Objective To investigate esophageal response to intraesophageal balloon-distention and acid perfusion stimuli and to evaluate the visceral hypersensitivity in non erosive reflux disease (NERD) patients.Methods Thirty-one NERD patients diagnosed by reflux disease questionnaire (RDQ) and endoscopy and 10 control subjects were enrolled in this study.Esophageal mechanical sensitivity was measured by esophageal barostat and recorded as initial perception threshold and maximal tolerated pain threshold by volume.The chemical sensitivity was measured by acid perfusion test,and quantified by two parameters (trigger time and acid related symptom score).Results Initial perception threshold and maximally tolerated pain threshold of NERD patients was (9.6?4.8) ml and (12.3?3.2) ml, significantly lower than those of controls,(13.2?7.5) ml and (21.6?5.7) ml,respectively (P

Objective To test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Profile of Fatigue Scale (PROF)among the patients with Sjogren′s syndrome. Methods The English version of PROF was translated into Chinese according to Brislin Translation Model. 107 patients with Sjogren′s syndrome were investigated to test its reliability and validity. Results The Cronbachαcoefficient , Guttman split-half coefficient, test-retest reliability and content validity of Chinese version of PROF were 0.976, 0.953, 0.872 and 0.875. Two factors were extracted by factor analysis and the cumulated variance was 80.75%. The structure of PROF was in line with the original scale. The criterion-related validity was 0.621 measured by comparing with visual analog scale of fatigue, and was -0.707 measured by comparing with vitality domain in the MOS item Short From Health Survey (SF-36). Conclusions The Chinese version of PROF has been proved to be reliable and valid. It can be used to measure the fatigue in Chinese patients with Sjogren′s syndrome.

BACKGROUNDPatients with sliding hiatus hernia (HH) and reflux esophagitis (RE) usually suffer from esophageal dysmotility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of acid reflux and duodenal gastroesophageal reflux (DGER), esophageal manometry, and esophageal dysmotility by applying the barium meal examination.

METHODSRE with HH was initially diagnosed using the reflux disease questionnaire, and was further confirmed by a barium meal examination and an endoscopy. The radiographic technique was used to test for spasms, strictures, and the coarseness of the mucosa, also was to study the types of reflux and clearance. Then, the esophageal manometry, the esophageal 24-hour pH, and the bilirubin monitoring were observed.

RESULTSFifty-five patients were diagnosed as HH combined with RE and divided into two groups according to the severity of their esophagitis: group HH1 (grades A and B) and group HH2 (grades C and D). The barium meal examination revealed that the mucosa was either granular or nodular in all cases. The dump reflux and delayed clearance were more significant in patients in the HH2 group than those in the HH1 group (P < 0.05). The percentages of total, supine, and upright acid exposure time were greater in patients with HH than those in the control group (P < 0.01), but the differences between the HH1 and the HH2 groups were not significant. Lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP) was lower in the HH group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Three DGER parameters: the percentage of time with absorbance greater than 0.14, the number of bile reflux episodes, the number of bile refluxes lasting longer than 5 minutes were (28.43 +/- 23.34), (40.57 +/- 31.30), and (15.15 +/- 8.72), respectively in the HH2 group; these statistics were significantly higher than those for the HH1 (P < 0.05). The frequency and amplitude of peristalsis were all lower in HH patients than in the control (P < 0.05). Of all the patients, 54.3% (30 of 55) with acid reflux and DGER simultaneously in the HH group exhibited refluxes of barium from the stomach to the esophagus in the recumbent position, and 29.4% (5 in 17) with delayed clearance in the HH group were correlated with esophageal body peristalses. The result was that the frequency and amplitude of peristalsis were less and the duration of esophageal peristalsis was longer than those of control group.

CONCLUSIONSEsophageal dysmotility may play an important role in the severity of RE combined with HH. Esophageal motility results on a barium examination may coincide with esophageal manometry, 24-hour pH, and bilirubin monitoring in the RE and HH, but the radiologic method was the simplest to apply.

Adult ; Aged ; Bilirubin ; analysis ; Esophageal Motility Disorders ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Esophageal pH Monitoring ; Esophagitis, Peptic ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Esophagoscopy ; Female ; Hernia, Hiatal ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Male ; Manometry ; methods ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo study the humoral immunity reconstitution and its relationship with infection in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) after undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT).

METHODSForty-two MM patients undergoing auto-HSCT were included in this study. Peripheral blood were obtained for immunoglobulin detection, including IgG, IgA and IgM before transplantation and 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after transplantation. The time, type, pathogen of infection between 1 and 24 month after transplantation were analyzed.

