Objective To explore the level of Th2 type cytokines including IL-4, IL-10 and IL-13, and the immunoreg-ulation of cytokines in patients with neurocysticercosis. Methods Lymphocytes in patients with neurocysticercosis were separated from the blood sample with density gradient centrifugation and the total RNA was extracted by guanidine isothiocynate method. cDNA was synthesized by reversed transcription reaction. The target gene was then amplified by PCR. The PCR products were analyzed by electrophoresis. Results Results of RT-PCR showed that cytokines mRNA in lymphocytes of peripheral blcod were detected in 27 patients with neurocysticercosis but not in the other 3 cases. Among the positive cases, mRNA of IL-4, IL-10 and IL-13 was detected in 16, 17 and 14 cases respectively and mRNA of IL-4, IL-10 and/or IL-13 was detected in all the 27 cases. In the detection of lymphocytes in peripheral blcod of 10 healthy subjects, expression of IL-4 and IL-10 was found in only one case at low level. Conclusion The study revealed that Th2 associated cytokines were expressed at high level and the humoral immunocompetence was relatively strong in patients with neurocysticercosis.

Objective:To analyze quantitatively individual baseline drift of immunoglobulin and complement within 24 h.Methods:Blood samples were drawn from adult volunteers on day 1 and day 2 at 7.00 am.Immunoglobulin and complement including IgG,IgA,IgM and C3,C4 were measured with automatic immunobiochemistry analyzer.The rate of changes between two times of measured value,baseline drift,could be calculated.Results:The individual baseline drifts of measured values were from 6.12% to 7.97% (mean=7.22%) in 5 immunological parameters.There were significations between two groups within 5 immunological parameters (P

Massive hemoptysis is one of the most dreaded of all respiratory emergencies and can have a variety of underlying causes. It is mostly caused by bleeding from bronchial circulation. Bronchial artery embolization is now considered to be the treatment of choice for acute massive hemoptysis. Bronchial artery embolization (BAE) is a safe and effective nonsurgical treatment for patients with massive hemoptysis. However, nonbronchial systemic arteries can be a significant source of massive hemoptysis and a cause of recurrence after successful BAE. So knowledge of the bronchial artery anatomy, together with an understanding of the pathophysiologic features of massive hemoptysis, are essential for planning and performing BAE in affected patients. In addition, interventional radiologists should be familiar with the techniques, results, efficacy, safety and possible complications of BAE and with the characteristics of the various embolic agents. Bronchial arterial catheterisation in human via a percutaneous approach has been practiced for 32 years (1973) in the world and 20 years (1986) in China, initially for direct chemotherapy treatment for bronchial malignancies and then for the embolization of patients with massive haemoptysis. A review of clinical experience to evaluate technique,embolic materials,outcome and complications of BAE is presented.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the significance of NADPH quinine oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) protein overexpression on prognostic evaluation of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

METHODSNQO1 protein was detected in 162 of HNSCC, 45 cases of adjacent nontumor tissues and 26 samples of normal head and neck epithelia using EnVision immunohistochemical. Correlation between NQO1 overexpression and patients prognosis was also analyzed.

RESULTSThe positive rate and strongly positive rate of NQO1 protein were 84.0% (136/162) and 69.8% (113/162) in HNSCC, respectively, and both of which were significantly higher than either those in adjacent nontumor tissues and normal head and neck epithelia (both P < 0.01). NQO1 expression was significantly correlated with the clinical stage, pT and chemoradiotherapy of HNSCC (P < 0.01). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that overall survival and disease-free survival rates were significantly higher in HNSCC patients with high level NQO1 expression than that those with low level of NQO1 expression (Log-rank = 6.625 , P = 0.010;Log-rank = 6.234 , P = 0.013). Additional analysis by Cox proportional hazard regression model showed that high level of NQO1 expression was an independent hazard predictor for overall survival of patients with HNSCC (Wald = 6.626, P = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONSNQO1 expression level is closely correlated with the progression and prognosis of patients with HNSCC. High level of NQO1 expression may be used as an important indicator for patients with poor prognostic HNSCC.

Breast ; enzymology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; enzymology ; mortality ; pathology ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; enzymology ; mortality ; pathology ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) ; metabolism ; NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models

