Objective To investigate the ultrasound characteristics of prenatal fetus otocephaly . Methods Three prenatal fetus with otocephaly were examined with two -and three-dimensional ultrasoundand examined results were compared with the those of induced labor or autopsy ,and ultrasound characteristicsof prenatal fetus were analyzed and summarized .Results The ultrasound performance of three prenatal fetuswith otocephaly and the examination of the appearance after induced labor showed :(1) The most intuitiveinitial sonographic performance of otocephaly was manifested by the absence of stomach bubble andoverabundance of amniotic fluid.Among three fetus,one fetus had overabundance of amniotic fluid at the midstageof pregnancy,one fetus had normal amniotic fluid at the mid-stage of pregnancy and one fetus hadextremely high amount of amniotic fluid and absence of stomach bubble at late stage of pregnancy .(2) Allthree fetus showed agnathy and synotia (shifts of both ears to the midline) and microstomia deformity.(3) All three fetus had associated complications with deformity in other systems including two cases of patients withcleft lip and palat,both were the fracture unilateral cleft lip derived from small mouth .One fetus withdysmelia and one fetus with complicated cardiovascular deformity and situs inversus and .(4) The results ofexamination after induced labor or autopsy were consistent with those of the prenatal ultrasound examination . Conclusions Prenatal ultrasound examination is an effective and feasible means for the diagnoses ofotocephaly.When the symptoms of “absence of stomach bubble and extremely high amount of amniotic fluid ”occurred,the fetal ear and submaxilla should be examined to confirm stand -alone otocephaly prenatally.

Objective To investigate the effects of partial body weight supported treadmill training (BW- STT) on post-stroke depression (PSD) and on patients' quality of life.Methods Sixty patients with PSD were re- cruited and divided into a training group (n=30,male 17,female 13) and a control group (n=30,male 16,fe- male 14).All patients were treated with routine internal medication and rehabilitation.The patients of the training group also received BWSTT in addition to their routine treatment.All patients' neurological impairment was evaluated using the Modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian Stroke Scale (MESSS).The Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) was used for evaluating the degree of depression.The Fugl-Meyer scale and the Barthel index were used to assess ambula- tion and balance,and facility in the activities of daily living.All patients were assessed before and after the treat- ment.Results After four weeks of treatment,depression in the training group had improved significantly more than in the control group.Conclusion BWSTT intervention is very important for patients with PSD:it can reduce the degree of depression and improve the quality of life.

The deubiquitinating enzyme ubiquitin specific peptidase 15 (USP15) is regarded as a regulator of TGFβ signaling pathway. This process depends on Smad7, the inhibitory factor of the TGFβ signal, and type I TGFβ receptor (TβR-I), one of the receptors of TGFβ. The expression level of USP15 seems to play vital roles in the pathogenesis of many neoplasms, but so far there has been no report about USP15 in psoriasis. In this study, immunohistochemical staining of USP15, TβR-I and Smad7 was performed in 30 paraffin-embedded psoriasis specimens and 10 normal specimens to investigate the expression of USP15, TβR-I and Smad7 in psoriasis and to explore the relevance among them. And USP15 small interfering RNA (USP15 siRNA) was used to transfect Hacat cells to detect the mRNA expression of TβR-I and Smad7. Of 30 cases of psoriasis in active stage, 28, 24 and 26 cases were positive for USP15, TβR-I and Smad7 staining, respectively. The positive rates of USP15 and Smad7 were significantly higher in psoriasis specimens than in normal skin specimens (44.1%±26.0% vs. 6.1%±6.6%, 47.2%±27.1% vs. 6.6%±7.1%), and positive rate of TβR-I (20.3%±22.2%) in psoriasis was lower than that in normal skin specimens (46.7%±18.2%). There was a significant positive correlation between USP15 and Smad7 expression, and significant negative correlations between USP15 and TβR-expression, an I d between TβR- and Smad7 expression I in psoriasis. After transfection of USP15 siRNA in Hacat cells, the expression of TβR-mRNA was up I -regulated and that of Smad7 was down-regulated. It is concluded that USP15 may play a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis through regulating the TβR-I/Smad7 pathway and there may be other cell signaling pathways interacting with USP15 to take part in the development of psoriasis.

