BACKGROUND: Pleiotropia and indeterminateness of the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) cause great difficulties for clinical application.Therefore,it is the key to solving the problem to investigate the proliferation and differentiation condition of NSCs.OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of epidermal growth factor(EGF)and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells of human embryonic brain.DESIGN: A randomised and controlled experiment taking cultured human embryonic stem cells as subjects.SETTING: Department of Pediatrics of Zhujiang Hospital, the First Military Medical University of Chinese PLA.MATERIALS:This experiment was conducted at the Central Laboratory of the Department of Pediatrics of Chinese PLA from January to May 2004.Two 16-week embryos from induced labor by water bags voluntarily were chosen at random from the Department of Obstetrics in a tertiary hospital in Guangzhou(Informed consent was obtained from the parents of the fetuses).Then,cells in the subventricular zone were cultured in serum-free medium and serum medium, respectively.METHODS:Primary cells of subventricular zone of human embryonic brain were cultured with serum-free nedium containing EGF,bFGF and EGF + bFGF.The concentration of two growth factors was both 20 μg/L;experiment of differentiation was performed on the cell neurospheres cultured from the primary generation with serum culture medium;differentia tive cells were detected with immonohistochemical technique.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:The number of neurospheres and the change of neurons and gliocytes from neurospheres in each group.RESULTS:① There was no significant difference in the number of primary neurospheres between bFGF group and EGF+bFGF group [(150.3±14.9) /well vs (173.6±26.4)/we11, P ＞ 0.05] , but the number in the two groups was both more than that in EGF group [(99.5±14.9)/we11, P ＜ 0.01].② The neurons differentiated from neurospheres in bFGF group and EGF+bFGF group outnumbered those in EGF group, but gliocytes in EGF group outnumbered those in EGF + bFGF group.CONCLUSION:① bFGF can promote the proliferation of neural stem cells of subventricular zone of human embryonic brain,and the formed neurospheres can differentiate more neurons.② Combination of EGF and bFGF is not superior to single bFGF in effect,suggesting that there is no synergistic effect.

ObjectiveTo analyze the clinical features and pathogenesis mechanism of Isaacs syndrome.MethodsA case with Isaacs syndrome was reporttedResults and ConclusionIsaacs syndrome is characterized by the occurrence of spontaneous and continuous muscle fiber activity, associated with muscle cramps, pseudomyotonia and myokymia, stiffness and delayed relaxation of the muscle. The stiffness and myokymia are present at rest and during sleep. Isaacs syndrome has been recently suggested to be produced through an immune-mediated mechanism in which voltage-gated potassium channels may be targeted by auto-antibodies.

BACKGROUND: Neural stem cells(NSCs) have been used to treat brain injury or some degenerating diseases of nervous system. Since in vitro culture conditions for NSCs differ from normal physiological conditions, whether the properties of the cultured cells are consistent with those of cells under physiological conditions? Therefore, inducing endogenous NSCs to proliferate and differentiate may be more promising for practise of NSCs.OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the developmental properties of NSCs in frontal cortex of embryonic human brain at various ages.DESIGN: It was a randomized experimental study.SETTING: This study was conducted at Department of Pediatrics, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 90 16-to-36-week-old fetuses underwent inducing abortion by water bag were selected at the Obstetrics & Gynecology Department of Zhujiang Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University from October 2003 to March 2004. Brain tissue was taken from the frontal cortex of the aborted fetuses. All the mothers had normal physical examination findings. The informed consents on inducing abortion by water bag had been obtained from relatives and the mothers. The study was conducted with a prior permission from the competent department of the First Military Medical University. According to their ages, the fetuses were divided into 6 groups,16-week group, 20-week group, 24-week group, 28-week group and 36-week group, each group containing 15 cases.METHODS: After inducing abortion by water bag, under axenic conditions, the aborted fetus was dissected, with the scalp excisd, the skull opened and the membrane covering brain pull apart. Then the frontal cerebral cortex was taken out, fixed and sliced. Employing immunohistochemical staining and light microscope, distribution, morphological features, phenotypes, growth patterns and quantity of NSCs in the frontal cortex were observed. Morphological features of the cells and expressions of markers in the cells were examined under light microscope. Negative control was set according to the substitution method. Under a × 400 field of microscope, some nestin-positive cells with speckled brown cytoplasmic staining were defined as NSCs. Two slides of each sample were detected and 10 fields of each slide were observed. Based on these observations, in each group, the total number of cells and the number of positive-stained cells in 300 fields were counted. The rates of nestin-positive cells were calculated.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Morphological features, quantitative assessment and developmental features of the nestin-positive NSCs in frontal cortex of embryonic human brain at various ages were main outcome measurements in this study.RESULTS: NSCs were found in frontal cortex of embryonic human brain. They mainly were distributed in the pyramidal layer and the internal granular layer. They were small round-or oval-shaped, most were small round-shaped. These cells had a relatively large vacuolar nucleus with 1 - 3 nucleoli, loose chromatin and marked cytoplasmic staining. Some of the round-shaped cells were mitral cells with short neurites. The oval-shaped cells had 2 neurites. A distinct territorial distribution of NSCs could be observed. Some colonies, consisting of a few NSCs and looked like the neurospheres in in vitro culture, could be seen. Occasionally, symmetrical division of NSCs could be observed. In all the groups, 16-week, 20-week, 24-week,28-week, 32-week and 36-week group, the rates of nestin-positive NSCs in frontal cortex of embryonic human brain decreased with the increase of age (15.59%, 13.48%, 11.62%, 10.52% ,9.87% ,6.68% ,X2 = 1 265. 152, P＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION: The distribution, morphological features, phenotypes, growth pattern and quantity of the NSCs in frontal cortex of embryonic human brain at various ages are different and auto-developmental features exist. The number of these cells decreases with the increase of age.

