Emodin is an effective active ingredient extracted from Chinese herbal medicine, which has the function of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and scavenging oxygen free radicals, inhibiting platelet aggregation, improving microcirculation, protecting various organs and tissues as well as a wide range of anti-tumor effect. Primary biliary gallbladder is a common malignant tumor resection rate and lack of effective adjuvant treatment. It has been confirmed that emodin has broad spectrum antitumor effect, whereas, whether it has curative effect in the treatment of gallbladder carcinoma there is no reliable clinical trials confirmed that its resistance to gallbladder carcinoma function needs further experimental research. In this review, we report the research progress of emodin anti-gallbladder carcinoma.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Emodin ; therapeutic use ; Gallbladder ; drug effects ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo explore the image characteristics of bone metastasis of primary lung carcinoma.

METHODSWhole-body bone imaging ((99)Tc(m)-MDP) was performed in 258 patients with pathologically proven lung carcinoma. The rate of bone metastasis, distribution of the metastatic lesions and their characteristics were analyzed.

RESULTSAmong the 258 cases, 142 patients developed bone metastasis. The overall rate of bone metastasis was 55.0%. The metastases located in axial skeleton were 49.6%, appendicular skeleton 36.0%, trunk bones of the axial skeleton 48.4%, and appendicular girdle skeleton 31.4%. Ribs, thoracic vertebrae, ilium and lumbar vertebrae had a higher rate of bone metastasis, higher than 20%, respectively. 1252 lesions were detected including 406 at the left side of the body, 387 in the axial skeleton and 459 at the right side of the body. There was no significant difference in terms of number of lesions between left side and right side (chi(2) = 3.3, P = 0.072). 1224 bone metastatic foci (97.8%) were presented as strong radioactive, 26 (2.1%) mixed lesion, and 2 (0.2%) low radioactive. According to the shape of the lesions, there were 810 punctate lesions (71.5%), 159 (14.0%) lump form, 108 (9.5%) strip form and 56 (4.9%) lamellar form. The accumulative bone metastasis rate was 28.7% for the patients with one to three lesions. The metastasis rate decreased gradually with the increasing number of metastatic lesions.

CONCLUSIONBone metastasis is very common in patients with lung cancer. Most bone metastases are characterized by strong radioactive and earlier punctate form, often occurs in the trunk bones of axial skeleton or appendicular girdles. The distribution of earlier metastases has not obvious regularity, and advanced bone metastases are often concurrent, multiple and multiform, widely and randomly distributed in the body.

Adenocarcinoma ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; secondary ; Bone and Bones ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon ; Whole Body Imaging

OBJECTIVETo study the potential role of mast cells and the related molecular mechanism in chronic hepatitis (CH) using a rat model system.

METHODSThirty Wistar rats (15 males, 15 females; weight range: 230-290 g) were randomly divided into the normal contrast (NC) group and experimental CH group. The CH group received subcutaneous injection of CCl4 and a diet high in cholesterol and alcohol content and low in protein and choline content. Throughout the 4-week modeling period, aseptic blood samples were taken to test plasma tryptase (TS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) levels. The rats were euthanized to assess the changes in liver mast cells by histology and morphology analyses and the changes in liver expression of c-kit and stem cell factor (SCF) proteins by immunohistochemistry and mRNAs by RT-PCR.

RESULTSCompared to the NC group, the CH group had higher plasma and liver concentration of HA (78.09 +/- 38.55 vs. 145.14 +/- 52.54 ng/ml, 51.58 +/- 20.45 vs. 106.59 +/- 43.15 ng/100 mg; t = 2.457 and 2.825 respectively, both P less than 0.05) and TS (0.416 +/- 0.143 vs 0.753 +/- 0.210 mg/ml; t = 4.165, P less than 0.05). The CH group also showed fatty degeneration and fibrosis with many degranulating and degranulated mast cells filled with purple granula located around the liver blood vessels and in fiber-intervals. The CH livers also showed a significantly higher number of mast cells (2.167 +/- 0.924 vs. NC: 10.92 +/- 1.575; t = 7.633, P less than 0.05) and stronger intensity of c-kit staining (2.783 +/- 0.577 vs. 12.86 +/- 3.126; t = 9.511, P less than 0.05) and SCF staining (3.383 +/- 1.583 vs. 15.58 +/- 6.431; t = 9.625, P less than 0.05). The expressions of c-kit and SCF were positively correlated with HA level (r = 0.478 and 0.556 respectively, both P less than 0.05). The c-kit and SCF mRNA expression levels were also significantly higher in the CH liver tissues.

