Objective Insulin resistance is implicated in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).This study was to investigate the effect of metformin on liver enzyme abnormalities in patients with NAFLD.Methods One-hundred and thirty cases of NAFLD were divided into 2 groups,control(n=43)and metformin treatment group(n=98).The former group(TLC)was offered therapeutic life style change advice,and the later group(Met)was given metformin 1.5 g/day on the basis of TLC for 6 months.The changes of liver enzyme tests,waist circumference,blood pressure,lipid profiles,plasma glucose,insulin and the HOMA insulin resistance index were analyzed in 2 groups.Results ALT and AST declined in 2 groups after 3,6 months' treatment;enzyme abnormalities were normalized among 65% and 35% patients in Met and TLC group(P

Objective To investigate the expression changes of Toll-like receptors(TLR) and the signaling pathway function on airway epithelial cells infected with human metapneumovirus(hMPV), and to explore the mechanisms of hMPV-induced airway inflammation. Methods A549 cells were infected with hMPV live or co-cultured with UV-inactivated hMPV in vitro. Growth curve of the virus in A549 cells was established and mRNA expression of TLR were detected by RT-PCR assay and real-time PCR assay at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 h post infection. IFN-α and TNF-α in the culture supernatants were detected by ELISA. Results hMPV was able to replicate in A549 cell, growing to peak titer of 10~(5.2) TCID_(50)/ml at 3 d after infection. Most of TLR mRNA levels were up-regulated by hMPV infection but not UV-inactivated viruses via RT-PCR assay (P<0.05) after 6 h of stimulation. Real-time PCR assay showed that TLR3-4, TLR7-9 mRNA increased after being infected by hMPV in a time-dependent manner. The expression of IFN-α and TNF-α in the cul-ture supernatants were significantly up-regulated after 24 h infected by hMPV. Conclusion hMPV infection up-regulates the expression of TLR in lung epithelial cells. The inflammatory response to hMPV may associ-ate with part of TLR signal transduction pathway.

Objective To determine the value of detection of micrometastasis in peripheral blood to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis or recurrence. Methods Reviewed the related literatures, the methods and significances of the detection of HCC micrometastasis in peripheral blood were analyzed. Results Currently, there are mainly two methods, hematogenous dissemination cell detection and HCC specific mRNA biomarker detection, for detection of HCC micrometastasis in peripheral blood. Theoretically, although they are considered as early detections of HCC metastasis or recurrence, researches still not have a abroad agreeable conclusion from different studies. After adjusting and improving the methods and detection time, different studies also have not gotten a quite consistent conclusion. Conclusion There is a great significance in detection of HCC micrometastasis in peripheral blood to understanding the mechanisms of HCC metatasis and recurrence, and also to improving the clinical therapy. Theoretically and practically, the method should be improved for facilitating the mechanism research of HCC metastasis and recurrence, and the application of detection.

Objective To investigate p53 protein expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its correlation with biological behavior, p53 gene mutation and EBV infection in 43 cases of NPC. Methods Immunohistochemical staining was applied to detect p53 protein,PCR-SSCP was used to detect p53 gene mutation, and EBV infection was determined with PCR. Results The positive rate of p53 protein expression was 76 7%(33/43)in the NPC. The positive rate of p53 protein expression in stages Ⅲ and Ⅳ was significantly higher (80 6%) than that in stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ(66 6%) (P

Objective To understand Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS)better and accumulate more experience of preventing and treating this disease. Methods 63 cases of SARS patients diagnosed during March and May of 2003 were studied by retrospective. Results The average age of patients was(35.1?14.4) years old. Among them, 36 patients had the histories of closing contact with diagonosed patients and 22 patients showed infectious links. There were 3 medical staff patients infected. The average incubations period was (6.2?3.1) days and the SARS epidemic pick in Taiyuan is on April of 2003. People between 20～40 years old had the highest incidence. The most common symptom is fever. The second is dry cough. Most of the patients with SARS had normal or lower white blood counts than normal. The chest radiographs showed infiltration signs such as ground-glass opacities, focal consolidation or pathy consolidation within one week after being ill. The Average period of beginning absorption of the infiltration on chest radiograph is (11.6?5.9) days and the average period of completely resolution is (22.9?6.7) days after being admitted in hospital. There were 14 cases of severe type and 6 patients died of ARDS among 63 patients. Conclusions SARS patients showed obvious infectious link. Therefore it supports the view that SARS is mainly conmmunicated by close air droplets. The main characteristics of SARS are fever, normal or lower white blood cells counts and abnormal chest radiographs.

