Safety of ethanolic kava extract: Results of a study of chronic toxicity in rats

BACKGROUNDS: Recently, potential liver toxicity was discussed with the intake of kava extract preparations (Piper methysticum) as anxiolytic drugs. The aim of this study was to test chronic toxicity in rats by oral application of an ethanolic kava full extract. METHODS: Wistar rats of both sexes were fed 7.3 or 73 mg/kg body weight of ethanolic kava extract for 3 and 6 months. The animals were examined for changes in body weight, hematological and liver parameters, and macroscopical and microscopical histological changes in the major organs. RESULTS: No signs of toxicity could be found. CONCLUSIONS: The results are in accordance with the medical experience regarding the use of kava preparations and the long tradition of kava drinking in the South Pacific island states. Specifically, the results do not back the suspicion of potential liver toxicity.     

Arabica coffee and olive oils mitigate malathion-induced nephrotoxicity in rat: In silico,immunohistochemical and biochemical evaluation

Malathion (MAL) is an organophosphate insecticide that disrupts the body's antioxidant system; it is one of the earliest organophosphate insecticides extensively used as dust, emulsion, and vapor control a wide variety of insect pests under different conditions. This experimentation aims to evaluate the influence of Arabica coffee oil and olive oil on MAL-induced nephrotoxicity in male rat. 6 sets bearing the same number of animals were applied to this experiment. Each set comprised 10 rats. The first set of rats was used as the control group; rats in the second set were exposed to MAL measured at 100 mg/kg body weight for 7 weeks. Animals in the third and fourth set were treated with 400 mg/kg body weight of Arabica coffee oil and olive oil, and 100 mg/kg body weight of MAL. The fifth, together with the sixth set, were fed with a similar proportion of Arabica coffee oil and olive oil as administered to the third set of rats. After the experimental duration, rats of group 2 showed severe biochemical alterations, including significant increases of creatinine, uric acids, and urea nitrogen (BUN), resulting in marked decreases in serum albumin values and total protein (TP). Severe histopathological and immunohistochemical alterations of kidney tissues were observed in exposed MAL-intoxicated rats. Administration of these oils reduced the detected biochemical, histopathological modifications caused by MAL intoxication. Two active ingredients in Arabica coffee oil (oleic acid) and olive oil (hydroxytyrosol) showed good cyclooxygenase-2 (COX 2) interaction. Moreover, oleic acid from coffee oil and olive oil exhibited impressive association with xanthine oxidase (XO). The current finding showed that coffee oil and olive oil could be appraised as possible and a likely deterrence component against nephrotoxicity brought about by MAL.     

The identification of 7-[(R)-2-((1S,2S)-2-benzyloxycyclopentylamino)-1-hydroxyethyl]-4-hydroxybenzothiazolone as an inhaled long-acting β2-adrenoceptor agonist

The optimisation of two series of 4-hydroxybenzothiazolone derived β₂-adrenoceptor agonists, bearing α-substituted cyclopentyl and β-phenethyl amino-substituents, as inhaled long-acting bronchodilators is described. Analogues were selected for synthesis using a lipophilicity based hypothesis to achieve the targeted rapid onset of action in combination with a long duration of action. The profiling of the two series led to identification of the α-substituted cyclopentyl analogue 2 as the optimal compound with a comparable profile to the inhaled once-daily long-acting β₂-adrenoceptor agonist indacaterol. On the basis of these data 2 was promoted as the backup development candidate to indacaterol from the Novartis LABA project.     

Neuroendocrine disruption is associated to infertility in chronically stressed female rats

Infertility is a growing worldwide public health problem, and stress is a main factor exerting detrimental effects on female reproduction. However, knowledge regarding the neuroendocrine changes caused by chronic stress in females is limited. Therefore, this study assessed the effects of stress on hormones that control female reproduction during the proestrus and diestrus stages of the estrous cycle, as well as its effects on fertility. Adult females were assigned to either a control or a stress group. Stress consisted of exposure, for 15 min, to cold-water immersion daily for 30 days. Estrous cyclicity, female sexual behavior, as well as hypothalamic kisspeptin, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) content, serum luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E₂), progesterone (P₄), corticosterone (CORT) and fertility were assessed after chronic stress. The results show that chronically stressed females exhibited disrupted estrous cyclicity, decreased receptivity, low pregnancy rates and lower numbers of fetuses. The content of Kisspeptin and GnRH in the Anteroventral Periventricular/medial Preoptic Area decreased during proestrus, while Kisspeptin increased in the Arcuate nucleus in proestrus and diestrus. Serum LH decreased only during proestrus, whereas E₂ and P₄ concentrations decreased during proestrus and diestrus, with a concomitant increase in CORT levels in both stages. As a whole, these results indicate that chronic stress decreases Kisspeptin content in AVPV nucleus and GnRH in POA in females, and might induce disruption of the LH surge, consequently disrupting estrous cyclicity and fertility, leading to lower rates of pregnancy and number of fetuses.     

