Relationship between EMG-detected and ultrasound-detected fasciculations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A prospective cohort study

ObjectivesFasciculation potentials (FP) are an important consideration in the electrophysiological diagnosis of ALS. Muscle ultrasonography (MUS) has a higher sensitivity in detecting fasciculations than electromyography (EMG), while in some cases, it is unable to detect EMG-detected fasciculations. We aimed to investigate the differences of FP between the muscles with and without MUS-detected fasciculations (MUS-fas).MethodsThirty-one consecutive patients with sporadic ALS were prospectively recruited and in those, both needle EMG and MUS were performed. Analyses of the amplitude, duration, and number of phases of EMG-detected FPs were performed for seven muscles per patient, and results were compared between the muscles with and without MUS-fas in the total cohort.ResultsThe mean amplitude and phase number of FP were significantly lower in patients with EMG-detected FP alone (0.39 ± 0.25 mV and 3.21 ± 0.88, respectively) than in those with both FP and MUS-fas (1.22 ± 0.92 mV and 3.74 ± 1.39, respectively; p < 0.0001 and p = 0.017, Welch’s t-test).ConclusionSmall FP may be undetectable with MUS. MUS cannot replace EMG in the diagnostic approach for ALS.SignificanceClinicians should use a combination of EMG and MUS for the detection and quantitative analysis of fasciculation in ALS.     

3-磷酸甘油酸脱氢酶促进丝氨酸合成在肿瘤进展中的机制

丝氨酸生物合成途径活性的上调是许多癌症明显的共同特征。该途径的第一种限速酶3-磷酸甘油酸脱氢酶(PHGDH)在黑色素瘤、乳腺癌和肾癌等癌组织中高表达，对肿瘤细胞增殖、转移、侵袭有着重要作用。糖酵解中间产物3-磷酸甘油酸在PHGDH作用下，氧化为磷酸羟基丙酮酸并最终合成丝氨酸。丝氨酸转化为甘氨酸，然后在核苷酸、s-腺苷甲硫氨酸(SAM)和还原型谷胱甘肽(GSH)的合成中起着重要的作用。PHGDH 有望成为肿瘤治疗的新靶点。     

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of lycopene against 5-fluorouracil-induced cytotoxicity in Caco2 cells

5-fluorouracil (5FU) is widely used to treat colorectal cancer (CC) and its main mechanisms of anticancer action are through generation of ROS which often result in inflammation. Here, we test the effect of Lycopene against 5FU in Caco2 cell line. Caco2 cells were exposed to 3 µg/ml of 5FU alone or with 60, 90, 120 µg/ml of lycopene. This was followed by assessment of cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and gene expression of inflammatory genes. Our findings showed that Lycopene and 5FU co-exposure induced dose-dependent cytotoxic effect without compromising the membrane integrity based on the LDH assay. Lycopene also significantly enhanced 5FU-induced SOD activity and GSH level compared to control for all mixture concentrations (p < 0.01). Lycopene alone and combination with 5FU-induced expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6. Furthermore, IFN-γ expression was significantly enhanced by only mixture of lycopene (90 µg/ml) and 5FU (p < 0.05). In conclusion, Lycopene supplementation with 5FU therapy resulted in improvement in antioxidant parameters such as catalase and GSH levels giving the cell capacity to cope with 5FU-mediated oxidative stress. Lycopene also enhanced IFN-γ expression in the presence of 5FU, which may activate antitumor effects further enhancing the cancer killing effect of 5FU.     

含有黄嘌呤衍生物的N-杂环卡宾金属配合物的生物活性研究进展

N-杂环卡宾(NHC)是一类多功能的配体,能够与过渡金属形成稳定的配位化合物,在催化、药学和材料科学等领域有着广泛的应用。黄嘌呤衍生物具有抗肿瘤转移和抗血管生成等生物活性,且结构易于修饰。将黄嘌呤衍生的NHC配体与过渡金属相结合有望得到具有全新生物活性的金属配合物。综述黄嘌呤衍生物的生物活性,以及黄嘌呤衍生的NHC金属配合物的结构特点和生物活性,并对黄嘌呤NHC金属配合物的研究进行了总结和展望,以期为进一步的研究提供参考。     

蒙花苷磷脂复合物的制备及其药动学评价

目的 制备蒙花苷磷脂复合物，研究其药动学性质。方法 溶剂挥发法制备蒙花苷磷脂复合物，以复合率为评价指标，通过正交试验优化制备工艺。SD大鼠灌胃给予蒙花苷磷脂复合物，HPLC测定蒙花苷的血药浓度。结果 采用优化后的磷脂复合物制备工艺，复合率接近100%。X射线衍射结果表明蒙花苷以无定型状态存在于磷脂复合物中，在水和正辛醇中的表观溶解度显著增大。药动学结果显示，蒙花苷磷脂复合物的t_max，C_max，AUC_0-t等参数与蒙花苷原料药相比具有显著性差异，口服吸收生物利用度提高1.11倍。结论 磷脂复合物改善了蒙花苷的溶解性质，口服吸收生物利用度得到明显提高。