly after hyperthermia treatment by dantrolene sodium. The intracellular Ca(2+) fluorescent intensity in 42 degrees C treatment group (107.35 +/- 6.0) was significantly lower than that in control group (159.12 +/- 33.8). The concentration of Ca(2+) began to decrease 20 approximately 25 s after adding dantrolene sodium, and reached the lowest level about 50 s later, and then kept lower than the basal level. CONCLUSION: Dantrolene sodium has an important protective effect on hippocampal neurons apoptosis induced by hyperthermia and may have some applicative value of preventing heat-induced brain injury.

Creation of the Chinese visible human data set.

The United States Visible Human Project (VHP) created a digital image data set of complete human male (data acquisition finished in November 1994) and female (data acquisition finished in December 1995) cadavers in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and anatomical (anatomic serial section) modes. VHP aroused worldwide enthusiasm for Visible Human Research (VHR), and the data set is being used in a variety of research and educational domains. The Visible Korean Human (VKH) male was produced in March 2001. To accelerate worldwide VHR and to promote virtual anatomy as a revolutionary break with conventional anatomy, more visible human data sets representative of different populations of the world are in demand. The Chinese Visible Human (CVH) male (created in October 2002) and female (created in February 2003) project achieved greater integrity of images, easier blood vessel identification, and were free of organic lesion (unlike the other visible human projects). We performed data acquisition, three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction, and visualization with improved technology to create CVH male and female. CVH is the first volumetric data representing a complete normal adult human male and female of an Asian population. This article presents the history of Chinese Visible Human cadavers and the methods and technology used to produce the data set.

Effect of whole body vibration therapy on circulating serotonin levels in an ovariectomized rat model of osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVE(S): Studies have reported that whole body vibration (WBV) played a vital role in bone remodeling. Circulating serotonin is also involved in negative regulating bone mass in rodents and humans. However, both WBV and inhibition of serotonin biosynthesis may suppress receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis in vitro. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of WBV therapy on the levels of serum serotonin in ovariectomized rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six-month-old female Sprague Dawley rats weighing 276.15±37.75 g were ovariectomized to induce osteoporosis, and another ten rats underwent sham operation to establish sham control (SHAM) group. After 3 months, ovariectomized rats were divided into three subgroups and then separately treated with WBV, Alendronate (ALN) and normal saline (OVX), SHAM group was given normal saline. After 6 weeks of treatment, rats were sacrificed. Serum serotonin, RANKL, bone turnover markers, and bone mineral density (BMD), bone strength were evaluated. RESULTS: The serum serotonin level was significantly lower in WBV group than OVX and ALN groups (P<0.05 and P<0.001). RANKL levels significantly decreased in WBV and ALN groups compared to OVX group (P<0.001 for both). BMD and biomechanical parameters of femur significantly increased (P<0.05 for both) and bone turnover levels decreased (P<0.001 for both) in WBV group compared to OVX group. CONCLUSION: These data indicated that WBV enhanced the bone strength and BMD in ovariectomized rats most likely by reducing the levels of circulating serotonin.

[Correlation of ABO groups to hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between ABO blood groups and hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH). METHODS: The clinical data of 425 patients with HICH admitted to Nanfang Hospital were collected to analyze the relationship between the ABO blood groups and the occurrence of HICH, with normal Han Chinese subjects serving as the controls. RESULTS: Compared to the officially documented distribution of ABO groups in Chinese population (O 34.11%, B 28.98%, A 28.29%, AB 8.69%) and in Guangzhou residents (O 46.00%, B 25.00%, A 23.00%, AB 6.00%), a significant difference was noted in the blood group distribution in this cohort (O 45.10%, A 26.00%, B 24.00%, AB 4.90%). O blood type individuals with HICH showed a higher morbidity than others. Th ABO blood type distribution in this cohort showed no significant difference from that in the control group (P>0.05), but differed significantly from the Chinese norm (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The ABO blood group is a factor contributing to the occurrence of HICH. O blood type is related to cerebral hemorrhage, and may serve as a risk factor for HICH.

Antitumor efficacy of poly(dimer acid-dodecanedioic acid) copolymer in mice bearing Sarcoma-180 tumor.

The drug release profiles of poly(dimer acid-dodecanedioic acid) P(DA-DDDA) copolymer containing 5% adriamycin hydrochloride (ADM) in vitro were evaluated. The biocompatibility of P(DA-DDDA) under mice skin was also evaluated, macroscopic observation and microscopic analysis demonstrated that the copolymer is biocompatible and well tolerated in vivo. Antitumor efficacy of P(DA-DDDA) copolymers containing 5% adriamycin hydrochloride (ADM) implanted subcutaneously in mice bearing Sarcoma-180 tumor exhibited increased volume doubling time (VDT) (31 +/- 1.5 days) compared to plain subcutaneous injection of ADM (7 +/- 0.9 days). The studies suggest that P(DA-DDDA) copolymer as an effective carrier for antineoplastic drug like adriamycin hydrochloride has a very good prospect in the treatment of noumenon tumors.

Molecular modeling, design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 3',4'-dicamphanoyl-(+)-cis-khellactone (DCK) analogs as potent anti-HIV agents.

Our current studies aimed at developing new potential anti-AIDS drug candidates have focused on the design and synthesis of new DCK analogs with improved molecular water solubility. Based on the structures and biodata of previous DCK analogs, 3D-QSAR studies have been performed which resulted in two reliable computational models, CoMFA and CoMSIA, with r(2) values of 0.995 and 0.987, and q(2) values of 0.662 and 0.657, respectively. In accord with these 3D-QSAR models, 15 new DCK analogs with polar functional groups at the 3-position were subsequently designed, synthesized, and evaluated against HIV-1 replication in H9 and MT4 cell lines. New DCK analogs 3b, 3c, 4b, 4c, 6a, 7c, and 9a showed promising potency with EC(50) values ranging from 0.09 to 0.0002 microM in both assays. Meanwhile, these promising compounds also showed a wide range of predicted logP values from 0.90 to 5.19, which increased the probability of identifying anti-HIV drug candidates from this class of compounds for clinical trials. Furthermore, both experimental and predicted values matched well, corroborating the reliability of the established 3D-QSAR models.

The Chinese Visible Human (CVH) datasets incorporate technical and imaging advances on earlier digital humans.

We report the availability of a digitized Chinese male and a digitzed Chinese female typical of the population and with no obvious abnormalities. The embalming and milling procedures incorporate three technical improvements over earlier digitized cadavers. Vascular perfusion with coloured gelatin was performed to facilitate blood vessel identification. Embalmed cadavers were embedded in gelatin and cryosectioned whole so as to avoid section loss resulting from cutting the body into smaller pieces. Milling performed at -25 degrees C prevented small structures (e.g. teeth, concha nasalis and articular cartilage) from falling off from the milling surface. The male image set (.tiff images each of 36 Mb) has a section resolution of 3072 x 2048 pixels ( approximately 170 micro m, the accompanying magnetic resonance imaging and computer tomography data have a resolution of 512 x 512, i.e. approximately 440 micro m). The Chinese Visible Human male and female datasets are available at http://www.chinesevisiblehuman.com. (The male is 90.65 Gb and female 131.04 Gb). MPEG videos of direct records of real-time volume rendering are at: http://www.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/~crc