Objective To investigate the effect and the mechanism of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in renal tubular cells induced by uric acid.Methods Normal rat kidney tubular cell line (NRK-52E) were exposed to different concentrations of uric acid (100,200,400,600,800 μmol/L UA) for 48 hours to induce EMT.Morphological changes of the NRK-52E cells were examined under an inverted phase contrast microscope.The protein expression of E-cadherin,α-SMA,p-Akt and Akt were detected by Western blotting.The distribution of E-cadherin and α-SMA were detected by immunofluorescence.NRK-52E cells were pretreated by different concentrations of LY294002(0,2.5,5,10,15 μmol/L),the inhibitor of PI3K/p-Akt signaling pathway,and then processed by uric acid (400 μmol/L) for 48 hours.Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of p-Akt and Akt.NRK-52E cells were then divided into four groups:normal group (N),uric acid group (UA),LY294002 group (LY),uric acid with LY294002 group (UA + LY).The protein expression of E-cadherin and α-SMA were detected by Western blotting,the distribution of E-cadherin,α-SMA and p-Akt were detected by immunofluorescence.Results There was abundant cellular expression of E-cadherin in unstimulated renal tubular cells whereas its expression was significantly decreased in uric acidstimulated cells (P ＜ 0.05).In addition,uric acid induced de novo expression of α-SMA in contrast to almost negative staining in untreated cells (P ＜ 0.05).p-Akt were obviously increased in high uric acid group (P ＜ 0.05) and Akt changed not significantly (P ＞ 0.05).NRK-52E cells transformed into elongated fibroblast-like cells from cuboidal clustered epithelial cells.These indicated that uric acid has induced EMT and activated PI3K/p-Akt signaling pathway in NRK-52E cells.However,the above effects of uric acid were abolished when p-Akt was blocked by the PI3K inhibitor (10,15 μmol/L LY294002),indicated that LY294002 has reversed the trend of EMT.Conclusions High uric acid induces phenotypic transition of renal tubular cells probably via activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Objective To assess the impact of physical training on physiological function of adult renal transplant recipients by meta-analysis and to provide theoretical guidance for clinical practice.Methods Randomized controlled trials of physical training for the treatment of renal transplant recipients until October 2017 were searched in the database of Cochrane library,PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,Wanfang Data and CNKI.Data extracted from the literatures were analyzed with RevMan software (version 5.3).Results A total of 10 studies in 10 manuscripts met the inclusion criteria,and 557 cases were included.Meta-analysis results were as follows.Compared with the control group (routine drug therapy),the level of peak exercise oxygen uptake (peak VO2) was significantly increased in physical training group (routine drug therapy and physical training) (MD=2.40,95％ CI 0.15-4.64,P=0.04).However,there was no statistically significant difference in the change of blood lipid,blood pressure,hemoglobin and serum creatinine between the two groups (all P ＞0.05).Conclusions Physical training can improve cardio respiratory fitness of renal transplant recipients in the early stage,but it has no obvious effect on blood pressure,blood lipid,hemoglobin and blood creatinine.

