Objective To explore the mechanisms of recovery from aphasia by using speech-activated single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT)brain imaging.Methods The SPECT brain imaging of 7 aphasic patients caused by various brain disorders were performed while they were at rest and performing oral reading,respec- tively,with an one-day interval.A semi-quantitative analysis of regional cerebral blood flow(rCBF)was conducted using region of interesting(ROI).The change of rCBF before and after reading was calculated and compared to ana- lyze the role of both hemispheres in the recovery from aphasia.Results It was found that the activation pattern of brain region was associated with the speech performance of the patients.The activated brain regions were mainly loca- ted at the left hemisphere in 5 patients whose reading capacity was relatively better,and mainly at the right hemi- sphere in the other 2 patients who had poor performance in reading.Conclusion After a focal lesion of the left hemisphere,the recovery of speech function might be mainly attributed to the repair of the damaged left hemisphere language network.When the left-hemispheric centers were permanently impaired,the brain would recruit some right- hemisphere regions for speech processing,but this strategy was less effective than the repair of the original speech-rel- evant network.

OBJECTIVETo observe the analgesic effect of triptolide (TP) of high, middle and low doses on rats with adjuvant arthritis (AA), and the expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and substance P (SP) in spinal dorsal horn and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) of corresponding sections, in order to discuss the possible mechanism for the analgesic effect of TP on rats with adjuvant arthritis.

METHODFifty SD rats were selected and randomly divided into the normal group (group A), the model group (group B), and TP low (group C), middle (group D), high (group E) dose groups. Except for the group A, all of the remaining groups were injected with 0.1 mL of Freund's complete adjuvant through their right rear toes to establish the model. At 14 d after the model establishment, rats in C, D and E groups were intraperitoneally injected with different doses of TP (0.1 mg x kg(-1) for the group C, 0.2 mg x kg(-1) for the group D, 0.4 mg x kg(-1) for the group E) once a day for 9 days. Then the 50% mechanical withdraw threshold (MWT) was determined. And the expressions of iNOS and SP in lumbar5 (L5) spinal dorsal horn and DRG were detected with the immunohistochemical method.

RESULTThe 50% MWT of rats in the group B was significantly lower than that of the group A (P < 0.01). After being treated with TP, the Thermal withdrawal latencies of groups C, D and E were significantly higher than that of the group B (P < 0.01). TP could notably increase the MWT of AA rats, with a certain dose-effect relationship. The immunohistochemical results indicated that the iNOS and SP expressions significantly increased in the group B (P < 0.01), while the positive expression levels of iNOS and SP in groups C, D and E were significantly lower than that of the group B (P < 0.01), with a certain dose-effect relationship.

CONCLUSIONTP shows a good analgesic effect on AA, and could inhibit the iNOS and SP expressions in spinal dorsal horn and DRG in rats with adjuvant arthritis, which may be one of action mechanisms for the analgesic effect of TP.

Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; pharmacology ; Arthritis, Experimental ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Diterpenes ; pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Epoxy Compounds ; pharmacology ; Female ; Ganglia, Spinal ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; biosynthesis ; Pain Measurement ; methods ; Phenanthrenes ; pharmacology ; Phytotherapy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Substance P ; biosynthesis ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Tripterygium ; chemistry

Current states of traumatic eye injury are reviewed in terms of epidemiology in the developing countries and developed countries, causes of the trauma, eye injury types, traumatic eye injury diagnostic methods and treatments. Trauma-caused vision-threatening conditions such as open global injury, traumatic optic neuropathy and proliferative vitreoretinopathy are particularly discussed. Also the most updated clinic research in China as Eye Injury Vitrectomy Study is discussed. At the end, the current achievements and research in traumatic eye injury in the world are summerized.
China ; Eye Injuries ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; Humans ; Optic Nerve Injuries ; therapy ; Vitrectomy ; Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative ; therapy

70 bpm during scan),the proportion of segments that could not be assessed because of motion artifact were 0.1%(1/759),1.1%(7/649),2.5% (10/407),42.6%(103/242),and 75.5%(108/143),respectively.With conventional selective coronary angiography as the golden standard,the sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative prediction values to detect≥50% stenotic lesions in the assessable segments were 79.2%,96.0%,83.8%,and 94.6%,respectively.There was a significant correlation between the number of segments per patient not assessable because of motion artifact and heart rate during the scan(r=0.655,P=0.000).Conclusion MSCT is capable of achieving high accuracy for detection of coronary artery stenosis,and is a reliable technique to diagnose coronary artery disease.

