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To evaluate whether the efficacy of Getong Tongluo Capsule (葛酮通络胶囊, GTC, consisted of total flavone of Radix Puerariae) on improving patients’ quality of life and lowering blood pressure are superior to the extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGB) for patients with convalescent-phase ischemic stroke and primary hypertension. This randomized, positive-drug- and placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was conducted from September 2015 to October 2017. Totally 477 eligible patients from 18 hospitals in China were randomly assigned in a 2:1:1 ratio to the following interventions, twice a day for 12 weeks: (1) GTC 250 mg plus EGB-matching placebo 40 mg (237 cases, GTC group), (2) EGB 40 mg plus GTC-matching placebo 250 mg (120 cases, EGB group) or (3) GTC-matching placebo 250 mg plus EGB-matching placebo 40 mg (120 cases, placebo group). Moreover, all patients were orally administered aspirin enteric-coated tablets 100 mg, once a day for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the Barthel Index (BI). The secondary outcomes included the control rate of blood pressure and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores. The incidence and severity of adverse events (AEs) were calculated and assessed. The BI relative independence rates, the clinical recovery rates of NIHSS, and the total effective rates of NIHSS in the GTC and EGB groups were significantly higher than the placebo group at 12 weeks after treatment (P 0.05). The control rate of blood pressure in the GTC group was significantly higher than the EGB and placebo groups at 12, 18 and 24 weeks after treatment (P 0.05). GTC exhibited significant efficacy in improving patients’ quality of life as well as neurological function and controlling hypertension. (Registration No. ChiCTR1800016667)

To evaluate whether the efficacy of Getong Tongluo Capsule (, GTC, consisted of total flavone of Radix Puerariae) on improving patients' quality of life and lowering blood pressure are superior to the extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGB) for patients with convalescent-phase ischemic stroke and primary hypertension.This randomized, positive-drug- and placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was conducted from September 2015 to October 2017. Totally 477 eligible patients from 18 hospitals in China were randomly assigned in a 2:1:1 ratio to the following interventions, twice a day for 12 weeks: (1) GTC 250 mg plus EGB-matching placebo 40 mg (237 cases, GTC group), (2) EGB 40 mg plus GTC-matching placebo 250 mg (120 cases, EGB group) or (3) GTC-matching placebo 250 mg plus EGB-matching placebo 40 mg (120 cases, placebo group). Moreover, all patients were orally administered aspirin enteric-coated tablets 100 mg, once a day for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the Barthel Index (BI). The secondary outcomes included the control rate of blood pressure and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores. The incidence and severity of adverse events (AEs) were calculated and assessed.The BI relative independence rates, the clinical recovery rates of NIHSS, and the total effective rates of NIHSS in the GTC and EGB groups were significantly higher than the placebo group at 12 weeks after treatment (P0.05), and no statistical significance was found between the GTC and EGB groups (P0.05). The control rate of blood pressure in the GTC group was significantly higher than the EGB and placebo groups at 12, 18 and 24 weeks after treatment (P0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in the incidences of AEs, adverse drug reactions, or serious AEs among the 3 groups (P0.05).GTC exhibited significant efficacy in improving patients' quality of life as well as neurological function and controlling hypertension. (Registration No. ChiCTR1800016667).

Lingo-1 is a negative regulator of myelination. Repairment of demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS)/experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), requires activation of the myelination program. In this study, we observed the effect of RNA interference on Lingo-1 expression, and the impact of Lingo-1 suppression on functional recovery and myelination/remyelination in EAE mice. Lentiviral vectors encoding Lingo-1 short hairpin RNA (LV/Lingo-1-shRNA) were constructed to inhibit Lingo-1 expression. LV/Lingo-1-shRNA of different titers were transferred into myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-induced EAE mice by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection. Meanwhile, lentiviral vectors carrying nonsense gene sequence (LVCON053) were used as negative control. The Lingo-1 expression was detected and locomotor function was evaluated at different time points (on days 1,3,7,14,21, and 30 after ICV injection). Myelination was investigated by luxol fast blue (LFB) staining.LV/Lingo-1-shRNA administration via ICV injection could efficiently down-regulate the Lingo-1 mRNA and protein expression in EAE mice on days 7,14,21, and 30 (P 0.01), especially in the 5 × 10(8) TU/mL and 5 × 10(9) TU/mL LV/Lingo-1-shRNA groups. The locomotor function score in the LV/Lingo-1-shRNA treated groups were significantly lower than the untreated or LVCON053 group from day 7 on. The 5 × 10(8) TU/mL LV/Lingo-1-shRNA group achieved the best functional improvement (0.87 ± 0.11 vs. 3.05 ± 0.13, P 0.001). Enhanced myelination/remyelination was observed in the 5 × 10(7) , 5 × 10(8) , 5 × 10(9) TU/mL LV/Lingo-1-shRNA groups by LFB staining (P 0.05, P 0.01, and P 0.05).The data showed that administering LV/Lingo-1-shRNA by ICV injection could efficiently knockdown Lingo-1 expression in vivo, improve functional recovery and enhance myelination/remyelination. Antagonism of Lingo-1 by RNA interference is, therefore, a promising approach for the treatment of demyelinating diseases, such as MS/EAE.