CONCLUSIONMast cell degranulation and histamine release is significantly increased under conditions of chronic hepatitis, and the related mechanism may involve up-regulation of the membrane receptor c-kit and its ligand SCF.

Animals ; Cell Degranulation ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; metabolism ; pathology ; Hepatocytes ; metabolism ; Liver ; metabolism ; Liver Cirrhosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mast Cells ; metabolism ; physiology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Stem Cell Factor ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in pulmonary allograft fibrosis in rats. METHODS: The lungs of 20 Wistar rats were transplanted into 20 Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats. Ten allograft lungs were harvested 1 week postoperatively (acute rejection group,AR); the other 10 allografts were harvested 6 weeks postoperatively (chronic rejection group,CR); and ten normal Wistar rats served as a control group(normal lung, NL). Paraffin embedded sections of the harvested lung specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE), Van Gieson (VG) for the examination of tissue morphology under the microscope. The scores of lung fibrosis were measured and the wet/dry ratio of the lung specimens was evaluated. The CTGF expression was determined by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: The wet/dry ratios of lung decreased gradually(AR group vs. control group: 3.48+/-0.47 vs. 4.67+/-0.51, P<0.05; CR group vs. AR group: 2.85+/-0.52 vs. 3.48+/-0.47, P<0.05). The transplanted lungs showed massive lymphocytic infiltration, interstitial fibrosis, destroyed alveolus architecture, obliterative bronchiolitis, and lung tissue consolidation. These pathological changes were more severe in the CR group than in the AR group, but there were no such changes in the control group (scores of pulmonary fibrosis: NH, 0.00+/-0.00; AR, 0.98+/-0.47; CR, 2.35+/-0.52; AR vs. NH, P<0.01; CR vs. AR, P<0.01). CTGF was not expressed in the normal rat lungs (0.00+/-0.00); however, it was detected in the lung allograft after the operation. The CTGF expression in the CR group was significantly higher than that in the AR group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION The expression of CTGF protein is related to the transplanted pulmonary fibrosis,and is involved in the pathogenesis of transplanted pulmonary fibrosis.
Allografts ; pathology ; Animals ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Fibrosis ; Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; Lung Transplantation ; Male ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of remaining integrated mediastinal pleura upon the aortic arch and performing the anastomosis at the left cervix in radical operation for esophageal carcinoma. METHODS: Ninety-eight patients with esophageal carcinoma were treated with the operation mentioned above. Among them, 56 patients had cancer in the middle, 12 in the upper-middle, 24 in the lower-middle segments, and 6 had double-primary tumors, with carcinoma length of (5.2+/- 2.4) cm. The TNM stages were 6 of Stage I and 92 of Stages II-III. All cases were squamous cell carcinomas. RESULTS: All patients had satisfactory operation processes, without perioperative death, chylothorax, dyspnea, gastric retention, incision infection, and severe gastro-esophageal reflux. The life quality of the patients was improved. CONCLUSION The radical operation with remaining integrated mediastimal pleura upon the aortic arch and anastomosis at the cervix for treating esophageal carcinomas is of minimal invasion with fewer complications, and may be used in clinical practice.
Aged ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; methods ; Aorta, Thoracic ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; surgery ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pleura ; surgery ; Thoracic Surgical Procedures ; methods

China consumes and exports traditional Chinese medicinal resources the most in the world. However, we cannot anchor our hope on field production of traditional Chinese medicinal materials and their active ingredients, due to limited land resources. Therefore, the development of biotechnology is of great importance for China to solve the problem of traditional Chinese medicinal resources. Plant cell culture is an important approach for the sustainable development of precious medicinal resources. This essary summarizes the optimization of conditions for medicinal plant cell culture, the regulation of secondary metabolic pathways and cell bioreactor culture, and realizes that the authentic commercial production of more medicinal plants requires efforts from all aspects.
Bioreactors ; Biotechnology ; methods ; trends ; Cell Culture Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; cytology ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Research ; trends

OBJECTIVETo analysis the clinical effects of free patellar implantation in treating the defect of the knee joint after the excision of giant cell tumor in the distal femur and the proximal tibia.