BACKGROUND:The treatments of plantar fasci tis as an important cause of calcaneodynia are different in medical institutions, as wel as the therapeutic results.
OBJECTIVE:To summarize various treatments of plantar fascia, and based on the pathogenesis and pathological mechanics of plantar fasci tis, to investigate the effect of various treatment methods and indications.
METHODS:A computer-based online search of PubMed database and Wanfang database was performed for articled related to plantar fasci tis published between January 1993 and January 2014. The keywords were
“plantar fasci tis, mechanism, treatment”in English and Chinese, respectively, by screening the titles and abstracts. Final y, 34 articles were included in result analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The treatment of plantar fasci tis needs to fol ow the principle from noninvasive to invasive treatment. Stretching the plantar fascia and heel cord, using prefab-ricated orthotics, and wearing night splints are crucial for the treatment of plantar fasci tis. Local hormone injection can be used as first-line therapy for patients with acute plantar fasci tis if they can tolerate the adverse reactions due to hormone therapy. Platelet-rich plasma therapy has a promising prospect, but there is lack of experimental evidences. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy can be a choice for recurrent chronic intractable plantar fasci tis. Surgical intervention remains the last line of therapy, for which, rigorous screening is important, but it is not always effective at reducing pain.

BACKGROUND:Diabetes as a systemic metabolic disease induces the disorders of carbohydrates, fat, and protein metabolism, simultaneously easily causes the lesion of surrounding capilaries, and impacts nutrient metabolism of multiple organs including intervertebral discs. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the research progress of diabetes effects on disc degeneration al over the world. METHODS: The first author used the computer to retrieve the information from PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. The key words were “intervertebral disc, degeneration, diabetes melitus” in English and Chinese. 8 414 relevant articles were found, which were published from January 1981 to January 2014. Repetitive studies were excluded and 34 articles were in accordance with the inclusion criteria. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Pathogenesis of diabetes complications was very complicated. Apoptosis is a hot focus in recent years. Hyperglycemia has been a inducer for apoptosis in intervertebral discs. Diabetes easily leads to systemic smal vessel disease, especialy vascular bud contraction in the terminal plate of vertebral body, and results in regional blood flow decrease or interruption. Thus, the nutrient substance carrying along the end plate was reduced, which resulted in disc dystrophy and degeneration. The reduction in extracelular matrix in the intervertebral discs is a major reason for disc degeneration. The mechanisms underlying diabetes effects on disc degeneration remain unclear and deserve further investigations.

Objective To study the expression and functional role of S phase kinase associated protein 2 (Skp2) in development of glioma. Methods Sixty surgically removed specimens of primary glioma and 4 normal brain specimens were obtained from the Department of Neurosurgery, Navy General Hospital of PLA, from June 2001 to June 2006. All the specimens were graded according to WHO Criteria as astrocytoma (grade II, n=20), anaplastic astrocytoma (grade III, n=20) and glioblastoma (grade IV, n=20). Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of Skp2 in specimens of glioma of different grades and normal brain tissue. Results Western blotting demonstrated that the expression of Skp2 in normal brain tissue was significantly lower than that in glioma specimens, and the expression increased in degree along with the elevation of malignant grade. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the Skp2 positively expressed in both the normal brain tissues and gliomas. However, Skp2 was weakly positive and mainly found in the cytoplasm in normal brain tissue and low grade glioma (grade II), while it was strongly positive and mainly observed in the nuclei in high grade glioma (grade III and IV). Furthermore, the positive expression of Skp2 was also observed in vascular endothelial cells of glioma tissue, and the glioma cells with positive Skp2 were found to gather around the vessels in glioma specimens. Statistically analysis showed that the expression of Skp2 was significantly higher in high grade glioma tissues (grade III and IV) than in normal brain tissues and low grade glioma (grade II) with significant difference (P<0.01). Conclusions Along with the increase in malignancy of glioma, the expression of Skp2 was found increasing gradually, and it transferred from cytoplasm to nuclei. Skp2 positively expressed in both vascular endothelial cells of glioma tissue and the glioma cells around vessels in glioma specimens. The change in Skp2 expression might be closely related to an increase in malignancy of glioma, the formation of new vessels, and metastasis of tumor cells.