During 2 years,a 6-year-old girl was hospitalized for 2 times with recurrent onset of episodes of vomiting,weakness and fever after eating dessert at the Department of Neurology & Endocrine Pediatrics,the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University.The arterial blood gas analysis revealed severe hypoglycemia,lacticacidemia and metabolic acidosis,the urine ketone body was positive.After intravenous infusion of glucose,bicarbonate and antibiotics,there was a dramatic clinical improvement in a short time.Physical examination showed tachypnea and mild hepatomegaly,and she had normal physical and mental development.The laboratory findings revealed transient hyperuricacidemia.Urine organic acids analysis repeatedly showed an elevation of lactic acid,ketone and glycerol.Glyceroluria was a very distinctive trait.The literatures in PubMed was searched with glyceroluria as keyword.Three related diseases were identified:FBPase deficiency,glycerol kinase (GK) deficiency and complex GK deficiency.Further reading of related literatures to understand the characteristics of diseases and laboratory tests,the clinical diagnosis of GK deficiency and complex GK deficiency was excluded.The mutation analysis of FBPase gene (FBP1) was performed by Sanger sequencing and a novel compound heterozygous mutations of c.355G ＞A and c.960delG was discovered.Full analysis of disease-related traits and targeted gene testing is one of the effective methods for accurate diagnosis and treatment of inherited metabolic disorders.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of ultrasonic measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) and optical disk elevation (ODE) for intracranial hypertension in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis(CVST).Methods:A total of 50 patients with CVST who underwent lumbar puncture and ONSD examination in the Department of Neurology and Emergency Department of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2021 to December 2021 were retrospectively enrolled. After lumbar puncture, the patient′s initial intracranial pressure was recorded. Normal ICP was defined as ICP between 80 and 200 mmH 2O, and increased ICP was defined as ICP>200 mmH 2O. Fifty patients with CVST were divided into normal ICP group (14 cases) and increased ICP group (36 cases). The differences of baseline data, ONSD and ODE between the two groups were compared, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated. The area under the curve (AUC) and the diagnostic cut-off value of ONSD were analyzed. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between ONSD, ODE, CVST involvement range scores and intracranial pressure. Results:①There were no significant differences in gender, age and body mass index between the normal ICP group and the increased ICP group (all P>0.05). ②The ONSD and ODE in the increased ICP group were higher than those in the normal ICP group, and the differences were statistically significant [(4.83±0.33)mm vs (4.21±0.21)mm, (0.67±0.44)mm vs (0.24±0.29)mm, all P<0.001]. Spearman correlation analysis showed that ONSD and ODE were positively correlated with intracranial pressure ( rs=0.74, 0.51, all P<0.001). ③The extent of CVST involvement in the intracranial hypertension group was higher than that in the normal intracranial pressure group, and the difference was statistically significant [5.0(3.0, 7.5) vs 2.5(2.0, 5.0), P=0.015]. Spearman correlation analysis showed that CVST involvement score was positively correlated with intracranial pressure ( rs=0.43, P<0.001). ④In the diagnosis of intracranial hypertension in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, the AUC of ONSD was 0.935, the best diagnostic threshold of ONSD was 4.5 mm, the sensitivity was 0.81, and the specificity was 0.93. Conclusions:ONSD and ODE measured by ultrasound are reliable imaging methods to identify intracranial hypertension in patients with CVST.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of bupivacaine pamoate for sciatic nerve block in rats.Methods:Forty-eight SPF healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 300-400 g, were divided into 6 groups using a random number table method: bupivacaine pamoate vehicle group (group VE), bupivacaine HCl group (group BH), liposomal bupivacaine group (group BL), low-dose bupivacaine pamoate group (group HL), moderate-dose bupivacaine pamoate group (group HM) and high-dose bupivacaine pamoate group (group HH), with 8 animals in each group.In VE, BH, BL, HL, HM and HH groups, bupivacaine pamoate vehicle 0.4 ml, bupivacaine HCl solution 0.4 ml, liposomal bupivacaine suspension 0.4 ml, and 1, 3 and 10 mg/ml bupivacaine pamoate suspension 0.4 ml were injected around the left sciatic nerve, respectively.The thermal paw withdrawal latency were measured before administration (T 0) and at 0.5, 1.5, 3, 5, 8, 12, 16, 24 and 48 h after injection (T 1-9). The percentage of maximum possible effect (MPE) of thermal paw withdrawal latency was calculated, and motor function score was simultaneously performed to evaluate the efficacy of sensory and motor block.Five and three rats in each group were sacrificed at 2 and 7 days after administration (T 9, 10), respectively, and the sciatic nerve at the injection site and the surrounding muscle tissues were harvested for microscopic examination (with a light microscope) after Luxol fast blue and HE staining.Nerve damage and inflammatory responses were assessed and scored to evaluate neurotoxicity. Results:Compared with group VE, the MPE was significantly increased at T 1-4 in group HL, at T 1-8 in group HM and at T 1-8 in group HH, the motor function scores were decreased at T 1-4 in group HL, at T 1-5 in group HM and at T 1-7 in group HH ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in inflammatory response scores for the sciatic nerve and surrounding muscles at each time point in HL, HM and HH groups ( P>0.05). Compared with group BH, the MPE was significantly increased at T 3-8, motor function scores were decreased at T 3-5, and inflammatory response scores for the muscles around the sciatic nerve were decreased at T 9 in group HM ( P<0.05). Compared with group BL, the MPE was significantly increased at T 3-7, motor function scores were decreased at T 4, 5, and inflammatory response scores for the sciatic nerve and surrounding muscles were decreased at T 9 in group HM ( P<0.05). The nerve damage score was 0 in the six groups. Conclusion:Bupivacaine pamoate can block the sciatic nerve of rats, the duration of block is prolonged with the increase in the concentration, and the duration of motor block is not longer than that of sensory block; compared with the same concentration and equal volume of bupivacaine HCl and liposomal bupivacaine, bupivacaine pamoate produces longer duration of sciatic nerve block and less neurotoxicity.

Cough is a common symptom of several respiratory diseases. However, frequent coughing from acute to chronic often causes great pain to patients. It may turn into cough variant asthma, which seriously affects people's quality of life. For cough treatment, it is dominated by over-the-counter antitussive drugs, such as asmeton, but most currently available antitussive drugs have serious side effects. Thus, there is a great need for the development of new drugs with potent cough suppressant. BALB/c mice were used to construct mice model with cough to investigate the pharmacological effects of pectolinarigenin (PEC). Hematoxylin-eosin and Masson staining were used to assess lung injury and airway remodeling, and ELISA was used to assess the level of inflammatory factor release. In addition, inflammatory cell counts were measured to assess airway inflammation. Airway hyperresponsiveness assay was used to assess respiratory resistance in mice. Finally, we used Western blotting to explore the potential mechanisms of PEC. We found that PEC could alleviate lung tissue injury and reduce the release of inflammatory factors, inhibit of cough frequency and airway wall collagen deposition in mice model with cough. Meanwhile, PEC inhibited the Ras/ERK/c-Fos pathway to exhibit antitussive effect. Therefore, PEC may be a potential drug for cough suppression.