Integrative Medicine ; Professional Competence

Objective To evaluate the applied value of percutaneous oxygen-ozone injection in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation under open 0.23 T MRI guidance.Methods Mounted with ipath 200 optical tracking system,MR-guided injection of oxygen-ozone were performed via a medial border of the articular processes approach in 73 patients with clinically diagnosed LDH.MR compatible 19.5G or 21.0 G biopsy needle was used. Discography was performed in order to select indication before injection oxygen- ozone into nucleus pulposus in 26 patients.Sixty-four patients were injected to three sites:(1)Six to 10 ml oxygen-ozone was injected into discs centers,injected and suctioned alternately in order to make nucleus pulposus oxidation thoroughly.(2)The needle was withdrawn according to the scale of biopsy needle and optical tracking.Then,10 ml oxygen-ozone was injected into disc herniation. (3)After that,needle was withdrawn further about 1.0—1.5 cm to outside of annulus fibrosus.Fifteen to 20 ml oxygen-ozone was injected into intervertebral foramina around nerve roots.The oxygen-ozone concentration was 35—45?g/ml. Nine patients were only performed injection of oxygen-ozone into around nerve root,while not injection oxygen-ozone to nucleus pulposus for considering bad curative effect after discography.Results All of 73 patients were successfully local targeted and treated under MRI guidance without serious complications, such as nerve root injury.After 3—6 months follow-up,total overall efficacy was 91.3% with the excellent in 28,good in 39,and poor in 6,respectively.Conclusion Open MR-guided injection of oxygen-ozone, mounted with optical tracking system,is a safe and effective minimally invasive therapy for treating LDH.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics ofposttraumatic epilepsy, the correlation between epileptogenic foci and encephalomalacia, and the therapeutic effects of surgical intervention. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed among 13 patients with refractory post-traumatic epilepsy who received surgical intervention between February, 2003 and April, 2006. Results The first seizure attack occurred 0.5-13 years (mean 5.3 years) after craniocerebral injury in these patients. The epileptogenic loci were located around the encephalomalacia (ranging from 2 to 7 cm) in 8 patients, in the temporal lobe in 5 patients, in the medial temporal lobe in 4 patients (3 of whom sustained the injuries at 1.5-5 years of age with hippocampal glial proliferation shown by postoperative pathological examination), and in the neocortex of the temporal lobe in 1 case. All the patients underwent the operations under close monitoring of the cortical electroencephalogram, and 4 also received cranioplasty. The total effective rate of the surgery was 92.3% with an excellent outcome rate of 84.6% in the follow-up for 2-5 years. Conclusion The epileptogenic loci of posttraumatic epilpsy are usually adjacent to the encephalomalacia, and hippocampal sclerosis can be likely in patients with severe cerebral injury below 5 years of age. gefractory posttraumatic epilepsy often has favorable surgical outcome, and prompt surgery is suggested after the diagnosis.

OBJECTIVETo study composition, distribution and causes of acute occupational hand injuries in Beijing Jishuitan Hospital.

METHODSFrom April 1st 2005 to September 30th 2005, all patients with acute hand injuries were investigated by questionnaire focusing on all related epidemiological elements.

RESULTSTwo thousand six hundred fifty eight cases with acute hand injuries were about 17.3 % of patients with acute orthopedic injuries. Their mean age was (30.4 +/- 10.8) years old. The radio of males to females in cases with acute hand injuries was 57:1. The cutting and crushing injuries were the main causes of acute hand injuries. Most of cases with acute hand injuries were engaged in work related to machines. The acute hand injuries were mainly involved in index and middle figures of both hands, 94.9 % of acute hand injuries were opening, and 87.6% of acute hand injuries were involved in the deep tissues.

CONCLUSIONAcute hand injuries are the common occupational severe injuries for young male workers. The acute hand injuries occur in patients engaged in work related to machines. The prevention of acute hand injuries should be emphasized.

Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Hand Injuries ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Injuries ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo develop a follicular unit-like construct with allogeneic hair, evaluate its histocompatibility and long-term stability after transplantation, and explore the possibility of its clinical application.

METHODSHuman hair and medical polypropylene was processed according to the structure of follicular units and prepared into hair prostheses for transplantation. The histocompatibility of polypropylene and human hair in New Zealand rabbits was observed by HE staining and scanning electron microscope, and the loss rate of the hair was recorded to evaluate the long-term result of transplantation.

RESULTSMild inflammatory cell infiltration around polypropylene and human hair was observed early after the transplantation, accompanied with local epithelial cell proliferation. The prosthesis mimicking the follicular units still showed good histocompatibility one year after the transplantation without degradation of the hair. The loss rate of the hair was averaged (4.1∓4.0)% at one year after the transplantation, and the total appearance of the prosthesis remained satisfactory.

CONCLUSIONAllogeneic human hair and polypropylene in the hair prosthesis show good histocompatibility in rabbits. The prosthesis allows good cosmetic effect after transplantation with low rate of hair loss, demonstrating its potential in clinical application.

Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Female ; Hair ; transplantation ; Hair Follicle ; transplantation ; Humans ; Materials Testing ; Polypropylenes ; Rabbits

BACKGROUNDHelical tomotherapy (HT) is a new image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in the target volume and organs at risk (OARs) of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) during helical tomotherapy.