Animals ; Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Catenins ; metabolism ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; drug effects ; genetics ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; pharmacology

Objective To understand brucellosis infective status of Shapotou District, Zhongwei City of Ningxia. Methods The methods of stratified random sampling of epidemiological survey were used among high risk groups in 2008, who underwent erythromycin red plate cohesion test(RBDT) and test-tube agglutination test (SAT), in accordance with the diagnostic criteria for confirming cases of brucellosis(GB 15988-1995). Results Totally an occupational group of 2480 brucellosis in 10 townships were investigated, and 604 sera were tested. Tweenty eight cases were infected, the infective rate was 4.64%(28/604), 15 cases were diagnosed as brucellosis patients, prevalence rate was 2.48% (15/604); cattle attendants had the highest infection rate of 6.45% (26/403). Conclusions Brucellosis epidemic in Shapotou District, Zhongwei City of Ningxia, and it is place related to vocation.

BACKGROUND: With the improvement of biomaterial and further recognition in aetabular revision, the main tendency is using biologic prosthesis for mild or moderate acetabular bone defect in total hip revision. OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of simple particulate bone grafting on mild or moderate acetabular bone defect in total hip revision. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: A retrospective case analysis. All cases were from Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University from June 2003 to June 2008. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 10 patients with mild or moderate acetabular bone defect who received total hip revision were from Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai East Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University. Among them, there were 5 male and 5 female, with an average of 58.8 years old from 43 to 77 years old. Their last replace time were 3-10 years, with an average of (7.0?0.5) years. Two of them in the last replacement used cement components, three used cementless, four used mixture, and one used dipolar artificial thigh bone. According to AAOS typing, there were 6 cases of type Ⅰ and 4 cases of type Ⅱ. The average preoperative Harris hip joint score was 40.6. METHODS: Simple particulate bone grafting combined with biologic prosthesis was used to treat the 10 patients with mild or moderate acetabular defects. All operations were at the posterolateral approach. The acetabular cup and screw fixation were performed after grafting. The postoperative effect should be evaluated by clinical and X-ray manifestations. MAIN OBJECTIVE INDEX: The bone grafting time, bleeding volume, Harris score and complications in the perioperative period were recorded. RESULTS: All patients were adopted simple particulate bone grafting combined with biologic prosthesis to reconstruct the acetabular bone defects. One acetalum cup was found loose after one month. The titanium plate combined with particulate bone grafting was used in the second revision. At 3 months after operation, the patient could walk without crutch. No complication was found in other patients. An average of 3 years following-up was obtained. The average Harris score was 87.0. Except one acetalum cup was found loose, the X-ray showed that the bed of acetabulum and particulate bone was good healing and there was no complete transparent zone. There was no patient with displacement of acetalum cup. No osteolysis in any patient. The particulate bone and host bone had a good healing. CONCLUSION: The simple particulate bone grafting is simple and effective for mild or moderate acetabular bone defects with the good follow-up result in early period.

Objective To study the best dose of batroxobin that protects forebrain ischemia reperfusion injury in gerbils.Methods 80 gerbils were randomly assigned to receive different dose of batroxobin (1 BU/kg, 2 BU/kg, 4 BU/kg, 8 BU/ kg, 16 U/kg or 32 BU/kg) in treatment group, NS in control group or nothing in sham-operation group. There were 10 gerbils in each group. NS (control group) or batroxobin (treatment group) was given intraperitoneally three hours before establishment of forebrain ischemia reperfusion model. Apoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL technique and the number of apoptotic cells in the hippocampal CA 1 territory was counted using Olympus microscope.Results The apoptotic cells in the treatment groups (8 BU/kg, 16 BU/kg, 32 BU/kg) markedly decreased than those in the control group and the other treatment groups (1 BU/kg, 2 BU/kg, 4 BU/kg) (all P0.05). Conclusions Batroxobin has a role of reducing neuron apoptosis after cerebral ischemia. The best dose of batroxobin that protects forebrain ischemia reperfusion injury in gerbils is 8 BU/kg.