To assess the screening effectiveness of 3 new noncontact devices, the scanning peripheral anterior chamber depth analyzer (SPAC) (Takagi, Nagano, Japan), which measures peripheral anterior chamber ...depth (ACD); IOLMaster (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany), which measures central ACD; and Visante anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) (Visante, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA), which images the angles, and to compare these instruments with gonioscopy in identifying people with narrow angles (NAs).
Cross-sectional, observational, community-based study.
Phakic subjects aged >or=50 years without ophthalmic symptoms who were recruited from a community polyclinic in Singapore.
All subjects underwent examination with SPAC, IOLMaster, and AS-OCT in the dark by a single operator. Gonioscopy was performed by an ophthalmologist masked to the instruments' findings. The area under the curve (AUC) receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was generated to assess the performance of these tests in detecting people with a NA in either eye.
Eyes were classified as having NAs by gonioscopy if the posterior pigmented trabecular meshwork could be seen for <or=2 quadrants of the angle circumference with or without peripheral anterior synechiae.
A total of 2052 subjects were examined and underwent all 3 tests. The prevalence of a NA in at least 1 eye diagnosed by gonioscopy was 20.4% (422 subjects). The AUC for the SPAC using a numeric grade <5 as a cutoff was 0.83 (95% confidence interval CI, 0.82-0.85), with a sensitivity of 90.0% (95% CI, 86.8-92.7) and a specificity of 76.6% (95% CI, 74.4-78.6). The AUC for the IOLMaster at an ACD cutoff of <2.87 mm was 0.83 (95% CI, 0.81-0.85), with a sensitivity of 87.7% (95% CI, 84.2-90.7) and a specificity of 77.7% (95% CI, 75.6-79.7). The AUC for the AS-OCT was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.74-0.78), with a sensitivity of 88.4% (95% CI, 84.9-91.3) and a specificity of 62.9% (95% CI, 60.5-65.2).
The low specificity found with the SPAC, IOLMaster, and AS-OCT may limit the usefulness of these devices in screening for NAs.
Opioids are frequently used analgesics, and emesis is a common opioid-induced adverse effect. Methylnaltrexone, a peripheral opioid antagonist, has the potential to block the undesired effects of ...opioids that are mediated by peripheral receptors while sparing the analgesic effect. We used a rat model of simulated emesis or pica to study if methylnaltrexone decreases morphine induced-kaolin consumption. We observed that after morphine administration, kaolin intake increased significantly compared to intake in the vehicle group, and the increase could be attenuated by ondansetron administration. Methylnaltrexone dose-dependently reduced kaolin ingestion induced by morphine. Morphine and methylnaltrexone did not significantly affect food intake and body weight in the experimental animals. Our data suggest that methylnaltrexone has therapeutic value in treating opioid-induced nausea and vomiting.
This study was designed to determine the changes in saponin content in American ginseng berries after treatment by heating and to assess the anticancer effects of the extracts. After steaming ...treatment (100−120 °C for 1 h, and 120 °C for 0.5−4 h), the content of seven ginsenosides, Rg1, Re, Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rb3, and Rd, decreased; the content of five ginsenosides, Rh1, Rg2, 20R-Rg2, Rg3, and Rh2, increased. Rg3, a previously identified anticancer ginsenoside, increased significantly. Two hours of steaming at 120 °C increased the content of ginsenoside Rg3 to a greater degree than other tested ginsenosides. When human colorectal cancer cells were treated with 0.5 mg/mL steamed berry extract (120 °C 2 h), the antiproliferation effects were 97.8% for HCT-116 and 99.6% for SW-480 cells. At the same treatment concentration, the effects of unsteamed berry extract were 34.1% for HCT-116 and 4.9% for SW-480 cells. After staining with Hoechst 33258, apoptotic cells increased significantly by treatment with steamed berry extract compared with unheated extracts. Induction of apoptosis activity was confirmed by flow cytometry after staining with annexin V/PI. The steaming of American ginseng berries augments ginsenoside Rg3 content and increases the antiproliferative effects on two human colorectal cancer cell lines. Keywords: Panax quinquefolius L.; berry; heating treatment; HPLC analysis; ginsenoside Rg3; antiproliferation; human colorectal cancer cells; apoptosis
Purpose To assess and describe the uses of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the evaluation of the cornea before and after lamellar corneal transplantation procedures. Design ...Prospective, noncomparative, observational case series. Methods Seven eyes of seven patients undergoing anterior and posterior lamellar corneal transplantation procedures at the Singapore National Eye Centre were included in the study. High-resolution anterior segment OCT scans of the cornea and anterior segment were performed both before and after lamellar transplantation procedures on the cornea with the Visante anterior segment OCT system (Visante OCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc, Dublin, California, USA), and the imaging findings were correlated with the clinical picture. Measurements of lamella thickness were performed with the software provided. Results Anterior segment OCT images were able to provide valuable information on donor apposition, Descemet membrane detachment after deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK), posterior lamellar dislocation, primary graft failure, and anterior chamber crowding with consequent chamber angle encroachment and pupillary block after Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK). Conclusions Anterior segment OCT is a valuable imaging tool for assessing the feasibility of lamellar transplantation surgery in the diseased cornea and in the management of surgical complications after such procedures.
