Objective To observe the clinical features and visual function of recurrent neuromyelitis optica (NMO).Methods Thirty-four patients with NMO were enrolled in this retrospective case series study.The patients included two males and 32 females.The average first onset age was (35.03± 14.56) years old and the average recurrent rate were (4.24±2.45) times.The recurrent rate of optic neuritis (ON) ranged from two to 12 times.The recurrent rate of ON was two times in 15 eyes of 10 patients,≥three times in 37 eyes of 24 patients.Vision acuity,direct ophthalmoscope,fundus pre-set lens examination,visual field and visual evoked potential (VEP) were evaluated.Clinical features were observed.The abnormal rate of optic nerve including optic edema and atrophy; abnormal rate of visual field including decreasing retinal sensitivity,central and paracentral scotoma,ring scotoma,half field defects,tunnel visual field,visual field centrality constriction; abnormal rate of VEP including Prolonged latent phase and/or decreasing amplitude of P100 wave from patients of first episode or recurrence was analyzed.Serum NMO-IgG was detected from 28 patients hy indirect immunofluorescence technique to observe its positive rate.Results All patients were characterized by repeated episodes of ON and myelitis.The main clinical feature of ON was visual loss,and the main clinical features of myelitis included sensory disability,dyskinesia and vesicorectal disorder.Blindness rate was 41.67％ after the first attack of ON,33.33％ after two relapses,and 64.86％ after ≥ three relapses.The difference of blindness rate between first attack and two episodes was not significant (x2=0.270,P=0.603).However,the blindness rate in patients having ≥ three episodes was significantly higher than those having two episodes (x2=4.300,P=0.038).With recurrence rate increasing,the abnormal rate of the optic nerve (x2 =6.750,P =0.034) and VEP(x2 =6.990,P =0.030)increased.But the abnormal rate of visual field did not increase along with recurrent rate (x2 =0.660,P=0.718).Seropositive rate of NMO-IgG did not differ significantly between patients with first attack ON and that with recurrent ON (x2 =1.510,P =0.470).But the seropositive patients had significantly higher bilateral blindness rate than seronegative patients (x2=5.063,P=0.027).Conclusions NMO are characterized by recurrent ON and myelitis.Visual loss,sensory disability,dyskinesia and vesicorectal disorder are the main clinical features.With recurrence rate increasing,the blindness rate,abnormalities the optic nerve and the abnormity rate of VEP increase.Seropositive recurrent NMO patients have higher bilateral blindness rate than seronegative patients.

Objective To explore the effect of Tie-2 small interference RNA(siRNA)treatment in human hepatoma transplanted subcutaneously in nude mice.Methods Tumor cells were implanted in the hind flank of male nude mice of 6 weeks.Tumor-bearing mice were divided into two groups(gene therapy group and control group)and injected intra-tumorally with Tie-2-siRNA/Lipofectamine and saline/Lipofectamine respectively.The tumor volume and weight,serum AFP and microvessel density(MVD)and the histological change of the tumor were tested after gene therapy.Results The growth inhibitory rates in gene therapy group were 26.94%,53.01% and 68.91% on day 4,7 and 10 after gene therapy respectively.The tumor volumes of gene therapy group(118.47,111.57 and 104.59 mm3)were smaller than those of the control group(162.17,237.46 and 336.41 mm3)respectively(P

Objective To investigate the effects of angiopioetins and tyrosine kinase receptor Tie-2 ,vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)on the angiogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). Methods With the methods of RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, the specimens from 28 HCC patients, 10 cirrhotics, and 10 normal livers were analysed, and the relationship between angiopioetins, VEGF (expression) and the clinical pathological characteristics of HCC was studied. Results Ang/Tie-2 and VEGF were significantly up-regulated in HCC compared to cirrhotic tissue and normal liver tissue. (Immunohistochemical) staining also showed increased expression of Ang-2,VEGF,Tie-2 protein in HCC. A high Ang-2/Ang-1mRNA ratio and high VEGF in HCC were closely associated with tumor vascular invasion and microvascular density level which assesssed by CD34. Conclusions Ang /Tie-2 and VEGF may play critical roles in promoting tumor angiogenesis and progression in human HCC.

