BackgroundThe morphological examination of macular disease is very important information for the early diagnosis.Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is a gold criteria in the diagnosis of macular diseases,but its clinical application is limited in the eyes with refractive medium opacity.The resolution ratio of conventional B-scan sonography is unsatisfactory.20 MHz B-scan sonography may be a new approach to maculopathy.ObjectiveThis study was to evaluate the clinical value of 20 MHz B-scan ultrasound by comparing morphological changes of different maculopathies observed by 20 MHz ultrasound and spectral-domain OCT.MethodsA prospective study was designed.51 eyes of 51 patients with macular diseases who were determined by Tianjin Medical University Eye Center were enrolled in this study.Spectral-domain OCT was used to image the macular area,and then the 20 MHz B-scan ultrasound was used to examine the same eye to assess the value of 20 MHz B-scan ultrasound diagnosis.The macular diseases were typed according to the OCT manifestation.The characteristics of 20 MHz ultrasound for the same maculopathy were analyzed.All the patients subscribe the informed consent before the study.ResultsIn 10 eyes with macular hole determined by spectral-domain OCT,shallow dome-shaped lesion with central hollow was exhibited on the ultrasound image.The macular edema,retinal neuroepithelium layer detachment and retinoschisis were found in 16 eyes,6 eyes and 4 eyes by spectral-domain OCT,but the 20 M Hz B-Scan ultrasound presented with the focal belt-shaped elevation with non-echo zone below.In contrast,in 15 eyes of retinal pigment epithelium detachment in OCT,spectral-domain OCT showed stronger and thicker belt-shaped echo.Conclusions20 MHz B-scan ultrasound has certain value in the diagnosis and differentiation for several common maculopathies.Although it is not accurate as OCT in recognizing diseases,it could play an important role in refractive media opacity eye.

Dystonia is a common movement disorder characterized by abnormal gestures and involuntary movement as a result of incoordinate contraction of agonistic and antagonistic muscles.The underlying pathogenesis is very complicated and there are various clinical manifestations.The recent findings in genetics and clinical features of primary dystonia,dystonia-plus syndrome and heredodegenerative dystonia are introduced in this paper.

Objective To explore the optimal diagnosis and treatment strategy of tumors at the foramen magnum,the clinical characteristics were analyzed retrospectively.Methods The clinical data of 58 cases with foramen magnum tumors treated with microsurgery in our department were collected and analyzed retrospectively.And intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring was employed in later 21 cases.Results Gross total resection was achieved in 48 of the 58 cases ; Five of the 10 patients with VA encased by tumors were totally resected.Full resection was achieved in 43 of the last 48 cases.Forty-three of the 47 cases with intradural tumors got complete resection,and total resection was achieved in 3 and 2,respectively,in 9 intra-extradural communicated tumors and 2 extradural ones.Symptoms were significantly improved in 50 cases,worsened in 5 patients,and maintained stable in the last 3 patients.Post-operative symptoms were obviously improved in the later 21 cases with intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring employed and the therapeutic effect of the treatment was much better than the former cases.Three patients died postoperatively.Fifty cases got complete follow-up from 6 months to 3 years.Among them,forty-four patients had a KPS score of 80-100,but the other 6 patients less than 80.Conclusion Microsurgical treatment for foramen magnum tumors is effective.Optimal surgical approaches and precise micro-operative techniques are crucial for the tumor removing.It is quite difficult and risky to fully resect the intra-extradural communicated tumors and the ones encasing vertebral artery.Preoperative evaluation should be profound.The application of intra-operative electrophysiological monitoring and the timely management of post-operative complications can improve the prognosis obviously.

