Objective To analyse the cause of constipation and evaluate the diagnostic value of colonic transit test and defecography for constipation diagnosis. Methods 110 cases with constipation were studied with colonic transit test and defecography. Results Abnormal colonic transit in 79 cases and defecography in 53 cases, overpassing the integrated analysis for the result of colonic transit test and defecography, the 40 cases were colonic inertia and 53 cases were function outlet obstruction. Conclusion The associated application of colonic transit test and defecography could be more accurate to differentiate constipations which are colonic inertia or function outlet obstruction and more specific the pathogeny of function outlet obstruction, to offer reliable foundation for the clinical cure.

Objective To investigate the clinical features of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) with neurological complications. Methods Five with neurological complications out of 31 patients with confirmed AIDS in Shanghai area from 1992 to 2001 were analyzed. Results Of the five cases, there were one complicated with vacuolar myelopathy, one vacuolar myelopathy accompanied with dementia, one cerebral tuberculoma accompanied with dementia, one cerebral infarction accompanied with symptomatic epilepsia and trigeminal neuralgia, one polyneuropathy. Two of the vacuolar myelopathy are those showing first occurring manifestations. Conclusion AIDS patients are found at high risk of neurological complications, of which vacuolar myelopathy and AIDS related dementia are more common. If young patients who suddenly suffered from dementia, especially in patients accompanied with opportunistic infections, AIDS should be considered. In these cases serum HIV antibodies should be checked.

OBJECTIVEAutophagy is involved in several neurodegenerative diseases and recently its role in acute brain injury has won increasing interest. Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) often lead to permanent neurological deficit. Therefore, in this study, we examined the pro?les of autophagy-linked proteins (MAP-LC3) after SCI to investigate whether the expression of autophagy contributes to neurological deficit after SCI.

METHODSAdult female Sprague-Dawley rats were used and randomly divided into control and SCI groups. All the rates received laminectomy at T8-T10 level. Those in the SCI group received additional exposure of the dorsal surface of the spinal cord, followed by a weight- drop injury. Thereafter we investigated the expression levels of MAP-LC3, beclin-1, Cathepsin D and the beclin-1-binding protein bcl-2 by western blot analysis at 12 h, 24 h, 3 d, 7 d, 21 d and 28 d. One-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc test was used to compare data between groups.

RESULTSWe observed significant increase in the level of LC3 (LC3-II/LC3-I) at 3 d and 7 d after SCI when compared with the sham group. While the level of beclin-1 and ratio of beclin-1/bcl-2 was found to have increased from 12 h to 24 h after injury. Cathepsin D expression was also elevated at 7 d (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONBased on the above mentioned data, we proposed that autophagy plays a role in the manifestation of cell injury following SCI.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; metabolism ; Animals ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; metabolism ; Autophagy ; physiology ; Beclin-1 ; Blotting, Western ; Cathepsin D ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Laminectomy ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; metabolism

Objective To evaluate the value of neutrophil gelatinase - associated lipocalin (NGAL) for diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiopulmonary bypass established. Method 120 children undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass were enrolled in this prospectively study. Serial urine samples were analyzed by ELISA for NGAL expression. The primary outcome measure was AKI, which was defined as a 50% or greater increase in serum creatinine from baseline. Result 21 children ( 17.5% ) developed AKI. Urine concentrations of NGAL increased after cardiopulmonary bypass had been established for 2 hours. The concentration of NGAL in urine after cardiopulmonary bypass had been established for 2 hours was used to diagnose AKI. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0. 96, the sensitivity was 92%, and the specificity was 91% for the cutoff value of 100ng/mg Cr. Conclusion Concentrations of NGAL in urine might be used as a sensitive and specific biomarker for early prediction of AKI after cardiopulmonary bypass had been established.

AIM: Anti-atherosclerosis effects of Momordica charantia L was further studied in a New Zealand rabbit atherosclerotic model at the basis of anti-inflammation and antioxidant effects. METHODS: Animals were divided into 3 groups: normal group (normal rabbit diet), atherosclerosis group(diet containing 2% cholesterol), and Momordica charantia L group(diet containing 2% cholesterol and 1 5% sarcocarp of Momordica charantia L ). Ninety days later, all animals were sacrificed. The effect of Momordica charantia L on atherosclerosis was evaluated by measuring serum lipid and total cholesterol content of artery wall, observing fatty liver degree, aorta arteriosclerotic area, and the thickness of intima. RESULTS: The level of total serum cholesterol and LDL-C in Momordica charantia L treatment group were obviously lower than those in atherosclerosis group, so were the total cholesterol content of artery wall, fatty liver degree, atherosclerotic area, intima thickness and I/M ratio, but no significantly difference was found between the two groups in TG level. The level of HDL-C in Momordica charantia L treatment group was evidently lower than that in normal control group. CONCLUSION: Momordica charantia L has an anti-atherosclerosis action in rabbits.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Tongxiening Granules (, TXNG) in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with predominant diarrhea (IBS-D). METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, and positive parallel controlled clinical trial was conducted from October 2014 to March 2016. Totally 342 patients from 13 clinical centers were enrolled and randomly assigned (at the ratio of 1:1) to a treatment group (171 cases) and a control group (171 cases) by a random coding table. The patients in the treatment group were administered orally with TXNG (5 g per time) combined with pinaverium bromide Tablet simulator (50 mg per time), 3 times per day. The patients in the control group were given TXNG simulator (5 g per time) combined with pinaverium bromide Tablets (50 mg per time), 3 times per day. The treatment course lasted for 6 weeks. The improvement of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS) was used to evaluate the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included adequate relief (AR) rate, Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Quality of Life Questionnaire (IBS-QOL), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), and the recurrence rate at follow-ups. Safety indices including the adverse events (AEs) and related laboratory tests were evaluated. RESULTS: Primary outcome: IBS-SSS at baseline, weeks 2, 4, 6 showed no statistical significance in both full analysis set (FAS) and per protocol set (PPS, P>0.05). After 6 weeks of treatment, the total effective rate of IBS-SSS scores in the treatment group (147/171,86.0%) was higher than the control group (143/171, 83.6%) by FAS (P>0.05). In regard to secondary outcomes, after 6-week treatment, there was no significant difference in AR rate, total score of IBS-QOL, improvement of HAMD and HAMA total scores between the two groups (P>0.05). The recurrence rate at 8-week follow-up was 12.35% (10/18) in treatment group and 15.79% (12/76) in control group, respectively (P>0.05). A total of 21 AEs occurred in 15 cases, of which 11 occurred in 8 cases in the treatment group and 10 AEs in 7 cases in the control group. The incidence of AEs had no statistical significance between the two goups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION Tongxiening Granules could relieve the symptoms of patients with IBS-D and the treatment effect was comparable to pinaverium bromide. (No. ChiCTR-IPR-15006415).

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome