Objective To explore the value of intra-voxel incoherent motion diffusion weighted imaging(IVIM-DWI)in brain perfusion of early hypertensive patients. Methods Totally 36 hypertensive patients and 14 volunteers were recruited and scanned using routine MRI sequences including axial T2WI, T1WI, T2FLAIR, TOF-MRA and IVIM-DWI sequence. Perfusion-related diffusion coefficient (D*) values and perfusion fraction (f) values in various regions were measured separately.The independent sample t test was used to analyze the data.Results Compared with the volunteers,both D*values and f values in lenticular nucleus,thalamus,superior frontal gyrus,occipital lobe,genu of corpus callosum(CC)and posterior horns of periventricular WM, were found to be lower (P<0.05) in hypertensive patients. For other regions, there were no significant difference(P>0.05).Conclusion IVIM-DWI has the ability to detect subtle brain perfusion abnormalities at early stages of hypertension.It has an important value to the prevention and treatment of hypertensive encephalopathy.

EMG, This paper introduces a slope variability algorithm which uses the CU Database and the AHA Database. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictivity and accuracy are calculated and these values are compared with the results from two earlier detection algorithms. The results show this algorithm is more effective and fast than other algorithms.
Algorithms ; Defibrillators ; Electric Countershock ; instrumentation ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Sensitivity and Specificity

With reverse transcriptase PCR, the transcripton of copper homeostasis relative gene Afe0329 in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxians standard strain ATCC23270 was investigated. The further analysis of genes in this transcripton was analyzed employed by Vector NTI, Blast, TMHMM Server, PSORTb software and so on. From the DNA of different strains, the transcripton of Afe0329 was amplified using special primer pairs to identify the universality of it in the genome of A.ferrooxidans strains. The results showed that gene Afe0330 and Afe0331 were cotranscribed with Afe0329, and they were in a single transcripton. Gene Afe0329 was supported to express a P1b3-type ATPase which is a heavy metal ion pumping transmembrane protein, protein AFE0330 which expressed by gene Afe0330 was a cytoplasmic protein, no significant ho- mologous sequences of Afe0330 or Afe0331 had been obtained by Blast analysis. And the transcripton of Afe0329 was universal in genome of A. ferrooxidans strains.

BACKGROUNDStathmin was identified as an endometriosis-related protein by comparative proteomics in our previous study. As a microtubule-destabilizing factor, stathmin was shown to participate in the relay and integration of diverse intracellular signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, and many other cellular activities. To investigate whether stathmin is involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis, we examined the expression of stathmin in eutopic endometrium of women with or without endometriosis.

METHODSEutopic endometrium samples were collected from thirty-six patients who were diagnosed as endometriosis and the nineteen age-matched patients who were confirmed to be free of endometriosis surgically and histologically. The expression of stathmin mRNA was detected by real-time PCR, and its protein was detected by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSStathmin was overexpressed in eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis detected by real-time PCR in mRNA levels and by Western blotting in protein levels, without significant difference between proliferative and secretory phase. Immunohistochemistry showed that stathmin protein was localized in both endometrial glandular and stromal cells throughout the menstrual cycle.

CONCLUSIONSStathmin is overexpressed in endometrium of patients with endometriosis and may play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

Adult ; Blotting, Western ; Endometriosis ; metabolism ; Endometrium ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stathmin ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical features and management of ureteral endometriosis.

METHODSPatients surgically and histologically diagnosed as ureteral endometriosis from January 2001 to January 2007 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTSTen patients were diagnosed as ureteral endometriosis among 7561 cases with surgically and histologically proved diagnosis of endometriosis, with an incidence of 0.132%. Nine out of 10 patients were extrinsic ureteral endometriosis and concomitant with severe pelvic endometriosis, and the other was intrinsic ureteral endometriosis. Hormone therapy failed in 2 patients with urinary tract obstruction. Ureterolysis was performed in 6 patients and ureterectomy was performed in 4 patients. One case of ureteral recurrence was observed in a postmenopausal woman without hormonal replacement therapy who received laparoscopic ureterolysis and hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy. No relapse was observed in the other 9 patients.

CONCLUSIONSUreteral endometriosis is a rare entity. The upper urinary tract should be evaluated in patients with severe endometriosis, even in postmenopausal women. The treatment of ureteral endometriosis usually requires surgery, while ureterolysis should not be performed in patients with extensive disease. As a form of adjuvant therapy of surgery, hormonal therapy is an appropriate option.

Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Endometriosis ; complications ; pathology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Ureter ; pathology ; Ureteral Obstruction ; etiology

Allergic diseases have become global social health problems. The binding of IgE with its high affinity receptor FcepsilonRI plays a key step in I-type allergy. Recently, more and more key molecules on the IgE/FcepsilonRI signaling transduction pathway were to be the drug candidates against allergic diseases, with in-depth study of FcepsilonRI signal pathway gradually. The main drugs include molecule antibodies, peptides, vaccines, fusion proteins, small molecules, and other drugs related to IgE/FcepsilonRI. The recent progress in the study of mechanisms of representative drugs targeting on IgE/FcepsilonRI signaling pathway was reviewed in this article.
Aminophenols ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Anti-Allergic Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Immunoglobulin E ; metabolism ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Omalizumab ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Pyrimidines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Receptors, IgE ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Syk Kinase

