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To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the expression of Iba-1, complement C1q and CD68 in hippocampus of SAMP8 mice, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of Alzheimer's disease (AD).Twenty-four male SAMP8 mice were randomly and equally divided into model and EA groups, and 12 SAMR1 mice were used as the control group. EA (2 Hz, 1.5-2.0 mA) was applied to "Baihui" (GV20), "Dazhui"(GV14) and "Shen-shu"(BL23) for 20 min once daily in the EA group, each course of treatment was 8 days, with an interval of 2 days between two courses, and the mice were treated for 3 courses. Morris water maze test was performed to assess the learning-memory ability of mice. The positive expression levels of Iba-1 and CD68 proteins in the hippocampus CA1 region were detected by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Iba-1,C1q and CD68 in the hippocampus were detected by real-time PCR and Western blot, separately.Compared with the control group, the average escape latency of Morris water maze test was prolonged in the model group (EA can improve the learning and memory ability of SAMP8 mice, which may be associated with its effect in inhibiting of complement C1q-dependent microglial phagocytosis in the hippocampus.

Oxymatrine (OXY) has antioxidative and antiinflammatory activities. In the present work, we investigate the effects of OXY on gastric ulcer models and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action. Ethanol, indometacin, and restraint water immersion stress-induced ulcerated models were used. The ulcer area was measured, and samples of gastric tissue were taken for pathological, histochemical, and biochemical analyses. OXY effectively reduced the area of gastric ulcers and improved the pathological changes of ulcerated tissue. OXY enhanced expression of Bcl-2, reduced Bax protein expression, and inhibited alcohol-induced apoptotic death in both ulcerated tissue and human gastric epithelial cells. OXY increased the prostaglandin E2 level and improved oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and nitric oxide) and inflammatory parameters (TNF-a, IL-6, and IL-1) of ulcer tissue. OXY prevented an inflammatory response via decreasing expression of p38, p-ERK, p-JNK, and inhibiting NF-κB p65 translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Our results reveal that OXY has remarkable protective effects on gastric ulcers. The action of OXY may be mediated via suppression of gastric inflammatory reactions, oxidative stress, and pro-apoptotic actions, which were the results of blockades of MAPKs and NF-κB signaling pathways. Our results provide evidence for the beneficial effects of OXY for treating peptic ulcers.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Endoscopic variceal obturation with tissue adhesive is used to control gastric variceal bleeding. We investigated the prevalence of serious complications from this therapy. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of complications that occurred in 753 patients with gastric variceal hemorrhages who were hospitalized in 2 tertiary referral hospitals. All patients received N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate as therapy for endoscopic variceal obturation. RESULTS: Complications occurred in 51 patients. Thirty-three patients experienced rebleeding because of early-onset (within 3 months) extrusion of the N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate glue cast (4.4%), 10 patients developed sepsis (1.3%), and 5 patients developed distant embolisms (0.7%; 1 pulmonary, 1 brain, and 3 splenic). One patient had major gastric variceal bleeding after endoscopic variceal obturation (0.1%), 1 developed a large gastric ulcer (0.1%), and 1 had mesentery hematoma, hemoperitoneum, and infection in the abdominal cavity (0.1%). The complication-related mortality was 0.53% (3 deaths from sepsis and 1 death from rebleeding after early-onset glue cast extrusion). CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence of complications after endoscopic variceal obturation with N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate in gastric varices treatment is rare.

Background: Progression of disease after hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection differs among individuals, indicating a possibility of participation of host genetic factors. 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS-1), an important component of the innate immune system, has an antiviral function, and may therefore have a certain relationship with progression of disease. Aim: To evaluate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of OAS-1 and its relationship with the disease status of HCV infection. Methods: Six SNPs of OAS-1 were selected and examined in 409 Japanese patients with chronic HCV infection using the TaqMan PCR genotyping method. The relationship of SNP genotypes and clinical manifestations of patients was analysed. Then, a pair of OAS-1-expression plasmids mimicking the clinical-related SNPs were created and transfected into liver cells carrying the HCV subgenomic replicon or the full-length genome, JFH1, and HCV replication after transfection was compared. Results: Patients with genotypes A/A, A/G and G/G of an SNP of OAS-1 at the exon 3 of its coding sequence were at gradient increased risks of suffering from higher serum alanine aminotransferase (P

