Light-Assisted Fabrication of Hierarchical Azopolymer Structures Using the Breath Figure Method and AAO Templates.

Hierarchical polymer structures have garnered widespread application across various fields owing to their distinct surface properties and expansive surface areas. Conventional hierarchical polymer structures, however, often lack postfabrication scalability and spatial selectivity. In this study, we propose a novel strategy to prepare light-assisted hierarchical polymer structures using azopolymers (PAzo), the breath figure method, and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. Initially, the breath figure PAzo films are prepared by dripping a PAzo chloroform solution onto glass substrates in a high-humidity environment. The AAO templates are then placed on the breath figure PAzo film. Upon ultraviolet (UV) light exposure, the azobenzene groups in the azopolymers undergo trans-cis photoisomerization. This process causes the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the PAzo to become lower than room temperature, allowing the azopolymer to enter the nanopores of the AAO templates. The hierarchical azopolymer structures are then formed by using a sodium hydroxide solution to remove the templates. Furthermore, exploring the effects of PAzo concentration and UV light exposure duration on the film morphology reveals optimized conditions for hierarchical structure formation. Additionally, the water contact angles of these polymer structures are measured. The hierarchical PAzo structures exhibit higher hydrophobicity compared with the flat PAzo films and the PAzo breath figure films. Finally, patterned breath figure films can be prepared using designed photomasks, demonstrating the method's capability for spatial selectivity.

Guard Cell-Inspired Ion Channels: Harnessing the Photomechanical Effect via Supramolecular Assembly of Cross-Linked Azobenzene/Polymers.

Stimuli-responsive ion nanochannels have attracted considerable attention in various fields because of their remote controllability of ionic transportation. For photoresponsive ion nanochannels, however, achieving precise regulation of ion conductivity is still challenging, primarily due to the difficulty of programmable structural changes in confined environments. Moreover, the relationship between noncontact photo-stimulation in nanoscale and light-induced ion conductivity has not been well understood. In this work, a versatile design for fabricating guard cell-inspired photoswitchable ion channels is presented by infiltrating azobenzene-cross-linked polymer (AAZO-PDAC) into nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes. The azobenzene-cross-linked polymer is formed by azobenzene chromophore (AAZO)-cross-linked poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC) with electrostatic interactions. Under UV irradiation, the trans-AAZO isomerizes to the cis-AAZO, causing the volume compression of the polymer network, whereas, in darkness, the cis-AAZO reverts to the trans-AAZO, leading to the recovery of the structure. Consequently, the resultant nanopore sizes can be manipulated by the photomechanical effect of the AAZO-PDAC polymers. By adding ionic liquids, the ion conductivity of the light-driven ion nanochannels can be controlled with good repeatability and fast responses (within seconds) in multiple cycles. The ion channels have promising potential in the applications of biomimetic materials, sensors, and biomedical sciences.

Gene Repair of iPSC Line with GARS (G294R) Mutation of CMT2D Disease by CRISPR/Cas9.

OBJECTIVE: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) severely affects patient activity, and may cause disability. However, no clinical treatment is available to reverse the disease course. The combination of CRISPR/Cas9 and iPSCs may have therapeutic potential against nervous diseases, such as CMT. METHODS: In the present study, the skin fibroblasts of CMT type 2D (CMT2D) patients with the c.880G>A heterozygous nucleotide mutation in the GARS gene were reprogrammed into iPSCs using three plasmids (pCXLE-hSK, pCXLE-hUL and pCXLE-hOCT3/4-shp5-F). Then, CRISPR/Cas9 technology was used to repair the mutated gene sites at the iPSC level. RESULTS: An iPSC line derived from the GARS (G294R) family with fibular atrophy was successfully induced, and the mutated gene loci were repaired at the iPSC level using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. These findings lay the foundation for future research on drug screening and cell therapy. CONCLUSION: iPSCs can differentiate into different cell types, and originate from autologous cells. Therefore, they are promising for the development of autologous cell therapies for degenerative diseases. The combination of CRISPR/Cas9 and iPSCs may open a new avenue for the treatment of nervous diseases, such as CMT.

