Contrast-enhanced ultrasound using SonoVue mixed with oral gastrointestinal contrast agent to evaluate esophageal hiatal hernia: Report of three cases and a literature review

BACKGROUND Due to a thicker abdominal wall in some patients,ultrasound artifacts from gastrointestinal gas and surrounding tissues can interfere with routine ultrasound examination,precluding its ability to display or clearly show the structure of a hernial sac(HS)and thereby diminishing diagnostic performance for esophageal hiatal hernia(EHH).Contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)imaging using an oral agent mixture allows for clear and intuitive identification of an EHH sac and dynamic observation of esophageal reflux.CASE SUMMARY In this case series,we report three patients with clinically-suspected EHH,including two females and one male with an average age of 67.3±16.4 years.CEUS was administered with an oral agent mixture(microbubble-based SonoVue and gastrointestinal contrast agent)and identified a direct sign of supradiaphragmatic HS(containing the hyperechoic agent)and indirect signs[e.g.,widening of esophageal hiatus,hyperechoic mixture agent continuously or intermittently reflux flowing back and forth from the stomach into the supradiaphragmatic HS,and esophagus-gastric echo ring(i.e.,the“EG”ring)seen above the diaphragm].All three cases received a definitive diagnosis of EHH by esophageal manometry and gastroscopy.Two lesions resolved upon drug treatment and one required surgery.The recurrence rate in follow-up was 0%.The data from these cases suggest that the new non-invasive examination method may greatly improve the diagnosis of EHH.CONCLUSION CEUS with the oral agent mixture can facilitate clear and intuitive identification of HS and dynamic observation of esophageal reflux.

Low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation is beneficial for enhancing synaptic plasticity in the aging brain

In the aging brain, cognitive function gradually dedines and causes a progressive reduction in the structural and functional plasticity of the hippocampus. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is an emerging and novel neurological and psychiatric tool used to investigate the neurobiology of cognitive function. Recent studies have demonstrated that low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation （〈1 Hz） ameliorates synaptic plasticity and spatial cognitive deficits in learning-impaired mice. However, the mechanisms by which this treatment improves these deficits during normal aging are still unknown. Therefore, the current study investigated the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor signal pathway, synaptic protein markers, and spatial memory behavior in the hippocampus of normal aged mice. The study also investigated the downstream regulator, Fyn kinase, and the downstream effectors, synaptophysin and growth-associated protein 43 （both synaptic markers）, to determine the possible mechanisms by which transcranial magnetic stimulation regulates cognitive capacity. Transcranial magnetic stimulation with low intensity （110% average resting motor threshold intensity, 1 Hz） increased mRNA and protein levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, tropomyosin receptor kinase B, and Fyn in the hippocampus of aged mice. The treatment also upregulated the mRNA and protein expression of synaptophysin and growth-associated protein 43 in the hippocampus of these mice. In conclusion, brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling may play an important role in sustaining and regulating structural synaptic plasticity induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation in the hippocampus of aging mice, and Fyn may be critical during this regulation. These responses may change the structural plasticity of the aging hippocampus, thereby improving cognitive function.

Simultaneous determination of 12,13-dihydroxyeuparin and glycyrrhizic acid in Yanyanfang mixture by high performance liquid chromatography

A reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） method was established for the simultaneous determination of 12, 13-dihydroxyeuparin and glycyrrhizic acid in Yanyanfang mixture. A Grace Apollo Cl8 column （250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm） was used as the stationary phase and the mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile and aqueous phosphoric acid （0.2%, v/v）. Gradient elution was carried out at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and the column temperature was 30 ℃. An ultraviolet （UV） detector was used with a selected wavelength of 240 nm. Calibration curves were linear within the concentration range of 4.6-45.75 μg/mL for 12, 13-dihydroxyeuparin （r〉0.9999） and 106.9-1068.9μg/mL for glycyrrhizic acid （r〉0.9999）, respectively. Recoveries were 102.18% for 12, 13-dihydroxyeuparin and 101.17% for glycyrrhizic acid. The method developed could be applied to the simultaneous determination of 12, 13- dihydroxyeuparin and glycyrrhizic acid in Yanyanfang mixture.

Volatile components of Rhizoma Alpiniae Officinarum using three different extraction methods combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Volatile components from Rhizoma Alpiniae Officinarum were respectively extracted by three methods including hydrodistillation, headspace solid-phase microextraction （HS-SPME） and diethyl ether extraction. A total of 40 （hydrodistillation）, 32 （HS-SPME） and 37 （diethyl ether extraction） compounds were respectively identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC/MS） and 22 compounds were overlapped, including β-farnesene, 7-muurolene, 2,6-dimethyl-6- （4-methyl-3-pentenyl）bicyclo[3.1.1]hept-2-ene, eucalyptol and cadina-1（10）, 4-diene and so forth, varying in relative contents. HS-SPME is fast, sample saving and solvent-free and it also can achieve similar profiles as those from hydrodistillation and solvent extraction. Therefore, it can be the priority for extracting volatile components from medicinal plants.