Body Height ; Child ; Female ; Ghrelin ; pharmacology ; Growth Disorders ; physiopathology ; Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone ; pharmacology ; Human Growth Hormone ; blood ; physiology ; urine ; Humans ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 ; blood ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; physiology ; Male

Autoantibodies ; blood ; immunology ; Child ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Radiography ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Thyroid Diseases ; blood ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Thyroid Function Tests ; methods ; Thyroid Gland ; diagnostic imaging ; immunology ; Thyroid Hormones ; blood

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of talc poudrage pleurodesis via semi-rigid medical thoracoscopy in the treatment of malignant pleural effusions,as well as the factors that may influence the outcomes.Methods:A series of 27 patients with malignant pleural effusion underwent medical thoracoscopic talc poudrage pleurodesis between July 2005 and September 2007 in Peking University First Hospital.Results:There were 16 male and 11 female patients in the series,the average age being 65.2 years.All the patients had documented malignant pleural effusions,including 16 cases of adenocarcinoma,6 of malignant mesothelioma,2 of squamous cell carcinoma,1 of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma,1of small cell carcinoma and 1 of undifferentiated lung cancer.Thirty days after the procedures,complete successful pleurodesis was achieved in 22 cases,and partial successful in 4 cases.Pleurodesis was not successful in one case.Overall successful rate was 96.3%(26/27).The average duration of thoracic tubing was 6.85 days.Chest pain,fever and an increase in peripheral WBC after the procedure occurred in 19(70.4%,19/27),21(77.8%,21/27),and 12(44.4%,12/27)cases respectively.No respiratory failure occurred.Conclusion:Medical thoracoscopic talc poudrage pleurodesis is a safe and effective method for the treatment of malignant pleural effusion.

Objective To observe the in vivo degradation of poly-DL-lactic acid ureteral stent in canine and the pathological change in canine ureter.Methods Poly-DL-lactic acid ureteral stent was inserted into 19 canine ureters,respectively.The stents were taken out every two weeks with their degradation observed with electronic microscopy and their molecular weight change detected by gel permeation chromatography.Pathological change in ureteral tissue specimens stained with hematoxylin and eosin was observed by light microscopy.Results The molecular weight of poly-DL-lactic acid ureteral stent was decreased to 8 033 seven weeks after degradation from 68 900 before degradation,with a degradation rate of 88.3%.Electronic microscopy showed that the number of pores in stent was gradually increased and their diameter became larger.The stent was degraded.The main pathological change observed in canine ureter tissue was non-specific inflammation.Conclusion Poly-DL-lactic acid ureteral stent is good in degradation property and tissue compatibility in vivo.

ObjectiveTo enhance the fund efficiency of dental research programs supported by National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC) and to reveal the achievements and progresses of the funds.MethodsThe data of programs in dental and craniofacial field supported by NSFC from 1999 to 2006 and completed between 2003 and 2009 were collected based on the final reports by the investigators.The data of personnel training,research publication,patent,awards,and academic communication at domestic and international levels were all collected and analysed. Results There were 307 grants in total,including 185 general programs,73 Young Scientists Funds,13 regional funds,3 Key Programs,1 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and 32 others.An average of 4 postgraduate students was trained by each program.In general,the outcomes of general programs were better than those of Young Scientists Fund,and the latter was better than regional fund.There was steady increase each year in the amount of papers published in SCI journals,and about half of the investigators published SCI papers.In addition,9 patents were registered and 13 prizes were won, and the investigators participated 610 domestic and international exchanges.Conclusions The continuously increase of NSFC support in dental field has led to substantial achievement,although patent application,the quality of papers and novel ideas need to be improved.

Objective To investigate the correlation between serum amyloid A (SAA) and disease activity (DAS28) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Forty-four patients with RA, 35 patients with systemic lupus erythe-matosus (SLE), 18 patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and 30 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled in this study. The levels of SAA were measured by ELISA. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was measured by the Westergren method. The value of serum C reactive protein (CRP) was examined by immunonephelometry assay. The correlation between SAA and DAS 28, ESR and CRP was assessed, respectively. Results The SAA levels were significantly higher in RA group than those of SLE, OA, and HC groups (P<0.05). The serum ESR and CRP levels were both higher in RA group than those of OA and HC groups (P>0.05), but there was no significant difference between RA group and SLE group. There was positive correlation between SAA and DAS28, ESR, and CRP levels (rs=0.790, P<0.001;rs=0.674, P<0.001;rs=0.679, P=0.004), respective-ly. Conclusion SAA may be a new serological marker to assess disease activity in RA.

