AIM: To investigate the mechanism of renal damage in chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) rat model.METHODS:The Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2-week CIH group (2IH), 2-week simulated air control group (2C), 4-week CIH group (4IH) and 4-week simulated air control group (4C).HE staining, PAS staining and Masson staining were used for histological evaluation .Blood was collected for the measurement of superoxide dismutase (SOD).The mRNA expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), copper/zinc superoxide dismutase ( Cu/ZnSOD ) was detected by real-time PCR.RESULTS: ( 1 ) No significance difference of renal weight , body weight , and the ratio of renal weight to body weight was observed , while IH caused mor-phologic kidney damage , especially in 4IH group.Hypertrophy of epithelial cells in the kidney tubles and dilation in the glomeruli were observed under light microscope with HE and PAS staining , especially in 4IH group.Masson staining showed no significant fibrotic response in the kidney of the rats exposed to IH .(2) The SOD levels in the serum and kid-ney were decreased after CIH .Compared with the corresponding control groups , the levels of serum SOD were significantly lower in CIH groups, especially in 4IH group.The mRNA expression of Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD in CIH groups decreased significantly as compared with control groups .The mRNA levels of HIF-1αwere significantly higher in CIH groups than those in the corresponding control groups .CONCLUSION: CIH induces abnormalities of glomeruli and convoluted tu-bules, while 4-week IH exposure has not led to fibrotic response .CIH participates in the process of renal oxidative stress damage by upregulating HIF-1αtranscription and downregulating Cu/ZnSOD and MnSOD transcription .

Background and purpose:The incidence of liver cancer is high in China. Primary liver cancers usually occur in patients with liver cirrhosis, which is a challenge for the early diagnosis of liver cancer. Our purpose is to investigate the efifcacy of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in the early identiifcation and diagnosis of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regularly tracking and supervising the high risk population. Methods:A total of 320 high risk patients of HCC admitted in our hospital from February 2011 to November 2013 were enrolled in this prospective study. All patients underwent conventional ultrasound and hepatic CEUS. The differential diagnosis of malignant HCCs from benign ones was based on the enhancement patterns of hepatic lesions in different phases on CEUS. Results:Twenty patients were diagnosed as small HCC among 320 HCC high risk patients who were under regular surveillance using CEUS and all were pathologically conifrmed. Seven of the 20 HCC cases were smaller than 1.0 cm and 13 measured 1.1-2.0 cm. There were 6 (30.0%) HCCs presented as“early wash-in and slow wash-out”atypical pattern of HCC. The small size of the lesion and iso-echogenicity were the main factors of atypical pattern of HCC on CEUS.Conclusion:Ultrasonography and CEUS surveillance is a useful strategy for the early detection of small HCCs in high risk patients, which can help them to receive proper therapeutic management in time.

OBJECTIVE: To filtrate and prove the different microRNAs (miRs) profiles in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHOD: Screening the different expressions of miRs between nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the inflammatory tissues by the application of expression profiling of chip high-throughput and large-scale microarray analysis. Then we used RT-QPCR technology to prove the accuracy of screening results. RESULT: There were significant expression differences of miRs between nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the control tissues, 144 human miRs had 2 or more fold the difference ratio. Compared with the inflammatory tissues, we have found that miRs-34b, miRs-449b and miRs-7-1 significantly low expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, yet miRs-125b, miRs-184, miRs-196b, miRs-205 and miRs-24-1 expressed high. The results were consistent with the microarray analysis. CONCLUSION The difference expressed miRs might be closely related to the process of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the research on miRs profiles maybe provide a powerful target basis for early diagnosis and therapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Carcinoma ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; genetics ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis

OBJECTIVETo determine the clinical value of portable sleep testing by Watch-PAT (PAT) in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).

METHODFifty cases of snoring children aged 3-11 years were randomly selected to undergo the polysomnography (PSG) and PAT simultaneously at the same night. The consistency of sleep parameters in OSAS and non - OSAS children were compared with PSG as reference standard, and ROC curve analysis was performed to assess the sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of OSAS with PAT portable sleep monitor.

RESULTFourteen cases were diagnosed as OSAS in 6-11 years group by PAT and PSG. But in 3-5 years group, only six children were diagnosed as OSAS, there was significant difference between PAT and PSG (P < 0.05). Among those 6-11 years old children, compared with non-OSAS, PAT study showed that III+IV stage sleep ((30.5 ± 2.4)% vs. (38.2 ± 2.3)%, χ(2)=4.31, P<0.05), REM sleep duration ((8.9 ± 2.5)% vs. (18.3 ± 2.1)%, χ² =4.31, P<0.05), TST ((458 ± 78) min vs. (522 ± 56) min, t=4.85, P<0.05) and sleep efficiency ((83.5 ± 3.1)% vs. (93.5 ± 3.5)%, t=3.75, P<0.05) decreased, I+II stage sleep ((61.5 ± 4.4)% vs. (44.1 ± 3.5)%, χ² =6.07, P<0.05), arousal index ((29.5 ± 8.2)/h vs. (10.6 ± 5.6)/h, t=3.70, P<0.05), AHI ((7.6 ± 5.3)/h vs. (2.1 ± 2.0)/h, t=2.40, P<0.05), RDI((18.2 ± 5.1)/h vs. (6.5 ± 3.9)/h, t=3.85, P<0.05) increased in OSAS children. Furthermore, the total sleep time (TST) ((458 ± 78) min vs. (430 ± 76) min, t=2.90, P<0.05) and sleep efficiency ((83.5 ± 3.1) % vs. (81.9 ± 4.3) %, t=2.45, P<0.05) were higher by PAT than scored by PSG. ROC curve analysis showed the best threshold selection of AHI 5.0, the sensitivity was 0.952, the specificity was 0.858. AHI 7.0, the sensitivity was 0.968, the specificity was 0.985. AHI 10, the sensitivity was 0.985 and the specificity was 0.99, but AHI 1.0, the sensitivity was 0.852 and the specificity was 0.785.

CONCLUSIONPAT can be used at home in school age children due to the high consistency with PSG and the high compliance.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Polysomnography ; methods ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sleep ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; diagnosis ; Sleep Stages ; Snoring ; physiopathology

Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Logistic Models ; Phenotype ; Risk Factors