BACKGROUND: Neuropeptides, a kind of endogenous active substance in nerve tissues, can modulate physiological functions of multiple body systems.OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of vascular bundles or sensory nerve tracts implanted into tissue-engineered bone for rabbit large bone defects on the expression levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and neuropeptide-Y.METHODS: Fifty-four New Zealand rabbits were enrolled to make model of large bone defects, and then, the animal models were randomly divided into three groups, including sensory nerve tract, vascular bundle, and control groups (n=18 per group), followed by implanted with sensory nerve tracts, vascular bundle, and tissue-engineered bone without sensory tracts or vascular bundle, respectively. The defected bone received gross and Masson staining at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after modeling, to compare the expression levels of CGRP and neuropeptide-Y in each group.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: mRNA expression levels of CGRP and neuropeptide-Y in the sensory nerve tract and vascular bundle groups were significantly higher than those in the control group at different time points after modeling (P < 0.05). mRNA expression levels of CGRP and neuropeptide-Y in the tissue-engineered bone began to be increased and peaked at the 8th week, and then decreased (P < 0.05), which were the lowest at the 4th week (P < 0.05).Immunohistochemical staining results showed that CGRP was mainly found in the bridge, periosteum of newly born bones and around blood vessels; while neuropeptide-Y mainly localized in the medullary cavity and around blood vessels. These results indicate that the implantation of vascular bundle and sensory nerve tracts for bone defects can upregulate the expression levels of CGRP and neuropeptide-Y, and promote bone repair. However, sensory tract implantation may cause sensory impairment; thereafter, vascular bundle implantation is more suitable for ideal tissue-engineered construction to meet physical requirements.

To establish an HPLC mehod for the analysis of pharmacokinetics of salvianolic acid B in rats. METHODS: The biological samples were extracted with acetic ether. The chromatographic conditions were as follows: Hypersil ODS column (200 mm×4.6 mm, 5μm) was used. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-water(with Ammoniom Acetate 0.25 mol/L) was set at 328 nm. RESULTS: Salvianolic acid B was injected intravenously at doses of 1.6, 3.2, 6.4 mg/kg. The terminal elimination half-life(t1/2) of α phase and β phase was (3.1±0.1) min and (31.5±3.2) min. The extents of excrement,urine and biliary excretion of salvianolic acid B were 1.43%±0.90%, 0.77%±1.01% and 8.82%±4.11%. The tissue concentration of salvianolic acid B was as followed in order: Cheart>Cliver>Clung>Cintestine>Ckidney>Cspleen>Cstomach. The plasma protein binding rate of salvianolic acid B in human plasma and in rat was similar(89.2%±1.8%,92.5%±1.5%). CONCLUSION: The method is accurate, stable and reliable, and can be used for the investigation of salvianolic acid B in pharmacokinetics research. Salvianolic acid B eliminates fast and it shows a high plasma protein binding rate, the mainly excretion way of salvianolic acid B is from biliary.

Objective We aimed to use 1H-MRS to characterize metabolite concentrations in the bilateral hippo?campus in GPI patient. Methods Metabolite ratios in the bilateral hippocampus were compared between patients with GPI (n=52) and Normal Control (NC) (n=38). Clinical neurological tests were measured in all subjects and were correlat?ed to the metabolite concentrations. Results The GPI patients showed significantly lower concentrations of N-acetylas?partate(NAA)/creatine(Cr) ratios in the bilateral hippocampus region compared to the NC subjects. There was significant?ly difference in the NAA/Cr ratios between the mild GPI dementia and the severe GPI dementia groups on the left hippo?campus region. We found that the NAA/Cr ratios concentrations were positively correlated with Mini Mental state Exami?nation (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA) scores in the left hippocampus region and the mI/Cr ra?tios concentrations were positively correlated. Conclusions GPI Patients have neuronal dysfunction in the bilateral hippo?campus. The severity of cognitive impairments is associated with the severity of the damage in the left side.

Based on Staphylococcus aureus 16S rRNA gene sequences,sequence comparisons have been applied to design a kind of stem-loop structured oligonucleotide probes whose loop sequence mismatched other bacterial strains 16S rRNA gene sequences in more than two positions with high specificity and sensitivity.According to the principle of molecular beacon technology and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay,a method has been evaluated using immobilized stem-loop structured oligonucleotides probe as the conformation switch which is applied to enzymatic detection of nucleic acid targets.As its specificity has been strengthened,the system is able to successfully eliminate false-positive result that is mismatch in an oligonucleotide.Employing a microtiter assay format,4ng of S.aureus 16S rRNA could be detected at least.This approach is more sensitive than other conventional method at least one order of magnitude.

