Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is extremely severe hereditary retinal dystrophy,because it leads to congenital bilateral blindness in early childhood.With the development of molecular genetics and the therapeutic gene replacement technology,gene therapy clinical trials have obtained exciting results on the basis of relatively satisfied with preliminary clinical experimental results by adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector-mediated gene therapy in the past decade.These researching methods include intravitreal injection and subretinal space injection of gene vector,and the investigating indexes include evaluations of visual function and safety,such as immune reaction of the animals,ocular histopathological change,complications and bio-distribution of gene sequence.The preliminary success of the LCAⅡ Ⅱ gene therapy will give some clues to the other inherited retinal diseases.This review focuses on the present status of pre-clinical animal experiments of its gene therapy.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is strictly related to a cellular immune response with lymphatic infiltration of the thyroid gland by T and B cells, as well as a humoral immune response leading to specific antibody production. The synchronous appearance of HT and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) indicates an immunological link between the two entities. In this article, we provide a review of the etiology of HT and the potential immunological mechanism of HT coexistent with PTC, which will provide references for new ideas for clinical diagnosis and treatment of HT coexistent with PTC in the future.

Objective To compare merits and shortages between minimally invasive small incision surgical repair and interventional device closure for isolated secundum atrial septal defect (ASD). Methods A retrospective analysis was made on clinical results of 69 patients with isolated secundum ASD from January 2004 to June 2006. Among them 37 patients underwent minimally invasive small incision surgical repair on the beating heart (Small Incision Group) and 32 patients underwent interventional device closure of ASD (Interventional Group). Results There were no deaths in either group. The small incision surgical repair was successfully completed in all the 37 patients, with the procedure time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and hospital stay being 145.86?27.84 min, 35.11?8.45 min, and 15.46?3.09 d, respectively. Major and minor complications occurred in 2 and 6 patients, respectively. The hospitalization costs was 21 900?3600 yuan. In the Interventional Group, the closure was successfully performed in 30 out of 32 patients. The procedure time and hospital stay were 88.59?7.75 min and 10.81?5.02 d, respectively. Major and minor complications occurred in 1 and 2 patients, respectively. The hospitalization costs was 27 800?3900 yuan. Follow-up observations were performed in the Small Incision Group for 3~12 months in 20 patients and for 12~30 months in 17 patients, and in the Interventional Group for 3~12 months in 16 patients and for 12~30 months in 14 patients. No residual shunt was found. Conclusions Both of minimally invasive methods are safe and effective for isolated secundum ASD. Small incision surgical repair involves lower costs, higher successful rate, and broader indications, whereas interventional device closure offers shorter hospital stay, milder trauma, and better cosmetic results.

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of combining acupuncture and medication in treating chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) due to spleen-stomach deficiency.
Methods: Totally 176 patients with CAG were randomized into two groups by the random number table. The 91 subjects in the treatment group were intervened by acupuncture and oral Chinese patent medication; the other 85 subjects were by oral Chinese patent medication alone. The clinical efficacies were compared at the end of intervention.
Results: After a treatment course, the total effective rate was 87.9% in the treatment group versus 75.3% in the control group; according to the gastroscopy and pathological biopsy examinations, the total effective rate was 85.7% in the treatment group versus 74.1% in the control group. There were significant differences in comparing the clinical efficacy, gastroscopy and pathological examinations between the two groups (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Combining acupuncture and medication can produce a better therapeutic efficacy than medication alone in treating CAG due to spleen-stomach deficiency.

Objective　To study the effects of MIP-1β and TGF-β antibody on CD34+ cells from cord blood in stroma-contact culture system. Methods　Immunomagnetic selected CD34+ cells were inoculated onto the pre-established irradiated human stroma layer. MIP-1β, TGF-β antibody (20 μg/ml) and MIP-1β+anti-TGF-β (5 μg/ml) were added on day 0 and day 5. On day 5 and day 10, cell counting, hematopoietic progenitor cells count were made by semi-solid culture and CD34+ cells were assayed by FACS. Results　On day 5, no significant difference of total cell number was observed as compared with the control group (P>0.05), but the number of CD34+cells, CFC, and HPP-CFC in TGF-β antibody and MIP-1β+ TGF-β antibody groups was significantly higher than that in the control (P<0.05). On day 10, the number of total cell, CD34+ cells, CFC, and HPP-CFC in TGF-β antibody and MIP-1β+ TGF-β antibody groups was significantly higher than that in the control (P<0.05). No significant difference was observed between groups MIP-1β and control either on day 5 or day 10 (P>0.05). Conclusion　MIP-1β has no significant effect on the CD34+ cells as compared with the control while the CD34+ cells can be expanded 1-3 folds with TGF-β antibody (20 μg/ml) or MIP-1β+ TGF-β antibody (5 μg/ml) in 10 days. There are synergic interactions between MIP-1β and TGF-β antibody.

