With the concept of vascular cognitive impairment has been deeply recognized and the thorough studies of its pathogenesis,study reports on vascular cognitive impairment have been increasing in recent years.This article reviews the molecular mechanism and genetics of vascular cognitive impairment.

Adult male Kunming mice were divided into normal control group,propylthiouracil(PTU) treated group and PTU+T_4 treated group.Neurogranin(Ng)protein expression in the hippocampus after 8 weeks was assayed by Western blotting and immunohistochemical method.Results showed that Ng protein was decreased in the hippocampus of male mice with adult-onset hypothyroidism,suggesting that decreased Ng,which is correctable by T_4,is involved in cognitive dysfunction in adult-onset hypothyroid male mice.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the virological response of managing chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with peg-interferon alpha-2b (PEG-IFN alpha-2b) and ribavirin.

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed the virological response of 40 patients with different genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after anti-HCV management. Patients were given different dosages of PEG-IFN alpha-2b and ribavirin based on their weights. The duration of treatment was 48 weeks for patients infected by HCV genotype 1, and was 24 weeks for the others. HCV RNA was tested before treatment, 12 weeks post management, end of treatment, and 24 weeks after treatment stopped.

RESULTSData from 40 patients were collected. Among them, 24 cases experienced HCV genotype 1 infection, and 16 cases were infected with other genotypes. Between these two groups, the early virological responses were 75.0% (18/24) and 87.5% (14/16), the end-of-treatment virological responses were 80.0% (16/20) and 85.7% (12/14), and the sustained virological responses were 56.2% (9/16) and 78.5% (11/14), respectively.

CONCLUSIONBody weight-based customized PEG-IFN alpha-2b in combination with ribavirin can effectively treat patients with different genotypes of CHC.

Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; administration & dosage ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus ; genetics ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; drug therapy ; virology ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; administration & dosage ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polyethylene Glycols ; RNA, Viral ; blood ; Recombinant Proteins ; Retrospective Studies ; Ribavirin ; administration & dosage ; Treatment Outcome

This study is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) on NAFLD in MSG-IR mice and to provide mechanism insights into its therapeutic effect. The MSG-IR mice with insulin resistance were treated with high dose (0.1 micromol.kg-1d-1) and low dose (0.025 micromol.kg-1d-1) of FGF21 once a day for 5 weeks. Body weight was measured weekly. At the end of the experiment, serum lipids, insulin and aminotransferases were measured. Hepatic steatosis was observed. The expression of key genes regulating energy metabolism were detected by real-time PCR. The results showed that after 5 weeks treatment, both doses of FGF21 reduced body weight (P<0.01), corrected dyslipidemia (P<0.01), reversed steatosis and restored the liver morphology in the MSG model mice and significantly ameliorated insulin resistance. Additionally, real-time PCR showed that FGF21 significantly reduced transcription levels of fat synthetic genes, decreased fat synthesis and promoted lipolysis and energy metabolism by up-regulating key genes of lipolysis, thereby liver fat accumulation was reduced and liver function was restored to normal levels. In conclusion, FGF21 significantly reduces body weight of the MSG-IR mice, ameliorates insulin resistance, reverses hepatic steatosis. These findings provide a theoretical support for clinical application of FGF21 as a novel therapeutics for treatment of NAFLD.
Animals ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Dyslipidemias ; metabolism ; Energy Metabolism ; drug effects ; Fatty Liver ; chemically induced ; complications ; Female ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Insulin Resistance ; Lipolysis ; drug effects ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; drug therapy ; Sodium Glutamate

OBJECTIVETo discuss the expression and significance of caspase-3 gene in the apoptotic muscle cells in gamma-radiation-induced muscle cell lines.

METHODSThe caspase-3 mRNA in the control and gamma-radiation induced apoptotic muscle cells was analysed by RT-PCR.

RESULTSThe expression of caspase-3 gene transcript was higher in 103Pd radioactive stent dog bile duct than in general stent dog bile duct, and apoptotic muscle cells were higher in 103Pd radioactive stent dog bile duct than in general stent dog bile duct.

