Clinical Study on Long-Term Treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis with Integrative Medicine

Ａｎｋｙｌｏｓｉｎｇｓｐｏｎｄｙｌｉｔｉｓ（ＡＳ）ｉｓａｒｈｅｕｍａｔｉｃｄｉｓｅａｓｅｗｉｔｈｈｉｇｈｉｎｃｉｄｅｎｃｅ，ｉｎｄｕｃ ｉｎｇｄｉｓａｂｉｌｉｔｙａｎｄｉｎｖａｄｉｎｇｔｈｅｓｐｉｎａｌａｘｉａｌｊｏｉｎｔａｓｉｔｓｃｈｉｅｆｃｈａｒａｃｔ     

Acute effects of serotonin on rat bladder contractility.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to investigate in vitro the effects of serotonin on the rat detrusor. In particular, it examines which drugs inhibit the serotonin-induced detrusor contractions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Isometric tension changes of isolated rat bladder muscle strips were recorded in an organ bath using a force transducer. Acute effects of serotonin (0.0001-0.01 mM) on resting tension were assessed. Electrical field stimulation (EFS); bethanechol (0.0001-0.01 mM); ATP (1-3 mM)- or KCl (63.5-254 mM)-induced contractions using an application in an organ bath were compared with serotonin-induced contractions. In order to examine the action mechanism of serotonin-induced stimulation, EFS-, bethanechol-, ATP- or KCl-induced contraction on serotonin treatment (0.001 mM) was assessed and serotonin (0.001-0.1 mM) was cumulatively added to the organ bath following preincubation with propranolol, ketanserin, tropisetron, propiverine, sodium nitroprusside or doxazosin. RESULTS: The serotonin-induced response has two phases: an initial transient contraction and a prolonged tonic phase. Serotonin produced a reversible and dose-dependent contraction of the detrusor strips. Responses to bethanechol significantly increased with a concentration of 0.001 mM serotonin (p < 0.05). There was no effect on the responses to ATP, KCl, or EFS on 0.001 mM serotonin. The 5-HT(2) receptor is mainly responsible for serotonin-induced contractions of the detrusor (p < 0.05), while the 5-HT(1) receptor is partially responsible. Doxazosin and propiverine each significantly suppressed the response to serotonin, while sodium nitroprusside and tropisetron each had no effect (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Because the 5-HT(2) antagonist blocked the effect of serotonin-induced bladder contractions and the stimulation of the adrenoreceptors, the 5-HT(2) antagonist seems to improve lower urinary tract symptoms.     

The in vitro pharmacological profile of KR31080, a nonpeptide AT1 receptor antagonist

Summary— KR31080 (2-butyl-5-methyl-6-(1-oxopyridin-2-yl)-3-[[2'-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl) biphenyl-4-yl]methyl]-3H-imidazo[4,5-b] pyridine) is a potent inhibitor of angiotensin type 1 (AT₁) receptors in rabbit aorta and human recombinant AT₁ receptors. In the isolated rabbit thoracic aorta, KR31080 caused a nonparallel shift to the right of the concentration-response curves to angiotensin II (All) with decreased maximal response (pD'₂ = 10.1 ± 0.1), but had no effect on the contractile response induced by norepinephrine. KR31080 inhibited specific [¹²⁵I]AII binding to rabbit aortic membranes (AT, receptors) and [¹²⁵I][Sar¹, Ile⁸]AII binding to human recombinant AT₁ receptors in a concentration-dependent manner with IC₅₀ values of 0.84 ± 0.08 nM and 1.92 ± 0.15 nM, respectively, but did not inhibit specific [¹²⁵I)AII binding to bovine cerebellum membranes (ÀT₂ receptors). In the Scatchard analysis, KR31080 interacted with rabbit aortic AT₁ receptors in a competitive manner, similar to losartan. These results demonstrate that KR31080 is a potent and AT₁ selective angiotensin receptor antagonist which exerts a competitive antagonism in the [¹²⁵I]AII binding assay and insurmountable AT₁ receptor antagonism in the functional study.     

