Animals ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; pharmacology ; Ischemic Postconditioning ; Male ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective:To explore clinical and histopathological characteristics of primary biliary cirrho-sis-autoimmune hepatitis overlap syndrome.Methods:Clinical data and pathological findings of 10 pa-tients were reviewed.Results:Serum glutamine transpeptidase,alkaline phosphatase levels,alaninetransaminase,aspartate transaminase,serum IgG and IgM were elevated in all the patients.They were allpositive for anti-mitochondrial antibody and AMA-M2.Nine patients were positive for anti-nuclear anti-body and one patient was positive for anti liver-kidney microsome antibody.Liver biopsies in these pa-tients revealed:ten patients had bile duct lesion,hepatitis activities ranged from moderate to severe,andfibrosis ranged from S1 to S3.Conclusion:PBC-AIH overlap syndrome is mostly found in middle-agedwomen.It has the clinical and histopathological characteristics of both PBC and AIH.Accurate andprompt diagnosis of overlap syndrome patients should be based on the clinical presentation,biochemicaland immune indexes,and hepalic pathological changes.

Objective To compare the therapeutic effect of the combination of ~(99m)Tc-methnetium methylene diphosphunate and colloidal chromic,phosphate ~(32)p with the monotherapies in rats with adjuvant arthritis(AA).Methods In this study,50 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups with 10 rats in each:normal control group(arthritis induced and treated with the same volume of normal saline via the same administration route),AA control group(arthritis induced with adjuvant and treated with normal sa- line),~(32)p colloid group(arthritis induced with adjuvant and treated with single intra-articular injection of col- luidal chromic phosphate ~(32)p 0.74 MBq and intra-peritoneal injection of normal saline every other clay),~(99m)Tc- MDP group(arthritis induced with adjuvant and treated with intra-peritoneal injection of ~(99m)Tc-MDP 2.5?10~(-3)?g/kg every other day and single intra-articular injection of normal saline),combination group(arthritis in- duced with adjuvant and treated with the combination of the two drugs).The diameter of the left hind ankle, serum levels of turnout necrosis factor(TNF)and interleukin-1?(IL-1?),and the pathological changes of an- kle joints were tested at different time points.Results The diameter of the left hind ankle at week 4 was smaller in the combination group than that of the ~(32)p colloid treatment alone group [(7.11?0.34)mm vs(7.57?0.29)mm,P

Background Angiogenesis is an essential event for the growth and mobility of malignant tumors,but there is little literature about the effects of anoxia and angiogenesis-related factors on angiogenesis in choroidal melanoma.Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of angiogeneic factors such as hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α),inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS),cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2),and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in choroidal melanoma and their clinical significance.Methods The specimens from 44 cases of choroidal melanoma and 16 cases of eyelid nevi identified by pathology were collected.Immunohistochemistry SP was used to examine the expression of HIF-1α,iNOS,COX-2 and VEGF in the samples.The expression of HIF-1 α,iNOS,COX-2 and VEGF in tumors with different sizes,different pathological types and different growth patterns was evaluated.The correlations among these four proteins in tumor growth and development were assessed.Results The expression of HIF-1α,iNOS,COX-2 and VEGF in choroidal melanoma were significantly higher than those in the eyelid nevi group(x2 =6.58,4.105,8.350,13.240,P＜0.05).The expression of VEGF was associated with tumor size(x2 =9.389,P＜0.05),but not associated with pathological types(x2 =1.186,P＞0.05)and infiltration depth(x2 =5.398,P＞ 0.05).The expression of HIF-1α was associated with tumor size(x2=8.664,P＜0.05)and pathological type(x2=6.622,P ＜ 0.05),but not associated with infiltration depth(x2=4.914,P＞0.05).The expression of iNOS was associated with tumor size(x2 =8.609,P＜0.05),but was not associated withpathological type(x2 =4.789,P＞0.05)and infiltration depth(x2 =4.309,P＞0.05).The expression of COX-2 was associated with tumor size(x2 =7.320,P＜0.05),but was not associated with pathological type(x2 =2.772,P＞0.05)and infiltration depth(x2 =2.103,P＞0.05).The expression of HIF-1 α,iNOS,and COX-2 were significantly correlated with the expression of VEGF(r =0.943,1.000,0.986,P ＜ 0.05).The expression of COX-2 was significantly correlated with the expression of iNOS(r =0.986,P＜0.05).The expression of HIF-1 α was significantly associated with the expression of COX-2(r=0.986,P＜O.05).The expression of HIF-1α was significantly associated with the expression of iNOS(r=0.943,P＜0.05).Conclusions The expressions of the HIF-1 α,iNOS,COX-2 and VEGF protein are up-regulated in choroidal melanoma.They may play important roles in the angiogenesis of the choroidal melanoma.Assessment of the expression of HIF-1α,iNOS and COX-2 may be useful for the diagnosis and therapy of choroidal melanoma.

AIM: To explore the predisposing factors, population characteristics and clinical features of severe fungal keratitis.
METHODS:The data of 233 cases 233 eyes of severe fungal keratitis in my hospital from January, 2008 to November, 2013 was retrospectively reviewed. The predisposing factors, population characteristics and clinical features were analyzed.
RESULTS: In 233 cases of severe fungal keratitis, the number of male patients was 153 ( 65. 7%) and the number ratio of male to female was 1. 9:1. The average age of them was (52. 7±11. 3), and most of them were middle-aged and elderly people living in the rural area (78. 1%) and were farmers ( 66. 1%) with low literacy (59. 7%). In 233 cases, 188 cases (80. 7%) possessed a clear history of ocular trauma, mainly caused by plant-based trauma (60. 9%). 90 cases (57. 3%) were infected with Fusarium, and 47 cases ( 29. 9%) by Aspergillus. The main treatment of severe fungal keratitis was surgery (87. 9%). 83 cases ( 52. 9%) were treated with penetrating keratoplasty, and in Fusarium and Aspergillus infected patients with severe fungal keratitis, 58. 4% ( 80/137 ) were performed with penetrating keratoplasty. In addition, patients treated with eye enucleation or evisceration, 68. 4% (13/19) were infected with Fusarium species.
CONCLUSION: Patients with severe fungalkeratitis in our hospital are mainly elderly male farmers living in rural, because of low economic condition and poor diagnosis consciousness. The main pathogens are Fusarium and Aspergillus species, and the major treatment is penetrating keratoplasty. Most of patients with poor clinical outcomes are infected with Fusarium species.

An old male patient visited the hospital due to shortness of breath and palpitation for 6 h, with fever 3 days before and pump failure at admission. Having no risk factor of coronary diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity, with ST-T changes and abnormal Q wave on ECC, the signs were compatible with those of acute anterior wall myocardial infarction, while the characteristics of cardiac biomarkers ( significant increase in Troponin I and creatine kinase's isoform, and normal creatine kinase) were not in accordance with those of acute myocardial infarction. Emergency angiography was performed, which indicated normal coronary artery, normal pulmonary artery and global systolic dysfunction of left ventricle. The diagnosis of acute severe myocarditis was established, and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) was employed to provide hemodynamic support. Severe myocarditis mimicking acute myocardial infarction may be fatal, and can be easily misdiagnosed. Careful analysis of clinical manifestations, early diagnostic angiography and possible IABP placement are important for the successful treatment.