油田野外作业工人慢性疾病调查及职业紧张与神经递质的相关性研究

目的:调查油田野外作业工人慢性疾病患病情况,分析职业紧张与神经递质的相关性。方法:通过整群抽样的方式选取油田野外作业工人2000例作为研究对象,采用自制的慢性非传染性疾病调查量表对所有工人的慢性疾病情况予以调查,采用职业紧张量表对所有工人的职业紧张情况予以调查。采用酶联免疫吸附法检测所有工人血清五羟色胺、去甲肾上腺素以及神经肽Y水平,并采用偏相关分析油田野外作业工人职业紧张与神经递质的相关性。结果:2000例油田野外作业工人慢性疾病发病率最高的前三种疾病分别为颈腰部疾病、高血压、高血脂,占比分别为20.60%、15.35%、11.20%。油田野外作业工人中男性职业任务、个体应对资源评分高于女性,而锻炼工人的个体紧张反应评分低于不锻炼工人(P0.05)。油田野外作业工人中饮酒工人神经肽Y水平低于不饮酒工人,锻炼工人的去甲肾上腺素水平高于不锻炼工人(P0.05)。经偏相关分析可得:油田野外作业工人的职业任务评分与五羟色胺、去甲肾上腺素水平呈正相关(P0.05),个体紧张反应评分与神经肽Y水平呈负相关(P0.05)。结论:油田野外作业工人慢性疾病患病情况不容乐观,且其职业紧张与神经递质存在密切相关,在临床工作中可通过改善油田野外作业工人的职业紧张,从而达到改善其神经递质水平的目的。     

慢性肾小球肾炎患者血清UA、Cys C、TAFI联合检测的临床意义

目的:探讨血清尿酸(UA)、胱抑素C(Cys C)和凝血酶激活纤溶抑制物(TAFI)联合检测在慢性肾小球肾炎(CGN)早期诊断中的应用价值。方法:选取2016年10月-2018年10月青海省人民医院肾内科收治的CGN患者80例作为研究组,同时间段于我院行体检的健康志愿者70例作为对照组,比较两组间UA、Cys C、TAFI和肾小球滤过率(GFR)的水平变化,采用Pearson相关性分析CGN患者GFR与UA、Cys C、TAFI的相关性,采用受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线比较各指标及联合检测对CGN的诊断价值。结果:与对照组相比,研究组血清UA、Cys C、TAFI水平均升高,GFR降低,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);Pearson相关性分析显示,CGN患者GFR与UA、Cys C、TAFI呈显著负相关(P<0.05);联合检测血清UA、Cys C、TAFI水平,诊断CGN的敏感度为86.3%,特异性为80.0%,均明显高于UA、Cys C、TAFI的单独应用。结论:CGN患者血清UA、Cys C、TAFI水平升高,三者联合检测有助于临床早期诊断CGN。     

慢性乙型肝炎患者血清IL-17A、GP73水平与肝功能指标及病情严重程度的关系分析

摘要 目的：探讨慢性乙型肝炎(CHB)患者血清白细胞介素-17A (IL-17A)、高尔基体蛋白73(GP73)水平与肝功能指标及病情严重程度的关系。方法：选取2018年10月至2019年10月于青海大学附属医院就诊的CHB患者93例作为研究对象（CHB组）,另选取同时期于我院体检的健康志愿者33例作为对照组。比较不同病情严重程度、不同乙型肝炎e抗原（HbeAg）表达的CHB患者IL-17A、GP73水平及肝功能相关指标[丙氨酸氨基转移酶（ALT）、门冬氨酸氨基转移酶（AST）、白蛋白、总胆红素（TBiL）]的差异,并分析IL-17A、GP73水平与患者病情严重程度及肝功能相关指标的相关性。结果：CHB组中轻度、中度、重度患者血清IL-17A、GP73、ALT、AST及TBiL水平均高于对照组,白蛋白水平低于对照组（P<0.05）,并且随着CHB患者病情严重程度的加重其血清中IL-17A、GP73、ALT、AST及TBiL水平逐渐升高,白蛋白水平逐渐降低（P<0.05）。CHB组HbeAg阴性患者血清中的IL-17A、GP73、ALT及AST水平均明显高于HbeAg阳性患者（P<0.05）,而白蛋白和TBiL水平无明显差异（P>0.05）。CHB患者血清IL-17A、GP73均与ALT、AST及TBiL呈正相关,与白蛋白呈负相关,与患者病情严重程度呈正相关（P<0.05）。结论：CHB患者血清中IL-17A、GP73水平明显升高,且与患者病情严重程度及肝功能相关指标呈明显相关性,临床中可联合检测用于患者病情评估及预后监测。     

