Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of azathioprine (AZA) in the treatment of refractory ulcerative colitis (UC).Methods Retrospective analysis of the clinical improvement,endoscopic improvement and mucosal healing rate,inflammation marker improvement after AZA administration and its safety in 24 refractory UC patients were performed,who were recruited between January 2007 and December 2011 in West China Hospital,Sichuan University,China.Results Twenty-four patients were enrolled,with a median age of 36 years old and a median course of 4 years.Among them,14 cases were moderate UC and 10 cases were severe UC.The patients were treated with AZA in a dose of (1.23 ±0.34) mg· kg-1 · d-1 from 7 weeks to 42 months.Efficacy was judged by Mayo disease activity index.At 3 months,6 months and 1 year after treatment,the effective rates were 73.9％ ( 17/23),81.8％(18/22) and 14/16 respectively,and the remission rates were 17.4％ (4/23),54.5％ (12/22) and 12/16respectively.Both ESR and C reactive protein level after treatment for 6 months and 1 year were significantly lower than those before treatment [ (9.3 ±8.9) mrn/1h,(10.9 ±7.3) mm/1h vs (22.3 ± 10.7) mm/1h;2.5(1.0-22.3) mg/L,2.3(1.0-28.0) mg/L vs 18.4(3.6-137.0) mg/L; all P ＜0.05].Corticosteroid withdrawal rates at 3 months and 1 year after AZA treatment were 16/18 and 15/16,respectively.At 6 months and 1 year after AZA treatment,the endoscopic improvement rates were 85.7％ ( 18/21 ) and 13/15 respectively; the cndoscopic remission rates were 61.9％ ( 13/21 ) and 11/15 respectively; and the mucosal healing rates were 61.9％ ( 13/21 ) and 11/15 respectively.Adverse effects were occurred in 8 patients.Leukopenia was the most common adverse effect,followed by liver function injury,alopecia and epigastric discomfort.Conclusions AZA is effective in the treatment of refractory UC patients with a low dose of ( 1.23 ± 0.34) mg· kg - 1 · d - 1,especially in the steroid withdrawing,maintaining remission and mucosal healing without severe adverse effects.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the brain of rats after the experimental brain contusion. METHODS: A total of twenty-six Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group (n=2), untreated group (n=8) and ginsenoside Rg1 group (n=16). Brain injuries were induced in rats by a mechanical striking device. The brain tissues were extracted at different times after brain injury (6th hour, 12th hour, 2nd day, 6th day), then the expression of IGF-1 in brain tissue was examined by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: In comparison with the normal control group, the expression of IGF-1 in the brain tissues was increased in the untreated group after the brain contusion (P<0.05). The expression of IGF-1 in brain tissues in ginsenoside Rg1 group was significantly increased as compared with the untreated group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Ginsenoside Rg1 enhances the recovery of the contused brain through increasing the expression of IGF-1.

Objective To investigate the effects of small RNA interference targeting mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) expression on paraquat-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.Methods Human embryonic kidney cells HEK-293 were culturedin vitro. The mTOR small interfering RNA (mTOR-siRNA) expression plasmid transfection lentivirus was constructed, and non-specific sequence plasmid with no homology to mTOR gene was set as the control. Seventy-two healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into normal saline (NS) control group, paraquatmodel group, mTOR unrelated sequence group, and mTOR-siRNA group, with 18 rats in each group. Paraquat poisoning animal model was reproduced by intraperitoneally injecting 20% paraquat solution 15 mg/kg, while the NS control group was intraperitoneally injected the same volumes of NS. Rats in the mTOR unrelated sequence group and mTOR-siRNA group were injected 1×109 TU/mL lentivirus solution 50μL into the airway, respectively, while in the NS control group and paraquat model group were injected the same volumes of NS. At 7, 14 and 28 days after treatment, 6 rats in each group were sacrificed respectively for lung tissue, the pathological changes and fibrosis of lung tissues were observed under light microscope. The levels of hydroxyproline (HYP) in lung tissues were determined by alkaline hydrolysis. The mRNA and protein expressions of mTOR in lung tissues were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western Blot.Results Under light microscope, there was no obvious pathological changes in the lung tissues in the NS control group, while in the paraquat model group and mTOR unrelated sequence group, lung tissue in rats were damaged, there were a lot of inflammatory cell infiltration, a large number of matrix collagen and fibrous tissues hyperplasia, and gradually increased with time, and it was consistent with paraquat-induced lung tissue fibrosis process. The pathological and fibrotic changes in lung tissue of mTOR-siRNA group were obviously reduced after silencing mTOR gene. The levels of HYP and the expression levels of mTOR mRNA and mTOR protein of lung tissues in the paraquat model group and mTOR unrelated sequence group were continuously increased in time-dependent manner, and they were significantly higher than those in the NS control group at all of the time points, but no significant difference was found between mTOR unrelated sequence group and paraquat model group. In mTOR-siRNA group, silencing mTOR gene could inhibit paraquat poisoning induced HYP increase in lung tissue, and the expressions increase in mTOR mRNAand mTOR protein, the values were close to the levels of NS control group, and the significant difference was found as compared with paraquat model group at 7 days or 14 days, and the change was maintained to 28 days [7 days: HYP (μg/mg) was 1.13±0.06 vs. 1.25±0.07; 14 days: HYP (μg/mg) was 1.19±0.09 vs. 1.29±0.12, mTOR mRNA (2-ΔΔCt) was 0.99±0.11 vs. 1.94±0.12, mTOR protein (gray value) was 0.39±0.08 vs. 0.75±0.09; 28 days: HYP (μg/mg) was 1.28±0.06 vs. 1.40±0.05, mTOR mRNA (2-ΔΔCt) was 1.15±0.13 vs. 2.85±0.15, mTOR protein (gray value) was 0.45±0.10 vs. 0.86±0.12, allP < 0.05].Conclusion Lentivirus-mediated mTOR-siRNA could effectively inhibit the expressions of mTOR in lung tissues of paraquat-poisoned rats, and reduce the damage and fibrosis of lung tissues caused by paraquat.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of HLA identical and haploidentical related allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell trans?plantation in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia(AML)and myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS). Methods A total of 21 patients with AML and 8 patients with MDS who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in our hospital from April 2011 to April 2016 were ana?lyzed retrospectively,including 16 cases of HLA?identical allogeneic HSCT,10 cases of haploidentical allogeneic HSCT,and 3 cases of syngeneic HSCT. BUCY2 or TBI plus CY ± chemotherapeutic agents was the regular conditioning regimen. No graft versus host disease(GVHD)prophylax?is was required for syngeneic HSCT,but cyclosporine in combination with methotraxate was essential for allogeneic HSCT,cyclosporine,methotrax?ate,antithymocyte globulin,mycophenolate mofetil and glucosteroids for haploidentical HSCT. Results All patients achieved fully donor?originat?ed hematopoiesis. Two patients died of severe acute GVHD within 100 days post HSCT. Acute GVHD with gradeⅡ?Ⅳoccurred in 23.1%(6/26) patients,chronic GVHD in 50%patients,therapy and relapse?relevant mortality was 4/29(13.8%)and 6/29(20.7%)cases within a median follow?up of 23(1?60)months,respectively. Two?year overall survival and leukemia free survival rates are 68.09%( 95%CI:45.77%?82.78%)and 60.22%(95%CI:38.19%?76.55%),respectively. High risk AML is still the main challenge to long?term leukemia free survival. Conclusion HLA identical and haploidentical allogeneic HSCT for AML and MDS is safe ,effective and feasible. Minimal residual disease monitoring and pre?ventative as well as preemptive intervention is necessary for improving prognosis of high risk AML.

Recently, the droplet microfluidic system attracts interests due to its high throughput and low cost to detect and screen. The picoliter micro-droplets from droplet microfluidics are uniform with respect to the size and shape, and could be used as monodispensed micro-reactors for encapsulation and detection of single cell or its metabolites. Therefore, it is indispensable to characterize micro-droplet and its application from droplet microfluidic system. We first constructed the custom-designed droplet microfluidic system for generating micro-droplets, and then used the micro-droplets to encapsulate important amino acids such as glutamic acid, phenylalanine, tryptophan or tyrosine to test the droplets' properties, including the stability, diffusivity and bio-compatibility for investigating its application for amino acid detection and sorting. The custom-designed droplet microfluidic system could generate the uniformed micro-droplets with a controllable size between 20 to 50 microm. The micro-droplets could be stable for more than 20 h without cross-contamination or fusion each other. The throughput of detection and sorting of the system is about 600 micro-droplets per minute. This study provides a high-throughput platform for the analysis and screening of amino acid-producing microorganisms.
Amino Acids ; isolation & purification ; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques ; Microfluidics ; instrumentation

OBJECTIVETo review the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of primary intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (PINHL) and analyze the differences between T-cell and B-cell lymphomas.