Background Gastric varices (GV) are life-threatening for patients with portal hypertension. Endoscopic injection with butyl cyanoacrylate (BC), the mainstay of the therapy for GV, has been reported to be effective for hemostasis of bleeding varices, but its efficacy in the obliteration of GV and impact on the survival of patients still needs clarification. Here we summarized our experience of 10 years' practice to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic therapy using BC for GV patients. Methods From January 1997 to April 2006, GV cases treated with endoscopic injection using BC were collected. The "sandwich method" and the "modified sandwich method" were used to inject BC intravascularly. Retrograde analysis was made on the data of treatment and follow-up. Results A total of 635 GV cases treated with endoscopic injection using BC were collected, most of them (90.2%) suffered from post-hepatitis cirrhosis. Emergency hemostasis was achieved in 139 out of 146 sessions (95.2%). Complications occurred in 32 cases (5.2%), including hemorrhage due to early expulsion of tissue glue (3.1%), septicemia (1%) and ectopic thrombosis (0.5%), such as spleen infarction. Endoscopic follow-up in 503 patients showed complete disappearance (76.9%), collapse (17.3%) or remnants (5.8%) of gastric varices. A total of 550 patients were followed up clinically for 3 to 115 months. Of these patients, 44 had recurrent bleeding (8.0%) and 44 died from hepatic failure, recurrent bleeding, hepatic carcinoma or other causes. The longest survival was 115 months, with a median survival of 25 months. Survival rates at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 year were 95%, 92%, 90%, 83% and 81%, respectively. Conclusions Endoscopic sclerotherapy with BC is effective for the hemostasis of bleeding GV, as well as obliteration of GV which contributes to less rebleeding and better survival. The modified sandwich method may be useful to minimize ectopic embolism, which we speculated to result from excess iodized oil.

Introduction: Infection of pathogenic microorganisms is an important reason for autoimmune diseases (ADs). Interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor-associated kinase-1 (IRAK1) is a key mediator in infection immunity, while the gene of IRAK1 is recognized as a risk gene in ADs. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IRAK1 (rs3027898, rs1059702, rs1059703) are considered to be associated with ADs risk. However, the results are conflicting. We conducted this study to get more precise estimations. Methodology: PubMed, OvidSP, and CNKI databases (published prior to August 2014) were searched, and data was extracted from eligible studies. The procedure of statistical analysis was performed using STATA 12.0 software. A random effect model or fixed effect model was chosen based on the between-study heterogeneities. Results: Of the studies involved, 11 studies included 10,705 cases (9,865 controls) for rs3027898, 9 studies included 15,005 cases (14,997 controls) for rs1059702, and 7 studies included 8,115 cases (6,815 controls) for rs1059703. Overall, the results showed that there were significant associations with ADs risk in three genetic models for rs3027898 and in four genetic models for rs1059702, but in neither model for rs1059703. Moreover, in stratified analyses, different extents of associations were found in some different genetic models for all three SNPs. Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that these three SNPs (rs3027898, rs1059702, rs1059703) in IRAK1 were associated with ADs risk.

To investigate the effect of enhanced nutritional therapy on wound healing after endoscopic therapy in patients with liver cirrhosis and esophageal varices.Fifty patients with liver cirrhosis and esophageal varices were randomly divided into an enhanced nutritional therapy group (n = 25) and a control group (n = 25). The enhanced nutritional therapy group received one week of enhanced nutritional supplementation, including liver nutritional elements, prior to routine endoscopic therapy. The routine without any change to their diet. The rate of transformation and status of wound healing of esophageal varices were compared between the two groups.The ratio of ulcers occurring at the injection site was lower in the enhanced nutrition group than in the control group (16/25 vs. 23/25; x2 = 5.711, P = 0.017). The enhanced nutrition group had only one case of minimal bleeding occurring during endoscopy as compared to the seven cases of bleeding in the control group (x2 = 5.357, P = 0.021). On average, the enhanced nutrition group required less sessions of endoscopic treatment to achieve eradication of esophageal varices than the control group (3.8 vs. 4.1; t = 2.069, P = 0.044).Pre-endoscopic enhanced nutritional therapy may benefit patients with liver cirrhosis and esophageal varices by promoting recovery of procedure-related local tissue injury and occlusion of varices.

