The ABCD2 score is validated for evaluating short-term stroke risk after transient ischemic attack (TIA); however, whether it is able to predict the long-term risk of vascular outcome remains uncertain. Recently a new tissue-based definition of TIA has been proposed. The ABCD2 scores of 145 TIA patients admitted to our hospital were retrospectively calculated and stratified into two categories: ≤ 3 points (low risk); 4-7 points (moderate-high risk). At a median follow-up of 81 months, new vascular events were recorded. Follow-up data were available in 107 patients. Seventy one patients had a moderate-high ABCD2 score. Sixty six patients experienced a cerebral ischemic event; 8 a myocardial infarction; 7 died of cerebrovascular or cardiovascular cause. Moderate-high ABCD2 score was significantly associated with the further cerebral ischemic events (hazard ratio [HR], 1.755; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.019 to 3.024) and with the combined endpoint (HR, 1.818; 95% CI, 1.079 to 3.063). Our study shows that the ABCD2 score may also be used to predict long-term vascular outcome after tissue-based definition of TIA. Moderate-high ABCD2 score is associated with an increased general vascular risk in the long-term follow-up after TIA.
Stroke

Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; surgery ; Cholecystectomy ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Male

Objective: To assess fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) vascular hyper-intensity (FVH) and explore its relationship with CT perfusion (CTP) penumbral/infarct core mismatch ratio and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) final infarct volume in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Methods: The CTP and MRI images of 38 AIS patients with MCAO were reviewed. The FVH score (longitudinal direction) [FVH score (L)] and FVH score (transverse direction) [FVH score (T)] were quantified on the FLAIR images. The FVH score (L) (range, 0-16) was based on a rostrocaudal extension of FVH and the FVH score (T) (range, 0-3) was based on FVH supply of the occluded MCA territory. The mismatch ratio was calculated from the ratio of the [mean transit time - cerebral blood volume (CBV)] lesion/CBV lesion on the CTP images. The DWI infarct volume was measured on the DWI images. Results: The mismatch ratio was larger for the group of FVH score (L)=7~8 than those of FVH score (L)=5~6 and FVH score (L)=3~4 (p=0.03), whereas the DWI infarct volume was smaller (p=0.04). Similarly, the mismatch ratio of FVH score (T)=2~3 group was larger than FVH score (T)=1 group (p=0.01), whereas the DWI infarct volume was smaller (p=0.02). Both FVH score (L) and FVH score (T) correlated positively with mismatch ratio (P=0.02, P=0.001, respectively), but negatively with DWI infarct volume (P=0.03, P=0.004, respectively). Conclusions: Higher FVH score is associated with larger mismatch ratio and smaller DWI infarct volume in AIS patients with MCAO. FLAIR vascular hyperintensity may represent collateral arterial circulation, and may play a role in protecting the ischemic penumbra.
Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery

Objective To study the relationship between the change of T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells in esophageal cancer patients and radiotherapy effect.Methods The levels of T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells were detected by flow cytometry in 56 cases with histologically confirmed esophageal cancer treated with radiotherapy and contrasted to the healthy people.Results In patients with esophageal cancer,peripheral blood T cells,Th cells,Th / Ts were decreased significantly compared with the control group [(58.3±5.2) ％ vs (65.8±7.2) ％,(28.7±5.0) ％ vs (38.1±7.7) ％,(1.0±0.3) vs (1.6+2.7),all P ＜ 0.05],while the Ts cells were significantly increased [(28.8±5.3) ％ vs (25.4±5.7) ％,P ＜ 0.05].There was no significant difference between peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets,Th/Ts ratio change and patient age,sex,tumor staging,histological differentiation and pathological lesions.After radiotherapy,the levels of peripheral blood T cells,Th cells,Th/Ts cell ratio and NK cells in esophageal cancer patients were increased [(66.9±4.5) ％ vs (59.4±4.9) ％,(40.6±5.6) ％ vs (29.1±4.2) ％,(1.6+0.5) ％ vs (1.0±0.4) ％,(16.2±3.9) ％ vs (14.6±3.2) ％,all P ＜ 0.05],while the Ts cells decreased [ (25.4±3.6) ％ vs (28.4±5.7) ％,P ＜ 0.05].The increasing degree of peripheral blood T cells,Th cells were closely related to the lesion progress,the difference was significant (both P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Cellular immune function in patients with esophageal cancer is low.Detection of T lymphocyte subsets,NK cells can be used for immune monitoring of patients with esophageal cancer.

OBJECTIVETo study the frequency of a 9 bp deletion polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in ethnic Miao, Buyi and Dong populations from Guizhou province.

METHODSPolymerase chain reaction-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PCR-PAGE) was used to detect the 9 bp deletion. The result was verified with DNA sequencing.

