Objective To investigate the expression levels of constitutive cyclooxygenase(COX-1)and inducible cyclooxygenase(COX-2)in progressive plaque psoriasis and their clinical significance.Methods Re-verse transcription-polymerase ch ain reaction(RT -PCR)technique was applied to semi-quant itatively analyze COX-1and COX-2mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC)from 30psoriatic patients and 30healthy controls,and the correlation between COX-1/-2and psoria tic area and severity index(PASI )was evaluated.Results There was a significant difference o f COX-2mRNA expression level betwee n psoriatic pa-tients and normal controls(P0.05).Apositive correlation was noticed between COX-2and PASI (r=0.68,P

Objective To develop a rapid method with high sensitivity and specificity to detect Mycobacterium avium.Methods A polymerase chain reaction(PCR)was developed.Its sensitivity and specificity were verified by sequential dilution of DNA of M.avium and other17Mycobacterium spp.,respectively.Simulation of clinical infection was established by mixing normal skin tissue with M.avium.The treatment of the tissue specimens was optimized in order to improve the sensitivity of the PCR assay.Results A fragment of427bp was amplified by the PCR assay with the strains of M.avium at the sensitivity of1?10 2 cells/mL.The other17Mycobacterium spp.were all negative.The sensitivity of the PCR assay decreased to1?10 4 cells/mL when M.avium was mixed with the homogenized skin tissue.The sensitivity recovered to1?10 2 cell/mL when the skin tissue was diluted to≥1∶4.Conclusion It is suggested that PCR be a rapid and reliable method for detection of M.avium.

Objective To develop a rapid method with high sensitivity and specificity to detect 4 mycobacterial species(M. tuberculosis, M. avium, M. intracellulare and M. kansasii) which are the most common opportunistic Mycobacteria in AIDS patients. Methods The sensitivities and specificities of PCR were determined with different primer pairs targeting various mycobacterial genes. Multiplex PCR with combination of 4 primer pairs was used to detect the template mixtures of either 1, 2 or 3 mycobacterial DNA. Sensitivities of multiplex PCR were measured. Results Specific DNA fragments of 4 mycobacterial species mentioned above could be detected by PCR and sensitivities ranged from 1 ? 101 ~ 1 ? 102 cells/mL, while the other 17 mycobacterial strains were all PCR-negative. Multiplex PCR could amplify the corresponding 1, 2 or 3 DNA fragments, depending on the number of template DNA added, and sensitivities of multiplex PCR ranged from 1 ? 102 ~ 1 ? 103 cells/mL. Conclusions Multiplex PCR is a rapid, sensitive and specific method for differentiation and detection of Mycobacteria.

Objective To develop a PCR-RFLP method for the identification of eight mycobacterial species. Methods PCR was performed targeting the gene encoding 65-kDa heat shock protein which was common to all mycobacteria. Two restriction enzymes, BstE Ⅱ and Hae Ⅲ, were used to digest the PCR products, and specific restriction patterns of different mycobacteria were obtained. Results The specific restriction patterns of different mycobacteria were identical to the data previously reported. Conclusion We could differentiate M. avium, M. intracellulare, M. kansasii, M. tuberculosis, M. scrofulaceum, M. marinum, M. fortuitum and M. chelonae in one experiment by PCR-RFLP.

The pigmentum was prepared by using alginic glue prepared by the authors as the film - forming material. It was compared with pigmentum of Alg. Na and PVA in antibacterial activity, stability, film -forming and drug -release. The results showed that alginic glue was better than both Alg. Na and PVA. This pigmentum is an effective treatment for exudative dermatosis .

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of gahapentin in the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. Methods A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design, 6-week study was performed. Patients with postherpetic neuralgia were recruited into this study and randomly divided into two groups to receive gabapentin or placebo 1800 mg daily in three divided doses with a forced titration schedule, respectively. The primary efficacy measure was change in the pain score based on a visual analogue scale from baseline to the final week of therapy, and secondary measure was the improvement in sleep quality scored on a 5-point severity scale. Efficacy and safety evaluation was performed at baseline, and 1, 3, and 6 weeks atter the treatment. Results One hundred and forty-one patients were recruited in four clinical centers, and 125 patients completed the trial, of whom 66 were in the treatment group and 59 in the control group. An improvement was observed in both pain scores and sleep scores on week 1, 3 and 6 in both two groups, and the improvement was greater in gabapentin-treated group than that in the control group. The response rate was 29.58% and 57.75%, respectively in gabapentin-treated group on week 1 and 3, com-pared to 13.04% and 40.58%, respectively, in the control group (t = 5.94, 4.12, respectively, both P ＜0.05).Gabapentin was well tolerated, and the most common adverse events were dizziness, vertigo, somnolence and transient abnormality of hepatic function. Conclusion Gabapentin could markedly reduce pain intensity and improve sleep quality with a low incidence of adverse events in patients with postherpetic neuralgia.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of5%imiquimod cream in the top-ical treatment of condyloma acuminatum(CA).Methods A randomized,double-blind,parallel placebo-controlled clinical study was conducted.The test drug was topically used in CA patients,three times a week for8weeks.Patients whose warts cleared completely were followed up for one month to determine recurrence rates.Results Two hundred fifty-eight patients with anogenital warts were enrolled into this trial.One hun-dred twenty-nine patients were randomly selected to receive5%imiquimod cream;129patients were ran-domly chosen to receive placebo cream.Results showed that the cure rates were12.30%,32.79%,50%,60.66%respectively in study group for2,4,6,8weeks and were4.88%,14.63%,19.51%,26.02%respec-tively in control group for2,4,6,8weeks(P