Objective To explore the efficacy of pushen capsule on blood lipid and atherosclerosis in patients with ischemic stroke.Methods One hundred and twenty patients with ischemic stroke were randomly divided into three groups,treatment group (pushen capsule and rosuvastatin calcium),control group-1 (pushen capsule) and control group-2 (rosuvastatin calcium).There were 40 patients for each group.The course of treatment was 6 months.Data of serum total cholesterol (TC),triacylglycerol (TG),high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C),homocysteine (Hcy),high sensitive C reactive protein (hs-CRP),nitric oxide (NO),endothelin-1 (ET-1),the number and size of carotid plaques,and changes of intima-media thickness (IMT) were detected before and after treatment in three groups.The incidences of adverse cerebrovascular events and adverse events were observed in the three groups.And the therapeutic effects for dyslipidemia were evaluated in three groups.Results The treatment indicators were obviously improved after treatment in three groups (P ＜ 0.05).There were no significant differences in treatment indicators before treatment between three groups.The levels of TG and NO increased,the level of LDL-C,the size and thickness of carotid plaques decreased after treatment in control group-2 than those of control group-1.Levels of TC,LDL-C,Hcy,hs-CRP,ET-1,IMT,and the number,size and thickness of carotid plaques were significantly lower in treatment group than those of control group-1 (P ＜ 0.05),and the level of NO was higher in treatment group than that of control group-1 (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with control group-2,levels of TG,LDL-C,hs-CRP and the number,size and thickness of carotid plaques were significantly lower,and levels of HDL-C and NO were significantly increased in treatment group (P ＜ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the incidences of adverse drug reactions and adverse cerebrovascular events between the three groups (P ＞ 0.05).The total effective rate was higher in treatment group than that of control group-1 (P ＜ 0.05).There were no significant differences in total effective rates between treatment group and control group-2,and between control group-2 and control group-1 (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Pushen capsule combined with rosuvastatin calcium can obviously improve blood lipid metabolism in patients with ischemic stroke,which shows obvious antiatherosclerosis effect and good safety.

Potency is one of the most important indexes of inactivated vaccines.A number of methods have been established to assay the potency,of which the NIH test and single-dose mouse protection test are the prescribed methods.Here,we report a method to semi-quantitatively assay the potency of an inactivated rabies vaccine,which uses fewer animals and takes less time to complete.Depending on the quality requirements of a vaccine(e.g.minimum potency),a rabies reference vaccine is,for example,diluted to the minimum potency,and 50 μL of the dilution is taken to inoculate 10 mice.The same amount of the test rabies vaccine is inoculated into another 10 mice.After two weeks,all mice are bled and serum samples are assayed for viral neutralizing antibody by the fluorescent antibody virus neutralization(FAVN) test.By comparing the median and interquartile range of antibody titers of the reference vaccine with those of the test vaccine,the test vaccine potency can be semi-quantitatively judged as to whether it is in accord with the required quality.The reliability of this method was also confirmed in dogs.The procedure can be recommended for batch potency testing during inactivated rabies vaccine production.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have mainly focused on costal cartilage, articular cartilage, nasal septal cartilage, and auricular cartilage, but in vitro culture of human vertebral endplate cartilage is stil rarely reported. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the feasibility of culture of vertebral endplate chondrocytes from type I neurofibromatosis associated with scoliosis patientsin vitro and to study the biological characters of the chondrocytes. METHODS: Through two-step enzymatic digestion and tissue culture, the chondrocytes from the vertebral endplate of seven type I neurofibromatosis patients isolated and cultured in monolayer and passaged to observe the changes of cel morphology under inverted phase contrast microscope. Colagen type II expression was detected by immunocytochemistry to identify whether the cels had chondrocyte characters. The growth kinetics was detected by using MTT colorimetric assay to draw the growth curve of passage 2 chondrocytes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A few chondrocytes crawled from the cartilage after 2 weeks culture and cels were passaged at 3 weeks. Along with passage going on, the phenotype of chondrocytes was changed from polygonal, round, triangle, and irregular shapes to fusiform. The colagen type II expression in passage 2 cels was positive by immunohistochemical staining. MTT test showed the growth curve of the passage 2 chondrocytes presented a transverse “S”. Cels were found logarithmic growth at days 4-7, reached platform stage at days 8-13, and decreased at day 14. It is an effective and simple procedure by two-step enzymatic digestion and tissue explant method to culture vertebral endplate chondrocytes with high purity and good viability from type I neurofibromatosis patients associated with scoliosisin vitro. Passage 2 chondrocytes from the vertebral endplate exhibit the best viability at days 4-7, which can be used as targets for research of pathogenesis of type I neurofibromatosis with atrophic scoliosis.