CONCLUSIONSThe high level expression of caspase-3 gene may help to understand the muscle cells sensitivity to gamma-radiation apoptosis. 103Pd radioactive stent may increase the expression of caspase-3 gene in dog bile duct and prevent the billiary narrow when dog bile duct was injured by balloon.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; radiation effects ; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins ; Bile Ducts ; enzymology ; radiation effects ; Caspase 3 ; Caspases ; genetics ; radiation effects ; Dogs ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; radiation effects ; Palladium ; administration & dosage ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; radiation effects ; Radioisotopes ; administration & dosage ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stents

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype, serum viral load and ALT levels, and the factors associated with the viral relapse after IFN treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

METHODSThe HCV RNA levels were determined with Cobas Amplicor Monitor Test, version 2.0, and HCV genotypes were examined by means of PCR products of 5' NTR digested with restriction endonucleases. The patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with PEG-IFN alpha -2a and Roferon-A for 24 weeks. Those with a viral response after 24 week treatment were followed for an additional 24 weeks. The association of clinical characteristics, such as sex, age, the way of the HCV infection, IFN treatment history and platelet counts, and the HCV genotype, virus load and medicine used for the viral relapse after IFN treatment were analyzed.

RESULTSOf the 208 chronic hepatitis C patients, the ALT levels were not related to HCV RNA levels (r = 0.093, P > 0.05). No difference of ALT levels between HCV genotypes was found, and the HCV RNA load was also of no difference between HCV genotype 1 patients and non 1 patients. Of the 119 patients with viral response after 24 week treatment, 58 cases (48.7%) relapsed after another 24 week's follow-up. Relapse was not significantly related to the clinical characteristics, such as sex, age, mode of the infection, treatment history of IFN, AST/ALT ratio, platelet counts and the baseline viral load. Among patients with genotype 1 virus, the relapse rate was significantly higher than those patients with non-genotype 1 virus (54.5% vs 32.1%, P=0.039). The relapse rate after PEG-IFN alpha -2a treatment was lower than that of Roferon-A treatment (47.0% vs. 52.8%), but not significantly.

CONCLUSIONThe viral relapse of chronic hepatitis C patients after IFN treatment was significantly associated with the genotypes of the HCV.

Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus ; genetics ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; drug therapy ; virology ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Viral ; blood ; Recombinant Proteins ; Recurrence ; Treatment Outcome ; Viral Load