Photoswitchable and Solvent-Controlled Directional Actuators: Supramolecular Assembly and Crosslinked Polymers.

Untethered small actuators have drawn tremendous interest owing to their reversibility, flexibility, and widespread applications in various fields. For polymer actuators, however, it is still challenging to achieve programmable structural changes under different stimuli caused by the intractability and single-stimulus responses of most polymer materials. Herein, multi-stimuli-responsive polymer actuators that can respond to light and solvent via structural changes are developed. The actuators are based on bilayer films of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and azobenzene chromophore (AAZO)-crosslinked poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC). Upon UV light irradiation, the AAZO undergoes trans-cis-trans photoisomerization, causing the bending of the bilayer films. When the UV light is off, a shape recovery toward an opposite direction occurs spontaneously. The reversible deformation can be repeated at least 20 cycles. Upon solvent vapor annealing, one of the bilayer films can be selectively swollen, causing the bending of the bilayer films with the directions controlled by the solvent vapors. The effects of different parameters, such as the weight ratios of AAZO and film thicknesses, on the bending angles and curvatures of the polymer films are also analyzed. The results demonstrate that multi-stimuli-responsive actuators with fast responses and high reproducibility can be fulfilled.

Circulating Plasma Concentrations of ACE2 in Primary Aldosteronism and Cardiovascular Outcomes.

CONTEXT: The plasma concentrations of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (pACE2) has been independently associated with cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE: Higher pACE2 concentrations may be found in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) and might lead to increased cardiovascular events. METHODS: Using an inception observational cohort, we examined pACE2 among 168 incident patients with PA. The expression of ACE2, serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2), and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) were assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. RESULTS: Incident PA and essential hypertension (EH) patients had similarly elevated pACE2 (47.04 ± 22.06 vs 46.73 ± 21.06 ng/mL; P = .937). Age was negatively (ß = -2.15; P = .033) and higher serum potassium level (ß = 2.29; P = .024) was positively correlated with higher pACE2 in PA patients. Clinical complete hypertension remission after adrenalectomy (Primary Aldosteronism Surgery Outcome criteria) was achieved in 36 (50%) of 72 surgically treated unilateral PA (uPA) patients. At follow-up, pACE2 decreased in surgically treated patients who had (P < .001) or had no (P = .006) hypertension remission, but the pACE2 attenuation was not statistically significant in uPA (P = .085) and bilateral PA (P = .409) administered with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA). Persistently elevated pACE2 (> 23 ng/mL) after targeted treatments was related to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events among PA patients (hazard ratio = 8.8; P = .04); with a mean follow-up of 3.29 years. TMPRSS2 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was higher in uPA (P = .018) and EH (P = .038) patients than in normotensive controls; it was also decreased after adrenalectomy (P < .001). CONCLUSION: PA and EH patients had elevated pACE2 and higher expression of TMPRSS2 mRNA compared to those of normotensive population. Persistently elevated pACE2 (> 23 ng/mL) after targeted treatments was associated risk of mortality and incident cardiovascular events.

Practice and outcomes of airway management in patients with cervical orthoses.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Increasing evidence indicates an association of video laryngoscopy with the success rate of airway management in patients with neck immobilization. Nevertheless, clinical practice protocols for tracheal intubation in patients immobilized using various types of cervical orthoses and the outcomes remain unclear. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed the tracheal intubation techniques selected for patients immobilized using cervical orthoses from 2015 to 2018. The endpoints were the intubation outcomes of the different techniques and the factors associated with the selection of the technique. RESULTS: We included 218 patients, 118 of whom wore halo vest braces (halo vest group) and 100 wore cervical collars (collar group). GlideScope video laryngoscopy (GVL) and fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) were the initial intubation methods in 98 and 120 patients, respectively. GVL had a higher first-attempt success rate than did FOB in the collar group (p = 0.002) but not in the halo vest group (p = 0.522). GVL was associated with a lower risk of episodes of SaO2< 90% (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02-0.67; p = 0.016) and shorter intubation time (aRR, -3.52; 95% CI, -4.79∼-2.25; p < 0.001) in the collar group. However, in the halo vest group, more frequent requirement of a rescue technique (p = 0.002) and necessity of patient awakening (p = 0.001) was noted when GVL was used. Use of the halo vest brace and noting of severe cord compression were independent predictors of the initial selection of FOB. CONCLUSION: Caution should be exercised when using GVL for tracheal intubation in patients immobilized using halo vest braces.

Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Alpha-1 Modulates Lifespan and Oxidative Stress Tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Altered metabolism is a hallmark of aging. The tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) is an essential metabolic pathway and plays an important role in lifespan regulation. Supplementation of α-ketoglutarate, a metabolite converted by isocitrate dehydrogenase alpha-1 (idha-1) in the TCA cycle, increases lifespan in C. elegans. However, whether idha-1 can regulate lifespan in C. elegans remains unknown. Here, we reported that the expression of idha-1 modulates lifespan and oxidative stress tolerance in C. elegans. Transgenic overexpression of idha-1 extends lifespan, increases the levels of NADPH/NADP+ ratio, and elevates the tolerance to oxidative stress. Conversely, RNAi knockdown of idha-1 exhibits the opposite effects. In addition, the longevity of eat-2 (ad1116) mutant via dietary restriction (DR) was reduced by idha-1 knockdown, indicating that idha-1 may play a role in DR-mediated longevity. Furthermore, idha-1 mediated lifespan may depend on the target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling. Moreover, the phosphorylation levels of S6 kinase (p-S6K) inversely correlate with idha-1 expression, supporting that the idha-1-mediated lifespan regulation may involve the TOR signaling pathway. Together, our data provide new insights into the understanding of idha-1 new function in lifespan regulation probably via DR and TOR signaling and in oxidative stress tolerance in C. elegans.

Wine-processing waste sludge permeable reaction barrier utilized to block a gasoline plume in a simulated aquifer.

Oil leakage from gas stations in Taiwan is commonly caused by the corrosion of oil tanks or loose pipeline joints, contaminating the soil and groundwater near the gas station. Wine-processing waste sludge (WPWS) does not contain toxic substances and has a high organic matter content. Thus, it has high affinity for methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), being suitable for application in preventing and controlling groundwater pollution. In this study, a permeable reaction barrier (PRB) constructed utilizing WPWS in a large water tank was designed to simulate the diffusion and blockage of gasoline plumes in an aquifer. The constructed WPWS PRB had a rectangular shape with a thickness and height of 9 and 60 cm, respectively. The depth in the aquifer was adjusted to 50 cm. MTBE was detected in the aquifer downstream of the WPWS PRB every day during the experiment; however, the maximum concentration detected was only 5.33 ppb. BTEX were only detected on 3 days during the experiment and had maximum concentrations of 1.76, 2.28, 0.34, and 0.60 ppb, which are below the water quality control standards.

Aberrant Expression of Cancer-Testis Antigen FBXO39 in Breast Cancer and its Clinical Significance.

BACKGROUND: Cancer/testis antigen (CTA) is a class of antigen molecules expressed only in the germinal epithelium of testis and some tumor tissues. As an important CTA molecule, the expression of F-box protein 39 (FBXO39) in breast cancer (BC) and its clinical significance remain unclear. The objective of this study is to explore the value of FBXO39 in the diagnosis, efficacy monitoring, and prognostic evaluation of BC. METHODS: The expression of FBXO39 mRNA in the serum exosomes of patients with BC before and after the initial diagnosis and treatment was detected by qRT-PCR, and the corresponding ROC curve was plotted. The expression of FBXO39 protein in BC cancer tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry, along with the analysis of the correlation between FBXO39 expression and clinical pathological features as well as prognosis of BC cases. RESULTS: The serum-derived exosomes were successfully isolated and identified. The positive rate of FBXO39 mRNA in serum exosomes of patients with BC was up to 86%; there was a correlation between the expression level of serum exosomal FBXO39 and clinical staging, HER2, and Ki-67 expression (all with p < 0.05). The sensitivity of serum exosomal FBXO39 in distinguishing BC patients from healthy controls was 88%, with the specificity as 86%, and AUC as 0.9432. The expression change of FBXO39 in serum-sourced exosomes of patients with BC was related to their treatment situation, indicating that the level of FBXO39 decreased significantly after treatment. The expression of FBXO39 in cancer tissue was related to the clinical stage (p = 0.023) and lymphatic metastasis (p = 0.015) of the BC patients. Survival analysis showed that the expression of FBXO39 was negatively correlated with the prognosis of BC patients, with the high expression of FBXO39 indicating poor prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Serum-derived exosomal FBXO39 could serve as an important indicator of BC diagnosis and efficacy evaluation; FBXO39 could be rated as an important indicator of BC prognosis evaluation.

