Acute Kidney Injury ; etiology ; Child, Preschool ; Favism ; complications ; Humans ; Male

OBJECTIVETo summarize the etiology and treatment of gynecomastia in male children.

METHODSThe clinical data of 38 boys with gynecomastia at ages of 2-14 years were retrospectively studied.

RESULTSIn the 38 cases, 17 cases were identified as adolescent breast hyperplasia, 2 cases were relevant to primary disease, 4 cases were caused by ingestion of drugs containing hormone, and 15 cases did not show identifiable causes and were diagnosed as idiopathic gynecomastia. For the 3 children with breast development in B3 stage, oral rupixiao was administered (1.34 g, tid) for one month. For 16 children at ages of over 12 years with breast development in B2 stage and with obvious clinical symptoms, oral rupixiao was administered (1.34 g, tid) for 3-5 days. The other patients did not receive drug treatment. In a one month to one year follow-up, most of the patients recovered well.

CONCLUSIONSThe etiology of gynecomastia in male children includes adolescent breast hyperplasia, ingestion of drugs containing hormone and secondary causes. Most gynecomastia can be attributed to physiological reasons. Only a few children with obvious clinical symptoms need drug treatment.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Gynecomastia ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of curcumin (CUR) on cycteinyl aspirate specific protease-12 (Caspase-12) and pneumocyte apoptosis in pulmonary ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury mice.

METHODSThe in vivo unilateral in situ pulmonary I/R injury mouse model was established in C57BL/6J mice. Sixty experimental mice were randomly divided into six groups by random digit table, i. e., the sham-operation group (Sham), the I/R group, the I/R + dimethyl sulfoxide group (I/R + DMSO), the I/R + low dose CUR pre-treated group (I/R + CUR-100), the I/R + middle dose CUR pre-treated group (I/R + CUR-150), the I/R + high dose CUR pre-treated group (I/R + CUR-200), 10 in each group. Mice were euthanized and their left lungs were excised. Wet lung weight to dry lung weight (W/D) and the total lung water content (TLW) were tested. The morphological changes of the lung tissue were observed and index of quantitative evaluation for alveolar damage (IQA) detected under light microscope. The ultra-microstructure of the lung tissue was observed under electron microscope. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Caspase-12 and glucose regulated protein (GRP78) were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. Apoptosis index (AI) of the lung tissue was determined by terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) method.

RESULTSCompared with the Sham group, expression levels of Caspase-12, GRP78 mRNA and protein all significantly increased in the I/R group (P < 0.05); W/D, TLW, IQA, and AI were all notably higher (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); the morphological and ultrastructural injury of the lung tissue were notably observed in I/R group. Compared with the I/R + DMSO group, expression levels of GRP78 mRNA and protein were increasingly higher in the I/R + CUR-100 group, the I/R + CUR-150 group, and the I/R +CUR-200 group (P < 0.05), expression levels of Caspase-12 mRNA and protein were lower (P < 0.05); W/D, TLW, IQA, and AI also decreased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); the morphological and ultrastructural injury of the lung tissue were gradually alleviated in the I/R + CUR groups.

CONCLUSIONCUR had better effect on the lung protection against I/R injury, which might be related to inhibition for pneumocyte apoptosis associated with Caspase-12 in excessive unfolded protein response (UPR).

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 12 ; metabolism ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Lung ; blood supply ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; pathology ; prevention & control

Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the most common types of dementia.Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AD,causing alterations in patients' cognitive abilities,as well as learning and memory capabilities,by regulating the cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission through the signal transduction pathway.Patients suffer from emotional disorders including depression and apathy and clinical manifestations such as unrestrained diet,which are all related to the signaling function of 5-HT receptors.Strengthening the 5-HT receptor-mediated transduction pathway and increasing the concentration of synaptic 5-HT have been used as a novel therapy for delaying the progression of AD.This articles reviews the AD therapies targeting 5-HT transduction pathway.