布南色林联合团体心理治疗慢性精神分裂症的疗效及对认知功能、社会功能和服药依从性的影响

摘要 目的：探讨布南色林联合团体心理治疗慢性精神分裂症（SZ）的疗效,分析其对认知功能、社会功能和服药依从性的影响。方法：选取124例慢性SZ患者随机分为对照组和观察组,对照组口服布南色林治疗,观察组在对照组基础上加以团体心理治疗,疗程均为2个月。治疗后,采用阳性与阴性症状量表（PANSS）和临床疗效总评量表-疾病严重程度（CGI-SI）评估两组患者治疗后的疗效,采用威斯康星卡片分类测验（WCST）评估两组患者治疗前后的认知功能,采用个人和社会功能量表（PSP）评估两组患者治疗前后的社会功能,评定两组患者治疗后的服药依从性。结果：治疗后,两组患者PANSS阳性症状、阴性症状、一般精神病理评分以及总评分均低于治疗前,且观察组低于对照组（P＜0.05）;两组患者CGI-SI评分均低于治疗前,且观察组低于对照组（P＜0.05）;两组患者WCST总应答数评分均高于治疗前,且观察组高于对照组（P＜0.05）;两组患者PSP总评分均高于治疗前,且观察组高于对照组（P＜0.05）;观察组服药依从性优于对照组（P＜0.05）。结论：布南色林联合团体心理治疗较单一布南色林治疗慢性SZ的治疗效果更好,能更好地提高患者的认知功能、社会功能以及服药依从性,值得临床借鉴推广。     

布地奈德福莫特罗联合噻托溴铵吸入剂治疗慢阻肺疗效及对CRP、SaO2、PH水平影响

摘要 目的：探究布地奈德福莫特罗联合噻托溴铵吸入剂对慢阻肺治疗效果及对患者C-反应蛋白（C reaction protein,CRP）、血氧饱和度（arterial oxygen saturation,SaO₂）以及肺动脉高压（pulmonary Hypertension,PH）的影响。方法：选择2016年至2019年于我院接受治疗的82例慢性阻塞性肺病患者,按照随机数字表法将其均分为两组（各41例）,对照组单纯接受布地奈德福莫特罗治疗,研究组在对照组基础上加用噻托溴铵吸入剂施治,对比两组治疗有效率,治疗前后的第1秒用力呼气容积（forced expiratory volume in one second,FEV₁）、用力肺活量（forced vital capacity,FVC）、第1秒用力呼气容积占预计值百分比（Percentage of FEV₁ in the predicted value,FEV₁%）、二氧化碳分压（carbon dioxide partial pressure,PaCO₂）、SaO₂、PH值、CRP。结果：（1）研究组治疗有效率明显高于对照组（P<0.05）;（2）治疗前两组FEV₁、FVC、FEV₁%对比无差异（P>0.05）,治疗后研究组上述指标均高于对照组（P<0.05）;（3）治疗前两组SaO₂、PaCO₂、PH值对比无差异（P>0.05）,治疗后研究组SaO₂、PH值均高于对照组,PaCO₂低于对照组（P<0.05）;（4）治疗前两组CRP水平无差异（P>0.05）,治疗后研究组上述因子水平均低于对照组（P<0.05）。结论：布地奈德福莫特罗联合噻托溴铵吸入剂对慢阻肺具有较好的治疗效果,能够显著改善患者肺功能及血气指标,同时还能够缓解患者炎性状态。     

Effect of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ Coactivator-1 Alpha Variants on Spontaneous Clearance and Fibrosis Progression during Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Moroccan Patients

Virologica Sinica - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is still one of the main causes of liver disease worldwide. Metabolic disorders, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), induced by HCV have...