[Combination with different anticholinergic eyedrops for the treatment of children myopia]

Objective: To observe the efficacy and feasibility of a new therapy using a combination of different anticholinergic eyedrops in controlling myopia progression and axial prolongation in adolescents. Methods: Between July 2013 and June 2014, a total of 150 myopia adolescents aged 6-12 years were recruited at the clinic of Tongji Hospital in Shanghai. Participants were assigned in a 1∶2∶2 ratio to placebo group (no medication), combined treatment group (0.5% racanisodamine eyedrops were used twice a day during semesters, 1% atropine eyedrops were used before sleep during vacation) and atropine group (1% atropine eyedrops were used before sleep everyday). All subjects wore glasses. Visual acuity, best corrected visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, corneal curvature, axial length, intraocular pressure, fundus and adverse events were recorded every 6 months during follow-up for 24 months. Results: At baseline, there was no significant difference in age,equivalent spherical mirror number and axial length among the three groups (all P>0.05). At the end of the second year,the mean myopia progression (changes of spherical equivalent) was -2.34 (-2.93,-1.75) D,-0.63 (-1.00,-0.50) D and -0.25 (-0.50,-0.06) D in placebo group, combined treatment group and atropine group, respectively (P<0.001), and there was statistically significant difference between each two groups (all P<0.001). The axial length change of each group were (1.51±0.23) mm, (0.69±0.30) mm and (0.31±0.30) mm, respectively (P<0.001), and there was statistically significant difference between each two groups (all P<0.001). Conclusion: Therapy using a combination of different anticholinergic eyedrops can effectively control the progression of myopia and axial prolongation in adolescents, and increase the compliance of children and the safety of drug use.

Effect of Cordyceps sinensis on the Treatment of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: A Pilot Study on Mice Model

Background:

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Cordyceps sinensis (CS) possesses a variety of immunoregulatory properties. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic potential of CS in a mice model of multiple sclerosis (MS)-experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).

Methods:

Female C57BL/6 mice were immunized with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein_35–55 to induce EAE, followed by an instant intragastric feeding with a low dosage of CS (low-CS group, n = 5), high dosage of CS (high-CS group, n = 5), or the same volume of normal saline (control group, n = 5). All the mice were observed for clinical assessment. Over the 30 days of CS treatment, flow cytometry was used to detect the frequency of helper T-cell (Th) subsets, Th1 and Th17, and CD4⁺ CD25⁺ regulatory T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes. Meanwhile, pathological changes in brain were determined using both hematoxylin-eosin and luxol fast blue staining. Data were analyzed using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results:

Over the 15 and 30 days of CS treatment, the clinical assessment for EAE demonstrated that both high-CS group (2.51 ± 0.31 and 2.26 ± 0.39 scores, respectively) and low-CS group (2.99 ± 0.40 and 2.69 ± 0.46, respectively) had lower disease severity scores than those of control group (3.57 ± 0.53 and 3.29 ± 0.53, all P < 0.01, respectively). Meanwhile, after 15 and 30 days, the high-CS group (19.18 ± 1.34 g and 20.41 ± 1.56 g, respectively) and low-CS group (18.07 ± 1.18 g and 19.48 ± 1.69 g, respectively) had a lower body weight, as compared with control group (16.85 ± 1.15 g and 18.22 ± 1.63 g, all P < 0.01, respectively). At 30 days post-CS treatment, there was a lower Th1 frequency in the lymph nodes (2.85 ± 1.54% and 2.77 ± 1.07% vs. 5.35 ± 1.34%, respectively; P < 0.05) and spleens (3.96 ± 1.09% and 3.09 ± 0.84% vs. 5.07 ± 1.50%, respectively; P < 0.05) and less inflammatory infiltration and demyelination in the brain of CS-treated mice than that of control group.

Conclusions:

Our preliminary study demonstrated that CS efficiently alleviated EAE severity and EAE-related pathology damage and decreased the number of Th1s in the periphery, indicating its effectiveness in the treatment of murine EAE. Thus, our findings strongly support the therapeutic potential of this agent as a new traditional Chinese medicine approach in MS treatment.

