OBJECTIVETo investigate the characteristics of the spontaneous isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection (SISMAD) on computed tomography angiography (CTA).

METHODSTwenty-five patients with unexplained acute abdominal pain received CTA.

RESULTSFour cases with the SISMAD were found and all were male with a mean age of (45.3±6.7) years. Two patients had hypertension history. CT showed enlarged diameter of the superior mesenteric artery with dissection in 4 cases, intimal flap and visible false lumen in 2 cases, ulcer-like laceration in 1 case, and intramural hematoma in 1 case. The proximal lacerations or entries were all at the proximal segment of the superior mesenteric artery. CTA classifications were type Ia (n=2), IIb (n=1), and III (n=1). Two patients underwent repeated CTA when discharged, and progressive changes were discovered.

CONCLUSIONCTA can clearly show the characteristics of the superior mesenteric artery dissection, confirm the diagnosis, and provide an important basis for the classification and follow-up observation.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; diagnostic imaging ; Angiography ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; diagnostic imaging ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect and mechanism of zoledronate on prevention of collapse in an animal model of osteonecrosis.

METHODSIschemic osteonecrosis was surgically induced in 16 SD rats (which were further divided into zoledronate group and placebo group); another 8 rats were used as sham surgery group (n=8). The animals were killed 5 weeks after surgery. Radiographic, Micro-CT, histological, and immunohistochemical assessments were performed.

RESULTSRadiographic assessment showed better preservation of the femoral head shape in the zoledronate group than in the placebo group but not significantly different from the sham surgery group. Micro-CT assessment showed higher total volume, bone volume, and total mineralized content in the zoledronate group(all P0.05). Compared with the placebo group, the zoledronate group had reduced osteoclast and osteoblast activity, as confirmed by histological examinations.

CONCLUSIONZoledronate can decrease the femoral head deformity by reducing the osteoclast activity while suppressing new bone and vessels formation in a rat model of traumatic osteonecrosis, and therefore may delay the collapse of femoral head.

Animals ; Diphosphonates ; therapeutic use ; Disease Models, Animal ; Femur Head ; drug effects ; pathology ; Femur Head Necrosis ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Imidazoles ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Osteoblasts ; drug effects ; pathology ; Osteoclasts ; drug effects ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Controversy on whether patients should receive radical surgery after pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has remained since pCR patients have shown favorable long-term outcome. Progress in multidisciplinary modalities has been made, including MRI, PET/CT imaging studies, genetic expression profiling, etc. The methods of predicting pCR response are inspiring. In this article, we review the methods for prediction and prognostic effect of pCR response when patients with locally advanced rectal cancer are treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.
Chemoradiotherapy ; Humans ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Rectal Neoplasms ; therapy ; Remission Induction ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo develop a UPLC method for the simultaneous determination of liquiritin, narirutin, hesperidin, ammonium glycyrrhetate, honokiol and magnolol in Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid.

METHODA Zorbax Eclipse C18 column was used with the mobile phase of acetonitrile and 0. 05% phosphate acid by gradient elution at the detection wavelength of 220 nm. The flow rate was 0.42 mL x min(-1) and the column temperature was 30 degrees C.

RESULTThe calibration curves were linear in the ranges of 0.001 7-0.034, 0.003 4-0.068, 0.006 4-0.128, 0.012 8-0.256, 0.003 2-0.064, 0.006 4-0.128 microg, respectively. The average recoveries were 103.3%, 98.39%, 98.29%, 102.1%, 98.45%, 102.2% with RSDs of 2.1%,1.0%, 0.50%, 2.3%, 0.9%, 2.0%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe UPLC method was simple, rapid and accurate, it could be used for quality control of Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid.

Administration, Oral ; Biphenyl Compounds ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Disaccharides ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Flavanones ; chemistry ; Glucosides ; chemistry ; Hesperidin ; chemistry ; Lignans ; chemistry ; Pharmaceutical Solutions ; chemistry

In recent years, the interaction between HLA class I alleles and receptors of NK cells have been paid more attention in HLA-identical sibling hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HLA-identical sibling HSCT). NK cells mediate alloreactions when the allogeneic targets do not express HLA class I alleles that block inhibitory receptors of NK cells. Alloreactive donor-derived NK cells reduce GVHD by eliminating host-type antigen-presenting cells, but favor engraftment by killing host lymphocyte cells and reduce the risk of relapse by eradicating leukemia cells. Moreover, activating receptors also influence the outcome of HLA-identical sibling HSCT. In this review, the advance of the impact of both inhibitory and activating KIR (killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor, KIR) on the outcome of HLA-identical sibling HSCT is briefly summarized.
HLA Antigens ; immunology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; methods ; Humans ; Killer Cells, Natural ; immunology ; Prognosis ; Receptors, KIR ; immunology ; Siblings ; Transplantation, Homologous

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy of syndrome differentiation-based treatment with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) versus losartan therapy in addition to basic treatment for management of proteinuria in patients with chronic kidney disease.

METHODSThis multicenter, randomized, and case-controlled clinical trial was conducted among 81 consecutive patients meeting the inclusion criteria. The patients were randomized consecutively to receive TCM treatments according to the syndrome patterns in TCM (spleen and kidney Qi and Yin deficiency, and spleen and kidney Qi and Yang deficiency, n=60) or oral losartan therapy (50 mg/day, n=21) in addition to the basic treatments. All the patients were followed up for 24 weeks to observe the clinical effects.