OBJECTIVE: To detect the activation pattern of the thalamus in human by the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with the electrical stimulation of different intensities, and to explore the mechanism of this area in pain modulation. METHODS: Ten healthy right-handed volunteers were given different electrical stimulations of 1-, 2-, and 3- times pain threshold respectively. The whole-brain was scanned simultaneously by GE 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging system. The data were postprocessed by analysis of functional neuroimages (AFNI) to establish the regional activity maps of the thalamus. RESULTS: Patterns of functional activity showed a positive linear relationship between the activation signals and stimulation intensity in bilateral thalamus, whereas the BOLD signal of bilateral medial thalamus demonstrated that the curve was similar to the exponential function. Meanwhile, the activation in the contralateral lateral thalamus (cThl), but not the contralateral medial thalamus (cThm), was prominent compared with the corresponding ipsilateral subregions, and only the lateral thalamus displayed a contralateral biased representation while the medial thalamus lacked this property. CONCLUSION Thalamus is one of the vital components in the pain modulation network, which can present spatial segregation activations with unique characteristics of stimulation intensity-response in each subregion. All the results are helpful to understand the crucial role of thalamus in processing the pain information.
Adult ; Electric Stimulation ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Pain ; physiopathology ; Pain Threshold ; Thalamus ; physiology

Objective To investigate the cognitive, intelligent and cranial MRI status of 4 patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Methods A pedigree of 4 patients,admitted to our hospital from September 2011 to December 2011 and diagnosed as having DM1, were chosen in our study; Chinese edition tests of Wechsler adult intelligence scale and Wechsler memory scale were used to test the intelligence of these patients; Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) and Neurobehavioral cognitive status examination (NCSE) were applied to evaluate the patients' cognitive function.All of the 4 patients received a cranial MRI scan. Results Except for 1 patient,the other 3 patients had low intelligent quotient (IQ) and memory quotient (MQ),and their verbal IQs were all lower than performance IQs.Three patients showed impaired visual space/executive skills,calculation,memory,and conceptual thinking abilities; 1 patient showed impaired sentence repetition and verbal fluency on MoCA,though his final scores were within normal range. Three patients had brain atrophy to some extent on MRI scan,prominently in the frontal lobe and temporal lobe; white matter lesions and thickened skull were founded in all 4 patients. Conclusion Multiple cognition disorders and brain involvements can be found in DM1 patients and deserve further investigation.

BACKGROUNDAnnexin-1 was identified as an endometriosis-related protein by comparative proteomics in previous study. As an endogenous anti-inflammatory mediator, Annexin-1 has been shown to regulate the immune response, cell proliferation and apoptosis. To investigate whether Annexin-1 is involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis, we examined the expression of Annexin-1 in eutopic endometrium of women with or without endometriosis, and detected its expression in peritoneal fluids of those with endometriosis.

METHODSEutopic endometrium samples from twenty-five women with endometriosis and those from sixteen age-matched women without endometriosis were collected. Peritoneal fluids were obtained from ten patients with endometriosis. The expression of Annexin-1 protein in eutopic endometrium was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting, and mRNA detected by real-time PCR. Annexin-1 protein in the peritoneal fluids was detected by Western blotting.

RESULTSAnnexin-1 mRNA and protein were overexpressed in eutopic endometrium of endometriosis without significant differences between the proliferative and secretory phase. Immunohistochemistry showed that Annexin-1 protein was expressed mainly in endometrial glandular cells throughout the menstrual cycle. Annexin-1 protein was detected in the peritoneal fluids of all the ten patients with endometriosis.

CONCLUSIONSAnnexin-1 is overexpressed in eutopic endometrium and presents in the peritoneal fluids of patients with endometriosis, and may play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

Adult ; Annexin A1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Ascitic Fluid ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Endometriosis ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo prepare cytochrome (CYP)2E1-silenced hepatocytes by lentivirus-mediated RNA interference technology and to investigate the hepatotoxicity of trichloroethylene (TCE) in CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes.

METHODSShort hairpin RNA fragments were designed and synthesized and were then ligated into the lentiviral vector; single colonies were screened; the plasmid was extracted after PCR and sequence identification and then transferred into L02 hepatocytes; the CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes were selected; real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to evaluate the interference effects. The obtained CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes, as well as normal L02 hepatocytes, were treated with TCE (0, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, and 4.00 mmol/L). The cell viability and half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of TCE were measured; the apoptotic rate of cells was measured by flow cytometry; the mRNA expression levels of apoptosis genes and oncogenes were measured by real-time quantitative PCR.

RESULTSThe IC50s of TCE for L02 hepatocytes and CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes were 15.1 mmol/L and 23.6 mmol/L, respectively. The apoptotic rate increased as the dose of TCE rose in the two types of cells; the CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes hada significantly lower apoptotic rate than L02 hepatocytes when they were exposed to 2.0 and 4.0 mmol/L TCE (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The mRNA expression level of bcl-2 (anti-apoptosis gene) in CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes was 15% ∼ 60% higher than that in L02 hepatocytes (P < 0.01), while the mRNA expression levels of caspase-3 and caspase-9 (apoptosis genes) in CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes were 30% ∼ 60% lower than those in L02 hepatocytes (P < 0.01). The mRNA expression level of p53 (cancer suppressor gene) in CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes was 81 - 278% higher than that in L02 hepatocytes (P < 0.01), while the mRNA expression levels of c-fos and k-ras (oncogenes) in CYP2E1-silenced hepatocytes were 20-68% lower than those in L02 hepatocytes (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONCYP2E1-silenced cells can be successfully prepared by lentivirus-mediated RNA interference technology. Silencing CYP2E1 gene can reduce the hepatotoxicity of TCE and inhibit the expression of some apoptosis genes and oncogenes, suggesting that CYP2E1 gene plays an important role in TCE metabolism and is related to the hepatotoxicity of TCE.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; Hepatocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; genetics ; RNA Interference ; Trichloroethylene ; toxicity