Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic value of two-dimensional multiple-echo recalled gradient echo (2D MERGE) with flexural position in the hirayama disease. Materials and Methods Conventional MRI and axial MERGE images (7 cases) were analyzed and the anteroposterior diameter was measured at C6 vertebral body, and the structure of spinal, extramedullary and subdural space and extradural space were compared. Results The anteroposterior diameter was (5.7±0.6) cm and (4.7±0.5) cm in the neutral position and flexural position (t=-2.95, P<0.05). The“butterfly”shape of spinal grey matter could not be detected in the 4 cases on MERGE with flexural position, which could not demonstrated on the conventional MR images. 2D MERGE was not sensitive for the CSF flow artefacts and the contrast between spinal and surrounding structures was improved. However, the vascular images could not displayed on 2D MERGE images. Conclusion 2D MERGE sequence is better than T1WI and T2WI on sagittal view and T2WI on axial view in the pathological changes of hirayama disease except flow-empty vein sign, thus it has an important role in diagnosing hirayama disease.

Objective To identify the diffusion alterations of deep gray matter(GM) and white matter (WM) among Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy people by atlas?based analysis (ABA), and to investigate the respective relationship with cognitive function. Methods Twenty?one AD patients (AD group), 8 MCI patients (MCI group) and 15 normal controls (control group) were performed by conventional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The raw data of DTI was processed by using DTI studio software to generate the fractional anisotropy (FA) images. Then ABA was used to quantify the FA value in 58 deep GM and WM structures. The differences of FA value among three groups were compared by using one way ANOVA, with a post?hoc analysis. In AD and MCI groups, the partial correlation was further investigated between mini?mental state examination (MMSE) score and FA value in the brain regions that have significant differences between AD and MCI group or between MCI and control group. Results Compared with control group, AD patients showed wide?spread FA decrease in most deep GM and WM regions (corrected P<0.05). The FA values of the hypothalamus, the fornix, the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and the cingulum in AD group were significantly lower than those in MCI group (corrected P<0.05). The FA value of the right splenium of corpus callosum (SCC) in MCI group was significantly lower than that in control group (MCI:0.550±0.018 vs. Control:0.585±0.026, P<0.05). In AD and MCI group, the FA values of the left hypothalamus, the right hypothalamus, the left cingulum, the right cingulum, and the left SLF were positively correlated with MMSE scores(r=0.502, 0.515, 0.535, 0.527, 0.512; P<0.05). No significant correlation was found between the FA value of the right SCC, the right SLF, the right fornix/stria terminalis, the right fornix and MMSE scores(P>0.05). Conclusion Based on ABA, this study found the diffusion changes not only in the WM but also the deep GM in AD patients, but only WM diffusion disruptions in MCI group. The decreased FA value in the right SCC appeared early, but had no correlation with the cognitive impairment. The FA value in the hypothalamus, the fornix, the SLF and the cingulum decreased with the disease progression, and correlated positively with the cognition decline.

In order to explore the effects of diet and nutritional factors on breast cancer incidence, a case-control study was conducted in Tianjin. The study consisted of 244 cases diagnosed between September 1986 and September 1987 and equal number of matched controls from patients other than breast cancer in general hospital.The socio-demographic data, histories of menstruation and reproduction etc were collected by interview. The interview on diet was conducted by recalling the frequencies and amounts of various foods eaten one year prior to the diagnosis' of their current diseases. Data were analysed by using a nutrient-estimate program and conditional logistic regression model, chi square test and u-test.After adjusting for confounding factors, the results showed that high fat, high calorie, high monounsaturated fatty acid and low vitamin C intakes were risk factors for female breast cancer. High fat percentage of energy and low vegetable intake were associated with increased risk for breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the surgery method for early spontaneous posterior interosseous nerve entrapment,to observe the postoperative efficacy in treatment,to evaluate the surgical outcomes,and to provide a foundation for clinical choice of reasonable operation scheme.Methods 21 cases of early spontaneous posterior interosseous nerve entrapment received operation. 1 3 cases (1 8 arms) were treated by neurolysis, and 8 cases (8 arms )were treated by nerve grafts with small vessels wrapping operation;all the patients were followed up for 10 to 20 months;the finger extensor muscle strength and metacarpophalangeal joint activity were evaluated. Results The lesion extensor muscles were part of the denervation changes.Neurolysis muscle strength:14 arms were excellent(82.35%),2 arms were good,1 arm was fair,1 case was lost;extensor function:15 arms were excellent(88.24%),1 arm was good,1 arm was fair,1 case was lost.Nerve graft muscle strength:6 arms were excellent(75.00%),1 arm was good,1 arm was fair;extensor function:7 arms were excellent(87.50%),0 arm was good,1 arm was fair.Conclusion Neurolysis can have a good efficacy in treatment of early spontaneous posterior interosseous nerve entrapment without obvious degeneration.When the severe degeneration of entrapment nerve happens,a nerve graft surgical treatment is needed.

An adult patient with hypophosphatasia caused by compound heterozygous mutations in alkaline phosphatase,liver /bone /kidney(ALPL)gene was investigated through comprehensively reviewing the medical history and clinical records of the proband and her family members in order to better understand the disease.The proband and her older sister had mild decreased serum alkaline phosphatase level accompanied with frequently nontraumatic fractures at limbs and all the teeth fell off at the age of 20 and 7, respectively.Both of them carried a missense mutation c.407G>A(p.Arg136His)in exon 5 and a deletion mutation c.1318_1320delAAC(p.Asn440del)in exon 12 simultaneously.Other four family members were p.Arg136His mutation carriers and two members were p.Asn440del mutation carriers.We found that p.Asn440del mutation was associated with the oral disorders.In this family, compound heterozygous manifested more serious symptoms, while heterozygous showed relatively mild symptoms.In addition, it is necessary to differentiate it from primary osteoporosis and other diseases of disturbed bone mineralization.

Objective To investigate the role of immune response induced by different T-helper 1 and T-helper 2 (Th1 and Th2) ratio in peripheral blood and decidua from patients with hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy in the pathogenesis of the disease. Methods Peripheral blood and decidua from 12 non-pregnant women (no deciduas)(normal women group), 12 healthy pregnant women(healthy pregnant women group), 10 patients with gestational hypertension(gestational hypertension group), 25 patients with pre-eclampsia (PE)(including 10 patients with mild pre-eclampsia and 15 patients with severe pre-eclampsia)(pre-eclampsia group). Th1/Th2 ratio in peripheral blood and decidua was determined by flow-cytometrically. Results The ratio of Th1/Th2 in peripheral blood with normal women group is 10.5?1.5, the ratios of Th1/Th2 in peripheral blood and deciduas with healthy pregnant women group are 9.5 ?2.9 and 7.6?4.6 respectively, those with gestational hypertension group are 12.1?3.4 and 13.1?5.6 respectively, those with pre-eclampsia group are 16.8?3.8 and 26.7 ?9.4 respectively. The ratios of Th1/Th2 in peripheral blood and deciduas with pre-eclampsia group are much higher than those with other groups!, when they are compared with each other, there are statistical difference(P

Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GIST).Methods 26 patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors in Ji'an Central People's Hospital from 1998 to 2006 Were retrospectively analyzed.Results All patients received operation.Of them,low malignant GIST wag in 17 eases,high malignant GIST in 9.All patients were follwod-up from 6 to 84 months.4 ofthem had local recurrence and metastasis and 5 eases died.Condusion The diagnosis of GIST Was dimcult because of the lack of clinical features.Final diagnosis should be based on IHC pathology.The main choice of treatment Was operation.Glivee could prolong the life and improve the prognosis of the patients in recurrent and metastatic cases.

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effects of phycocyanin injection by internal carotid artery in acute cerebral ischemic reperfusion in rats.Methods The model of middle cerebral artery occlusion reperfusion(MCAO/R) was established using the intraluminal filament occlusion with 84 healthy adult male Wistar rats,and treated by phycocyanin injection through internal carotid artery.The nervous function scores,brain water content,cerebral infarction volume and cell apoptosis in brain tissues and the phycocyanin effects on above indexes were measured respectively.Results The rats showed some extent of neurobehavioral function disorders after ischemic reperfusion.In phycocyanin group rats,the nervous function scores,brain water content,cerebral infarction volume and the number of apoptotic cells in cortex,striatum and hippocampus reduced significantly compared to the model group.Conclusion phycocyanin injection through internal carotid artery showed obvious neuroproctective effects in acute cerebral infarction in rats.

Objective To investigate the time course of cerebral infarction with diffusion kurtosis imaging-related parameters.Methods According to the time interval from symptom onset to MRI examination, 114 cases of cerebral infarction were divided into five groups:8 cases of hyperacute phase(less than 6 hours), 14 cases of acute(>6-24 h), 60 cases of early subacute(>24 h-7 d), 20 cases of late subacute(>7-14 d), and 12 cases of chronic phase ( >14 d-2 months).They underwent routine diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) scanning, and apparent diffusion coefficient ( ADC) and DKI-derived parameters were obtained from them.The derived diffusion parameters were compared among different phases in the patients , and the percent of changes in the infarcted regions were calculated.Paired t-test was used to compare the difference of each parameter between the infarcted region and contralateral normal region , and their correlation with time interval was tested using Pearson correlation analysis.Results Except for chronic phase , mean kurtosis ( MK) , axial kurtosis ( K∥) , radial kurtosis (K⊥)map showed uneven high signal in the infarcted regions , while mean diffusion(MD), axial diffusion(D∥), radial diffusion(D⊥) showed uniform low signal.MK values in the infarcted regions of hyperacute, acute, early subacute and late subacute phase (1.331 ±0.357,1.578 ±0.453,1.519 ±0.455, 1.403 ±0.275 ) increased significantly , compared with the contralateral normal mirror regions ( 0.850 ± 0.236,0.827 ±0.194,0.865 ±0.144,0.939 ±0.212) (t values were 5.242,6.907,12.416,5.629, respectively.P values were all less than 0.01 ).MK, K∥, K⊥ achieved a peak in the acute and early subacute phase , and showed more amplitude than the decrease of MD , D∥, D⊥.Then they gradually reduced, and tended to normalize.MK, MD, ADC had a significant correlation with the time onset of cerebral infarction ( r was 0.354, 0.747, 0.723, respectively, P values were all less than 0.05 ).Conclusion Diffusion kurtosis imaging can provide more diffusion information than conventional DWI , which can better reflect the microstructure changes in tissue.

Objective: To establish a microwave digestion-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry assay for simultaneous determination of multiple elements in placenta. Methods: Fresh placental tissues were dried at 60 ℃ for 15 h and ground into power. Then, 0.3 g homogenized samples were digested in a microwave digestion system. The interference from mass spectrometry was removed using the kinetic energy discrimination model in the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and the baseline interference was removed by online internal standards. The contents of 17 elements were determined in placental specimens using the established microwave digestion -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry assay, including V, Ni, Co, Fe, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn, As, Sn, Sb, Ba, Se, Cd, Pb, Hg and Tl. Results: Good linearity was shown for V, Ni, Co, Cr, As, Se, Cd, Pb and Tl at 1 to 50 µg/L, Fe at 100 to 5 000 µg/L, Zn, Cu, Mn and Ba at 10 to 500 µg/L, Sn and Sb at 0.1 to 5 µg/L, and Hg at 0.2 to 2 µg/L, with all correlation coefficients of 0.999 8 and higher. The detection limits of these 17 elements ranged from 0.5 to 100 μg/kg, with relative standard deviations of 2.1% to 6.5%, and recovery rates of 83.3% to 110.0%. The determination results of 17 elements were all within the normal reference range defined in the certified reference materials of chicken (GBW10018). Conclusions The microwave digestion-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry established based on optimized pretreatments and mass spectrometry detection conditions, is feasible for simultaneous determination of multiple elements in placenta.