Transtubular potassium gradient predicts kidney function impairment after adrenalectomy in primary aldosteronism.

BACKGROUND: In primary aldosteronism (PA), kidney function impairment could be concealed by relative hyperfiltration and emerge after adrenalectomy. We hypothesized transtubular gradient potassium gradient (TTKG), a kidney aldosterone bioactivity indicator, could correlate to end organ damage and forecast kidney function impairment after adrenalectomy. METHODS: In the present prospective study, we enrolled lateralized PA patients who underwent adrenalectomy and were followed up 12 months after operation in the Taiwan Primary Aldosteronism Investigation (TAIPAI) registry from 2010 to 2018. The clinical outcome was kidney function impairment, defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 at 12 months after adrenalectomy. End organ damage is determined by microalbuminuria and left ventricular mass. RESULTS: In total, 323 patients [mean, 50.8 ± 10.9 years old; female 178 (55.1%)] were enrolled. Comparing pre-operation and post-operation data, systolic blood pressure, serum aldosterone, urinary albumin to creatinine ratio and eGFR decreased. TTKG ⩾ 4.9 correlated with pre-operative urinary albumin to creatinine ratio >50 mg/g [odds ratio (OR) = 2.42; p = 0.034] and left ventricular mass (B = 20.10; p = 0.018). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that TTKG ⩾ 4.9 could predict concealed chronic kidney disease (OR = 5.42; p = 0.011) and clinical success (OR = 2.90, p = 0.017) at 12 months after adrenalectomy. CONCLUSIONS: TTKG could predict concealed kidney function impairment and cure of hypertension in PA patients after adrenalectomy. TTKG more than 4.9 as an adverse surrogate of aldosterone and hypokalaemia correlated with pre-operative end organ damage in terms of high proteinuria and cardiac hypertrophy.

Incidental Congestive Heart Failure in Patients With Aldosterone-Producing Adenomas.

Background Previous studies show that patients with primary aldosteronism are associated with higher risk of congestive heart failure (CHF). However, the effect of target treatment to the incidental CHF has not been elucidated. We aimed to investigate the risk of new-onset CHF in patients with aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) and explore the effect of adrenalectomy on new onset of CHF. Methods and Results From 1997 to 2009, 688 APA were identified and matched with essential hypertension controls. The risks of developing incidental CHF (hazard ratio, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.31-0.75; P=0.001) and mortality (hazard ratio, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.20-0.44; P<0.001) were significantly lower in the APA group after targeted treatment. A total of 605 patients with APAs who underwent adrenalectomy lowered the risks of CHF (subdistribution hazard ratio, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.34-0.90; P=0.017) and mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.16-0.44; P<0.001) compared with essential hypertension controls. Conclusions In conclusion, for patients with APAs, adrenalectomy can be associated with lower risk of incidental CHF and all-cause mortality in a long-term follow-up.