Severe combined immunodeficiency(SCID)is a kind of severe primary immunodeficiency disease.Patients often develop symptoms after birth, which is characterized by recurrent and life-threatening infection, sometimes accompanied by varying degrees of dysplasia.According to the classification proposed by the PID expert Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies, SCID is clinically classified by the number of lymphocytes.Early screening and intervention of SCID is significant to improve the prognosis.With the promotion of TREC and other early screening methods, the detection rate of SCID has significantly improved, but the accurate detection rate in different ethnic groups still needs further explored.Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a traditional therapy for radical cure of SCID.And the safety of gene therapy for SCID has been gradually guaranteed with continuous improvement during recent years.This article will review the classification, early screening methods and treatment progress of SCID.

A new method for determining transaminase activity based on the color change of the reaction solution was established, by using alanine-dependent transaminase VfTA from Vibrio fluvialis JS17 as the research object coupled with pyruvate oxidase and horseradish peroxidase. After the optimization of the conditions, the linear relationship between VfTA activity units and the absorbance at 400 nm was investigated. This method was also applied to determine the activity of commercial transaminase ATA117. The results showed that the detection limit of transaminase VfTA activity was up to 0. 45 U/mL and the detection limit of ATA117 activity was up to 0. 5 U/mL. The transaminase activity could be quickly judged according to the color depth of the reaction solution.

BACKGROUND: Electro-acupuncture therapy shows good central and peripheral analgesic effects. Several studies have shown that transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism underlying electro-acupuncture treatment of knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: A total of 80 healthy male 3-month-old Sprague Dawley rats were randomly and evenly divided into normal, model, electro-acupuncture and drug groups. Rat models of knee osteoarthris were estbalished by ligating the femoral veins and forcing rats to do activies. At 1 month after knee osteoarthris induction, the electro-acupuncture group rats received electro-acupuncture therapy at two acupoints Neixiyan (EX-LE4) and Dubi (ST 35) with a depth of 0.1 cun (pulse 2 Hz, 20 minutes, once a day). The drug group rats were intraarticularly administerd sodium hyaluronate (0.1 mL/administration, once a week). After 2-week treatment, synovial tissue of the knee joint was harvested to determine the exprssion of TGF-β1, TGF-β1 receptor Ⅰand TGF-β1 receptor Ⅱ. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: TGF-β1 expression in synovial tissue of the knee joint was significantly increased after knee osteoarthris (P < 0.05), but after electro-accupuncture therepy or sodium hyaluronate treatment, TGF-β1 expression was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), moreover, TGF-β1 receptor Ⅰ, Ⅱ expression was signficantly decreased (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that electro-acupuncture for treatment of knee osteoartheis improves the symptoms of osteoarthris by downregulating TGF-β1 expression, and reduction in TGF-β1 receptor Ⅰ, Ⅱ expression promotes the recovery of knee osteoarthris.

Diketoreductase can catalyze a double reduction of β,δ-diketo ester to corresponding dihydroxv product with enantiomeric excess(ee)and diastereomeric excess(de)both greater than 99.5%.In order to explore the catalytic mechanism of this unique enzyme,the present study investigated the diketone reduction process and reaction characteristics by diketoreductase.We found that two mono-hydroxy intermediates were produced during the diketone reduction and its reverse reaction.The two intermediates were further separated by C18 column chromatography and structurally confirmed by chiral HPLC with authentic standards.Two mono-hydroxy intermediates could be served as the substrates for the reduction by diketoreductase with different reaction velocities.The formation and disappearance of intermediates were largely affected by temperature and substrate concentration.In addition,steady state kinetics with the two intermediates showed different reaction rates in their disappearance.Collectively,the results indicate that the diketone reduction undergoes a two-step process with the formation of both intermediates,but the disappearance rates for the two intermediates are slightly different.

Objective To evaluate the short-term and long-term therapeutic efficacies of LU’s heat-producing needling (Shao Shan Huo) in treating cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR). MethodTwo hundred patients with CSR were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 100 in each group. The treatment group was intervened by using heat-producing needling method, while the control group was by regular acupuncture technique with even reinforcing-reducing manipulations. For both groups, the treatment was given once a day, 10 sessions as a treatment course. The Pain Rating Index (PRI), Present Pain Intensity (PPI), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were adopted for observation before intervention and after two treatment courses. The clinical efficacies were compared between the two groups.Result Right after the intervention and in the 3-month follow-up, the VAS, PPI, and PRI scores were significantly different from that before intervention in both groups (P<0.01). There were significant differences in comparing the VAS, PPI, and PRI scores between the two groups after intervention and in the 3-month follow-up (P<0.01). The VAS, PPI, and PRI scores in the treatment group right after intervention were markedly different from that in the 3-month follow-up (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 98.0% in the treatment group versus 79.0% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01).Conclusion LU’s heat-producing needling is an effective way in treating CSR, as it can significantly reduce pain intensity, and improve other symptoms and body signs.