Changes in brain susceptibility in Wilson's disease patients: a quantitative susceptibility mapping study.

AIM: To assess changes in the susceptibility of the caudate nucleus (CN), putamen, and globus pallidus (GP) in patients with neurological and hepatic Wilson's disease (WD) by quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The brain MRI images of 33 patients diagnosed with WD and 20 age-matched controls were analysed retrospectively. All participants underwent brain T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and QSM imaging using a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. QSM maps were evaluated with the STISuite toolbox. The quantitative susceptibility levels of the CN, putamen, and GP were analysed using region of interest analysis on QSM maps. Differences among neurological WD patients, hepatic patients, and controls were determined. RESULTS: Susceptibility levels were significantly higher for all examined structures (CN, putamen and GP) in patients with neurological WD compared with controls (all p<0.05) and hepatic WD patients (all p<0.05). No statistically significant differences were found in susceptibility levels between patients with hepatic WD and controls (all p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The QSM technique is a valuable tool for detecting changes in brain susceptibility in WD patients, indicating abnormal metal deposition. Notably, the current findings suggest that neurological WD patients exhibit more severe susceptibility changes compared with hepatic WD patients. Therefore, QSM can be utilised as a complementary method to detect brain injury in WD patients.

[Analysis of perioperative efficacy and safety of cytoreductive surgery in the treatment of colorectal cancer peritoneal metastases].

Objective: To analyzed perioperative safety of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) for patients with colorectal cancer peritoneal metastasis (CRPM) and to construct a predictive model for serious advese events (SAE). Methods: A descriptive case-series study was conducted to retrospectively collect the clinicopathological data and treatment status (operation time, number of organ resection, number of peritoneal resection, and blood loss, etc.) of 100 patients with peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer or appendix mucinous adenocarcinoma who underwent CRS at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2019 to August 2021. There were 53 males and 47 females. The median age was 52.0 (39.0-61.8) years old. Fifty-two patients had synchronous peritoneal metastasis and 48 had metachronous peritoneal metastasis. Fifty-two patients received preoperative neoadjuvant therapy. Primary tumor was located in the left colon, the right colon and the rectum in 43, 28 and 14 cases, respectively. Fifteen patients had appendix mucinous adenocarcinoma. Measures of skewed distribution are expressed as M (range). Perioperative safety was analyzed, perioperative grade III or higher was defined as SAE. Risk factors associated with the occurrence of SAEs were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. A nomogram was plotted by R software to predict SAE, the efficacy of which was evaluated using the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and correction curves. Results: The median peritoneal cancer index (PCI) score was 16 (1-39). Sixty-eight (68.0%) patients achieved complete tumor reduction (tumor reduction score: 0-1). Sixty-two patients were treated with intraperitoneal hyperthermic perfusion chemotherapy (HIPEC). Twenty-one (21.0%) patients developed 37 SAEs of grade III-IV, including 2 cases of ureteral injury, 6 cases of perioperative massive hemorrhage or anemia, 7 cases of digestive system, 15 cases of respiratory system, 4 cases of cardiovascular system, 1 case of skin incision dehiscence, and 2 cases of abdominal infection. No grade V SAE was found. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that CEA (OR: 8.980, 95%CI: 1.428-56.457, P=0.019), PCI score (OR: 7.924, 95%CI: 1.486-42.259, P=0.015), intraoperative albumin infusion (OR: 48.959, 95%CI: 2.115-1133.289, P=0.015) and total volume of infusion (OR: 24.729, 95%CI: 3.956-154.562, P=0.001) were independent risk factors for perioperative SAE in CRS (all P<0.05). Based on the result of multivariate regression models, a predictive nomogram was constructed. Internal verification showed that the AUC of the nomogram was 0.926 (95%CI: 0.872-0.980), indicating good prediction accuracy and consistency. Conclusions: CRS is a safe and effective method to treat CRPM. Strict screening of patients and perioperative fluid management are important guarantees for reducing the morbidity of SAE.

Effects of chlorogenic acid-enriched extract from Eucommia ulmoides leaf on performance, meat quality, oxidative stability, and fatty acid profile of meat in heat-stressed broilers.