Sequential cetuximab/bevacizumab therapy is associated with improved outcomes in patients with wild-type KRAS exon 2 metastatic colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Combination of biological therapy and chemotherapy improves the survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, the optimal biological therapy sequence remains unclear. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the clinical outcomes of patients with mCRC treated with different sequences of biological therapies as first- and third-line therapy. METHODS: We only included patients with wild-type KRAS exon 2 mCRC who had received cetuximab, bevacizumab, and standard chemotherapy. The patients were treated with cetuximab or bevacizumab as first- or third-line therapy combined with a similar chemotherapy backbone. RESULTS: In total, 102 patients were included. Forty-six patients received first-line cetuximab therapy followed by third-line bevacizumab therapy (cetuximab â†’ bevacizumab group) and 56 patients received first-line bevacizumab therapy followed by third-line cetuximab therapy (bevacizumab â†’ cetuximab group). The cetuximab â†’ bevacizumab group was associated with increased survival (OS) compared with the bevacizumab â†’ cetuximab group (median OS: 30.4 months vs 25.7 months, hazard ratio (HR): 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.36-0.86). When calculated from the start of second- and third-line therapies, OS was also higher in the cetuximab â†’ bevacizumab group (second-line: 20.6 months vs 14.8 months, HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.34-0.81; third-line: 12.5 months vs 9.9 months, HR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.35-0.83). The cetuximab â†’ bevacizumab group was also associated with better progression-free survival than the bevacizumab â†’ cetuximab group (8.8 vs 4.5 months, HR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.25-0.58) in the third-line setting, but not in the first- or second-line settings. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that first-line cetuximab therapy followed by third-line bevacizumab therapy was associated with favorable clinical outcomes as compared to the reverse sequence.

Higher moisture content is associated with greater emissions of DEHP from PVC wallpaper.

Water damage and moisture in buildings may become more prevalent due to the increasing frequency of extreme precipitation and flooding events resulting from climate change. However, the effects of moisture levels on phthalate emissions from building materials are still underreported. This study aims to evaluate the effect of moisture content (MC) on the level of di-(2ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) emitted from plastic wallpaper (0.22wt% DEHP) within 15 days in a closed chamber. A scenario of short-term exposure to DEHP in buildings suffering from water damage was simulated. Experiments, controlled at 100% relative humidity (RH) of air and 28°C, were conducted under the following three conditions: (I) without wallpaper (control chamber), (II) dry wallpaper (MC at 3.57%) and (III) damp wallpaper (MC at 52.31%). Air and dust samples were collected at the elapsed time of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13 and 15 days, and the wipe sample was collected on the last day. Higher DEHP concentrations were found to be emitted into the air and adsorbed on the dust for wallpapers with higher MC%. DEHP levels in the air exhibited an increasing trend with the length of the experiment. Overall, it was found that approximately 35.31% more total DEHP mass was released into the air, dust and wipe samples from damp wallpapers compared to dry wallpapers. It is concluded that DEHP emissions from plastic materials are affected by the inner moisture percentage.

A polycaprolactone-tricalcium phosphate composite scaffold as an autograft-free spinal fusion cage in a sheep model.

Titanium (Ti) based spinal fusion cages are frequently used in the clinics for the treatment of spinal degeneration and related diseases, however, their further clinical application is generally harassed by several drawbacks such as stress shielding, non-biodegradability and additional bone grafting procedure. Our earlier work has demonstrated the efficacy of a biodegradable macro-porous polycaprolactone-tricalcium phosphate (PCL-TCP) composite scaffold in promoting bony tissue ingrowth as well as its ability to sustain mechanical loads upon implantation into an orthotopic defect site. In this study, we investigated the use of PCL-TCP scaffold as an autograft-free spinal fusion cage in a preclinical sheep model over 12 months, and compared the fusion efficacy against Ti cages incorporated with autografts. Results showed that despite PCL-TCP scaffold as an autograft-free cage attaining a slower fusion rate at early stage (6 month), it achieved similar degree of spinal fusion efficacy as Ti cages aided with autograft at 12 month post-operation as evidenced by the radiographic and histological evaluation. PCL-TCP cages alone demonstrated better bone ingrowth with 2.6 fold higher bone/interspace ratio (B/I) and more homogeneous bone tissue distribution compared with that of the Ti cages (88.10  ±  3.63% vs. 33.74  ±  2.78%, p < 0.05) as seen from the histological and micro-CT analysis. Moreover, besides the bone tissue ingrowth, a quantitative approach was illustrated to accurately evaluate the osteointegration of fusion cage with surrounding bone tissue, and showed a 1.36 fold higher degree of osteointegration occurred in PCL-TCP cage group than Ti cage group (CS/PC: 79.31  ±  3.15% vs 58.44  ±  2.43%, p < 0.05). Furthermore, biomechanical analysis showed comparable mechanical strength of fused segments in both groups in terms of the range of motion and stiffness at 12 month (p > 0.05). The degradation profile of the PCL-TCP cages was noted to increase in tandem with new bone ingrowth into the pores, while maintaining good structural integrity necessary for supporting the spinal interbody segments. Therefore, with the better osteointegration, more bone tissue ingrowth as well as its favorable biodegradable and radiolucent properties, PCL-TCP cage has been demonstrated to be a promising candidate as an autograft-free fusion cage for clinical application.