METHODSThe characteristics of PINHL patients treated in our hospital between January 2003 and December 2010 were reviewed for their clinical manifestations, diagnosis, endoscopic findings, treatments and outcomes.

RESULTSEighty-five cases of PINHL meeting the Dawson's criteria were identified. The median age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 52 years and the male: female ratio was 3.05:1; 58 cases (68.2%) had B-lineage and 27 cases (31.8%) had T-cell lineage lymphomas. Compared to those with B-cell lymphoma, patients with T-cell lymphomas showed a younger age of disease onset (32 vs 56 years, P<0.01) and presented with a greater incidence of such symptoms as fever, hematochezia, diarrhea and night sweats (P<0.05); T-cell lymphoma showed more multifocal and ulcerative/ulcero-infiltrative lesions under endoscope with a longer diagnosis time (4 vs 2 months, P<0.01) and a greater likeliness of misdiagnosis (16/27 vs 12/58, P<0.01) and poor prognosis. Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma was the most common type of T-cell lymphomas.

CONCLUSIONIn our cases, T-cell lymphoma appeared to be more common than B-cell lymphoma with a younger onset age, more difficult diagnosis, a greater likeliness of misdiagnosis, poorer prognosis and more extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Intestinal Neoplasms ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; pathology ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; pathology ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Objective: To compare the efifcacy of direct and pre-dilated atherectomy (RA) for treating the patients with calciifed coronary lesions. Methods: A total of 137 coronary artery disease (CAD) patients received RA treatment in our hospital from 2010-04 to 2014-09 were retrospectively studied. The ischemic related lesions were all deifned as calciifed coronary lesions. The patients were divided into 2 groups: Direct RA group,n=81 and Pre-dilated RA group, the patients received balloon dilatation followed by RA,n=56. The procedural features, complications, in-hospital and 1 year occurrence rates of major cardiaccerebral vascular events (MACCE) were compared between 2 groups. Results: Compared with Pre-dilated RA group, Direct RA group had the less pre-stent balloon application,P=0.000 and the higher maximum post-dilatationpressure,P=0.004; lower rate of in-operative complication (14.8% vs 32.1%),P=0.016; higher rate of acute lumen gain (128.52±75.77) % vs (77.12±27.01) %,P=0.004; lower MACCE occurrencerate(7.3% vs 23.6%) at 1 year period,P=0.006.Cox regression analysis presented that the following indexes were related to MACCE occurrence within 1 year of RA treatment: balloon dilatation before RA (HR=8.166, 95% CI 1.872-35.614,P=0.005), left main disease (HR=13.649, 95% CI 2.983-62.440,P=0.001), minimum post-operative lumen area (HR=0.583, 95% CI 0.378-0.879,P=0.010), post-dilatation (HR=0.066, 95% CI 0.013-0.332,P=0.001) and EF>40% (HR=0.019, 95% CI 0.002-0.158, P=0.000). Conclusion: Direct RA had the lower MACCE occurrence rate at 1 year period, this might be related to less operative complication and the optimal lumen gain.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for patients with liver cirrhosis combined with biliopancreatic diseases.Methods:Data of 99 patients with liver cirrhosis combined with biliopancreatic diseases who received ERCP at Xijing Digestive Hospital from November 2008 to December 2017 for the first time were retrospectively studied. Success rate of ERCP and incidence of complications were analyzed.Results:The 99 cases of liver cirrhosis were mainly caused by hepatitis B virus infection (40.4%, 40/99) and unknown reasons (30.3%, 30/99), and the mean model for end-stage liver disease score was 15.4±5.3. The common bile duct stones and bile duct stricture were the most common biliopancreatic diseases, accounting for 49.5% (49/99) and 33.3% (33/99), respectively. The success rate of ERCP was 100.0%(99/99). The total postoperative complication incidence was 14.1% (14/99), among which liver cirrhosis-related complications was 3.0% (3/99); ERCP-related complications was 11.1% (11/99), including 9.1% (9/99) biliary tract infection, and 2.0% (2/99) delayed bleeding. No post-ERCP pancreatitis, perforation or death occurred.Conclusion:ERCP is safe and effective for liver cirrhosis combined with biliopancreatic diseases.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical characteristics and diagnosis of 2 cases with chylothorax due to primary lymphatic dysplasia and to elevate pediatrician's recognition level for this disease.

METHODClinical manifestations of the children were retrospectively analyzed. Primary lymphatic dysplasia was diagnosed by lymphoscintigraphy.

RESULTThe first patient was a male aged 2-year-7-month who presented with a history of tachypnea for 43 days, fever and sore throat for 5 days at the early stage of the illness. He had a history of external injury before his illness. Physical examination showed his left chest bulging and left side diminished breath sound. His pleural effusion showed dark red (It was divided into two layers after standing, the upper layer turned into milky white, and the lower turned into hemorrhagic liquid) . White blood cell (WBC) count was 9 000×10(6)/L, mononuclear cell was 0.9, polykaryocytes was 0.1, triglyceride was 12.37 mmol/L in the pleural effusion. Contrast-enhanced lung CT (revascularization) showed pericardial effusion and a massive left sided pleural effusion. The second patient was a male aged 9 years and 6 months, who presented with a history of cough for 24 days, intermittent fever, vomiting, abdominal pain for 19 days, and edema of lower limbs for 4 days. Physical examination showed edema in both eyelids, lower extremities and scrotum. The level of albumin was 14 g/L and the titer of Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM was 1: 320 in the serum. His hydrothorax pleural effusion showed milk white. White blood cell (WBC) count was 74×10(6)/L, mononuclear cell was 0.78, polykaryocytes was 0.22, triglyceride was 1.01 mmol/L in the pleural effusion. Chyle test showed positive in his pleural effusion and seroperitoneum. High-resolution CT of the lung revealed bilateral interstitial and parenchymal infiltration and both sided pleural effusion. Abdominal ultrasound showed giant hypertrophy of the gastric mucosa and massive ascites. Gastroscopy showed giant hypertrophy of the gastric mucosa. Lymphoscintigraphy revealed primary lymphatic dysplasia in both children.

CONCLUSIONPrimary lymphatic dysplasia might occur in children and result in dropsy of serous cavity (chylothorax, chylopericardium, chylous ascites). Dropsy of serous cavity showed bloody or milk white. WBC count might elevate with lymphocyte increasing mostly, triglyceride was often higher than 1.0 mmol/L in dropsy of serous cavity. Primary lymphatic dysplasia can be diagnosed by lymphoscintigraphy.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chylothorax ; diagnosis ; etiology ; pathology ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymphatic Abnormalities ; complications ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Lymphoscintigraphy ; Male ; Pericardial Effusion ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Pleural Effusion ; diagnosis ; etiology ; pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective: To investigate the imaging features and etiology of lymphatic trunk in primary facial lymphedema. Methods: 26 patients with primary facial lymphedema patients (F/M, 13/13, ages 21.8 ± 13.9 years old) were recruited from January 2015 to October 2017 in this study, with 32 sides facial lymphedema reported, including 6 right facial lymphedema, 14 left facial lymphedema, and 6 bilateral facial lymphedema. And all the patient data and imaging were retrospective analysis to summarize the MR imaging features of thoracic duct and right lymphatic duct, meanwhile compared with surgical results. Results: For all 26 patients, MR imaging result in thoracic duct manifests 32 lymphatic duct, including 20 thoracic duct and 12 right lymphatic duct. The imaging features demonstrate two typical findings: dilated(13 cases) and slim(7 cases) demonstrations. While for right lymphatic duct, the MR result included three types: dilated(6 cases), slim(4 cases) and no sign of manifestations(2 cases). In surgery, the thoracic duct in cervical segment demonstrated abnormal structures, including capsulated by fibrous tissues in peripheral area(30 sides), surrounded by internal jugular vein sheath(11 sides), external pressed by venae cervicalis transversa(5 sides) and lymphatic trunk dysplasia(2 sides). Conclusions MR thoracic duct and right lymphatic duct imaging can be used as an effective diagnostic imaging method for primary facial lymphedema, and the structural anomaly of the upper cervical catheter and the right lymphatic catheter may be one of the pathogenic factors of primary facial lymphedema.