OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effect of one stage anterior and posterior fusion and posterior fixation for the treatment of thoracic and lumbar spinal tuberculosis.

METHODSFrom March 2003 to December 2006, one stage anterior and posterior fusion and posterior fixation were performed to treat 23 patients who suffered thoracic and lumbar spinal tuberculosis. There were 15 males and 8 females with an average of 37.6 years (17-61 years). 4 cases' tuberculose focus were in thoracic vertebra, 8 cases in thoracolumbar, 11 cases in lumbar.

RESULTSThe average follow up period was 28.7 months (9-40 months). The symptoms of all patients had primarily relieved and the patients can ambulate at 2-3 weeks after treatment. At the 6th after operation, the X-ray showed interbody fusion. Frankel grading of 16 patients with incomplete paraplegia were improved averagely 1.62 grades. The major complications including 2 cases of temporary sinus formation, 1 case of fixtor breaking and 1 case of recurring (owing to an inadequate postoperative chemotherapy).

CONCLUSIONOne stage anterior and posterior fusion and posterior fixation can effectually resect focus, rebuild stability of spine, promote interbody fusion and recovery of incomplete paraplegia in treating thoracic and lumbar spinal tuberculosis.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; Spinal Fusion ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Tuberculosis, Spinal ; surgery ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the relationship between the changes of intestinal mucosal tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), plasma diamine oxidase (DAO) values and the degree of mucosal injuries in young rat model of colitis and thereby to explore if plasma DAO could be used as a potential index for monitoring intestinal mucosal injury.

METHODSOne hundred and four healthy young male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats aged 5-6 weeks were randomly divided into three groups: zero time group (n = 8), model group (n = 48) and control group (n = 48). The model and control groups were further divided into 24 h, 72 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks subgroups, respectively, with 8 rats in each. The rats in model group were given 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBSA) via enema to induce colitis, while the rats in the control group were given normal saline (NS) solution in the same way and those in zero time group were not treated. TNF-alpha and DAO were measured by immunohistochemical technique and spectrophotometry.

RESULTSThe most serious enteric mucosal injury was seen 24 hours after giving TNBSA. Plasma DAO and TNF-alpha decreased as the intestinal mucosal injury was alleviated.

CONCLUSIONSPlasma DAO values may be used as a marker for intestinal mucosal injury. TNF-alpha is a factor for causing mucosal injury. Young rat colitis model can be used to study intestinal mucosal injury.

Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing) ; blood ; Animals ; Biomarkers ; blood ; metabolism ; Colitis ; blood ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Enema ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intestinal Mucosa ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Severity of Illness Index ; Spectrophotometry ; Time Factors ; Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Objective To compare the influence of different processing methods on polysaccharide content in Morinda Officinalis. Methods Reflux extraction was performed with 80% ethanol.Ultraviolet spectrophotometery was used to determine the polysaccharide content after Phenol-sulferic acid method. Results Morinda officinalis was treated with different processing methods to remove moody core.The polysaccharide content in Morinda officinalis was the highest by cooking method (4.001 ± 0.004)%,and the next was steaming method with salt (2.312 ± 0.006)%,the sequence of the others was moistening method (2.163±0.010)%,steaming method after soaking (1.910±0.008)%,soaking method (1.731±0.008)% and steaming method (1.123±0.013)%. Conclusion The highest polysaccharide content is obtained in Morinda officinalis when processed by cooking method for removing woody core.

ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of Wuziyanzong Pills (WYP) in the rat model of oligoasthenospermia (OAS) and its action mechanism.

METHODSSixty male SD rats were equally randomized into six groups: normal control, OAS model, Shengjing Capsules (1.6 g per kg of the body weight), low-dose WYP (1 g per kg of the body weight), medium-dose WYP (2 g per kg of the body weight), and high-dose WYP (4 g per kg of the body weight). The OAS model was established by intragastric administration of Tripterygium glucoside at 30 mg per g per d for 6 weeks. From the 3rd week of modeling, the rats of the medication groups were treated intragastrically with corresponding drugs for 4 weeks. Then all the rats were sacrificed for measurement of the testicular and epididymal organ coefficients, examination of epididymal sperm quality and apoptosis, and detection of the openness of the sperm mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). Histopathological changes in the testis were observed by HE staining and the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells determined by Hochest staining.

RESULTSWYP obviously improved the organ coefficients of the testis and epididymis, increased sperm concentration, motility and viability, decreased the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells, and inhibited the abnormal openness of MPTP in the OAS model rats. HE staining showed that the number and levels of spermatogenic cells were significantly increased while Hochest staining manifested that the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells was remarkably inhibited in the seminiferous tubules of the testis in the WYP-treated rats.

CONCLUSIONSWYP can improve sperm quality and reduce the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells (including sperm) in OAS model rats, which may be related with its inhibitory effect on the abnormal openness of MPTP.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Asthenozoospermia ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Epididymis ; drug effects ; Male ; Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins ; drug effects ; Oligospermia ; drug therapy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; drug effects ; Spermatozoa ; cytology ; drug effects ; Testis ; drug effects ; Tripterygium

Progressive accumulation of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) in the brain plays a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The animal model of intracerebral injection of Aβ oligomers not only provides a method for further exploring the mechanism of Aβ in AD, but also can be used to screen drug candidates targeting Aβ oligomers. This animal model has been widely used in the study of anti-AD drugs and mechanism of AD. In this paper, we summarize the research progress in the animal model of intracerebral injection of soluble Aβ oligomers, including experimental animals, the types of Aβ, the preparation of Aβ oligomers in vitro, injection sites and doses, the duration of modeling, animal behavioral changes, and the pathological mechanisms relating to this animal model, which will contribute to the application of the animal model to various conditions.