In this study, we evaluated the effects of Panax notoginseng root extract (NGRE) and its major constituents on SW480 human colorectal cancer cells. We used high performance liquid chromatography to ...determine the contents of major saponins in NGRE. The anti-proliferative effects were evaluated by the cell counting method, and concentration-related anti-proliferative effects were observed. At 1.0 mg/ml, NGRE inhibited cell growth by 85.8% (P<0.01), probably linked to the higher concentration of ginsenosides Rb1 and Rg1. The pharmacologic activities of notoginsenoside R1 and ginsenosides Rg1 and Rb1 on the cells were antiproliferative. We tested the effects of NGRE on DNA synthesis by measuring 3H-thymidine incorporation. NGRE induced cell apoptosis at 0.5 and 1 mg/ml. Two-day treatment with 300 microM of notoginsenoside R1, ginsenosides Rg1 and Rb1 increased cell apoptosis significantly. Cell cycle and cyclin A assay showed that NGRE arrested cells in the synthesis phase and increased the expression of cyclin A remarkably. NGRE also enhanced the actions of two chemotherapeutic agents, 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan. Cell growth decreased more with the combined treatment of NGRE and 5-fluorouracil (or irinotecan) than with the chemotherapy agent applied alone, suggesting that notoginseng can reduce the dose of 5-fluorouracil (or irinotecan) needed to achieve desired effects. Further in vivo and human trials are warranted to test whether notoginseng is a valuable chemo-adjuvant with clinical validity.
Background: Former studies have shown that extract from American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) may possess certain antiproliferative
effects on cancer cells. In this study, the chemical constituents ...of both untreated and heat-processed American ginseng and
their antiproliferative activities on human breast cancer cells were evaluated. Materials and Methods: American ginseng roots
were steamed at 120°C for 1 h or 2 h. The major ginsenosides in the two steamed and in the unsteamed extracts were quantitatively
determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The antiproliferative activities of these extracts and individual
ginsenosides on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were assayed using the MTS method. The effects of the extracts and
the ginsenosides on the induction of cell apoptosis, the expression of cyclins A and D1, and cell cycle arrest were evaluated.
Results: Compared to the untreated extract, heat-processing reduced the content of ginsenosides Rb1, Re, Rc and Rd, and increased
the content of Rg2 and Rg3. After 2 h steaming, the percent content of ginsenoside Rg3 was increased from 0.06% to 5.9% .
Compared to the unsteamed extract, the 2 h steamed extract significantly increased the antiproliferative activity and significantly
reduced the number of viable cells. The steamed extract also significantly reduced the expression of cyclin A and cyclin D1.
The cell cycle assay showed that the steamed extract and ginsenoside Rg3 arrested cancer cells in G 1 -phase. Conclusion: Heat-processing of American ginseng root significantly increases antiproliferative activity and influences
the cell cycle profile.
