Paeonia lactiflora improves ovarian function and oocyte quality in aged female mice.

Although ovarian aging is a key cause of decreased ovarian function and oocyte quality, it remains a problem in infertility treatment. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate whether Paeonia lactiflora (PL), a herb improves ovarian function and oocyte quality using aged female mice. C57BL/6 female mice aged 8 months were treated orally every day with PL of 26.5 mg/kg (n=7) and 53 mg/kg (n=7) of body weight for 4 weeks using an oral zoned needle. The control group (n=7) was treated with normal saline. Ovaries and serum were collected for the H&E stain and the evaluation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, respectively. In the second experiment, female mice were orally administered with PL (26.5 mg/kg: n=12, 53 mg/kg: n=12, control: n=12) and then superovulated with PMSG and hCG, and mated with male mice. Zygotes were retrieved and cultured for 4 days. Ovaries were provided for examination of expressions of genes associated with angiogenesis (VEGF and visfatin), anti-aging (Sirt1 and Sirt2), and follicular development (c-Kit, BMP-15, and GDF-9). PL significantly increased numbers of surviving follicles (primordial, primary, secondary, and antral), numbers of zygotes retrieved, embryo development rate, and ovarian expression of VEGF, visfatin, c-Kit, BMP-15, and GDF-9 at both doses. However, ovarian expression of Sirt1 and Sirt2 was increased at 53.0 mg/kg of PL. ROS levels were not affected by PL. These results suggest that PL may possess beneficial effects regarding ovarian function and oocyte quality, possibly by activation of ovarian angiogenesis and follicular development.

Comparisons of Monopolar Lesion Volumes with Hypertonic Saline Solution in Radiofrequency Ablation: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Ex Vivo Study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic degeneration of the zygapophyseal joints in the cervical or lumbar spine are common causes of axial back pain. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a treatment modality in the denervation of facet joint-related pain. Although multiple factors have been theorized to contribute to the size of the optimal RF lesion, the addition of hypertonic saline solution has been posited to create larger RF lesion sizes. OBJECTIVES: This study compares lesion of 20-gauge RF monopolar probe using 2% lidocaine, 0.9% normal saline solution, and 3% saline solution administered through the RF needle prior to ablation, with subsequent lesion sizes recorded. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized, double-blinded, ex vivo study using clinically relevant conditions. SETTING: Procedural laboratory in an academic institution. METHODS: RF ablation lesions were reproduced in room temperature (21°C ± 2°C) chicken breast specimens with 20-gauge monopolar RF probes inserted. RF was applied for 90 seconds at 80°C after injection of 1 mL of either 2% lidocaine, 2% lidocaine and 0.9% normal saline solution in a 1:1 ratio, or 2% lidocaine and 3% saline solution in a 1:1 ratio. Tissues were dissected, measured, and ellipsoid volumes of burn calculated. Homogeneity of variances was assessed via the Bartlett's test, and heteroskedasticity with the studentized Breusch-Pagan test. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (alpha of 0.05) was used to evaluate statistical significance between volume means across groups. When the null hypothesis of no difference in burn volume between samples could not be rejected, a predefined equivalence volume of ± 0.05 cm3 was used with Welch's 2 one-sided t-tests (TOST) with a Bonferroni adjusted alpha of 0.0167 to evaluate for null acceptance. RESULTS: The mean lesion volume for monopolar RF with 1 mL 2% lidocaine was 0.16 cm3. Monopolar RF with 1 mL 2% lidocaine + 0.9% normal saline solution had a mean lesion volume of 0.15 cm3, and treatment with 1 mL 2% lidocaine + 3% saline solution measured 0.17 cm3. ANOVA failed to reject the null, and TOST accepted as equivalent all 3 comparisons. LIMITATIONS: In vivo anatomy and physiology of a human organism was not used for this study. Samples were not warmed to physiologic temperature. Randomization resulted in slightly unequal sample sizes, although all groups were of sufficient size that the central limit theorem should apply. CONCLUSIONS: Three commonly used solutions were found to have equivalent lesion sizes from monopolar probe RF ablation. KEY WORDS: Radiofrequency, ablation, lesion shape, lesion size, monopolar RF, hypertonic saline solution.

Paeonia lactiflora improves ovarian function and oocyte quality in aged female mice

Although ovarian aging is a key cause of decreased ovarian function and oocyte quality, it remains a problem in infertility treatment. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate whether Paeonia lactiflora (PL), a herb improves ovarian function and oocyte quality using aged female mice. C57BL/6 female mice aged 8 months were treated orally every day with PL of 26.5 mg/kg (n=7) and 53 mg/kg (n=7) of body weight for 4 weeks using an oral zoned needle. The control group (n=7) was treated with normal saline. Ovaries and serum were collected for the H&E stain and the evaluation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, respectively. In the second experiment, female mice were orally administered with PL (26.5 mg/kg: n=12, 53 mg/kg: n=12, control: n=12) and then superovulated with PMSG and hCG, and mated with male mice. Zygotes were retrieved and cultured for 4 days. Ovaries were provided for examination of expressions of genes associated with angiogenesis (VEGF and visfatin), anti-aging (Sirt1 and Sirt2), and follicular development (c-Kit, BMP-15, and GDF-9). PL significantly increased numbers of surviving follicles (primordial, primary, secondary, and antral), numbers of zygotes retrieved, embryo development rate, and ovarian expression of VEGF, visfatin, c-Kit, BMP-15, and GDF-9 at both doses. However, ovarian expression of Sirt1 and Sirt2 was increased at 53.0 mg/kg of PL. ROS levels were not affected by PL. These results suggest that PL may possess beneficial effects regarding ovarian function and oocyte quality, possibly by activation of ovarian angiogenesis and follicular development.

Paeonia lactiflora improves ovarian function and oocyte quality in aged female mice

Although ovarian aging is a key cause of decreased ovarian function and oocyte quality, it remains a problem in infertility treatment. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate whether Paeonia lactiflora (PL), a herb improves ovarian function and oocyte quality using aged female mice. C57BL/6 female mice aged 8 months were treated orally every day with PL of 26.5 mg/kg (n=7) and 53 mg/kg (n=7) of body weight for 4 weeks using an oral zoned needle. The control group (n=7) was treated with normal saline. Ovaries and serum were collected for the H&E stain and the evaluation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, respectively. In the second experiment, female mice were orally administered with PL (26.5 mg/kg: n=12, 53 mg/kg: n=12, control: n=12) and then superovulated with PMSG and hCG, and mated with male mice. Zygotes were retrieved and cultured for 4 days. Ovaries were provided for examination of expressions of genes associated with angiogenesis (VEGF and visfatin), anti-aging (Sirt1 and Sirt2), and follicular development (c-Kit, BMP-15, and GDF-9). PL significantly increased numbers of surviving follicles (primordial, primary, secondary, and antral), numbers of zygotes retrieved, embryo development rate, and ovarian expression of VEGF, visfatin, c-Kit, BMP-15, and GDF-9 at both doses. However, ovarian expression of Sirt1 and Sirt2 was increased at 53.0 mg/kg of PL. ROS levels were not affected by PL. These results suggest that PL may possess beneficial effects regarding ovarian function and oocyte quality, possibly by activation of ovarian angiogenesis and follicular development.(AU)