Objective To observe the levels of serum hypersensitive C-reaction protein (hs-CRP) and its correlation factors in cerebral infarction patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Methods According to the result of glucose tolevance test (GTT),the 131 patients were divided into normal glucose tolerance group (NGT, n=41),IGT group (n=47),newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) group (n=43). The serum hs-CRP levels and some biochemical parameters were measured in 72 h after the onset. The common carotid artery(CCA) and carotid plaque were examined by color B type ultrasonography. Results The hs-CRP levels were gradually increased among NGT,IGT and DM groups. The average of hs-CRP levels in NGT,IGT and DM groups were 0.320 mg/L,1.435 mg/L,4.305mg/L respectively.By the charge of logaithm,there were significanty differenc among each group(P

Objective: To compare the exposure of commonly used electrical appliances by mothers in early pregnancy so as to explore the association between electromagnetic exposure in daily life and congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study. Totally 274 mothers in the case group and 548 mothers in the control group were interviewed through a face-to-face questionnaire. The multivariate logistic regression was applied to analyze the association between CHD and electromagnetic exposure. Results: After adjustment for the confounding factors, in early pregnancy, mothers' exposure to cell phones (OR=0.20, 95% CI: 0.07-0.58), induction cookers (OR=1.97, 95% CI: 1.31-2.96) and microwave ovens (OR=2.90, 95% CI: 1.41-5.97), and wearing radiation suits (OR=0.58, 95% CI: 0.39-0.86) were related to the occurrence of CHD. In the subgroup analysis, compared with the non-radiation suit, microwave oven exposure of the mothers in radiation suits did not significantly affect CHD in early pregnancy, but exposure to induction cookers could increase the risk of CHD in both subgroups. Conclusion: Mothers' exposure to microwave ovens and induction cookers in early pregnancy may increase the risk of CHD in the offspring. The exposure should be decreased and avoided as much as possible.

Objective To establish a mouse model for human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infec-tion, and to explore the course of viral replication and pathology and lay ground for vaccine development. Methods BALB/c mice were infected intranasally with hMPV, and sacrificed on day 1,3, 5, 7, 9 and 16 post inoculation. Lungs were used for viral isolation, viral titration by an improved plaque assays, pulmonary histopathology and detection of hMPV mRNA expression by RT-PCR. Results Live viruses were successful-ly isolated from the lungs of infected mice, hMPV replicate well in the lungs and viral titers peaked on the 5th day post inoculation (5.16 ± 1.09)×105 PFU/g, remaining to be detectable on the 9th day post inocu- lation (2.79 ± 1.22)×102 PFU/g. Genomic RNA of hMPV was able to be detected on the 16th day post in-oculation by RT-PCR targeting F gene. Histopathology of lungs was characterized by interstitial pneumonia in particular during 3 ～ 7 days post inoculation. Conclusion hMPV infected BALB/c mice model was success-fully established, hMPV infected mice showed similar patterns of viral replication and pulmonary histopathol-ogy as in infected humans.

Objective To investigate the effect of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep deprivation on spatial memory and hippocampal cellular prion protein (PrPC) expression and to explore the underlying mechanism of cognitive impairment induced by sleep deprivation.Methods Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were sorted by weight,randomly divided into three groups:the cage control (CC) group,the tank control (TC) group,and the sleep deprivation (SD) group.Rats were deprived of REM sleep for 72 h using the modified multiple platform method.The Morris water maze task was used to assess hippocampal-dependent spatial memory.After sleep deprivation,the rats were sacrificed and their brain tissue was analyzed for PrPC protein expression via Western blotting.Hippocampal neuron axon elongation was examined as well after lentivector-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) of PrPC in primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons.Results REM sleep deprivation for 72 h resulted in spatial memory impairment.The number of times of rats passing through the platform was decreased significantly in the SD group (3.17 ±0.95) compared with the CC (7.17 ±0.95) and TC (6.50 ±0.62) groups (Z =2.026 6,Z =2.026 6,P ＜0.05),the mean value of proximity to the platform (mm) was greater for rats of the SD group (711.74 ± 33.99) compared to those of theCC (592.32±31.31) andTC (580.86±11.36) groups (Z=-2.001 6,Z=-2.4820,P ＜ 0.05).REM sleep deprivation for 72 h resulted in reduced PrPC level in the hippocampus (0.33 ± 0.10) compared with the CC (1.01 ±0.33) and TC (0.96 ±0.27) groups (Z=2.152 9,Z=2.152 9,P ＜ 0.05).In primary cultured hippocampal neurons,axon elongation(μm) was inhibited 7 days in infected neurons (326.28 ± 12.53) compared with normal (555.00 ±30.43) or negative control (558.70 ±23.10) cells (Z =4.768 4,Z =4.877 0,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion These findings suggest that PrPC-mediated hippocampal neuron axon elongation inhibition is probably involved in spatial memory impairment induced by sleep deprivation in rats.