BACKGROUND:Typical anterior cervical decompression and fusion method has many disadvantages.Cervical fusion cage has obtained satisfactory outcomes,but many problems should be solved.OBJECTIVE:To design a type of PDLLA Cage and to investigate the immediate stability of different fusion methods in a goat cervical spine model following C_(3-4) fusion.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING:Randomized controlled study was performed at the Laboratory of Biomechanics,Sichuan University from June 2005 to January 2006.MATERIALS:C_(3-4) segment was obtained from a total of 15 adult female 2-year goat corpses.Additional C_(3-4) from 27 adult female 2-year goats was used in biomechanics test.Samples were supplied by the Animal Experimental Center,West China Clinical Medical College,Sichuan University to use in measurement of anatomy parameter and biomechanica test.METHODS:C_(3-4) segment obtained from goat corpse was subjected to X-ray test in an anterior lateral position.In accordance with C_(3-4) mean vertebral height,the angle of C_3 vertebral inferior border and anterior border,the anterior and posterior distance of C_3 vertebral inferior border,as well as the distance of anterior and posterior borders of the middle vertebral body,a type of PDLLA Cage was designed and made,and the biomechanical behavior analysis about the materials was performed.The 27 goat samples were not destroyed following biomechanics test (normal control group),and were assigned to 3 groups,PDLLA Cage group (n=9),titanium alloy Cage group (n=9) and autologous iliac bone group (n=9).Anterior longitudinal ligament was incised at FSU intervertebral space.Following excising the nucleus pulposus,adherent muscle was removed and the whole ligament was remained,as well as the bony terminal plate and cartilage subchondral bone were reserved.PDLLA Cage and titanium alloy Cage were respectively implanted in the cavity of the Cage main body in the PDLLA Cage group and titanium alloy Cage group.The Cage was fixed in the vertebral body using two fixing plates of anterior alar plate with 3.5-mm screw.Autologous cortical iliac bone from three surfaces was implanted in the autologous iliac bone group.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Biomechanics was tested in flexion,extension,axial rotation,and lateral bending using 1,2,3,4 N·m moment of force method.The mean stiffness values and the range of motion were calculated in each group. RESULTS:In every loading mode,the displacement values were statistically significant difference between cage groups (PDLLA Cage group and titanium Cage group) compared with the normal control group (P<0.05);and the displacement of cage groups were lower than that of the autologous tricortical iliac crest bone graft group except for 4 N·m bending loading mode (P<0.05).Posterior extension was significant better in the PDLLA Cage group and titanium alloy Cage group compared with the autologous iliac bone group.Compared with the normal control group,the displacement of posterior extension and lateral bending was lower in the autologous iliac bone group (P<0.05).The stiffness of PDLLA Cage and the titanium Cage group in the flexion loading had no significant difference (P>0.05).In the others loading condition,the titanium Cage group was statistically greatest in all directions (P<0.05).The stiffness of PDLLA Cage was comparable with that of the titanium Cage and was statistically higher than that of the autologous tricortical iliac crest bone graft and intact (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:This type of PDLLA Cage can provide enough primary stability for cervical intervertebral fusion.

Objective To design a type of poly (D, L) Lactide (PDLLA) cage, compare the characteristics of inter body fusion using PDLLA cage with those of titanium cage and autologous tricortical iliac crest graft in a goat cervical spine model in vi?vo. Methods Twenty?four goats underwent C3-4 discectomy and fusion were assigned to 3 groups, PDLLA cage group (n=8), titani?um alloy cage group (n=8) and autologous iliac bone group (n=8). Radiography was performed pre?and post?operatively and 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after operation. At the same time points, disc space height (DSH), intervertebral angle (IVA), and lordosis angle (LA) were measured. After 12 weeks, the goats were killed and fusion sites were harvested. Biomechanical testing was performed in flexion, extension, axial rotation, and lateral bending to determine the stiffness and range of motion. All cervical fusion speci?mens underwent histomorphological observation. Results The IVA of PDLLA cage 4 weeks after operation and DSH 8 and 12 weeks after operation was statistically greater than that of autologous iliac bone graft (P<0.05). The LA values were shown no signif?icant difference among PDLLA cage, Titanium cage and autologous iliac bone graft groups. The stiffness of two types of cages in ax?ial rotation and lateral bending, the ROM in every movement was statistically greater than that of autologous iliac bone graft group (P<0.05). PDLLA cage and Titanium cage had no significant difference (P>0.05). Radiographic and histomorphological observa?tion showed better fusion results in cage groups than in autologous bone group. Conclusion This type of PDLLA cage has excel?lent biocompatibility and can provide an appropriate biological environment for bone ingrowth and osteogenesis at bone?implant in?terface. Furthermore, PDLLA cage can maintain DSH and increase the stability of fusion segments to create a good biomechanical environment for the last bone fusion.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) serves several important functions, mainly post-translational modification, folding and assembly of newly synthesized secretary proteins, synthesizing lipids and cellular calcium storage. Various factors can disrupt ER homeostasis and disturb its functions, which leads to the accumulation of unfolded and misfolded proteins and to potential cellular dysfunction and pathological consequences, collectively termed ER stress. Recent progress suggests that ER stress plays a key role in the immune response, diabetes, tumor growth, and some neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, ER stress is involved in several processes of cardiovascular diseases, such as ischemia/reperfusion injury, cardiomyopathy, cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and atherosclerosis. Further research on the relation of ER stress to cardiovascular diseases will greatly enhance the understanding of these pathological processes and provide novel avenues to potential therapies.

