AIM: To observe the changes of plasma content of Glu-plasminogen (plasmin, Pln) in patients during blood coagulation and/or fibrinolytic system activation. METHODS: Using specific McAb to antigenic determinant in NH 2 terminal (1-65 aa) of Pln and specific McAb to antigenic determinant in heavy chain of plasminogen, the sandwiched ELISA method was established to detect Glu-plasminogen and total plasminogen in human plasma collected from 220 normal controls and 40 patients after heart surgery. RESULTS: The average total plasminogen was (231.8?62.1) mg/L and average Glu-plasminogen was (231.9?45.8) mg/L in 220 normal controls, the ratio of Glu-plasminogen to total plasminogen (G/P) was 0.91. The ratio of Glu-plasminogen [(152.4?68.1) mg/L] to total plasminogen [(268.9?73.3) mg/L] in 40 patients after heart surgery was significantly lower than that in normal controls ( P

The evaluation of quality of life after stroke primarily includes body,psychology, society,and the ability of activities of daily living,and they can be mainly obtained from self rating quality of life by the patients,The commonly used evaluation methods include six generic measurement scales and four updated Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scales.The latter includes the Stroke Adapted Sickness Impact Profile,the Stroke Impact Scale,Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scales,and Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale.This article reviews the generic meas- urement scales,Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scales and the various factors that influencing quality of life after stroke.

AIM: To isolate and characterize the anti-complementary polysaccharide from the root of Bupleurum chinense. METHODS: Bioactivity-guided fractionation and purification was used to obtain the anti-complementary polysaccharide from the hot-water extract of the root of Bupleurum chinense. The polysaccharide was characterized by various chemical and spectral analyses. The anti-complementary activities were evaluated by hemolytic assay in vitro. The action targets were identified in the system with individual complement-depleted sera. RESULTS: A homogeneous polysaccharide BC-PS2 was isolated as an anti-complementary agent. It was identified as a branched polysaccharide with an average molecular weight about 2 000 KDa, composed of Glc, Ara, Gal, and Man in the ratio 3.5 : 2.4 : 2.0 : 1.0, respectively, along with a trace of Rha and Xyl, and only 1.11% of protein. The main linkages of the residues of BC-PS2 include terminal, 1, 6-linked, 1, 3-linked and 1, 3, 6-linked Glcp, terminal and 1, 5-linked Araf, terminal, 1, 4-linked, 1, 6-linked and 1, 4, 6-linked Galp, terminal, and, 1, 4-linked and 1, 4, 6-linked Manp. The bioassay experiments revealed that BC-PS2 inhibited complement activation on both the classical and alternative pathways, with CH50 and AP50 of (0.222 ± 0.013) and (0.356 ± 0.032) mg·mL(-1), respectively. Preliminary mechanism studies indicated that BC-PS2 interacted with C1q, C2, and C9 components. CONCLUSION The results demonstrated that BC-PS2 is an anti-complementary polysaccharide, and should be important constituent of the root of Bupleurum chinense for its application in the treatment of diseases associated with the excessive activation of complement system.
Adult ; Bupleurum ; chemistry ; Carbohydrate Sequence ; Complement Activation ; drug effects ; Complement Inactivating Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Hemolysis ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Weight ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology

Zhangjiagang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as a collaborative unit of the project, participated in the clinical consistency evaluation in project of TCM Practice guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Biqiu (allergic rhinitis) organized by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The evaluation results showed that the guideline met the clinical practice requirements. This article summarized the clinical evaluation experience from the three aspects: The diagnosis in TCM and Western medicine is clear and definite, but the English translation needs to be considered; The definition of remission phase of Biqiu (allergic rhinitis) is difficult, to interfere by identifying the constitution is innovative; The advantages of "preventive treatment of diseases" in TCM should be fully played in role, improving the satisfaction of patients.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the alterations in coagulation in patients during conditioning with modified busulfan plus cyclophosphamide (BU/CY) +/- antithymocyte globulin (ATG) regimen before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), and to assess the effect of ATG on coagulation system.

METHODSThirty-five patients with various hematological malignancies undergoing allo-HSCT were assessed. Of them, 19 patients with HLA-matched sibling donors (group A) were conditioned with modified BU/CY regimen, 16 with HLA-mismatched family members or HLA-matched unrelated donors (group B) were conditioned with modified BU/CY + ATG regimen. Blood samples were collected before the beginning of conditioning till d + 1 after allo-HSCT. The following parameters were measured: prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (Fg), antithrombin (AT), D-Dimer, fibrin degradation product (FDP), platelet (BPC), liver enzymes and bilirubin. FVIII: C, FIX: C, FXI: C and FXII: C in prolonged APTT blood samples were also determined. Clinical hemorrhagic symptoms were monitored.

