Regulation of magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine and labetalol on disease-related molecules in serum and placenta in the treatment of preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the regulatory effect of magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine and labetalol on disease-related molecules in serum and placenta in the treatment of preeclampsia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Altogether 100 patients with preeclampsia admitted to the Children & Women's Healthcare of Laiwu City were selected. They were divided into control group and experimental group according to different treatment methods. Among them, 51 patients in the control group were treated with magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine, and 49 patients in the experimental group were treated with labetalol on the basis of the treatment in the control group. The therapeutic effects of the two methods were compared. The levels of the following factors in the two groups were compared: kallikrein expression, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), pregnancy-specific ß1 glycoprotein (SPI), placental growth factor (PLGF), human placental prolactin (HPL), transforming growth factor ß1(TGF-ß1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin in serum and placenta tissues. RESULTS: After treatment, the blood pressure in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group (p<0.05). The expression of kallikrein in serum and placental tissue of the patients in the experimental group was higher than that of the patients in the control group (p<0.05); PAPP-A level was lower than that in the control group (p<0.05); TGF-ß1 level was higher than that in the control group (p<0.05); VCAM-1 and E-selectin were lower than those in the control group (p<0.05), and kallikrein and TGF-ß1 in serum and placenta in the non-occurrence group were higher than those in the occurrence group (p<0.05). The serum and placenta PAPP-A, VCAM-1, and E-selectin in the non-occurrence group were lower than those in the occurrence group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Magnesium sulfate combined with nifedipine and labetalol has good efficacy in the treatment of preeclampsia. They can promote the expression of endogenous kallikrein, reduce the level of pregnancy-related hypertension predictors, and weaken the infiltration ability of cytotrophoblasts.

Preoperative vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction: a predefined exploratory sub-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D is important for maintaining physiological functions including cognition and its deficiency is associated with the occurrence of cognitive impairment. This study was to explore the association between preoperative vitamin D status and the occurrence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in elderly patients undergoing major surgery. METHODS: This was a predefined exploratory sub-analysis of one-centre data from a randomized controlled trial. In all, 123 elderly (≥ 65 years) patients who were scheduled to undergo major cancer surgery were recruited. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was measured before surgery. In total, 59 nonsurgical control subjects with comparable age and education level were also enrolled. A battery of neuropsychological tests was administered the day before and the 7th day after surgery in patients or at the same time interval in control subjects. POCD was diagnosed according to the ISPOCD1 definition. RESULTS: 71.5% (88/123) of elderly patients had vitamin D deficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration < 12 ng/ml) before surgery; 24.4% (30/123) of them developed cognitive dysfunction at 1 week after surgery. After adjusting for confounding factors, high preoperative serum 25-hydroxyvitamine D concentration was related to a decreased risk of POCD (odds ratio [OR]: 0.829, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.708-0.971; P = 0.020), whereas preoperative vitamin D deficiency was associated with an increased risk of POCD (OR: 8.427, 95% CI: 1.595-44.511; P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in elderly patients undergoing major cancer surgery and increases the risk of early POCD development. Whether prophylactic vitamin D supplementation can reduce POCD in the elderly deserves further study.

Effects of Wuzhi capsule on blood concentration of tacrolimus after renal transplantation.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of Wuzhi capsule on blood concentration of tacrolimus after renal transplantation. Sixty patients after allogenic renal transplantation were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. One oral Wuzhi capsule was taken in the morning and evening for patients in the experimental group, while none was given to the control group, maintaining the trough blood concentration of tacrolimus in the normal range. After 3 weeks, the changes of tacrolimus dosage and hepatorenal function in the two groups were compared. Comparisons of drug dosage and blood concentration C0 value of tacrolimus before initiating the experiment showed that there was no statistically ignificant difference (P>0.05) between the two groups. The differences of blood concentration of tacrolimus and hepatorenal function for patients in both two groups after 3 weeks’ treatment also showed no statistical significance (P>0.05), whereas a statistically significant decrease was demonstrated in the tacrolimus dosage of the Wuzhi capsule group compared with that of the control group (P=0.0083). After renal transplantation, Wuzhi capsules were added so as to enable tacrolimus to reach a suitable blood concentration, which can prevent the occurrence of renal transplantation rejection, thus alleviating the economic burden of patients and producing larger social benefits.

