Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) is one of the most lethal aortic diseases due to its acute onset, rapid progress, and high rate of aortic rupture. The pathogenesis of TAD is not completely understood. In this mini-review, we introduce three emerging experimental mouse TAD models using β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) alone, BAPN for a prolonged duration (four weeks) and then with added infusion of angiotensin II (AngII), or co-administration of BAPN and AngII chronically. We aim to provide insights into appropriate application of these three mouse models, thereby enhancing the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of TAD.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death. Safflower attracts great attention owing to its anti-ischemia/reperfusion injury effect. Ninety-three patients with CAD were included and randomized into safflower treatment group, PCI group and control group. Low-dose dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) was performed to measure end-systolic volume (ESV), end-diastolic volume (EDV), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and wall motion score index (WMSI) to determine the recovery of hibernating myocardium and cardiac function in all patients before treatment and after 3-month follow-up. The study was to investigate the effects of safflower on hibernating myocardial revascularization and cardiac function. It was found that LVEF was significantly improved, while the ESV and WMSI were significantly reduced after 2-week treatment in safflower and PCI treatment groups. No significant differences were found between safflower and PCI treatment groups in ESV, EDV, WMSI and LVEF after treatment Safflower injection effectively improved hibernating myocardial function.
Aged ; Carthamus tinctorius ; chemistry ; Coronary Artery Disease ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Heart ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Myocardial Stunning ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Recovery of Function

Objective:To observe the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM)on pacing parameters and postoperative com-plications in patients With implantation of permanent artificial cardiac pacemaker.Methods:A total of 80 patients With sick sinus syndrome,Who received implantation of permanent artificial cardiac pacemaker from Jun 2008 to Jun 2011,Were enrolled.According to complicated With DM or not,they Were divided into DM group (n=40)and non-DM control group (n=40).Pacing parameters and postoperative complications Were compared betWeen tWo groups.Results:There Were no significant difference in atrial and ventricular pacing threshold,sensing and of pace-maker impedance in baseline betWeen tWo groups (P>0.05).All parameters of pacemaker increased in tWo groups after implantation 12 months;compared With non-DM control group,there Were significant increase in pacing threshold [atrial:(0.59±0.23)V vs.(0.67±0.25)V,ventricular:(0.47±0.28)V vs.(0.54±0.35)V],sens-ing [atrial:(2.33±1.16)mV vs.(2.92±1.36)mV,ventricular:(12.21±4.82)mV vs.(12.77±5.36)mV], impedance [atrial:(537.12±115.32)Ωvs.(662.48±235.26)Ω,ventricular:(602.48±222.46)Ωvs.(762.41± 235.38)Ω]of pacemaker in DM group,P<0.05 or <0.01;and incidence rate of postoperative complications (12.5%)in DM group Was significantly higher than that of non-DM control group (5%),P<0.05.Conclusion:Electrocardiographic reconstruction is more severe in SSS patients complicated DM,in these patients postoperative complication incidence significantly elevates.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the frequency of EML4-ALK fusion gene in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, and its correlation with clinicopathologic features.

METHODSReal-time PCR was used to detect the presence of EML4-ALK fusion gene in 268 cases of NSCLCs using paraffin-embedded tissue samples(among which 164 samples were re-validated by Sanger sequencing). Related clinicopathological correlation was analyzed.

RESULTSEML4-ALK fusion gene was found in 4.1% (11/268) of the cases. One hundred and sixty four samples were verified by Sanger sequencing, and the overall coincidence of the results of two methods (Sanger sequencing and Real-time PCR) was 100%. Female patients (5.9%, 5/85), ≤ 60 years of age (4.3%, 6/140), non-smokers (6.8%, 8/118) and adenocarcinomas (7.6%, 10/132) had a higher mutation rate than that in male patients (3.3%, 6/183), > 60 years of age (4.0%, 5/124), smokers (1.6%, 2/132) and squamous cell carcinomas (1.3%, 1/79), although no statistical significance in age (P = 0.918), gender (P = 0.503), smoking history (P = 0.092) and histological type (P = 0.094).