Objective To investigate the distribution, clinical diagnosis and treatment methods of the extrapulmo-nary complications in children with mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP). Methods The clinical data of 1 100 patients confirmed the diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumonia and with the positive serum MP-IgM test were collected in this study. The distribu-tion and clinical characteristics and MP-DNA detection rates were compared between 417 patients with extrapulmonary com-plications and 683 cases without complications. The occurrence of various complications in a four-year period was analyzed. Clinical data were compared between fiberoptic bronchoscopy lavage group and non-surgical group. Results The MP-DNA detection rate and the length of hospital stay were higher in patients with pulmonary complications than those of patients without complications. The most common types of extrapulmonary complications were liver damage, skin rashes and gastrointestinal reactions , but less severe. Encephalitis, nephritis and myocarditis were rare complications, but severe and occult. The fatal hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) was also visible in patients. Bronchoscopy lavage was conducive to the recovery of the disease. Conclusion MP pneumonia showed high incidence and risks of extrapulmonary complica-tions, which required careful clinical observation and inspection, the dynamic monitoring laboratory markers and comprehen-sive treatment as well.

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is a maladaptive response in a variety of organic heart disease(OHD),which is characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction that results from disturbed energy metabolism. SIRT3, a mitochondria-localized sirtuin, regulates global mitochondrial lysine acetylation and preserves mitochondrial function. However, the mechanisms by which SIRT3 regulates cardiac hypertrophy remains to be further elucidated. In this study, we firstly demonstrated that expression of SIRT3 was decreased in AngiotensionⅡ(AngⅡ)-treated cardiomyocytes and in hearts of AngⅡ-induced cardiac hypertrophic mice. In addition, SIRT3 overexpression protected myocytes from hypertrophy, whereas SIRT3 silencing exacerbated Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.In particular,SIRT3-KO mice exhibited significant cardiac hypertrophy. Mechanistically, we identified NMNAT3 (nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase 3), the rate-limiting enzyme for mitochondrial NAD biosynthesis, as a new target and binding partner of SIRT3.Specifically,SIRT3 physically interacts with and deacety-lates NMNAT3,thereby enhancing the enzyme activity of NMNAT3 and contributing to SIRT3-mediated anti-hypertrophic effects.Moreover,NMNAT3 regulates the activity of SIRT3 via synthesis of mitochon-dria NAD.Taken together,these findings provide mechanistic insights into the negative regulatory role of SIRT3 in cardiac hypertrophy.Sirtuin 3(SIRT3),a mitochondrial deacetylase that may play an impor-tant role in regulating cardiac function and a potential target for CHF

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of radix astragali and its compound prescription for treatment of β-thalassemia in children.

METHODSThis study was a randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial. Fifty-seven children with β-thalassemia were randomly assigned to radix astragali, compound prescription (radix astragali+ codonopsis pilosula + tortoise plastron) and placebo control groups after stratifying the patients according to disease type (intermedia and major). The parameters of hematology and safety were assessed after 12 weeks of treatment.

RESULTSAfter 12 weeks of treatment, the mean Hb elevation levels in children with β-thalassemia intermedia from the compound prescription and the radix astragali groups were 1.21±1.12 and 1.05±0.80 g/dL respectively compared with -(0.28±0.51) g/dL in the placebo control group (P<0.01). Mean Hb levels in the compound prescription and radix astragali groups were significantly higher than in the placebo control group (P<0.05). Therapy with both radix astragali and its compound prescription increased fetal hemoglobin, red blood cell, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and reticulocyte levels in children with β-thalassemia intermedia. The total effective rates were 64% and 62% in children with β-thalassemia intermedia from the compound prescription and radix astragali groups respectively, which was significantly higher than in the placebo control group (9%; P<0.01). Therapy with radix astragali or its compound prescription in children with β-thalassemia major had similar but less favourable effects than the same therapy in children with β-thalassemia intermedia. White blood cell, neutrophil, platelet and hepatic and renal functions were not adversely affected by the medicines.

CONCLUSIONSTherapy with radix astragali or its compound prescription is effective and safe in children with β-thalassemia.

Astragalus Plant ; adverse effects ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hemoglobins ; analysis ; Humans ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; beta-Thalassemia ; blood ; drug therapy

Objective To obtain the normative data of Nenrobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE) in healthy Chinese adults and assess the effects of age, educational level, and gender on the examination results. Methods A total of 100 normal healthy Chinese adults ranging from 18 to 85 years of age were examined with NCSE to obtain the scores of NCSE and the functional items. Rank sum test was used to analyze the variation of the scores between the different groups blocked by educational level, age, and gender. Results Good agreement was found between the normative data provided by NCSE and the measurements in healthy Chinese adults. Significant differences were noted between the young, middle-aged and old people subjects in the scores of the functional items such as comprehension, repetition, memory and judgment (P<0.05). The average total score of NCSE and scores for some functional items (orientation, comprehension, repetition, memory, calculation and similarities) differed significantly between the groups with different education levels (P<0.05), but the gender did not affect the total or item scores of NCSE (P>0.05). Conclusion The NCSE can be applied in examining healthy Chinese adults using the standards provided by the scale, but the impact of age and education level of the subjects should be considered when interpreting the results.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the embryo development potential after intracytoplasmic injection of sperm from azoospermia patients with different spermatogenic functions.

