OBJECTIVETo investigate variations and significance of plasma fibrinogen in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

METHODSTotally 148 patients with SARS were divided into the following groups: initial stage group (44 cases) and after the initial stage group (104 cases), common type group (87 cases) and severe type group (61 cases), unilobar lung involvement group (49 cases), bilobar lung involvement group (53 cases) and diffuse lung involvement group (46 cases). The values of plasma fibrinogen of the 148 SARS patients were analyzed and compared among the different groups.

RESULTSThe mean value of plasma fibrinogen (x +/- SD, 522.29 +/- 154.87 mg/dl) of the 148 cases was higher than the normal value (p less than 0.01). There were significant differences between the initial stage and after initial stage groups, between the common and severe type groups, and among the unilobar, bilobar and diffuse lung involvement groups (p less than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONtheses results suggested that elevation of peripheral blood fibrinogen in SARS patients may play an important role in development and progress of the disease and its treatment.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; blood ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate clinical therapeutic effect of Guan-moxibustion on herpes simplex virus facial neuritis.

METHODSOne hundred and sixty cases were enrolled in 3 centers and 157 cases were completed the study. All he patients were randomly divided into 2 groups, a Guan-moxibustion group and a suspended moxibustion plus acupuncture group. All of them were treated with basic acupuncture, and the Guan-moxibustion group were added with Guan-moxibustion and the suspended moxibustion group with suspended moxibustion. They were treated for 8 weeks, and facial disability index (FDI) and House-Brackmann facial nerve grading system were used to assess therapeutic effects.

RESULTSThe effective rate was 91.0% in the Guan-moxibustion group and 72.2% in the suspended moxibustion group with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05), the Guan-moxibustion being better than the suspended moxibustion group.

CONCLUSIONThe therapeutic effect of Guan-moxibustion plus acupuncture on herpes simplex virus facial neuritis is better than that of suspended moxibustion plus acupuncture.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Facial Nerve ; Facial Nerve Diseases ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Simplexvirus

OBJECTIVETo explore the operative method for the treatment of syndesmosis injury in ankle fractures.

METHODSA retrospective study was done on 21 ankles of 20 patients included male 11 and female 9;the range of age were from 27 to 52 years with an average of 36 years) with syndesmosis injury in closed ankle fractures from September 2005 to December 2007. All patients with ankle fractures and syndesmosis injury were diagnosed by the history, physical examination and radiology, then treated with open reduction, internal fixation, and syndesmotic stabilization with a three-cortices syndesmotic screw according to the Lauge-Hansen classification system. Radiological evaluation comprised tibiofibular overlap, total clear space and medial clear space. The clinical effects were evaluated according to modified Baird-Jackson standard.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 1.0 to 2.2 years with an average of 1.3 years. Radiographic measurements were detailed as follows: tibiofibular overlap averaged (0.46 +/- 3.56) mm in preoperative and (7.14 +/- 0.62) mm in postoperative; mean total clear space (5.69 +/-0.88) mm in preoperative and (3.28 +/- 0.39) mm in postoperative; medial clear space averaged (5.67 +/- 1.23) mm in preoperative and (3.12 +/- 0.33) mm in postoperative; tibiofibular overlap in mortise view averaged (-0.87 +/- 0.96) mm in preoperative and (2.91 +/- 0.30) mm in postoperative. There was significant difference above data between preoperative and postoperative (P < 0.01). Four cases were confirmed minor tibiofibular diastasis through CT scans during postoperative. The modified Baird-Jackson scoring was from 62 to 98 scores with an average of (86.24 +/- 13.26) score at the final review. Of them, 13 ankles had not pain; 16 ankles reported no instability complaints; 11 ankles gained normal walking ability; 8 ankles could run normally; 11 ankles could return work without any restrictions. Activity of ankle in dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion and eversion were respectively (21.05 +/- 5.00) degrees, (33.57 +/- 5.76) degrees, (19.48 +/- 4.57) degrees and (24.05 +/- 4.86) degrees. Three cases had radiological and clinical manifestations of osteoarthritis, but no breakage of syndesmotic screw in all cases. There were excellent results in 12 cases, good in 2, fair in 4, poor in 3.

CONCLUSIONThe treatment for the syndesmosis diastasis with a three-cortices screw fixation in ankle fractures is effective. Good functional outcome can be obtained with anatomical restoration of the tibiofibular syndesmosis. The repair of deltoid ligament is important for stability of the lower tibiofibular syndesmosis. Removal of the screw before weight loading should be performed to avoid possible screw breakage.