METHODSForty-three patients with NPC and treated via HT from March 2008 to January 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. Repeated CT scanning and plan adaptation were conducted at the 20th fraction during radiotherapy. The volumetric differences between the two scans were evaluated for nasopharyngeal tumor and retro-pharyngeal lymph nodes (GTVnx), neck lymph nodes (GTVnd), and parotid glands, as well as the axial diameter of the head.

RESULTSThe median interval between the two scans was 25 days (23 - 28 days). The volumetric decrease in GTVnx was 30.1% (median, 29.8%) and in GTVnd 41.6% (median, 45.9%). The variation in the GTVnd volume was correlated with the weight loss of the patient. The volume of the left parotid gland decreased by 35.5% (median, 33.4%) and of the right parotid glands decreased by 36.8% (median, 33.5%). The axial diameter of the head decreased by 9.39% (median, 9.1%).

CONCLUSIONSThe target volume and OARs of patients with NPC varied considerably during HT. These changes may have potential dosimetric effects on the target volume and/or OARs and influence the clinical outcome. Repeated CT scanning and replanning during the HT for NPC patients with a large target volume or an obvious weight loss are recommended.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; radiotherapy ; Organs at Risk ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

Microarray imaging is considered as an important tool for large scale analysis of gene expression. The accuracy of the gene expression depends on the experiment itself and further image processing. It's well known that the image analysis introduced during the experiment will greatly affect the accuracy of the gene expression. Microarray image analysis plays a potentially-arge impact on the gene detecting subsequent analysis (image segmentation, spot intensity and spot intensity extraction). In this paper, based on the characters of microarray images, the methods of microarray images' denoising and automatic-identification of the spot are reviewed.
Gene Expression Profiling ; methods ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; methods ; Pattern Recognition, Automated ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between complex 1311 mutation of C-->T in exon 11 and 93 T-->C in intron 11 of G6PD gene and the G6PD deficiency.

METHODSUsing NBT paper strip method to screen and quantitative NBT method to confirm G6PD deficiency. PCR-SSCP technique was used to find the abnormal exon 11 and the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) to identify 1311 mutation, and DNA sequencing to identify the complex mutation at 1311 in exon 11 and 93 in intron 11.

RESULTSAbnormal band in exon 11 was found in 12 cases. DNA sequencing showed that they were 1311 mutation together with 93 mutation.

CONCLUSIONThis complex mutation may be the cause of reduced activity of G6PD enzyme.

Base Sequence ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Exons ; genetics ; Genetic Testing ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase ; genetics ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency ; diagnosis ; enzymology ; genetics ; Humans ; Introns ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Point Mutation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a subgroup of HCCs. We aimed to establish nomograms for predicting the survival of solitary HCC patients after hepatectomy. METHODS: A total of 538 solitary HCC patients were randomly classified into training and validation sets. A Cox model was used to identify predictors of overall survival (OS) in the training set. A nomogram was generated based on these predictors and was validated using the validation set. RESULTS: Tumor size, microvascular invasion, and major vascular invasion were significantly associated with OS in the training set. Nomograms were developed based on these predictors in the multivariate analysis. The C-index was 0.75 for the OS nomogram and 0.72 for the recurrence-free survival nomogram. Compared to the index of conventional staging systems for predicting survival (0.71 for Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer, 0.66 for the seventh American Joint Committee on Cancer, 0.68 for Cancer of the Liver Italian Program, and 0.70 for Hong Kong Liver Cancer), the index of the OS nomogram was significantly higher. Moreover, the calibration curve fitted well between the predicted and observed survival rate. Similarly, in the validation set, the nomogram discrimination was superior to those of the four staging systems (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The nomograms demonstrated good discrimination performance in predicting 3- and 5-year survival rates for solitary HCCs after hepatectomy.
Calibration ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Hepatectomy* ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Joints ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nomograms* ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVEEffects of inter-individual variability on fMRI of acupuncture were observed and the possible influencing factors were further analyzed.

METHODSTwenty-six healthy volunteers were selected. And acupuncture was applied at Zusanli (ST 36) on the left side with even manipulation. The same experimental designation and data collecting reference were adopted to collect functional data. Then, the same data processing method was applied for analyzing individual data. Data which did not confirm with data analyzing qualification were rejected. The 26 individual data which met the requirement were taken randomly for 5 times according to the principle of random group division. Five groups named with A, B, C, D and E were thus generated with 11 samples in each. Images were processed with the AFNI software for every group, and the activated brain areas were revealed.

RESULTSActivated areas in the brain were observed in all the 5 groups, and the results vary a lot among different groups. Decreased signals of activated brain areas were observed in group C, while increased signals were seen in group D. Partial increasing and partial decreasing signals appeared in the other 3 groups. Compared with other groups, group D demonstrated totally different activated areas. The rate of difference among different groups is 46.7%-100.0%, and most of the differences were over half of the activated areas.

CONCLUSIONUnder the pre-requisites of strict control of experimental designation, acupuncture method, data collecting and processing, great differences have been found in the activated areas of the brain. It indicates that obvious individual differences existes in the activated areas of the brain with acupuncture. And the difference may greatly influence the researching result of fMRI as well as conclusions of those results.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Radiography ; Young Adult