Objective To evaluate the clinical value of multislice-CT angiography (MSCTA)in planning for the patients undergoing deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEAP) flap operations. Methods Eighteen patients were performed with a 16-slice CT scanner to evaluate the deep inferior epigastric artery perforator prior to DIEAP flap operations. Axial, multiplanar reconstruction( MPR), maximum intensity projection(MIP) and volume rendered (VR) images were analysed and the origins, calibers, courses and anatomic relationships of the deep inferior epigastric artery perforator were evaluated. The anastomosis between the superficial inferior epigastric artery and the main perforator was observed as well. The images were classified into three grades based on the vessels'appearance. A + indicated the vessel appeared clear,continuous and thick. A- indicated the vessel appeared foggy,discontinuous and thin or the vessel partly showed. B indicated no related vessel can be seen. Other 18 patients undergoing conventional abdomen-pelvis CT scans for other reasons were used for control group to compare their CT findings of the deep inferior epigastric artery perforator. Results MSCTA well showed the course of the deep inferior epigastric artery (DIEA). Of the 18 cases, 17 cases appeared as A +, another one A -. It precisely displayed the origins, subcutaneous and intramuscular courses, relations of the main perforators on all cases of showing A +. The exact points where the chosen perforator vessels emerged from the rectus abdominis muscle fascia were located precisely. The superficial inferior epigastric arteries were mostly displayed and the connection between the arteries and the largest-caliber perforator from the deep system could also be shown clearly. Strict concordance with operative findings was found in CTA. Conclusion MSCTA can precisely locate the chosen perforator vessels emerging from the rectus abdominis muscle fascia and it may be a feasible, fast, safe and effective method for preoperative evaluation of DIEAP.

Objective To evaluate the changes of the upper airway of the patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) before and after operations and to know the effects of operations by MSCT. Methods The upper airway dimensions of 26 patients with OSAS were measured on multiplanar reformatted (MPR), curved-planar reformatted (CPR), volume rendering(VR) images of 16-slice spiral CT. The measurements include the anteroposterior calibres and the areas on the reformatted axial images on the pharyngeal cavity levels, the calibres and the minimum areas in retropalatal and retroglossal regions, the areas of the soft palate and uvula on the reformatted sagittal view with maximum thickness, the maximum wall thickness of the right and left the upper airway on the coronary images, the volume of the upper airway before and after the operations. The measurements were correlated with the polysomnography (PSG) records. The data were analyzed paired-samples t-test and Pearson correlations. Results By comparison, the anteroposterior calibres and the cross-sectional areas on the reformatted axial view of the lower retropalatal region (slice 4) of the upper airway increased significantly after operations. The anteroposterior diameter increased from 5. 9 mm before operations to 12.8 mm after operations, where t = - 5.506, P < 0.05. The areas increased from 51.0 mm~2 before operations to 275.0 mm~2 after operations, where t = -5.011, P <0.05. In the higher retropalatal region (shce 2) of the upper airway, the anteroposterior diameter decresased from 14.8 mm before operations to 9.2 mm after operations, where t = 2.867, P < 0.05. The areas decreased from 241.0 mm~2 before operations to 128.0 mm~2 after operations, where t = 3.087, P < 0.05. The anteroposterior calibres of retroglossal region (slice 7) decreased from 12.7 mm before operations to 10.3 mm after operations,where t = 3.718, P <0.05. The L-R calibres and the minimum areas of of retropalatal increased significantly from 6.4 mm, 33.0 mm~2 before operation to 10.9 mm, 76. 0 mm~2 after operation, where t = -3.413, -2. 216, respectively and P < 0.05. Of the 9 cases whose apnea and hypopnea index (AHI) ≤5 events/hour after operations, the minimum areas of retropalatal region, the anterio-posterior diameter, L-R calibres increased significantly. The areas increased from 41.0 mm2 before operations to 76.0 mm~2 after operations, were t = -4. 932, P <0.05. The anteroposterior calibres increased from 4.6 mm before operations to 6.6 mm after operations, where t = - 7. 308, P < 0.05. The L-R calibres increased from 8.3 mm before operations to 13.6 mm after operations, where t = - 4.320, P < 0.05. Conclusions MPR、CPR、VR of MSCT can evaluate the not only the morphology but the function changes of the upper airways on the OSAS patients. The increasing of the minimum cross-sectional area may be one of the important indications for evaluating operations. The narrowing of the higher retropalatal region of the upper airway after operations should be an alert to the clinicians.