[The diagnosis and treatment of primary thyroid lymphoma].

Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) refers to the malignant tumor of primary lymphoid tissue in the thyroid, accounting for approximately 5% of all thyroid malignancies and less than 3% of all extranodal lymphomas. PTL usually develops in females more than 50 years old. Most of PTL cases are non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The major pathological subtypes are mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Treatment options for individual pathological subtypes are also different, so pathological diagnosis is very important. The main treatment options include surgical treatment, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and combined therapy. The main aims of surgical treatment are to obtain a determined diagnosis and to relieve airway pressure, . The prognosis of PTL is generally excellent.

Thermotherapy-induced reduction in glioma invasiveness is mediated by tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Thermotherapy has been proven to be effective for the treatment of various tumors, including glioma. We determined whether tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is involved in the regulation of the biological processes of glioma development. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunocytochemistry were used to investigate the levels of TNF-α mRNA and heat shock factor-1 (HSF1) protein, respectively, in glioma cells. Radioimmunoassay was used to dynamically monitor the contents of TNF-α in the nutrient fluid of C6 cells after thermotherapy treatment. Crystal violet staining was used to determine glioma invasiveness. The most obvious increases in HSF1 protein and TNF-α mRNA in C6 cells were observed at 30 and 60 min after thermotherapy, respectively. In addition, the radioactivity of TNF-α in the culture fluid of the C6 cells reached a peak after 120 min of thermotherapy. In addition, glioma invasiveness decreased and the concentration of TNF-α reached a maximum after 120 min of thermotherapy. Our results show that the decrease in thermotherapy-mediated glioma invasiveness is due to the accelerated release of TNF-α, which could promote the release of HSF1 from neurospongioma cells.

Differential expression proteins associated with bud dormancy release during chilling treatment of tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa).

Endo-dormant flower buds of tree peony must have sufficient chilling duration to reinitiate growth, which is a major obstacle to the forcing culture of tree peony in winter. We used a combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time of flight/time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF MS) to identify the differentially expressed proteins of tree peony after three different chilling treatments: endo-dormancy, endo-dormancy release and eco-dormancy stages. More than 200 highly reproducible protein spots were detected, and 31 differentially expressed spots (P < 0.05) were selected for further analysis. Finally, 20 protein spots were confidently identified from databases, which were annotated and classified into seven functional categories: response to abiotic or biotic stimulus (four), metabolic processes (four), other binding (three), transcription or transcription regulation (two), biological processes (one), cell biogenesis (one) and unclassified (five). The results of qPCR of five genes were mainly consistent with that of the protein accumulation analysis as determined by 2-DE. This indicated that most of these genes were mainly regulated at transcriptional level. The activity of nitrate reductase and pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 was consistent with the 2-DE results. The proteomic profiles indicated activation of citrate cycle, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, energy production, calcium signalling and cell growth processes by chilling fulfilment to facilitate dormancy release in tree peony. Analysis of functions of identified proteins will increase our knowledge of endo-dormancy release in tree peony.

Age-related expression of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II A in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of senescence accelerated mouse prone/8 mice is modulated by anti-Alzheimer's disease drugs.

