OBJECTIVE To investigate the incidence of the mitochondrial DNA 12SrRNA A1555G and connexin 26 gene (GJB2) in Chinese northwest population with nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss,and to explore the relationship between mitochondrial DNA A1555G and mutation of GJB2 gene. METHODS Blood samples were obtained from 221 patients with nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss in Northwest of China; Genomic DNA was extracted from the isolated leukocytes ; Screening the mitochondrial A1555G mutation by PCR-Alw26l digestion and sequence analysis, PCR and direct sequencing were used to analyze the coding region of GJB2 gene. RESULTS The homoplasmic A1555G mutation was found in 21 individuals of 221 patients,17 of these 21 patients had been treated with aminoglycosides. Eleven different variants of GJB2 were found in all patients ,the disease-causing mutations of GJB2 were 44 individuals in these patients(44/221), The mutation 235delC is found in 54.54 % of all disease-causing mutations ; Among 21 patients with the A1555G mutation, 11 cases were found polymorphic change in GJB2 gene ,only 1 case had V37I heterozygous mutations ,other 9 cases were not found any nucleotide changes of GJB2 gene. CONCLUSION The mtDNA 12SrRNA A1555G mutation has a high incidence in Chinese northwest population with non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss.The 235delC mutation in the GJB2 gene is most frequent mutations responsible for non-syndromic hearing impairment in this region .It is unlikely that the GJB2 gene is a major modulatory factor for hearing loss due to the A1555G mutation in Chinese population.

Objective To investigate the analgesic effects of fentanyl combined with propofol compared with fentanyl alone in the abortion.Methods A total of 366 abortion patients were recruited from Aug 2010 to Aug 2013 in the outpatients department of our hospital.One hundred and sixty-seven patients were given fentanyl combined with propofol and the other 199 cases were given fentanyl only.The pain score , vaginal bleeding , the incidence of postoperative nausea vomiting and abortion syndrome were compared between the two groups.Results The analge-sic effect was better in combination group compared with fentanyl group ( P<0.05 ).The vaginal bleeding , incidence of nausea vomiting and a-bortion syndrome had no statistical significance ( P>0.05 ).Conclusion Fentanyl combined with propofol can significantly improve the analge-sic effects compared with fentanyl only in the treatment of abortion , and without increase in the risk of nausea vomiting and abortion syndrome.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence, current treatment, and clinical characteristics of asthma, as well as the risk factors for this disease, among children aged 0-14 years in 2010 in urban Zhongshan, China.

METHODSA total of 10 336 children aged 0-14 years were selected from urban Zhongshan by cluster random sampling. The Third National Childhood Asthma Epidemiological Questionnaire 2010 was used to analyze the prevalence, current treatment, and clinical characteristics of childhood asthma, as well as the risk factors for this disease.

RESULTSAsthma was diagnosed in 179 cases (1.73%). The prevalence of asthma in male children was significantly higher than that in female children (2.25% vs 1.16%; P<0.01). Of the 179 patients, severe attacks were common in 104 cases (58.1%), 110 cases (61.5%) had slow onset, 102 cases (57.0%) had gradually relieved conditions, 61 cases (34.1%) suffered from asthma during seasonal transition, and 150 cases (83.8%) developed asthma due to respiratory tract infection. Among all asthmatic children, 71.5% had been treated with inhaled corticosteroids, and 71.5% had been treated with bronchodilator. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a history of penicillin allergy, a family history of allergy, food allergy, eczema, allergic rhinitis, cesarean delivery, family mould, and perinatal passive smoking were independent risk factors for childhood asthma.

CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of childhood asthma in urban Zhongshan is on a high level, and is associated with gender. The treatment of asthma has been standardized, but still needs further improvement. The onset of asthma attack is influenced by various factors.

Adolescent ; Asthma ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Seasons ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of microRNA(miR)-21 and miR-125 in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its relationship with clinicopathological features.

METHODSQuantitative real-time PCR was applied to examine the expression of miR-21 and miR-125 in 100 primary CRC specimens which were diagnosed and operated in West China Hospital between 2006 and 2007, in comparison with the corresponding normal mucosa specimens. The relationship between the expression of miRNAs and clinicopathological features was analyzed.

RESULTSThe expression of miR-21 in CRC was up-regulated by 2.3 times compared to normal mucosa (P =0.025), while the expression of miR-125 was down-regulated by 3.3 times in comparison with normal mucosa (P =0.005). Furthermore, the expression of miR-21 was related to TNM stage (P =0.028) and local invasion (P =0.023). On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between the expression of miR-125 and clinicopathological features (P >0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe over-expression of miR-21 may play a role in the development and progression of CRC, while miR-125 may not be related to the pathogenesis of CRC.

Colorectal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Male ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; RNA ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective To detect the serum levels of calpainin (S100A11) using nanomagicbeabs sorting-time resolved fluoroimmuno assay (NMBS-TRFIA) and evaluate its diagnostic value in pancreatic carcinoma.Methods 88 patients with pancreatic carcinoma,50 patients with acute pancreatitis,10 patients with pancreatic cyst and 20 healthy controls were selected as the study subjects.The human peripheral serum blood was sorted with S100A11 antibody coupled nanomagicbeabs,and the concentration of S100A11 was detected by TRFIA method.The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to determine the cut-off level for diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma,in order to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma.Results S100A11 showed a linear relationship within the range of 6.08～ 500 ng/ml using NMBS-TRFIA method,intraassay CV≤6.35％,inter-assay CV≤7.12％,and the average recovery rate was 104.7％.The serum levels of S100A11 in patients with pancreatic carcinoma,patients with acute pancreatitis and patients with pancreatic cyst were 185.53 ± 161.19,106.06±113.83 and 68.99± 47.83 ng/ml respectively.Compared with the normal control group (37.98±25.14 ng/ml),the differences were statistically significant (t=-8.065,-3.375,-2.266,all P ＜0.01).The serum levels of S100A11 in patients with pancreatic carcinoma was significantly higher than those in patients with acute pancreatitis and patients with pancreatic cyst (all P＜0.05).According to the ROC curve,ROCAUC=0.985 (95％ CI:0.972 ～ 0.997),the best cut-off level for the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma was 89.5 ng/ml (sensitivity 81.8 ％,specificity 67.5 ％).Conclusion NMBS-TRFIA can enrich S100A11 in serum and improve the detection sensitivity of serum S100A11,and the method is simple and easy to be popularized.Serum S100A11 has a high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma,and is a new serum marker for the diagnosis of early pancreatic carcinoma.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the safety and therapeutic effect of low dose (1000 U/m(2)) L-asparaginase (L-Asp) in the treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