Objective To investigate whether serum level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol can predict the expan?sion of hemorrhage growth in elderly male patients with acute hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods Patients (n=108) who visited our hospital with from June 2012 until May 2014 spontaneous hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage with?in 6 hours of onset which is confirmed by initial computed tomography (CT) were sent to repeated CT within 24 hours of on?set. All selected patients were divided into the LDL-C≥2.49 mmol/L group and LDL-C<2.49 mmol/L group. Clinical data of these 2 groups were compared and the relationships of hematoma growth and its risk factors were analyzed. Results Baseline blood pressure, the level of blood glucose, PT, APTT, FIB, PLT and hemorrhage volume did not differ significantly between the LDL-C≥2.49 mmol/L group and LDL-C<2.49 mmol/L group. The ratio of hemorrhage growth in LDL-C<2.49 mmol/L group was significantly higher than that in LDL-C≥2.49 mmol/L group (34.21%vs 11.43%). Multiple logistic regres?sion analysis showed that LDL-C<2.49 mmol/L was the only risk factor contribute to hemorrhage growth. Conclusion Pa?tients with LDL-C<2.49 mmol/L in acute intracerebral hemorrhage are of high risk of hemorrhage growth so early attention and appropriate procedure are needed to prevent or slow its growth.

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of letrozole combined with traditional Chinese medicine for ovulation dysfunction induced by polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS). METHODS: 300 PCOS outpatients were randomized to 3 groups of 100 each: clomiphene citrate (CC) group (188 cycles);urinary gonadotropin (HMG) group (104 cycles) and letrozole (LE) group (155 cycles). The occurrence rate of mature follicle,ovulation rate,pregnancy rate,abortion rate,superfoetation-terata rate,cancellation rate,incidence of no dominant follicle forming and OHSS etc were compared between the two groups after treatment. RESULTS: 30 babies were born in CC group,34 in HMG group and 43 in LE group were born. The occurrence rate of mature follicles,ovulation rate and pregnancy rate in the LE group were higher than in either CC group or HMG group(P0.05);the superfoetation rate in HMG group was higher than in CC group or LE group(P

Objective To observe the safety and efficacy of the posterior spinal instrumentation (PSI) with preserving of the intraspinal rib head in neurologically intact patients with scoliosis secondary to Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).Methods The clinical and radiographic data of nine NF1 scoliosis patients with rib head protrusion into the spinal canal,who had undergone PSI from August 1998 to March 2012,were retrospectively investigated.The average age of these patients (4 males,5 females) was 15.4±7.6 years,and their neurological status all were Frankel grade E preoperatively.The intraspinal rib head was not resected in all patients intraoperatively.The following parameters,including the magnitude of rib head penetration into the spinal canal (MRPC),the angle between the bilateral rib (ABR),the angle between the dislocated rib and the posterior vertebral wall (ARV),the coronal Cobb angle and the sagittal Cobb angle,were measured before and after surgery.Results The follow-up period was 0.5 to 4.8 years.The average MRPC decreased from preoperative 32.8％±9.9％ to postoperative 16.8％±15.2％ (P=0.026); the average ARV increased from preoperative 34.7°±16.4° to postoperative 47.8°±17.5° (P=0.001); the average ABR decreased from preoperative 83.0°±19.5° to postoperative 67.9°±13.3° (P=0.009); the average coronal Cobb angle decreased from preoperative 70.7° ±17.7° to 35.4°±17.0° immediately after operation (P=0.000) and the sagittal Cobb angle decreased from preoperative 59.7°±17.6° to 24.7°±10.8° immediately after operation (P=0.001).The coronal Cobb angle and sagittal Cobb angle had no significant change during follow-up period.The neurological status was Frankel grade E in all patients immediately after operation and at final follow-up.Conclusion For NF1 scoliosis patients with rib head penetration into the spinal canal without impingement of the spinal cord and neurological deficits,the deformity can be corrected safely and effectively without resecting the intraspinal rib head.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of restenosis after carotid stent and balloon angioplasty for the Guangxi swines by intravascular ultrasound(IVUS). Methods Twelve Guangxi swines fed by a high cholesterol diet were randomly divided into two groups. Seven stents were implanted in the left carotid artery of six swines in the first group, and balloon angioplasty was performed in the left carotid artery of swines in the other group. Digital subtraction angiography(DSA) and IVUS were conducted respectively before and after the intervention and in the 13th week. Results IVUS found that the percentage of area stenosis in stent group was (18.31±7.79) % and in balloon group (37.28±7.89) % in the 13th week. The percentage of area restenosis in stent was obviously related to neointimal hyperplasia (r = 0.897, P<0.05), the percentage of area restenosis due to balloon angioplasty was markedly related to area decrease of external elastic lamina (r = 0.856, P<0.05). Conclusions The restenosis in stent was related to intimal hyperplasia of blood vessel,and restenosis after balloon angioplasty had some connection with area decrease of external elastic lamina.