Object To establish a high efficient and reliable method for extraction and analysis of the diterpenoids in Pteris semipinnata L. Methods Supercritical CO 2 fluid modified with alcohol was used to extract the diterpenoids in P. semipinnata, the extracting conditions were optimized by orthogonal design method, and the modifying solvent was investigated through total ions chromatograghy normalization. A quadrupole mass spectrometer coupled with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface was employed as a detector for HPLC, the -1 ion was used as selective ion for the detecting of ent 11 ? hydroxy 15 oxo kaur 16 en 19 olic acid (5F) in selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The peak area of SIM and tolal ion chromatogram (TIC) were used for quantitative determination. As an example of its application, this method was used to determinate the content of 5F as antitumor diterpenoids in P. semipinnata. Results The optimized conditions for supercritical CO 2 fluid extraction are 25 MPa, 60 ℃, 15% methanol, flow rate 3 0 mL/min; analytical column was Diamonsil ODS (150 mm?4 6 mm, 5 ?m); the mobile phase of HPLC was CH 3CN 2 mmol/L NH 4AC (35∶65), flow rate 1 0 mL/min, injection volume 5 ?L; the standard curve showed good linearity over the range of 0 05-2 5 ?g; the limit of detection is 0 4 ng; the recovery is 97 8% (n=3). Conclusion This method is highly efficient, sensitive, and selective, which can be applied to study the antitumor drug of diterpenoids in P. semipinnata and to establish the drug standard.

Pioglitazone treatment significantly improved the euglycemic clamp-determined insulin sensitivity (IS), raised adiponectin level, decreased TNF-α and FFA levels in rats with obese and hyperglycemia.

Objective To explore the role of ppk1 gene in E.coli CFT073 strain during urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods C57BL/6 mouse models of acute UTI with the wild-type(CFT073) and ppk1 mutant (△pk1) infected, were used to compare the bacteria colonization and inflammation induction abilities of bladder tissues. Results In the mouse models, the △pk1 strain showed a significantly lower infection rate (73.3% vs 93.3%) and lower adhesion frequency of bladder (0.01%vs 0.5%) than those of the CFT073 strain. The expression of IL-6 and TNF-αwere reduced in the bladder of △pk1 infected group (P<0.05). Hematoxylin-Eosin tissue staining showed that the damage degree of bladders in △pk1 infected mice were less serious than the CFT073 infected mice. Conclusion ppk1 gene plays an important role in E.coli colonization to bladder and the inflammation induction ability.

Animals ; Genes, T-Cell Receptor ; genetics ; Humans ; Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase ; genetics ; Mice ; Mutation

OBJECTIVETo systematically evaluate the effectiveness of integrative medicine (IM) for preventing postoperative recurrence of primary hepatic carcinomas (PHC).

METHODSSuch databases as The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, Wan-fang Database were retrieved to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on preventing postoperative recurrence of PHC by IM. The retrieval period started from database establishment to June 2013. Literature screening, data extraction, and quality evaluation were performed by two reviewers strictly according to inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2 Software.

RESULTSA total of 5 RCTs involving 367 patient cases were included. Results of Meta-analysis showed that the IM group was superior to the Western medicine (WM) group in the 1-, 2-, and 3-year recurrence rates (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn the prevention of postoperative recurrence of PHC, the effectiveness of IM was more significant, when compared with treatment of Western medicine.

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Liver Neoplasms ; prevention & control ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; prevention & control ; Postoperative Period ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Treatment Outcome

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of inflammation on the biological be-haviors of the VF -MSCs and provide the theoretic basis for the repair of the vocal folds which were damaged by in-flammation .Methods The inflammatory vocal fold tissues and normal vocal fold tissues were respectively derived from the vocal cord polyp and normal tissues of the hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients .The HE staining ,masson trichrome staining and elastin van gieson (EVG) staining were performed to detect the effects of inflammation on the collagenous fiber and elastic fibers of the vocal fold lamina propria .The cell colony formation analysis and MTT cell growth curve were used to detect the effects of inflammation on the proliferation of VF -MSCs .The effects of in-flammation on the multi-directional differentiation of VF -MSCs were evaluated by inducing the VF -MSCs to dif-ferentiate into osteoblasts and lipoblasts .Results The results of masson trichrome staining and EVG staining showed that in the inflammatory vocal fold lamina propria collagen fibers became thicker and the amount of collagen fibers increased ,while elastic fibers became thinner and the amount of elastic fibers decreased .Compared with the vocal fold mesenchymal stem cell (VF-MSCs) in normal vocal folds ,VF-MSCs in inflammatory vocal folds pro-liferated more significantly ,but the osteogenic differentiation and adipogenic differentiation of VF -MSCs in inflammatory vocal folds were restrained .Conclusion Inflammation enhanced the compressive resistance ,abated the elasticity , and restrained the multi -directional differentiation of VF -MSCs .

Autophagy is the process through which cells utilize lysosomal hydrolases to degrade cytoplasmic misfolded proteins and damaged organelles. This process allows cells to reuse degradation products and degrade harmful substances to maintain intracellu-lar stability. The autophagy level is low at the normal cell state. Cells under unfavorable conditions activate autophagy to eliminate ad-verse factors. An increasing number of studies have shown that autophagy plays important roles in tumorigenesis, tumor progression, metastasis, relapse, and drug resistance. However, the detailed mechanisms remain unclear. This review summarizes the expression of gastric cancer cell-related autophagy genes and the mechanism by which autophagy promotes gastric cancer cell death. Autophagy has an important application prospect in treating gastric cancer.