Objective To investigate the clinical value of simultaneous assessment of cardiac troponin I,Btype natriuretic peptide,and C-reactive protein in prediction of long-term cardiac outcome after cardiac surgery.Methods 224 patients undergoing cardiac surgery were included and followed up within 12 months after surgery.Serial blood samples were drawn in all patients the day before surgery,at the end of surgery,and 6,24,and 120h after surgery.Major adverse cardiac events within 12 months after surgery were chosen as study endpoints and were defined as malignant ventricular arrhythmia,myccardial infarction,congestive heart failure,the need for myocardial revascularization,and/or death from cardiac cause.Predictive ability of each cardiac biomarker was assessed using logistic regression.Results Accuracies of C-reactive protein,cardiac troponin I,and B-type natriuretic peptide,considered as continuous variables to predict the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events were limited(area under receiver operating characteristic curve:0..54[0.47 ～0.60],P =0.42,0.62[0.55 ～0,68],P =0.01,and 0.68[0.61 ～0.74],P ＜0,001,respectively).When biomarkers were considered as 75％ specificity dichotomized variables,evaluated C-reactive protein(＞ 180mg/L),cardiac troponin I(＞ 3.5ng/ml),and B-type natriuretic peptide (＞ 880pg/ml)were independent predictors of major adverse cardiac events(odds ratio:2.14[1.03 ～4.49],P =0.043,2.37 [1.25 ～ 5.64],P =0.011,and 2.65 [1.16 ～ 4.85],P =0.018,respectively) in a multivariate model including the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation score.Conclusion Simultaneous measurement of cardiac troponin I,B-type natriuretic peptide,and C-reactive protein improves the risk assessment of long-term adverse cardiac outcome after cardiac surgery.

Midbrain gliomas are relatively rare neoplasms with a generally benign prognosis, with dissemination or metastasis not previously reported. We describe here a woman, in whom magnetic resonance imaging scans showed hydrocephalus and a tegmental lesion in the upper aqueduct. Endoscopic third ventriculostomy and biopsy were performed; during surgery, a second small lesion was observed in the infundibular recess. Histologically, the two lesions had the characteristics of low grade astrocytoma, suggesting that the midbrain astrocytoma may have been disseminated via the cerebral spinal fluid to the infundibular recess. Postoperatively this patient received radiotherapy for nearly one month. Although patients with these tumors are not usually administered adjunctive therapy, radiation and, combined modality therapy, including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, may be beneficial in patients with midbrain gliomas with dissemination.
Adult* ; Astrocytoma* ; Biopsy ; Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Glioma ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mesencephalon ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neuroendoscopes ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy ; Ventriculostomy

Objective The sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) has dramatically reduced the rate ofrestenosis in comparison to that with the bare-metal stent (BMS).This study aimed to evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of Firebird stent implantation for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods From Apri12006 through July 2007, 155 patients (mean age 58.93～10.27 years) with CHD were implanted with Firebird stent or Cypher select stent at Daxing Hospital. Patients were followed up for one year. All-cause mortality, major adverse cardiac events (MACE, including cardiac death, myocardial infarction, recurrence of angina pectoris, heart failure, revascularization, and adverse arrhythmia) and stent thrombosis were compared between the 2 groups. Results Of the 155 consecutive patients, 147 patients were revascularized completely. Of these patients, 48 (with 59 lesions) were treated with Firebird stent, 59 patients (with 75 lesions) with Cypher select stent. The demographic characteristics were similar in the 2 groups. All the angiographic and procedural results were not significantly different between the 2 groups. All-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, recurrence of angina pectoris, MACE and stent thrombosis were almost identical between the 2 groups before discharge, at 6 months and at one year .Conclusion The short-term efficacy and safety of Firebird stent are similar to that of the cypher select stent for the treatment of patients with CHD.

Objective To study the different therapeutic proportion of the patient populations undergone coronary angiography (CAG) in the era of development in multislice spiral computed tomography(MSCT).Methods Two hundred and fifty four consecutive patients(mean age 59.24±10.65),who underwent CAG at Daxing Hospital from February 2007 through October 2007,were enrolled,160 patients were male and 94 were female.By evaluating from the coronary angiogram,the patients were not diagnosed to have coronary heart disease(CHD) with less than 50% diameter stenosis of coronary artery;the patients to have CHD with more than or equal to 50% stenosis of coronary artery;the patients were performed the procedure of percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) with more than or equal to 70% stenosis;the patients were proposed to have coronary aortic bypass graft(CABG) surgery with left main coronary artery lesions or diffuse triple coronary artery lesions.Results In the 254 consecutive patients,59 patients(23.2%) had not been diagnosed to have CHD;195(76.8%)to have CHD,of these patients with CHD,49 patients(19.3%)were not indicated for PCI (including the patients receiving follow-up coronary angiography after stenting),81(31.9%)had been performed the procedure of stent implantation,57(22.4%)proposed to have CABG,8(3.1%)the procedure of PCI had not been successful,or had not been performed because of patients opposing to this therapy.Conclusion Multislice spiral computed tomography can be applied as a non-invasive screening tool to exclude the presence of CHD,to increase the positive proportion of the populations with CHD in all patients receiving coronary angiograhpy,to avoid the use of CAG in a subset of patients.

Corticotroph tumors (CTs) are classified into functional CTs and silent CTs (SCTs)according to presence or absence of Cushing's disease manifestations. The pathological manifestations of functional CTs and SCTs are consistent, and both adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and T-box transcription factor TBX19 expressions are seen by immunohistochemistry. SCTs have normal peripheral blood ACTH levels, without Cushing's disease manifestations; and SCTs exhibit invasive growth with high recurrence rate. Some studies have suggested that the biochemical silencing mechanism of SCTs involves pro-opiomelanocortin ( POMC, ACTH precursor) gene expression and ACTH secretion. In this paper, the biochemical silencing mechanism of SCTs will be reviewed from aspects of physiological synthesis and regulation of ACTH in normal adenohypophysial cells, and transcription, post-transcriptional regulation, and post-translational regulation of POMC gene, and ACTH abnormal secretion in SCTs.