Objective To investigate the relationship between the G20210A mutation of prothrombin gene and cerebral infarclion(CI) in young patients. Methods The frequency of G20210A gene mutation of prothrombin in 40 young CI patients and 48 controls were studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Mnl- I and Hind-Ⅲ restriction enzyme analysis. Results No prothrombin gene G20210A mutation was found in both patients and controls. Conclusion The G20210A gene mutation of prothrombin was not the risk factor of this group of young CI patients.

Objective To investigate the clinical features, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of polymyositis patients with cardiac involvement.Methods Clinical data of 41 polymyositis patients with cardiac involvement were analyzed retrospectively.Results In our group, the percentage of polymyositis with cardiac involvement was 38.3%, and 25 (60.1%) out of the 41 patients were asymptomatic. Their average age was older than the cases without cardiac involvement ( P

This is to study the clinical features of thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) caused by Graves′ disease. Fifty-nine patients, accounting for 25.4% of 232 patients with Graves′ disease, were found to be suffering from TPP. Among them, 58 were male and one was female. 54 patients were young men (age 19～45) (91.5%). Hypokalemia was found in 53 cases (89.8%) during episodes of paralysis. The results indicate that the rate of TPP caused by Graves′ disease is 25.4%, and it occurs mainly in young men(98.3%). Hypokalemic periodic paralysis was the most common type of TPP.

Objective To investigate myostatin gene mRNA expression in the muscle tissue from patients with muscle weakness suffering from different illness.Methods The clinical data of our patients were all from the Muscular Disease Center,Department of Neurology,People' s Liberation Army General Hospital.A total of 75 patients suffered from muscular weakness were included consecutively.Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained with informed consent from all 75 patients.The diagnosis was confirmed by two senior doctors for muscular disease according to the clinical feature,the results of electromyography,serum creatine kinase activity and histopathological examination.Among of them,21 cases were diagnosed as polymyositis,15 cases progressive muscular dystrophy,5 cases neurogenic amyotrophy,4 cases chronic muscle fiber damage,4 cases mitochondrial myopathy,4 cases lipid storage myopathy,4 cases myotonic dystrophy,3 cases muscular dystrophy in adults,2 cases dermatomyositis,and 2 cases inclusion body myositis.There were 2 cases characterized by pure high activity of creatine kinase.And the other 9 cases were diagnosed as non-neuromuscular disease.The expression of myostatin gene mRNA in muscle tissue was evaluated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method,with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase as internal reference.Results The expression of myostatin gene mRNA was detected in 63 patients,but not in other 12 cases,and the percentage of positive expression was 84％.The expression index was with great variation,from 0 to 3.52.In positive cohort,the index was correlated positively with the duration of disease (r =0.236,P =0.041).The activities of creatine kinase in positive expression cohort were higher than that of negative one,but nonsignificantly.Conclusion The expression of myostatin gene mRNA in muscle tissue may not correlate to the entity of atrophic muscular disease because of its great variation.

Though affected by the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the Chinese Journal ofNeurology successfully overcame the difficulties and successfully completed the annual editing and publishing work. In 2020, editorial board meetings were held monthly to decide whether or not to publish a manuscript, 12 theme issues were published, nine guidelines and consensuses by the Chinese Society of Neurology were published, 10 continuing medical education articles by famous experts were published, and several COVID-19 related articles were quickly published. In 2021, efforts will be made to make the journal to a higher level.

Tumor markers (TMs) in blood are important tools for the diagnosis, prognosis prediction and monitoring therapeutic efficacy of malignant tumor. Measurement of TMs in pleural and peritoneal fluid has been widely used. However, the significance of common TMs associated with systemic solid tumors in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been overlooked to some extent. TMs in CSF are within extremely low limits in patients without intracranial malignant diseases. Slightly elevated TMs in CSF usually indicate abnormal intrathecal synthesis. Measurement of TMs in CSF is a useful and feasible ancillary diagnostic tool for intracranial metastasis, especially for leptomeningeal metastasis.

Diabetic neuropathy is the most common neuropathy. Pathology and electrophysiology are important for early diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy. This article would review the newest progress of the pathology and electrophysiology of diabetic neuropathy.

Objective To study the length of hypertension history and its related factors in patients with both ischemic cerebral vascular disease(ICVD) and hypertension.Methods The profile of hypertension history in ICVD patients from our hospital between 1990 and 1999 was summarized.Hypertension history meant the time interval between onset of first symptomatic ICVD and establishment of diagnosis of hypertension.The related factors' influence on the length of hypertension history was analyzed by means of multiple linear regression model.Results In ICVD patients with hypertension,the mean length of hypertension history was 14.29?10.63 years,the median was 11 years.In multiple linear regression model,increased age when hypertension was diagnosed,diabetes mellitus,smoking,peasant(army man as control group) were independent factors that shortened hypertension history.Antihypertensive treatment independently lengthened hypertension history.Conclusion The length of hypertension history varies greatly,50% of patients developed the first ICVD in 11 years after the diagnosis of hypertension was established .Coexisting smoking and diabetes mellitus hasten while control of arterial blood pressure postpone onset of ICVD in patients with hypertension.

96% 7-10 days after culture. Immunohistochemistry of Ⅷ factor polyclone antibody showed positive in cytomembrane and cytoplasm, but negative in cell nucleus. These were cells with blood-brain barrier. CONCLUSION: Ideal endothelial cells of blood-brain barrier can be cultured by the improved cultural method of double filtering.

Objective To investigate sensitivity and specificity of myositis specific autoantibodies (MSAs) in polymyositis/dematomyositis(PM/DM ) and other neuromuscular disease. Methods Taking serum from 63 patients with PM/DM (PM/DM group)and 60 definite neuromusclar disease(non-myositis) patients(control group). All the sera were detected for two kind autoantibodies:anti-Jo-1,anti-SRP by immunoblotting method. Calculating sensitivity,specificity of anti-Jo-1 and anti-SRP autoantibodies for the diagnosis PM/DM. Results Positive ratio for anti-Jo-1 and anti-SRP autoantidodies were 17% and 5% respectively in the PM/DM group, while none of the sera from control group detected positive.The specificity of both autoantibodies diagnosis for PM/DM were 100% and (95% CI:94%~100%).The sensitivity was 22%( 95%CI:13%～34%). Conclusion Anti-Jo-1 and anti-SRP autoantibodies are highly specific to PM/DM diagnosis.