Fibrosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; MicroRNAs ; Neoplasms

Objective To compare the primary clinical results of the anteromedial portal (AMP) and accessory anteromedial portal (AAMP) techniques for femoral tunnel drilling in single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.Methods Data of isolated ACL rupture patients who had undergone single-bundle ACL reconstruction with autologous semitendinosus and gracilis tendons from March of 2012 to February of 2014 were retrospectively analyzed.The femoral tunnels were drilled with AMP techniques in 14 patients (group AMP) and with AAMP techniques in 23 patients (group AAMP).All the patients were followed up for 6 to 29 months.At the latest follow-up the Lysholm,Tegner and international knee documentation committee (IKDC) scores were used to estimate knee joint function,while the Lachman test and Pivot-shift test were used to estimate knee joint instability.Results The average follow-up time was 16.07±7.31 months in group AMP and 13.35±5.92 months in group AAMP.In group AMP,the Lysholm,Tegner and IKDC average scores were 89.86±7.90,8.64±1.65 and 89.31±8.16,respectively.While they were 92.17±6.72,8.91±1.16 and 90.89±7.80 in group AAMP,respectively.In group AMP the Lachman test was negative in 11 patients and positive in 3 patients.In group AAMP the Lachman test was negative in 20 patients and positive in 3 patients.The Pivotshift test was negative in 9 patients,positive in 5 patients and negative in 20 patients,positive in 3 patients in group AMP and AAMP,respectively.There were no significant differences in Lysholm,Tegner,IKDC scores,the negative rates of Lachman and Pivot-shift tests between two groups.Conclusion Single-bundle ACL reconstructions using AMP and AAMP techniques for femoral tunnel drilling have similar excellent primary clinical results.

Objective To investigate the early diagnostic value of cornel confocal microscopy for the screening of small neuropathy in elderly patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus.Methods In the prospective study,96 elderly patients with diabetes as study group and 46 patients with non-diabetes as the control group were continuously collected from our hospital endocrinology and ophthalmology out patients during May 2014 to February 2016.The 96 cases of type 2 diabetes were subdivided into 47 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN)and 47 patients with nowdiabetic peripheral neuropathy(non DPN).Results The diabetes course was shorter in non-DPN group than in DPN group(P=0.000).The levels of glycosylated hemoglobin and urine albumin were lower in the nonDPN than in the DPN(P =0.072,0.007,respectively).The corneal nerve fiber density was lower in the DPN group than in NDPN group (P =0.000).Corneal nerve fiber density was higher in control group than in DPN and NDPN group.The differences in number of corneal nerve fibers showed no statistical significance between DPN and NDPN group (x2 =2.391,P =0.314).But the number of corneal nerve fibers was significant less in DPN and NDPN group than in control group(x2 =16.014,P =0.000).The negative correlation was found between the course of disease and corneal fibrous density by using single factor linear regression analysis.The number of corneal nerve fibers was lower in smoking group than in non-smoking group(P=0.003).The multiple linear regression analysis showed that duration of diabetes was a risk factor for diabetic neuropathy.Conclusions In some elderly diabetic patients with non-neuropathy,corneal nerve fiber density and number have been significantly decreased before nerve conductive velocity is reduced.Therefore,corneal confocal microscopy can be used to detect and diagnose small diabetic neuropathy in elderly patients with diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we have investigated the effect of Korean red ginseng (KRG) extracts on the production of TNF-alpha and IL-8 in human keratinocytes. Also, to examine the antioxidative effect of red ginseng extracts, free radical scavenging activity and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in human dermal fibroblasts was measured. METHODS: To investigate the effect of KRG in atopic dermatitis, we measured the level of TNF-alpha and IL-8 secretion in LPS-stimulated human keratinocytes after the treatment of KRG extracts using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti-oxidative activity was investigated by measuring 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and SOD activity. RESULTS: The stimulation of human keratinocytes with KRG extracts shifted the LPS-induced cytokine secretion toward a more immunosuppressive response. KRG dose-dependently decreased TNF-alpha and IL-8 production in HaCaT cells and a significant inhibition of TNF-alpha was shown when cells were treated with 500 and 1,000 microg/ml of KRG extracts. Additionally, KRG extracts showed DPPH radical scavenging and SOD activity in a dose-dependent manner. Particularly, SOD activities of concentrations higher than 60 microg/ml of KRG extracts were significantly different in human dermal fibroblast cells. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, KRG extracts may be a useful immunosuppressive agent in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
Biphenyl Compounds ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Interleukin-8 ; Keratinocytes ; Panax ; Picrates ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Acanthopanax koreanum Nakai, a well known traditional herb grown in Jeju Island, South of Korea, has been used as a tonic and sedative agent, as well as in the treatment of diabetes and immune diseases. Mutagenicity of two lignans, syringaresinol and tortoside A isolated from A. koreanum, was assessed using Salmonella/microsome (Ames) test. Tester strains used were Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, and Escherichia coli WP2uvrA. The mutagenic activity was determined both in the absence or presence of S9 mixture. As a result, tortoside A did not cause any increase in the number of his+ revertants in S. typhimurium and E. coli WP2uvrA strains in the presence or absence of S9 mix, compared to the controls. Similarly, low concentrations of syringaresinol (750 and 1,500 microg/plate) did not show any mutagenic properties in all bacterial strains, in the presence or absence of S9 mixture. However, in the high concentration of syringaresinol (3,000 microg/plate), the number of revertants were increased in TA1535 strains, in the absence of S9 metabolic activation. Therefore, in vivo experiments such as comet assay are needed to further determine the genotoxic/carciogenic potential of syringaresinol isolated from A. koreanum.
Eleutherococcus* ; Biotransformation ; Comet Assay ; Escherichia coli ; Immune System Diseases ; Korea ; Lignans* ; Salmonella typhimurium