To investigate the effects of chlorogenic acid-enriched extract (CGAE) from Eucommia ulmoides leaf on performance, meat quality, oxidative stability, and fatty acid profile of breast meat in heat-stressed broilers, 400 28-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were randomly assigned into 4 groups with 10 replicates per group (10 broilers per replicate). Broilers in the normal group (NOR) were kept at 22 ± 2°C (24 h/D) and fed the basal diet, and the other 3 groups were treated with cyclic heat (34 ± 2°C from 08:00 to 18:00 and 22 ± 2°C from 18:00 to 08:00) and fed the basal diet supplemented with 0 (HT), 500 (CGAE500), and 1,000 mg (CGAE1000) mg of CGAE/kg of diet. The experiment lasted for 14 D. Compared with the HT group, broilers in the NOR and CGAE1000 groups had a higher average daily gain and a lower feed conversion ratio (P < 0.05). CGAE supplementation at 1,000 mg/kg increased pH24 value, a* value and total superoxide dismutase activity and reduced drip loss, cooking loss, L* value and the contents of malondialdehyde and carbonyl in breast meat of heat-stressed broilers (P < 0.05). Broilers in the HT group showed lower mRNA levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (P < 0.001), superoxide dismutase (P = 0.004), and catalase (P < 0.001) in breast meat compared with the other groups. CGAE supplementation at 1,000 mg/kg reduced the stearic acid and saturated fatty acids (SFA) contents and increased the dihomo-γ-linolenic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and n-6 PUFA contents and PUFA:SFA ratio in breast meat of heat-stressed broilers (P < 0.05). In conclusion, CGAE supplementation at 1,000 mg/kg could alleviate the adverse effects of heat stress on growth performance and meat quality and improve oxidative stability and fatty acid profile of breast meat in heat-stressed broilers.

Effects of chestnut tannins on intestinal morphology, barrier function, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, microflora and antioxidant capacity in heat-stressed broilers.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of chestnut tannins (CT) on intestinal morphology, barrier function, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, microflora and antioxidant capacity in heat-stressed broilers. Four hundred 28-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were randomly assigned into four groups, with 10 replicates per group and 10 broilers per replicate. The broilers in the normal (NOR) group were kept at 22 ± 1°C and fed the basal diet, and each of the other three groups were treated with cyclic heat (33 ± 1°C from 0800 to 1800 and 22 ± 1°C from 1800 to 0800) and fed the basal diet with 0 (HT), 1 (CT1) or 2 (CT2) g of CT/kg of diet. The experiment lasted for 14 days. Compared with the HT group, broilers in the NOR and CT2 groups had higher (p < .05) average daily gain and villus height in the jejunum and lower serum d-lactate (p < .001) and diamine oxidase (p < .01) levels. The addition of 2 g CT/kg of diet increased the total antioxidant capacity (p < .001) and superoxide dismutase activities (p < .05) and zonula occludens-1 mRNA expression level (p < .05) and decreased the malondialdehyde concentration (p < .01) and mRNA expression levels of interleukin-6 (p < .001) and nuclear factor kappa B (p < .001) in the jejunal mucosa of heat-stressed broilers. The populations of Escherichia coli and Clostridium in the jejunum (p < .01) and caecum (p < .05) of broilers in the HT group were higher than those in the NOR and CT2 groups. In conclusion, the addition of 2 g CT/kg of diet seemed to be a feasible means of alleviating the negative effects of heat stress on the growth performance and intestinal function of broilers.

No significant effects of Poly(I:C) on human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of B6.MRL-Fas(lpr) mice.

OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to compare the curative effect and immunoregulation between MSCs activated by Poly(I:C) for 24hours and unactivated MSCs on lupus mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MSCs were pretreated by Poly(I:C) at 50µg/mL for 24h. B6.MRL-Fas(lpr) mice were divided into UC-MSC treated group, FLS treated group, Poly(I:C) preconditioned MSC treated group (P-MSC) and untreated group randomly. All treated mice were infused with 1×10(6) MSCs or FLSs at the 24th week and were sacrificed 4 weeks later. The spleen weight, serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, serum anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody levels, immune cell subsets, renal lesions and IgG deposition in the kidney were evaluated. The effects of two kinds of MSCs on the proliferation and apoptosis of CD4+ T cells were detected by flow cytometry. The TLR3 expression at protein level in MSCs was assessed with and without Poly(I:C) treatment. The expression of immunoregulatory factors were detected by qRT-PCR in different dose and duration of Poly(I:C). RESULT: Poly(I:C) preconditioned MSCs had similar therapeutic effects in lupus mice compared with untreated MSCs in vivo. Furthermore, Poly(I:C) treated MSCs and untreated MSCs had comparable inhibitory effects on proliferation of T cells, and Poly(I:C) could enhance the expression of TLR3 at protein and mRNA level. Poly(I:C) could partly alter the mRNA levels of immunoregulatory factors, such as hepatocyte growth factor, transforming growth factor ß1, vascular endothelial growth factor, but did not have significant changes in cyclooxygenase 2, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor α, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, interferon γ and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2. CONCLUSION: Our study did not find that Poly(I:C) treatment could enhance the therapeutic effect of MSCs in lupus mice in vivo.

The CHRM3 gene is implicated in abnormal thalamo-orbital frontal cortex functional connectivity in first-episode treatment-naive patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The genetic influences in human brain structure and function and impaired functional connectivities are the hallmarks of the schizophrenic brain. To explore how common genetic variants affect the connectivities in schizophrenia, we applied genome-wide association studies assaying the abnormal neural connectivities in schizophrenia as quantitative traits. METHOD: We recruited 161 first-onset and treatment-naive patients with schizophrenia and 150 healthy controls. All the participants underwent scanning with a 3 T-magnetic resonance imaging scanner to acquire structural and functional imaging data and genotyping using the HumanOmniZhongHua-8 BeadChip. The brain-wide association study approach was employed to account for the inherent modular nature of brain connectivities. RESULTS: We found differences in four abnormal functional connectivities [left rectus to left thalamus (REC.L-THA.L), left rectus to right thalamus (REC.L-THA.R), left superior orbital cortex to left thalamus (ORBsup.L-THA.L) and left superior orbital cortex to right thalamus (ORBsup.L-THA.R)] between the two groups. Univariate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based association revealed that the SNP rs6800381, located nearest to the CHRM3 (cholinergic receptor, muscarinic 3) gene, reached genomic significance (p = 1.768 × 10-8) using REC.L-THA.R as the phenotype. Multivariate gene-based association revealed that the FAM12A (family with sequence similarity 12, member A) gene nearly reached genomic significance (nominal p = 2.22 × 10-6, corrected p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we identified the first evidence that the CHRM3 gene plays a role in abnormal thalamo-orbital frontal cortex functional connectivity in first-episode treatment-naive patients with schizophrenia. Identification of these genetic variants using neuroimaging genetics provides insights into the causes of variability in human brain development, and may help us determine the mechanisms of dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Telomerase activity and its association with psychological stress, mental disorders, lifestyle factors and interventions: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To summarise and discuss the association between telomerase activity and psychological stress, mental disorders and lifestyle factors. METHOD: A systematic review was carried out to identify prospective or retrospective studies and interventions published up to June 2015 that reported associations between telomerase activity and psychological stress, mental disorders and lifestyle factors. Electronic data bases of PubMed, ProQuest, CINAHL and Google Scholar were searched. RESULTS: Twenty six studies on humans measured telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or leukocytes and examined its association with psychological stress, mental disorders and lifestyle factors. Of those studies, three reported significantly decreased telomerase activity in individuals under chronic psychological stress. Interestingly, one of the three studies found that acute laboratory psychological stress significantly increased telomerase activity. Nine studies reported mixed results on association between mental disorders and telomerase activity. Of the nine studies, five reported that major depressive disorder (MDD) was associated with significantly increased telomerase activity. In thirteen out of fourteen studies on lifestyle factors, it was reported that physical exercise, diet micronutrient supplementation, mindfulness meditation, Qigong practice or yoga mediation resulted in increase in telomerase activity. In addition, two studies on animal models showed that depression-like behaviour was associated with decreased hippocampus telomerase activity. Five animal studies showed that physical exercise increased telomerase activity by cell-type-specific and genotype-specific manners. CONCLUSION: Although multi-facet results were reported on the association between telomerase activity and psychological stress, mental disorders and lifestyle factors, there were some consistent findings in humans such as (1) decreased telomerase activity in individuals under chronic stress, (2) increased telomerase activity in individuals with MDD, and (3) increased telomerase activity in individuals under lifestyle interventions. Animal studies showed that physical exercise increased telomerase activity in specific cell-types. However, the exact mechanisms for the changes in telomerase activity have not been elucidated. We propose conglomerate models connecting chronic psychological stress, depression, mediation and physical exercise to telomerase activation. Several areas for future research are suggested.