To analyze the genetic characteristics of echovirus 6 (E6) isolated from meningitis and encephalitis cases in Shandong Province, China, we collected cerebrospinal fluid samples from meningitis and encephalitis cases in Shandong Province from 2007 to 2012 for virus isolation. Viral RNAs were extracted from positive isolates, and complete VP1 coding regions were amplified by RT-PCR and sequenced. Homology comparison and phylogenetic analysis were performed. Six isolates were identified as E6 by microneutralization assay and molecular typing. The homology analysis showed that the six isolates had 78. 6%-99. 8% nucleotide and 95. 5%-100. 0% amino acid identities with each other, as well as 76. 9%-78. 4% nucleotide and 92. 3%-95. 1% amino acid identities with the prototype strain (D' Amori). The phylogenetic analysis based on the integrated VP1 sequences indicated that all Shandong E6 isolates could be separated into four clusters, designated as A, B, C, and D. The six E6 isolates belonged to clusters A, B, and D. Our study reveals high genetic differences between Shandong E6 isolates and suggests different transmission lineages of E6 co-circulated in Shandong Province.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Echovirus 6, Human ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Encephalitis ; epidemiology ; virology ; Female ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Meningitis ; epidemiology ; virology ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Sequence Alignment ; Viral Proteins ; chemistry ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene transfected bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) on cochlear spiral ganglion cells (SGC) impaired by aminoglycoside antibiotics (AmAn).

METHODSThe differentiation of BMSC transfected by BDNF gene (BDNF-BMSC) were detected with immunohistochemical examination of Nestin, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) antibody in vitro. BDNF gene transfected BMSC were transplanted into the cochleae of guinea pigs deafened by amikacin, while the control groups were designed in which artificial perilymphatic fluid (APF), BMSC or BDNF gene was injected into cochleae alone. The cochleae were obtained on the week 1, 2 and 4 after injection, respectively, paraffin-embedded, and cut in a paramodiolar plane subsequently. The histopathological changes of cochleae were observed, the density of SGC was calculated by staining with HE, and the corresponding optical density (COD) was calculated with immunohistochemical staining using NSE antibody. And the protective role of various groups on the cochlear SGC were compared.

RESULTSThe positive staining rate of BDNF gene transfected BMSC with Nestin, NSE and GFAP antibody were all higher than that of BMSC in vitro (P < 0.01). After transplantation into cochleae, the differences of SGC density and COD among various groups were all significant on the same time points (P < 0.05). The SGC density and COD of the BDNF gene transfected BMSC group were the highest. The SGC density and COD of various groups on week 4 were all obviously decreased than those on week 1 and 2 (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAmAn-induced SGC damage could be depressed by BMSC, BDNF gene or BDNF gene transfected BMSC transplantation into cochleae, while BDNF gene transfected BMSC showed the best protective role.

Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; genetics ; Cells, Cultured ; Cochlea ; cytology ; Guinea Pigs ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Spiral Ganglion ; cytology ; Transfection

BACKGROUNDKnowledge about factors influencing the prognosis of resective epilepsy surgery can be used to identify which patients are most suitable for surgical treatment. The aim of this study was to identify preoperative prognostic factors associated with the chance of achieving long-term seizure freedom.

METHODSWe retrospectively reviewed seizure outcomes and clinical, electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), histopathology, and surgical variables from 99 epilepsy surgery patients with at least one year of postoperative follow-up. Seizure outcomes were categorized based on the modified classification by the International League Against Epilepsy.

RESULTSWe found that the seizure-free rate was 27.9% after one year, and that it stabilized at about 20.0% between two and six years after surgery. Univariate analysis showed that medial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis, MRI with visible focal lesions concordant with EEG, and regional ictal EEG and electrocorticography patterns were associated with a favorable surgical outcome. On the other hand, seizure recurrence within six months, incomplete focus resection, and surgical complications were associated with a poor outcome. Multivariate analysis showed that medial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis and MRI with visible focal lesions were independent presurgical predictors of a favorable outcome (P < 0.01). Seizure recurrence within six months was the only significant independent predictor associated with a poor outcome (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONHippocampal sclerosis and abnormal MRI findings are strongly associated with a favorable surgical outcome, whereas seizure recurrence within six months is associated with a poor outcome.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Epilepsy ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis ; therapy ; Young Adult