METHODSWe performed ICSI with sperm retrieved from azoospermia patients with different spermatogenic functions using percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) and testicular sperm aspiration (TESA). Then we recorded and analyzed the rates of normal fertilization, cleavages, excellent embryos and pregnancies.

RESULTSNo statistically significant differences were found between the PESA and TESA groups in the rates of normal fertilization ([74.9 +/- 19.6] vs [66.3 +/- 22.7]%, P > 0.05), cleavages ([96.7 +/- 8.6] vs [92.8 +/- 19.8]%, P > 0.05), excellent embryos ([43.5 +/- 26.2] vs [35.0 +/- 29.4]%, P > 0.05) and pregnancies (44.0 vs 52.0%, P > 0.05). The normal fertilization rates in the patients with normal spermatogenesis, mild spermatogenic dysfunction (SD), moderate SD and severe SD were (77.8 +/- 18.4), (68.4 +/- 18.5), (73.5 +/- 19.8) and (51.4 +/- 27.9)%, respectively, with significant difference between the normal spermatogenesis and mild SD groups (P < 0.05) as well as between the severe SD and the other groups (P < 0.05); the cleavage rates were (96.7 +/- 9.2), (96.5 +/- 15.0), (93.9 +/- 12.1) and (93.7 +/- 11.1)%, respectively, with no significant difference among the four groups; the excellent embryo rates were (47.1 +/- 25.8), (40.3 +/- 27.6), (36.2 +/- 23.1) and (15.0 +/- 24.6)%, respectively, with significant difference between the severe SD and the other groups; the pregnancy rates were 54.8, 50.0, 13.6 and 10.0%, respectively, with significant differences among the four groups (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONICSI by PESA or TESA is an effective approach to azoospermia. There are no significant differences between PESA and TESA in the rates of normal fertilization, cleavages, excellent embryos and pregnancies. The severity of spermatogenic dysfunction affects fertilization and initial development of embryos, which were shown in the rates of normal fertilization, excellent embryos and pregnancies but not that of cleavages.

Adult ; Azoospermia ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Embryonic Development ; Epididymis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Sperm Retrieval ; Spermatogenesis ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the evolution pattern of the Runx3 gene 5'-CpG island ~3478 bp region methylation in human salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma (SGACC).

METHODSQuantitative MSP method was used to detect the methylation status of CpG island in various regions (No.1-10) of Runx3 promoter region, and Western blot was used for detection of the expression of Runx3 protein in 41 salivary gland SGACC samples and corresponding non-neoplastic salivary gland tissues. A Logistic model was used to analyze the risk ratio between the methylation status of CpG island in Runx3 gene and development of salivary SGACC, meanwhile, the possible association among the methylation of Runx3 gene, the clinicopathological parameters of SGACCs, and Runx3 protein expression was compared.

RESULTSThe results of qMSP showed that the hypermethylation initially occurred at the most 5' region of the Runx3 CpG island and spread to the transcription start site. The methylation rate was highest in region No. 1 and No. 2 among the successive ten regions ranging from the 5' region to the transcription start site within the Runx3 CpG island, and lowest in the transcription start site both in SGACCs and normal salivary glands. Furthermore, there was no methylation in the transcription start site in nomal salivary glands tissues. Together with the results of Logistic model analysis, those results indicate that the transcription start site within the Runx3 promoter CpG island is critical for gene silencing. Western blot results revealed that the Runx3 protein level in SGACC was significantly lower than that in normal salivary glands (P < 0.01). In combination of the results of qMSP, it is presumed that the Runx3 gene methylation is one of the reason inducing the down-regulation of Runx3 in SGACCs.

CONCLUSIONSMethylation of the Runx3 CpG island spreads from the most 5'-region to the transcription start site in human salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma, and the transcription start site may be a critical region for the methylation of Runx3. The evolution pattern of Runx3 gene methylation is related to the tumorigenesis of SGACCs.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 3 Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; CpG Islands ; genetics ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Salivary Gland Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Salivary Glands ; metabolism