Berberine (BBR), a hypoglycemic agent, has shown beneficial metabolic effects for anti-diabetes, but its precise mechanism was unclear. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is considered to be an important incretin that can decrease hyperglycemia in the gastrointestinal tract after meals. The aim of this study was to investigate whether BBR exerts its anti-diabetic effects via modulating GCG secretion. Diabeteslike rats induced by streptozotocin received BBR (120 mg/kg per day, i.g) for 5 weeks. Two hours following the last dose, the rats were anaesthetized and received 2 . 5 g/kg glucose by gavage. At 15-minute and 30-minute after glucose load, blood samples, pancreas, and intestines were obtained to measure insulin and GCG using ELISA kit. The number of L cells in the ileum and b-cells in the pancreas were identified using immunohistology. The expression of proglucagon mRNA in the ileum was measured by RT-PCR. The results indicated that BBR treatment significantly increased GCG levels in plasma and intestine (P!0 . 05) accompanied with the increase of proglucagon mRNA expression and the number of L-cell compared with the controls (P!0 . 05).Furthermore, BBR increased insulin levels in plasma and pancreas as well as b-cell number in pancreas. The data support the hypothesis that the anti-diabetic effects of BBR may partly result from enhancing GCG secretion.

Background: This study aims to explore the circadian rhythm of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) and changes of spindles in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Methods: Subjects were divided into two groups: research group (patients diagnosed with TLE, n=50) and control group (n=30). The whole-night natural sleep of all subjects was monitored, analysis and statistics were performed on IED, and the number, amplitude and the average duration of spindles were compared between these two groups. Results: (1) In TLE patients, the number of IED was larger in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages 1+2 and NREM stages 3+4 than in the waking stage and rapid eye movement (REM) stage, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). (2) TLE patients had bilateral asymmetric sleep spindles, and their amplitude was lower in the affected side than in the unaffected side. Furthermore, the number, amplitude and mean duration of sleep spindles in the affected side in NREM stage 2 was significantly reduced compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions: (1) TLE patients have the highest frequency of IED in slow wave sleep, followed by NREM stages 1+2, waking and REM stages. Slow wave sleep easily induces IED. (2) The number, amplitude and mean duration of sleep spindles in the affected side in NREM stage 2 were significantly reduced, compared with that in the control group. This suggests that changes in spindles have a lateralization value.