Objective To explore clinical and muscular pathological features of statin-induced myopathy.Methods Nine patients were enrolled in this study,who were diagnosed as statin-induced myopathy by muscle biopsy in Peking University First Hospital from April,2012 to October,2014.The clinical data and pathological findings were analyzed.Results The exposure time to statins varied from 4 days to 4 years in the total of 9 patients,6 males and 3 females,with the average age of 63 ± 6 (55 to 74) years old.Three patients suffered from myalgia and 6 patients complained of weakness mainly at the proximal limbs,while no symptoms occured in 3 patients.Serum creatine kinase (CK) increased in all patients with the maximum value varied from 468 to 8 000 U/L.Serum myositis antibodies were tested in 7 patients and all were negative.Electromyogram was performed in six patients with myogenic damage found in 2 patients.MRI of bilateral thigh muscle was carried out in six patients with muscle edema and mild fatty infiltration found in 2 patients.All patients underwent skeletal muscle biopsy with histochemical and immunohistochemical staining.The main muscular pathological features were muscle fiber atrophy,necrosis,regeneration and increased lipid droplets.Ragged blue fiber,cytochrome C oxidase-negative muscle fibers and decreased NADH activity were observed in some patients.MHC-Ⅰ expressed in the sarcolemma of muscle fibers at various levels.Mild C5b-9 staining was found in the endomysium,capillary and cytoplasm.Symptoms and the level of CK were improved in 7 patients after discontinuing statins or changing to another statin,while the immunosuppressive therapy were used in 2 patients and shown to be effective.Conclusions Statin induced myopathy is self-limiting in most patients,with improvement after discontinuation of statins.Few patients with autoimmune necrotic myopathy need immunosuppressive therapy.

Objective To detect the possibility of posterior laminar fenestration combined with screw instrumentation for treatment of thoracolumbar burst fracture with canal encroachment.Methods Between January 2005 and December 2008,52 patients with AO-A3 thoracolumbar fracture underwent laminar fenestration to achieve canal decompression and pedicle screw instrumentation without interbody fusion.Canal encroachment,loss of anterior vertebral height,Cobb' s angle,and neurologic outcome were measured before and after operation.Results All patients were followed up for 24 months.Canal encroachment improved from preoperative (68.3 ± 15.1)％ to postoperative (11.5-3.9)％ (P ＜ 0.05).Cobb' s angle reduced from preoperative (32.5 ± 3.2) ° to postoperative (4.9-± 0.6) ° (P ＜ 0.05).Loss of anterior vertebral height restored from preoperative (50.1 ± 5.6) ％ to postoperative (85.5 ± 5.1) ％ (P ＜ 0.05).At the final follow-up,neurological recovery and fracture healing with no apparent vertebral height loss were noted for all patients.Conclusion Flaminar fenestration combined with pedicle screw stabilization attains good radiographic and clinical results in treating patients with AO-A3 thoracolumbar burst fracture.