Objective To investigate the levels of serum vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) and relationships with c1inicopatho1ogica1 characteristics and their clinical significance. Methods The concentrations of serum VEGF and bFGF were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in 40 patients with NSCLC before and after chemotherapy. Results The level of serum VEGF in patients with Ⅳ stage NSCLC was significantly higher than that of Ⅲ stage(P

To investigate the influence of Anxin granules combined with tirofiban on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) Patients after elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). One hundred and twenty AMI patients were randomly divided into treatment group and control group. The patients in the two groups were all given Tirofiban 30mins before PCI . The treatment group was added Anxin granules 30 mins before and after PCI. Tissue factor (TF) and von willebrand factor (vWF) were tested at 6 hours after operation. Syndromatology alteration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and bleeding complications were observed at 4 weeks after operation. Both TF and vWF at 6 hours after operation of the treatment group was lower than the control group significantly (P < 0.01), while the condition of myocardial ischemia at 90 mins after operation of the treatment group was better than control group with significance. The syndromatology alteration of TCM especially spontaneous perspiration and hypodynamia of the treatment group were improved significantly compared to control group 4 weeks after operation. All patients in both groups had no bleeding complications and thrombopenia. The study suggests that Anxin granules combined with tirofiba can improve the clinical efficacy and the endothelial function of AMI patients after PCI with no increase in bleeding events.
Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; complications ; metabolism ; surgery ; Postoperative Hemorrhage ; drug therapy ; etiology ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Thromboplastin ; metabolism ; von Willebrand Factor ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective effects of protein kinase C (PKC) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) their and mechanisms in liver ischemic preconditioning.

METHODSIn rat models of liver ischemia-reperfusion (IR) and ischemic preconditioning (IP), the liver function was evaluated by examining serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, and the morphological changes of the liver cells were observed under microscope. PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate(PMA) and inhibitor chelerythrine(CHE), as well as MEK inhibitor PD98059, were utilized to analyze the phosphorylation of PKC and P44/42 MAPKs.

RESULTSCompared with the control rats, the liver function was best protected in rats of IP group, but not in those of IP group with PD98059 or CHE treatment. The rats in IR group showed improved liver function after PMA treatment. Similarly, the phosphorylation of PKC and P44/42 MAPKs was correlated with the liver function, and highly enhanced PKC and P44/42 MAPKs activity was observed in IP and IR+PMA groups, but decreased activity in IR and IP+CHE groups.

CONCLUSIONPhosphorylation of PKC and MAPKs plays a pivotal role in the preservation of the hepatocytes during IP.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Alkaloids ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Benzophenanthridines ; pharmacology ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; Liver ; blood supply ; enzymology ; Male ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; drug effects ; Protein Kinase C ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; blood ; physiopathology ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate ; pharmacology

Aporphine alkaloids belong to isoquinoline alkaloids and have a wide range of physiological activities. These natural products and their derivatives are the lead compound of the novel drug for the treatment of various diseases. Based on many literatures, the plant distribution, biosynthetic pathways, natural organic synthesis methods and pharmacological activities of those aporphine alkaloids have been summarized in this paper, which would supported the deeply development about the pharmaceutical research based on the aporphine alkaloids.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of melatonin (MT) on the abnormal reactivity of thoracic aorta and pulmonary artery induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups randomly: (1) Vehicle group; (2) LPS group: LPS (4 mg/kg, i.p.); (3) LPS+MT group: MT (5 mg/ml, i.p.) was given 30 min before LPS and 60 min after LPS (4 mg/kg ,i.p); (4) MT group: received two doses of MT, 90 min after the first injection of MT another dose of MT was given. Six hours after LPS injection,the rats were killed and both thoracic aortic rings (TARs) and pulmonary artery rings (PARs)were prepared. The reactivity of TARs and PARs in the four subgroups was tested separately. The contraction response to phenylephrine (PE) and the endothelium-dependent relaxation response (EDRR) to ACh were observed with the isolated artery ring technique. Concentration-response curves were generated with ACh or PE (1 x 10(-8) - 1 x 10(-5) mol/L). Superoxide dismutes (SOD) activity and the content of malondialhyde (MDA) in artery tissues were detected. For TARs, LPS significantly reduced the contraction response to PE compared with the vehicle group (P<0.01) and the curve of cumulative dose responses to PE in the LPS group shifted downward. Although EDRR to ACh in the LPS group had the tendency to decrease but still showed no significant difference compared with the vehicle group (P>0.05). For PARs, EDRR to ACh was depressed significantly in the LPS group (P<0.01), while no effect on contraction response to PE in the LPS group was observed, compared with the vehicle group (P> 0.05). Compared with the LPS group, TARs in the LPS+MT group exhibited an increased contraction response to PE, but were still lower than that in the vehicle group. Similarly, EDRR to ACh of PARs in the LPS+MT group was improved significantly and there was no difference between the LPS+MT group and the vehicle group. The vascular reactivity was unaffected in MT group compared with the vehicle group in both TARs and PARs. SOD activity in the LPS +MT group increased significantly and the content of MDA decreased markedly compared with the LPS group. These results suggest that MT may improve the vascular reactivity in endotoxemia rats due to its antioxidant properties.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; physiopathology ; Endotoxemia ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; Free Radical Scavengers ; pharmacology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Male ; Melatonin ; pharmacology ; Pulmonary Artery ; physiopathology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Vasoconstriction ; drug effects ; Vasodilation ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes in plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and in peripheral CD34(+) cells in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and explore their role in AMI.

METHODSEnzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was employed for measuring the levels of VEGF and SDF-1 in AMI patients on days 1, 3, 7, 10, and 14 of onset and in normal control subjects. The absolute counts of CD34(+) in the peripheral blood were measured on days 1, 7, and 14 by flow cytometry in AMI patients, with their myocardial enzyme and troponin I detected and electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography (UCG) recorded.

RESULTSPeripheral CD34(+) cells obviously increased on day 7 after AMI onset (2.35-/+0.72/microl vs 1.48-/+0.49/micro, P<0.05). VEGF levels were significantly higher in AMI patients than in the control subjects, reaching the peak level and on day 14 (197.56-/+39.87 vs 53.79-/+18.12 pg/ml, P<0.01). SDF-1 level obviously decreased on day 1 after AMI onset (1683.12-/+224.79 vs 2178.67-/+265.34 pg/ml, P<0.01), followed by gradually increased to the control level. Obvious correlation was noted between the level of VEGF on day 7 and the peak level of peripheral CD34(+) cells, and the peak plasma VEGF level was obviously associated with the peak serum CK-MB and troponin I levels.

CONCLUSIONThe stem cells are mobilized into the peripheral blood in the event of AMI. Obviously increased VEGF level following AMI may persist for at least 2 weeks, whereas SDF-1 level undergoes temporary decrement after AMI. The dynamic changes of VEGF and SDF-1 can be related to the mobilization and homing of the stem cells to the injured myocardium.

Adult ; Antigens, CD34 ; blood ; Chemokine CXCL12 ; blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; blood ; Time Factors ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; blood

OBJECTIVETo observe the influence of endostar alone or in combination with cisplatin on tumor growth and metastasis, as well as the inhibition of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in nude mouse models of human cervical cancer.

METHODSHeLa cells were inoculated subcutaneously into the hind flank region of female nu/mice to establish xenograft models. The nude mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: (1) sodium chloride (as control); (2) cisplatin alone; (3) endostar alone; (4) cisplatin plus endostar (10 mg/kg); (5) cisplatin plus endostar (20 mg/kg). The course of all the treatments lasted for 4 weeks. The tumor growth and lymph node metastasis were observed. Immunohistochemical staining was employed to detect the angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.

RESULTS(1) Either endostar alone or endostar with cisplatin inhibited the tumor growth significantly than cisplatin and NS (P < 0.05). (2) The rates of lymph node metastasis in the endostar (20 mg/kg) with cisplatin, the endostar (10 mg/kg) with cisplatin, the endostar, the cisplatin and the NS groups were 0 (0/8), 12.5% (1/8), 12.5% (1/8), 62.5% (5/8) and 75.0% (6/8) (P = 0.002), respectively. (3) The MVD of tumor tissue in these five groups were 10.88 +/- 1.38, 10.25 +/- 1.22, 10.83 +/- 2.29, 15.58 +/- 2.31 and 22.08 +/- 1.93, respectively (P < 0.05). The MLD were 5.00 +/- 0.63, 5.17 +/- 0.75, 6.00 +/- 0.63, 14.33 +/- 1.63 and 13.67 +/- 1.21, respectively (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEndostar can reduce the tumor growth and metastasis by inhibiting angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in nude mouse model of human cervical cancer.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; Endostatins ; pharmacology ; Female ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Lymphangiogenesis ; drug effects ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Lymphatic Vessels ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Microvessels ; drug effects ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; prevention & control ; Random Allocation ; Tumor Burden ; drug effects