Adult ; Bone Screws ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; instrumentation ; Fractures, Bone ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; surgery ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Tarsal Bones ; diagnostic imaging ; injuries ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical results of arthroscopy-assisted open reduction and internal fixation for the treatment of acute Lauge-Hansen stage IV ankle fractures.

METHODSA prospective cohort of study was done in 42 patients of acute ankle fractures treated with arthroscopy-assisted open reduction and internal fixation from January 2008 to December 2009. According to Lauge-Hansen classification, there were 26 supination-eversion stage IV fractures, including 11 females and 15 males; with an average age of (36.8 +/- 11.7) years; and there were 16 pronation-eversion stage IV fractures, including 6 females and 10 males, with an average age of (37.6 +/- 11.2) years. All the patients were treated with arthroscopy-assisted open reduction and internal fixation,and intra-articular disorders were observed. Syndesmotic diastasis was treated with three-cortices syndesmotic screw, and osteochondral injuries were disposed by Cheng-Ferkel staging system. The clinical effects were evaluated according to AOFAS scores.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up for 1 year. At the final review,the mean AOFAS score was (92.00 +/- 9.32). Twenty-eight patients got an excellent result, 11 good, 3 fair. Lesions of the cartilage were found in 31 cases. The AOFAS scores of patients with osteochondral lesions were higher than those of patients without osteochondral lesions. The AOFAS scores of patients with osteochondral lesions below C grade were higher than those of patients with osteochondral lesions above C grade. The AOFAS scores of patients with osteochondral lesions were higher than those of patients with osteochondral lesions above C grade. The AOFAS scores of patients with syndesmosis fixation were lower than those of patients without syndesmosis fixation.

CONCLUSIONIntra-articular disorders are common in Lauge-Hansen stage IV ankle fractures, and osteochondral lesion and sydesmosis diastasis are the most important prognostic factor that leads to unsatisfactory ankle functions. Arthroscopy-assisted open reduction and internal fixation for the treatment of acute ankle fractures is not only helpful to anatomical reduction of the articular surface, but also can improve the clinical results with effective diagnosis and treatment of combined intra-articular disorders.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Ankle Joint ; surgery ; Arthroscopy ; methods ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Fractures, Bone ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Animals ; Cattle ; Fatty Liver ; Inflammation ; Liver ; Liver Extracts ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Rats

OBJECTIVETo clone the glyceraldehydes 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and to induce its fusion expression in E. coli.

METHODSGAPDH was obtained by PCR and was inserted into cloning vector pMD-18-T to construct clone recon. Double enzymes digest the recon pMD18-T-GAPDH and the prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a and then connect to get the expressing recon pET-32a-GAPDH. The recombinant expression plasmid which had been confirmed by enzymes digestion was transformed to E. coli competent cells BL21 and induced the expression of GAPDH with isopropyl beta-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) of different density.

RESULTSDNA sequencing showed that the fragment was 99.802% the same to the sequence published in NCBI. Under the best density, IPTG could be highly expressed.

CONCLUSIONThe GAPDH had been successfully cloned and expressed in E. coli which gets ready for the following experiment to study the immunity of GAPDH and the homologues antibody preparation.

Cells, Cultured ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cloning, Organism ; Escherichia coli ; Genetic Vectors ; Glyceraldehyde ; Oxidoreductases ; Phosphates ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Porphyromonas gingivalis

OBJECTIVESTo determine whether -238G/A and -857C/T polymorphisms of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) gene promoter were associated with outcomes of hepatitis B virus infection.

METHODSA total of 246 HBV self-limited infected subjects and 443 chronic hepatitis B (HB) patients were recruited in this case-control study. TNF-alpha-238G/A and -857C/T gene promoter polymorphisms were examined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).

RESULTSThe frequency of TNF-alpha-238 GG (90.7%) in chronic HB group was significantly lower than that (95.1%) in self-limited group (P = 0.041). The frequency of TNF-alpha-857 CC (79.7%) in chronic HB patients was significantly higher than that (70.9%) in self-limited infected subjects (P = 0.021). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that both TNF-alpha-238GA and -857CC were independently associated with chronic HB.

CONCLUSIONSTNF-alpha promoter variants are likely to play a substantial role in influencing the outcomes of HBV infection.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Haplotypes ; Hepatitis B ; genetics ; physiopathology ; Hepatitis B virus ; pathogenicity ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; genetics ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; genetics ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore whether the TNFA promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with the outcomes of hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection in Chinese Han population.

