Objective To observe the effects of dexamethasone (DEX) therapy on the clinical outcome and changes of lymphocyte subsets in children with mild and severe encephalitis.Methods Eighty-two children with mild and severe viral encephalitis were randomly divided into two groups: with DEX treatment (n=46) or without(n=36).The clinical efficacy was evaluated 3 weeks later, and the clinical manifestation were also observed. The changes of CD4~+,CD8~+ T lymphocyte percentage were determined by flow cytometry on admission and at 1 week,4 weeks after treatment.Another group of 20 cases was enrolled as control group.Results Compared with the control group,both the DEX treatment group and non-DEX treatment group showed a reduced CD4~+ lymphocyte count, an increased CD8~+ lymphocyte count(P

Objective To assess mucin gene expression in Barrett's esophagus.Methods Mucin core protein-MUC1,MUC2,MUC3,MUCSAC and MUC6 were detected by immunohistochemistry.The re- lationship between mucin expression and magnification-endoscopic characteristics,pathohistologic epithelial types of Barrett's esophagus was analyzed.Results Mild expression of MUC1 was predominantly found in the superficial epithelium of both gastric and specialised intestinal metaplasia.In a small number of specimens, mild expression of MUC1 was also noted in glands.Strong MUC2 expression was noted only in the goblet cells in Barrett's oesophagus.MUC3 was expressed in the superficial columnar cells of specialized intestinal metaplasia with or without globlet cells but not in gastric metaplasia of the oesophagus.In some specimens MUC3 was expressed in the vacuolus of the globlet cells and the lumen of gland.Strong staining of MUCSAC was noted in the columnar epithelium of both gastric metaplasia and specialized intestinal metaplasia in Barrett's oesophagus,as well as expressed in the cytoplasm and vacuolus of the globlet cells in some speci- mens.Expression of MUC6 protein was detected at the basement of the crypts in gastric metaplasia and spe- cialised Barrett's glands.Expression of MUC2 and MUC3 protein was found much higher in villous or irregu- lar pit pattern than that in dot or rod pit pattern(P

Objective: To observe the therapeutic efficacy of sinew-bone balancing manipulation plus exercise therapy in treating postures of primary school students with upper crossed syndrome (UCS).Methods: Sixty pupils with UCS were divided into an exercise group and a combination group using the random number table method, with 30 cases in each group. The combination group received treatments of sinew-bone balancing manipulation plus exercise therapy, while the exercise group received exercise therapy alone. The two groups received interventions once every other day, for a total of 1 month. The sagittal static posture assessment total score, forward head angle (FHA) and forward shoulder angle (FSA) were compared before and after treatment; the sagittal static assessment total score, FHA and FSA were compared between the exercise group and the combination group. Results: Before treatment, there were no significant differences comparing the sagittal static posture assessment total score, FHA and FSA between the two groups (all P>0.05); after treatment, the sagittal static posture assessment total score, FHA and FSA decreased in the two groups, with intra-group statistical significance (all P<0.01), and were lower in the combination group than in the exercise group, with inter-group statistical significance (all P<0.01). Conclusion: Sinew-bone balancing manipulation plus exercise therapy can notably improve the FHA and FSA and reduce the sagittal static posture total score in pupils with UCS, so as to correct the bad postures and adjust UCS physique. It can produce more significant efficacy compared with exercise therapy alone.

Objective To study the role of JAK-STAT singal transduction pathway in the interstitial fibrosis of unilateral ureter obstruction (UUO)mice. Methods Mice UUO model was established and the phosphorylation of JAK-STAT was examined at day 1,4,7 and 14 after ligation of the ureter.Mice in the treatment group were treated with daily injection of selective JAK2 inhibitor AG490 starting 2 h before ureter ligation until sacrifice while vehicle alone was given to mice in the model control group.Mice were sacrificed at day 14 after the establishment of model.Renal tubular lesion and interstitial fibrosis were assessed on paraffin section.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect renal macrophage infihration and α-SMA expression.The expression of collagen Ⅲ and MCP-1 mRNA was measured by RT-PCR.Phosphorylation of JAK2and STAT1 was examined by Western blotting. Results JAK2-STAT1 signaling transduction pathway was activated in UUO model.The activation of JAK2-STAT1 was closely correlated with the progression of renal injury,tubular histological lesions and interstitial fibrosis.AG490 treatment significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT1 (P＜0.01).AG490 treatment also significantly reduced tubular lesions[(21.7 ±1.7)% vs (49.4±1.0)%]and interstitial fibrosis(1.0±0.1 vs 2.3±0.2),α-SMA expression(0.9±0.1 vs 2.1±0.2)and maerophage accumulation[(13.3±1.6)cells/HPF vs (34.4±1.0)cells/HPF](all P＜0.01).In addition,AG490 significantly inhibited the expression of collagen Ⅲ and MCP-1 mRNA. Conclusion JAK-STAT signaling plays an important role in renal tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis.

In the basis of a large amount of literatures, this article sumed up the characteristics and application of eggshell membrane.

ObjectiveTo analyze the clinicopathologic features of hereditary cutaneomucosal venous malformation (VMCM) in a Chinese family.MethodsFamily history was investigated in a family with VMCM,and tissue specimens were obtained from the lesions of the proband and subjected to histopathological analysis.ResultsAmong 65 members from 5 generations of the family,19 were affected by VMCM,hinting an autosomal dominant inheritance.None of the family members experienced gastrointestinal bleeding,central nervous system disorders,or cardiac defects.Affected individuals usually presented with multiple irregularly sized,blue-violet,elevated and slightly indurated masses located in the oral mucosa and subcutaneous tissue of the extremities.Pathological analysis showed malformed veins with abnormally dilated cavities and irregularly thickened walls.Although small veins were abnormally proliferating and clustered,there was no endothelial discontinuity.The smooth muscle layer was thickned in a varying degree or absent.ConclusionA diagnosis of VMCM is made according to the inheritance manner,clinical manifestation and pathological findings.

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively investigate the association between the polymorphism of FokI of the VDR gene and the susceptibility of prostatic cancer. METHODS: Databases of Pubmed, EMBase, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang Data were retrieved from the date they formed till May 2011. All randomized controlled clinical trials which matched both the inclusive criteria and exclusive criteria were subjected to meta-analysis, conducted on Revman 5.0.0 software. Stata 11.0 software was employed to process Begg's test. RESULTS: Ten studies were included. Total sample cases were 8360, with 3749 cases in the patient group and 4611 cases in the control group, respectively. The quantitative analysis showed there were no significantly differences between the polymorphism of VDR FokI alleles and the susceptibility of prostatic cancer (allele F to f: OR=1.00, 95% CI=0.94-1.06, P=0.96; genotypes FF/Ff to ff: OR=1.04, 95% CI=0.93-1.51, P=0.48; genotypes FF to Ff/ff: OR=0.97, 95% CI=0.89-1.06, P=0.53). Though one research on Indian people indicated that allele F was a risk factor for prostatic cancer, in Begg's test we observed relatively high publication bias. The subgroup analysis showed there were no significantly differences between the polymorphism of VDR FokI alleles and the susceptibility of prostatic cancer (allele F to f, white race: OR=0.91, 95% CI=0.88-1.02, P=0.17; yellow race: OR=1.09, 95% CI=0.95-1.24, P=0.22; Indian: OR=1.91, 95% CI=1.30-2.81, P=0.0009). CONCLUSION VDR FokI allele F might be a protective factor for European and American Caucasians.
Alleles ; Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific ; genetics ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; genetics ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; genetics

UNLABELLEDCurcumin is a natural compound extracted from the spice tumeric, possessing both anti-inflammatory antioxidant, and anti-carcinogenic effect, is a potent stimulator of the stress-induced expression of heat shock protein 70 kd (HSP70).

OBJECTIVESTo study the protective effect of pretreatment with curcumin against infectious brain edema in rats, and investigate its mechanism by assessing the free radical, cytokine and HSP70 expression of the brain.

METHODSAn animal model of infectious brain edema induced by injecting pertussis bacilli (PB) through carotid artery was used. SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: (1) Normal control group (NS group, n = 9); (2) Infectious brain edema group (PB group, n = 12); (3) DMSO control group (DMSO group, n = 9); (4) HS pretreatment group (HS group, n = 9); (5) Curcumin pretreatment group (CUR group, n = 13). The water content (WC), Na(+) and K(+) content in brain tissue were measured. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and super oxide dismitase (SOD) were assessed by chemical colorimetry. The levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) were detected by ELISA. The HSP70 expression was examined by Western blot analysis.

RESULTS(1) The WC and Na(+), MDA, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta were increased in PB group compared with NS group (P < 0.01); they were decreased in HS and CUR groups compared with PB group (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). (2) The content of SOD was decreased in PB group than in NS group (P < 0.05), and was increased in HS and CUR group Compared with PB group, (P < 0.05). (3) Western blot analysis showed that the band density areas of HS, CUR and PB groups were higher than those in NS and DMSO groups, especially in CUR group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONPretreatment with curcumin showed a protective effect against infectious brain edema in rats. The effect might be associated with antioxidant, inhibition of the activity of cytokines and inducing expression of HSP70 by curcumin.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; therapeutic use ; Bacterial Infections ; drug therapy ; Blotting, Western ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Brain Edema ; drug therapy ; Curcumin ; therapeutic use ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Interleukin-1 ; analysis ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; analysis ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; analysis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; analysis ; Water ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the clinical, neuroimaging and serum risk factors of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in patients with ischemic stroke and find the associations between these risk factors and the location and num?bers of CMBs were also analyzed. Methods One hundred and fifty-three patients with acute ischemic stroke were re?cruited in this study and their data werewas retrospectively analyzed. All of the patients underwent MRI- susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). The location and numbers of CMBs were recordedexamined. The severity of WMLs was assessed using the Fazekas scale. Logistic regressions were performed to find the predictors of the presence of CMBs. The relation?ships between these risk factors and the location and numbers of CMBs were also analyzed. Results Fifty-nine(38.6%) cases had at least one CMB. The frequency of cortical-subcortical, deep and infratentorial CMBs were 34.0%, 24.8%and 27.5%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that male sex, hypertension and moderate-to-severe deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) were independent risk factors of the presence of CMBs. Adjusted with age and sex, partial correlation showed that hypertension only correlated with the numbers of deep CMBs significantly (r=0.174, P=0.032). Moderate-to-severe DWMH significantly correlated with the numbers of cortical-subcortical and deep CMBs (r=0.285, P<0.001 and r=0.258, P=0.001, respectively). Conclusion Male sex, hypertension and moderate-to-severe DWMH were are independent risk factors of CMBs in patients with ischemic stroke. Hypertension correlates with Deep deep CMBs, while Moderatemoderate-to-severe DWMH correlates with cortical-subcortical and deep CMBs.

Multi-component traditional Chinese medicines are an innovative research mode for traditional Chinese medicines. Currently, there are many design methods for developing multi-component traditional Chinese medicines, but their common feature is the lack of effective connection of the traditional Chinese medicine theory. In this paper, the authors discussed the multi-component traditional Chinese medicine design methods based on medicinal property combination modes, provided the combination methods with the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine for the prescription combinations, and proved its feasibly with hypertension cases.
Animals ; Antihypertensive Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rats