Pseudomyopia treated with auricular point sticking combined with periocular needle-embedding therapy and prevention of true myopia: a multicenter randomized controlled trial. / è€³ç©´è´´åŽ‹è”åˆçœ¼å‘¨æ¿é’ˆæŠ€æœ¯é¢„é˜²å‡æ€§è¿‘è§†å‘çœŸæ€§è¿‘è§†è¿›å±•ï¼šå¤šä¸­å¿ƒéšæœºå¯¹ç §è¯•éªŒ.

OBJECTIVES: To observe the clinical effect and safety of auricular point sticking combined with periocular needle-embedding therapy for pseudomyopia and prevention of true myopia. METHODS: A total of 269 children with pseudomyopia were randomized into an observation group (134 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a control group (135 cases, 5 cases dropped out). In the control group, the healthy education was provided. In the observation group, besides the intervention as the control group, the auricular point sticking was delivered at gan (CO12), pi (CO13), xin (CO15) and yan (LO5) on one ear in each treatment, combined with periocular needle-embedding technique at bilateral Cuanzhu (BL 2), Yuyao (EX-HN 4) and Sibai (ST 2). There were 2 weeks of interval after 4 weeks of treatment. One course of treatment was composed of 6 weeks and 2 courses were required. Separately, before treatment, after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and after 12 weeks (the 1st follow-up visit) and 24 weeks (the 2nd follow-up visit) of treatment completion, the spherical equivalent (SE), SE progression, axial length (AL) progression, accommodative amplitude (AMP), the score of the TCM symptom and the general symptom were observed in the two groups. The safety and compliance were evaluated in the two groups. RESULTS: After 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, SE increased when compared with that before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and AMP was larger than that before treatment in the observation group (P<0.05). After 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the progression of SE was slower in the observation group compared with that in the control group (P<0.01, P<0.001). After 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the progression of AL in the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001); and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, AMP of the observation group was larger when compared with that in the control group (P<0.05, P<0.001). After 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, and in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the total scores of TCM symptom and general symptom were reduced in comparison with those before treatment in the observation group (P<0.05); after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment, the total scores of TCM symptom and general symptom were lower than those before treatment in the control group (P<0.05). In the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits, the difference of the total score of TCM symptom and general symptom in the observation group was larger than that of the control group (P<0.05). In the observation group, compared with the control group, the scores for pale/dark complexion in the 1st and 2nd follow-up visits and that for lassitude in the 2nd follow-up visit were lower (P<0.05), the score for poor concentration after 12 weeks of treatment and that for poor sleep and memory in the 2nd follow-up visit were lower (P<0.05). There were no adverse reactions in the two groups. The compliance was 98.5% in the observation group and was 96.3% in the control group, without statistical difference (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of health education, auricular point sticking combined with periocular needle-embedding therapy can effectively prevent from true myopia, control the increase of SE, delay the growth of AL and improve AMP in children with pseudomyopia. This compound therapeutic regimen can relieve the general symptom and comprehensively prevent from myopia through multiple approaches, with high safety and satisfactory compliance.

Cascade Tumor Therapy Platform for Sensitized Chemotherapy and Penetration Enhanced Photothermal Therapy.

As a stand-alone therapy strategy may not be sufficient for effective cancer treatment and a combination of chemotherapy with other therapies is a main trend in cancer treatment. A combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy (PTT) is reported here to achieve the goal of cascade multistage cancer treatment. A thermally responsive amphiphilic copolymer is designed and then a CuS nanoparticles (NPs)-based carbon monoxide (CO) photoinduced release system and doxorubicin (Dox) are encapsulated to construct the nanomedicine. The large-sized nanomedicine can accumulate in tumors after long circulation in vivo and will generate heat to act as a photothermal therapeutic agent by near infrared (NIR) light. Moreover, synergically release of CO and Dox is achieved and acted as a sensitized chemotherapeutic agent. The combination of PTT and chemotherapy sensitization can effectively eliminate active tumor cells in the periphery of the tumor. CuS NPs are also released after the degradation of nanomedicine and small-sized CuS NPs possess better tumor penetration and achieve penetration-enhanced PTT by further NIR irradiation, thereby effectively eliminating tumor cells inside solid tumors. Hence, cascade multistage cancer treatment of "combined PTT and chemotherapy sensitization"-"penetration-enhanced PTT" is achieved, and tumor cells are comprehensively and effectively eliminated.

A near infrared light-triggered human serum albumin drug delivery system with coordination bonding of indocyanine green and cisplatin for targeting photochemistry therapy against oral squamous cell cancer.

To ensure site-specific drug delivery/release in tumor cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and reduce the systemic toxicity of chemotherapy, a novel drug delivery system called human serum albumin-indocyanine green-cisplatin nanoparticles (HSA-ICG-DDP NPs) was developed in our study. We characterized this system in vitro and in vivo and showed synergistic effects with photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemotherapy; thereby it can significantly improve therapeutic efficacy compared with cancer monotherapy. High expression of secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) in oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) and CAFs was also confirmed in our study. Our study also found that the cellular uptake of HSA-ICG-DDP NPs in tumor cells and CAFs can be enhanced by SPARC-mediated endocytosis. Cisplatin (DDP) release from the NPs in the tumor site can be precisely triggered by the cleavage of the coordination bond of ICG-DDP via a near infrared (NIR)-induced photothermal effect of ICG. Treatment with HSA-ICG-DDP NPs induced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytotoxicity in SPARC-highly expressed tumor and CAFs. On in vivo treatment, HSA-ICG-DDP NPs were accumulated within the tumor tissue, where they exhibited stronger antitumor effects, compared to treatment with ICG, HSA-ICG and DDP. Therefore, this novel NIR-triggered drug release system displays potential for the improvement of OSCC treatment through its synergistic effects of PTT/PDT and chemotherapy.