METHODSOne hundred and forty-eight self-limited HBV infection subjects and 207 chronic hepatitis B patients were recruited. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequence specific primer-PCR(PCR-SSP) were used to detect the SNPs of five sites in TNFA promoter (-238G/A, -308G/A, -857C/T, -863C/A, -1031T/C). The frequency distributions of genotypes and haplotypes in different groups were analyzed by EPI and EH programs.

RESULTSThe frequencies of -238GG genotype in chronic hepatitis B patients were significantly higher than that in self-limited infection subjects (P=0.02). The frequencies of -857TT genotype in chronic hepatitis B patients were clearly lower than that in self-limited infection subjects (P=0.02). Haplotypic frequencies of GGCCT (-238/-308/-857/-863/-1031) in chronic hepatitis B patients was significantly lower than that in self-limited infection subjects (P=0.03), and the frequencies of haplotype GGCAT or GGTAT in chronic hepatitis B patients were clearly higher than those in self-limited infection subjects (P=0.0001; P=0.004).

CONCLUSIONTNFA promoter polymorphisms are important host genetic factors affecting the outcomes of HBV infection.

Adult ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Hepatitis B ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; Young Adult

The purpose of this study was to investigate the etiology, pathological characteristics, management and prognosis of chronic pancreatitis in the Chinese population. The clinical data of 142 patients with chronic pancreatitis were retrospectively studied. All patients were of Chinese nationality and hospitalized from January 2008 to December 2011. Their ages ranged from 14 to 76 years, with a mean of 43 years. Of 142 patients, there were 72 cases of obstructive chronic pancreatitis (50.70%), 19 cases of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (13.38%), 14 cases of autoimmune pancreatitis (9.86%) and 37 cases of undetermined etiology (26.06%). Pathologically, the average inflammatory mass diameter was 3.8 ± 3.3 cm, biliary obstruction occurred in 36 cases, gall stones in 70 cases, calcification in 88 cases, ductal dilatation in 61 cases, side branch dilatation in 32 cases, ductal irregularity in 10 cases, lymphocytic inflammation in 23 cases, obliterative phlebitis in 14 cases, extra pancreatic lesion in 19 cases and fibrosis in 142 cases. Location of pancreatic lesion in the region of head (n=97), neck (n=16), body (n=12), tail (n=15) and whole pancreas (n=2) influenced the choice of surgical procedures. Ninety-four patients (66.20%) received surgical treatment and 33.80% received other treatments. After operation, 80.85% of 94 patients experienced decreased pain, and 8.51% of 94 showed recovery of endocrine function but with a complication rate of 12.77%. All the operations were performed successfully. According to the pain scale of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (QLQ-C30) a decrease from 76 ± 22 to 14 ± 18 was observed. Etiology, pathological characteristics, management and prognosis of chronic pancreatitis in the Chinese population vary from others.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Autoimmune Diseases ; epidemiology ; therapy ; China ; epidemiology ; Cholestasis ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatitis, Alcoholic ; epidemiology ; therapy ; Pancreatitis, Chronic ; etiology ; pathology ; therapy ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo accurately calculate the protein requirements in Chinese young adults using the indicator amino acid oxidation technique.

METHODSNine women and ten men received a restricted daily level of protein intake (0.75, 0.82, 0.89, 0.97, and 1.05 g/kg), along with L-[1-13C]-leucine. Subjects' protein requirement was determined by a biphasic linear regression crossover analysis of F13CO2 data. In doing so, a breakpoint at the minimal rate of appearance of 13CO2 expiration specific to each level of dietary protein was identified. This trial was registered with the Chinese clinical trial registry as ChiCTR-ONC-11001407.

RESULTSThe Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) and the Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) of protein for healthy Chinese young adults were determined to be 0.87 and 0.98 g/(kg•d), respectively, based on the indicator amino acid oxidation technique.

CONCLUSIONThe EAR and RNI of mixed protein are 5% and 16% that are lower than the current proposed EAR and RNI (0.92 and 1.16 g/(kg•d), respectively), as determined by the nitrogen balance method. The respective EAR and RNI recommendations of 0.87 and 0.98 g/(kg•d) of mixed protein are estimated to be reasonable and suitable for Chinese young adults.

Adult ; Amino Acids ; metabolism ; Body Composition ; Body Weight ; Breath Tests ; Carbon Dioxide ; analysis ; Dietary Proteins ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nutritional Requirements ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Young Adult