First Report of a 16SrII-A Subgroup Phytoplasma Associated with Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Witches'-Broom Disease in Taiwan.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), widely grown as an ornamental and medicinal plant, is a perennial flowering plant that is native to eastern North America. In July 2011, symptoms indicative of phytoplasma disease, including floral virescence, phyllody, and witches'-broom (WB), were observed to be affecting plants in coneflower fields in Wufeng, Taichung City, Taiwan. Incidence of infected plants was estimated to be greater than 90% within a single field. Phytoplasmas previously associated with purple coneflower WB disease have all been classified as aster yellows group (16SrI) strains (GenBank Accession Nos. EU333395, AY394856, EU416172, and EF546778) except for pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) WB in Australia, which was identified as a subgroup 16SrII-D member (2). Three diseased plants were uprooted and transplanted in a greenhouse for further study. Transmission electron microscopy revealed clusters of phytoplasma cells ranging from 170 to 490 nm in diameter in phloem sieve elements of virescent and phylloid flowers and stems from diseased plants. Comparable tissues from symptomless plants were devoid of phytoplasma. Total DNA was extracted from plant tissue samples (50 to 100 mg each) including stems, leaves, and flowers by a modified CTAB method (1) from three symptomatic plants as well as from three asymptomatic coneflower plants seedlings. Analyses by a nested PCR using universal primer pairs P1/P7 followed by R16F2n/R16R2 were performed to detect putative phytoplasma (2). Each primer pair amplified a single PCR product of either 1.8 or 1.2 kb, respectively, from diseased plant tissues only. The nested PCR products (1.2 kb) amplified from phylloid flowers of the three diseased plants were cloned separately and sequenced (GenBank Accession Nos. JN885460, JN885461, and JN885462). Blast analysis of the sequences revealed a 99.7 to 99.8% sequence identity with those of Echinacea WB phytoplasma strain EWB5 and EWB6 (GenBank Accession Nos. JF340076 and JF340080), which reportedly belonged to the 16SrII-D subgroup (2). Moreover, iPhyClassifier software (3) was used to perform sequence comparison and generate the virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profile. The 16S rDNA sequences share a 99.4 to 99.5% similarity with that of the 'Candidatus Phytoplasma australasiae' reference strain (Y10097) and the RFLP patterns are identical to that of the 16SrII-A subgroup. Taken together, these results indicated that the phytoplasma infecting purple coneflower in Taiwan is a 'Ca. Phytoplasma australasiae'-related strain and belongs to the 16SrII-A subgroup. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a 16SrII-A subgroup phytoplasma causing WB disease on purple coneflower in Taiwan. The occurrence of phytoplasma on purple coneflower could have direct implication for the economically important ornamental, medicinal plant, and floral industry in Taiwan, especially to the growers and breeders that eagerly promote the purple coneflower industry. References: (1) T. M. Fulton et al. Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 13:207, 1995. (2) T. L. Pearce et al. Plant Dis. 95:773, 2011. (3) Y. Zhao et al. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 59:2582, 2009.

Effects of an aqueous alfalfa extract on production performance, egg quality and lipid metabolism of laying hens.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of an aqueous alfalfa extract (AAE) on production performance, egg quality and lipid metabolism of laying hens between 28 and 36 weeks of age. Four groups of commercial hens (Hy-Line Brown) were fed with diets containing 0, 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.15% AAE. Dietary AAE had no effect on egg production parameters (p > 0.05). Shell strength was increased (linear and quadratic effects; p < 0.05) with gradient addition of AAE. Furthermore, shell strength was notably higher (p < 0.05) in 0.1% and 0.15% AAE groups than the control group. With an exception of serum low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum total triglycerides and liver cholesterol concentration (day 42), lipid indices in yolk, serum and liver were lowered (linear and quadratic effects; p < 0.05) at day 42 and day 56 as AAE in diets increased, as well as the enzyme activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and ß-hydroxy-ß-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase. In relation to the control group, cholesterol and triglycerides in yolk, liver and serum and serum very low density lipoprotein cholesterol were lower in 0.15% AAE-treated birds at day 42 and day 56. It also significantly decreased activities of ACC, HMG-CoA reductase and fatty acid synthetase (FAS) at day 56. The 0.1% AAE decreased triglycerides in yolk, liver and serum, as well as the activities of ACC and FAS at day 56. These data suggest that dietary AAE could be applied to improve egg shell quality and modify the lipid status of laying hens and eggs.

Sonoporation-mediated anti-angiogenic gene transfer into muscle effectively regresses distant orthotopic tumors.

Ultrasound (US) is an effective tool for local delivery of genes into target tumors or organs. In combination with microbubbles, US can temporarily change the permeability of cell membranes by cavitation and facilitate entry of plasmid DNA into cells. Here, we demonstrate that repeated US-mediated delivery of anti-angiogenic genes, endostatin or calreticulin, into muscle significantly inhibits the growth of orthotopic tumors in the liver, brain or lung. US-mediated anti-angiogenic gene therapy also seems to function as an adjuvant therapy that significantly enhances the antitumor effects of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin and adenovirus-mediated cytokine gene therapy. Significantly higher levels of tumor apoptosis or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes were observed after combined therapy consisting of either anti-angiogenic therapy and chemotherapy, or anti-angiogenic therapy and immunotherapy. Taken together, our experiments demonstrate that intramuscular delivery of anti-angiogenic genes by US exposure can effectively treat distant orthotopic tumors, and thus has great therapeutic potential in terms of clinical treatment.

Influence of traditional Chinese medicine on spermatozoa infected in vitro with Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most common cause of urogenital infection and is implicated in genesis of male infertility. In this in vitro study, the influence of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-Qinglishengjing pills on spermatozoa infected in vitro with E. coli was studied. Semen samples were prepared by standard technique and sperm suspension was coincubated respectively with E2888 EARLE'S (group A as normal control), E. coli suspension (group B), mixture of E. coli suspension and TCM (group C) and mixture of E. coli suspension and Furadantin (group D) in vitro. After coincubation, motility parameters, phosphatidylserine (PS) externalisation and morphology of spermatozoa were evaluated. No significant difference between the group C and group A was found in sperm motility parameters (P > 0.05), whereas difference between group B and group A was significant after 2 h (P < 0.05) and 4 h (P < 0.01). Mixed agglutination and ultrastructure damage could be observed in group B and no apparent similar agglutination and ultrastructure damage were observed in other groups. There was no difference in PS externalisation per cent between the groups A and C (P > 0.05) and there was significant difference between the groups A and D, A and B, B and D, C and D (P < 0.01). TCM-Qinglishengjing pills could reverse E. coli effects on spermatozoa in vitro.

The importance of schedule in whole body thermochemotherapy.

PURPOSE: To determine an effective triple-agent schedule combining fever-range whole body thermal therapy (FR-WB-TT) with cisplatin and gemcitabine by optimizing the timing of drug with heat, and drug with drug. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using an orthotopically implanted syngeneic breast adenocarcinoma in an immunologically normal female Fischer rat model, we investigated various schedules of a thermochemotherapy regimen combining FR-WB-TT with chemotherapy agents, cisplatin and gemcitabine. Differently timed combinations of a) cisplatin with FR-WB-TT, b) gemcitabine with FR-WB-TT, and c) cisplatin with gemcitabine were examined for anti-tumor efficacy and toxicity. A combination of the three agents based on the optimal two-agent schedules was then tested. RESULTS: The greatest primary tumor and axillary metastasis growth delay and lowest toxicity was induced with administration of cisplatin 24 h prior to gemcitabine and cisplatin 24 h prior to simultaneous gemcitabine and FR-WB-TT. Administering cisplatin 24 h prior to gemcitabine was more effective and less toxic than giving the two drugs simultaneously or gemcitabine prior to cisplatin. Survival was greatest when gemcitabine and FR-WB-TT were administered 24 h after cisplatin, even with reduced drug doses. One complete cure resulted from the triple agent treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The relative timing of agents in multiple modality treatments is critically important in achieving tumor control or cures, and in reducing toxicity. Optimizing the relative timing of multiple agents in thermochemotherapy allows use of lower drug doses to achieve maximal anti-tumor efficacy and minimal toxicity.

