[Auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet combined with catheter balloon dilatation in treatment of post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy on post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction treated with auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet combined with catheter balloon dilatation, and the effect on the adverse reaction during catheter balloon dilatation and the patients' quality of life. METHODS: A total of 106 patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction were randomly divided into an observation group (53 cases, 3 cases dropped off, 1 case excluded) and a control group (53 cases, 5 cases dropped off). The catheter balloon dilatation was provided in the control group, once a day. In the observation group, on the base of the treatment as the control group, auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet was added. Before catheter balloon dilatation, the magnetic pellet was pressed at Yanhou (TG3), Xin (CO15), Naogan (AT3,4i), etc. These auricular points were pressed 5 min, as well as in every morning and evening for another 5 min, totally 3 times a day. The auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet was applied on the ears alternatively each time, once every 3 days. One session treatment contained 6 days and 4 sessions of treatment were required in both groups. Before and after treatment, the scores of standardized swallowing assessment (SSA), Rosenbek penetration-aspiration scale (PAS) and swallowing quality of life (SWAL-QOL) were observed in both groups. Separately, on day 1 (T1) of treatment, in 2 weeks into treatment (T2) and on the last day of treatment (T3), the score of visual analogue scale (VAS) was recorded in both groups. The incidence of nausea and vomiting and the clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, SSA and PAS scores were reduced (P<0.05) and SWAL-QOL scores were increased (P<0.05) in both groups compared with those before treatment, and the changes in the observation group were larger than those in the control group (P<0.05). At T2 and T3, VAS scores were lower than those at T1 in both groups (P<0.05), while VAS score at each time point in the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting in the observation group was 51.0% (25/49), lower than the control group (79.2%, 38/48, P<0.05). The total effective rate was 95.9% (47/49) in the observation group, better than the control group (87.5%, 42/48, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet combined with catheter balloon dilatation effectively improve the swallowing function, relieve the discomforts during the dilatation and promote the quality of life in patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction.

Involvement of 5-HT-BDNF signaling axis in mediating synergistic antidepressant-like effects after combined administration of two oligosaccharide esters.

Potential mechanisms of depression involving herbal medicines and their specific compounds include elevated 5-HT level and downstream BDNF pathway. To identify potentially new combined therapeutic strategies, 3,6'-disinapoylsucrose (DISS) and tenuifoliside A (TFSA) have been observed to show antidepressant-like effects and its related 5-HT-BDNF pathway. We have tried to investigate whether combined administration of DISS and TFSA exerted more effective in the treatment of depression, as assessed through tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). In addition, we also analyzed the expression of three important proteins, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding (CREB), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and cAMP-regulated transcriptional coactivators (CRTC1), which have been shown to be involved in the regulation of the neurotrophic factors in the hippocampus. The DISS and TFSA separately, both at a dose of 5 mg/kg each, displayed small effect in the immobility time. However, combined treatment of these two in multiple doses exhibited better effect. Moreover, combined treatment of DISS and TFSA also demonstrated enhanced levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and stronger increase in the phosphorylation levels of CREB, BDNF, and CRTC1 proteins in the hippocampus. Overall, our results indicated that coadministration of these two oligosaccharide esters at low dose may induce more pronounced antidepressant activity, in comparison with individual treatment even at high dosage. Thus, the antidepressant properties of both these compounds can be attributed to their ability to influence 5-HT and BDNF pathway, and thereby suggesting that this combination strategy can definitely act as alternative therapy for depression disorder with very limited side effects.

Ribosome Binding Protein 1 Correlates with Prognosis and Cell Proliferation in Bladder Cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Ribosome binding protein 1 (RRBP1) is reported to be correlated with tumor formation and progression. However, the role of RRBP1 in bladder cancer is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of RRBP1 and its influence on cell proliferation in bladder cancer. METHODS: Quantification real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to detect the expression levels of RRBP1 in 138 bladder cancer and matched adjacent normal bladder tissues. Then, the clinical significance of RRBP1 in bladder cancer was evaluated. The effect of RRBP1 on cell proliferation and its potential mechanism were further explored. RESULTS: Results show that the mRNA levels of RRBP1 in bladder cancer were significantly higher compared with those in normal tissues (P< 0.001). IHC results show the high-expression rate of RRBP1 in bladder cancer was 68.8%, which was significantly greater than those in normal tissues (40.6%, P< 0.001). RRBP1 high-expression was significantly associated with differentiation, T stage and lymph node metastasis in bladder cancer (P< 0.05). The overall survival time of patients with RRBP1 high-expression was significantly reduced compared to those with RRBP1 low-expression. Moreover, RRBP1 overexpression significantly promoted cell proliferation, which was correlated with Smad1/Smad3/TGF-ß1 signal pathway. CONCLUSION: RRBP1 high-expression correlates with prognosis and promotes cell proliferation in bladder cancer, which could be a potential biomarker.

Down-regulation of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) expression in gastric cardia adenocarcinoma: Their relationship with clinicopathological parameters and prognostic significance.

