Effects of atorvastatin combined with trimetazidine on myocardial injury and inflammatory mediator in unstable angina patients during perioperative of percutaneous coronary intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of atorvastatin combined with trimetazidine on periprocedural myocardial injury and serum inflammatory mediators in unstable angina pectoris (UAP) patients following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 90 patients with UAP treated with conventional medications and PCI were recruited and were randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group. The control group had 42 patients were treated with atorvastatin alone, while the experimental group had 48 cases treated with atorvastatin combined with trimetazidine. All the patients were checked the preoperative 24h and postoperative 24h PCI concentrations of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), serum interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interlukin-10 (IL-10). RESULTS: At the pre-PCI stage, every serum factors was no significant difference. 24 hours after the PCI intervention, the occurence of abnormal cTnI level in the experimental group was remarkable reduced than the control group. In the experimental group, the serum levels of TNF-α and IFN-γ significantly decreased (p < 0.05); while IL-10 was increased. In the control group, all the mediators were increased significantly except the hs-CRP (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: No unexpected symptom was found in patients with large dose atorvastatin combined with large dose trimetazidine. The administration of conventional medications together with the atorvastatin plus trimetazidine were able to reduce the prevalence of postoperative myocardial injury.

Ginkgo biloba extract for essential hypertension: a systemic review.

BACKGROUND: Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), a traditional natural herbal product, is often used in the treatment of essential hypertension (EH) as complementary therapy in China and European countries. AIM: To critically assess the current clinical evidence of efficacy and safety of GBE for EH. METHODS: 7 electronic databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, VIP, CBM, Wanfang data, and CNKI) were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of GBE for EH. Methodological quality was assessed independently using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. RESULTS: A total of 9 RCTs with 1012 hypertensive patients were identified and reviewed. Most RCTs were of high risk of bias with flawed study design and poor methodological quality. 6 trials demonstrated potential positive effect of GBE as complementary therapy on BP reduction when compared with antihypertensive drug therapy; however, it was not associated with a statistically significant effect on both SBP and DBP reduction in 3 other trials. Despite the positive findings, there were so many methodological limitations and significant clinical heterogeneity. Most of the trials did not report adverse effects, and the safety of GBE is still uncertain. CONCLUSION: No confirmative conclusions on the efficacy and safety of GBE for EH could be drawn. More rigorous trials are warranted to support their clinical use.

Cloning a novel human brain inward rectifier potassium channel and its functional expression in Xenopus oocytes.

We have cloned a novel inward rectifier K+ channel (hIRK2) from a human frontal cortex cDNA library. The amino acid sequence of hIRK2 shares 60% and 40% identity with the mouse IRK1 and the rat ROMK1 channels, respectively. Xenopus oocytes injected with hIRK2 cRNA showed an inwardly rectifying K+ current that had a prominent 'N-shape' I-V curve and was blocked by extracellular Ba2+. The hIRK2 channel has two unique features: (a) an 18 amino acid insertion between the first transmembrane region and the pore, and (b) restricted mRNA distribution found only in human brain and heart.

[Studies on methods of processing sika deer fetus].

Two methods of processing Sika Deer Fetus were comparatively studied according to the indexes such as rate of powder removal, crude proteins, crude fats, amino acids, trace elements, vitamins and hormones. It was found that the method of oven drying is superior to that of decocting. Thus we suggest that the former method should be used for Chinese patent medicines, such as Deer Fetus capsule etc.

[Studies on water extract limits of Caulis Aristolochiae Manshuriensis].

This paper reports the result of the content determination of water extract of Caulis Aristolochiae Manshuriensis. It has been found that the yellower colour of section, the richer the contents of the water extract, and the contents tend to decrease when stored for a long time or unsuitably kept. The contents of water extract have nothing to do with the diameter or the producing area. We suggest using cold extraction to determine the contents of water extract of Caulis Aristolochiae Manshuriensis and the content should not be less than 16 percent.