Objective To investigate whether miR-122 is a target of oxymatrine against HBV. Methods HepG2.2.15 cells were incubated with culture medium containing different concentrations of oxymatrine. The cyto-toxicity of oxymatrine was determined by cck-8 assay. The surface antigen of HBV (HBsAg),antigenof HBV (HBeAg)and HBV DNA in supernatant and intracellular miR-122 were determined in HepG2.2.15 cells after incu-bation with culture medium containing oxymatrine for 72 h. Results The survival percentage of HepG2.2.15 cells under different concentrations of oxymatrine was higher than 95% when the concentration of oxymatrine was lower than 4 mg/mL. After treatment with oxymatrine for 72 h,the secretion of HBsAg and HBeAg,the level of HBV DNA in the supernatant were reduced. The intracellular miR-122 in oxymatrine experience group was 3.5 times higher than that in the negative control group. Conclusions Oxymatrine might be used to inhibit viral replication and antigen expression by enhancing the expression of miR-122 in HepG2.2.15 cells.

Objective To evaluate the clinical results of free vascularized fibular associated with iliac graft in treatment of old femoral neck fracture.Methods From 1994 to 1997,76 cases of old femoral neck fracture were treated with free vascularized fibular associated with iliac graft,they were followed up for observ- ing fracture healing,hip function and femoral head necrosis.Results Sixty-eight of these 76 cases were fol- lowed up with detail data with the main term as 10.5 years.All fractures healed within 4 to 6 months.63 cases got a almost normal hip function with the Harris score was 87.5,in these cases,the structure of femoral head were normal and the grafted fibular and iliac bone healed with the femoral.4 cases got to femoral head necrosis and 1 experienced hip dislocation.Conclusion Free vascularixed fibular associated with iliac graft is a good method to treat these cases with old femoral neck fracture who want reserve their femoral head.

This review is a summary of some useful methods and advances about improving clinical applications to small-diameter vascular grafts in recent years, and it points out the developing orientation of small-diameter vascular grafts in the future.
Bioartificial Organs ; Endothelial Cells ; Endothelium, Vascular ; Tissue Engineering ; Vascular Grafting

OBJECTIVETo analyze the effects of three surgical operations in the treatment of Pilon fracture of Rüedi-Allgower type III, and put forward the best therapeutic method.

METHODSThe clinical data of 33 patients with Pilon fracture who received surgical operations (plaster immobilization group, 10 cases; distal tibia anatomical plate group, 11 cases; external fixation with limited internal fixation group, 12 cases) from October 2009 to January 2012 were analyzed. There were 5 males and 5 females, ranging in age from 24 to 61 years in the plaster immobilization group. There were 7 males and 4 females, ranging in age from 21 to 64 years in the distal tibia anatomical plate group. There were 7 males and 5 females, ranging in age from 23 to 67 years in the external fixation with limited internal fixation group. The Ankle X-ray of Pilon fracture after operation, ankle score, early and late complications were collected. Bourne system was used to evaluate ankle joint function.

RESULTSAfter 8 months to 3 years follow-up, it was found that three kinds of treatment had significant differences in the outcomes and complications (P < 0.05): the external fixation with limited internal fixation group got the best results. The number of anatomic reduction cases in the external fixation with limited internal fixation group (7 cases) and the distal tibia anatomical plate group (8 cases) was more than the plaster immobilization group (2 cases). According to the ankle score, 8 patients got an excellent result, 3 good and 1 poor in the limited internal fixation group ,which was better than those of distal tibia anatomical plate group (5 excellent, 4 good and 2 poor) and the plaster immobilization group (3 excellent, 4 good and 3 poor). The number of early and late complications in the external fixation with limited internal fixation group was more than those in the plaster immobilization group and the distal tibia anatomical plate group (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTreatment of external fixation with limited internal fixation in the treatment of Pilon fracture of Rüedi-Allgower type III is effective and safe.

Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Tibial Fractures ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the changes in Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in brains of 3 month-old APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice after six-month intervention with curcumin, in order to discuss the neuroprotective effect of curcumin.

METHODAPPswe/PS1dE9dtg mice were randomly divided into the model group, the Rosiglitazone group (10 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and curcumin high (400 mg x kg9-1) x d(-1)), medium (200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and low (100 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) dosage groups, with C57/BL6J mice of the same age and the same background in the normal control group. After 6 months, the immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and the Western blot method were used to observe the changes in positive cell of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in hippocampal CA1 area, their distribution and protein expressions.

