As a part of our ongoing research program to isolate novel phragmalin limonoids from the stem bark of Chukrasia tabularis var. velutina, two new phragmalin limonoids orthesters, tabularin Q (1) and tabulalide O (4), along with two known compounds tabularin C (2) and tabularin H (3) were isolated. Their structures were elucidated by means of extensive 1D and 2D spectroscopic analyses which included HSQC, HMBC, and ROESY experiments and HR-ESI-MS.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) augmented pedicle screw instrumentation and fusion for old osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures complicated with spinal instability. Methods The clinic data of 26 old patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures complicated with spinal instability treated from June 2011 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, there were 5 male patients aged from 61 to 72 years and 21 female patients aged from 56 to 75 years. All patients had history of chronic low back pain. The clinical outcome after operation was analyzed according to visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI). The status of bone fusion were aslo recorded before and after surgery. Results There were no pulmonary embolism, infection, toxic reaction of PMMA, and no nerve root compression and damage occurred in patients. The operation time was (105.0 ± 20.5) min, and bleeding volume was (200 ± 55) ml. The operative incision was healed in Ⅰ stage. All patients were followed up for 12-27 months, and average was 14 months. The levels of VAS scores and ODI scores after operation and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after operation were significantly increased compared with those before operation (P<0.05). Conclusions PMMA augmented pedicle screw instrumentation and fusion is an effective method for old osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures complicated with spinal instability.

Objective To explore the clinical outcome with anterior debridement,bone graft and posterior internal fixation with short nail of treating intervertebral infection.Methods Ninteen cases (11 male and 8 female,aged from 34 to 63,46 on average) of lumbar intervertebral space infection treated in our hospital from June 2008 to June 2013 were retrospectively analyzed.These infections occurred at L2-L3 in 2 cases,L3-L4 in 5 cases,L4-L5 in 8 cases and L5-S1 in 4 cases.All patients had history of disc surgery or puncture.The clinical outcome after operation was analyzed according to the low back paine after operation which analyzed by visual analog scale (VAS),and the bone fusion.Erythrocyte sedimentation rata and C-reactionprotein were aslo recorded before and after surgery.Results All cases were followed up,average 24 months.The lower back pain was improved obviously between preoperation and postoperation (P ＜0.05).Also erythrocyte sedimentation rata and C-reactionprotein returned to normal after the operation and all cases had complete bone union at the end of follow-up with no instrument failure noted.Conclusion Anterior debridement,bone graft and posterior internal fixation with short nail in of treating intervertebral infection not only can effectively reconstruct the stability of the spine,but also retain range of motion segment of spine.

