Behcet's Disease is a chronic systemic disorder characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcerations, ocular inflammation, having manifestations related to skin and joints. Neurologic signs can also be observed seldomly during the course of the disease. In this report a case of Behcet's disease with neurological involvement was presented.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Chromogranin A ; metabolism ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neuroendocrine Tumors ; metabolism ; pathology ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Synaptophysin ; metabolism ; Young Adult

Animals ; Endotoxemia ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mitochondria, Liver ; metabolism ; Rats ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of glycine on survival after hemorrhagic shock in the rats and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

METHODSWistar rats were bled to establish the shock model and subsequently resuscitated with shed blood and normal saline. Just prior to resuscitation, the rats were divided into three groups: sham group, shock group and shock + glycine group.

RESULTS(1) 72 h after resuscitation, the survival rate of shock group decreased to 20%, while the survival rate of shock + glycine group was 77.8%, the difference was significant (P < 0.05). (2) 18 h after resuscitation, pathologic alterations of organs showed, pulmonary edema, leukocyte infiltration in interstitial tissue and cellular degeneration in shock group. Glycine reduced these pathological alterations significantly. (3) 18 h after resuscitation, creatine phosphokinase, transaminases and creatinine were elevated significantly in shock group, while these were elevated slightly in shock + glycine group, the differences were significant (P < 0.01). (4) Increases in intracellular calcium and production of TNF-alpha by isolated Kupffer cells stimulated by endotoxin were elevated significantly by hemorrhagic shock, which were totally prevented by glycine (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONGlycine reduces organ injury and mortality caused by hemorrhagic shock by preventing increase of intracellular calcium and production of TNF-alpha of Kupffer cells and blocking systemic inflammation responses.

Animals ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Glycine ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Kidney ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Kupffer Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Lung ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; drug therapy ; mortality ; physiopathology ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Membrane ; metabolism ; Cell Nucleus ; metabolism ; Cytoplasm ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Signal Transduction ; TCF Transcription Factors ; metabolism ; Transcription Factor 7-Like 2 Protein ; Wnt Proteins ; physiology ; beta Catenin ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDMethylprednisolone (MP), a synthetic glucocorticosteroid, has been broadly studied in experiments on endotoxin-induced shock and septic shock. This study was designed to ascertain whether glycine and MP can protect against organ injury and death caused by hemorrhagic shock, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these protective effects in rats.

METHODTo establish a shock model, Wistar rats were bled to maintain mean arterial pressure at 30-50 mmHg for 1 hour and subsequently resuscitated with the shed blood and normal saline. Just prior to resuscitation, the rats were randomly assigned to four groups: sham group (operation performed without inducing shock), shock group, shock + glycine group (glycine injected at the beginning of resuscitation) and shock + MP group (MP injected at the beginning of resuscitation).

RESULTS(1) Seventy-two hours after resuscitation, the survival rate of rats from the shock group had decreased to 20%, while the survival rates of rats from the shock + glycine and shock + MP groups were 77.8% and 80%, respectively. The difference was significant (P <0.05). (2) Eighteen hours after resuscitation, pathological alterations in the organs of the rats were apparent. In rats from the shock group, edema, interstitial leukocyte infiltration, and cellular degeneration occurred in the liver, lungs, kidneys, and heart. Glycine and MP reduced these pathological changes significantly. (3) Eighteen hours after resuscitation, the levels of creatine phosphokinase, transaminases, and creatine were elevated significantly in rats from the shock group, indicating injury to the heart, liver, and kidneys, while these levels were elevated only slightly in the shock + glycine and shock + MP groups. The differences were significant (P <0.01). (4) There were significant increases in intracellular calcium and production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) by isolated Kupffer cells stimulated by endotoxin after hemorrhagic shock. These changes were completely prevented by glycine and MP (P <0.01).

CONCLUSIONGlycine and MP reduce organ injury and mortality caused by hemorrhagic shock by preventing increase of intracellular calcium levels in Kupffer cell, suppressing Kupffer cell activation, decreasing the production of TNF-alpha by Kupffer cells, and blocking systemic inflammatory responses.

Animals ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Glycine ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Methylprednisolone ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Multiple Organ Failure ; etiology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Shock, Hemorrhagic ; drug therapy ; mortality ; pathology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; biosynthesis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects and regulatory mechanism of ILK on angiogenesis in hypertrophic scar.

METHODSThe human scar microvascular endothelial cells (HSMECs) were isolated from 6 patients' hypertrophic scar in vitro. The HSMECs with good condition in 2nd to 4th generation were selected as experimental objectives. (1) HSMECs were divided into the blank control group (treated with routine culture), negative control group (treated with only Lipofectamine 2000), LY294002 group (incubated with 50 nmol/L LY294002), ILK siRNA group (incubated with 20 nmol/L ILK siRNA). RT-PCR and Western Blot were used to detect the expression of ILK mRNA and its protein after transfecion for 48 h. (2) The digested HSMECs of four groups were resuspended with DMEM without serum and then seeded onto the upper compartment of transwell insert which contained complete medium in its lower compartment. The cell migration experiment was stopped in 10 h and then the migrated cells were counted to analyze the effects of different interventions on the migration ability of HSMECs. (3) The thawed ECMatrix was put into each well of pre-colled 48-well tissue culture plate, and then the plate was put into the incubator at 37 degrees C to make it to become gel. The HSMECs of four groups were seeded onto the surface of the ECMatrix gel and were put into incubator. Eight random view-fields per well should be valued by the sheet of pattern recognition about angiogenesis after 8 hours to evaluate the ability of angiogenesis in vitro between four groups.