We evaluated the anti-diabetic effects of ginsenoside Re in adult male C57BL/6J
ob/ob mice. Diabetic
ob/ob mice with fasting blood glucose levels of approximately 230 mg/dl received daily ...intraperitoneal injections of 7, 20 and 60 mg/kg ginsenoside Re for 12 consecutive days. Dose-related effects of ginsenoside Re on fasting blood glucose levels were observed. After the 20 mg/kg treatment, fasting blood glucose levels were reduced to 188±9.2 and 180±10.8 mg/dl on Day 5 and Day 12, respectively (both
P<0.01 compared to vehicle group, 229±9.5 and 235±13.4 mg/dl, respectively). The EC
70 of ginsenoside Re was calculated to be 10.3 mg/kg and was used for subsequent studies. Consistent with the reduction in blood glucose, there were significant decreases in both fed and fasting serum insulin levels in mice treated with ginsenoside Re. With 12 days of ginsenoside treatment, glucose tolerance of
ob/ob mice increased significantly, and the area under the curve for glucose decreased by 17.8% (
P<0.05 compared to vehicle treatment). The hypoglycemic effect of the ginsenoside persisted even at 3 days of treatment cessation (blood glucose levels: 198±13.1 with ginsenoside treatment vs. 253±20.3 mg/dl with vehicle,
P<0.01). There were no significant changes in body weight or body temperature. Preliminary microarray analysis revealed differential expression of skeletal muscle genes associated with lipid metabolism and muscle function. The results suggest that ginsenoside Re may prove to be useful in treating type 2 diabetes.
In this paper, the optimization of design parameters of light transport aircraft has been carried out. The proposed algorithm, in this paper, provides the calculation of the optimal values of ...take-off weight and fuel efficiency coefficient taking into account the geometric parameters of the aircraft wing, i.e., aspect ratio and taper ratio using genetic algorithm for multi-objective optimization. The design parameters obtained by the Pareto front are presented and compared with the similar type of aircraft.
Previous studies showed that Asian ginseng,
Panax ginseng
C.A. Meyer, may have anti-cancer properties. However, there is limited data exploring the use of Asian ginseng as an adjuvant to ...chemotherapy, and minimal mechanistic studies related to their possible synergistic activities. In this study, the content of 8 ginsenosides, Rb1, Rb2, Rb3, Rc, Rd, Re, Rg1 and Rg3, in the extracts of white ginseng (WG) and red ginseng (RG) were determined by HPLC. Using HCT-116 human colorectal cancer cells, we compared the efficacy of WG and RG. We evaluated the synergy between ginseng and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and explored the mechanism of their anti-proliferative effects. As single extract, WG or RG used at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mg/mL, inhibited HCT-116 cell proliferation in a concentration-related manner. WG at 0.2 mg/mL did not show obvious synergy with 5-FU co-treatment, while RG at 0.2 and 0.3 mg/mL significantly enhanced the anti-proliferative effects of 5-FU at concentrations of 10, 50 and 100 μM (
P
< 0.05). Using flow cytometric assay, RG 0.3 mg/mL did not affect cancer cell apoptotic induction activity. However, the RG induced cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase, while 5-FU arrested the cell in the S phase. Different ginsenoside profiles are responsible for the observed differences in pharmacological effects. The effects of 8 ginsenosides on HCT-116 cells were assayed. Rd and Rg3 showed positive anti-proliferative effect. Our data suggested a potential for RG as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of colorectal cancer, via a synergistic action.
Panax ginseng roots, including the steamed roots, have been demonstrated to possess anticancer properties. However, there have been limited published studies on the cancer preventive effects of ...American ginseng. In this study, the in vitro and in vivo anti-colorectal cancer effects of American ginseng berry extracts, and their representative bioactive compounds were evaluated. The ginsenoside content in unsteamed American ginseng berry extract (AGE) and steamed berry extract (S-AGE) were determined by HPLC. In comparison to AGE, S-AGE showed significantly stronger antiproliferative effects on HCT-116, SW-480 and HT-29 human colorectal cancer cells. Antiproliferative effects of representative constituents in AGE and S-AGE, ginsenosides Rb3 and Rg3, were also evaluated, showing that Rg3 had a positive effect. Using flow cytometric analyses, we found that S-AGE arrests cancer cells in G1-phase and significantly induces cell apoptosis. Using xenograft mice, we conducted an in vivo antitumor study using S-AGE after HCT-116 cell inoculation. We observed that 50 mg/kg of S-AGE showed significant antitumor effects. Our results suggested that S-AGE inhibited the colorectal cancer growth both in vitro and in vivo, and this inhibition might be achieved through cell cycle arrest and induced apoptosis in the cells.
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