Osteoporosis is a type of chronic disease characterized by increased bone fragility caused by destruction of bone microstructure and high risk of vertebral compression fractures. Previous researches show hyperactive bone resorption caused by abnormal activity of osteoclasts is highly related to osteoporosis. Icariin, a traditional Chinese medicine monomer, has been reported to have a biological effect in regulating osteoclast signaling pathway RANK/RANKL/OPG. It also can participate in the regulation of multiple stages of osteoclast differentiation. These results suggest icariin has an important role in regulating osteoclast differentiation and bone erosion. The authors systematically review the related researches on the mechanism of icariin in regulating osteoclast differentiation, in order to provide new ideas for osteoporosis-targeted treatment for osteoporosis.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Xuebijing injection in treatment of sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome ( MODS ). Methods A prospective multicenter clinical study was conducted. The patients with sepsis, severe sepsis, or MODS admitted to Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine of 70 hospitals across the country during 2006 to 2008 were enrolled. All of the patients received the basis treatment of conventional therapy, plus Xuebijing injection of 50-100 mL, 2-3 times a day for 5-7 days, and the dose might be increased in serious cases. The vital signs, 24-hour urine output, Glasgow coma score ( GCS ), white blood cell count ( WBC ), platelet count ( PLT ), Marshall score, gastrointestinal function score, syndrome of traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM ), blood lactate ( Lac ), blood glucose, serum creatinine ( SCr ), and total bilirubin ( TBil ) were observed before treatment, 1, 3, and 5 days after treatment, and at the end of the treatment. The results of above mentioned parameters after the treatment were compared with that before treatment in each patient. At the same time, the occurrence and the degree of adverse reactions were recorded to evaluate the safety of Xuebijing injection. Results A total of 2 574 patients were enrolled, and in 2 509 cases the treatment was completed in, with a drop of 65 cases. 704 cases were diagnosed to have sepsis, 768 with severe sepsis, and 1 037 with MODS. According to TCM, in 1 951 cases syndrome of stasis-toxin in the interior, and in 558 syndrome of excessive exuberance of heat-toxic in the interior were diagnosed. After the treatment of Xuebijing injection combined with conventional therapy, the temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, WBC, PLT, GCS, 24-hour urine output, blood glucose, Lac, SCr, TBil, Marshall score, gastrointestinal function score, as well as the symptoms, signs and TCM tongue condition and pulse condition, and TCM scores were significantly improved in all patients as well as the patients with sepsis, severe sepsis, or MODS ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01 ). The effective rate of all patients and the patients with sepsis, severe sepsis, or MODS was 89.20%( 2 238/2 509 ), 92.76%( 653/704 ), 91.54%( 703/768 ), 85.05%( 882/1 037 ), respectively, and the 28-day survival rate was 93.90%( 2 356/2 509 ), 98.01%( 690/704 ), 96.35%( 740/768 ), 89.30%( 926/1 037 ), respectively. In 3 patients with MODS adverse events ( 0.12%) occurred, including 2 cases of stress ulcer and 1 case of Adams-Stokes syndrome. After clinical evaluation, the adverse events were found to be unrelated with the study medication, and Xuebijing injection was continued till the end of treatment. Conclusion Xuebijing injection combined with conventional therapy may effectively ameliorate systemic inflammatory response, protect organ function, alleviate the symptoms, improve organ functions, and elevate the clinical cure rate. Adverse events occur occasionally. Xuebijing injection is found to be safe.

Liver cirrhosis is a chronic progressive liver disease. A non-invasive diagnostic technique for hepatic fibrosis combined with liver biochemistry, molecular biology, and immunology, imaging study, liver histopathological assessment, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation can accurately diagnose the cause, severity of disease, and determine the prognosis. In clinical practice of Western medicine, there are five-stages of cirrhosis classification, with periods 1 and 2 being compensated stage, and periods 3 to 5 being decompensated stage. Etiological treatment and anti-hepatic fibrosis treatment are the basic measures for different disease severity and complications. Comprehensive application of modern medical technology and traditional Chinese medicine differentiation therapy can improve the treatment effect and survival rate.

Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) is a kind of fragility fracture, and osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture (OTLF) is the most common type. At present, OTLF has gradually been a common disease in the elderly, among which improper treatments may cause serious complications and even death, bringing a heavy burden to the family and society. Accordingly, in-depth researches on the prevention and treatment of this disease is significant to improve the quality of life for the elderly and reduce social burden. Accurate choices of treatments depend on fracture classifications. A variety of OTLF classifications have been proposed by domestic and foreign scholars, but each has its own defects, and to distinguish their differences may be problematic. Therefore, it is difficult to apply each classification. In this study, the authors review the research progress in different classification and scoring sytems for OTLF to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Background Patients often suffer from a few complications of neurological and psychiatric problems after traumatic brain injury including damage of cognition, mental disorders and behavior problems. Damage of cognition is a common sequela in traumatic brain injury. Numerous researchers were focus on the cognition changes of patients with mild brain injury. But their conclusions are debatable. Executive function is one of the important components of cognition. In this study,we tried to find out the executive functional alterations of the patients with mild brain injury.Methods 159 patients with brain injury caused by transportation events and 68 normal controls were assessed executive function. The executive function tests included the block design in WAIS, the Stroop test, the verbal fluency and the modified version of Wisconsin card sorting test (M-WCST). These tests were applied to compare the scores of traumatic brain injury patients with various severities including mild, moderate, and severe and with different CT/MRI results.Results Patients with mild head injury got significantly lower scores on all tests than normal controls ( P＜0.01 ). But there was no significant difference between mild and moderate brain injury group. Except Stroop test and WCST categories, patients with mild brain injury got significantly lower scores on all other tests than those with severe brain injury ( P ＜0.05). In the brain injury cases with damage signs on CT/MRI, there was no significant difference on scores of all tests except block design tests among brain injury patients with various severities. Among the brain injury cases without any damage signs on CT/MRI, there was no significant difference on scores of all tests among brain injury patients with various severities. The correlation analysis showed that scores of block design and verbal fluency test were negatively related to the severity of brain injury( P＜0.05). The age and the education level of the patients had negative and positive correlation, respectively, to executive function.Conclusions The executive function of patients with mild brain injury was impaired when the medication was terminated. We should pay more attention to patients with mild brain injury by performing various tests for assessment of disability.

