Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of moxibustion with seed-sized moxa cone plus opioid drugs for moderate-to-severe cancer pain, and the effect on immune function in patients with cancer pain. Methods: A total of 80 patients with moderate-to-severe cancer pain were randomized into an observation group and a control group by the random number table method, with 40 cases in each group. Both groups were treated with opioid drugs for analgesia according to the standardized management principles for cancer pain. In addition, the observation group was given moxibustion with seed-sized moxa cone. The treatment was performed once a day, continuous 5-day treatment with a 2-day interval constituted a treatment course, and a total of 2 courses were performed. The score of numerical rating scale (NRS) and 24 h equivalent morphine consumption was compared between the two groups before treatment, after 1 treatment course and after 2 courses of treatment. The immune functions were compared between the two groups before and after 2 courses of treatment. Results: During the treatment, there were 3 dropouts in the control group, and 2 dropouts in the observation group. Before the treatment, there were no significant differences in the NRS score and 24 h equivalent morphine consumption between the two groups (both P＞0.05). The NRS scores of both two groups were quite stable during the whole treatment period, and there was no significant difference in the intra-group comparison after treatment (both P＞0.05), and there was no significant difference between the two groups at the same time point (both P＞0.05). In the control group, the 24 h equivalent morphine consumption showed an increasing trend. The dosage after 1 treatment course and 2 courses of treatment was statistically different from that before treatment in the control group (both P＜0.01). There was no significant change in the mean 24 h equivalent morphine consumption in the observation group compared with that before treatment (both P＞0.05). After 2 courses of treatment, the 24 h equivalent morphine consumption in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group at the same time point (P＜0.05). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the levels of T lymphocyte subsets (CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+) between the two groups (all P＞0.05). After treatment, the levels of T lymphocyte subsets (CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+) in the control group were lower than those before treatment (all P＜0.05), while the levels in the observation group were higher than those before treatment, and the levels of CD3+ and CD4+ were significantly different from those before treatment (both P＜0.05). After treatment, the levels of T lymphocyte subsets (CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+) of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group at the same time point (all P＜0.05). Conclusion: Moxibustion with seed-sized moxa cone can reduce the dosage of opioid drugs used in patients with moderate-to-severe cancer pain and improve their immune functions.

BACKGROUND:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels are crucial for bone and cartilage development and regeneration at a celular level. Insufficient quantity and functional impairment of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels is widely considered to be one of osteoarthritis causes. OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the functional status of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels and disease progression in osteoarthritis patients.METHODS: Thirty patients with osteoarthritis were enroled from July 2013 to October 2014, and divided into control, mild osteoarthritis, and severe osteoarthritis groups, with 10 cases in each group. 5 mL bone marrow from the femur or tibia was extracted from each patient to isolate and culture bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels. Proliferation ability of cels at passage 3 was detected using cel counting kit-8; toluidine blue staining was performed at 14 days after chondrogenic induction; real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of Aggrecan and Col2A1 in the control group after chondrogenic induction. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Afterin vitro culture, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels grew adherently in polygonal and fusiform shape with multiple processes at uniform size. The cytoplasm contained larger particles and the nuclei were ovoid. Most of cels were in cel division phase. The proliferation ability was strongest in the control group and weakest in the severe osteoarthritis group. Cels from the three groups were al at plateau phase after 1 week culture. At 14 days after chondrogenic induction, the cels were polygonal and quasi-circular, and purple metachromatic granules distributed outside of the cytoplasm. The expression of Aggrecan and Col2A1 in the control group displayed an overexpression trend. These findings indicate that the functional status of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels from osteoarthritis patients is negatively correlated with the severity of disease, which can influence the disease progression in osteoarthritis patients.

