Respiratory training during rehabilitation of acute organic fluorine-poisoned patients treated by non-invasive positive pressure ventilation.

This paper aimed to analyze the effects of respiratory training on pulmonary function during the rehabilitation period for acute organic fluorine-poisoned patients treated by non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV). Sixty-two acute organic fluorine-poisoned patients admitted to the Xinxiang Central Hospital, Xinxiang City, China, from May 2012 to March 2016 were selected and randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, with 31 cases in each. Both groups received NIPPV. The patients in the control group exercised daily, while the patients in the observation group received contracting lips-abdominal breathing training. The therapeutic effects, pulmonary ventilation function, serum levels of α-antitrypsin1 (α-AT1), surfactant protein D (SP-D), neutrophil elastase (NE), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß1), and quality of life were analyzed and compared between the two groups both before and after the administration of treatment. The total effective rate of the observation group was 93.55%, which was significantly higher when compared with the control group (74.19%) (P less than 0.05). The levels of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, vital capacity (VC), carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (DLco), and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) of the observation group were better when compared with the control group and had statistical significance (P less than 0.05). Before treatment, the serum levels of α-AT1, SP-D, NE, and TGF-ß1, and quality of life had no statistical significance in either group (P>0.05); after treatment, these indexes and the quality of life for the observation group were significantly higher when compared with the control group, with statistical significance (P less than 0.05). The respiratory training in acute organic fluorine-poisoned patients treated by NIPPV can improve the serum indexes, dilute toxicity, and recover pulmonary function, which play key roles in improving the therapeutic effects and quality of life of patients, and is worthy of clinical promotion.

[Effects of water extract of salvia miltiorrhiza aganst renal injury on rats exposed to cadmium].

Objective: To investigate the effects of water extract of salvia miltiorrhiza aganst renal injury on rats exposed to cadmium. Methods: Twenty female Wistar rats were randomly divided into blank control group (8), 32 rats in model group, conventional breeding, the blank control group received intraperitoneal injection of saline 5 ml·kg-1·d-1, model group with 2.8 mg·kg-1·d-1 of cadmium chloride solution by intraperitoneal injection. After the success in modeling, the model group was divided into treatment group (salvia extract high dose 2.7 g·kg-1·d-1, low water extract of salvia a dose of 1.35 g·kg-1·d-1), negative control group, positive control group. After 4 weeks to experiment in the drug group, the water extract of salvia miltiorrhiza by intragastric administration, the positive control group using sodium selenite solution 0.05 mg·kg-1·d-1 gavage, negative control group, the control group was given the same physical volume of saline water gastric 2.7 ml·kg-1·d-1, respectively. Each group intervention for 10 weeks. At the end of the experiment, serum was collected at, were used to detect the serum oxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Results: Danshen aqueous extract can make dye CD rats body weight growth faster, the serum SOD activity decreased significantly[(241.0±2.8) U/ml vs(219.6±4.6) U/ml, P<0.05], serum MDA increased greatly[(7.2±0.3) µmol/L vs(11.9±0.9) µmol/L, P<0.01], to enhance the serum total antioxidant capacity[(8.7±1.5) U/ml vs(4.6±2.0)U/ml, P<0.05]. Conclusion: Danshen aqueous extract has obvious antioxidant injury, in reducing swelling of renal tubular epithelial cells, improve renal function effect significantly.

Dentate gyrus-CA3 glutamate release/NMDA transmission mediates behavioral despair and antidepressant-like responses to leptin.

Compelling evidence supports the important role of the glutamatergic system in the pathophysiology of major depression and also as a target for rapid-acting antidepressants. However, the functional role of glutamate release/transmission in behavioral processes related to depression and antidepressant efficacy remains to be elucidated. In this study, glutamate release and behavioral responses to tail suspension, a procedure commonly used for inducing behavioral despair, were simultaneously monitored in real time. The onset of tail suspension stress evoked a rapid increase in glutamate release in hippocampal field CA3, which declined gradually after its offset. Blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors by intra-CA3 infusion of MK-801, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, reversed behavioral despair. A subpopulation of granule neurons that innervated the CA3 region expressed leptin receptors and these cells were not activated by stress. Leptin treatment dampened tail suspension-evoked glutamate release in CA3. On the other hand, intra-CA3 infusion of NMDA blocked the antidepressant-like effect of leptin in reversing behavioral despair in both the tail suspension and forced swim tests, which involved activation of Akt signaling in DG. Taken together, these results suggest that the DG-CA3 glutamatergic pathway is critical for mediating behavioral despair and antidepressant-like responses to leptin.