RESULTSThe level of IgA at 6 month [(0.75±0.59) g/L] after auto-HSCT was lower than that of pre-auto-HSCT [(1.04±0.70) g/L], and reached the level of pre-auto-HSCT at 9 months [(0.99±0.52) g/L] after auto-HSCT. The level of IgM reached the level of pre-auto-HSCT [(0.45±0.26) g/L] at 3 months after auto-ASCT [(0.50±0.26) g/L]. The level of IgG reached the level of pre-auto-HSCT [(9.80±2.98) g/L] at 1 month after auto-HSCT [(11.09±2.69) g/L], and higher than that of pre-auto-HSCT at 9 months after auto-HSCT [(12.07±3.57) g/L]. The level of IgG with IgG-type MM was higher than that of patients with light-chain type and IgD-type MM at 6, 9 and 12 months after auto-HSCT. The IgA level of patients who obtained complete remission (CR) is much higher than that of patients who obtained nCR in IgG-type patients. The incidence of infection in 6 month after auto-HSCT was higher than that of (6-12) month and >12 month after auto-HSCT. The incidence of infection was strongly negative correlated with IgA (r =-0.943, P=0.005) and IgG (r=-0.943, P=0.005) level. The frequency of viral infection was also negatively correlated with IgA and IgG.

CONCLUSIONThe reconstitution time of IgG, IgA and IgM was different in MM patients after auto-HSCT. IgG recovered first, then IgM, and IgM the last. The incidence of infection was negatively correlated with IgA and IgG. With the recovery of IgG and IgA, the incidence of infection was decreased accordingly.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Immunity, Humoral ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; immunology ; therapy ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Virus Diseases ; immunology

Animals ; Body Water ; metabolism ; Capillary Permeability ; Hydrazones ; pharmacology ; Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Male ; Phosphorylation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; etiology ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; physiology

OBJECTIVECigarette smoke extract (CSE) can induce injuries of pulmonary II epithelial cells, activate nuclear factor-kappaB and increase tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) secretion. This study aimed to investigate whether azithromycin can protect pulmonary II epithelial cells from injuries induced by CSE and relevant mechanisms.

METHODSPulmonary II epithelial cells (A549 cells) were cultured in vitro. After 48 hrs of culture the cells were randomly treated with serum-free DMEM only (blank control group), azithromycin + serum-free DMEM, CSE+ serum-free DMEM or CSE+azithromycin. Eight hours later the morphology of A549 cells, the activity of NF-kappaB and the levels of TNF-alpha were measured by inverted microscope, immunohistochemistry and ELISA.

RESULTSThe morphology and structure of A549 cells were changed, NF-kappaB activity increased (dark brown staining ) and TNF-alpha levels (0.307 +/- 0.036 pg/mL vs 0.234 +/- 0.028 pg/mL)increased in the CSE+ serum-free DMEM group compared with the blank control group (P < 0.01). CSE together with azithromycin treatment recovered partly the morphological injuries of A549 cells. It also attenuated NF-kappaB staining and decreased TNF-alpha levels from 0.307 +/- 0.036 pg/mL (CSE+serum-free DMEM group) to 0.269 +/- 0.009 pg/mL (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSAzithromycin may inhibit NF-kappaB activity, decrease TNF-alpha secretion and thus lessen cytotoxicity of CSE to A549 cells.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Azithromycin ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; NF-kappa B ; analysis ; Smoke ; adverse effects ; Tobacco ; adverse effects ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the therapeutic effect of imatinib on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in different phases and analyze the factors that may affect the effects.

METHODSEighty-five patients with CML in chronic phase, 24 in accelerated phase and 19 in blastic phase patients were treated with imitinib. The hematologic response, cytogenetic response, molecular response, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse events were analyzed in these groups.

RESULTSThe rates of complete hematologic response (CHR), complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) and complete molecular response (CMoR) of the patients in chronic phase were 100%, 82.4% and 21.2%, respectively, and the 5-year OS and PFS of these patients were 92.1% and 84.7%. All these rates were significantly higher than those in patients in accelerated and blastic phases (P<0.0001). The CCyR, CMoR, 5-year OS and PFS in the 42 newly diagnosed patients in chronic phase were 92.9%, 26.3%, 100% and 95.2%, respectively, all significantly higher than those in patients with interferon therapy failure (P<0.001). Severe leukocytopenia and thrombocytopenia occurred at greater frequencey in AP and BP patients than in chronic phase patients (P<0.0001). Non-hematologic toxicity was rarer and milder in patients in chronic phase. Multivariate analysis showed that interferon therapy prior to imitinib treatment and prolonged drug cessation were the independent factors that affected the achievement of cytogenetic response and PFS.

CONCLUSIONEarly imitinib therapy can be effective and safe, and should be used as the first line drug for CML.