OBJECTIVE: C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) is a multi-functional protein involved in the apoptosis pathway of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and is related to cancer progression. The purpose of this study was to assess CHOP expression as a prognostic biomarker in gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA). METHODS: The levels of CHOP mRNA and protein in GCA and matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues were evaluated by quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot. Furthermore, the CHOP protein expression and localization were examined by immunohistochemistry in GCA and corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues, gastritis and normal cardiac tissues. The association of CHOP expression with clinical pathological parameters and prognosis of GCA patients was statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues, the CHOP was down-regulated at mRNA and protein levels in GCA (P<0.01). In addition, immunohistochemistry analysis showed that CHOP positivity was lower in GCA than that in paired adjacent non-cancerous tissues, gastritis and normal tissues (P<0.01). CHOP expression rate gradually decreased with an increase in clinical stage, tumor differentiation and lymph node metastasis of GCA (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that low expression of CHOP correlated with poor prognosis of GCA patients. Moreover, univariate and multivariate analyses showed that CHOP was an independent prognostic marker for overall survival of GCA patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that low CHOP expression predicts poor prognosis of GCA patients, and CHOP may be potentially a prognostic biomarker for GCA.

[NO3-/NO2- inhibits sulfate-reducing activity of the enrichment culture of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes from an off-shore oil reservoir at Bohai Bay, China].

Long-term injection of sulfate-rich water into oil reservoirs stimulates the proliferation of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRP) therein and results in production of a great amount of H2S, leading to souring in oil reservoirs and related environmental problems. In this study, we first, using modified API RP 38 medium, enriched SRP present in production water from a producing well at Bohai Bay, China, and then examined the inhibitory effects of nitrate or nitrite on sulfate reduction activity of the SRP. Results showed that the enriched SRP culture exhibited a high sulfate reduction activity as indicated by a sulfate-reducing rate of 10.4 mmol SO4(2-) x d(-1) x g(-1) dry cell. In presence of 0.4, 0.8, 1.8, and 4.2 mmol x L(-1) nitrate, sulfate reduction was inhibited for 5, 9, 20, and over 35 days, respectively. With the addition of 0.6, 0.9, 1.4, 2.6 and 4.6 mmol x L(-1) of nitrite, the inhibitory period lasted 3, 12, 22, and over 39 days, respectively. The SRP enrichment culture could dissimilatorily reduce nitrate to ammonium. When sulfate, nitrate and nitrite coexisted, nitrate or nitrite was preferentially used over sulfate as electron acceptor by the enriched SRP. This competitive use of electron acceptor and the strong inhibitory effect of nitrite possibly accounted for the suppression of nitrate and nitrite on the sulfate-reducing activity of the enriched SRP cultures from offshore oil reservoir at Bohai Bay.

Bosentan ameliorates the expression of fibrotic related growth factors and collagen-1 in diabetic mice.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential beneficial effect of bosentan in ameliorating fibrotic agents in diabetic mice. METHODS: Male 6-week old C57BL/6 mice were divided into 3 groups (N=20): Control group, diabetes mellitus (DM) group and DM-B group (diabetes with bosentan group). Streptozotocin (STZ) was injected as 200 mg/Kg for single dose, i.p. (intraperitoneal injection). Fasting blood glucose (FBG) was measured at 0-, 1-, 2-week after STZ injection to confirm that diabetes was induced in the mice. Bosentan (100mg/Kg) and placebo was given i.g. (intragastric administration) once a day immediately after STZ injection for 18 weeks. The mRNA expression of tissue growth factor beta (TGF-b), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and collagen-1 were evaluated by RT-PCR and real-time PCR. Differences in the data between the groups were compared by Student t-test for independent samples. RESULTS: After 18 weeks of diabetic situation, FBG of DM-B mice was significantly higher than that of control mice and was similar with that of DM mice (DM mice vs. control mice, p<0.001; DM-B vs. control mice, p<0.001; DM mice vs. DM-B mice, p>0.05). The cardiac VEGF mRNA (a potent angiogenic factor) level in DM-B mice was significantly higher than DM mice (p<0.01). The heart of DM-B mice also showed lower expression of fibrotic genes (TGF-b, CTGF and collagen-1) than DM mice (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the potential usefulness of an ET receptor antagonist bosentan in the amelioration of fibrotic agents, which may promote tissue fibrosis. This may provide a promising therapeutical strategy for diabetic cardiac fibrosis.

Protection against osteoporosis by statins is linked to a reduction of oxidative stress and restoration of nitric oxide formation in aged and ovariectomized rats.

Statins, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, have been used as a cholesterol-lowering drug to treat hyperlipidemia clinically. In recent years, accumulating evidence indicates the possible beneficial effect of statins on osteoporosis. The aim of present study was to investigate whether protection against osteoporosis by statins is linked to a reduction of oxidative stress and restoration of nitric oxide (NO) formation in aged and ovariectomized rats. The aged and ovariectomized rats were used as two models of osteoporosis for evaluation of the effect of simvastatin. It was found that simvastatin abated oxidative stress, increased NO production, subsequently attenuating osteoporosis in two models. In the in vitro studies, the protective effects against H(2)O(2)-induced cell injury were examined in the MG-63 human osteoblastic cells. It was found that simvastatin ameliorated H(2)O(2)-induced cell loss and cell apoptosis and increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in osteoblastic cells. Simvastatin abated oxidative stress through enhancing catalase, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and suppressing NADPH oxidase activity. In addition, simvastatin raised nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and eNOS expression at basal condition; inhibited NOS activity and iNOS expression when treated with H(2)O(2). In conclusion, protection against osteoporosis by statins is linked to a reduction of oxidative stress and restoration of NO formation in aged and ovariectomized rats.