Objective To investigate the effects of early hemofiltration combined with traditional Chinese medicine on nasal feeding on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) patients. Methods Seventy four patients were divided into traditional Chinese medicine group (group A, 35 cases) and traditional Chinese medicine+hemofiltration group (group B, 39 cases). In group A, patients were given a serious of procedure including fasting, gastrointestinal decompression, fluid resuscitation, inhi-bition of pancreatic secretion, antibiotic prophylaxis, parenteral nutrition and traditional Chinese medicine on nasal feeding;In group B, patients received continuous veno-venous hemofiltration treatment(also called Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy,CRRT) in addition to the procedures receiving by group A. On admission and the first, 3rd, 7th days post-treatment, the scores of acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHEⅡ), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels were recorded. Length of hospital stay, local and systematic complications, surgical inter-vention, mortality and hospitalization expenses were compared between two groups. Results On admission, no statistical significance was seen in the hematocrit, white blood cell count, lactic acid dehydrogenase, blood urea nitrogen, blood glu-cose, APACHEⅡscore, Ranson’s score and classification of etiology between these two groups (P>0.05). But APACHEⅡ, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 were decreased significantly in group B than in group A, after the first, 3rd, 7th days post-treatment (P＜0.05). Compared with group A, the length of hospital stay, local complications, systemic complications, surgical interven-tion, mortality and hospitalization expense were lower in group B. Conclusion Traditional Chinese medicine on nasal feed-ing combined with early hemofiltration could effectively reduce complications, incidence of organ dysfunction and could im-prove the prognosis of SAP patients.

Objective To evaluate the value of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) to early diagnose acute kidney injury(AKI) of critically ill children in PICU.Methods Eighty critically ill children at PICU of Children's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University were enrolled in this study from April to June 2013.They were continuously observed for 72 hours.According to pediatric RIFLE criteria for diagnosis of AKI,patients were divided into AKI group (15 cases) or non-AKI group (65 cases).Additionally,according to sepsis diagnostic criteria,patients were divided into sepsis group (31 cases) or non-sepsis group (49 cases).The levels of serum creatinine and uNGAL were measured within 6th hour,24th hour,48th hour,72th hour after admitted to PICU.The differences of uNGAL levels between AKI and non-AKI groups,sepsis without AKI and non-sepsis non-AKI groups,sepsis merged AKI and sepsis without AKI groups were analysed.The sensitivity and specificity of uNGAL and serum creatinine for diagnosis of AKI at 48th hour were evaluated by ROC curve.Results Thirteen cases of eighty children developed to AKI after admitted to PICU.(1)The uNGAL levels [M(QR),ng/ml] in AKI group within 6th hour,at 24th hour,48th hour,72th hour were 863.00 (696.00),700.50 (580.00),365.50 (285.00),289.50 (319.30),respectively,which were significantly higher than those in non-AKI group [20.00 (106.00),20.00 (85.30),20.00(101.00),20.00(36.00)] (P ＜0.01).(2)The uNGAL levels in new developed group were much higher than those in non-AKI group at each time point.The comparision of serum creatinine at 48th hour was statistic difference.(3)The uNGAL levels rised at early stage in sepsis without AKI group and down to normal gradually after 48th hour.(4)The uNGAL levels continued increasing in sepsis merged AKI group,and had significant differences comparing with sepsis without AKI group(P ＜ 0.01).(5) The areas under ROC curve of uNGAL and serum creatinine at 48th hour were 0.902(95％ CI:0.801 ～ 1.004) and 0.801 (95％ CI:0.768 ～ 0.981),respectively.Conclusion The level of uNGAL has earlier increase for 24 to 48 hours than that of serum creatinine in critically ill children,and it can also reflect the severity of AKI.Therefore it can be used as an early diagnostic biomarker for AKI in PICU.

Objective To report the clinical and peripheral neuropathological findings in two patients with autosomal recessive Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease 2K(AR-CMT2K).Methods Case one was a nine year-old girl.She had distal weakness of lower limbs for six years, with calf atrophy and contracture of Achilles tendon for three years.Case two was an eight year-old boy.He had distal weakness of lower limbs with contracture of Achilles tendon and calf muscle atrophy for three years, and proximal weakness of low limbs for two years.The motor nerve conduction velocities in median nerves were 48.1 m/s in case one and 47.6 m/s in case two.The compound motor action potential amplitude of median nerves decreased by 46% in case one and 69% in case two.Sural nerve biopsies and gene targeted next-generation sequencing were performed in both patients.Results Density of myelinated fibers was 8 407/mm2 in case one and 7 714/mm2 in case two.The ratio of myelinated fibers with diameter over 8 μm was 2.6% in case one and 0 in case two.Both patients had small regenerating cluster of myelinated fibers.Thin myelinated fibers appeared in case one.In case two, atypical onion bulb formations with focal folded myelin appeared, and electromicroscopy revealed mitochondrial aggregate in axons.Compound heterozygous mutations of ganglioside-induced differentiation associated protein 1 gene were detected in both patients, including c.767A>G(p.H256R) and c.466G>A (p.A156T) in case one and c.767A>G and 845G>A(p.R282H) in case two.Conclusions Contracture of Achilles tendon may appear in early childhood of AR-CMT2K patients.The main pathological changes in sural nerve are loss of large myelinated fibers, mitochondrial aggregate in axons and myelin abnormalities.