A study to verify a reported excess of chromosomal aberrations in blood lymphocytes of Namibian uranium miners.

This report describes a study to verify an earlier report of excess chromosomal damage in the blood lymphocytes of uranium miners. Coded blood samples from 10 miners and 10 controls were analyzed conventionally for unstable aberrations and by FISH for translocations. Conventional analysis, scoring 1000 metaphases per subject, showed no significant difference between miners and controls in the frequencies of chromosome- and chromatid-type aberrations. Investigators at two laboratories undertook FISH analyses, each scoring 4000 metaphases per subject. When the data from each laboratory were examined separately, one found slightly more translocations in the miners while the other found fewer. In neither case was the difference significant at the 95% level of confidence. Combining the data likewise showed no significant excess of damage in the miners. This applied to simple one- and two-way translocations and to cells with complex exchanges. There was no correlation between levels of translocations and total lifetime doses from occupational and/or background irradiation. A borderline significant excess of rogue cells was found in the miners. This may be a chance observation, as these rare, highly abnormal cells are considered to be unrelated to radiation exposure and are probably due to a virus. The overall conclusion is that the frequency of chromosomal damage in the miners did not exceed that in the controls. Therefore, the result of the earlier study was not confirmed.

[Effect of jiaweiyiguanjian decoction on hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid gland (HPT) in rat model with Yin-deficiency of liver and kidney induced by slow irritation].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism of Jiaweiyiguanjian decoction in nourishing the liver and kidney. METHOD: A rat model with Yin-deficiency of liver and kidney was made by way of slow irritation. Thyrotropin-releasing-hormone(TRH) of thyron and blood, TSH of pituitary and blood, thyroxine, 3,5,3',5-tetraiodothyronine(FT4) and 3,3',5-traiodothyronine(FT4), 3,3',5-traiodothyronine(rT3) were used as indexes to study the effect of the decoction on HPT. RESULT: The TRH Secretion from hypothalamus increased (P < 0.05), TSH of pituitary and blood reduced(P < 0.05), FT3 and FT4 of blood decreased at the same time and rT3 of blood, increased. The indexes of the treatment group were found almost the same as the those of the normal control group. CONCLUSION: Jiaweiyiguanjian Decoction could adjust HPT.

[A pharmacognostical study on herba Spirodelae and its adulterants].

OBJECTIVE: To Study the characteristics of Herba Spirodelae(Spirodela polyrrhiza) and its adulterants S. oligorrhiza and Lemna minor for identification. METHOD: The characteristics were compared and identified morphologically and histologically. RESULT: The morphological and histological characteristics of S. polyrrhiza, S. oligorrhiza and L. minor are different from each other. Several tables, keys and drawings are given. CONCLUSION: The main macroscopical and microscopical characteristics can be used fo differentiate S. polyrrhiza from its adultrants.

Effect of dl-3-n-butylphthalide on brain edema in rats subjected to focal cerebral ischemia.

The present study evaluated the effect of dl-3-n-butylphthalide(NBP), a novel brain protective agent, on brain edema in rats following focal ischemia. Edema was induced by occluding the right middle cerebral artery (MCAO), producing permanent focal ischemia in the right cerebral hemisphere, which developed ipsilateral brain edema reproducibly. Edema was assessed 24 h after MCA occlusion by determining the brain water content from wet and dry weight measurements, and the sodium, potassium concentrations with ion-selective electrodes. In this model, NBP at the dose of 80, 160 and 240 mg/kg p.o. 15 min after MCAO prevented from brain edema in a dose-dependent manner. A significant reduction of sodium content and an increase in potassium level were observed in all drug-treated groups. It showed that NBP strongly attenuated brain water entry, sodium accumulation and potassium loss. Nimodipine treatment (5 mg/kg s.c.) also reduced brain edema (P < 0.05). The results suggest that a strong anti-edema activity of NBP may play an important role to contribute to the treatment of ischemic damage.