Risk factors for the postoperative bladder neck contracture in patients with small-volume prostatic hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: This study was to explore the risk factors for postoperative bladder neck contracture (BNC) after transurethral operation of prostate in patients with small-volume prostatic obstruction. METHODS: Clinicopathologic data at our center from February 2016 to January 2020 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Clinicopathological characteristics between patients with and without BNC were compared. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors for postoperative BNC. RESULTS: There were a total of 39 patients (8.53%) with postoperative BNC. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that preoperative bladder neck diameter (BND), intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP), surgical methods (transurethral resection of prostate (TURP)/anatomical endoscopic enucleation of the prostate (AEEP)), and postoperative urinary tract infection (UTI) were independent risk factors for postoperative BNC in patients with small-volume prostatic obstruction (P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative BNC in patients undergoing AEEP was significantly decreased compared with those undergoing TURP. The optimal cut-off value of preoperative IPP was 6.10 mm while the optimal cut-off value of preoperative BND was 2.52 cm. CONCLUSIONS: Larger preoperative bladder neck and higher preoperative IPP lead to decreased incidence of postoperative BNC in patients with small-volume prostatic obstruction. Active management of postoperative UTI could effectively prevent the occurrence of postoperative BNC. Compared with TURP, complete AEEP would contribute to reduce BNC in patients with small-volume prostatic obstruction.

Anti-inflammatory effect of Ganluyin, a Chinese classic prescription, in chronic pharyngitis rat model.

BACKGROUND: Ganluyin (GLY) is a famous classical prescription with a long history of use as a treatment for inflammatory conditions such as chronic pharyngitis (CP) in many parts of China. However, it has not been developed as a modern pharmaceutic and its anti-inflammatory mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the anti-inflammatory efficacy of GLY and potential mechanisms in a rat model of CP. METHODS: The chemical profile of GLY was analyzed by HPLC-UV. We used a mouse model of ear edema and a rat model of paw edema. Specifically, xylene was used to induce edema on the surface of one ear in mice, and carrageenan was injected subcutaneously into the right hind paws of rats to induce paw edema. The paw thickness, ear weight, and ear perfusion were measured and recorded. The CP model in rats was induced by irritating the throat with 5% ammonia and was used to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of GLY. Levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were measured by ELISA in serum, and protein expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nuclear factor kappa-B p65 (NF-κB p65) in the throat were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot to evaluate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of GLY. Hematological assays were also conducted. RESULTS: There were four flavonoids identified in GLY: naringin, neohesperidin, baicalin, and wogonoside. The oral administration of GLY showed a significant inhibitory effect on xylene-induced ear swelling and ear blood flow in mice and significantly ameliorated rat right hind paw edema at doses of 6.2 and 12.4 g/kg. Mechanistic studies found that the anti-inflammatory activity of GLY was related to the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, and PGE2 and that GLY reduced the expression of COX-2 and NF-κB p65 proteins in the throat, attenuated throat injury, and reduced inflammatory exudates. Hematological analysis showed that treatment with GLY prevented increases in white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil (NEUT), lymphocyte (LYMPH) and monocyte (MONO) levels. CONCLUSIONS: These studies indicated that GLY has beneficial anti-inflammatory effects on CP and that it acts through reducing pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, and PGE2, as well as decreasing WBC, NEUT, LYMPH and MONO levels and decreasing the expression of COX-2 and NF-κB p65 proteins. These findings may lay the groundwork for further studies of GLY as a suitable candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as CP.

Beneficial Effects of Macroporous Resin Extract of Dendrobium candidum Leaves in Rats with Hyperuricemia Induced by a High-Purine Diet.

Objectives. The incidence of hyperuricemia (HUA) is increasing year by year, and there are no ideal drugs for the treatment; the existing ones can cause serious liver and kidney damage. We have confirmed that the water extract of Dendrobium candidum leaves could reduce the level of uric acid in rats, but the active ingredients remain unknown, and the mechanism is not well understood. This research investigated the therapeutic effect of the macroporous resin extract of the Dendrobium candidum leaf (DLE) on hyperuricemia. In this study, hyperuricemia was induced in rats by a 5-week high-purine diet. After that, DLE was administered continuously for 9 weeks. The result showed that biochemical parameters of liver and kidney function, especially serum uric acid (UA) levels, were significantly improved with DLE, which may relate to the reduction of xanthine oxidase (XOD) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) in the liver. Moreover, DLE could significantly prevent kidney and liver from damage, and intestinal injury and reduce inflammation in hyperuricemic rats by inhibiting the expression of both NF-κB and TLR4 proteins. These results showed that the macroporous resin extract of the Dendrobium candidum leaves may be effective for the treatment of hyperuricemia in rats by inhibiting uric acid production and decreasing inflammation.

Systematic Understanding of the Mechanisms of Flos Chrysanthemi Indici-mediated Effects on Hypertension via Computational Target Fishing.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: Hypertension-induced stroke and coronary artery disease are significant causes of global morbidity and mortality. Metabolic hypertension has recently become the leading cause of hypertension. Flos Chrysanthemi Indici (CIF) has a long history as a treatment of hypertension as part of traditional Chinese medicine. However, its mechanisms of activity remain largely unknown. This study was aimed to uncover the potential anti-hypertensive mechanisms of CIF based on network pharmacology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this research, a systems pharmacology approach integrating the measurement of active compounds, target fishing, gene screening, Gene Ontology (GO) pathway analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Orthology Based Annotation System (KOBAS) database analysis, and compound-target network construction were performed to explore the anti-hypertensive mechanisms of CIF. RESULTS: These studies revealed that 12 bioactive compounds in CIF had good druggability, 5 of which were flavonoids. After screening, 8 of those 12 bioactive compounds interacted with 118 hypertensionrelated target genes, which were mapped to 218 signal pathways. Network analysis showed that these targets were associated with improving insulin resistance, improving vascular function, inhibiting renninangiotensin- aldosterone system (RAAS), inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and regulating other physiological processes. CONCLUSION: In summary, CIF is predicted to target multiple proteins and pathways to form a network that exerts systematic pharmacological effects in order to regulate blood pressure and metabolic disorder.

Alcohol Induces More Severe Fatty Liver Disease by Influencing Cholesterol Metabolism.

Objectives. Fatty liver disease (FLD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Dietary cholesterol and alcohol consumption are important risk factors for the progression of FLD, but whether and how alcohol induces more severe FLD with cholesterol ingestion remain unclear. Herein, we mainly used the Lieber-DeCarli diet to establish the FLD mouse model to investigate the synergistic effects of alcohol and cholesterol metabolism on liver damage. The indices of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and total cholesterol (TC) levels, inflammation foci, and pathogenesis by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Oil Red O staining revealed that alcohol induces more severe liver damage by influencing cholesterol metabolism, which might be primarily related to the influence of cholesterol absorption, synthesis, and excretion on the liver or small intestine. Moreover, inhibition of absorption of intestinal cholesterol, but not of fat, sucrose, and alcohol, absorption into the body's metabolism by Ezetimibe, significantly improved FLD in rats fed with the high fat-cholesterol-sucrose and alcohol diet. These results showed that alcohol plays an important role in cholesterol metabolism in FLD.