Objective To study the clinical and neuroimaging features of subtypes of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and their correlations. Methods One hundred and forty-three MSA cases fulfilled Gilman diagnostic criteria (1999) were recruited and their clinical subtypes and stages were classified. Using the staging methods of the pontine cross sign and putaminal slit proposed by Horimoto, 108 patients showed abnormalities in MRI and were further evaluated. The relationship between the subtypes of MSA, disease duration, and MRI abnormalities has been analyzed. Results Of 143 MSA patients, the male-to-female ratio is 1.3:1 ; 93 cases are diagnosed with MSA-C, 39 with MSA-P, and 11 with MSA-P + C; 90 cases with probable diagnosis, and 53 with possible diagnosis. Of the 76 MSA-C cases with MRI abnormalities, 36 (47%) show the pontine cross sign and 10 (13%) show the putaminal slit; of the 24 MSA-P cases with MRI abnormalities, 6 (25%) show the pontine cross sign and 6 (25%) show theputaminal slit. In addition, MSA-C cases with shorter disease duration demonstrate earlier stages of the pontine cross sign. Conclusions In this study, the number of MSA-C cases is more than MSA-P, which might be related to the ethnic background. In neuroimaging, both the pontine cross sign and the putaminal slit are the marked features of MSA. To some degree, the subtypes of MSA are related with the features of imaging, that is, MSA-C patients present the pontine cross sign more often than MSA-P, and the putaminal slit is a comparatively common feature among MSA-P cases.

Objective:To investigate the application value of real-time ultrasound elastography in the treatment of fibroids radiofrequency ablation (RFA).Methods:Transvaginal ultrasonography,Real-time ultrasound elastography (RTE) and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) were performed on 34 patients with a total of 38 uterine fibroids who had the treatment of RFA before,1 hour and 3 months after the treatment of RFA.Detected the diameters of the lesions with the three methods of CEUS,RTE and 2D.Analysed the elastic image features and divided into groups,Measured the elastic strain ratio and compared the E/E0 in and between the group.The difference of lesion diameter between 2D,RTE and CEUS was compared.When the image of lesions showed blue and green was taken as the cirterion of incomplete ablation after RFA,conpared with CEUS,analysed the consistency of RTE and CEUS in evaluating the degree of ablation.Results:The lesions were divided into 3 groups according to the preoperative elastic image,with 8 (21.1％) in the blue group,20 (52.6％) in blue-based and 10 (26.3％) in green-based group.The difference was obvious in E/E0 between the 3 groups before RFA.There was no significant difference in E/E0 between 1 hour and 3 months after RFA (P ＞ 0.05).In each group the E/E0 of lesions were significantly increased at 1 hour and 3 months after the treatment of FRA,and the hardness of 3 months after RFA was harder than that of 1 hour after RFA(P＜0.05).The diameter measured by RTE was larger than that by 2D and CEUS before RFA(P＞0.05).The diameter measured by 2D was larger than that by RTE and CEUS at 1 hour after RFA (P＜0.05).No statistically significant difference was found in the lesion diameters among the three methods of2D,RTE and CEUS at 3 months after the treatment ofRFA (P＞0.05).CEUS and RTE had the basic consistent in the evaluation of lesions ablation degree at 1 hour (kappa=0.46) and 3 months (kappa=0.54) after the treatment of RFA.Conclusions:After RFA,the myoma gradually hardens,and RTE can reflect the change of the hardness,RTE can clearly show the boundary of uterine ftbroids especially after the treatment of RFA,can be used in the prediction of lesions ablation degree,so there was a certain application value of RTE used in RFA.

Objective To investigate the relationship between in vivo anti-tumor efficacy of Shenqi injection and its effect on immunologic function in H22 tumor-bearing model mice,and explore the cellular immunologic mechanism of Shenqi injection in inhibiting tumor growth.Methods Three different doses of Shenqi injection were given to H22 tumor-bearing model mice in treatment groups.The tumor growth inhibitory rate(IR) and the index of phagocytosis of peritoneal macrophage were calculated.MTT assay was used to observe the effect of Shenqi injection on spleen lymphocytes stimulated by ConA in vitro separated from H22 tumor-bearing mice.Murine serum IL-2 and IFN-? were detected by means of ELISA assay.Results IR was significantly reduced in two treatment groups compared with that of the model mice(60.72%,48.65%,P

Objective To know about the influences of KTH integrated intervention on the blood pressure and quality of life of elderly patients with essential hypertension so as to explore the effective model of health education suitable for them. Methods 120 elderly hypertensive patients recruited from the community in Hengyang city were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group, each group had 60 patients. The experimental group accepted KTH integrated intervention weekly, and control group was accepted routine hypertension education monthly. The blood pressure was taken before, during and after intervention. Meantime the quality of life was surveyed with WHOQOL- 100 questionnaires before and after the intervention. Results The systolic pressure and diastolic pressure in the experimental group were more lower than those before intervention and those of the control group after intervention. The hypertension of the experimental group was more stable as the time passed. There were distinguished differences between two groups in the quality of life, physical, psychological, social relationships, environmental and spirituality domain. However, there was no distinguished differences between two groups in the domain of independence. Conclusions KTH integrated intervention can make elderly hypertensive patients to keep blood pressure stable and improve their quality of life.

Objective To observe the effect of high-dose vitamin C on MMP2 expression and invasive ability in PANC-1. Methods Transwell invasion assay was used to compare the invasive ability of PANC-1 cells in different concentrations of vitamin C treated groups. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect and compare the levels of MMP2 mRNA and protein expression in each group. Results Compared with the 0mM vitamin C treated group, the mRNA expression of MMP2 was significantly decreased in 1.0,5.0,10. 0mM group(0. 510 ±0. 004 vs 0. 792 ±0. 006, 0. 391 ±0. 007 vs 0. 792 ±0. 006, 0. 282 ±0. 008vs 0. 792 ± 0. 006, P ＜ 0. 05 ). Compared with the 0mM vitamin C treated group, the protein expression of MMP2 was significantly decreased in 1.0,5.0,10. 0mM group(0. 519 ±0. 004 vs 0. 761 ±0. 014,0. 310 ±0. 007 vs 0. 761 ±0. 014,0. 297 ±0. 008 vs 0. 761 ±0. 014, P ＜0. 05). Compared with the 0mM vitamin C treated group, the invaded cell number was significantly decreased in 1.0,5.0,10. 0mM groups ( 452 ± 22 vs653 ± 28,340 ± 32 vs 653 ± 28,409 ± 33 vs 653 ± 28, P ＜ 0. 05 ). Conclusion High-dose vitamin C can decrease the expression of MMP2 in PANC-1 cells, and weaken its invasive ability.

Objective To study the correlation between clinical rating scale and the duration of multiple system atrophy.Methods One hundred and twenty-two MSA cases fulfilling Gilman diagnostic criteria were recruited.Unified Multiple System Atrophy Rating Scale(UMSARS)was applied to assess the degree of the patients' disability.For analyzing the correlation between the UMSARS scores and the duration of the disease,the Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated.Results Among 122 MSA cases,male:female ratio was 1.7:1;disease duration lasted(2.8±1.6)years:possible MSA accounted for 50 cases(41%),probable MSA 72 cases(59%);MSA-P 35 cases(29%);MSA-C 73 cases(60%).MSA-P+C 5 cases(4%),MSA-A 9 cases(7%).The scores of UMSARS,UMSARS-Ⅰ and UMSARS-Ⅱ were found positively correlating with the disease duration.The Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were 0.368,0.266 and 0.392 respectively,all P<0.01;the adjusted Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were 0.360,0.257 and 0.385 respectively.all P<0.01.Conclusions MSA has complex clinical manifestations.which should include MSA-P+C subtype.UMSARS is a reliable scale to mirror the progression of MSA.which is useful to study the clinical features and disease duration of MSA.

Hemangioma, Cavernous ; Humans ; Pericardium ; pathology