Both selenium (Se) and polysaccharides from Pyracantha fortuneana (Maxim.) Li (PFPs) (P. fortuneana) have been reported to possess antioxidative and immuno-protective activities. Whether or not Se-containing polysaccharides (Se-PFPs) have synergistic effect of Se and polysaccharides on enhancing the antioxidant and immune activities remains to be determined. We previously reported that polysaccharides isolated from Se-enriched P. fortuneana (Se-PFPs) possessed hepatoprotective effects. However, it is not clear whether or not they have anti-mutagenic effects. In the present study, we compared and evaluated anti-mutagenic effects of Se-PFPs at three concentrations (1.35, 2.7 and 5.4 g/kg body weight) with those of PFPs, Se alone or Se + PFPs in mice using micronucleus assay in bone marrow and peripheral blood as well as mitomycin C-induced chromosomal aberrations in mouse testicular cells. We also elucidated the underlying mechanism. Our results demonstrated that Se-PFPs inhibited cyclophosphamide (CP)-induced micronucleus formation in both bone marrow and peripheral blood, enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in mouse liver, and reduced the activity and expression of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP4501A) in mouse liver in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, we found that the anti-mutagenic potential of Se-PFPs was higher than those of PFPs, Se alone or Se + PFPs at the same level. These results suggest that the anti-mutagenic potential of Se-PFPs may be mediated through the inhibition of the activity and expression of CYP4501A. This study indicates that application of Se-PFPs may provide an alternative strategy for cancer therapy by targeting CYP1A family.

To investigate the genes associated with temporal epilepsy and explore the molecular mechanism of epilepsy.The microarray data of temporal epilepsy were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed by bioinformatics methods using String, KEGG and Panther databases.Of all the 71 differentially expressed genes, 51 were found to encode proteins with interactions; the main biological pathways involved included neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, MAPK signaling pathway, and calcium signaling pathway etc.The pathogenesis of epilepsy involves multiple genes, and investigations of these genes may provide valuable insights into the mechanism of epilepsy.

To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of a biweekly DOF regimen consisting of docetaxel, oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin for advanced gastric cancer.The biweekly DOF regimen was administered in 37 advanced gastric cancer patients. Docetaxel, oxaliplatin and leucovorin were given intravenously at a dose of 35 mg/m2, 85 mg/m2 and 200 mg/m2 for 1 h, 2 h and 2 h on D1, respectively, and 5-Fu was administered as continuous intravenous infusion for 48 h at a dose of 1500 mg/m2 on D1 and D2. This regimen was repeated every 2 weeks. The efficacy and toxicity were evaluated after completion of 3 cycles at least.The overall response rate (RR) of this series was 67.6%, complete response rate and partial response rate were 27.0% and 40.5%, respectively. The time to progression (TTP) was 9.2 months, and median survival time (MST) was 13.7 months. The RRs of 11 chemotherpy-naïve patients and 26 patients pre-treated with chemotherapy were 81.8% and 61.5%, respectively.Our preliminary results showed that this biweekly combination regimen of docetaxel, oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin is effective and tolerable for advanced gastric cancer. However, further investigation of this regimen is mandatory.

Interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 7 (IRF-7) has been shown to play an essential role in the transcriptional activation of virus-inducible cellular genes, especially IFN genes. Polymorphisms of the IRF-7 gene may probably affect both the quality and the quantity of IRF-7. We investigated the role of IRF-7 polymorphisms in Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.We studied a total of nine polymorphisms of the IRF-7 gene including SNP1047A/G (Lys/Glu) and SNP2157A/G (Gln/Arg) using the Taqman allelic discrimination and sequencing techniques in 406 Japanese patients with chronic HCV infection. We further performed functional analysis of SNP1047 and SNP2157 by transcriptional activation of the IFNA promoter.We found that SNP1047AG and SNP2157AG genotypes were in complete linkage disequilibrium and were present in a significantly higher proportion in HCV-infected patients with cirrhosis (5.6%) than in those without cirrhosis (1.7%) (P=0.03). Multivariate analysis also revealed that SNP1047 and SNP2157 were independently associated with cirrhosis at an odds ratio of 2.5. Functional analysis revealed that SNP1047G and SNP2157G alleles increased IFNA expression.SNP1047AG and SNP2157AG genotypes were strongly associated with cirrhosis. SNP1047G and SNP2157G alleles might be used as markers of host factors associated with a higher risk of cirrhosis in Japanese patients with chronic HCV infection.