Consuming Lower-Protein Nutrition Bars with Added Leucine Elicits Postprandial Changes in Appetite Sensations in Healthy Women.

BACKGROUND: Higher-protein meals (>25 g protein/meal) have been associated with enhanced satiety but the role of amino acids is unclear. Leucine has been proposed to stimulate satiety in rodents but has not been assessed in humans. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the acute effects of lower-protein nutrition bars, enhanced with a leucine peptide (LP), on postprandial appetite sensations in combination with plasma leucine and peptide YY (PYY) in healthy women. METHODS: Utilizing a double-blind randomized crossover design, 40 healthy women [28 ± 7.5 y; body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2): 23.5 ± 2.4] consumed the following isocaloric (180 kcal) pre-loads on 3 separate visits: control bar [9 g protein with 0 g added LP (0-g LP)] or treatment bars [11 g protein with 2 g added LP (2-g LP) or 13 g protein with 3 g added LP (3-g LP)]. Pre- and postprandial hunger, desire to eat, prospective food consumption (PFC), fullness, and plasma leucine were assessed every 30 min for 240 min. Plasma PYY was assessed hourly for 240 min (n = 24). RESULTS: Main effects of time (P < 0.0001) and treatment (P < 0.03) were detected for postprandial hunger, desire to eat, PFC, and fullness. Post hoc analyses revealed that the 2-g and 3-g LP bars elicited greater increases in fullness and greater decreases in PFC compared with 0-g LP (all, P < 0.05) with no differences between the 2-g and 3-g LP bars. The 2-g bar elicited greater decreases in hunger and desire to eat compared with the 0-g LP bar (both, P ≤ 0.01), whereas 3-g LP did not. Appetite incremental areas under the curves (iAUCs) and PYY outcomes were not different between bars. A treatment × time interaction was detected for plasma leucine with increases occurring in a leucine-dose-dependent manner (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Despite the dose-dependent increases in plasma leucine following the consumption of lower-protein bars enhanced with LP, only the 2-g LP bar elicited consistent postprandial changes in select appetite sensations compared with the 0-g LP bar. This study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02091570.

Protective effect of sinomenine on cartilage degradation and chondrocytes apoptosis.

Sinomenine (SIN), an alkaloid extracted from the stem of the Chinese medicinal plant sinomenium acutum, has been used for treating rheumatoid arthritis. But little is known whether SIN has a protective effect on osteoarthritis (OA). In this study, we investigated the protective effect of SIN on IL-1beta-induced proteoglycan degradation and apoptosis in rabbit articular cartilage and chondrocytes. Treatment with 10 ng/ml IL-1beta increased the level of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) released into the culture media, and up-regulated the activity and mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) and down-regulated the activity and mRNA expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) in cartilage explants, as confirmed by the methods of GAG quantitation, MMP-13/TIMP-1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Treatment with 10 ng/ml IL-1beta resulted in marked apoptosis in chondrocytes, as demonstrated by decreased cell viability, occurrence of DNA laddering and increased caspase-3 activity and annexin V binding of phosphatidylserine. However, simultaneous treatment with SIN (10, 50 or 250 microM) inhibited the GAG release and the activity and mRNA expression of MMP-13, and enhanced the activity and mRNA expression of TIMP-1 in a dose-dependent manner in cartilage explants. Furthermore, DNA fragment, caspase-3 activity and apoptosis rate were down-regulated, and cell viability was up-regulated dose-dependently in chondrocytes. Thus, SIN has the protective capacity to antagonize cartilage degradation and chondrocyte apoptosis, which suggest that SIN may act as an agent for pharmacological intervention in the progress of OA.

The protective effect of tetramethylpyrazine on cartilage explants and chondrocytes.

AIMS OF STUDY: Ligusticum wallichi Franchat (chuanxiong) is a very common traditional Chinese herbal medicine in China. Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) is a major active ingredient extracted from Ligusticum wallichi Franchat. We investigated the protective effect of TMP on interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) induced proteoglycan (PG) degradation and apoptosis in rabbit articular cartilage and chondrocytes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rabbit articular cartilage explants and chondrocytes were cultured with 10 ng/ml IL-1ß for 72 h in the absence or presence of various concentrations of TMP (50, 100 or 200 µM). Cartilage and chondroprotective effects of TMP were determined by evaluating (1) the degree of PG degradation by measuring the amount of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) released into the culture media with 1,9-dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB) assay in cartilage explants; (2) gene expression of MMP-3 and TIMP-1 by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis in cartilage explants; (3) chondrocytes viability with MTT assay; (4) the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) with laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Anti-apoptotic effects of TMP were determined by measuring (1) apoptosis with flow cytometric analysis; (2) mitochondrial membrane potential assay with LSCM; (3) caspase-3 activity with special assay kit. RESULTS: IL-1ß treatment increased the level of GAG released into the culture media, and induced the gene expression of MMP-3 and inhibited the gene expression of TIMP-1 in cartilage explants. Moreover, IL-1ß treatment decreased the cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential, and enhanced the level of intracellular ROS, apoptosis rate, and caspase-3 activity in chondrocytes. However, simultaneous treatment with TMP attenuated the IL-1ß-induced cartilage and chondrocyte destruction in a dose-dependent manner. TMP showed the decrease of GAG degradation and MMP-3 mRNA production, and the enhancement of TIMP-1 mRNA production in cartilage explants. TMP also increased the cell viability in chondrocytes. Furthermore, TMP inhibited the chondrocytes apoptosis through suppression of ROS production, maintaining of mitochondrial membrane potential and downregulation of caspase-3 activity. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that TMP has the cartilage and chondroprotective effect, which suggest that TMP could act as an agent for pharmacological intervention in the progress of OA.