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; Female ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Chronic-Phase ; drug therapy ; Male ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

This study was purposed to investigate the relationship between the levels of soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (sRANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in serum of the patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and multiple myeloma bone disease (MBD). The serum levels of sRANKL, OPG, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRAP-5b) and C-terminal telopeptide of collagen I (CTP-I) which both are indexes for metabolism of osteoclast (OC) in newly diagnosed MM patients (n=42, experimental group) and healthy persons (n=25, control group) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The roentgenography was used to determine bone damage in MM patients at the same time. According to these results acquired, the correlation of sRANKL/OPG ratio with levels of TRAP-5b/CTP-I, the incidence and degree of bone destruction were analyzed. The results indicated that the level of sRANKL (median value 9.33 microg/L) increased and level of OPG (median value 4.93 microg/L) decreased and the sRANKL/OPG ratio (2.65) increased significantly in experimental group. Compared with control group, the differences in all the corresponding indicators were statistically significant (p<0.05). The sRANKL/OPG ratio was closely related to levels of TRAP-5b (r=0.512, p<0.05) and CTP-I (r=0.481, p<0.05) in MM patients. After all patients in experimental groups were divided into group with bone destruction (n=29) and without bone destruction (n=13), the sRANKL/OPG ratio in the group with bone destruction was 5.13 and much higher than that in group without bone destruction (1.12) (p<0.05). A close correlation between the sRANKL/OPG ratio and degree of bone destruction (r=0.445, p<0.05) was acquired when all MM patients were divided into three groups according to degree of bone destruction, but no difference between the ratio and clinical classification and International Staging System (ISS) in MM patients was found. It is concluded that the sRANKL/OPG ratio in serum of MM patients is significantly elevated, which may be closely related to increase metabolism of OC along with the incidence and degree of bone destruction. In short, the sRANKL/OPG ratio can be used as a reference index for the diagnosis of MBD.
Adult ; Aged ; Bone Diseases ; blood ; diagnosis ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; blood ; diagnosis ; Osteoprotegerin ; blood ; RANK Ligand ; blood

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical significance of abnormal protein bands (APB) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients treated with bortezomib-based induction regimen and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).

METHODSSixty-eight MM patients submitted to bortezomib-based induction therapy and ASCT from January 2007 to July 2012 were retrospectively studied. Monoclonal protein was detected by immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE).

RESULTSOf all 68 patients, 33 (48.5%) patients had APB. At the first emergence of an APB, two patients with light chain type achieved CR and before transplantation, and thirty-one patients were after transplantation with median time of 104 (ranged 33-404) days. The median duration of APB appearance was 105 (ranged 35-801) days. Patients who developed APB compared with those without APB, had a significantly higher CR plus very good partial response (VGPR) rates (100.0% vs 85.7%%, P=0.017) and CR rates (87.9% vs 62.9%) (P=0.03). There were no significant differences in gender, age, HGB, ALB, β2-microglobulin, M protein type, Durie-Salmon and ISS stages, the case number of first line or second line treatment, induction courses of bortezomib-based regimen, and the mode of ASCT. With a median follow-up of 33.4 (ranged 7.0-71.7) months, patients with APB tended to have a longer overall survival (OS) versus non-APB patients, although no significant difference obtained (P＞0.05). Among APB patients, OS was longer in patients whose appearance of APB occurred ＜6 months after transplantation than those ≥ 6 months, but the significant difference was not obtained yet (P＞0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPatients who developed APB had a significantly better response to bortezomib-based induction regimen followed ASCT. APB emergence has a good prognostic significance.

Adult ; Aged ; Boronic Acids ; therapeutic use ; Bortezomib ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma ; metabolism ; therapy ; Myeloma Proteins ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Pyrazines ; therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplantation, Autologous

OBJECTIVETo investigate The modulating role of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in hepatic cells and its role in hepatic injury in severely burned rats.

METHODSTwenty-four adult healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups (8 rats in each group): sham group, burn group, and burn with SB203580 group. A rat model of full-thickness burn injury covering 30% total body surface area (TBSA) was reproduced. The specific inhibitor of p38MAPK (SB203580 in 10 mg/kg) was given to the rats in the burn with SB203580 group at 15 minutes and 12 hours after burn. The serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured at 24 postburn hours (PBHs). The TNF-alpha mRNA expression in the liver was determined by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and the expression levels of p38MAPK and phosphor-p38MAPK in the liver were determined by Western blot analysis.

RESULTSThe serum levels of AST and ALT, and the expression of TNF-alpha mRNA in liver cells were significantly higher in burn group than those in sham and SB203580 groups (P < 0.05 or 0.01), but there was no difference between the two latter groups. It was indicated by Western blot results that there was no difference of p38MAPK expression in rat liver among the three groups (P > 0.05). The phospho-p38MAPK expression ratio among sham, burn and burn with SB203580 groups was 1.00:3.90:1.10. The phospho-p38MAPK expression was significantly lower in burn with SB203580 group than that in burn group (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference compared with that in sham group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe postburn activated p38MAPK in rat liver after severe burn injury enhances the expression of TNF-alpha mRNA and participates in the development of postburn hepatic injury.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Burns ; metabolism ; pathology ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; metabolism ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism