Objective:To investigate the serum Vitamin A(sVit A) levels in Behcet′s disease(BD)and other rheumatological diseases.Methods: sVit A concentration was measured in BD(including 3 subtypes of eye BD,intestinal BD,and vascular BD),rheumatoid arthritis(RA),systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE),ankylosing spondylitis(AS),primary Sjogren′s syndrome(pSS) and adult onset Still disease(AOSD)and compared with healthy controls(HC).Results: The patients enrolled in this study was according with the epidemiological features;BD patients including its subtypes of eye BD,intestinal BD,and vascular BD patients all had a lower concentration of sVit A than HC(P<0.05),no statistical differences between the subtypes;RA,SLE,AS,pSS and AOSD had a lower concentration of sVit A than HC(P<0.05).Conclusion: Decreased serum Vit A levels might account for a common pathogenesis of various rheumatic diseases.

In order to fit new plot proposed by medical education reform,by integrating interrelated resources,the author introduced peer education into the whole process of nutrition propa-ganda and education to promote the development of the whole social health education.

Objective To investigate the operative outcomes of anatomic and functional reconstruction of the spinal posterior column after resection of intraspinal neoplasms.Methods From January 2010 through October 2014,we treated 32 patients with intraspinal neoplasm in the spine.They were 18 men and 14 women,13 to 62 years of age (average,38 years).The neoplasm was detected in the cervical spine in 10 cases,in the thoracic spine in 14 and in the lumbar spine in 8.All cases received expansive open door laminoplasty via the posterior approach for resection of the intraspinal neoplasm,followed by replantation and titanium plate fixation for anatomic and functional reconstruction of the spinal posterior column.The neural functional recovery,spinal motion and sagittal diameter of the spinal canal before and after operation,spinal stability and graft fusion were observed.Results The patients were followed up for 3 to 23 months (average,13 months).All the intraspinal neoplasms were completely resected.The Frankel grading of neural functional recovery was improved differently in all the cases.By the final follow-ups,the spinal motion was normal in all the cases,without any significant limitation.Graft fusion and rigid internal fixation were achieved in all the cases.Short-term follow-ups revealed no signs of spondylolisthesis or spinal instability.At the final follow-ups,the 3-D CT reconstruction showed no significant shortening in the sagittal diameter of the same spinal canal before and after operation (P ＞0.05).Conclusions For intraspinal neoplasm in the spine,the whole vertebral lamina is opened or removed via the posterior approach to resect the neoplasm,followed by reduction of the vertebral lamina and mini titanium plate fixation to reconstruct the anatomy and function of the original spine.This is an ideal way to treat intraspinal neoplasms in the spine.

Objective To study the changes of cytokine activation in patients with chronic congestive haert failure(CHF) as indicated by plasma levels of C-reactive protein(CRP)and its relation to adrenomedullin(ADM) and endthelin-1(ET-1).Methods The plasma levels of CRP,ADM and ET-1 of 60 decompensated haert failure(DHF) patients group and 30 essential hypertension patients with compensated cardiac function(CCF) group were tested. CRP was determined by immunoturbidometry,ET-1 and ADM were determined by radioimmunoassay.Results The plasma levels of ET-1 ,ADM and CRP of decompensated heart failure group were significantly higher than the compensated cardiac function group;In the decompensated heart failure group,the plasma levels of CRP and ADM were elevated according to worsening of heart failure(NYHA classification) ;In the decompensated heart failure group,the plasma levels of CRP were positively correlated with ADM(r=0.57).Conclusion There is extensive activation of cytokines,ADM and ET-1 in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.Cytokine activation might play a role in the synthesis of ADM,thus contribute to the hum oral regulation of heart failure,but may not be re- sponsible for the activation of ET-1.

Abstract?AIM:To compare the loss of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer ( RNFL ) thickness measurements by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography ( SD -OCT ) in healthy individuals and glaucoma patients with or without progression.? METHODS: A total of 60 eyes, comprising 36 glaucomatous eyes with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and 24 healthy controls, were included in the study over a 2-year period.All eyes underwent at least 4 serial RNFL measurements performed by Cirrus OCT every half a year over a period of 2a.Visual field ( VF) testing was performed by using the Swedish interactive threshold algorithm( SITA) Standard 30-2 program of the Humphrey field analyzer within the same week as the optic disc/RNFL photography. By masked comparative analysis of VF test results and optic disc/RNFL photographs, the eyes were classified into non -progressive and progressive glaucoma cases. Longitudinal loss of RNFL thickness was compared.?RESULTS: The mean follow-up time was 2.1 ±0.3a. Seventeen from 36 subjects were identified as progressors. Mean rates of change in average RNFL thickness were significantly higher for progressors compared with nonprogressors (2.46μm/a vs.1.21μm/a;P <0.001 ). Inferior quadrant RNFL thickness were significantly correlated with MD reduction in glaucoma eyes with progression(r=0.423, P=0.03).? CONCLUSION: Longitudinal measurements of RNFL thickness using SD-OCT show a pronounced reduction in patients with progression compared with patients without progression.Inferior RNFL thickness parameters might be more important in discriminating eyes with progressive glaucomatous optic nerve damage.

Primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma gamma-delta subtype is an extremely rare entity of all the cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Our case provides an insight on clinical behavior and treatment response with feasible effective combination chemotherapy. We believe this will be of great interest to clinicians when facing this difficult clinical entity. We present a case of a 66-year-old Malay man with a threeweek history of rapidly growing skin nodules and plaques which spread throughout his body. He was commenced on combination chemotherapy gemcitabine, etoposide, and carboplatin with near complete remission on completion of second cycle but he defaulted. He relapsed within a month and he progressed despite treatment with the same regime. He was salvaged with fludarabine, cytarabine, and vinblastine combination chemotherapy but progressed with brain metastasis and died. However, more investigations and studies need to be done in this relatively unknown rare entity. A rare lymphoma registry might be of help to better understand and treat similar conditions.

Adolescent ; Adult ; CD36 Antigens ; blood ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Activation ; Psoriasis ; blood ; diagnosis ; Thrombin ; metabolism ; Thrombospondins ; blood

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension, Renal ; Infant ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Pancreatic portal hypertension (PPH),which accounts for about 5％ of extrahepatic portal hypertension cases,is mainly caused by pancreatic tumor,chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic ductal lithiasis.The pathogenesis and pathological characteristics of PPH are attributed to anatomical structure between splenic vein and pancreas.It is different from cirrhotic portal hypertension,PPH patients may present with less esophageal and gastric fundus varices,but more significant gastric body varices.The portal vein radiography is recognized as the golden standard for PPH diagnosis.There are two types of treatment modalities for PPH,symptomatic treatment and pathogenesis-based treatment.In clinically,we should take careful consideration into portal hypertension and primary disease,aim to resolve causes and manage complication concurrently.

Child ; China ; Chronic Disease ; Congresses as Topic ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases ; prevention & control ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; prevention & control ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; prevention & control