This study is to investigate the effect of the effective components group of Xiaoshuantongluo (XECG) on neuronal injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in primary cortical cultures isolated from SD rat cortex at day 3 and the possible mechanism. Cells were divided into control group, OGD model group and XECG group (1, 3 and 10 mg x L(-1)). The cell viability was assessed with MTT assay and the LDH release rate was measured by enzyme label kit. The cell apoptosis was analyzed using Hoechst staining. RT-PCR was applied to detect the mRNA levels of JAK2 and STAT3. Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins. Results showed that XECG resulted in an obvious resistance to oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced cell apoptosis and decrement of cell viability, decrease the cell LDH release rate. XECG could adjust the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins and increase Bcl-2/Bax ratio, up-regulate the expression of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3. In conclusion, XECG could protect against the neuronal injury cells exposed to OGD, which may be relevant to the promotion of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, and impact the expression of Bax and Bcl-2.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cell Survival ; Cells, Cultured ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; Janus Kinase 2 ; metabolism ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Oxygen ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the management of pregnancy and cardiovascular complications in women with Marian syndrome(MFS).Methods From October 1994 to September 2006, 30 patients with MFS undergoing cardiovascular surgery were studied retrospectively.Results In the labor of 46 offsprings given birth by 30 women,5 cases(11%)were performed elective cesarean section because of the existence of aortic complication,and 12(26%)were diagnosed as MFS.The gestation in two patients was terminated due to deterioration of aortic abnormalities during their third trimester,and they received surgical treatment with Bcntall procedure.Two developed acute aortic dissection during labor and post delivery respectively.With the manipulation of anticoagulation peripartum,one who had the implantation with mechanical prosthesis went through pregnancy and delivery uneventfully.The average duration between delivery and cardiovascular surgery was(15?9)years.Conclusions Vaginal delivery can be done safely in patients with the MFS who do not have or have mild cardiovascular system abnormalities,aortic dissection,or other important cardiac abnormalities,cesarean section should be the preferred method of delivery.Women with MFS are at increased risk for dissection and congestive heart failure during pregnancy and should be counseled before pregnancy about these risks,as well as the inheritance of the condition.

This paper reported a new type of amylase (neoamylase) secreted by a Bacillus strain ZX99. The enzyme was a kind of ectoenzyme that could catalyze starch into isomalto-oligosaccharide effectively, but could not act on pullulan as substrate. The strain Bacillus ZX99 was mutated by ultraviolet ray and a mutant strain BS3.232 was screened. The activity of the neoamylase produced from BS3.232 increased by 60% over that from ZX99 under the same conditions. The results of thin-layer chromatography of products from starch and pullulan catalyzed by the enzyme demonstrated that the enzyme was different from neopullulanase and can be used to produce isomaltooligosaccharide from starch, including isomaltose, panose, isomaltotriose, isomaltotetose.

The therapeutic potential of curcumin (Cur) is hampered by its poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability.The aim of this study was to determine whether Cur nanoemulsions enhance the efficacy of Cur against prostate cancer cells and increase the oral absorption of Cur.Cur nanoemulsions were developed using the self-microemulsifying method and characterized by their morphology,droplet size and zeta potential.The results showed that the cytotoxicity and cell uptake were considerably increased with Cur nanoemulsions compared to free Cur.Cur nanoemulsions exhibited a significantly prolonged biological activity and demonstrated better therapeutic efficacy than free Cur,as assessed by apoptosis and cell cycle studies.In siru single-pass perfusion studies demonstrated higher effective permeability coefficient and absorption rate constant for Cur nanoemulsions than for free Cur.Our study suggested that Cur nanoemulsions can be used as an effective drug delivery system to enhance the anticancer effect and oral bioavailability of Cur.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between the level of serum testosterone and atherosclerosis in middle-aged and elderly men.

METHODSWe conducted a population-based study of 413 males aged 40-75 years in a community in Guangzhou. We obtained the sociodemographic characteristics, clinical data, physical measurements, and laboratory results of sex hormones, blood glucose, and blood lipid of the subjects. We also measured the carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) by color Doppler ultrasonography.