Leptin receptor deficiency confers resistance to behavioral effects of fluoxetine and desipramine via separable substrates.

Depression is a complex, heterogeneous mental disorder. Currently available antidepressants are only effective in about one-third to one-half of all patients. The mechanisms underlying antidepressant response and treatment resistance are poorly understood. Recent clinical evidence implicates the involvement of leptin in treatment response to antidepressants. In this study, we determined the functional role of the leptin receptor (LepRb) in behavioral responses to the selective serotonergic antidepressant fluoxetine and the noradrenergic antidepressant desipramine. While acute and chronic treatment with fluoxetine or desipramine in wild-type mice elicited antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test, mice null for LepRb (db/db) displayed resistance to treatment with either fluoxetine or desipramine. Fluoxetine stimulated phosphorylation of Akt(Thr308) and GSK-3ß(Ser9) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of wild-type mice but not in db/db mice. Desipramine failed to induce measurable changes in Akt, GSK-3ß or ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the hippocampus and PFC, as well as hypothalamus of either genotype of mice. Deletion of LepRb specifically from hippocampal and cortical neurons resulted in fluoxetine insensitivity in the forced swim test and tail suspension test while leaving the response to desipramine intact. These results suggest that functional LepRb is critically involved in regulating the antidepressant-like behavioral effects of both fluoxetine and desipramine. The antidepressant effects of fluoxetine but not desipramine are dependent on the presence of functional LepRb in the hippocampus and cortex.

The synergistic therapeutic effect of temozolomide and hyperbaric oxygen on glioma U251 cell lines is accompanied by alterations in vascular endothelial growth factor and multidrug resistance-associated protein-1 levels.

OBJECTIVE: Temozolomide (TMZ) is an oral alkylating agent widely used in the treatment of refractory glioma. Its efficacy is limited, however, by poor cancer cell penetration and drug resistance. The present study, therefore, aimed to investigate whether hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) may facilitate drug delivery and enhance the anticancer effect of TMZ. METHODS: Cultured glioma U251 cells were treated with HBO, TMZ, or TMZ + HBO, or were untreated (controls). Rates of growth inhibition, cell death and apoptosis were investigated using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry, respectively. Protein levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and multidrug resistance-associated protein-1 (MRP-1) were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Compared with TMZ or HBO alone, combined treatment with both therapies synergistically inhibited growth and induced apoptosis and death of cultured glioma U251 cells, which was accompanied by a significant decrease in levels of VEGF and MRP-1. CONCLUSIONS: TMZ and HBO synergistically induced the apoptosis of glioma cells, possibly through reduced vascularization and inhibition of drug resistance. The combination of TMZ and HBO may be a powerful treatment for malignant glioma.

Relation between the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during repeated stress.

Previous work has indicated that acute and repeated stress can alter thyroid hormone secretion. Corticosterone, the end product of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation and strongly regulated by stress, has been suggested to play a role in hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis regulation. In the current study, we sought to further characterize HPT axis activity after repeated exposure to inescapable foot-shock stress (FS), and to examine changes in proposed regulators of the HPT axis, including plasma corticosterone and hypothalamic arcuate nucleus agouti-related protein (AGRP) mRNA levels. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to one daily session of inescapable FS for 14 days. Plasma corticosterone levels were determined during and after the stress on days 1 and 14. Animals were killed on day 15, and trunk blood and brains were collected for measurement of hormone and mRNA levels. Repeated exposure to FS led to a significant decrease in serum levels of 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) and 3,5,3',5'-tetraiodothyronine (T4). Stress-induced plasma corticosterone levels were not altered by repeated exposure to the stress. Despite the decrease in peripheral hormone levels, thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) mRNA levels within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus were not altered by the stress paradigm. Arcuate nucleus AGRP mRNA levels were significantly increased in the animals exposed to repeated FS. Additionally, we noted significant correlations between stress-induced plasma corticosterone levels and components of the HPT axis, including TRH mRNA levels and free T4 levels. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between AGRP mRNA levels and total T3 levels. Changes in body weight were also correlated with peripheral corticosterone and TRH mRNA levels. These results suggest that repeated exposure to mild-electric foot-shock causes a decrease in peripheral thyroid hormone levels, and that components of the HPA axis and hypothalamic AGRP may be involved in stress regulation of the HPT.

Differential distribution and regulation of OX1 and OX2 orexin/hypocretin receptor messenger RNA in the brain upon fasting.