RESULTSTwo polymorphisms, including a standard pattern and a short pattern (the 9 bp deletion), were found among the three ethnic groups. The frequency of short pattern in 304 males was 23.0%. Respectively, those of Miao, Buyi and Dong ethnics were 28.6%, 26.8% and 13.7%. A statistically significant difference was detected among the three groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe frequencies of the 9 bp polymorphism were relatively high among ethnic Miao, Buyi and Dong populations from Guizhou, and there was a significant difference between the three.

Base Sequence ; China ; ethnology ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; genetics ; Gene Deletion ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Objective To investigate the association between interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene promoter microsatellite polymorphisms and the susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection in Han,Yi and Yao ethnicities in GuiZhou province.Methods 500 volunteers were selected from Guizhou province.Ailelic frequency of IL-10.G and IL-10.R loci was identified by short tandom repeat polymerase chain reaction.The relativity between allelic frequency and HBV infection was analyzed.Results Genotype data from H-W analysis on all the IL-10 polymorphisms indicated that it was a random distribution.Very high HBV infection rates were found in the native ethnic minorities of Guizhou province.The overall HBV infection rate among the total population was 67.00％,with the HBV infection rates of Yi nationality in Weining,Yi nationality in Qianxi,Yao nationality in Libo and Han nationality in Libo as 51.85％,42.86％,79.52％ and 84.30％,respe~vely.The polymorphisms distribution of IL- 10.G and IL- 10.R were statistically different among the ethnic groups (P＜ 0.05 ).The polymorphisms distribution of IL-10.R had no significant difference between HBV infection group and non-infection group,as well as among HBV natural removal group and non-infected group in all the ethnic groups.The frequency of IL-10.G 459 bp (19CA) was significantly higher in non-infection group than in the infected group (P＜ 0.05 ).The frequency of IL-10.G 471 bp (25CA) was significantly higher in the non-infection group than in the HBV natural removal group(P＜0.05).The polymorphisms distribution of IL-10.G did not show significant difference between the HBV infection group and the HBV natural removal group in all the ethnic groups.We did not find any differences in allelic and genotypic frequencies of IL-10.G between infection group and non-infection group in Yi nationality in Weining,and Yao nationality in Libo (P＞0.05),as well as HBV natural removal group and non-infected group (P＞0.05).Conclusion The polymorphisms distribution of IL-10.R and IL-10.G did not show significant difference in Yi,Yao and Han ethnics population living in Guizhou province.IL-10.G seemed to influence the susceptibility of HBV infection in Han,Yao and Yi ethnics population of Guizhou province.

Objective To study the expression of CD269 and CD317 antigens in bone marrow cells of patients with multiple myeloma (MM),analyze its correlation with the laboratory indexes reflecting the progression of MM and evaluate its value in clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods 63 newly diagnosed MM patients were selected as the study group by a casecontrol study.The expression rate of CD269 and CD317 in bone marrow blood of 35 patients with iron deficiency anemia and other antigens in bone marrow blood of 63 patients with MM were detected by flow cytometry.The levels of serum hemoglo bin (Hb),serumβ2-MG(β2-MG) and lactatedehydrogenase (LDH) in patients with MM were dctectcd,and the levels of CD269 and CD317 were analyzed statistically.Results The positive rates of CD269 in the study group and control group were (86.6±2.35)％ vs (4.33±l.69)％,rcspectivcly (t =4.256,P＜0.05)).The positive rate of CD317 was (71.42+ 0.62)％ vs (8.32+ 3.89)％,the difference was statistically significant (t=3.102,P＜0.05).In other expression,the expression level of CD269 and CD317 in CD56 positive group was significantly higher than that of negative group (t=4.032,P＜0.05),while the expression of CD117 the level of positive group was significantly lower than that of the negative group (t 2.832,P＜0.05),CD19,CD20 expression was not statistically significant difference between the two groups (P＞ 0.05).The levels of CD269 and CD317 in patients with MM were positively correlated with the level of CD56 expression (r =0.392,P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with the level of CD117 expression (r=-0.210,P＜0.05).The levels of CD269 and CD317 in patients with MM were significantly lower than those in the negative group (t=3.012,P＜0.05) and the levels of serum LDH in the positive group were lower than those in the negative group (t=2.024,P＜0.05).There was a negative correlation between Hb content (r=-0.212,P＜0.05) and negatively correlated with serum β2-MG (r=-0.312,P＜0.05).Conclusion The high expression of CD269 and CD317 in bone marrow cells in MM patients is related to the increase of CD56 and decrease of CD117 in patients with MM.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of STK15 gene amplification and overexpression to genesis and development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC).

METHODSSTK15 gene amplification in 40 cases carcinoma tissues and normal tissues as control was detected by differential PCR approach. STK15 mRNA and protein levels were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry method.

RESULTSIn 40 LSCC cases, STK15 gene amplification was found in 14 tumor tissues(35%), mRNA overexpression in 27 tumor tissues(67.5%), and protein upregulated in 29 tumor tissues(72.5%). Statistics analysis showed that STK15 gene amplification and mRNA overexpression were obviously associated to differentiation degree of LSCC, and protein overexpression was closely associated with both differentiation degree and pathological grades of LSCC.

CONCLUSIONThis research results suggest that STK15 gene amplification contributes to its mRNA and protein overexpression through affecting the exact replication of centrosome and separation of chromosomes. STK15 gene thus plays a role in LSCC oncogenesis and malignant progression.

Aurora Kinase A ; Aurora Kinases ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective:To explore the possible factors leading to failure of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing in maternal peripheral blood and analyze the pregnancy outcomes of this group of pregnant women.Methods:This retrospective study involved 5 195 women who underwent cfDNA testing in Peking University Third Hospital from April 2017 to April 2019. Based on the first cfDNA testing results, clinical characteristics of the pregnant women with successful (success group, n=5 107) and failed (failure group, n=88) cfDNA testing were compared using Mann-Whitney U test and Chi-square test. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of cfDNA testing failure and the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the success rate, and evaluate the feasibility of re-sampling and the factors affecting the unsuccessful testing of a second sample. Results:The failure rate of first cfDNA testing was 1.7% (88/5 195). Successful cfDNA testing was achieved in 74 (87.1%, 74/85) of 85 re-sampling cases, while results of the other 11 cases (12.9%, 11/85) remained invalid. Thus, the final failure rate was 0.2% (11/5 195). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that increased maternal age ( OR=1.086, 95% CI: 1.023-1.152, P=0.006), BMI ( OR=1.083, 95% CI: 1.021-1.149, P=0.008) and twin pregnancies ( OR=3.093, 95% CI: 1.715-5.577, P<0.001) were the risk factors of cfDNA testing failure, while increased cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) concentration ( OR=0.758, 95% CI: 0.720-0.761, P<0.001) was a protective factor. The overweight (BMI: 25-29.9 kg/m 2) and obese (BMI≥30 kg/m 2) women were 3.626 ( OR=3.626, 95% CI: 2.298-5.724, P<0.001) and 4.064 ( OR=4.064, 95% CI: 1.779-9.284, P=0.001) times more likely to have failed cfDNA testing than those with normal weight (BMI: 18.5-24.9 kg/m 2), respectively. The success rate of re-testing decreased as the maternal BMI increased, regardless of the time interval between the two samplings ( OR=0.840, 95% CI: 0.699-1.245, P=0.065). Seven out of the 74 cases with successful results in re-testing were at high risk, including one 45,X and one 47,XXY, confirmed by karyotyping amniocentesis. Among the 11 pregnant women with a failed testing after second sampling, eight underwent prenatal diagnosis with normal fetal chromosome karyotypes, and the other three cases without prenatal diagnosis all gave birth to neonates with normal phenotype. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of pregnancy loss between the failure and success group [9.1% (8/88) vs 2.5% (128/5 107), P=0.090]. Conclusions:Pregnant women with advanced age and higher BMI, lower cffDNA fraction and twin pregnancies are more likely to fail in cfDNA testing. For obese women, blood sampling can be postponed to a larger gestational age to reduce the failure rate. For pregnant women with failed testing in first sampling, a re-sampling is recommended, moreover, prenatal diagnosis is necessary for those had high-risk results or failed in re-testing.

Background: Approximately 15–20% cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are diagnosed in children. There have been a few studies reporting the epidemiological data of pediatric?onset SLE (cSLE) in China, neither comparing the differences between cSLE and adult?onset SLE (aSLE). The aim of this study was to describe the impact of age of onset on clinical features and survival in cSLE patients in China based on the Chinese SLE Treatment and Research group (CSTAR) database. Methods: We made a prospective study of 225 cSLE patients (aged <16 years) and 1759 patients aged 16–50 years based on CSTAR registry. We analyzed initial symptoms, clinical presentations, SLE disease activity, damages, and outcomes of cSLE, as well as compared with aSLE patients. Results: The mean age of cSLE patients was 12.16 ± 2.92 years, with 187 (83.1%) females. Fever (P < 0.001) as well as mucocutaneous (P < 0.001) and renal (P = 0.006) disorders were found to be significantly more frequent in cSLE patients as initial symptoms, while muscle and joint lesions were significantly less common compared to aSLE subjects (P < 0.001). The cSLE patients were found to present more frequently with malar rash (P = 0.001; odds ratio [OR], 0.624; 95% confidence interval [CI ], 0.470–0.829) but less frequently with arthritis (P < 0.001; OR, 2.013; 95% CI, 1.512–2.679) and serositis (P = 0.030; OR, 1.629; 95% CI, 1.053–2.520). There was no significant difference in SLE disease activity index scores between cSLE and aSLE groups (P = 0.478). Cox regression indicated that childhood onset was the risk factor for organ damage in lupus patients (hazard ratio 0.335 [0.170–0.658], P = 0.001). The survival curves between the cSLE and aSLE groups had no significant difference as determined by the log?rank test (0.557, P = 0.455). Conclusions: cSLE in China has different clinical features and more inflammation than aSLE patients. Damage may be less in children and there is no difference in 5? year survival between cSLE and aSLE groups.