Objective To study the life quality of 2 - 3 years old survivors in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Methods Severe neonates were randomly assigned to intervention group (group 1,30 cases) and non- intervention group (group 2,30 cases) depending on the early intervention applied or not,as well as 30 healthy newborns as normal controls. The physical,neurological conditions and intelligence test were taken regularly. To investigate the psychological state, actions, temperament and family conditions when they were2-3 years old.Results Mental development index(MDI) and physical development index(PDI) in early interventional group were significant higher than those in group 2(P

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects on patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B by Baihua Xianglian Detoxification Recipe (BXDR) combined adefovir dipivoxil (AD), and to assess its clinical efficacy.

METHODSA multi-center randomized clinical trial was performed, and 240 patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group. Patients in the experimental group were given AD 10 mg, once daily, while BXDR was additionally given those in the control group, twice daily. The treatment course was 48 weeks. The virologic, serologic, biochemical, chronic liver disease questionnaire (CLDQ) score, and adverse event were observed for 12, 24, and 48 weeks.

RESULTS(1) In aspect of virology: From the 12th week, statistical difference existed in the HBVDNA logarithm value between the experimental group and the control group (P < 0.05). The virologic response rate was 62.71% and 77.97% in the experimental group at the 12th and 24th week, while it was 49. 57% and 67. 52% in the control group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the virological response rate at the 48th week (P > 0.05). The HBVDNA negative rate in the experimental group was 22.03% at the 12th week, 41.52% at the 24th week, and 55.08% at the 48th week. It was 11.11%, 21.37%, and 30.77% in the control group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). (2) In aspect of HBeAg/anti-HBe serology: The serum HBeAg response rate was 26.27% at the 24th week and 39.83% at the 48th week in the experimental group, while it was 13.68% at the 24th week and 29.06% at the 48th week in the control group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). The HBeAg negative conversion rate at the 48th week of treatment was 22.03% in the experimental group and 11.96% in the control group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). (3) In aspect of biochemistry: The biochemical response rate at the 24th week and the 48th week was 74.58% and 87.29% respectively in the experimental group, while it was 60.68% and 79.49% in the control group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). (4) In aspect of CLDQ score: After treatment the CLDQ scores in the two groups were higher compared with before treatment with statistical difference (P < 0.05). The CLDQ scores at the 24th week and the 48th week in the experimental group were superior to those in the control group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). (5) In aspect of adverse reactions: The main adverse reactions were headache, abdominal pain, nausea. During the study period, the total creatine kinase (CK) increased in 9 cases with the occurrence rate of 3.83%.

CONCLUSIONSIn treating patients with HBeAg positive CHB, BXDR combined AD could significantly improve the inhibition of HBVDNA, increase the HBeAg seroconversion rates, accelerate the recovery of the liver function, improve the quality of life with higher safety.

Adenine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organophosphonates ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Amino Acids ; metabolism ; Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; radiation effects ; Male ; Microwaves ; adverse effects ; Neurons ; radiation effects ; ultrastructure ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Synapses ; radiation effects ; ultrastructure

OBJECTIVETo observe the antiarthritic effects and the possible mechanism of total saponins of Psammruosilene tunicoids (TSPT) against rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODAfter establishing AA rat model, the TSPT'S antiarthritic effects and mechanism against RA were studied through observing the changes of ankle swelling, arthritis index and levels of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha after medication.

RESULTTSPT could effectively inhibits articular swelling, decrease arthritis index and regulate down the content of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha in the inflammatory tissue soak of AA rats.

CONCLUSIONTSPT has good antiarthritic effects and the possible mechanism may be related to its down-regulation of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha.

Animals ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; metabolism ; pathology ; Caryophyllaceae ; chemistry ; Foot ; pathology ; Interleukin-1 ; metabolism ; Male ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Saponins ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of Changji'an Capsule (CA) on mRNA expressions of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the hypothalamus and colon and serum levels of adreno-cortico-tropic hormone (ACTH) in rats of diarrhea predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) model rats.

METHODSTotally 48 SD rats were randomly divided into six groups, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the Pinaverium Bromide group (PB, 0.018 g/kg), the high dose CA group (2.812 g/kg), the medium dose CA group (1.406 g/kg), and the low dose CA group (0.703 g/kg), 8 in each group. The IBS-D rat model was established by using separation of breast milk + stimulation of acetic acid + constraint of four limbs. Normal saline was given to rats in the normal control group and the model group. All medication lasted for 14 successive days by gastrogavage. The serum content of ACTH was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expressions of NPY mRNA in the colon and the hypothalamus were detected using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the serum ACTH content significantly increased (P < 0.01), the NPY mRNA expression in the colon and the hypothalamus obviously decreased (P < 0.01) in the model control group. Compared with the model group, the serum ACTH obviously decreased in the high dose CA group, the medium dose CA group, and the PB group (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The NPY mRNA expression in the colon and the hypothalamus were obviously up-regulated in the high dose CA group, the medium dose CA group, the low dose CA group, and the PB group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCA could modulate the abnormity of brain-gut axis of IBS-D rats possibly by up-regulating NPY mRNA expressions in the hypothalamus and the colon and down-regulating the ACTH content in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; blood ; Animals ; Colon ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Female ; Hypothalamus ; metabolism ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; metabolism ; Male ; Neuropeptide Y ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo detect the expression of TRAIL receptors in fibroblasts of hypertrophic scar in the proliferative stage and explore its significance.