常用消毒剂及自来水对弓形虫速殖子活力的影响

目的了解常用消毒剂及自来水对弓形虫速殖子活力的影响。方法将各种消毒剂分别加入等体积含弓形虫速殖子的小鼠腹水中，在不同时间内观察虫体胎盘蓝（trypanblue）着色率及活动率，并将经消毒剂处理不同时间的速殖予接种昆明鼠，观察速殖子能否在接种鼠体内复苏繁殖，导致小鼠死亡。用类似方法观察自来水时速殖子的影响。结果除甲醛个速殖子在常用浓度的不同消毒剂中，lmin月台盘蓝着色率均为100％，活动率为0。经消毒剂处理1min的速殖子接种小鼠后，各组接种鼠（包括甲醛处理组）无一死亡。经自来水处理4h的速殖子接种小鼠后仍能在小鼠体内复苏繁殖，小鼠于接种1wk内全部死亡。结论弓形虫速殖子对常用消毒剂均很敏感；而在自来水中途殖子可保持感染力4h以上。     

Factors affecting fusion rate in adult spondylolisthesis

The authors examined factors affecting fusion rate in the surgical treatment of 89 consecutive adult patients with spondylolisthesis. Two factors significantly improved fusion rate: combined anterior and posterior fusion and rigid postoperative immobilization in the cast. In 65 patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis, the fusion rate was raised from 70% when posterior fusion alone was used to 88% when combined anterior and posterior fusion was used. In 20 patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis, frequent use of combined anterior and posterior fusion contributed to a high overall fusion rate of 95%. Among patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis, postoperative cast immobilization resulted in a higher fusion rate of 90% compared with a fusion rate of 63% obtained after brace immobilization.     

Studies of pickled vegetables and cause of esophageal cancer in Linxian. II. Determination of nitrosamines and their precursors]

Pickled vegetables are daily food consumed in the high-risk areas for esophageal cancer in China. We analyzed the nitrosamine content of Linxian pickles by GC/TEA and found that trace amounts of six nitrosamines (NDMA, NDEA, NMBA, NMAMBA, NDPA, NPYR) were present, with the highest concentrations being NDMA and NDEA (1.7 and 1.9 micrograms/kg wet weight respectively). The average level of nitrosamine precursors, such as nitrate (111.22 mg/L), nitrite (0.152 mg/L) and secondary amines (4.223 mg/L), in pickled vegetables were determined, and their pH values ranged from 3 to 5.     

Transneuronal degeneration of thalamic neurons following deafferentation: quantitative studies using [3H]thymidine autoradiography.

Transneuronal degeneration of thalamic neurons following partial deafferentation was studied using [3H]thymidine autoradiography. Timed-pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats received systemic injections of [3H]thymidine on embryonic day (E) 13, 14 and/or 15. On the day of birth, pups were anesthetized by hypothermia and subjected to unilateral enucleation, unilateral removal of the inferior colliculus or sham lesion. Animals were sacrificed on postnatal day 10 or 30 and the brains processed for autoradiography. Material from sham-lesioned animals demonstrates that neurons destined for the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGd) undergo final mitoses on E13, 14 and 15. Neurons in the ventral medial geniculate nucleus (MGv) undergo final mitoses on E13 and 14. Thirty days following neonatal unilateral eye removal, the contralateral LGd displays a loss of approximately 30-35% of [3H]thymidine labeled neurons. Neonatal unilateral removal of the inferior colliculus results in a loss of approximately 30-40% of labeled neurons in MGv. For both LGd and MGv, shorter survival times reveal less severe cell loss. Late generated (E15) LGd neurons show less severe loss following enucleation than do earlier generated neurons. These results document the degree of cell loss in sensory thalamic nuclei following deafferentation and demonstrate that [3H]thymidine autoradiography provides a useful quantitative method for assessing anterograde transneuronal cell loss in targeted populations of neurons in the developing central nervous system.     

加锌对大鼠脑内微量元素的影响

用SD雌性成年大鼠20只,随机分为实验组和对照组各10只。加锌40d后,用原子吸收分光光度计(日本津岛)分别测定了两组大鼠大脑皮质感觉运动区和海马CA3区的微量元素Zn、Cu、Fe和轻金属Mg的含量。结果表明:在大脑皮质感觉运动区,两组大鼠的诸元素含量无显著变化;在海马CA3区,两组大鼠的微量元素Zn、Cu、Fe的含量也无显著变化(P>0.05),但轻金属Mg的含量却发生了显著的变化,表现为对照组明显高于实验组(P<0.05)。