RESULTBoth of the immunohistochemical staining and the Western blot method showed more positive cell of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in hippocampal CA1 area and higher protein expressions in the model group than the normal group (P < 0.01). IHC showed a lower result in the Rosiglitazone group than the model group (P < 0.05), while Western blot showed a much lower result (P < 0.01). The number of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs positive cells and the protein expressions decreased in the curcumin high group, the medium group showed a significant decrease (P < 0.01), and the low dose group also showed reductions in the protein expressions of Aβ40 and Aβ42.

CONCLUSIONThe six-month intervention with curcumin can significantly reduce the expressions of hippocampal Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs in brains of APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice. Whether curcumin can impact Aβ cascade reaction by down-regulating expressions of Aβ40, Aβ42 and ADDLs and show the neuroprotective effect needs further studies.

Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Curcumin ; administration & dosage ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Transgenic ; Neuroprotective Agents ; administration & dosage ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage

Recently, herbal medicine including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has gained huge attention in the world. In 2015, the global trades of herbal medicine reached 93.15 billion US dollars. And, the latest statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of People's Republic of China showed that total sales of Chinese patent medicine and raw herbs reached 120 billion US dollars in 2014. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the situation of international marketing on herbal medicine and how much TCM shared in it. The PubMed database, search engines and government websites and research reports were searched for analyses. The results showed that total trades of TCM products in both domestic and foreign markets, were about 135 billion US dollars, including Chinese patent medicine, raw herbs, herbal extracts, herbal health care products, whose proportion of the global marketing was 80%.

To study the allele frequencies and their polymorphism characteristics of human platelet antigen (HPA) and human leucocyte antigen-I (HLA-I) in Chinese xi'an population, the types of HPA and HLA-I in 375 Chinese xi'an voluntary platelet donors were detected by PCR-SSP and PCR-SSO as well as flow cytometry with magnetic beads, and were analyzed. The results showed that there was no polymorphism in HPA-7-HPA-14, HPA-16 and HPA-17 which only expressed-aa type, the -bb type was only detected in HPA-3 and HPA-15, 9 out of 16 samples for the HPA-5ab phenotype simultaneously expressed HPA-15ab, the other 7 samples expressed HPA-15bb, no HPA-15aa phenotype was observed. Phenotypes detected in this study were HPA-1aa-17aa, HPA-1ab, -2ab, -3ab, -3bb, -4ab, -5ab, -6ab, -15ab and -15bb. Among 375 cases, HLA-A specificity of 16 species was observed, which accounted for 76% (16/21) of detectable phenotype specificity in this locus, moreover, 11 species showed frequency > 1%; HLA-B specificity of 36 species was observed which accounted for 84% (36/43) of detectable phenotype specificity in this locus, moreover 23 species showed frequency > 1%, these species were covered by common specific HLA-I in northern China, 264 species haplotype HLA-A-B were found in 375 cases, the frequency of 30 species was > 1%. It is concluded that the gene frequency distribution of HPA and HLA-I in Chinese Xi'an population is in accordance with population of northern China on the whole, but it has its own characteristics.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Alleles ; Antigens, Human Platelet ; genetics ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Blood Donors ; China ; Female ; Genes, MHC Class I ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenotype ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the effects of qianggu capsules (QGC) on the fracture healing and the bone mineral density (BMD) in radius distal osteoporosis fracture (RDOF) patients.

METHODSBone mineral density (BMD) of femoral neck in 65 patients with RDOF was detected after the fracture was fixed manually. They were then randomly divided into two groups. Thirty-three patients in the treated group took QC, 1 capsule (180 mg) each time, three times a day, while 32 patients in the control group took D-Cal Biocal 2 tablets (1500 mg) each time, once daily. The therapeutic course for both groups was three months. X-ray examination on the broken end of the fractured bone was taken every month to observe the bony callus formation for comparing the curative effect, and BMD of femoral neck were detected again after patients were treated for 3 months. The bony callus appeared earlier, more in volume with thicker cortex in the treated group after 2 months of treatment versus that in the control group. The fracture healing time in the treated group was 9.4 +/- 2.5 weeks and that in the control group was 12.5 +/- 2.9 weeks, showing significant difference between them (P < 0.05). BMD in the treated group before treatment was 0.621 +/- 0.085 g/cm2, which was lower than that after treatment (0.646 +/- 0.090 g/cm2) with significant difference showing between them (P < 0.05), while no significant change of BMD was found in the control group between before and after treatment, and significant difference was found in BMD between the two groups after treatment (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONQGC can promote the formation of bony callus ahead of time, increase the volume of bony callus and BMD, improve the bone structure, and thus the time of external fixation in treating RDOF could be reduced.

Aged ; Bone Density ; Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Fracture Healing ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis ; complications ; Phytotherapy ; Radius Fractures ; complications ; drug therapy