Anxiety, depression and related factors in family caregivers of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients before first treatment.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (i) explore the prevalence and levels (severity) of anxiety and depression in family caregivers (FCs) of patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer (stage IIIb or IV) before first treatment, and (ii) identify the factors related to FCs' anxiety and depression. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, 106 patient-FC dyads were recruited from a medical center in northern Taiwan. FCs' anxiety and depression were measured using the self-report Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and FCs' ability to manage patients' symptoms was assessed using the Self-Efficacy in Symptom Management Scale. FCs' risks for anxiety and depression were separately identified using two multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: This study found two major results. First, before patients' first treatment, 50.9% and 32.1% of FCs were at risk for anxiety and depression, respectively. FCs' overall mean anxiety and depression scores were 7.7 (SD = 4.7) and 6.1 (SD = 4.5), respectively. Second, both FCs' anxiety and depression were significantly related to four factors: caring for another sick family member, younger age, having pain problems, and lower self-efficacy in managing symptoms. CONCLUSION: Family caregivers of patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer had anxiety and depression before the patients' first treatment. We strongly suggest developing and testing interventions to reduce FCs' psychological distress and enhance their quality of life, thus ensuring better quality of patient care.

Adrenalectomy reverses myocardial fibrosis in patients with primary aldosteronism.

OBJECTIVE: Primary aldosteronism is the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension and is associated with more prominent left ventricular hypertrophy and increased myocardial fibrosis. However, the reversibility of cardiac fibrosis is still unclear. Our objective was to investigate myocardial fibrosis in primary aldosteronism patients and its change after surgery. METHOD: We prospectively analyzed 20 patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) who received adrenalectomy from December 2006 to October 2008 and 20 patients with essential hypertension were enrolled as the control group. Plasma carboxy-terminal propeptide of procollagen type I (PICP) determination and echocardiography including ultrasonic tissue characterization by cyclic variation of integrated backscatter (CVIBS) were performed in both groups and 1 year after operation in the APA group. RESULTS: APA patients had significantly higher SBP and DBP, higher plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), higher aldosterone-renin ratio (ARR), lower serum potassium levels, and lower plasma renin activity (PRA) than patients with essential hypertension. In echocardiography, APA patients had a higher left ventricular mass index than essential hypertension patients. APA patients had significantly lower CVIBS (6.2 ± 1.5 vs. 8.7 ± 2.0 dB, P < 0.001) and higher plasma PICP levels (107 ± 27 vs. 85 ± 24 µg/l, P = 0.009) than essential hypertension patients. In the correlation study, CVIBS is correlated with log-transformed PRA and log-transformed ARR and PICP is correlated with log-transformed PRA, log-transformed PAC, and log-transformed ARR. One year after adrenalectomy, CVIBS increased significantly (6.2 ± 1.5 to 7.3 ± 1.7 dB, P = 0.033) and plasma PICP levels decreased (107 ± 27 vs. 84 ± 28 µg/l, P = 0.026). CONCLUSION: Increases in collagen content in the myocardium of APA patients may be reversed by adrenalectomy.

Clinical manifestations and survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cardiac metastasis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Antemortem diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with cardiac metastasis is uncommon. To clarify the clinical manifestation and survival of HCC patients with cardiac metastases, we initiated the present study. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 48 HCC patients with metastases into cardiac cavity diagnosed antemortem. The baseline clinical characteristics, echocardiogram, treatment modality and the outcome data were collected. RESULTS: The most common symptoms of cardiac metastasis included asymptomatic in 19 cases (39.5%), bilateral lower leg edema in 18 cases (37.5%) and exertional dyspnea in 15 cases (31.3%). The median and mean survival times from the time of diagnosis of cardiac metastasis were 102 days and 161 days, respectively. Compared with another cohort of 48 patients with age-, gender-, and stage-matched HCC patients without cardiac metastasis, the median survival in the cardiac metastasis group was similar to the control group (68 days) (P = 0.67). The cause of death was HCC in 29, hepatic failure in seven, multiple organ failure in four, gastrointestinal bleeding in three, sepsis in two, pulmonary embolism in one, respiratory failure in one, and acute myocardial infarction in one. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cardiac metastases were in the advanced stages. These patients had limited survival from the diagnosis of cardiac metastases. The most common cause of death was related to HCC per se or the underlying liver disease. Only a few patients expired because of cardiac metastases.

Huang-lian-jie-du-decoction modulates glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion in diabetic rats.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Huang-lian-jie-du-decoction (HLJDD), a well-known Chinese herbal formula, has been used for diabetic treatment. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether HLJDD affected glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 (7-36) amide level in diabetic rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were treated with HLJDD at low dose (2 g/kg/day) or high dose (4 g/kg/day). After 5-week treatment, GLP-1 (7-36) amide level and insulin level in portal vein and tissues stimulated by oral glucose load were measured by ELISA kits. The proglucagon gene expression in intestinal tracts and the proliferation of intestinal L cell and pancreatic beta cell were measured using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry techniques, respectively. RESULTS: It was found that 5-week HLJDD treatment attenuated alteration of glucose level and insulin level in plasma and tissues of diabetic rats induced by STZ, accompanied by improvement of diabetic syndrome. 5-week HLJDD treatment increased GLP-1 (7-36) amide level in portal vein plasma and distal ileum. Further studies showed that 5-week HLJDD treatment increased the mRNA level of proglucagon gene in distal ileum, promoted pancreatic beta cell and intestinal L cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: All the results indicated that HLJDD exerted its anti-diabetic effects partly via modulating GLP-1 (7-36) amide level.

Effect of 21-day exposure of phenobarbital, carbamazepine and phenytoin on P-glycoprotein expression and activity in the rat brain.

Overexpression of P-glycoprotein may be involved in multidrug resistance of epilepsy, but the mechanisms are not clear. The aim of the studies was to investigate whether chronic exposure of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) increased P-glycoprotein (P-gp) function and expression in brain of rats. Three drugs phenobarbital (PB), phenytion (PHT) and carbamazepine (CBZ) were orally given to rats twice a day for successive 21 days, P-gp activity in brain was assessed using the brain-to-plasma concentration ratios of rhodamine 123 (Rho 123) at 1 h following intravenous administration of 0.2 mg/kg. Immunohistochemistry was also used to analyze P-gp localization in rat brain regions. P-gp levels in the brain regions were further evaluated using western blot. The results showed 21-day exposure of AEDs resulted in significant decrease of tissue-to-plasma concentration ratios of Rho 123 in cerebral cortex and hippocampus without affecting their concentrations in plasma. Immunohistochemistry result showed that up-regulation of the P-gp mainly occurred in capillary endothelial vessels. Western blot result suggested that the protein level of P-gp in cortex and hippocampus of rats exposed to drugs was significantly higher than that of control rats. The P-gp levels were associated with P-gp activity in corresponding rats. All the results verified the hypothesis that chronic exposure of AEDs may increase P-gp function and level in brain of rats.