Objective    To explore the potential role of tumor spread through air spaces (STAS) as a prognostic indicator of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through meta-analysis. Methods    PubMed, EMbase and Web of Science, from inception to February 2022 were searched by computer about the research of the 5-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival (RFS) of NSCLC patients with or without STAS. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of each study. Results    Totally 13 published articles were included with 4 647 patients, and 1 424 (30.6%) patients had STAS. The NOS score of all studies≥6 points. The meta-analysis showed that compared with the NSCLC patients without STAS, those with STAS had a worse prognosis of 5-year RFS, and the combined HR was 1.89 (95%CI 1.61-2.23); they had a shorter 5-year OS, and the combined HR was 2.25 (95%CI 1.79-2.84). There was no statistical heterogeneity among studies. Conclusion    The presence of STAS may be a poor prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC, and enough attention should be paid. The STAS should be recorded in the pathological report to guide the comprehensive treatment and evaluate the prognosis of patients.

OBJECTIVETo inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of colon cancer cells by increasing the expression level of B-cell translocation gene-2 (BTG2).

METHODSWestern blot assay was used to detect the expression level of BTG2 protein in the normal intestinal epithelial HIEC cells and three colon cancer cell lines SW620, HT-29 and LS174T. The expression of BTG2 protein in normal colonic epithelial tissue, colon adenoma and colon cancer tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. The plasmid with BTG2 gene full-length sequence was transfected into colon cancer SW620 cells, and the expression of BTG2 protein was detected by Western blot. The cell growth curve was drawn by MTT test. The Ki-67-positive rate was calculated using immunofluorescence staining. The cell migration of colon cancer cells was detected by scratch test and Transwell double chamber culture system, and the pseudopodia growth of tumor cells was detected by Matrigel 3D culture system.

RESULTSWestern blot results showed that BTG2 relative expression levels were 0.83 ± 0.12, 0.18 ± 0.04, 0.20 ± 0.05 and 0.36 ± 0.07 in normal human intestinal epithelial cells HIEC, and human colon cancer cell line SW620, HT-29 and LS174T, respectively. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the positive expression of BTG2 protein in normal colorectal tissue, colorectal adenoma and colorectal carcinoma tissues were 82.5% (33/40), 77.5%(31/40) and 17.5% (7/40), respectively, with a significant difference between two groups (P < 0.05). Immunofluorescence results showed that the positive rate of Ki-67 in the control group, empty vector group and BTG2 transfection group was (76.2 ± 8.0)%, (81.4 ± 9.7)% and (50.1 ± 7.1)%, respectively, showing a significant difference between two groups (P < 0.05). The scratch test results showed that in the control group, empty vector group and BTG2 transfection group, the distance of SW620 cells between two sides was (79.27 ± 11.24) µm, (80.65 ± 12.17) µm and (124.77 ± 19.63) µm, respectively, with a significant difference between two groups (P < 0.05). Transwell results showed that in the control group, empty plasmid group and BTG2 transfection group, the SW620 cell migration rate was (78.5 ± 13.1)%, (73.2 ± 12.9)% and (47.4 ± 9.1)%, respectively, showing a significant difference between two groups (P < 0.05). The number of neurospheres of BTG2 transfection group was decreased SW620, which had poor ductility.

CONCLUSIONSBTG2 gene is involved in colon cancer cell proliferation and metastasis, and effectively restores the function of BTG2 protein. Therefore, it may be expected to become a new option in gene therapy for colon cancer.

B-Lymphocytes ; physiology ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; genetics ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Immediate-Early Proteins ; genetics ; Immunohistochemistry ; Plasmids ; Transfection ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; genetics