RESULTSThe patients in TCM group showed a significantly higher overall response rate (93.33%) than those in losartan group (76.20%, P<0.05). The TCM score in the two groups were all decreased at week 24 as compared with baseline (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The TCM scores in both groups decreased significantly after the treatments as compared with the baseline scores (P<0.05). After a 8-week-long treatment, Scr, eGFR and Cys-C, U-Pro/24 h, and MA/Cr all decreased significantly in TCM group (P<0.05) but showed no significant changes in losartan group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSyndrome differentiation-based TCM treatment in addition to basic treatments can produce satisfactory therapeutic effects on proteinuria in patients with chronic kidney disease by improving the clinical symptoms, reducing TCM symptom scores and proteinuria, and protecting the renal functions.

Adult ; Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Losartan ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Prospective Studies ; Proteinuria ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; complications ; drug therapy

Objective To study the decomposition kinetics of omethoate in blood.Methods The acetonitrile precipitated protein was added into the blood, with the chromatographic column of a Waters BEH C18column (2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.7μm), the mobile phase of 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate aqueous solution-methanol, and the gradient elution with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min and injection volume of 2μL.With electrospray ionization (ESI) source and positive ion detection, qualitative and quantitative analyses were taken using multi-reaction monitoring mode.Omethoate standard was added into blank human blood to the mass concentrations of 0.78, 1.40, 2.30, 4.50, and 7.20μg/mL, and each mass concentration was preserved at 3 temperatures of-20℃, 4℃, and 20℃, respectively.The content of omethoate was detected at different time points (0, 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 15, 24, 32, 40, 48, 64, 80, 96, and 120 d).Results Different concentrations of omethoate all showed a descended trend in human blood under different temperature conditions.The decomposition in storage environment of-20℃, 4℃, and 20℃was fit to a one-compartment open model with a first-order kinetic process, which could be expressed as Ct=Coe-αt, with the calculated theoretical values of omethoate concentration close to the measured values.Conclusion All concentrations of omethoate are decomposed in the blood, which vary a lot in different preservation conditions.It is suggested that blood samples should be frozen and detected timely in suspected omethoate poisoning cases.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of herbal cake moxibustion plus acupuncture in treating post-stroke urinary incontinence.Methods Fifty patients with post-stroke urinary incontinence were randomized to a treatment group (26 cases) and a control groups (24 cases). The treatment group received herbal cake moxibustion plus acupuncture and the control group, acupuncture alone. Twenty-four-hour urine void number, incontinence severity and the clinical symptom score were recorded in the two groups before and after treatment.Results There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in twenty-four-hour urine void number and the clinical symptom score in the two groups (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in pre-/post-treatment twenty-four- hour urine void number difference value and clinical symptom score difference value between the treatment and control groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant pre-/post-treatment difference in incontinence severity in the two groups (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant post-treatment difference in incontinence severity between the treatment and control groups (P<0.05).Conclusion Herbal cake moxibustion plus acupuncture is an effective way to treat post-stroke urinary incontinence.

OBJECTIVETo determine if combined therapy consisting of NEL-like type 1 gene (NELL-1) and zoledronate can prevent the collapse of the femoral head and stimulate the new bone formation in an animal model of osteonecrosis.

METHODSIschemic osteonecrosis was surgically induced in 24 SD rats, whicih were equally randomly divided into three groups: combination group, treated with both NELL-1 and zoledronate; sham operation group; and placebo group, treated with normal saline solution. The animals were killed 5 weeks after surgery. Radiography, MicroCT, histology, and immunohistochemistry were performed to analyze the results.

RESULTSMorphologically, the femoral head was at good shape in the combination group, while mildly flattened femoral head was seen in the placebo group. No heterotopic ossifications were observed in each group. MicroCT assessment showed significantly higher total and bone mineral volume in the combination group than in the placebo group (P<0.01), whereas no such significant difference was found when compared with the sham operation group(P>0.05). Histological assessment showed more active osteoblast activity and reduced osteoclast activity in the combination group compared with placebo group.

CONCLUSIONA combination of NELL-1 and zoledronate can decrease the femoral head deformity while stimulating bone formation in a traumatic rat osteonecrois model, showing a potential to reverse the osteonecrosis.

Animals ; Diphosphonates ; therapeutic use ; Femur Head Necrosis ; drug therapy ; Imidazoles ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; therapeutic use ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective:To investigate the protective effect of quercetin （Qu） on articular cartilage of knee osteoarthritis and its mechanism by inhibiting p38 mitogen activated protein kinase （MAPK） signaling pathway. Method:Through the network pharmacology technology，we scientifically predicted and analyzed the target factors and signal pathways of Qu in the protection of articular cartilage in patients with osteoarthritis. We selected a prediction pathway closely related to osteoarthritis and validated it by cell experiment in vitro. The best intervention concentration of the drug was selected by cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） method. The osteoarthritis and its closely related inflammatory factors interleukin（IL）-1β and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. The expression of related mRNA and protein in p38 signal pathway after Qu intervention were detected by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） and Western blot. Result:It was predicted that MAPK signal pathway was closely related to osteoarthritis by network pharmacology，and p38 MAPK pathway，which was most closely related to osteoarthritis，was selected for study. The results showed that 100 μmol·L^-1 Qu had the most obvious effect in decreasing the expression of related inflammatory factors，inhibited the expression of p38，phosphorylated（p）-p38，matrix metalloproteinase-13（MMP-13），A disintegrin-like and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type-1 motifs-4（ADAMTS-4） in the pathway，and promoted the expression of CollagenⅡ. Conclusion:Qu could decrease the expression of cartilage inflammatory factors in the prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis，and the effect can be well developed by intervening and inhibiting p38 MAPK pathway related factor expression level. All the results show that Qu can decrease osteoarthritis inflammatory factors and protect articular cartilage in patients with osteoarthritis.