Objective To evaluate the effect of atorvastatin on human carotid plaque by high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance imaging(MRI 3. 0T). Methods Forty patients with carotid artery plaque were treated with atorvastatin at the dose of 20 mg daily for one year. Changes of the artery plaques were observed by MRI,and the levels of blood lipoproteins and C reactive protein( hs-CRP)were detected. Results After the treatment with atorvastatin for 6 months and 1 year,the number and average thickness of plaques were reduced. One year after the treatment,average thickness of stable plaques dropped from (2. 41±0. 54)mm to(2. 17±0. 49)mm,and the size of the unstable plaques decreased from(2. 38±0. 89)mm to(2. 01± 0. 32)mm,with significant differences(P﹤0. 05). The levels of TC,TG,LDL-C and Hs-CRP were significantly decreased(P﹤0. 05)and the level of HDL-C was increased. Conclusion High resolution nuclear magnetic resonance( MRI3. 0T)can clearly display the components of the atherosclerotic plaque and the degree of artery stenosis. Atorvastatin exerts a significant effect on carotid plaque by promoting the regression of the carotid atherosclerosis plaque.

Objective To assess any differences in brain activation during active,passive and imaginary movement of the hands using blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI),and to provide references for the cortical reorganization in patients with brain injuries.Methods Twenty healthy,righthanded,adult volunteers were studied,fMRI was performed during active,passive and imaginary fist clutching.Whole brain analysis and group analysis were applied to get the voxels,the volume of activation,the peak t-score and its coordinates.Results Active and passive movement both produced significant activation in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex,the contralateral supplementary motor area and the ipsilateral cerebellum.The sensorimotor cortex was the most frequently and most strongly activated brain area.Imaginary movement produced significant bilateral activation in the supplementary motor area.Conclusions Active and passive movement induce similar brain activation patterns.This indicates that passive might replace active movement when observing activation of the brain's cortex during the rehabilitation of patients with hemiplegia.

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical characteristics of patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD).

METHODSThe records of the 302 Hospital of People's Liberation Army (Beijing, China) were searched to identify patients diagnosed with liver disease for retrospective analysis of ALD. Measurement data was summarized as mean +/- standard deviation and intergroup comparisons were made using ANOVA; count data was assessed using the chi-square test.

RESULTSAmong the total 4132 ALD cases, 97.68% were male and 2.32% were female; ages ranged from 18 to 95 years-old,with the average age being 48.11+/-10.58 years and the range of 40 to 60 years-old being the most frequently represented.Considering all patients with liver disease from 2003 to 2012,ALD cases increased over time (from 2.00% in 2003 to 5.05% in 2012). The overall ALD cases were represented by alcoholic cirrhosis (70.35%), alcoholic hepatitis (19.26%), alcoholic fatty liver (6.29%), and alcoholic liver failure (4.09%). Among the ALD patients between 40 and 60 years of age, 73.81% had cirrhosis,compared to 50.42% of ALD patients less than 40 years-old (P less than 0.001). Comparison of ALD cases in 5-year increments showed increasing trends in rates of alcoholic cirrhosis and alcoholic hepatic failure;moreover, there was an increasing annual trend in the percentage of alcoholic liver failure cases among the total cases of liver failure in our hospital.

CONCLUSIONFrom 2003 to 2012,our hospital admissions increased for patients with alcoholic liver disease, and the patients were primarily in the age range of 40-60 years-old. In general, incidences of alcoholic liver failure and cirrhosis increased in recent years, and cirrhosis has been common among the elderly patients with ALD.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Beijing ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic ; epidemiology ; Female ; Hepatitis, Alcoholic ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver Cirrhosis ; epidemiology ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; epidemiology ; Liver Failure ; epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the clinical,imaging,genetic features in a case of fatal familial insomnia (FFI),and review related literatures.Methods A case of middle-aged woman diagnosed as frontotemporal dementia based on the preliminary manifestation of abnormal mental behavior was reported.The clinical features,imaging characteristics,electroencephalogram and polysomnogram of the patient were analyzed,and the blood samples from the patient and some of her familial members were collected for the sequencing of prion protein gene (PRNP).Results This patient was a middle-aged woman,whose clinical manifestations were abnormal mental behavior,rapid progressive dementia and intractable insomnia,abnormal night sleep behavior and laryngeal stridor.Brain MRI indicated frontotemporal lobe atrophy.Non-sleep disturbance was observed in polysomnography.The cerebrospinal fluid was negative for 14-3-3 protein.The results of PRNP sequencing revealed that the mutation of gene D178N/129M was detected.Conclusions Detection of PRNP plays an important role in the diagnosis of FFI.Patients suspected of FFI in clinic should be detected for genetic testing.Whether the frontotemporal lobe atrophy was caused by FFI or concurrent with FFI remains to be further verified.