Objective Congenital muscular torticollis (CMT) and developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) are common congenital problems in infants. Association between CMT and DDH has been reported in literatures. The aim of this study was to assess coexistence of DDH in infants with CMT and curative effects of its rehabilitative therapy. Methods In total, 187 infants less than two months old with CMT were recruited in the study. DDH was diagnosed and graded by Graf's bilateral hip type B ultrasonography and pelvic X-ray films. Massage manipulation, magnetic strapping, postural orthosis at home and heat compress were instituted for CMT and frog spica device and hip-flexion abduction plaster immobilization were instituted for DDH. Their early rehabilitative effects were evaluated. Results DDH was coexisted in 24 of 187 infants with CMT, with incidence of 12. 8%. The hips of 22 infants were graded as type Ⅱ b (91.7%) and two as type Ⅲ a (8.3%), and eight at the left side and seven at the right side.Comorbid hips completely recovered normal with early frog spica device and hip-flexion abduction therapy in 24 infants. Conclusions Coexistence of CMT and DDH are relatively common in infants. Type B ultrasonography can be used as a measure for screening DDH in neonates with CMT. Early rehabilitative therapy is effective for those coexisted with DDH and CMT at the same time.

Integration of "5+3" training mode is to accelerate the construction of standardization of clinical medical personnel training system,and the establishment of the new training mode.The training goal is to make the students become the high-level clinicians with the ability of clinical thinking and clinical practice,and scientific research and teaching,who can independently and pro-fessionally prevent and treat the related common disease.Therefore,guided by the general training goal of our students,we designed and practiced a teaching mode centered on "immune disease mechanism analysis" in the teaching of medical immunology,aiming at improving students'ability of clinical thinking,self learning and team coorperation.

OBJECTIVETo introduce a method to reconstruct hemifacial atrophy (Romberg's disease).

METHODSThrough a temporal incision, the compound grafts of pedicled superficial temporal fascial flap and free dermis-fat were inserted into the cheek to correct soft tissue depression on the face. The dermis-fat was harvested from gluteal crease site.

RESULTS6 cases were treated with this technique. 3 to 10 months' follow-up showed satisfactory results and few resorption of the compound grafts.

CONCLUSIONSThe mentioned technique is simple and reliable in reconstructing bulk defects of the face.

Adipose Tissue ; transplantation ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Age of Onset ; Child ; Dermis ; transplantation ; Facial Hemiatrophy ; epidemiology ; surgery ; Humans ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; transplantation ; Surgical Flaps ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the efficacy of Schizandra Chinensis polysaccharide (SCP) on cyclophosphamide (CTX) induced dyszoospermia of rats and its effects on reproductive hormones.

METHODSSCP was extracted by ethanol-alkali solution. Fifty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the low dose SCP group (100 mg/kg), the middle dose SCP group (200 mg/kg), and the high dose SCP group (400 mg/kg). Except the normal control group, the dyezoospermia rat model was established by peritoneal injection of CTX at the daily dose of 80 mg/kg, once daily for 5 successive days. After modeling, SCP was intragastrically administered at corresponding dose to the three SCP groups. Equal volume of normal saline was given to rats in the normal control group and the model group by gastrogavage. All the medication was performed once daily for 60 successive days. The blood serum and testis were withdrawal 24 h after the last intragastric administration. The levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone (T) in the testis homogenate were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The sperm count, the motility rate, and the teratospermia rate were compared. The morphology of the testis was observed using HE staining.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the sperm count and the motility rate decreased, the teratospermia rate increased, the serum levels of FSH and LH increased, the T content in the testis homogenate decreased in the model group, showing statistical difference (P <0.01). Compared with the model group, the sperm count and the motility rate increased, the teratospermia rate decreased, the serum levels of FSH and LH decreased, the T content in the testis homogenate increased in the model group, showing statistical difference (P <0.01, P <0.05). All the indices showed dose-dependent manner in the SCP groups. The histological results showed the pathological injury in the testicular tissue was improved in all SCP groups.

