The gold standard evaluation criteria of radiotherapeutic effect at the present time is the three-level classification of X-ray barium meal.However,this method has certain limitations.Morphological changes in esophagus wall and metastases after radiotherapy can be observed on computed tomography scanning.A positron emission tomography scan is a sensitive imaging test to observe the metabolic activity in pathologic cells and tissues.And diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging could provide the esophageal tumor necrosis information after radiotherapy by observing the changes of water molecular diffusion.With the development of medical imaging techniques,using various means in a comprehensive way to evaluate radiotherapeutic effect for esophageal carcinoma patients may become a trend.

Objective To evaluate the agreement between contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging and histopathology in rabbit model of abdominal aortic atherosclerosis (AS)in early and development period.Methods Twenty-four healthy Japanese white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups:control group,hypercholesterolemic diet group for 8 weeks and 16 weeks (each for 8 rabbits).Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for abdominal aorta was performed using sonicated perfluorocarbon albumin contrast agent.Imaging characteristics of abdominal aorta plaque of rabbits were monitored by two-dimensional mode,ultrasound visual grades were analyzed quantitatively before and after injection of contrast agent.Histopathologic changes were observed by HE staining.Results Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging allowed early detection of AS and showed gradual progression of atherosclerosis over time.After contrast agent injected,intimal indentification and plaques checking-out ratio were improved.The ultrasound visual grades were increased after contrast imaging in hypercholesterolemic diet group for 8 weeks [(2.26± 0.27)vs.(1.79 ±0.25)] and 16 weeks [(3.54 ±0.43) vs.(3.20 ±0.25)] (all P＜0.05).The plaque detection rate was improved after contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging than before angiography in hypercholesterolemic diet group for 8 weeks [77.8％ (7/9) vs.55.6％ (5/9)] and 16 weeks [88.2％ (15/17) vs.70.6％ (12/17)](P ＞ 0.05).The imaging of ultrasound agreed well with pathological examination results.Conclusions Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography can effectively improve intimal and plaque imaging,and increase the detection accuracy of early and progressive pathology.

Aim To evaluate the effect of expression inhibition of spermine oxidase(SMO)on the actitumor activity of polyamine analogue CPENSpm (N~1-cyclopropylmethyl-N~(11)-ethylnorspermine).Methods siRNA technique was used to inhibit expression of SMO in human lung cancer line A549.QT-RT-PCR and enzyme activity assay was performed to determine the expression level of SMO.The cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay.The apoptosis of A549 cells were evaluated by DNA degradation and Sub-G_1/flow cytometry assay.Results The A549 cell line with silenced SMO expression was successfully obtained.Basic SMO mRNA and enzyme activity levels in the SMO-siRNA plasmid transfected cells were 0.53% and 14% lower than that in the control cells respectively. Treating A549 control cells by 10 μmol·L~(-1) CPENSpm for 24 hours resulted in a 10-folds up-regulation of SMO in mRNA level and 20-fold increase in enzyme activity,but this drug-induced SMO expression was obviously prevented in SMO-siRNA plasmid transfected cells.MTT assay demonstrated that SMO expression inhibition decreased the sensitivity of A549 cells to CPENSpm exposure(0～20 μmol·L~(-1)).DNA degradation and sub-G_1 assay proved a deceased ability of CPENSpm to induce apoptosis in SMO-siRNA plasmid transfected cells.Conclusion Up-regulation of SMO by CPENSpm is possibly one of the molecular basics for its antitumor activity.

No abstract available.
Encephalitis, Tick-Borne* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M*

Progestagen-associated endometrial protein (PAEP) gene mainly expresses in the secretory phase endometrium and decidua in early trimester of pregnancy.In recent years,it is reported that PAEP is abnormally expressed in many kinds of tumors,such as breast cancer,endometrial carcinoma,ovary cancer,stomach cancer and melanoma.PAEP gene plays an important role in tumorigenesis and tumor development.The application of PAEP gene as an indicator for clinical diagnosis,prognostic and therapy needs further studies on the influence of PAEP gene on tumor biological behaviour.

Objective To explore application of case management for hypertension in the elderly.Methods In total, 106 elderly patients with hypertension treated at outpatient and inpatient departments of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xian Jiaotong University were recruited during January to October 2007, and divided randomly into two groups, one with conventional management and the other with case management.Patients with conventional treatment accepted routine diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and were followed-up passively, and patients with case management accepted integrated therapy and active interview provided by a team with a cardiovascular specialist as core, were followed-up actively and their medical records were kept in files. Percentage of the patients with blood pressure lowered to meet criteria of effectiveness and their improvement in depression and anxiety status and quality of life were evaluated two years after management for the two groups. Results Percentage of patients with their blood pressure lowered to meet effective criteria increased significantly in both of the groups, from 32. 8% to 67.5% in patients with conventional management and from 33.7% to 83.4% in those with case management ( P = 0. 007 ),respectively. Scores of self-rating anxiety scale ( SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) decreased in patients of the both groups, from 57 ± 10 and 56 ± 11 before management to 40 ±9 and 48 ± 10 after it,respectively in patients of conventional management ( P = 0. 032 ), and from 56 ± 10 and 57 ± 10 before management to 35 ±9 and 40 ± 9 after it ( P = 0. 008 ), respectively in those with case management; and scores of quality of life improved in patients of the two group, from 65 ± 13 before management to 85 ± 14 after it in those with conventional management, and from 64 ± 13 before management to 98 ± 14 after it in those with case management ( P = 0.017 ), respectively. Conclusions Case management is better for chronic diseases and recommended in management for the elderly with hypertension, which can improve their targets of blood pressure lowering, decrease their scores of SAS and SDS and improve their quality of life,with an integrated, in-depth, continuous management.

Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS)is a rare liver disease,and there are mutual influences between BCS and pregnancy.The rela-tionship between BCS and pregnancy is systematically discussed,and the points we should pay attention to in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease are pointed out as follows:First,pregnancy is a risk factor for BCS;pregnant women with the clinical manifestations of portal hy-pertension and (or)inferior vena cava hypertension should be highly suspected of having BCS.Second,pregnancy is risky in BCS patients;pregnancy is allowable in BCS patients who have a stable condition after treatment,but they should be kept under rigorous surveillance dur-ing pregnancy and after delivery to avoid thrombosis recurrence.Third,BCS may lead to infertility in women;patients with unexplained in-fertility should be evaluated by abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography to clarify the diagnosis of BCS.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a kind of mental disorder that usually occurs after life-threatening and strong mental traumas .Clinical studies showed that the PTSD patients are 3 times more likely to have can-nabis as compared with the healthy people .The use of cannabinoids has a close relationship with the occurrence and clini-cal manifestations of PTSD .Experimental studies revealed that endocannabinoid ( eCB) signal alterations in animal models of PTSD influenced fear memory of the animals , suggesting a close correlation between the eCB system and the pathogenesis of PTSD.Given that the eCB system was reported to regulate affective states and participate in memory consolidation , re-trieval and extinction , targeting the eCB system may improve the emotional and cognitive features of PTSD , thereby holding out great promise for the development of novel approaches for clinical treatment of PTSD .

BACKGROUND:The meniscus injury is one of the most common sports injuries of knee joint. The treatment after injury is always a difficult problem in the clinic. Researchers have been trying to apply the method of using tissue-engineering to solve the problem of meniscus repair after injury.
OBJECTIVE:To summarize tissue-engineered meniscus-related basic research.
METHODS:The first author retrieved China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Medline for literatures on tissue-engineered meniscus. The key words were“meniscus, tissue engineering, basic research”. Articles with unrelated objective and repeated articles were excluded. Final y, 35 articles were included.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There was some controversy about the classification of the cel of the meniscus. The outer tissue of the meniscus is mainly composed of the fibrous cartilage cel s and the extracel ular matrix. The inner tissue of the meniscus is mainly composed of a smal atypical class of cartilage cel s. The biomechanical properties of the meniscus can be properly adjusted when it is subjected to external pressure. The lateral meniscus is assumed to bear al the pressure of the outer part of the knee joint during knee flexion, but the medial meniscus is assumed to bear 50%of the medial part of the knee joint. The etiology and pathophysiology of meniscus injury are not the same, which is highly dependent on the age of onset of the patient. However, in each age group, right knee meniscus injury was the majority. The way of surgical repair of the meniscus tear can be divided into the technology from inside to outside, and that from outside to inside, total internal repair under arthroscopy and open repair technology.

Objective To observe the protective effect to Ulinastatin combined with Xingnaojing Injection (XI) for acute cerebral hemorrhage. Methods One hundred and eight cases of acute cerebral hemorrhage were randomly divided into treatment group ( N=56) and control group ( N=52) . All of the patients were given conventional western medical treatment including relieving cerebral edema, regulating blood pressure, maintaining electrolyte balance, anti-inflammation, preventing epilepsy. Additionally, the control group was given intravenous drip of Ulinstatin, and the treatment group was given intravenous drip of Ulinstatin and XI. The clearance of intracranial hematoma in the two groups was observed on treatment day 3, 7, 14, the absorption of cerebral edema was observed after treatment for one treatment course of 14 days, neurological deficit scores ( NDS) were compared on treatment day 14, 30, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated. Results ( 1) After treatment, hematoma area was reduced in the two groups ( P<0.05 compared with that before treatment); on treatment day 3, the difference of hematoma area was insignificant between the two groups (P>0.05); on treatment day 7 and 14, hematoma area in the treatment group was less than that of the control group, the difference being significant (P<0.05) . (2) On treatment day 14, the total effective rate for absorption of cerebral edema was 89.3% in the treatment group, and was 65.4% in the control group, the difference being significnat ( P<0.05) . ( 3) After treatment, NDS of the treatment group was less than that of the control group, and the total effective rate on NDS was 89.3% in the treatment, higher than 71.2% in the control group, the difference being significant ( P<0.05) . ( 4) In the treatment group, 3 cases had slight increase of aminotransferase. Eight cases of the control group had increased aminotransferase, and then the aminotransferase level recovered to normal after suspension. In the treatment group, 2 cases were dropped out for receiving emergency operation due to rehaemorrhagia during the treatment, and 3 cases were death for illness deterioration. In the control group, 7 cases gave up the treatment for illness deterioration and then were dead during the follow-up. Conclusion Ulinastatin combined with XI shows certain protective effect in treating acute cerebral hemorrhage.