Aim To observe the effect of pyrimidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) on the variance of disc morphology and the expressions of TNF-α, MMP-9 in the cervical disc in cervical dynamic equilibrium rat models, and to investigate the roles of PDTC in the process of intervertebral disc degeneration and the mechanism involved.Methods Fifty-four SD rats were divided into three groups randomly, then the dynamic equilibrium rat model was established by cutting the nuchal superficial and deep muscle of the rats.The dynamic equilibrium rats with PDTC solution intraperitoneal injection after operations were defined as PDTC group (group A), the models with saline intraperitoneal injection after operations as saline group (group B), the rats of fake operation with saline intraperitoneal injection as blank group (group C), and the animals were sacrificed in batches 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks respectively after operation.The C5, C6 vertebrae and C5/6 discs were harvested, and the disc morphology was observed.TNF-α, MMP-9 mRNA expressions were detected by q-PCR and protein expression was observed by Western blot.Results Compared with the saline group, the morphology of disc in PDTC group was destructed slightly and fiber ring arranged orderly.TNF-α, MMP-9 gene and protein expressions had no obvious changes (P>0.05) in blank group (group C) at each time point.The expressions of IL-6, MMP-9 mRNA increased with time in group B, but the amount increased fast firstly, and slow lately, reaching peak in 12 weeks.The expression of TNF-α, MMP-9 protein became steady in group B from 10 weeks compared with other time points(P>0.05).TNF-α, MMP-9 genes and proteins expression decreased obviously in PDTC group (group A) compared with saline group (group B) (P<0.01) at each time point, but higher than blank group C(P<0.01) at each time point.Conclusions TNF-α and MMP-9 are important inflammatory factors involved in rat cervical disc degeneration, PDTC relieves the degeneration of rat cervical disc by reducing the expression of TNF-α and MMP-9 via disturbing the NF-κB signal pathway probably, and PDTC may become potential medicine for disc degeneration.

BackgroundWith the increasing prevalence of dry eye and the continuous improvement of living standards,the problem of dry eye more and more get the attention of people.At present,China still lacks the large population-based epidemiological data of dry eye. Objective To investigate the prevalence and possible risk factors of dry eye in a community of Huidong County of population aged 14 and over.Methods From September 2010 to January 2011,using questionnaires and examination of dry eye related,2800 people were selected randomly for cross-sectional survey.Those suspected as dry eye were examed by the SchirmerⅠtest ( S Ⅱ T),tear-film breakup time(BUT),corneal fluorescein staining(F1).Results In the 2475 questionnaire effectively,154 persons were diagnosed as dry eye,and the prevalence rate of dry eye was 6.22％,8.06％in females,4.14％in males.The prevalence rate increases with age.The S Ⅰ T and BUT decreased with increasing age.S Ⅰ T and BUT in females are less than males.Foreign body sensation is the primary complaints of patients.Logistic analysis showed that the most common risk factors in dry eye are age and gender.The system disease and eye diseases,eye fatigue and long exposure to dust are also main determinants.ConclusionsThe population prevalence rate of dry eye increased with age,the prevalence rate of dry eye in females is higher than that in males.The key factors associated with dry eye are age,gender,systemic disease and eye diseases,occupation,working environment.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of qualitative and quantitative fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) in identifying colorectal cancer, so as to provide insights into perfecting screening strategies for colorectal cancer. Methods: Participants in the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program for Key Populations in Zhejiang Province from May 2020 to December 2021 were recruited, and their demographic information, lifestyle and disease history were collected through a questionnaire survey. Qualitative or quantitative FIT along with a questionnaire-based risk assessment were employed as the initial screening tests. Individuals who were positive in any FIT or had high-risk assessment results were required to attend a subsequent colonoscopy examination. The positive rate, detection rate of colorectal cancer, positive predictive value and number of colonoscopies required were compared between qualitative and quantitative FITs, and stratified analyses by gender and age were conducted. Results: Totally 4 099 769 participants were included. The qualitative FIT group included 3 574 917 individuals, yielding a positive rate of 11.35%, a detection rate of 1.19%, a positive predictive value of 0.48% and 83.84 colonoscopies required to detect one cancer case. The quantitative FIT group involved 524 852 individuals, yielding a positive rate of 6.70%, a detection rate of 2.31%, a positive predictive value of 1.01% and 43.23 colonoscopies required to detect one cancer case. The quantitative FIT group showed significantly higher detection rate of colorectal cancer, higher positive predictive value and less number of colonoscopies required compared to the qualitative FIT group (all P<0.05). The same results were obtained after stratification by gender and age. Conclusion Compared to qualitative FIT, quantitative FIT improves the detection of colorectal cancer and reduces the workload of colonoscopy examinations, making it more suitable for colorectal cancer screening in large-scale populations.