To explore the efficacy and safety of ropinirole in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.From November 2005 to April 2007, a total of 221 subjects from 7 hospitals of Beijing, Lanzhou and Wuhan participated in a 12-week multi-center, randomized, bromocriptine-controlled, double-blind, double-dummy and parallel-group trial. The efficacy of ropinirole was assessed with the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) score, "off" time according to the patient's diary and the overall evolution of clinical efficacy. The safety was assessed on the basis of adverse events, blood pressure, pulse, laboratory measurement and electrocardiographic recordings. And the statistical analyses were performed with t, paired t, χ(2) and covariance tests.In the intent-to-treat population, the average UPDRSIII score decreased to (11 ± 9) in ropinirole group and (11 ± 10) in bromocriptine group while the UPDRSIIscore decreased to (4 ± 4) and (3 ± 5) respectively at Week 12 versus baseline. It showed that ropinirole was non-inferior to bromocriptine. The "off" time at Week 12 [(3.0 ± 1.2)h, (3.8 ± 1.6)h] versus baseline [(4.2 ± 2.0)h, (4.4 ± 1.7)h] decreased (t = 10.772, t = 5.746, P = 0.000) in ropinirole and bromocriptine groups. Ropinirole offered a better overall improvement rate (q = 7.241, P = 0.007). The adverse events occurring at a ratio of over 5% caused by ropinirole included orthostatic hypotension, nausea, dizziness, upper abdominal discomfort, insomnia and palpitation. No significant difference existed in the frequency of adverse events between two groups.Ropinirole is both effective and safe in the treatment of Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease.

αν and β1 integrins mediate Aβ-induced neurotoxicity in primary hippocampal neurons. We treated hippocampal neurons with 2.5 µg/mL 17E6 and 5 µg/mL ab58524, which are specific αν and β1 integrin antagonists, respectively, for 42 h prior to 10 µM Aβ treatment. Next, we employed small interfering RNA (siRNA) to silence focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a downstream target gene of integrins. The siRNAs were designed with a target sequence, an MOI of 10 and the addition of 5 µg/mL polybrene. Under these conditions, the neurons were transfected and the apoptosis of different cell types was detected. Moreover, we used real-time PCR and Western blotting analyses to detect the expression of FAK and ρFAK genes in different cell types and investigated the underlying mechanism and signal pathway by which αν and β1 integrins mediate Aβ-induced neurotoxicity in hippocampal neurons. An MTT assay showed that both 17E6 and ab58524 significantly increased cell viability compared with the Aβ-treated neurons (P

To compare the efficacy of midazolam and diazepam for treatment of acute seizures in children.One hundred and twenty children with acute seizures were randomly divided into two groups: midazolam (0.1-0.3 mg/kg) and diazepam treatment (0.3-0.5 mg/kg) (n=60 each). In cases with seizure recurrence or statural convulsivus, a maintenance dose of midazolam (1-8 mg/kg per hour) and a maintenance dose of diazepam (0.5-1 mg/kg per hour) or along with phenobarbital sodium were given in the midazolam and diazepam treatment groups, respectively. The therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.The seizures were relieved in all cases from the two groups 10 minutes after administration of midazolam or diazepam. There were no significant differences in the average time of seizure control between the two groups. Five children in the midazolam group had seizure recurrence or statural convulsivus after 10 minutes compared with 13 children in the diazepan group (P0.05). The time of seizure control averaged 40+/-32 minutes in the midazolam group compared with 69+/-24 minutes in the diazepam group after maintenance treatment (P0.05). No midazolam and diazepam treatment related adverse events were observed.Midazolam is safe and effective in the treatment of acute seizures in children. Midazolam appears to be a better option in the treatment of recurrent seizures or statural convulsivus than diazepam.

