Biomedical subjects

Furong Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Furong Wang.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Cilostazol protects diabetic rats from vascular inflammation via nuclear factor-kappa B-dependent down-regulation of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression.

Vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 plays a critical role in the initiation and development of vascular inflammation and selective inhibition of adhesion molecules expressed by endothelial cells may present a new therapeutic strategy for the treatment of vascular complications associated with diabetes mellitus. Increasing evidence indicates that cilostazol, a cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor, reduces VCAM-1 expression on endothelial cells. In this study, we have tested the effect of cilostazol on the development of vascular inflammation in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes and determined the mechanism by which cilostazol prevents diabetes-induced vascular inflammation in the aorta. Diabetic rats were treated with different dose of cilostazol (27 or 9 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks, and aortae were removed for the evaluation of vascular inflammation. The VCAM-1 protein expression and VCAM-1 mRNA transcripts were analyzed by immunohistochemical staining and in situ hybridization assay, respectively. Our results demonstrated that cilostazol treatment prevents the overexpression of VCAM-1 and protects diabetic rats from vascular inflammation. More importantly, our mechanistic studies suggested that cilostazol controls the VCAM-1 overexpression via inhibiting the activation of nuclear factor-kappaB.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Diabetes mellitus and pancreatic cancer in a population-based case-control study in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes has been postulated to be both a risk factor and a consequence of pancreatic cancer, but the degree of risk and associated clinical factors remain unclear. METHODS: We conducted a population-based case-control study of pancreatic cancer in the San Francisco Bay Area between 1995 and 1999. Rapid case ascertainment through the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry for cases and random selection from the general population for controls were employed to identify study participants with no proxy interviews. RESULTS: Five hundred thirty-two cases and 1,701 controls were interviewed. Participants with pancreatic cancer were more likely to report a history of diabetes (13%) than were controls [9%; odds ratio (OR), 1.5; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.1-2.1]. Compared with diabetics in the control group, diabetics in the case group had a shorter duration of diabetes (P = 0.0003) and a larger proportion of insulin users (P = 0.002). Risk for pancreatic cancer varied with duration of diabetes (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.4-4.0 for 1-4 years; OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2-3.4 for 5-9 years; and OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.52-1.4 for >or=10 years diabetes duration; P(trend) = 0.004). Among diabetics, use of oral diabetes medication or insulin for >or=5 years was not associated with pancreatic cancer, but insulin use of <5 years was associated with a 6.8-fold risk for pancreatic cancer (95% CI, 3.7-12). CONCLUSION: Recent-onset diabetes may be a complication or an early marker of pancreatic cancer. Diabetes of short duration with insulin use conferred a substantially elevated risk for pancreatic cancer and may reflect insulin resistance that is elicited by pancreatic cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Vegetable and fruit intake and pancreatic cancer in a population-based case-control study in the San Francisco bay area.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating and rapidly fatal cancers, yet little is known about the primary cause and prevention of this disease. We conducted a population-based case-control study to investigate the association between vegetables and fruits and pancreatic cancer. Between 1995 and 1999, 532 cases and 1,701 age- and sex-matched controls completed direct interviews using a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. No proxy interviews were conducted. We observed inverse associations between consumption of total and specific vegetables and fruits and the risk of pancreatic cancer. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for the highest versus the lowest quartile of total vegetable intake was 0.45 (0.32-0.62), trend P < 0.0001; and for total fruits and fruit juice was 0.72 (0.54-0.98), trend P = 0.06. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the highest versus the lowest quartile of specific vegetables and fruits were: 0.63 (0.47-0.83) for dark leafy vegetables, 0.76 (0.56-1.0) for cruciferous vegetables, 0.59 (0.43-0.81) for yellow vegetables, 0.56 (0.41-0.76) for carrots, 0.51 (0.38-0.70) for beans, 0.46 (0.33-0.63) for onions and garlic, and 0.78 (0.58-1.0) for citrus fruits and juice. Compared with less than five servings per day of total vegetables and fruits combined, the risk of pancreatic cancer was 0.49 (0.36-0.68) for more than nine servings per day. These results suggest that increasing vegetable and fruit consumption, already recommended for the prevention of several other chronic diseases, may impart some protection against developing pancreatic cancer.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[A new loading bioreactor for bone tissue-engineering applications].

Bone cells live in an environment heavily influenced by mechanical force. The development of bone tissue is dependent on the environment that surrounds it, both in vivo and in vitro. A loading stimulator on research of bone tissue-engineering was developed based on the mechanism of mechanosensation, scaffolding composites with mechanical strains with more physiologic magnitude, frequency components, and waveform. It also achieves the mechanical environment particularly in hard scaffold enough strong like cancellous bone. The device was tested using a reference scaffold made of better elastic plastic material. The experiment results showed that the device could be used in precision strain controls. Since the drive of the stimulator comes from the usage of smart material, piezoceramics, the strain at physiological level is controlled precisely. The stimulator provides a mechanical condition under which the effects of loading applied on bone tissue-engineering culture are conveniently investigated. Furthermore, after the stimulator is improved, it will be an appropriate bioreactor for bone tissue-engineering culture.

Bioreactors↗