Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment of biotinase deficiency (BTD) manifested as encephalomyelopathy.Methods The clinical data of one child with BTD were retrospectively analyzed.The pertinent literatures were reviewed.Results A six-year-old male child suffered from progressive spastic paralysis of lower limbs for 3 months before admission.A similar symptoms occurred after a cold in 3-year-old.It was easy to peel skin on her hands and she had angular stomatitis.Audio visual evoked potential was detected to be abnormal in other hospital.After hospitalizion,the cerebrospinal fluid examination was normal,and MRI showed long T1 long T2 signals bilateral occipital lobe and basal ganglia region.Because the child represented medulla palsy,and so the tracheal intubation ventilator was administrated to assist ventilation.Urine gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis showed increases of lactic acid,3-hydroxy acid,3-tiglyl glycine,methylcitric acid,and ethylene lactic acid.Serum MS/MS analysis showed that the concentrations of propionyl camitine and 3-hydroxyisovaleryl carnitine were increase obviously.The serum biotinase level was significantly decrease to 0.076 pmol/(min·mm3).The diagnosis of BTD was confirmed.After supplementation biotin,40 mg/d,the ventilator was successfully weaned on the third day,the child walked again after 2 weeks,and the rash was vanished.After 3 weeks,the head MRI showed disappearance of the original lesion,and there was no abnormal in spinal cord.The BTD gene detected by PCR direct sequencing showed a heterozygosis mutation of T172T/C in the second exon and a homozygous mutation of T1413C in the fourth exon,which was confirmed as a pathogenic mutation by pedigree verification and database query.After discharge,the oral administration of biotin 20 mg/d continued,and no abnormality was found in 2 years of follow-up.Conclusions The manifestations of BTD are complex and diverse.The analysis of urine GC/MS and serum MS/MS can assist the diagnosis.The determination of biotinase activity and gene detection of BTD can further confirm the diagnosis.Timely biotin supplementation has significant treatment efficacy.

Objective To evaluate the effect of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS) in the real-time monitoring treatment of ultrasound-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU ) for uterine adenomyosis .Methods From January 2013 to September 2013 ,a total of 67 patients who were clinically diagnosticated as uterine adenomyosis were enrolled in this study .49 patients were diffuse type and 18 patients were localized .CEUS was used before ,in ,after ultrasonic treatment to make sure lesions and evaluate the ablation effect .Results 67 patients were 100% perfused before HIFU treatment by CEUS ,the non-perfused volume ratio of 15 patients(22 .4% ) were not enough during treatment ,and more energy were given .During HIFU treatment ,uniform grey scale change was observed in 42 of 67(62 .7% ) patients and massive grey scale change was observed in 25 of 67(37 .3% ) patients .The margin of targets and the non-perfused volume were clearly detected by CEUS .The size of target andymyosis ,the volume ,the non-perfused volume ,and non-perfused volume ratio were(4 .8 ± 1 .5)cm ,(63 .1 ± 57 .2)cm3 ,(59 .1 ± 53 .4 )cm3 ,(76 .4 ± 27 .0)% .The adverse effects occurred in the treatment were not related to CEUS .Conclusion CEUS is an accurate method in assessing the treat-ment effect of HIFU and could be safely used during HIFU treatment for uterine adenomyosis .

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of fetal cardiac structural abnormalities with chromosomal aneuploidies and copy number variations (CNVs) in amniocytes. METHODS: 328 pregnant women were subjected to fetal ultrasonography and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA). Based on the fetal heart structure, the subjects were divided into normal (n=273) and abnormal groups (n=55). The detection rates of chromosomal aneuploidies and CNVs were compared between the two groups. Spearman method was used to assess the association between the results and fetal cardiac structural abnormalities. RESULTS: The detection rates for chromosomal aneuploidies and CNVs in the abnormal group were significantly higher than that in the normal group (P< 0.05), and the incidence of fetal cardiac structural abnormalities was strongly associated with chromosomal aneuploidies and CNVs (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION Fetal chromosomal aneuploidies and CNVs are strongly associated with cardiac structural abnormalities.
Aneuploidy ; Chromosome Aberrations ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Female ; Fetus ; Humans ; Microarray Analysis ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal

ObjectiveTo explore the potential mechanism of Huoxue Xiaoyi Formula （活血消异方， HXF） in treating ovarian endometriosis （OEM） from the perspective of T follicular helper （Tfh） cells and the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription （JAK/STAT） signaling pathway. MethodsForty-five female SD rats with normal estrous cycles were randomly divided into three groups， HXF group， model group， and normal group， with 15 rats in each group. A rat model of OEM was established by autologous endometrial tissue implantation. After successful modeling， the treatment group received HXF at 5.85 g/（kg·d） by gavage for 14 consecutive days. The model group and normal group received 1 mL/d of normal saline by gavage. RNA-sequencing data from human proliferative-phase endometriotic and normal endometrial tissues were downloaded from the GEO database. Transcriptomic sequencing was used to analyze gene expression in rat ovarian ectopic tissues and normal uterine tissues， and comparisons were made with human data to verify JAK/STAT pathway activation in proliferative-phase ectopic tissues. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the positive expression of CXC chemokine receptor 5 （CXCR5） and interleukin-21 （IL-21） in rat ovarian ectopic and normal uterine tissues. Western Blotting was performed to detect the protein levels of IL-21， IL-21 receptor （IL-21R）， Janus kinase 1 （JAK1）， signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 （STAT6）， and B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2）. Tfh cell infiltration was analyzed using immune cell infiltration methods. ResultsGene set enrichment analysis showed that the JAK/STAT pathway was significantly activated in human proliferative-phase endometriotic tissues compared to normal endometrial tissues. Similarly， the JAK/STAT pathway was markedly activated in rat ovarian ectopic tissues in the model group compared to the normal group， but suppressed in the HXF group compared to the model group. Compared with normal uterine tissues， ovarian ectopic tissues in the model group showed increased Tfh cell infiltration scores， higher CXCR5 and IL-21 expression， and elevated levels of IL-21， IL-21R， JAK1， STAT6， and Bcl-2 proteins. Compared with the model group， HXF group showed reduced CXCR5 and IL-21 expression and decreased protein levels of IL-21， IL-21R， JAK1， STAT6， and Bcl-2. ConclusionHXF may suppress activation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in ovarian endometriotic tissues by inhibiting IL-21 secretion from Tfh cells.