PurposeTo investigate whole-body magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM), and to guide clinical treatment.Materials and Methods Twenty-six patients clinically diagnosed IIM including 19 dermatomyositis and 7 polymyositis were analyzed retrospectively. Whole-body MRI was performed in all patients including whole-body coronal scan and axial scan of both sides of thigh. Short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequences were used in the coronal scan and T1WI and fat-suppressed T2WI were performed in the axial scan. Ten healthy volunteers were recruited as control group. MRI findings were compared between the two groups.Results Whole body MRI showed that muscles were homogeneously low signal intensity in the control group. Imaging findings of the patients with IIM included muscle inflammation, fascitis, subcutaneous tissue edema, muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration. The most common distribution site of muscle inflammation of dermatomyositis patients was thigh (n=18), followed by gluteus (n=14), great psoas muscle (n=13), shoulder muscles (n=11), leg muscle (n=11), erector spinae (n=10) and neck muscles (n=9). Findings out of muscles included cavities in the both lungs, infarction in femurs and tibias, avascular necrosis of femoral head, adrenal mass and thyroid nodules. The most common distribution site of muscle inflammation of polymyositis was thigh (n=5), followed by gluteus (n=3), great psoas muscle (n=3), shoulder muscles (n=2), leg muscles (n=2), erector spinae (n=1) and neck muscles (n=1). Findings out of muscles included 1 case of infarction in femurs and tibias.Conclusion Whole-body MRI can not only comprehensively evaluate the activity of IIM but also detect complications such as bone infarction. It's a powerful tool for diagnosis, guiding treatment and monitoring of IIM.

Objective To investigate the relationship of single nucleotide polymorphism (4G/5G) in the promoter of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and plasma PAI-1 level with gastrointestinal bleeding in Henoch-Sch?nlein purpura (HSP). Methods A total of 524 children with HSP in acute phase were recruited, and divided into gastrointestinal bleeding group (bleeding group, n?=?186) and non-gastrointestinal bleeding group (control group, n?=?338). The genotype frequency of 4G/5G polymorphism, the plasma PAI-1 level, and other parameters related to coagulation and ifbrinolysis were measured and compared between two groups. Results The levels of platelet count (PLT), platelet distribution width (PDW), serum D dimer (DD), serum PAI-1 were signiifcantly higher in the bleeding group than those in the control group, and the levels of mean platelet volume (MPV) and plasma ifbronectin protein of ifbrinogen (FIB) were signiifcantly lower in the bleeding group than those in the control group (P?

ObjectiveTo evaluate the value of MRI diffusion weighted imaging in localization of prostate cancer with whole-mount step section pathology.MethodsWe treated 36 patients using laparoscopic radical prostatectomy from Oct. 2009 to Jun. 2010. Patients who did not have an MRI/DWI examination or a surgical history of prostate and previous hormonal therapy were excluded, leaving 19 patients in our study. We analyzed the MRI and DWI collected before radical prostetectomy surgey and the post-surgery step section pathology made by the whole mount technique. The prostatic gland was divided into six sections. Two doctors read the MRI/DWI without knowing the patients' information and scored, using a 5 point scale, for each section. The tissue was graded according to the following scale: 1-definitely no cancer, 2-probably no cancer, 3-possible cancer, 4-probable cancer and 5-definite cancer. When the average score ≥4 the region was assumed to be the prostate cancer region by MRI or MRI/DWI.ResultsIn 19 patients with 114 regions, there were 48 (42％) prostate cancer regions approved by whole-mount step section pathologically.The number of prostate cancer regions was 15 (39％), 21 (55％) and 12 (32％) in base, mid and apex parts respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the MRI was 62.5％ and 69.7％. When considering DWI, the specificity and sensitivity was elevated to 79.1％ and 83.3％. As for the apex and mid parts, the sensitivities of MRI were a little bit low (46.7％ and 66.7％ ). But the sensitivities of localization of prostate cancer for the apex and mid of prostate were elevate to 73.3％ and 85.7％ respectively when DWI was also used.ConclusionsWith whole-mount step-section pathology, the combination of MRI and DWI can improve the sensitivity of MRI for localized diagnosis in prostate cancer, especially in apex and mid parts of the prostate.

Objective To investigate the effects and mechanisms of icariin on changes in fear memory in post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD)rats.Methods Thirty male SD rats were used to construct a rat model of single prolonged stress(SPS).The model rats were randomly divided into the SPS,icariin,and icariin + K252a(tyrosine kinase receptor B inhibitor)groups(n= 10 each;another 10 normal rats were used as the control group).The icariin and icariin + K252a groups were administered 20 mg/kg icariin by gavage once per day after SPS,while the control and SPS groups were administered the same dose of normal saline.K252a cells were injected into the lateral ventricles.After 2 weeks,anxiety,depression,and fear memory disorder in rats in each group were detected by the mine experiment,ele-vated cross maze experiment,and conditional fear test.The binding activity of icariin to brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)and the BDNF and TrkB expressions in the rat amygdala were detected by immunohistochemistry.The relative expressions of BDNF and TrkB pro-teins were detected by Western blotting.The expressions of postsynaptic density protein 95(PSD95)and synaptophysin(SYN)in the rat amygdala were detected using immunofluorescence.Results Icariin showed strong binding to BDNF.Compared with the control group,the times of entering the central area and the percentage of movement distance in the central area in the SPS group and the icariin+K252a group were significantly reduced.The open arm entry(OE)and arm opening time(OT)were significantly reduced,the freezing time and defecation times were significantly increased,and the expressions of the BDNF,TrkB,PSD95,and SYN proteins were significantly reduced(P<0.05).Compared with the SPS group,the icariin group rats had significantly increased times of entering the central area and percentages of movement distance in the central area,significantly increased OE and OT,significantly reduced the time of immobilization and defecation,and significantly increased the expressions of BDNF,TrkB,PSD95,and SYN proteins(P<0.05).Conclusion Icariin effectively alleviated the fear memory impairment induced by SPS in rats.This protective effect is related to BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway activation and upregulated PSD95 and SYN expression.