益气活血中药肾区离子导入治疗难治慢性肾功能衰竭的临床研究

目的:探讨益气活血中药肾区离子导入治疗难治慢性肾功能衰竭的临床疗效。方法:将62例难治慢性肾功能衰竭患者随机分为治疗组和对照组,对照组予以常规治疗,治疗组在此基础上应用益气活血中药肾区离子导入治疗,比较分析两组的临床疗效。结果:治疗组总有效率为90.3%,对照组总有效率为77.4%,治疗组优于对照组(P0.05);治疗组中医症状积分、Hb、24h upq及ALB以及肾功能指标改善情况均优于对照组(P0.05)。结论:肾区离子导入益气活血中药治疗难治慢性肾功能衰竭疗效显著,不良反应较少。     

人工种植红景天不同药用部位中红景天苷的含量测定

目的：测定人工种植红景天不同药用部位花瓣、茎、根的含量。方法：取各1 g样品经过60%的乙醇溶解,超声波清洗器清洗50 min,过滤,旋蒸,加2 mL的甲醇,用微孔滤膜（0.45 μm）过滤,采用CAPCELL PAK C₁₈柱（2.0 mm× 150 mm,i.d.,3 μm）,柱温 30 ℃,波长278 nm;样品温度10 ℃,进样体积10 μL。流动相为甲醇-1%乙酸溶液 45：55,流速为1 mL·min^-1进行定量分析。结果：有效部位中的红景天苷含量从高到低依次为花瓣（35.00mg）、根（18.89mg）、茎（1.59 mg）。结论：建立了红景天中红景天苷含量的高效液相色谱方法,可适用于不同药材中红景天苷含量的测定。     

Interaction of fibrin with red blood cells: the role of iron

Activation of coagulation pathways results in the formation of hemostatic fibrin plugs. Under normal physiologic conditions fibrin clots are gradually, albeit completely, degraded by a fibrinolytic enzyme system to ensure proper wound healing and/or blood vessel patency. Yet in pathological situations, thrombi are not effectively removed, leading to chronic thrombosis. The susceptibility of blood clots to enzymatic degradation depends on the structure and properties of fibrin fibers. Many factors have been suspected as culprits, including red blood cells (RBCs) that become transiently trapped within fibrin mesh. Here, the authors show that there is indeed a specific interaction between RBCs and fibrin-like fibers identified here as dense matted deposits (DMDs) by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It is emphasized that such interactions can be observed in ischemic stroke patients, but not from healthy subjects. However, DMD/RBC aggregates can be induced in normal blood by the additions of trivalent iron ions. The plausible mechanism of the enhanced fibrin-red blood cell interaction is based on the previously described iron-induced generation of hydroxyl radicals. These radicals cause, in turn, non-enzymatic formation of fibrinogen aggregates remarkably resistant to fibrinolysis that are also similar to DMDs described in this paper. In conclusion, this relatively simple SEM analysis may become a convenient tool for diagnosing prothrombotic conditions associated with iron overload. It is suggested that future research on prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke and other thrombosis associated diseases should include testing of iron-chelating and hydroxyl radical-scavenging agents.     

Coagulation and inflammation. Molecular insights and diagnostic implications

Overwhelming evidence has linked inflammatory disorders to a hypercoagulable state. In fact, thromboembolic complications are among the leading causes of disability and death in many acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Despite this clinical knowledge, coagulation and immunity were long regarded as separate entities. Recent studies have unveiled molecular underpinnings of the intimate interconnection between both systems. The studies have clearly shown that distinct pro-inflammatory stimuli also activate the clotting cascade and that coagulation in turn modulates inflammatory signaling pathways. In this review, we use evidence from sepsis and inflammatory bowel diseases as a paradigm for acute and chronic inflammatory states in general and rise hypotheses how a systematic molecular understanding of the "inflammation-coagulation" crosstalk may result in novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that target the inflammation-induced hypercoagulable state.     

Mutation detection rate and spectrum in familial hypercholesterolaemia patients in the UK pilot cascade project

Taylor A, Wang D, Patel K, Whittall R, Wood G, Farrer M, Neely RDG, Fairgrieve S, Nair D, Barbir M, Jones JL, Egan S, Everdale R, Lolin Y, Hughes E, Cooper JA, Hadfield SG, Norbury G, Humphries SE. Mutation detection rate and spectrum in familial hypercholesterolaemia patients in the UK pilot cascade project. Cascade testing using DNA‐mutation information is now recommended in the UK for patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). We compared the detection rate and mutation spectrum in FH patients with a clinical diagnosis of definite (DFH) and possible (PFH) FH. Six hundred and thirty‐five probands from six UK centres were tested for 18 low‐density lipoprotein receptor gene (LDLR) mutations, APOB p.Arg3527Gln and PCSK9 p.Asp374Tyr using a commercial amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) kit. Samples with no mutation detected were screened in all exons by single strand conformation polymorphism analysis (SSCP)/denaturing high performance liquid chromatography electrophoresis (dHPLC)/direct‐sequencing, followed by multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) to detect deletions and duplications in LDLR.The detection rate was significantly higher in the 190 DFH patients compared to the 394 PFH patients (56.3% and 28.4%, p > 0.00001). Fifty‐one patients had inadequate information to determine PFH/DFH status, and in this group the detection rate was similar to the PFH group (25.5%, p = 0.63 vs PFH). Overall, 232 patients had detected mutations (107 different; 6.9% not previously reported). The ARMS kit detected 100 (44%) and the MLPA kit 11 (4.7%). Twenty‐eight (12%) of the patients had the APOB p.Arg3527Gln and four (1.7%) had the PCSK9 p.Asp374Tyr mutation. Of the 296 relatives tested from 100 families, a mutation was identified in 56.1%. In 31 patients of Indian/Asian origin 10 mutations (two previously unreported) were identified. The utility of the ARMS kit was confirmed, but sequencing is still required in a comprehensive diagnostic service for FH. Even in subjects with a low clinical suspicion of FH, and in those of Indian origin, mutation testing has an acceptable detection rate.     

Group treatments for sensitive health care problems: a randomised controlled trial of group versus individual physiotherapy sessions for female urinary incontinence

Background  

The aim was to compare effectiveness of group versus individual sessions of physiotherapy in terms of symptoms, quality of life, and costs, and to investigate the effect of patient preference on uptake and outcome of treatment.     

Cell death assays for drug discovery

Cell death has an important role in many human diseases, and strategies aimed at modulating the associated pathways have been successfully applied to treat various disorders. Indeed, several clinically promising cytotoxic and cytoprotective agents with potential applications in cancer, ischaemic and neurodegenerative diseases have recently been identified by high-throughput screening (HTS), based on appropriate cell death assays. Given that different cell death modalities may be dysregulated in different diseases, it is becoming increasingly clear that such assays need to not only quantify the extent of cell death, but they must also be able to distinguish between the various pathways. Here, we systematically describe approaches to accurately quantify distinct cell death pathways, discuss their advantages and pitfalls, and focus on those techniques that are amenable to HTS.