METHODSSix patients were treated with low dose L-Asp after previously suffered severe side effects from standard dose L-Asp (5000 - 10,000 U/m(2)). Twenty-eight blood samples were obtained randomly from 5 of them. Plasma asparagine concentration was detected by reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC).

RESULTSAll the patients treated with low dose L-Asp showed no any toxic symptoms. The plasma asparagine levels in the patients were all above 5 micromol/L except case 4 (4.91 micromol/L) before receiving L-Asp, and were all decreased below 0.5 micromol/L five days after receiving low dose L-Asp, except case 3 (3.70 micromol/L), the results being like that of receiving standard dose L-Asp.

CONCLUSIONLow dose L-Asp has definite efficacy for childhood ALL, while avoids serious side effects from standard dose L-Asp.

Adolescent ; Antineoplastic Agents ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; blood ; Asparaginase ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; blood ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome

The SARS epidemic is breaking out worldwide. To select suitable herbal drugs for clinical uses is important and urgent amongst the controversial treatment proposals. Nine pharmacological experimental models were used to evaluate the comprehensive efficacy of traditional Chinese remedies by cross validation in different institutes. Eight drugs were optimized for controlling different symptoms of SARS.
Animals ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Multiple Organ Failure ; prevention & control ; Phytotherapy ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; drug therapy

Due to the availability of 18F-FDG in PET centers, this article aims to advocate and promote the standardization of 18F-FDG PET brain imaging in dementia in order to improve the reliability, repeatability and comparison of the imaging process and results. It is also provided to guide the PET imaging operation standard and to give suggestions on image interpretation.

Objective:To explore the clinical features and pathogenic mechanisms of a special syndrome with congenital sensorineural hearing loss, albinism, heterochromia iridis, nystagmus and myelin dysplasia.Methods:Detailed medical history, systematic audiology tests, ophthalmic and neurological examinations were carried out to analyze the clinical features of the child, and further molecular genetic tests including chromosome karyotype analysis, and deafness gene screening were conducted.Results:A new de novo heterozygous mutation (c.336G>T/p.Met112Ile) was detected in the child, while both his parents were demonstrated to be wild-type and symptom free. The analysis of clinical features indicated the diagnosis of PCW syndrome. Conclusion:This study identified a new mutation of SOX10 gene, which enriched the mutation spectrum of this gene. And the analysis of clinical characteristics of this patient also expanded the phenotype of this gene. This study provided a reference for clinical diagnosis and genetic diagnosis of PCW syndrome.

BACKGROUNDThe association between the previous history of endometriosis and obstetric outcomes is still ambiguous. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of previous history of operatively diagnosed endometriosis on pregnancy outcomes.

METHODSA total of 98 primiparous women who had been diagnosed with endometriosis by previous laparoscopic surgery were included in this retrospective cohort study. Pregnancy outcomes were compared between these women (study group) who had a live birth and 300 women without endometriosis (control group) who had a live birth. In the study group, the pregnancy outcomes of 74 women who conceived naturally (no assisted reproductive technology [ART] subgroup) were simultaneously compared with 24 women who conceived by ART (ART subgroup).

RESULTSMiscarriage was observed in 23 of 98 women with endometriosis (23.5%). There were 75 women who had a live birth after laparoscopic diagnosis of endometriosis in the study group eventually. On multivariate analysis, the postpartum hemorrhage rate increased significantly in the study group when compared with the control group (adjusted odds ratio: 2.265, 95% confidence interval: 1.062, 4.872; P = 0.034). There was an upward tendency of developing other pregnancy-related complications, such as preterm birth, placental abruption, placenta previa, cesarean section, fetal distress/anemia, and others in the study group than in the control group. However, the differences showed no statistical significance. Within the study group, the occurrence rate of postpartum hemorrhage and preterm birth was both higher in the ART subgroup than in the no ART subgroup. The differences both had statistical significance (44.4% vs. 17.5%, P = 0.024 and 27.8% vs. 1.8%, P = 0.010, respectively). At the same time, median (interquartile range) for gestational age at delivery in the ART subgroup was significantly shorter than that in the no ART subgroup (38 weeks [36-39 weeks] vs. 39 weeks [38-40 weeks]; P = 0.005).

CONCLUSIONSEndometriosis may affect obstetric outcomes. Women with endometriosis have a higher risk of postpartum hemorrhage. Women with endometriosis who conceived by ART may have a higher risk of postpartum hemorrhage and preterm birth than those conceived naturally.

Abortion, Spontaneous ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Adult ; Cesarean Section ; statistics & numerical data ; Endometriosis ; complications ; epidemiology ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Live Birth ; epidemiology ; Placenta Previa ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Postpartum Hemorrhage ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; epidemiology ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Premature Birth ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; adverse effects ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors