The poverty population definition for medical assistance was related to equity and precision,but still lacked theory and method in practice.The catastrophic and impoverishment health expenditure methods based on relative costs theory considered the family's ability to pay,which reflected the economic burden and poverty status of families.Meanwhile,they reflected the breadth and depth of poverty.Therefore,the theory and methods of catastrophic diseases relative costs could support the definition of catastrophic diseases for poverty population in China.

Objective To study the effect of Chinese traditional medicines on human hypertrophic scar fibroblasts in vitro,and determine their effective dosage.Methods Traditional Chinese medicines were cultured with human hypertrophic scar fibrob lasts(Fb)and normal dermal Fb,MTT colorimetr ic assay and cell growth curve were used to compare the influence of ethanol extracts fromChinese tradi tional medicines on the Fb growth activity and growth cycle.Results(1)Chinese gall markedly inhibited the proliferation of Fb derived from hyp ertrophic scar and normal skin,and was more effective on the former in a dose-dependent m anner(0～400?g /mL)during 72h of treatment.(2)The half inhibition concentration o f Chinese gall ethanol extract was 100?g /mL.The morphology of Fb did not change when its concentration was below 400?g /mL,as compared to colchicine(

Objective To explore the rate of incidence of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis(CVST)in patients with idiopathic in- tracranial hypertension(IIH).Design Restrospective case series.Participants 92 cases with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.Meth- otis All patients diagnosed with papilledema from January 1,2000 through May 1,2007 at our ophthalmology center.Consecutive pa- tients with a diagnosis of papilledema were identified.Patients with space-occupying lesions,hydrocepbalus,or meningitis were excluded. The remaining patients were evaluated with lumbar puncture,magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)and magnetic resonance venography (MRV).Main Outcome Measures The rate of incidence of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis(CVST)in patients with idiopathic in- tracranial hypertension(IIH).Results Excluding patients with mass lesions,meningitis,or hydrocephalus,the occurrence of CVST was 7 (7.6%)of 92 patients with presumed IIH.One additional patients had a diagnosis of suspected CVST.Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was diagnosed in 1 of the 7 patients with MRI alone,whereas it was evident in all 7 patients with MRV.Conclusions Cerebral venous si- nus thrombosis accounts for 7.6% of patients with presumed IIH in our ophthalmology services.Magnetic resonance venography in com- bination with MRI is recommended to identify this subgroup of patients.(Ophthalmol CHN,2007,16:410-413)

China ; Health Facilities ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Occupational Health Services ; manpower

Objective To determine the in vitro effects of the traditional Chinese medicines, berberine, matrine and baicalin, on the proliferation and lipid synthesis of human immortalized sebocyte SZ95, and to investigate their possible mechanisms of action on sebaceous glands at the cellular level. Methods Inverted microscopy was used to observe cell morphology and determine toxic concentrations of the compounds. The MTT method was adopted to examine the effects of different concentrations of berberine, matrine and baicalin on SZ95 cell proliferation after 24 h, 48 h and 72 h of incubation. Lipid contents in the SZ95 cells were labeled with Nile red and analyzed by flow cytometry. Results The toxic concentrations were 1?10-3 mol/L, 1?10-4 mol/L, 1?10-3 mol/L for baicalin, berberine and matrine, respectively. Berberine reduced sebocyte proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with an inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) of 2.9?10-5 mol/L and 1.4?10-5 mol/L after 48 h and 72 h of incubation, respectively. When the concentration of matrine was 0.05). Lipogenesis of SZ95 cells showed a 26.9% increase with 1?10-3 mol/L matrine. Conclusions Our results indicate that berberine and baicalin can inhibit proliferation and lipid synthesis of SZ95 sebocytes in vitro, which suggests a possible clinical role in treating acne.

Acute Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; therapy ; Plasma Exchange ; Propane ; analogs & derivatives ; poisoning

Objective To evaluate the application value of percutaneous transsplenic varices embolization(PTSVE)in the treatment of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients with schistosomiasis cirrhosis. Methods Sixteen schistosomiasis cir-rhosis patients(12 males and 4 females)with portal hypertension complicated with esophageal and upper gastrointestinal hemor-rhage were selected as the investigation subjects,all the patients had been treated by esophageal vein ligation and sclerothera-py,but with bleeding again post-operation. The patients were treated by PTSVE under the guidance of X-ray fluoroscopy. The success rate of PTSVE and the rate of complications were observed. In addition,the patients received PTSVE were reexamined with abdominal CT one month post-operation,and the degrees of varices were compared before and after PTSVE. Results Four-teen cases(87.50%)were successfully treated with PTSVE. Two cases(12.50%)failed,and one case had an abdominal bleed-ing 1 week post-operation. The abdominal CT showed the degrees of esophageal varices(P < 0.001),esophageal vein(P <0.001)and gastric varices(P < 0.001)were significantly decreased in the patients who received PTSVE one month after the op-eration. Conclusions PTSVE is a safe and effective method in the treatment of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in the pa-tients with schistosomiasis cirrhosis. PTSVE is especially suitable for the patients with severe liver cirrhosis,significantly bor-dered liver split,and bared main portal vein and even the branches.

Objective To explore the treatment method with combined dorsal flap based on the second toe and tibial flap for repairing the finger distal degloving injury.Methods From March 2008 to September 2011,our department chose treatment with combined use of free dorsal flap based on the second toe and contralateral second toe tibial flap for repairing finger distal degloving injury.The 11 fingers in 11 cases were treated and followed up after surgery.Results The flaps in 11 cases all survived; The donor site with skin grafting successfully healed; The follow-up was 4-15 months,averaged of 6 months.There was not obvious atrophy for the toe dorsal flaps in the finger back side and toe tibial flaps in the palm side.The finger pulp was full,the nails grew well and the appearance of the fingers was good.There was satisfactory sensory function restoration for finger pulp,two cases for S4,five cases for S3,three cases for S2 and 1 case for S1.The protective sensation was restored in the finger back for all the cases; the finger function was restored to normal; the foot donor site was healing well without scarring.Walking was completely normal.Conclusion It is an ideal treatment with combined use of free dorsal flap based on the second toe and contralateral second toe tibial flap for repairing finger distal.

Objective: In order to validate the effectiveness of methods of defining poverty caused by illness which are based on catastrophic health expenditure and impoverishment health expenditure, originated from relative costs theory.Results: This paper uses empirical approach to explore the definition methods by comparing the original methods with modified methods and defined population with the actual situation of poverty alleviation.Results: Study results show that the catastrophic health expenditures incurred ratio is about 20% and shows the aggregation of both low-income and high-income groups.The impoverishment health expenditure incurred ratio is about 12% and they mainly are families at the edge of poverty line.This study found that 70% of the families defined based on our method did not receive medical assistance in reality.Conclusion: Therefore, the definition methods based on relative costs theory are of great value in Chinese medical assistance systems for defining poverty caused by illness.Grouping based on household ability to pay could improve the methods' operability and effectiveness.