Trimetazidine can prevent the occurrence of contrast-induced nephropathy after percutaneous coronary intervention in elderly patients with renal insufficiency.

BACKGROUND: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) has become a common cause of hospital-acquired acute kidney injury in elderly patients. Trimetazidine (TMZ) is a type of anti-ischemic drug developed in recent years, which can reduce the incidence of CIN. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of TMZ in the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy in elderly patients with renal insufficiency undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and to explore the mechanism of action. METHODS: A total of 310 elderly patients with renal insufficiency undergoing elective PCI were enrolled and randomly assigned to a control group (n = 155, hydration only) and a TMZ group (n = 155, 20 mg thrice daily orally 24 hours before and 72 hours after PCI). The primary endpoint of the study was the incidence of CIN, which was defined as an increase of 25% or more, or an absolute increase of 0.5 mg/dL or more in serum creatinine from baseline value, at 48 to 72 hours following the exposure to contrast media (CM). RESULTS: The incidence of CIN was significantly lower in the TMZ group than that in the control group (3.2% vs. 9.7%, p = 0.021). There was no difference regarding the incidence of major adverse events during hospitalization between the TMZ group and control group (1.9% vs. 2.6%, p = 1.000). Binary logistic regression results showed that TMZ was protective factors of CIN (OR = 0.274; 95% CI: 0.089-0.847; p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Therefore, we came to the conclusion that prophylactic administration of TMZ can prevent the occurrence of CIN in elderly patients with renal insufficiency undergoing PCI and has a certain protective effect on the renal function of patients. According to the experimental results and the mechanism of TMZ on cardiomyocytes, we speculate that TMZ increases kidney glucose metabolism, reduces fatty acid oxidation, and also has a protective effect on kidney free radical damage and ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Exploring the Mechanism of Icariin in Osteoporosis Based on a Network Pharmacology Strategy.

BACKGROUND With the aging of the world's population, the incidence of osteoporosis (OP) has become a public health problem of worldwide concern. Research shows that icariin may have a therapeutic effect on OP. MATERIAL AND METHODS PharmMapper was utilized to predict the potential targets of icariin. GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) were used for the collection of OP genes. The STRING database was utilized to obtain the protein-protein interaction (PPI) data. We used Cytoscape 3.7.2 to construct and analyze the networks. The genes and targets in the networks were input into the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) to undergo Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, animal experiments were performed to verify the prediction results of this study. RESULTS A total of 297 icariin potential targets and 262 OP genes were obtained, and an icariin-OP PPI network was constructed and analyzed. The results of the GO enrichment analysis showed that icariin can regulate the steroid hormone-mediated signaling pathway, skeletal system development, extracellular space, cytosol, and steroid hormone receptor activity. The results of the pathway enrichment analysis showed that icariin can regulate osteoclast differentiation, FoxO, estrogen, and PPAR signaling pathways. The results of the experiments showed that icariin can increase estradiol, ß-catenin, and Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor-к B Ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) ratio in postmenopausal OP rats (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS This research found that the icariin can regulate OP-related biological processes, cell components, molecular functions, and signaling pathways.

Novel nanoliposomes alleviate contrast-induced acute kidney injury in New Zealand rabbits by mediating inflammatory response.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the research was to investigate the preventive effect of nanoliposomes on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in New Zealand rabbits and to provide a theoretical basis for clinically effective prevention and treatment of CIN and the development of new contrast agents. METHODS: A total of 48 New Zealand rabbits were divided into four groups randomly, there were 12 rabbits in eacj group: (I) control group; (II) contrast group; (III) hydration prevention group; and (IV) nanoliposome group. The changes of serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were messured before and after injection of iopromide. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect inflammatory and oxidative stress indexes, including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipoprotein (NGAL), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Twenty-four hours after injection of the contrast medium, the rabbits were killed and the pathological changes were observed under an electron microscope. RESULTS: There were statistical significances in sCr and BUN values among the four groups at both 8 hours and 24 hours after injection of the contrast medium. Serum NGAL and TNF-α levels were also significantly different among the four groups (P<0.05) 24 hours after injection of the contrast medium. The incidence rate of CIN in each group was statistically significant. Nanoliposomes had obvious advantages over hydration prevention in NGAL and TNF-α levels. CONCLUSIONS: Nanoliposomes can prevent the occurrence of CIN and reduce the damage of contrast agent to the kidney by reducing inflammatory reaction.

Novel Nanoliposomes Alleviate Contrast-Induced Nephropathy by Mediating Apoptosis Response in New Zealand Rabbits.

The aim of this study was to test the preventive effects of nano liposomes against contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in New Zealand rabbits. Sixty New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into four groups, with 15 rabbits in each group: control group, contrast group, hydration group and nano liposome group. Serum creatinine (Scr) and Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) were measured before and after injection of the contrast agent iopromide. Oxidative stress markers, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and apoptosis markers, such as Bcl2-Associated X (Bax) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Rabbits were killed 24 h after injection of the contrast medium and both kidneys were removed. Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot assays were performed in kidney tissue. Pathological changes were analyzed under the optical and electron microscope. Compared with the hydration group, the nano liposome group showed improved protection of renal function, with significantly different Scr and BUN levels, incidence of CIN, apoptosis index, RT-PCR and Western blot protein expression patterns. Under the optical and electron microscope, the renal injury in the nano liposome group was less than in the hydration group. However, based on SOD and MDA, there was no significant difference in oxidative stress when compared with the hydration group. Apoptosis is an important mechanism in CIN. Nano liposomes can prevent the occurrence of CIN by decreasing apoptosis, reducing damage to the kidney by the contrast agent.

Comparison of double-dose vs. usual dose of nicorandil for the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy after cardiac catheterization.

PURPOSE: Contrast-associated nephropathy (CIN), the third main reason of the acute kidney injury (AKI) in inpatients, is a potentially severe side effect of angiography and the preventive role of nicorandil on CIN is still controversal. The aim of this clinical trial was to evaluate the preventive role of different doses of nicorandil on CIN in patients experiencing cardiac catheterization compared with hydration. METHODS: We recorded outcomes from 330 patients who were randomly divided to either a double-dose (30 mg/day) nicorandil group or to a usual-dose (15 mg/day) nicorandil group or a control group (hydration only). The primary endpoint of the current research was the occurrence of CIN, which is defined as a relative elevation of SCr level of 25% above the baseline or an absolute increment of SCr of more than 44.2 µmol/L (0.5 mg/dL) within 48 or 72 h after contrast medium exposure. Additional endpoints were the changes in BUN, SCr, Cys-C, eGFR, and CRP level within 48 h after contrast agent exposure and major adverse events occurring during hospitalization and 14 days of follow-up. RESULTS: 6 out of 111 patients (5.4%) had contrast-induced nephropathy in the double-dose group and it occured 11 out of 107 patients (10.3%) in the usual-dose group, 16 out of 112 patients (14.3%) in the control group. There was a significant difference in the occurrence of CIN between the double-dose group and the control group at 48 h after taking the radiocontrast medium (p = 0.026) while no such significant difference observed in the usual-dose group and the control group (p = 0.367), the double-dose group and usual-dose group (p = 0.180) as well. CONCLUSIONS: Daily peri-procedural usual-dose nicorandil could just relieve contrast-induced renal injury, only double-dose nicorandil was associated with a reduced incidence of CI-AKI compared with hydration.