Making use of the gene resources of wild type peanuts is a way to increase the genetic diversity of the cultivars. Marker assisted selection (MAS) could shorten the process of inter-specific hybridization and provide a possible way to remove the undesirable traits. However, the limited number of molecular markers available in peanut retarded its MAS process. We started a peanut ESTs (Expressed Sequence Tags) project aiming at cloning genes with agronomic importance and developing molecular markers. In this study we found 610 ESTs that contained one or more SSRs from 12,000 peanut ESTs. The most abundant SSRs in peanut are trinucleotides (66.3%) SSRs and followed by dinucleotide (28.8%) SSRs. AG/TC (10.7%) repeat was the most abundant and followed by CT/GA (9.0%), CTT/GAA (7.4%), and AAG/TTC (7.3%) repeats. Ninety-four SSR containing ESTs were randomly selected for primer design and synthesis, of which 33 pairs could generate good amplification and were used for polymorphism assessment. Results showed that polymorphism was very low in cultivars, while high level of polymorphism was revealed in wild type peanuts.

Background Carbon disulfide (CS 2 ) is a commonly used organic solvent. Many epidemiological investigations and animal experiments have indicated that learning and memory ability can be affected to different degrees after long-term exposure to CS 2 , but the mechanisms are still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the possible mechanisms of CS 2 -related impairment of the learning and memory ability of rats, by investigating the effects of CS 2 on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and NOS mRNA expression in rat hippocampus. Methods Rat models of toxicity were generated by inhalation of various doses of CS 2 . After two months of inhaling intoxication, the activities of constitutive NOS (cNOS) and induced NOS (iNOS) in the hippocampus were measured. The levels of neuronal NOS (nNOS) mRNA and iNOS mRNA were measured by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results cNOS activity was significantly decreased compared with controls, while iNOS activity was changed only slightly. CS 2 treatment significantly decreased nNOS mRNA levels. iNOS mRNA levels were significantly increased only at higher doses of CS 2 . Conclusion The effect of CS 2 on learning and memory ability in rats is related to the activity of NOS and the expression of nNOS in the hippocampus.

The SUPERMAN gene in Arabidopsis has its epigenetic mutants (the clark kent alleles,clk). The phenotype of clk and its genotype and methylated patterns and the epi-mutation mechanisms of SUPERMAN were summarized in the review. Heritable but unstable sup epi-alleles are associated with nearly identical patterns of excess cytosine methylation within the SUP gene and a decreased level of SUP RNA. The methylation of cytosine at CpG and CPXPG is controlled by METHYLTRANSFERASE1(MET1) and CHROMOMETHYLASE3 (CMT3) which is regulated by KRYPTONITE gene, respectively.

To investigate the mechanism of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and the protective effect of fructose-1, 6-diphosphagic (FDP) and dexamethasone (DXM) in hemorrhagic shock in rabbits.Using a hemorrhagic shock model of Wiggers, 48 rabbits were randomly divided into 6 groups. Group I control group; GroupII with drugs given before ischemia phase (divided into 3 groups: FDP I, DXM I and FDP I+ DXM I); Group III with drugs given in reperfusion phase (divided into 2 groups: FDPII and DXMII). The levels of creatine kinase (CK) and troponin I (cTnI) in plasma were measured, and myocyte apoptosis index was assessed.Baseline levels of CK and cTnI were similar in three groups; CK and cTnI and apoptosis index were lower or with a lower tendency in groupII and in groupIII (P0.05 or P0.01); CK and cTnI showed a lower tendency in rise in FDP I and DXM I than in FDPII and even slower in FDP group than in DXM group; CK and cTnI levels rose slower in FDP I+DXM I than in FDP I and DXM I.FDP given during ischemia and DXM could effectively protect the myocardium from reperfusion injury following hemorrhagic shock.