CONCLUSIONSChinese NSCLC patients have a 4.1% detection rate of EML4-ALK fusion gene in the tumor tissues. Female, non-smoker and adenocarcinoma histological subtype tend to be associated with a higher rate of EML4-ALK gene fusion.

Adenocarcinoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion ; metabolism ; Sex Factors ; Smoking ; Young Adult

Hepatitis, Autoimmune ; immunology ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive

In order to investigate the sleep quality and influencing factors in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD),201 PD patients were enrolled and underwent extensive clinical evaluations.Subjective sleep evaluation was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI),and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS).It was found that poor sleep quality (77.11％) and excessive daytime sleepiness (32.34％) were commonly seen in PD patients and positively correlated with disease severity.Then 70 out of the 201 PD patients and 70 age-and sex-matched controls underwent a polysomnographic recording.The parameters were compared between PD group and control group and the influencing factors of sleep in PD patients were analyzed.The results showed that sleep efficiency (SE) was significantly decreased (P＜0.01),and sleep latency (SL) and the arousal index (AI) were increased (P＜0.05) in the PD group as compared with those in the control group.SE and total sleep time (TST) were positively correlated with the Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage.There was significant difference in the extent of hypopnea and hypoxemia between the PD group and the control group (P＜0.05).Our results indicate that PD patients have an overall poor sleep quality and a high prevalence of sleep disorder,which may be correlated with the disease severity.Respiratory function and oxygen supply are also affected to a certain degree in PD patients.

OBJECTIVEto map out the frequency and types of K-ras gene mutations present in colorectal and lung cancer patients; to evaluate the clinical applicability of a novel real-time double-loop probe PCR using the ADx-K-ras kit, and to compare its performance with the result by using traditional Sanger DNA sequencing in detection of somatic mutations of the tumor genes.

METHODSa total of 827 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks including 583 from the colorectal and 244 from the lung cancer patients were assayed. Genomic DNA of the sample tissues was extracted, purified and subjected to PCR amplification of K-ras gene codon 12 and 13 and DNA sequencing was carried on using both the traditional Sanger sequencing method and the ADx's K-ras mutation detection kit, respectively. The mutation rates for K-ras gene at codon 12 and 13, and the mutation frequencies detected by using both methods were analyzed.

RESULTS533 out of 583 (91.4%) colorectal cancer samples and 144 out of 244 lung cancer samples (59.0%) were detected using the traditional Sanger DNA sequencing technique, and 583 out of 583 (100.0%) colorectal plus 244 out of 244(100.0%) lung cancers were detected, respectively by using the ADx-K-ras kit. Of the 583 colorectal cancer samples, 192 (32.9%) showed mutations by using the ADx-K-ras kit in comparing with a result of 160 samples (27.4%) with K-ras gene mutation by using the traditional Sanger DNA sequencing technique. Of the 244 lung cancer samples, 26 (10.7%) showed K-ras gene mutations by using ADx-K-ras kit, while in 144 samples detected by using the traditional Sanger DNA sequencing technique, only 12 samples (8.3%) showed K-ras gene mutations. In colorectal cancer analyzed, GGT→GAT at codon 12 was the most common event with 35.1% (66/188) mutations, followed by GGC→GAC at codon 13 with 26.6% (50/188) and GGT→GTT at codon 12 with 18.6% (35/188), while GGT→GCT at codon12 was the most rare with only 1.6% (3/188) of the total mutation cases. In patients with lung cancer analyzed, GGT→GTT at codon 12 was the most common mutation, accounting for 40.9% (9/22), and GGT→GCT at codon 12 the most rare with only about 4.5% (1/22) of the total mutation cases.

CONCLUSIONSK-ras gene mutations were present in colorectal cases, and significantly more frequent than that in lung cancer. There were significant statistical differences between the two methods. ADx-K-ras real-time PCR showed much higher successful detection rates and mutation ratios compared to Sanger sequencing. As a result, the real-time PCR with ADx-K-ras kit proves to have a good clinical applicability and a strong advantage over the traditional Sanger DNA sequencing. It is a effective and reliable tool for clinical screening of somatic gene mutations in tumors.

Colorectal Neoplasms ; genetics ; Genes, ras ; genetics ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; Mutation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; methods

OBJECTIVETo explore the diagnostic value of ThinPrep cytology test (TCT) in lung cancer.

METHODS353 cases of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and(or) bronchial brushing cytology (192 cases from lung cancer patients and 161 cases from benign lung disease patients) were detected with TCT and method of direct smear, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of two methods was compared.

RESULTSThe sensitivity and specificity of TCT were 39.6% and 99.4%. And which of direct smear method were 8.3% and 100%, respectively. The sensitivity of TCT was significantly higher than that of method of direct smear in the diagnosis of lung cancer (P < 0.01). There were 71 patients who underwent BALF and bronchial brushing cytology simultaneously, the sensitivity of TCT of BALF was higher than that of bronchial brushing cytology (P < 0.05). Of the 69 cases which had both TCT and histopathological results, TCT and pathology concordance rate was 84.1%.

CONCLUSIONTCT has more diagnostic value in lung cancer; BALF is more preponderant than bronchial brushing cytology by TCT in the diagnosis of lung cancer.

Adenocarcinoma ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy ; Bronchi ; pathology ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; cytology ; Bronchoscopy ; Carcinoma, Small Cell ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Cytodiagnosis ; methods ; Cytological Techniques ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between serum adiponectin and mean blood pressure (BP).

METHODSA total of 187 subjects were divided into four groups according to BP levels: optimal blood pressure group (n = 38), high normal blood pressure group (n = 50), treated hypertension group (n = 54) and untreated hypertension group (n = 45). Serum adiponectin and microalbuminuria were detected by radioimmunology assay. Insulin resistant index defined as HOMA-IR and urinary concentration of microalbuminuria/urinary concentration of creatinine defined as albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) were calculated.

RESULTS(1) Serum adiponectin decreased in proportion to BP increase and the serum adiponectin level was significantly higher in treated hypertension group than untreated hypertension group. (2) Correlation analysis showed that adiponectin concentration was negatively correlated with mean blood pressure (P < 0.01). (3) Multivariate regression analysis revealed that mean blood pressure and HOMA-IR were independent predictors of serum adiponectin level.

CONCLUSIONSMean blood pressure was the main determinant of serum adiponectin level and negatively correlated to serum adiponectin level.

Adiponectin ; blood ; Adult ; Blood Pressure ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Physical Examination ; statistics & numerical data

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between Young's modulus of the thyroid tissue measured by in shear wave elastography (SWE) and the clinical manifestations of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in different stages.

METHODSA total of 104 patients with the clinical diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis were enrolled in this study, including 26 with hyperthyroidism, 29 with normal thyroid function, 27 with subclinical hypothyroidism, 22 with clinical hypothyroidism, with 50 healthy volunteers serving as the healthy control group. All the subjects underwent SWE to obtain the Young's modulus value of the thyroid tissue. Univariate analysis of variance was used to compare the Young's modulus among the groups, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the Young's modulus of the thyroid tissue and serum levels of thyroid microsomal antibody (TMAb) and thyroid globulin antibody (TGAb).

RESULTSIn the 4 groups of patients, the Young's modulus increased significantly in the order of hyperthyroidism group, normal thyroid function group, subclinical hypothyroidism group and clinical hypothyroidism group (F=60.983, P<0.01). The Young's modulus was significantly lower in hyperthyroidism group than in the other 3 groups (P<0.05), and was significantly lower in normal thyroid function group than in subclinical hypothyroidism group and clinical hypothyroidism group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe Young's modulus of the thyroid tissue measured by shear wave elastography is related with the clinical manifestations of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in different stages, but the relevance needs to be further confirmed by multi-center, randomized, controlled studies involving a larger sample size.