RESULTSDuring conditioning, temporary lengthening of APTT, persistent rising in Fg and declining of BPC were observed in the two groups. Alterations of Fg and BPC were more significant in group B than in group A. Transient D-Dimer increase occurred only in group B on administration of ATG. Among intrinsic pathway coagulation factors, FXII: C and FXI: C were commonly decreased while APTT prolonged. No difference between the two groups was found with regard to PT, FDP, AT and liver parameters which remained in normal ranges. Most of patients in the two groups did not have overt bleeding manifestations.

CONCLUSIONSModified BU/CY +/- ATG conditioning regimen can induce subclinical alterations in coagulation. The regimen containing ATG has more significant effect on coagulation parameters.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antilymphocyte Serum ; therapeutic use ; Blood Coagulation ; drug effects ; Child ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Prothrombin Time ; Transplantation Conditioning ; Young Adult

Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Donors ; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease ; etiology ; Hematopoiesis ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Leukemia ; blood ; mortality ; therapy ; Male ; Recurrence

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of growth factor-primed donor hematopoietic stem cells infusion (GPBSCI) as an early adoptive immunotherapy.

METHODSTwelve patients with high-risk leukemia received prophylactic GPBSCI after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Out of the 12 patients, two were Ph(+) ALL in CR(1), one ALL in CR(2), one refractory ALL, three AML (one in relapse, one refractory disease, one in CR(3)), four CML in advanced stage and one myelodysplastic syndrome-refractory anemia with excess blast (MDS-RAEB).

RESULTSSixteen infusions were performed in the 12 patients, including 5 infusions were performed within +90 days post-SCT. The median mononuclear cells (MNC) and CD3(+) cells infused for GPBSCI before +90 d were 1.00 (0.95 - 1.24) x 10(8)/kg and 0.53 (0.39 - 0.63) x 10(8)/kg, and after +90 d were 2.27 (1.00 - 4.30) x 10(8)/kg and 1.15 (0.55 - 2.10) x 10(8)/kg, respectively. Four patients developed grade I - II acute GVHD, and one grade III acute GVHD. Seven patients developed chronic GVHD, of which four cases were extensive. Two patients had no transfusion related GVHD. No transfusion related pancytopenia was observed. Ten patients survived disease-freely at 563 (415 - 728) days of follow-up. Two patients died of leukemia relapse after GPBSCI.

CONCLUSIONAllo-HSCT with prophylactic GPBSCI could maximize graft-versus-leukemia effect with few fatal complications and might be a potentially curative strategy for hematological malignancy patients with high risk of relapse.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Component Transfusion ; methods ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Leukemia ; prevention & control ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Care ; Secondary Prevention ; Tissue Donors ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To assess the changes on the whole night polysomnography (PSG) in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS). Methods The whole night PSGs were recorded from 24 patients with CFS and 33 normal subjects. Results Compared with normal subjects, patients with CFS showed significantly reduced total sleep duration ([488.7?21.7]min vs [515.9?31.7]min, P

Objective To explore the distribution of water with high level arsenic and prevalence of arsenism along Huai'he River and the surrounding area of Hong'ze lake in Huai'an of Jiangsu. Methods Wate rsamples were collected and tested in 2008 from 18 villages of 6 towns according to history data in 3 counties like Xuyi,Jinhu and Hongze. Samples having arsenic level higher than 0.05 mg/L were investigated by epidemiological method and the patients were diagnosed by Standard of Diagnosis for Endemic Arsenism. Results All 5199 water samples were determined,and 260 water samples were exceeding the national drinking water quality level (0.05 mg/L) in 3 counties,the rates of exceeding diagnosis were 5.6%(247/4454),0.7%(4/597),6.0%(9/148) respectively. Total detected rate of endemic arsenic disease was 5.94%(128/2155). The detected rates of age group of 0 ～ ,20 ～,30 ～ ,40 ～ ,50 ～ ,60 ～ ,70 ～ ,80 ～ were 2.86%(1/35),2.11%(2/95),1.26%(3/239),3.10%(16/516),5.53% (32/579),10.07%(41/407),11.84%(27/228),10.71%(6/56) respectively. The detected rate of male (9.10%,78/857) was higher than that of female(3.85%,50/1298,χ~2 = 25.46,P < 0.01). Conclusions Huai'he River and the surrounding areas of Hong'ze lake like Xuyi,Jinhu and Hongze are identified existing endemic arsenic disease area. The prevention of arsenism should be strengthened in these areas.

The last two decades have witnessed a paradigm shift from cytotoxic drugs to targeted therapy in medical oncology and pharmaceutical innovation. Inspired by breakthroughs in molecular and cellular biology, a number of novel synthesized chemical compounds and recombinant antibodies have been developed to selectively target oncogenic signaling pathways in a broad array of tumor types. Although targeted therapeutic agents show impressive clinical efficacy and minimized adverse effects compared with traditional treatments, the challenging drug-resistant issue has also emerged to limit their benefits to cancer patients. In this regard, we aim to improve targeted therapy by presenting a systematic framework regarding the drug resistance mechanisms and alternative approaches to re-sensitize cancer cells/tissues therapeutically.
Antineoplastic Agents ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; Signal Transduction