Abdominal Wall ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Mesentery ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Ossification, Heterotopic ; etiology ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: To determine the short-term efficacy and security of whole body hyperthermia (WBH) combined with chemotherapy for advanced cancer. METHODS: Different chemotherapy regimens were applied in 138 patients with advanced cancer. Among them, 68 patients (Group A) didn't receive any other therapies. The other 70 patients (Group B) received WBH together with chemotherapy. WBH was maintained at 40 degrees C approximately 42 degrees C for 50 approximately 60 min (once or twice every week and 4 times a cycle). RESULTS: In Group A, the rate of complete remission (CR) was 2.9%, partial remission (PR) was 36.8%, stable disease was 35.3%, progressive disease was 25.0%, the overall response rate (CR + PR) was 39.7%; while in Group B, the corresponding figures were 5.7%, 52.9%, 25.7%, 25.0%, and 58.6%, respectively. There was significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The rates of III + IV gastrointestinal tract andmyelosuppression toxicities were 26.5% and 16.2% in Group A, while 27.1% and 18.6% in Group B. No significant difference was found. CONCLUSION WBH combined with chemotherapy is efficient and safe for advanced cancer, and is worth generalizing extensively.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Lung Neoplasms ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; therapy ; Stomach Neoplasms ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To observe the expression profile of heat shock proteins (HSPs) including HSP70, inducible HSP90 (HSP86) and aB-crystallin in cells and tissues of lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Western blotting and reverse transcriptional-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed to detect the expression of HSP70, HSP86 and aB-crystallin both in the protein and mRNA level respectively. RESULTS: Compared with normal lung tissue and human bronchial epithelium (HBE) cells, RT-PCR and Western blotting showed that the expression of HSP70, HSP86 and alphaB crystallin increased significantly in both the mRNA and protein level in the cancer tissue and A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Among the 3 sub-families of HSPs, the expression of HSP70 mRNA and protein increased most in both the lung tissue of cancer and A549 human adenocarcinoma cell lines. CONCLUSION The expression of HSPs is higher in the lung adenocarcinoma and A549 cells than that in the normal lung tissues and HBE cells. Among the HSP family, HSP70 is the most up-regulated member in the tissue and cells of lung adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; Adenocarcinoma of Lung ; Cells, Cultured ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung ; cytology ; metabolism ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Objective:To investigate the correlation between serum albumin, urea nitrogen and Fazekas scores and cognitive function scores in patients with mild and medium ischemic stroke.Methods:Clinical data of 160 patients with acute ischemic stroke with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS)≤7 scores admitted to the Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College from June 2021 to April 2023 were selected for a cross-sectional study. According to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score, they were divided into normal cognitive group (28 cases) (MoCA≥26 scores), mild to moderate cognitive impairment group (74 cases) (MoCA 15-<26 scores), and severe cognitive impairment group (58 cases) (MoCA<15 scores). Demographic characteristics, serological indicators and imaging data of patients were collected, and the correlation between serum albumin, urea nitrogen and Fazekas scores and the total score of MoCA and the scores of each cognitive domain was analyzed. One-way ANOVA was used for comparison between the normal distribution and homogeneous variance data sets, LSD analysis was used for pairwise comparison, Kruskal-Wallis H test was used between the skew distribution or heterogeneous variance data sets. Bonferroni correction analysis was used for pairwise comparison. Chi-square test or Fisher exact probability method was used after the comparison between the count data sets. Spearman Spearman correlation analysis was performed on serum albumin, urea nitrogen and Fazekas scores with MoCA scores and cognitive domain scores. Multivariate ordered Logistic regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors of cognitive function in acute stage of mild and medium ischemic stroke patients. Results:The incidence of cognitive impairment in patients with acute mild and medium ischemic stroke was 82.50% (132/160). Comparison of age ((56.71±7.35), (60.32±10.20), (66.40±11.88) years old), sex (male/female: (23/5, 58/16, 33/25)), the proportion of education level above high school (25.0%(7/28), 16.2%(12/74), 6.9%(4/58)), hemoglobin ((149.26±14.91), (144.85±16.85), (137.63±17.22) g/L), albumin (39.5 (37.0, 41.2), 38.6(35.6, 40.8), 37.4 (34.5, 39.8) g/L), urea nitrogen (5.30 (4.00, 6.60), 4.81 (4.00, 6.32), 5.86 (4.55, 6.97) mmol/L), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score (5.0 (2.0, 10.0), 7.5 (5.0, 11.0), 10.0 (6.0, 14.3) scores),Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMA) score (5.5 (3.0, 12.5), 7.0 (4.0, 11.0), 9.5 (5.0, 14.0) scores), and Fazekas score (2.00 (1.25, 3.00), 2.00 (1.00, 4.00), 3.00 (2.00, 5.00) scores) among cognitive normal group, mild to moderate cognitive impairment group, and severe cognitive impairment group of patients, the difference were statistically significant (the statistical values were F=9.68, χ 2=9.29, χ 2=30.77, F=5.31, H=7.06, H=6.71, H=12.37, H=8.91, and H=10.96, respectively;the P values were <0.001, 0.010, <0.001, 0.006, 0.029, 0.035, 0.002, 0.012, and 0.004, respectively ). The total score of MoCA was negatively correlated with Fazekas score and serum urea nitrogen, but positively correlated with serum albumin ( r s values were -0.250, -0.168, and 0.212, respectively; P values were 0.001, 0.036, and 0.009, respectively). Serum albumin was positively correlated with scores in visual space and execution, naming, attention and orientation, serum urea nitrogen was negatively correlated with scores in language and orientation, and Fazekas score was negatively correlated with scores in visual space and execution, orientation, attention and language ( r s values were 0.291, 0.196, 0.191, 0.209, -0.205, -0.180, -0.248, -0.193, -0.188, and -0.183, respectively; P values were <0.001, 0.017, 0.020, 0.011, 0.012, 0.027, 0.002, 0.016, 0.020, and 0.023, respectively). Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that low albumin ( OR=0.884, 95% CI: 0.813-0.963, P=0.005) and high urea nitrogen ( OR=1.195, 95% CI: 1.003-1.425, P=0.047) and high Fazekas scores ( OR=1.401, 95% CI: 1.132-1.733, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for cognitive function, while high education level was a protective factor ( OR=0.062, 95% CI: 0.019-0.202, P<0.001). Conclusion:The incidence of acute cognitive impairment is high in patients with mild and medium ischemic stroke. Higher education level is a protective factor for cognitive function. Low albumin, high urea nitrogen and high Fazekas score are independent risk factors for cognitive function.