Senescence-accelerated mouse (SAM) prone/8 (SAMP8) is a good animal model to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of age-related learning and memory deficits such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the gene and protein levels, and SAM resistant/1 (SAMR1) is its normal control. Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II-alpha (CaMKIIalpha) is one of the most abundant subunits of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in cerebral cortex and hippocampus, and is closely linked to AD. In this study, we used real time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot techniques to examine the expression of CaMKIIalpha mRNA and protein in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of SAMP8 both with aging and following treatment with anti-AD drugs (for example, natural product huperzine A (HupA) and traditional Chinese medicinal prescription Liu-Wei-Di-Huang decoction (LW), Ba-Wei-Di-Huang decoction (BW), Huang-Lian-Jie-Du decoction (HL), Dang-Gui-Shao-Yao-San (DSS) and Tiao-Xin-Fang decoction (TXF)). The results showed that the levels of both CaMKIIalpha mRNA and protein decreased significantly in the cerebral cortex of SAMR1 with aging, but increased significantly in the cerebral cortex of SAMP8. Compared with age-matched SAMR1, the expression of mRNA and protein of CaMKIIalpha significantly increased in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of SAMP8 after 10 months of age. After SAMP8 was treated with the previously mentioned drugs, the abnormally high expression of CaMKIIalpha was relatively down-regulated. These results indicated that the expression of CaMKIIalpha in the brain of SAMP8 was abnormal and that this abnormality could be reversed with anti-AD drugs. These data suggest that CaMKIIalpha may play an important role in the age-related cognitive deterioration in AD, and may be a potential targets for anti-AD drugs.

[Effect of liuwei dihuang decoction, on the cytokine expression in splenocytes in AA rats].

OBJECTIVE: The effect of Liuwei Dihuang decoction (LW) on the function of splenic T helper cells (Th) was studied and compared with those of the immune inhibitors such as cyclophosphamide (Cy) and cyclosporin A (CsA) in AA rats. METHODS: The expression of mRNA for IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 in splenic T-Lymphocytes of adjuvant arthritis (AA) rats was evaluated using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. RESULTS: mRNA expression level of IL-2 had a tendency to elevate, but the mRNA expression levels of IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-10 were significantly decreased in AA rats in comparison with control groups. LW treatment significantly inhibited the mRNA expression of IL-2 and promoted the expression of IFN-gamma, IL-4 and IL-10 in splenocytes of AA rats, with an obvious characteristic as compared with that of Cy or CsA. CONCLUSION: LW can correct the indifferent balance of the functions of splenocyte Th1/Th2 in AA rats.

[Study on immunomodulating mechanism of the active fraction of liuwei dihuang decoction].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the immunomodulating mechanism of 3A, an active fraction extracted from the ethanol-soluble portion of Liuwei Dihuang Decoction (LWDHD). METHODS: Influence of 3A on T-lymphocyte subsets, IgG production of B cells, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) mRNA expression in cyclophosphamide (Cy)-treated mice, tumor bearing mice and senescence accelerated mouse-prone/8 (SAMP8) were assessed in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: Oral administration of 3A could elevate the decreased T-lymphocyte subsets in all model mice, it also could promote the IgG secretion of splenic cells in SAMP8 and increase IFN-gamma mRNA expression in Cy-treated mice. CONCLUSION: The immunomodulating effect of 3A is related with its effects in regulating ratio of T and B cells or in improving their functions.

[Clinical and experimental study on treatment of infantile mycotic enteritis by jiechang mixture].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of Jiechang Mixture (JCM) in treating infantile mycotic enteritis. METHODS: The children patients confirmed to be suffered from mycotic enteritis were divided randomly into two groups: the 40 cases in the treated group treated with JCM and the 20 cases in the control group treated with fungicidin. The time of stool forming, diarrhea relieving and fungi vanishing were observed. The promoting effect of JCM on small intestine motility and the inhibition of JCM on Candida albicans in stool culture were studied experimentally. RESULTS: The time of stool forming, diarrhea relieving and fungi vanishing in the treated group were significantly shorter than those in the control group (P < 0.01), and JCM also showed a better effect in improving clinical symptoms and signs of patients than the control. Results of experimental study showed that JCM could abate the ink evacuation of small intestine in mice. The fungi inhibitory test suggested that Candida albicans was susceptible to JCM. CONCLUSION: JCM is an effective herbal medicine in treating infantile mycotic enteritis.

Pycnogenol enhances immune and haemopoietic functions in senescence-accelerated mice.