In rodents, bilateral olfactory bulbectomy (OBX) results in a series of changes in behaviors and neurobiology, similar to the clinical symptoms of depression in patients. These changes can be reversed by chronic but not acute treatment of antidepressants. Owing to the face, construct and predictive validities, the OBX model has been used to investigate the mechanisms of depression, screen for antidepressants, and reveal the mechanism of drug action. In addition, there are certain features in OBX animals resembling those of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), including the impaired learning and memory ability and the accumulation of amyloid-β protein (Aβ). In this review, we present the association between olfaction and depression or AD, the surgical procedure of OBX, the behavioral features of OBX animals, the abnormal changes in cortex and hippocampus, and the application of this model for studying depression and AD. These lines of information are important for the development of antidepressant and anti-dementia drugs using this model.

Human carnitine/organic cation transporter 1 and 2(hOCTN1 and hOCTN2) mediate transport of endogenous and exogenous compounds. The present study aimed to establish cell models with stable expression of hOCTN1 or hOCTN2 to study interactions with compounds and transporters. MDCK cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1(+) plasmid vector containing hOCTN1 or hOCTN2(pcDNA3.1(+)-hOCTN1/2), several stable transfected clones were obtained after G418 screening. hOCTN1 and hOCTN2 clones were screened with ergothioneine and mildronate respectively as substrates to identify the best candidates. We explored interactions of endogenous substances, alkaloids, flavonoids and ACEIs with hOCTN1/2. As a result, the cellular accumulation of ergothioneine in MDCK-hOCTN1 or mildronate in MDCK-hOCTN2 was 122 and 108 folds of the control cells, respectively. The kinetic parameters, K_m and V_max of ergothioneine, mediated by MDCK-hOCTN1, were 8.19±0.61 μmol·L^-1 and 1427±49 pmol·mg^-1(protein)·min^-1; while K_m and V_max of mildronate by MDCKhOCTN2 were 52.3±4.3 μmol·L^-1 and 2454±64 pmol·mg^-1(protein)·min^-1. Dopamine, glutamine, piperine, berberine, nuciferine, lisinopril and fosinopril could inhibit ergothioneine or mildronate uptake by MDCKhOCTN1/2. In conclusion, cell models with good stable hOCTN1 and hOCTN2 functions have been established successfully, which can be applied to the study of interactions between compounds and transporters of hOCTN1 and hOCTN2.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second-most common cancer among men. Both active surveillance or watchful waiting (AS/WW) and focal laser ablation (FLA) can avoid the complications caused by radical treatment. How to make the choice between these options in clinical practice needs further study. Therefore, this study aims to compare and analyze their effects based on overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) to obtain better long-term benefits. We included patients with low-risk PCa from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database of 2010-2016. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were conducted for OS and CSS in the two groups. To eliminate bias, this study applied a series of sensitivity analyses. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted to obtain survival status. A total of 18 841 patients with low-risk PCa were included, with a median of 36-month follow-up. According to the multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression, the FLA group presented inferior survival benefits in OS than the AS/WW group (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37-3.33, P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounders, the result persisted (HR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.02-2.81, P < 0.05). According to the results of the sensitivity analysis, the inverse probability of the treatment weighing model indicated the same result in OS. In conclusion, AS/WW and FLA have the advantage of fewer side effects and the benefit of avoiding overtreatment compared with standard treatment. Our study suggested that AS/WW provides more survival benefits for patients with low-risk PCa. More relevant researches and data will be needed for further clarity.
Humans ; Laser Therapy ; Male ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Risk ; Watchful Waiting

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the serum microRNA (miRNA) expression and examine the impact of miRNA expression profiles on T helper type 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg) imbalance among patients with cystic echinococcosis, so as to provide insights into the illustration of the mechanisms underlying chronic Echinococcus granulosus infections, and long-term pathogenesis. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from the sera of cystic echinococcosis patients and healthy controls, and subjected to high-throughput sequencing with the Illumina sequencing platform. Known miRNAs were annotated and new miRNAs were predicted using the miRBase database and the miRDeep2 tool, and differentially expressed miRNAs were identified. The target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using the software miRanda and TargetScan, and the intersection was selected for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs with the 20 highest fold changes, miRNAs that targeted genes relating to key transcription factors RORC and FOXP3 that determine the production of Th17 and Treg cells or their important regulatory pathways (PI3K-Akt and mTOR pathways) were matched. RESULTS: A total of 53 differentially expressed miRNAs were screened in sera of cystic echinococcosis patients and healthy controls, including 47 up-regulated miRNAs and 6 down-regulated miRNAs. GO enrichment analysis showed that these differentially expressed miRNA were involved DNA transcription and translation, cell components, cell morphology, neurodevelopment and metabolic decomposition, and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed miRNA were mainly involved in MAPK, PI3K-Akt and mTOR signaling pathways. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs with the 20 highest fold changes, there were 3 miRNAs that had a potential for target regulation of RORC, and 15 miRNAs that had a potential to target the PI3K-Akt and mTOR signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS Significant changes are found in serum miRNA expression profiles among patients with E. granulosus infections, and differentially expressed miRNAs may lead to Th17/Treg imbalance through targeting the key transcription factors of Th17/Treg or PI3K-Akt and mTOR pathways, which facilitates the long-term parasitism of E. granulosus in hosts and causes a chronic disease.
Echinococcosis/genetics* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics* ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics* ; Th17 Cells ; Transcription Factors/genetics*