Effect of GBOT on blood lipid and blood glucose metabolism in rats with atherosclerosis

We observed the variation in in vivo blood lipid and blood glucose metabolism in rats with atherosclerosis after 5-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-1-piperidin-1-yl-penta-2,4-dien-1-one (GBOT) administration. Wistar rats aged 10 weeks received a high-fat diet to establish the atherosclerosis model. Metabolic indices related to blood lipid and blood glucose were measured before modeling and at 4 and 8 weeks after modeling. Liver fat levels in rats were measured at 8 weeks to analyze the relationship between liver fat and blood lipid levels. We examined the mechanism of blood lipid reduction. The levels of serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in rats in the control group were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) compared with those in the 4-week control group at 4 weeks and decreased significantly and continuously until the 8th week (P < 0.05). Compared with the 8-week control group, the blood glucose level in rats in the 8-week experimental group decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and the level of insulin sensitivity index decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, triglyceride and total cholesterol levels per unit mass in rat liver tissue in the 8-week experimental group decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Western blotting indicated that GBOT significantly increased the expression of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, low-density lipoprotein receptor, and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase proteins. GBOT can significantly decrease the levels of blood lipid and blood glucose in rat models of atherosclerosis, and its mechanism may be associated with the promotion of expression of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase, low-density lipoprotein receptor, and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase proteins.

Synthesis and Antihyperlipidemic Activity of Piperic Acid Derivatives

A series of piperic acid derivatives were designed and synthesized from piperine/ piperlonguminine, and their antihyperlipidemic activities evaluated in diet-induced hyperlipidemic rats with respect to simvastatin. Two promising analogues 3 and 10 were discovered and their antihyperlipidemic activities were comparable to or better than those of simvastatin.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Zn2SnO4 as Anode Materials for Li-Ion Battery

Spinel Zn2SnO4 particles with the cubic shape are prepared via a hydrothermal reaction under mild conditions. The hydrothermal conditions, such as alkaline concentration, reaction temperature, and duration time, have an important influence on the product structure and the performance of the electrode prepared with the product. The optimized product is cube-shaped Zn2SnO4 crystalline, which is prepared with 0.4 M of NaOH solution at 200 degrees C for 24 h. These cube-shaped Zn2SnO4 particles with the spinel structure exhibit a large electrochemical capacity of 988 mA h/g and a relatively good capacity retention as anode materials for Li-ion battery. The structures of the as-prepared product and specimens taken from the electrodes after charging-discharging cycles are analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transition electron microscopy techniques. In particular, it is found for the first time that the spinel Zn2SnO4 structure exists to a great extent after the first cycle and contributes to the extremely high reversible capacity during the following cycles.

Favourable response to antithymocyte or antilymphocyte globulin in low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome patients with a 'non-clonal' pattern of X-chromosome inactivation in bone marrow cells

OBJECTIVE

Antithymocyte and antilymphocyte globulin (ATG/ALG) have a therapeutic effect in about 30% of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). We were interested to know whether responding patients achieve clonal or polyclonal remissions.

PATIENTS

Ten women with low-risk MDS received either ALG or ATG. Before treatment and 3, 6, and 12 months later, X-chromosome inactivation patterns of peripheral blood T lymphocytes were compared with those of peripheral blood granulocytes or bone marrow cells, using the human androgen receptor gene assay and the phosphoglycerate kinase-1 assay.

RESULTS

Six women did not respond to therapy. Prior to treatment, four of them had a monoclonal, one had an oligoclonal, and one had a skewed X-chromosome inactivation pattern (XCIP). Four patients responded to ATG/ALG. Three of them were informative in our X-inactivation assays, and showed a non-clonal XCIP which did not change significantly after treatment with ATG/ALG.

CONCLUSION

A non-clonal XCIP in the bone marrow was associated with a response to ATG/ALG. Non-clonal XCIPs do not necessarily imply that there is no pathological clone. By definition, they just indicate that there is no evidence of a clone contributing more than 50% of cells in a sample. Non-clonal XCIPs may therefore be attributable to incomplete clonal expansion. This, in turn, might be explained by a vigorous immune attack against the MDS clone, which simultaneously causes collateral damage in the remaining normal haemopoiesis. In such patients, ATG/ALG may improve normal haemopoiesis by relieving the immunological pressure on the innocent bystanders.

Long-term remission after intensive chemotherapy in advanced myelodysplastic syndromes is generally associated with restoration of polyclonal haemopoiesis

The clonality of peripheral blood cells was assessed in eight female patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) by means of the human androgen receptor gene-based assay (HUMARA). The patients were in complete remission for a median follow-up time of 83 months after intensive chemotherapy. X-chromosome inactivation patterns (XCIPs) indicated polyclonal haemopoiesis in five patients. Two patients had skewed lyonization (i.e. unbalanced XCIPs in both granulocytes and T cells) and one patient presented monoclonal granulocytes together with polyclonal T cells. We conclude that long-term remission in MDS following intensive chemotherapy is usually associated with polyclonal haemopoiesis.