To further understand the functions of the orexin/hypocretin system, we examined the expression and regulation of the orexin/hypocretin receptor (OX1R and OX2R) mRNA in the brain by using quantitative in situ hybridization. Expression of OX1R and OX2R mRNA exhibited distinct distribution patterns. Within the hypothalamus, expression for the OX1R mRNA was largely restricted in the ventromedial (VMH) and dorsomedial hypothalamic nuclei, while high levels of OX2R mRNA were contained in the paraventricular nucleus, VMH, and arcuate nucleus as well as in mammilary nuclei. In the amygdala, OX1R mRNA was expressed throughout the amygdaloid complex with robust labeling in the medial nucleus, while OX2R mRNA was only present in the posterior cortical nucleus of amygdala. High levels of OX2R mRNA were also observed in the ventral tegmental area. Moreover, both OX1R and OX2R mRNA were observed in the hippocampus, some thalamic nuclei, and subthalamic nuclei. Furthermore, we analyzed the effect of fasting on levels of OX1R and OX2R mRNA in the hypothalamic and amygdaloid subregions. After 20 h of fasting, levels of OX1R mRNA were significantly increased in the VMH and the medial division of amygdala. An initial decrease (14 h) and a subsequent increase (20 h) in OX1R mRNA levels after fasting were observed in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus and lateral division of amygdala. Levels of OX2R mRNA were augmented in the arcuate nucleus, but remained unchanged in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, and amygdala following fasting. The time-dependent and region-specific regulatory patterns of OX1R and OX2R suggest that they may participate in distinct neural circuits under the condition of food deprivation.

[Studies on diterpenoids from leaves of Tripterygium wilfordii].

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. has been used as a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine and as an insecticide by the Chinese for hundreds of years. Recently, this plant has been used to treat cancer, rheumatic arthritis and various skin diseases in some Chinese clinics. It is of interest to note that Tripterygium also showed significant antifertility activities. The active principles of the anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and antifertile actions in Tripterygium are diterpenoid containing triepoxides, but information on its chemistry is limited to the woody part of the root and the root bark. Recently, we have studies the leaves of Tripterygium (collected at Zhejiang province, China), and isolated two novel diterpenoids by chromatography named tripdioltonide (8) and 13,14-epoxide 9,11,12-trihydroxytriptolide (9), besides triptonide (1), triptolide (2), tripdiolide (3), triptolidenol (4), 16-hydroxyl-triptolide (5), tripchlorolide (6) and triptriolide (7). Their structures were established by chemical reactions, TLC, UV, MS, IR, 1H-1H COSY, 1H-13C COSY, DEPT spectrometric investigation. The structure of tripdioltonide was further confirmed by X-ray analysis.

[Effect of yiqi huoxue therapy on blood coagulation process in vivo].

YiQi HuoXue (YQHX) therapy is one of the most widely used treatments to deal with the coronary heart disease (CHD). This paper stressed on study the effects of YQHX therapy on blood coagulation process in vivo. The effects of several TCM preparations on CHD patients were observed by thromboelastography (TEG), prothrombin time, etc. After giving various preparations 20ml intravenously, the results of TEG showed that the values of r, k, c, 1 were decreased and ma increased by QiXue injection, the differences of k and ma were significant; while no significant change by Shen Qi injection and the k value was significantly reduced by DanShen injection. The results of prothrombin time with QiXue injection showed distinct dose-dependent effects, it shortened with 20ml and significantly lengthened with 40ml. This results suggested that there was complicated effects of different YQHX preparations as well as of different dosages.

[16-Hydroxytriptolide, a new active diterpene isolated from Tripterygium wilford II].

A new diterpene triepoxide, 16-hydroxytriptolide was isolated from the root and leaves of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f. 16-Hydroxytriptolide was obtained as white cluster crystal, mp 232-233.5 degrees C. Its molecular formula is C20H24O7. The structure and stereochemistry of 16-hydroxytriptolide was established as L2 on the basis of spectral data (IR, MS, UV, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 2d-NMR, NOE) and X-ray crystallographic analysis. In the pharmacologic screening, 16-hydroxytriptolide showed definite antiinflammatory actions and strong immunosuppressive and antifertile activities. In antiinflammatory action, its half effective dose (ED50) was 0.12 mg/kg with the model of croton oil induced ear swelling of mice. In immunosuppressive action, its ED50 was 0.05 mg/kg with the model of the formation of haemolysinantibody of mice. Its lowest effective dose (po) was 0.027mg/kg x 33d in antifertile action.