To investigate the effect of saikosaponin alpha (SSalpha) on experimental epilepsy in rats.Acute epileptic seizure was induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) in rats, and the seizure incubation period and the number of rats with tetanic convulsion were recorded to study the antiepileptic effect of SSalpha.After treatment with SSalpha, the incubation period of PTZ-induced seizure was significantly prolonged (P0.01), and the rate of tetanic convulsion was significantly reduced (P0.05).SSalpha can inhibit epileptic seizure induced by PTZ.

To study the effect of saikosaponins, the active ingredients of Bupleurum chinense DC. on glutamate and GABA expressions in the hippocampus of slow kindling rats induced by pentetrazole.Forty-eight healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 equal groups, namely the blank control group (group A), normal saline (NS) group (group B), sodium valproate group (group C), and 3 saikosaponins groups of high, medium and small doses (groups D, E, and F, respectively). The rats in each group other than group A were given corresponding treatments after slow kindling by pentetrazole. After 4 weeks of treatment, the rats were sacrifices and the brain tissues were sampled, sliced and stained by immunohistochemically, and the results were analyzed according to the positive cell number and gray scale.In CA1 region, the glutamate-positive cell number and gray scale of group B was significantly different from the other groups (P0.05), but such difference was not observed in the CA2 and DG (P0.05); In CA1, CA2 and DG of the hippocampus, the GABA-positive cell number of group B was significantly greater but the gray scale lower than those of the other groups (P0.05). In CA1 and CA2 regions of the hippocampus, the glutamate- and GABA-positive cell ratio of group B was significantly lower than that of the other groups (P0.05), but in CA1, CA2, and DG region of the hippocampus, the ratio of gray scale between glutamate- and GABA-positive cells was comparable between the groups (P0.05).The expression of glutamate and GABA, especially the latter, increased in chronic kindling rat hippocampus. Saikosaponins intervene in such changes of glutamate and GABA to contain their expressions within normal range, which may be one of the mechanisms of saikosaponins to inhibit slow kindling induced by pentetrazole.

AIM: To investigate the effect of antiviral therapy with nucleoside analogs in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related cirrhosis and esophageal varices. METHODS: Eligible patients with HBV-related cirrhosis and esophageal varices who consulted two tertiary hospitals in Beijing, China, the Chinese Second Artillery General Hospital and Chinese PLA General Hospital, were enrolled in the study from January 2005 to December 2009. Of 117 patients, 79 received treatment with different nucleoside analogs and 38 served as controls. Bleeding rate, change in variceal grade and non-bleeding duration were analyzed. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression was used to identify factors related to esophageal variceal bleeding. RESULTS: The bleeding rate was decreased in the antiviral group compared to the control group (29.1% vs 65.8%, P < 0.001). Antiviral therapy was an independent factor related to esophageal bleeding in multivariate analysis (HR = 11.3, P < 0.001). The mean increase in variceal grade per year was lower in the antiviral group (1.0 ± 1.3 vs 1.7 ± 1.2, P = 0.003). Non-bleeding duration in the antiviral group was prolonged in the Kaplan-Meier model. Viral load rebound was observed in 3 cases in the lamivudine group and in 1 case in the adefovir group, all of whom experienced bleeding. Entecavir and adefovir resulted in lower bleeding rates (17.2% and 28.6%, respectively) than the control (P < 0.001 and P = 0.006, respectively), whereas lamivudine (53.3%) did not (P = 0.531). CONCLUSION: Antiviral therapy delays the progression of esophageal varices and reduces bleeding risk in HBV-related cirrhosis, however, high-resistance agents tend to be ineffective for long-term treatment.