RESULTS(1) The expression of ILK mRNA (ILK mRNA = 0.829 +/- 0.109, t = 13.151, P = 0.006) and protein (ILK protein = 0.096 +/- 0.049, t = 36.656, P = 0.000) were both inhibited obviously in ILK siRNA group compared with the blank control group (ILK mRNA = 0.829 +/- 0.109, ILK protein = 1). And, the expression of ILK in LY294002 group was slightly lower than that of black control group, but there was no statistical difference. (2) The number of migrated cells in ILK siRNA group (88.111 +/- 3.079) and LY294002 group (138. 667 +/- 2.404) were respectively lower than that in blank control group (322.333 +/- 3.712, P < 0. 05) in 10th hour. (3) Compared to blank control group (4.333 +/- 0.191), the ability of angiogenesis in vitro decreased significantly ILK siRNA group (2.625 +/- 0.125) and LY294002 group (3.125 +/- 0.250), in which, the vascular network structures were not formed perfectly in 8th hour (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe ability of HSMECs' migration and angiogenesis in vitro are inhibited significantly when the expression of ILK is down-regulated. It reveals that ILK may play an role in the regulation of scar angiogenesis.

Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Chromones ; pharmacology ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic ; enzymology ; pathology ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Humans ; Lipids ; pharmacology ; Morpholines ; pharmacology ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; etiology ; pathology ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; physiology ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; RNA, Small Interfering ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical symptom and effect of arthroscopic treatment of symptomatic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) cysts of the knee.

METHODSClinical data from 12 symptomatic ACL cysts patients from January 2005 to December 2010 were retrospectively analyzed,including 8 males and 4 females,with an average age of (33.7±9.5) years old (ranged, 19 to 53 years old). The locations were the left knee in 5 cases and the right knee in 7 cases. The disease duration ranged from 3 to 48 months,with a mean of (15.8±13.2) months. All cysts were arthroscopically resected. Range of motion was measured preoperatively and postoperatively, and Lysholm scoring system was used to evaluate the knee function.

RESULTSAll the incisions healed by first intention, and no complications occurred. Twelve patients were followed up for an average of (32.3±6.6) months(ranged, 24 to 48 months). The symptoms of arthralgia,swelling and interlocking of the affected knees disappeared. There was no recurrence during the follow-up. There were significant differences in the range of motion and Lysholm score between pre-operation and post-operation.

CONCLUSIONArthroscopic surgery, showing its advantages of minimal invasion and rapid recovery,is an effective measure in the treatment of ACL cysts.

Adult ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Arthroscopy ; methods ; Cysts ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Range of Motion, Articular

Artemisnin is a novel sesquiterpene lactone with an internal peroxide bridge structure, which is extracted from traditional Chinese herb Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao). Recommended by World Health Organization, artemisinin is the first-line drug in the treatment of encephalic and chloroquine-resistant malaria. In the present study, transgenic A. annua plants were developed by overexpressing the key enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin. Based on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods, transgenic plants of A. annua with overexpression of both HDR and ADS were obtained through hygromycin screening. The genomic PCR analysis confirmed six transgenic lines in which both HDR and ADS were integrated into genome. The gene expression analysis given by real-time quantitative PCR showed that all the transgenic lines had higher expression levels of HDR and ADS than the non-transgenic control (except ah3 in which the expression level of ADS showed no significant difference compared with control); and the HPLC analysis of artemisinin demonstrated that transgenic A. annua plants produced artemisinin at significantly higher level than non-transgenic plants. Especially, the highest content of artemisinin was found in transgenic line ah70, in which the artemisinin content was 3.48 times compared with that in non-transgenic lines. In summary, overexpression of HDR and ADS facilitated artemisinin biosynthesis and this method could be applied to develop transgenic plants of A. annua with higher yield of artemisinin.
Artemisia annua ; genetics ; metabolism ; Artemisinins ; metabolism ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; genetics ; Oxidoreductases ; genetics ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the effect of partial body-weight supported treadmill training ( PBW- STT) on function of lower limbs, walk function, ADL performance and quality of life of hemiplegic patient induced by cerebral infarction. Methods A total of 132 cerebral infarction patients were divided into a control group (n = 69) and a training group( n = 63) randomly. Both groups accepted routine rehabilitation therapy, and the training group accepted PBWSTT at the same time in addition. Both groups were evaluated with regard to their walking ability, func- tion of lower limbs, ADL performance and their quality of life by using Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) , Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) , Barthel index (BI) and SF-36 before and after rehabilitation treatment. Results The function of lower limb, walking ability, ADL performance and the quality of life of both groups were improved significantly after treatment, and those in the training group were improved to a significantly greater extent than those in the control group ( P