Objective To study the clinical value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in childhood neuroblastoma (NB). Methods 18F-FDG PET/CT was performed in 31 children diagnosed with NB. According to the treatment conditions, patients were divided into pre-therapy group, radiation and chemotherapy group, postoperative group, respectively. The positive rate, sites, and im-age characteristics of the primary lesion and metastasis lesion were analyzed through qualitative and quantitative analysis of the image. Results Twenty-one (67.7%) and fourteen (45.2%) patients were found positive in primary sites by CT and PET respectively. All cases (9/9, 100%) in pre-therapy group were found positive in primary lesions by PET, 3 positive cases (75.0%) in radiation and chemotherapy group and 2 positive cases (11.1%) in postoperative group. Twenty-one patients showed metas-tases (67.7%). Lymph nodes (16 cases) and bone (bone marrow) (13 cases) were the most common sites of metastasis followed by pleura, meninges, liver and retrobulbar inifltration, all of which showed increased FDG uptake. Two patients were found lesions in lungs by CT, but had no FDG uptake. SUVmax of primary lesions was signiifcantly different among pre-therapy, chemotherapy and postoperative group (H=13.89, P=0.001), and pre-therapy group had the highest value. Metastases (lymph nodes, bone and bone marrow, pleura, liver and meninges) in pre-therapy group had high SUVmax. Conclusions NB primary tumors are characterized by the increased FDG metabolism. PET can fully detect the distribution of NB metastases in whole body. Except the pulmonary metastasis, metastases in other positions show increased FDG uptake. PET has potential role in evaluating the efifcacy of radiation and chemotherapy, and identifying postoperative residual or recurrence.

AIM:To investigate the anti-tumor effects of Chinese medicine Fuzhengyiliufufang(FZYLFF) and its mechanism.METHODS:Molecular docking was apllied to simulate the interactions between Chinese medicine small molecules and TNF-?,IL-2 receptors respectively,with the aid of ligand-fit module in the software package Cerius2 4.10 of Accelrys company,to predict the effects of FZYLFF on anti-tumor.RESULTS:According to the dockscore of original ligand and the receptor as threshold value,thirty-seven molecules were predicted to have good interactions with TNF-? and ten molecules with IL-2.CONCLUSION:FZYLFF is a promising Chinese medicine for tumor therapy.Its mechanism is possibly attributed to indirect inhibition by interfering inflammatory cell factors and enhancing immunoregulation.

Objective To compare the effects of equivalent dose of sufentanil and fentanyl on wake-up test and recovery profile in scoliosis surgery. Methods Forty ASAⅠ-Ⅱadolescents undergoing scoliosis surgery were randomly divided into fentanyl group (group F,n=20) and sufentanil group(group S,n=20). Anesthesia was maintained with low-flow(1 L/min) inhalation of isoflurane and nitrous oxide (O2∶N2O=1∶1) in both groups. Intermittent i.v. boluses (1～1.5 ?g/kg) of fentanyl was used for analgesia in group F, and total dosage was not more than 5?g/kg when the wake-up test was started. Continuous infusion of sufentanil [0.1～0.2 ?g/(kg?h)] was maintained in group S, and total dosage was less than 1 ?g/kg when the wake-up test was started. The wake-up test time, postoperative recovery time, end-tidal isoflurane concentration(ETiso) and other hemodynamic variables during operation were recorded. Results There was no significant difference in the wake-up test time, postoperative recovery time, bucking and/or restlessness during the wake-up test, PCA morphine dosage and PONV between the two groups. Conclusion Properly administration of sufentanil does not prolong the intraoperative wake-up test time so that it can safely be used in scoliosis surgery.

BACKGROUND:Tripterygium wilfordi and its certain monomers have exact clinical effects on rheumatoid arthritis. However, there are few studies about a systematic discussion on pharmacodynamic material basis and molecular mechanism of Tripterygium wilfordi. OBJECTIVE:To explore the pharmacodynamic material basis and molecular mechanism ofTripterygium wilfordi in treating rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: Based on the platform of Discovery Studio 4.0, the molecular set of Tripterygium wilfordiwas built and compared with the rheumatoid arthritis drug set from Therapeutic Target Database in chemical space. After that, network pharmacology was used to explore the interactions ofTripterygium wilfordi and therapeutic targets related to rheumatoid arthritis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The molecular sets ofTripterygium wilfordi and drugs for treating rheumatoid arthritis had similar chemical space. The pharmacodynamic material basis ofTripterygium wilfordi had 46 compounds, such as celacinnine, epigalocatechin, euonine, triptolide. They could mediate inflammation, regulate immune response, inhibit cartilage and bone destruction, improve blood stasis-type rheumatoid arthritis by acting on 10 targets, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, JAK-1, matrix metaloproteinase-1, matrix metaloproteinase-3, matrix metaloproteinase-9. Computer simulation could intuitively trace out the multi-ingredient, multi-target and multi-pathway effects of Tripterygium wilfordi.

BACKGROUND:Tougu Xiaotong capsule is the clinical prescription for the treatment of osteoarthritis, however, its mechanism has not been fuly elucidated. Urokinase type plasminogen activator system which participated in the degradation of the extracelular matrix of articular cartilage and hyperplasia of joint synovium plays an important role in the pathological process of osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect ofTougu Xiaotong capsule on urokinase-type plasminogen activator system in knee cartilage tissues of knee osteoarthritis rats. METHODS: Of 144 Sprague-Dawley rats, 120 rats were randomly made into models of knee osteoarthritisvia intra-articular injection of papain, and randomly assigned to model group,Zhuanggu Guanjie Wan group [1.2 g/(kg?d)], low-doseTougu Xiaotong capsule group [0.092 g/(kg?d)], moderate-doseTougu Xiaotong capsule group [0.184 g/(kg?d)] and high-doseTougu Xiaotong capsule group [0.368 g/(kg?d)]. Each group contained 24 rats. Every 2 weeks was considered as a course, with a 2-day interval, totaly 4 courses. The remaining 24 normal rats were included in the blank group. After every two courses, a batch of experimental animals was sacrificed. The pathological changes were observed folowing staining with hematoxylin and eosin. The positive cels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor and plasminogen activator inhibitor were measured by immunohistochemistry. The protein levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor and plasminogen activator inhibitor were measured by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Mankin’s score was significantly lower in theTougu Xiaotong capsule group and Zhuanggu Guanjie Wan group compared with the model group (P < 0.01), in a time-dependent manner. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that the positive cels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator and urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor were significantly decreased, but plasminogen activator inhibitor was significantly increased in theTougu Xiaotong capsule group andZhuanggu Guanjie Wangroup in a time-dependent manner. Western blot assay results had an identical trend to immunohistochemistry. These indicated thatTougu Xiaotong capsule showed preventive and therapeutic effects on osteoarthritis by regulating urokinase-type plasminogen activator system.

BACKGROUND:Tougu Xiaotong Capsule has pretty good clinical therapeutic effect on osteoarthritis of early and middle periods. However, the mechanism of Tougu Xiaotong Capsule is not ful y clarified. The RhoA GTPases can regulate chondrocyte apoptosis and hypertrophy.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the Tougu Xiaotong Capsule on the expression of Rac1and Cdc42 in tumor necrosis factor-α-induced in vitro cultured rat articular chondrocytes, and to explore its mechanism of action for combating osteoarthritis.
METHODS:Knee cartilage of the 4-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats was used to stably establish in vitro culture system of chondrocytes. Passage 3 chondrocytes were identified by toluidine blue staining. Chondrocyte apoptosis was successful y induced by 20μg/L tumor necrosis factor-αand then Tougu Xiaotong Capsule at different dosage (500, 100, 20 mg/L) was given after 24-hour incubation. MTT assay was used to detect cellsurvival, flow cytrometry to measure mitochondrial membrane potential, and western blot assay to determine the protein expression of Rac1, Cdc42, Bax and Bcl-2.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Tougu Xiaotong Capsule could reduce tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes to improve the survival rate of the cells, and at the same time, could down-regulate the protein expression of Rac1, Cdc42 and Bax and increase the protein expression of Bcl-2 significantly (P<0.05). Tougu Xiaotong Capsule possibly plays a therapeutic efficacy on osteoarthritis by reducing promote apoptosis Rac1, Cdc42 and Bax expression and increasing apoptosis inhibiting gene Bcl-2 expression, thereby to inhibit apoptosis of chondrocytes.

BACKGROUND:Tougu Xiaotong Capsule (TGXTC) is a clinical prescription for the treatment of osteoarthritis;however, its mechanism has not been ful y elucidated. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) system participating in the degradation of the extracel ular matrix of articular cartilage and hyperplasia of joint synovium plays an important role in the pathological process of osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of TGXTC medicated serum on the expression of uPA, uPA receptor (uPAR), plasminogen activator inhibitors (PAIs), matrix metal oproteinase-3 (MMP-3), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in osteoarthritis synovial cel s of rats and to discuss the mechanism by TGXTC medicated serum prevents and cures osteoarthritis. METHODS:Rat models with knee osteoarthritis were established by injecting 4%papain into the knee joint cavity. Primary synoviocytes and osteoarthritis synoviocytes were cultured with col agenase digestion method. The cultured synoviocytes were divided into normal group, model group and TGXTC group. The western blot method was adopted to detect uPA, uPAR, PAI, MMP-3, IL-1βand TNF-αprotein expression of synoviocytes after acting by TGXTC medicated serum for 72 hours. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The expression of uPA, uPAR, MMP-3, IL-1βand TNF-αwere decreased, while PAI was increased in the TGXTC group, and there were significant differences when compared with model group. In a word, TGXTC can significantly inhibit the expression of uPA, uPAR, MMP-3, IL-1β, TNF-α, and improve PAI expression in synoviocytes, which may partly explain the mechanism of the treatment of Tougu Xiaotong Capsule on osteoarthritis.

0.05) in the presence of ApoE ?4 allele.In all four ApoE ?4/4 homozygote patients,one female patient presented a transient delirium status three days before surgery,another male patient presented serious fluctuated delirium symptoms from the second to 17th days after operation.Conclusion The presence of ApoE ?4 allele seems not a predictator of postoperative delirium.ApoE ?4/4 homozygote patients may be more indulgent to delirium than others.

Objective To study the antitumor effects on human prostate cancer cell lines of a traditional Chinese medicine named atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil in vitro.Methods LNCaP and DU145 cell lines were normally cultured and were divided into 4 control groups including:Blank culture without serum and without cell (group A),Blank culture with serum but without cell (group B),LNCaP cell culture with serum (group C),DU145 cell culture with serum (group D).In the meanwhile,there were 6 experimental groups:adding 50 μg/ml of atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil in culture of group C1 and group D1,250ug/ml in group C2 and group D2,and 500ug/ml in group C3 and group D3.All of the 10 groups were simultaneously cultured in 24-well-plates for 48 hrs,and each group was repeatedly studied for three times.Forty-eight hours later,every 2 × 106 cells of LNCaP or DU145 was seeded into each well and atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil was added in 6 experimental groups,and saline water was added into 4 control groups.Another 48 hrs later,the culture solutions of the 10 groups were separately collected for testosterone (T),estradiol (E2),progesterone (P),vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF),basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF),total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and free prostate specific antigen (fPSA) analysis with enzyme-linked immunoassay kits.The experiment was repeated for 3 times,and the mean data were statistically analyzed by SPSS One-way ANOVA.Results The growth of cultured cells was found to have been effectively inhibited in group C1 and group D2.The inhibition severity of LNCaP cells was positively related with the drug concentration and time,while DU145 cells could only be highly inhibited (60.96％) after 24hrs drug treatments.In group C and group D,we found that both T were in very low level (0 ng/ml) whereas both E2 were in high levels (269 pg/ml and 239.81 pg/ml,P ＜ 0.05),no distinct differences showed in P; In addition,VEGF,b-FGF and fPSA were all in high values,whose values were 102.96 pg/ml and 1763.40 pg/ml,0.26 ng/ml and 6.41 ng/ml,0.16 ng/ml and 0.44 ng/ml,respectively; DU145 cells had higher values than LNCaP cells (P ＜ 0.05).As regard to the 6 experimental groups,in the groups C1,C2,C3 and D3,we found that T had been unexpectedly increased from 0 to 0.37 ng/ml (P ＜ 0.05),E2 continuously elevated from 239.81 pg/ml to 649.90 pg/ml (P ＜0.05),surprisingly P were also increased from 0.98 ng/ml to 9.83 ng/ml (P ＜0.01).On the contrary,VEGF,b-FGF and fPSA levels were all graduallydecreased,dropping down to 47.79 pg/ml and 59.56pg/ml,0 and 1.79 ng/ml,0 and 0.11 ng/ml,respectively; nevertheless,in group C2 and group D2,fPSA values were surprisingly increased from 0 and 0.04 ng/ml up to 1.78 ng/ml and 0.23 ng/ml respectively.Conclusions Atractylodes macrocephala koidz volatile oil has certain anti-tumor effects on human prostate cancer.Compared with LNCaP cells,DU145 cells have many different characteristics in sex hormone,cytokine and PSA expressions.

Objective To investigate whether apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes is associated with postoperative delirium in aged noncardiac surgical patients. Methods Two hundreds and twelve inpatients over 65y, undergoing selective noncardiac surgeries were enrolled in the study. The patients were frequently interviewed and evaluated prospectively for delirium with the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) during the first three postoperative days. APOE genotype was determined using multiplex amplification refractory mutation system pelymerase chain reaction (multi-ARMS PCR) technique. Results Delirium occurred in 45 patients during the first three postoperative days. Of the 212 patients, 18 (8.5%) possessed one or two ApoE 84 allele. There was no significant difference between delirious patients and non-delirious patients(6.7% : 9.0%, P >0.05) in the presence of ApoE ε4 allele. In all four ApoE ε4/4 homozygote patients, one female patient presented a transient delirium status three days be-fore surgery, another male patient presented serious fluctuated delirium symptoms from the second to 17th days after operation. Conclusion The presence of ApoE ε4 allele seems not a predictator of postoperative delirium. ApoE ε4/4 homozygote patients may be more indulgent to delirium than others.