Objective To evaluate the clinical outcomes of sacral decompression and lumbopelvic fixation for neurologically impaired patients with sacral fracture-dislocation.Methods From January 2009 to December 2013,32 patients with sacral fracture and spino-pelvic dissociation of Roy-Camille types Ⅱand Ⅲ were treated at our department.They were 21 men and 11 women,with a mean age of 34.3 years.According to Roy-Camille classification,9 patients belonged to type Ⅱand 23 to type Ⅲ;25 patients had S1 fracture-dislocation and 7 S2 fracture-dislocation.After their overall conditions were stabilized,all were treated with open reduction,sacral decompression and lumbopelvic fixation.Pre-and post-operative neurological functions were recorded by Gibbons criteria.We analyzed the correlations between the neurological recovery and (i) the extent of cauda equina deficit and (ii) the continuity of sacral roots,as well as the correlations between the functional recovery of the bladder and bowels and the above two.The reduction and fusion status were evaluated by the Mears and Velyvis radiological criteria;clinical effectiveness was evaluated by Majeed scoring system.Intra-and post-operative complications were all recorded.Results The mean follow-up time for this series was 35 months (from 25 to 47 months).The average Gibbons score improved from 4.0 to 2.7 at the follow-ups.The patients with mild cauda equina deficit or with continuity of sacral roots achieved significantly better neurological recovery than those with severe cauda equina deficit or with discontinuity of sacral roots (P ＜ 0.001).However,the functional recovery of the bladder or bowels was not significantly correlated with the extent of cauda equina deficit or with the continuity of sacral roots.Anatomical reduction was achieved in 26 patients,satisfactory reduction in 5 and unsatisfactory reduction in one,yielding a satisfaction rate of 96.9％.Bony fusion was obtained in 29 patients at 3 months,but not until at 9 months in 2 patients,and still not at 9 months in one who showed no symptoms.The Majeed scoring showed 22 excellent,6 good and 4 moderate cases,giving an excellent to good rate of 87.5％.Two patients developed deep wound infection,3 complained of the pain related to hardware prominence,and one had unilateral rod breakage.Conclusions In treatment of sacral fracture with spino-pelvic dissociation,sacral decompression and lumbopelvic fixation can lead to effective neurological recovery,restoration of lumboscacral stability and alignment,early ambulation and prevention of deformity.Complete neurological recovery is more likely in patients with incomplete cauda equina deficit or with continuity of all sacral roots.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) gene with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the effect of antiviral therapy with interferon combined with ribavirin. MethodsA total of 228 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) who were hospitalized in seven hospitals in Hebei Province, China from October 2010 to October 2012 were enrolled and treated with interferon combined with ribavirin as the individualized antiviral therapy. Eighty-one persons who underwent physical examination were enrolled as control group. The TaqMan probe method was used to detect PD-1 gene polymorphisms. The distribution of alleles and genotypes at PD-1.1 and PD-1.3 were compared between the two groups, and the association between the SNPs of PD-1.1 and PD-1.3 and anti-HCV effect was analyzed. The chi-square test was used for the comparison of categorical data between groups. ResultsThe CHC group showed significantly higher frequencies of T allele and TT genotype at PD-1.1 than the control group (52.41% vs 43.21%, χ2=4.059, P=0.044; 28.51% vs 14.81%, χ2=6.469, P=0.039). The SNPs of PD-1.1 gene were not significantly associated with complete early virologic response or sustained virologic response (both P＞0.05). Both groups had CC genotype at PD-1.3. ConclusionPD-1.1 T allele might be associated with chronic HCV infection, and patients carrying TT genotype have a high risk of chronic HCV infection. PD-1.1 polymorphism is not associated with virologic response to anti-HCV therapy.