Aim To investigate the effect of alpinetin on the biological behavior of lung cancer cells,and fur-ther to analyze the relation between its anti-tumor mechanism and the regulation of miR-654-3p/high mobility group protein B1(HMGB1)axis.Methods The lung cancer A549 cells were divided into 0 μmol·L-1 group,alpinetin(50,100,200 μmol·L-1)group,miR-NC group,miR-654-3p mimic group,si-NC group,si-HMGB1 Group,alpinetin+miR-654-3p in-hibitor group,alpinetin+pcDNA-HMGB1 group.Cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)method and flow cytometry were performed to detect the inhibition rate and apopto-sis rate respectively.Plate cloning assay and Transwell chamber method were applied to detect the numbers of clone formation and migration.Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)was employed to analyze the expression of miR-654-3p and HMGB1 mRNA.Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the targeting effect of miR-654-3p on HMGB1.Western blotting was performed to detect pro-tein expression.Results Compared with the 0 μmol·L-1 group,the inhibition rate,apoptosis rate and miR-654-3p expression of A549 cells in the alpinetin group(50,100,200 μmol·L-1)increased,while clone formation numbers,migration numbers and HMGB1 expression were reduced(P＜0.01).Com-pared with the miR-NC group,the inhibition rate and apoptosis rate of A549 cells in the miR-654-3p mimic group increased,while clone formation numbers,migra-tion number and HMGB1 expression decreased(P＜0.01).Compared with the si-NC group,the inhi-bition rate and apoptosis rate of A549 cells in the si-HMGB1 group increased,while clone formation num-bers and migration were reduced(P＜0.01).MiR-654-3 p directly and specifically bound to HMGB1.Compared with the alpinism group,the inhibition rate and apoptosis rate of A549 cell and BCL2-associated x protein(Bax)and E-cadherin protein expression in al-pinetin+miR-654-3p inhibitor group,alpinetin+pcD-NA-HMGB1 group were reduced,while clone formation numbers,migration and B-cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2)and N-cadherin protein expresison increased(P＜0.01).Conclusion Alpinetin exerts anti-prolif-eration,anti-migration and pro-apoptosis effects in lung cancer,and its mechanism is related to the up-regula-tion of the miR-654-3p/HMGB1 axis.

Objective Aim of this paper was to explore the trend and characteristics of cancer incidence in 11 areas (5 cities and 6 counties) in China. Methods Data from cancer registries during 1988 to 2002 collected from the 11 cancer registry points were used to analyze the trends and characteristics of cancer incidence rates. Results There were 695 050 newly developed cancer cases in this study. The crude rate of incidence and the world age-adjusted incidence were 215.50/105 and 170.97/105 respectively. The leading cancer sites were lung, stomach, liver, esophagus, breast, colon, rectum, pancreas, bladder and leukemia. The sixteen key cancers accounted for 85.56% of all the cancer cases. The crude incidence rate of all cancers had been significantly increased from 1988 to 2002. Among them, prostate (185.48%) ranked the fastest growing one followed by cancers of the gallbladder, breast, colon, ovarian, lymphoma, bladder, pancreas, rectum, lung, leukemia and liver. The one that had reduced the most was cervix uteri (17.00%), followed by esophagus, stomach and nasopharynx. Conclusion Crude cancer incidence rate increased in the 11 areas in China from 1988 to 2002. The ranking of pancreas cancer, bladder cancer and leukemia came into the top ten. Even though the incidence rates of prostate and gallbladder cancer were relative low but had a fast increase. The results of this study provided a scientific base for the development of a better strategy on cancer prevention and control in China.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect and safety of Pingchuan Yiqi Granule in treating bronchial asthma of qi-deficiency cold syndrome type (BS-QDC).

METHODSWith the randomized, positive agent parallel controlled design adopted, the 80 subjects enrolled were assigned in the ratio of 3:1 to two groups, the 60 patients in the trial group were treated with PYG and the 20 in the control group treated with Ruyi Dingchuan Pill (RDP), with the therapeutic course consisting of 7 days for both groups. The clinical effects, effects on TCM syndrome and the changes of lung function after treatment were observed.

RESULTSThe effect of the treatment on asthma in the trial group: clinically controlled rate was 6.67%, markedly effective rate 51.67%, improved rate 33.33% and ineffective rate 8.33%; and the corresponding rates in the control group were 5.00%, 50.00%, 30.00%, and 15.00% respectively. Comparison between the two groups showed insignificant difference (P>0.05). The effect on TCM syndrome in the treated group: clinically controlled rate was 11.67%, markedly effective rate 58.33%, effective rate 21.67% and ineffective rate 8.33%; and those in the control group were 10.00%, 50.00%, 30.00% and 10.00% respectively, also showing insignificant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Lung function test showed that the change on forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) after treatment in the trial group was of statistical significance (P<0.05), but no significant difference was shown in the change of peak expiratory flow (PEF, P>0.05); while the changes in the control group were just the opposite, showing insignificance in FEV1 (P>0.05) but significance in PEF (P<0.05). Comparison of the therapeutic effect on lung function between the two groups showed no significant difference (P>0.05). No adverse reaction was found in either group in the course of treatment.

CONCLUSIONPYG used to treat BS-QDC is effective and safe, it's effect is similar to that of RDP.

Adult ; Asthma ; etiology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Common Cold ; complications ; physiopathology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate ; Qi ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo analyse the outcome of newly diagnosed adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated with HAA (homoharringtonine, cytarabine and aclarubicin) regimen and explore the efficacy and safety of this regimen.

METHODSEighty patients were treated with HAA regimen. The complete remission (CR) rate was observed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate relapse free survival (RFS) rate and the differences were compared with 2-sided log-rank test.

RESULTSOf the 80 patients, 65 (81%) attained CR and the CR rate after the first course of induction was 75%. For the CR patients, the median follow-up was 26 (2 -69) months, and the estimated 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was 51% and the estimated 3-year RFS was 53%. For the AML-M5 and AML-M /M2 patients the CR rate was 74% and 87% and 3 year RFS of CR patients was 75% and 37%, respectively. The CR rate of 100%, 83% and 20% was achieved in patients with favorable, intermediate and unfavorable cytogenetics, respectively. The 3 year OS for favorable and intermediate group was 76% and 50% respectively. The median survival time of unfavorable group was only 6 months.

CONCLUSIONHAA regimen is a safe, efficacious, and well-tolerable induction therapy for newly diagnosed AML.

Aclarubicin ; administration & dosage ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Cytarabine ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Harringtonines ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Advanced prostate cancer is responsive to hormone therapy that interferes with androgen receptor (AR) signalling. However, the effect is short-lived, as nearly all tumours progress to a hormone-refractory (HR) state, a lethal stage of the disease. Intuitively, the AR should not be involved because hormone therapy that blocks or reduces AR activity is not effective in treating HR tumours. However, there is still a consensus that AR plays an essential role in HR prostate cancer (HRPC) because AR signalling is still functional in HR tumours. AR signalling can be activated in HR tumours through several mechanisms. First, activation of intracellular signal transduction pathways can sensitize the AR to castrate levels of androgens. Also, mutations in the AR can change AR ligand specificity, thereby allowing it to be activated by non-steroids or anti-androgens. Finally, overexpression of the wild-type AR sensitizes itself to low concentrations of androgens. Therefore, drugs targeting AR signalling could still be effective in treating HRPC.
Androgen Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Androgens ; physiology ; Humans ; Ligands ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Receptors, Androgen ; physiology ; Signal Transduction ; physiology

OBJECTIVEBoth microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy (MSIV) and microsurgical high inguinal varicocelectomy (MHIV) are recommended for the treatment of varicocele, but they differ in technical complexity. This study aimed to determine the microanatomy of spermatic blood vessels in the two surgical approaches.

METHODSWe recorded the numbers of spermatic veins, arteries and lymphatics in 80 cases of MSIV and 20 cases of MHIV. We also examined the spermatic cords from 10 adult male cadavers by histological staining.

RESULTSThe numbers of medium spermatic veins (2 -5 mm in diameter) were 1.80 +/- 0.83 and 3.98 +/- 1. 99 in MHIV and MSIV, respectively, with significant difference between the two groups (t = -7.536, P < 0.01), and the total numbers of spermatic veins were 6.40 +/- 1.67 and 9.01 +/- 2.70, also with significant difference between the two (t = -4.071, P < 0.01). However, there were no significant differences between MHIV and MSIV in the numbers of small spermatic veins (diameter < or = 2 mm), large spermatic veins (diameter > or = 5 mm), arteries and lymphatics, nor in the numbers of spermatic veins and arteries of the cadavers.

CONCLUSIONThe total number of spermatic veins and the number of medium spermatic veins may be larger in MSIV than in MHIV, but the medium spermatic veins do not increase surgical difficulty, and MSIV is not more complicated than MHIV.

Adult ; Arteries ; anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Male ; Micromanipulation ; Microsurgery ; Middle Aged ; Spermatic Cord ; anatomy & histology ; blood supply ; Varicocele ; pathology ; surgery ; Veins ; anatomy & histology ; Young Adult