Objective To study the effects of nuclear factor-?B(NF-?B)decoy oligodeoxynucleotide(ODN)on the preeclamptic umbilical serum induced expression of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA and tumor necrosis factor-?(TNF-?)in cultured human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMC).Methods Primary cultured HUASMC of normal pregnancy were divided into four groups: group A(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of normal pregnancy);group B(HUASMC were incubated with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group C(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B cis decoy ODN 48 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia);group D(HUASMC were transfected with NF-?B scramble ODN 24 h before incubation with umbilical serum of preeclampsia).NF-?B cis decoy ODN and NF-?B scramble ODN were transfected with cationic lipofectamine to the latter two groups,respectively.The proliferation of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and the apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.The expression levels of precollagen Ⅰ,Ⅲ mRNA were detected by RT-PCR,the expression levels of TNF-? were detected by western blot.Results(1)The proliferation of group B(0.19?0.02)and group D(0.18?0.03)was significantly increased as compared with those of group A(0.11?0.02)and group C(0.14?20.02)(P0.05).(5)The expression of TNF-? of group B(0.74?0.11),group C(0.36?0.09)and group D(0.79?0.12)were significantly higher than that of group A(0.15?0.03)(P0.05).Conclusions NF-?B cis decoy ODN could down-regulate the proliferation,as well as the expression levels of precollagen and TNF-? of HUASMC induced by umbilical serum of preeclampsia.NF-?B may play an important role in the pathogenesis of placental artery abnormalities in preeclampsia.

Nitric oxide (NO), which is involved in the regulation of the cardiovascular system, nervous system, immune system, reproductive system, digestive system and other physiological activities, is an important biological substance with activity. Under normal physiological conditions, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) can precisely regulate the nervous system NO production, release, diffusion and inactivation processes. But an excess of NO associates with the development of cerebral ischemia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's psychosis nervous system diseases, while inhibition of nNOS activity can regulate the content of NO in vivo, and produce a therapeutic effect on some of the nervous system diseases. This review mainly describes the structure and regulation of nNOS and recent developments of small molecule inhibitors of nNOS.
Alzheimer Disease ; physiopathology ; Brain Ischemia ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Parkinson Disease ; physiopathology

Objective:To reveal the action mechanism and efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) plus external application of Wei Ling Xian (Radix Clematidis) extract in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA), for providing theoretical evidence and novel plan for the treatment of KOA.Methods:Totally 284 inpatients were divided into an EA group and an observation group by the random number table, 142 cases in each group. The EA group was intervened by EA, ultrashort waves, and oral administration of Glucosamine Hydrochloride capsules; while the observation group was by external application of Wei Ling Xian (Radix Clematidis) extract at topical area in addition to the treatment given to the EA group. The intervention lasted 14 d in both groups. X-ray examination of knee joint was ordered before and after treatment, as well as the detection of positive expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) in cartilage of knee joint, hyaluronic acid (HA) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the inflammatory effusion; the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and visual analogue scale (VAS) were adopted to evaluate the clinical efficacy.Results:In the observation group, the X-ray examination result of knee joint was significantly improved, the positive expressions of MMP-1 and IL-1β content were significantly decreased, the level of HA was increased, WOMAC and VAS scores dropped, and the total effective rate was 91.5%, which were significantly different from those in the EA group (P<0.05).Conclusion:EA plus external application of Wei Ling Xian (Radix Clematidis) extract can produce a more significant efficacy in treating KOA compared to ordinary EA treatment.

Objective To investigate the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in the elderly undergoing coronary angiography and the correlated clinical risk factors.Methods 0.90% sodium chloride (1 ml · kg~-1 · h~-1 ) was administered 6 hours before and 12 hours after contrast media administration for 195 elderly patients,and the dose of sodium chloride was half when the patients were suffering from severe congestive heart failure.The levels of serum creatinine (Scr) and cystatin C were measured 3 days before and on the 2nd,5th day after the administration of contrast,respectively .Results(1) The incidence of CIN was 8.7% (17/195).The renal function of 11 cases recovered to baseline level 3 months after the use of contrast,2 cases had transformation to chronic renal failure but without undergoing maintenance hemodialysis,and 3 cases were dependent on maintenance hemodialysis,while 1 case developed multiple organ dysfunction until death.(2) There was no significant difference between pre-and post-contrast administration in the level of cystatin C (t=O.137,P= 0.891). But the concentration of Scr was reduced significantly on the 2nd day compared with the baseline (t=4.776,P = 0.000).Both the cystatin C and Scr recovered to the baseline on the 5th day.(3) There were no significant differences between the CIN and non-CIN group in gender,the dose of contrast,the baseline Scr,and the proportion of coronary heart disease.But there were significant differences in age,the baseline serum cystatin C,the proportions of diabetes mellitus,hypertension and congestive heart failure.(4) The clinical risk factors of CIN were the baseline Scr (OR = 1.039),the baseline serum cystatin C (OR=6.654),diabetes mellitus (OR=8.104) and congestive heart failure (OR=9.597) according to the analysis of logistic regression.ConclusionsWith the hydration and the use of low-osmolar nonionic contrast,it is safe to receive contrast examination for the elderly patients.The baseline serum levels of Scrand cystatin C,diabetes mellitus and congestive heart failure are the clinical risk factors of CIN.Compared with Scr,serum cystatin C is the more powerful predictor for the development of CIN.