Bone density in myasthenia gravis patients receiving long-term prednisolone therapy

Osteoporosis is an adverse effect of prednisolone therapy, although no study has been conducted on myasthenia gravis patients receiving high-dose prednisolone. We measured bone density in 36 patients (26 females and 10 males) who had undergone long-term prednisolone administration, and found a decrease in bone density in 31% of female patients and osteoporosis in only 11.5% (three cases). This frequency is lower than the presumptive rate of the general population in Japan (22.6%). No osteoporosis was detected in male patients. In conclusion, prednisolone-treated patients with myasthenia gravis have an acceptable risk of bone loss if prophylactic medication is administered.     

Change of vanilloid receptor 1 expression in dorsal root ganglion and spinal dorsal horn during inflammatory nociception induced by complete Freund's adjuvant in rats

The present study aimed to systematically observe the change of vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1) during inflammatory nociception induced by intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the left hind paw in rats. Hot plate latency (HPL) was used to evaluate resulting thermal hyperalgesia and immunohistochemistry to observe VR1 expression in dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord dorsal horn. Results showed that HPL decreased from day 1 to day 28 after CFA injection, with shortest at day 14. VR1 expression correspondingly increased from day 1 to day 21 with peak at day 14, and returning to the control level at day 28. A shift of VRI expression from small to medium DRG neurons over the observation period was seen. These results suggest that VR1 could play an important role in the early stage, but not the late stage, of CFA inflammatory nociception.     

Interleukin-10 expression in lipopolysaccharide-activated microglia is mediated by extracellular ATP in an autocrine fashion

Immune cells have been shown to release ATP into the extracellular space to provide auto- and paracrine purinergic modulation of immune and inflammatory responses. In the present study, we demonstrate that ATP released from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated microglia induces interleukin-10 (IL-10) expression in an autocrine manner. The expression as well as secretion of IL-10 by LPS-stimulated microglia was completely inhibited by apyrase, ATP-hydrolyzing enzyme, whereas tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) expression was unaffected. LPS-activated microglia rapidly released a low concentration of ATP (10-20 nM) into the medium, and the nanomolar range of extracellular ATP, ADP, adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (ATP-gamma-S), and adenosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (ADP-beta-S) induced IL-10 secretion from microglia in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that ATP released from LPS-activated microglia and/or a metabolite of ATP (ADP) may induce IL-10 expression through P2Y purinergic receptors.     

Neuroprotective effect of inosine on axotomized retinal ganglion cells in adult rats

PURPOSE: To explore the potential survival-promoting effect of inosine on axotomized retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of adult rats in vivo. METHODS: The left optic nerves (ON) in the subject rats were transected at 1.5 mm from the optic disc. Repeated intraperitoneal injections or single intraocular injection of inosine were administered. The RGCs were retrogradely labeled with a gold fluorescent dye and the density of surviving RGCs in number per square millimeter of retina was calculated in wholemounted retinas. The functional integrity of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) after ON transection was evaluated with an intravenous injection of Evans blue. RESULTS: In control animals, the mean density of surviving RGCs (number per square millimeter) of the whole retina was 2007 +/- 68 at 2 days (taken as the normal value), 927 +/- 156 at 7 days, and 384 +/- 33 at 14 days after surgery. Repeated intraperitoneal injections (75 mg/kg for each injection) of inosine significantly enhanced RGC survival at 14 days after ON transection (500 +/- 38), whereas no significant difference in the densities was detected at 7 days (974 +/- 101), even when the dosage of inosine was doubled (1039 +/- 61). At this time point, however, a single intraocular injection of inosine significantly increased the density of surviving RGCs (1184 +/- 156). Moreover, more RGCs around the optic disc were rescued when inosine, administered either intraperitoneally or intraocularly, showed a beneficial effect on RGC survival. No breakdown of the BRB after ON transection was detected with the method used in the study. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that inosine could protect axotomized RGCs in vivo after ON transection.     

超声乳化白内障吸除术和囊外白内障摘除术对患者视力影响的Meta分析

目的系统评价超声乳化白内障吸除术(Phaco)和囊外白内障摘除术(ECCE)对患者视力的影响。方法检索:Medline数据库和中国生物医学文献数据库,对9篇有关:Phaco和ECCE临床疗效的随机对照临床试验文献进行Meta分析。以危险差判定Phaco(Phaco组)和ECCE(ECCE组)的治疗效果,并按照随机效应模型计算合并危险差。结果9篇文献共计白内障患者1192例。术后近期(术后时间<1周)和远期(术后时间>3个月)Phaco组与ECCE组视力≥0.5者的合并危险差分别为24％(95％可信区间为:10％-37％)和20％(95％可信区间为14％-25％),差异均有非常显著意义(P<0.001)。Phaco组和ECCE组手术并发症的发生率分别为36.8％和62.1％,差异有非常显著意义(P<0.01)。结论Phaco术后患者视力恢复快、好且稳定,手术并发症少;Phaco是一种疗效优于ECCE的复明手术。(中华眼科杂志,2004,40:474-477)     

视神经损伤后节细胞的保护和神经修复的研究进展

高眼压、炎性病变、创伤、缺血及肿瘤压迫等均能严重损伤视神经,造成视力严重丧失。自1928年Cajal断言哺乳动物的中枢神经系统无再生能力以来,人们一直认为视神经损害后无法再生或修复。1985年So和Aguayo进行周围神经视网膜移植成功,彻底改变了视神经损伤后不能再生的观念,预示着不久的将来人类前视路损伤后视觉恢复将成为可能。     

Alkyl and carboxylalkyl esters of 4'-demethyl-4-deoxypodophyllotoxin: synthesis, cytotoxic, and antitumor activity

Esters of 4'-demethyl-4-deoxypodophyllotoxin (DDPT) with alkanoic acids and alkanedioic acids were prepared and tested for cytotoxic and antitumor activity. Among 19 esters, esters of propanoic acid, tetradecanedioic acid, 13-carboxyundecanoic acid, and hexadecanedioic acid improved the antitumor activity compared with that of the starting compounds, DDPT.