OBJECTIVE:To systematically review the efficacy of cetuximab combined with chemotherapeutics versus chemo-therapeutics alone in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer,and provide evidenced-based reference for clinical treatment. METHODS:Retrieved from Medline,PubMed,EMBase,CJFD,VIP,WanFang database and Cochrane Library,randomized con-trolled trials(RCT)about the efficacy of cetuximab combined with chemotherapeutics(test group)versus chemotherapeutics alone (control group) in the treatment of colorectal cancer were collected. Meta-analysis was performed by using Rev Man 5.2 software after data extract and quality assessment. RESULTS:A total of 12 RCTs were included,involving 8 514 patients. Results of Me-ta-analysis showed progression free survival in test group was significantly longer than control group,the difference was statistical-ly significant [HR=0.87,95%CI(0.79,0.95),P=0.002];compared with control group,there were no significant differences in the disease control rate[OR=1.06,95%CI(0.88,1.27),P=0.54] and overall survival[HR=0.92,95%CI(0.85,1.00),P=0.05] in test group. Results of subgroup analysis showed cetuximeb could significantly prolong the progression free survival of KRAS wild-type patients,the difference was statistically significant[HR=0.80,95%CI(0.66,0.98),P=0.03]. CONCLUSIONS:Compared with che-motherapeutics alone,chemotherapeutics combined with cetuximab can significantly prolong the progression free survival of pa-tients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Due to the limits of quality and sample size,more strict designed,long-term follow-up of large scale RCTs are needed for the further verification of the conclusion.

10.3969/j.issn.1007-3969.2013.04.008

Adult ; Aged ; Bone Plates ; Dermatologic Surgical Procedures ; External Fixators ; Extremities ; injuries ; surgery ; Female ; Fracture Fixation ; Fractures, Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; injuries ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To explore sub-clinical items in evaluating the prognosis of epileptic patients,the study on differences of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in both effective treated and incomplete-controlled patients with idiopathic generalized tonic clonic seizure (GTCS) was carried out.Methods Interictal rCBF measurements using 99m Tc-ethyl cysteinates dimmer (ECD) SPECT was performed on 29 effective treated idiopathic GTCS patients and 12 incomplete controlled idiopathic GTCS patients. The rCBF distribution was semi-quantitatively analyzed by regions of interest (ROIs) comparing with abnormal rate of interictal hypoperfusion rCBF,clinical seizure time and EEG.Results ROI analysis showed that rCBF decreased in basal ganglia and thalamus of incomplete controlled patients with idiopathic GTCS compared to that of effective treated ones′ significantly ( P

AIM AND METHODSBy using blind whole-cell recording techniques, the dynamic properties of voltage-gated Ca2+ channel of CA1 pyramidal neuron in rat hippocampal slices were investigated.

RESULTSThe voltage-gated Ca2+ channel of CA1 pyramidal neuron in rat hippocampal slices has following features: (1) The threshold potential of activation is relatively lower. The mean value is -49.3 +/- 8.6 mV with range from -65 to -30 mV (n = 23). (2) Current decay is Ca(2+) -dependent and its time constant (tau) is longer with a wide range from 100 to 700 ms (n = 12). (3) The steady-state inactivation is voltage-dependent and the half inactivation potential (V1/2) is -55.4 +/- 9.7 mV, slope factor (k) is 5.3 +/- 0.9 (n = 10). (4) The reversal potential (E(rev)) of Ca2+ channel is 55 +/- 13 mV (n = 10) when extracellular Ca2+ concentration is 2.5 mmol/L. (5) Tail current, which is voltage-independent, primarily has only one component. In addition, Ca2+ channel is insensitive to verapamil and nifedipine.

CONCLUSIONN-type Ca2+ channel is strongly suggested in CA1 pyramidal neuron in rat hippocampal slices.

Animals ; Calcium Channels ; metabolism ; physiology ; Hippocampus ; cytology ; physiology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Patch-Clamp Techniques ; methods ; Pyramidal Cells ; metabolism ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

BACKGROUNDCommon variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is one of the most common symptomatic primary immunodeficiency syndromes. The purpose of this article was to broaden our knowledge about CVID for better diagnosis and treatment.

METHODSClinical and immunological features of 40 Chinese patients with CVID were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSThe median age at onset was 11-year-old (range 4-51 years). The median age at diagnosis was 14.5-year-old (range 5-66 years). The average time of delay in diagnosis was 5.3 years (range 1-41 years). The most common main complaint was fever due to infections (35 cases, 87.5%). Pneumonia (28 cases, 70%) was the most common type of infections. Bronchiectasis was present in 6 patients (15%). Autoimmune disease was detected in 6 cases of CVID, and malignancy in 2 cases. The median total serum levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM at diagnosis were 1.07 g/L, 0.07 g/L, and 0.28 g/L, respectively. The percentages of CD3- /CD19 + B-cells were 1%-3.14%.

CONCLUSIONSInfection is the most frequent presentation of CVID. Patients with unexplainable infections should receive further examination including serum immunoglobulin (Ig) and lymphocyte subset analysis. Regular and sufficient substitution with Ig is recommended.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bronchiectasis ; drug therapy ; immunology ; pathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Common Variable Immunodeficiency ; drug therapy ; immunology ; pathology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; metabolism ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo assess the application of IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), Spoligotyping and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit (MIRU) in epidemiological studies of tuberculosis and to discuss the characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in different regions in China.

METHODSMycobacterium tuberculosis strains, with a total number of 158 isolates, were subjected to IS6110-RFLP, Spoligotyping and MIRU.

RESULTSThe numbers of patterns produced by IS6110-RFLP, Spoligotyping, and MIRU typing were 118, 20 and 105 respectively. The discriminatory power of IS6110-RFLP was higher than that of Spoligotyping. However, when the copies of IS6110 were lower than 10, the discriminatory power of Spoligotyping improved obviously. The discriminatory power of MIRU typing was close to that of IS6110-RFLP for typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In MIRU loci, there were four loci (loci 4, 10, 26, 40) with higher diversity. Significant differences among the Mycobacterium tuberculosis between Guangdong and other regions in clustered rate and the proportion of Beijing genotype (P < 0.05) were found. The clustered rates and the proportion of Beijing genotype in Guangdong were lower than that in other regions.

CONCLUSIONThe results of this study indicated that either IS6110-RFLP, Spoligotyping or MIRU technique was useful for epidemiological studies on tuberculosis in China and the strains in different regions had different characterishes in China.

China ; epidemiology ; DNA Fingerprinting ; methods ; DNA, Bacterial ; genetics ; Humans ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Tuberculosis ; epidemiology ; microbiology

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic factor with a key role in several pathological processes, including wound repair as well as a effective vascular permeability factor. This article review the present study of VEGF in molecular biology, the connection with repair and expression regulation and so on.
Animals ; Endothelial Growth Factors/physiology* ; Forensic Medicine ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/physiology* ; Lymphokines/physiology* ; Rats ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors ; Wound Healing/physiology*

BACKGROUNDBased on in vivo research on the effect of the coating of the extracellular matrix composition of pedicle screws on the conduction and induction of bone formation in young sheep, the aim of this study was to investigate the application of coated pedicle screws in sheep with scoliosis whose spines are under constant development.

METHODSFour groups of pedicle screws were randomly implanted into bilateral L2-L5 pedicles of 2.5- to 3-month-old sheep. A static experiment was performed on one side and a loading test was performed on the other side by implanting connecting rods at the L2-L3 and L4-L5 segments. The changes in the force on the coated screws and the combination of the surface of the coated screws with the surrounding bone in the growth process of young sheep's spines with aging were observed. After 3 months, the lumbar vertebrae with the screws were removed and examined by micro-CT, histological, and biomechanical analyses.

RESULTSUnder nonloading conditions, there is bone formation around the surfaces of coated screws. The bone forming on the surface of collagen/chondroitin sulfate/hydroxyapatite coating of pedicle screws is the most, the one of the collagen/chondroitin sulfate coating and hydroxyapatite coating is followed, and no significant difference between the two groups. In terms of the trabecular bone morphology parameters of the region of interest around the surface of the pedicle screws, such as bone mineral content, bone mineral density, tissue mineral content, tissue bone mineral density, bone volume fraction, and connection density, those associated with collagen/chondroitin sulfate/hydroxyapatite coatings are largest and those unassociated with coatings are smallest. Under nonloading conditions, the pullout strength of the collagen/chondroitin sulfate/hydroxyapatite-coated screws was largest, and that of the uncoated screws was minimal (P < 0.01). Under loading conditions, the maximum pullout strength of each group of pedicle screws was less than that of the pedicle screws in the nonloading state (P < 0.01) with no significant difference between the groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSUnder nonloading conditions, the coatings of both organic and inorganic components of the extracellular matrix of titanium pedicle screws can conduct or induce bone formation around the surface of the screws. The ability of collagen/chondroitin sulfate/hydroxyapatite coatings to induce bone formation is stronger; under loading conditions, a large amount of connective tissue formed around the surfaces of the screws in each group. No significant differences were found between the groups.

Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Bone Screws ; Chondroitin Sulfates ; chemistry ; Collagen ; chemistry ; Durapatite ; chemistry ; Rats ; Sheep ; X-Ray Microtomography

BACKGROUNDStudies on new vertebral internal fixations of animals are very important prior to clinical application. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of vertebral internal fixation on morphologic and biomechanical properties using deer and sheep as animal models and comparing to human data.

METHODSThirty sets of fresh Sika deer lumbar, 30 sets of fresh sheep lumbar, and 20 sets of fresh lumbar from male cadavers were used. We examined the morphology of the centra and pedicles of the three groups, and determined the cancellous bone density and biomechanical properties in all groups.

RESULTSThere were marked differences in all parameters measured between the different species. The sizes of the upper, middle, and lower transverse diameter were largest in the human, followed by the deer, then the sheep. The index of centrum transverse diameters and sagittal diameters were less than 0.8 (a triangle), and the deer was more similar to the human. The heights of the right vertebral pedicles and the anterior disc heights (IDH) were largest in the human, followed by the deer, then the sheep. The apparent density, elastic modulus, and ultimate load were largest in the sheep, followed by the deer, then the human. The range of motion (ROM) of functional lumbar units (FLUs) with a combined flexion-extension moment was largest in the human, followed by the deer then the sheep.

CONCLUSIONSThe deer lumbar is more similar to that of human in anatomical form and biomechanics than the sheep lumbar. As such, deer is more appropriate as an animal model for use in vertebral internal fixation studies.

Adult ; Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Bone Density ; Deer ; Elastic Modulus ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Models, Animal ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Sheep ; Spine ; anatomy & histology