RESULTSThe subjects were divided into a carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) group (CIMT ≥ 0.9 mm) and a non-CAS group (CIMT < 0.9 mm). The medians of free testosterone (FT) were 57.41 and 59.72 pmol/L in the CAS and non-CAS groups, respectively (P = 0.005), and no significant difference was found between the two groups in total testosterone (TT). The levels of serum FT and TT were negatively correlated to CIMT, with Spearman's rank correlation coefficients of -0.126 (P = 0.011) and -0.188 (P < 0.001), respectively. The incidence rates of CAS were 23.30, 13.46, 17.48, and 7.77% in the Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups, respectively according to the quartile of FT (P for trend = 0.008) and 17.48, 18.27, 16.50, and 9.71% respectively according to the quartile of TT (P for trend = 0.116). Based on the quartile of FT and after adjustment for age, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and HbAlc, the risk of CAS was significantly increased in the Q1 group as compared with Q4 (OR = 2.491, 95% CI 1.01-6.149), but no statistically significant differences were observed according to the quartile of TT.

CONCLUSIONA low serum FT level may be a risk factor of atherosclerosis in Chinese men aged 40 years or older.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Blood Glucose ; analysis ; Blood Pressure ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; blood ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Gonadal Steroid Hormones ; blood ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lipids ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; Testosterone ; blood

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of (18)F-FLT positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in diagnosis and staging of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients and compare with CT. Thirty-six patients with DLBCL in our hospital from September 2008 to December 2009 were prospectively evaluated. All 36 patients underwent whole body and head (18)F-FLT PET/CT and CT (chest, abdomen cavity and pelvis) were studied before therapy. The maximal standardized uptake value (SUV(max)) of every single focus and the SUV(max) of aortic arch blood pool were measured and used to calculate the median T/MB value (tumor SUV(max)/mediastinal SUV(max)) of every patient. The results showed that the consistency of (18)F-FLT PET/CT and CT examinations in focus of DLBCL was 79.10%, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accurate rate of (18)F-FLT PET/CT were 96.65%, 100%, 100%, 61.11% and 96.82%, respectively, which were much higher than that of CT (85.44%, 57.14%, 96.70%, 21.05% and 83.64%). It is concluded that the (18)F-FLT PET/CT is a good means for DLBCL diagnosis and staging, which is more sensitive and specific than CT.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multimodal Imaging ; Neoplasm Staging ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo analyze the rate of postoperative vessel thrombosis and its management after free tissue transfers in head and neck region.

METHODSEight hundred and forty-nine consecutive free flap transfers were performed from May 1999 to September 2004. Among them, the flaps with postoperative vessel thrombosis were selected and reviewed. Data concerning each case included time of vessel thrombosis, kind of thrombosis, time of emergent exploration, and salvage of free flaps.

RESULTSAmong the 849 free flaps, postoperative vessel thrombosis occurred in 28 free flaps, between 8 to 120 hours after operation. There were 5 arterial thrombosis, and 23 venous thrombosis. Thirteen flaps were salvaged after emergent exploration, and 15 flaps were lost. The rate of postoperative vessel thrombosis was 3.3% in this group, the salvage rate of flap was 46.4%, and the overall successful rate was 98.2%.

CONCLUSIONClinical monitoring after free flap transfer in head and neck region is very important and effective. In case of vessel thrombosis, emergent exploration is the only effective way to salvage the flap.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Free Tissue Flaps ; adverse effects ; Head ; surgery ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Microsurgery ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Tissue Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Vascular Surgical Procedures ; Venous Thrombosis ; etiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility of optimal surgery for breast cancer in elderly patients.

METHODSThe clinical data of 481 patients aged 70 years and above who were treated in our hospital from 1995 to 2009 were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTSBased on their general conditions and clinical stages, 481 patients were divided into three groups to received different surgical procedures including modified radical mastectomy (MRM group, n=256), tumor extended resection (ER group, n=173), and simple mastectomy (SM group, n=52). The overall 5-and 10-year survival rates were 63.77%and 46.71%, respectively, and the 5-year (p=0.956) and 10-year (p=0.977) survival rates were not significantly among these three groups. However, patients in the ER group had significantly shorter hospital stay, smaller surgical wound, earlier recovery and less complications.

CONCLUSIONIt is feasible for female breast cancer patients over 70 years old choose the optimal surgical procedures according to their general conditions and clinical stages.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Breast Neoplasms ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mastectomy ; methods ; Mastectomy, Modified Radical ; Mastectomy, Simple ; Retrospective Studies