CONCLUSIONSCP showed obvious therapeutical effects on CTX induced dyszoospermia in rats, and its mechanisms might be correlate with recovering the regulation function of hypothalamus-hypophysis-gonad axis.

Animals ; Cyclophosphamide ; adverse effects ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; metabolism ; Luteinizing Hormone ; metabolism ; Male ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Schisandra ; chemistry ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; drug effects ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects ; pathology ; Testis ; pathology ; Testosterone ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) are involved in the bradykinin-induced delayed protection.

METHODSCardiac contractility, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and infarct area were analyzed in isolated rat hearts undergoing ischemia-reperfusion injury induced by Langendorff method.

RESULTConscious rats received bradykinin (40 microg/kg), and the isolated hearts were subjected to 30 min of regional ischemia and 120 min of reperfusion 24 h later. Bradykinin pretreatment would improve post-ischemic performance, and reduced the release of LDH and infarct size. COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (3 mg/kg) abolished bradykinin-induced protection, leading to poorer myocardial performance, release of more LDH and larger infarct sizes. Administration of HO-1 inhibitor ZnPP IX(20 microg/kg) before bradykinin partially abrogated the delayed protection. Pretreatment with the mitochondrial ATP sensitive potassium channel(mitoK(ATP) antagonist 5-HD before or 24 h after bradykinin administration also abolished the effect of protection.

CONCLUSIONThe results indicate that activation of HO-1 and COX-2 might be involved in the delayed cardioprotection evoked by bradykinin, and mitoK(ATP) channel may serve as both a trigger and a mediator in the cardioprotection.

Animals ; Bradykinin ; pharmacology ; Celecoxib ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; metabolism ; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Heme Oxygenase-1 ; metabolism ; In Vitro Techniques ; Ischemic Preconditioning, Myocardial ; methods ; Male ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; enzymology ; prevention & control ; Potassium Channels ; physiology ; Pyrazoles ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sulfonamides ; pharmacology

Although 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been demonstrated to be a novel and effective therapeutic modality for some human malignancies, its effect and mechanism on glioma are still controversial. Previous studies have reported that 5-ALA-PDT induced necrosis of C6 rat glioma cells in vitro. The aim of this study was to further investigate the effect and mechanism of 5-ALA-PDT on C6 gliomas implanted in rats in vivo. Twenty-four rats bearing similar size of subcutaneously implanted C6 rat glioma were randomly divided into 3 groups: receiving 5-ALA-PDT (group A), laser irradiation (group B), and mock procedures but without any treatment (group C), respectively. The growth, histology, microvessel density (MVD), and apoptosis of the grafts in each group were determined after the treatments. As compared with groups B and C, the volume of tumor grafts was significantly reduced (P<0.05), MVD was significantly decreased (P<0.001), and the cellular necrosis was obviously increased in group A. There was no significant difference in apoptosis among the three groups. The in vivo studies confirmed that 5-ALA-PDT may be an effective treatment for gliomas by inhibiting the tumor growth. The mechanism underlying may involve increasing the cellular necrosis but not inducing the cellular apoptosis, which may result from the destruction of the tumor microvessels.
Aminolevulinic Acid ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Brain Neoplasms ; blood supply ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Glioma ; blood supply ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Microvessels ; drug effects ; Photochemotherapy ; Photosensitizing Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

OBJECTIVETo provide materials for the study of the function of ESC42 protein specifically expressed in the human epididymis.

METHODSThe ESC42 gene was amplified from the human epididymis cDNA library by PCR and then cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pGEX-4T-1, expressed and purified by recombinant DNA techniques. The specificity of ESC42 protein was identified by Western blot and MALDI-TOF-MS. The database was searched by Ms-Fit.

RESULTSThe recombinant plasmid expressed a Mr 38 x 10(3) fusion protein in E. coli at a level of 30% of the total protein, and the purity was as high as 99%. The ESC42 protein was identified by ESC42 monoclonal antibody and its molecular weight was 11 978.12, tested by MALDI-TOF-MS. The peptide mass fingerprint analysis showed that the coverage rate of the sequence reached 48% with 100% matching. The motif scan in Prosite database reveal that ESC42 belonged to the beta-defensin family and had antibacterial activity.

CONCLUSIONObtaining high purity of rhESC42 protein may lay a foundation for the study of its functions.

Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; immunology ; Cloning, Molecular ; Defensins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; immunology ; Epididymis ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; Gene Library ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Plasmids ; genetics ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; immunology

Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; genetics ; Pedigree ; Proton-Translocating ATPases ; genetics ; Young Adult

Although gene therapy was regarded as a promising approach for glioma treatment, its therapeutic efficacy was often disappointing because of the lack of efficient drug delivery systems. Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) have been reported to have a tropism for brain tumors and thus could be used as delivery vehicles for glioma therapy. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to treat glioma by using MSCs as a vehicle for delivering replication-competent adenovirus. We firstly compared the infectivity of type 3, type 5, and type 35 fiber-modified adenoviruses in MSCs. We also determined suitable adenovirus titer in vitro and then used this titer to analyze the ability of MSCs to deliver replication-competent adenovirus into glioma in vivo. Our results indicated that type 35 fiber-modified adenovirus showed higher infectivity than did naked type 3 or type 5 fiber-modified adenovirus. MSCs carrying replication-competent adenovirus significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo compared with other control groups. In conclusion, MSCs are an effective vehicle that can successfully transport replication-competent adenovirus into glioma, making it a potential therapeutic strategy for treating malignant glioma.
Adenoviridae ; Animals ; Brain Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Genetic Vectors ; Glioma ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Oncolytic Virotherapy ; Random Allocation ; Virus Replication ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

AIMTo explore proper cryopreservative systems for hematopoietic stem cells.

METHODSPeripheral blood mononuclear cells from 20 persons were mixed with different cryopreservative agent, dimethyl suflfoxide (DMSO) or combination of DMSO and hydroxyethyl starch (HES), then cooled in -80 degrees C low temperature refrigerator (Refr) or autocontrolled programmed cryogenic system (PCS), preserved in Refr or in liquid nitrogen. GM-CFU, LTC-IC, CD34+ cells and typeran blue resistance (TBR) were assayed after different period of cryopreservation.

RESULTSThe recovery rates of CFU-GM, LTC-IC, CD34+ cells and TBR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells which were cooled and preserved in Refr with 5% DMSO-6% HES were 82.2% +/- 14.7%, 83.0% +/- 12.2%, 94.2% +/- 4.3% and 97.7% +/- 3.9% respectively, significantly higher than that in Refr with 10% DMSO (P < 0.05). When cells were cryopreservated with the same cryopreservatives, there was no significantly difference of recovery rate in group of Refr and group of Refr with PCS. Meanwhile, there was not significantly difference of recovery rate among all three groups, preserved in Refr ahead of liquid nitrogen, in Refr merely, in liquid nitrogen with PCS within one year (p > 0.05). However, the recovery rate of CFU-GM, LTC- IC, CD34+ cells and TBR decreased dramatically if cells were cooled and preserved in Refr for two years. After cells were thawed, the cell activity declined gradually at room temperature if the cryopreservatives were not removed or diluted. The cell activity of 10% DMSO group was affected more than that of 5% DMSO-6% HES group.

CONCLUSION5% DMSO-6% HES is better than 10% DMSO as cryopreservatives for hematopoietic stem cells. Refr cryopreservation is a simple and effective method if cells would be cryopreserved for less than one year. If cells would be cryopreserved for more than one year, liquid nitrogen cryopreservation should be recommended. The cryopreservatives should be diluted or removed immediately after cells were thawed.

Blood Preservation ; methods ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Cryopreservation ; methods ; Cryoprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; methods ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Humans