METHODS30 samples of hypertrophic scar were taken from 30 burn cases in the proliferative stage. 30 samples of normal skin were taken as the control. The expressions of TRAIL receptors in the fibroblasts of hypertrophic burn scar and the normal skin were assayed by semiquantitative RT-PCR and flowcytometry.

RESULTSThe expression level of DR5 in the fibroblasts of hypertrophic burn scar is much lower than the control (P < 0.05); the expression level of DcR1 in the fibroblasts of hypertrophic burn scar is much higher than the control (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe down-regulated DR5 expression and elevated DcR1 expressions in the fibroblasts of hypertrophic burn scar may attribute to the apoptosis change induced by TRAIL and explain the apoptosis differences between the fibroblasts of hypertrophic scar and normal skin to a certain extent.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Apoptosis ; Burns ; complications ; metabolism ; pathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic ; etiology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; metabolism ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of DPC4 gene expression on the growth of colon cancer cells and its mechanism.

METHODSExpression plasmid pcDNA3.1-DPC4 was constructed and transfected into the colon cancer cell line SW620 by use of lipofectamine gene transfer technique. DPC4 protein expression was detected by Western blot and immunocytochemistry. The effect of DPC4 gene on the growth of SW620 cells was monitored by population doubling time (PDT) and cloning efficiency. The influence of DPC4 expression on p21WAF1 transcription was investigated by RT-PCR to detect p21WAF1 mRNA.

RESULTSSuccessful expression of DPC4 protein was detected in the transfected SW620 cells. Compared with the control cells, PDT (74 h) of the DPC4 expressing cells was prolonged and the cloning efficiency (21%) decreased. In addition, the mRNA level of p21(WAF1) in DPC4 transfected cells was increased.

CONCLUSIONSOverexpression of DPC4 gene inhibits the growth of colon cancer in vitro, and induction of p21(WAF1) expression may be an important functional aspect of DPC4.

Carcinoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Cell Division ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21 ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Gene Transfer Techniques ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Humans ; Smad4 Protein ; Trans-Activators ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

This study was undertaken to analyze and evaluate the diagnosis and principal treatment methods for congenital choledochal cyst, focusing on various surgical procedures and clinical outcome. A comprehensive, retrospective study was conducted on 72 adult patients who presented with choledochal cyst from 1985 to 2002. Surgical procedures were cyst excision with hepaticojejunostomy in 25 cases for type I or type IV-B, extrahepatic cyst excision with hepaticojejunostomy in 8 cases for type IV-A, extrahepatic cyst excision with modified hepaticojejunostomy in 2 cases for type IV-B, non-cyst excision with or without hepaticojejunostomy in 27 cases for types I, II, IV-A, IV-B. The early postoperative morbidity and mortality rate were 16.1% (9/62) and 6.5% (4/62) respectively, and the complication rate related to surgical procedure was 30.6% (19/62). The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma with non-cyst excision or non-operated congenital choledochal cyst was 10.8% (4/37). One patient died of primary hepatocellular carcinoma after cyst excision with hepatojejunostomy. In conclusion, our results showed that complete exci-sion of choledochal cyst for types I, II, and IV-B and complete excision of extra-hepatic choledochal cyst from the hepatic hilum in type IV-A with hepaticojejunostomy or modified hepaticojejunostomy are the treatment of choice for choledochal cyst in adult patients.
Academic Medical Centers/trends ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Choledochal Cyst/*epidemiology/*surgery ; Female ; Hepatectomy/*methods/*statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Jejunostomy/*methods/*statistics & numerical data ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications/*epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2)on survivin and subcellular location of Smac in human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell NCI-H446. METHODS: Western blot was used to detect the expression of survivin protein induced by FGF-2. The release of Smac from mitochondria to cytoplasm affected by FGF-2 was observed by Western blot and immunofluorescence. Apoptosis of NCI-H446 cells was detected with flow cytometry and Hoechst 33258 staining. RESULTS: The expression of survivin could be up-regulated in response to FGF-2 treatment in NCI-H446 cells, and the level of survivin expression is related to the concentration and time of FGF-2 treatment. FGF-2 could inhibit the release of Smac from the mitochondria to cytoplasm induced by serum starving. FGF-2 could inhibit the apoptosis induced by serum starving. CONCLUSION FGF-2 up-regulates the expression of survivin protein in NCI-H446 cells, and blocks the release of Smac from mitochondria cytoplasm. Survivin and Smac might play important roles in the apoptosis inhibited by FGF-2.
Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; Cytoplasm ; metabolism ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; metabolism ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Mitochondria ; metabolism ; Mitochondrial Proteins ; metabolism ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survivin ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

OBJECTIVE: To investigate genetic polymorphism of two X chromosome specific STR: DXS10011 and DXS8377 in male samples from Guangdong Han population. METHODS: The DNA samples were amplified by PCR and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by silver staining. RESULTS: Among 113 samples, 20 alleles were found for DXS1011 and 12 alleles for DXS8377. Also, 72 DXS10011-DXS8377 haplotypes were shown. The most common haplotypes only occurred three times. When only female children were tested in motherless case, the exclusion probability of paternity was 0.9588 for DXS10011-DXS8377 haplotypes. Investigations in 83 family trios with female children and 29 pedigrees with two children suggested a co-dominant X-linked inheritance; mutations were not found. CONCLUSION Our data indicate that DXS10011 and DXS8377 are highly informative X chromosome markers for complicated kinship analysis.
Alleles ; Asian People/genetics* ; China ; Chromosomes, Human, X/genetics* ; DNA/genetics* ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Forensic Sciences ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Linkage ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Male ; Paternity ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Tandem Repeat Sequences