METHODSIf the giant cell tumor in the distal femur and the proximal tibia invaded the articular surface, we resected the condyle of femur or tibia including the tumor, dissociated the patella and placed it in the condyle horizontally to repair the articular surface. The cruciate ligament was reserved in all the patients. The condyle of femur or tibia was replaced by the anterior surface or the articular surface of the patella respectively. The implanted patella was fixed by the screw to the contralateral condyle, and the remaining defect was filled by autogenous cancellous illium.

RESULTSNine patients were followed up 3 to 121 months, the average was 65 months. None of them recurred or metastated. The excellent and good rate of the functional evaluation of knee joints was 88.9%.

CONCLUSIONAfter resecting the condyle of femur or tibia including the tumors which invade the articular surface, we find that free patellar implantation is a suitable way to repair the defect of the knee.

Adult ; Bone Neoplasms ; surgery ; Female ; Femoral Neoplasms ; surgery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Giant Cell Tumor of Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; surgery ; Male ; Patella ; transplantation ; Tibia ; surgery ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the metabolic alterations in the brain of neonates with HIE and correlate those alterations with clinical grading and prognosis of HIE.Methods Fourty-six eases of full-term neonates diagnosed as HIE clinically were performed MRI and 1~H-MRS,9 healthy neonates without the evidence of asphyxia were studied as controls,1~H-MRS techniques included single voxel proton MRS and two dimensional muhi-voxel chemical shift spectroscopy imaging,point resolved spectroscopy sequence was used for 1~H-MRS.Metabolic changes in the spectroscopy were analyzed in neonates with HIE,and study the relationgship between MRS findings and prognosis.Results(1)The typical 1~H-MRS manifestations of full- term neonates suffering from HIE were as follows:the peaks of Lac were elevated,GLx-? were elevated and NAA were decreased.(2)GLx-?/Cr ratio in control,mild,moderate and severe HIE group was 0.16, 0.21,0.64,and 1.31,respectively.Lac/Cr ratio in control,mild,moderate and severe HIE group was 0.12,0.14,0.19,and 0.26,respectively.There was a significant difference in the ratio of GLx-? and Lac/Cr between HIE group and control group(t=5.01,P

Objective To discuss the treatment of ureteropelvic junction obstruction by laparoscopic pyeloplasty. Methods A retrospective review of consecutive laparoscopic pyeloplasty in 102 patients between September 2001 and December 2007 was performed. The ureterpelvic junction was dissected and the obstruction portion was excised. Anastomosis was then performed through the ureter and the renal pelvis walls with a stent. Results The mean operating time was 120 min and the average blood loss was 80ml. No major complication occurred intraoperative. The drainage was removed in 3-10 days. The average hospital stay was 8.5 days. The stent was kept for 30-60 days. IVU and B ultrasound examination revealed that the hydronephrosis alleviated during the follow-up and no anastomosis stricture occurred. Conclusions Laparoscopic dismembered pyeloplasty could provide lower morbidity, shorter hospital stay, and faster convalescence. It could be an effective treatment for ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

Objective To develop a tracking monitor for patient vital signs after CT and MRI enhanced scanning so as to execute auto alarm in case of patient discomfort and allergic reactions.Methods The monitor composed of a sub machine,a principal machine and a large-screen display used ultra-low power digital blood oxygen plate LPDSPO2V1.4 and fingertip sensor to acquire data on blood oxygen saturation and heart rate,the acquired data were transmitted to the principal machine with NRF24L01 wireless transmission module, and then the principal machine executed data auto analysis, storage, auto alarm for out-of-limit data and sent the data to the display.Results The monitor could be used for checking blood oxygen saturation and heart rate as well as implement early warning against allergic reactions.One-year trials proved that there were no death in case 87 cases of minor allergic reactions and 3 severe ones occurred.Conclusion The monitor proves its safety and efficiency by decreasing the incidence rate of severe reactions after CT and MRI enhanced scanning,and thus is worthy promoting clinically.