Pycnogenol (procyanidin extracted from Pinus maritima) has been shown to be a potent free radical scavenger and an antioxidant phytochemical. The effects of pycnogenol on immune and haemopoietic dysfunction in senescence-accelerated mice (SAM), as a murine model of accelerated ageing, were determined. SAMP8, a strain of senile-prone mice, exhibit learning and memory deficits, immunodeficiency and dysfunction of the haemopoietic system. Oral feeding with pycnogenol for 2 months significantly improved their T- and B-cell function. Pycnogenol also augmented the proliferative capacity of haemopoietic progenitors of bone marrow in SAMP8. These data suggest that pycnogenol may be useful for either retardation or restoration of parameters associated with ageing.

Inhibition by folded isomers of L-2-(carboxycyclopropyl)glycine of glutamate uptake via the human glutamate transporter hGluT-1.

The effects of isomers of 2-(carboxycyclopropyl)glycine (CCG) on uptake of L-glutamate were investigated in COS-7 cells that expressed a cloned human glutamate transporter (hGluT-1). The (2S, 3S, 4R)-isomer (L-CCG-III) and the (2S, 3R, 4S)-isomer (L-CCG-IV) markedly inhibited glutamate uptake with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 290 nM and 1.1 microM, respectively. The (2S, 3S, 4S)-isomer (L-CCG-I) and the (2S, 3R, 4R)-isomer (L-CCG-II) did not inhibit glutamate uptake at concentrations of < or = 10 microM. Thus, hGluT-1 showed a markedly higher affinity for L-CCG-III and L-CCG-IV with a folded conformation of the glutamate skeleton, than for L-CCG-I or L-CCG-II with an extended conformation.

In vitro activity of a new cephalosporin ME-1206 compared with other agents.

The in vitro activity of ME-1206, a new aminothiazolyl cephalosporin that can be orally absorbed when converted to an ester, was compared with that of other beta-lactams. ME-1206 inhibited 50% of the Enterobacteriaceae at 2 micrograms/ml, similar to cefotaxime, ceftazidime, and cefixime. It did not inhibit, MIC greater than or equal to 32 micrograms/ml, Enterobacter species or Citrobacter freundii resistant to cefotaxime and ceftazidime, and it was less active than cefotaxime and ceftazidime against Serratia marcescens. Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Moraxella catarrhalis were inhibited by less than or equal to 0.25 micrograms/ml of ME-1206 inhibited hemolytic streptococci groups A, B, C, and G, MIC90 0.06 micrograms/ml, but it did not inhibit enterococci. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other pseudomonads were resistant to ME-1206. MICs and MBCs of ME-1206 for susceptible species were within a dilution. ME-1206 was not hydrolyzed by TEM-1 or TEM-2, but was hydrolyzed by TEM-3 and TEM-5. ME-1206 was hydrolyzed by beta-lactamases of Morganella, Proteus vulgaris, and K1 of Klebsiella oxytoca, but minimally by the P99 beta-lactamase of Enterobacter cloacae. ME-1206 is comparable in in vitro activity and beta-lactamase stability to many of the current cephalosporins.

[Promoting effect of the Chinese medicinal herb, wikstroemia chamaedaphne and tung oil extracts on carcinoma of the uterine cervix induced by HSV-2 or methylcholanthrene (MCA) in mice].

The promoting effect of the Chinese medicinal herb, Wikstroemia chamaedaphne and Tung oil extracts (WC and HHPA) on carcinoma of uterine cervix induced by HSV-2 or MCA in mice was studied. The results showed that WC and HHPA extracts were not carcinogenic themselves. After carcinogen HSV-2 and MCA treatment, WC and HHPA were added separately. The inducing rates by HSV-2 increased from 7.4% to 21.1% and 26.3%, those by MCA increased from 56.5% to 82.8% and 84.4%. There was a significant difference between the combined groups and groups with HSV-2 or MCA only. The experimental results suggest that these two kinds of extracts play a promoting effect on carcinogenesis. The relation between the carcinogenesis of uterine cervix or nasopharynx and WC or HHPA extracts is discussed.