Objective To evaluate the effect and feasibility of one-stage hemivertebra excision and internal fixation in treating congenital spinal deformities caused chiefly by hemivertebra through a single posterior procedure. Methods 11 cases with congenital spinal deformities caused chiefly by hemivertebra were treated by one-stage hemivertebra excision and internal fixation through a single posterior procedure between October 1998 and June 2003. There were 5 boys and 6 girls with an average age of 15.4 years (range, 2.5 to 23 years). The location of hemivertebra was at thoracic region in 4 cases, thoracolumbar region in 4 cases, and lumbar region in 3 cases. Of these cases, there were 7 cases with a fully segmented hemivertebrae, 2 cases with multiple hemivertebra, and 2 cases associated with contralateral bar or rib fusion. The average Cobb's angle of scoliosis was 60.5? preoperatively, and 3 cases were associated with kyphosis with the Cobb's angle 13?, 27? and 48? respectively. The average trunk shift was 21.2 mm(range, 4 to 36.7 mm). Internal fixations, which were used for the correction of the deformities, included TSRH in 6 cases, CD in 2 cases, China Great wall in 2 cases, and SYNERGY in 1 case. Results The follow-up ranged from 8 months to 4 years and 8 months with an average of 1 years and 10 months. The average fused vertebra was 8.4 segments (range, 2 to 11 segments). The postoperative average Cobb's angle of scoliosis was 18.7?(range, 0? to 24?), and the Cobb's angle of kyphosis was -11?, -8? and 0? respectively. The mean improvement rate was 69.1%. The average trunk shift was improved to 6.2 mm (range, 0 to 16.3 mm). There was no significant correction loss of the scoliosis, kyphosis and the trunk shift at final follow-up evaluation. The intraoperative complications included laminar and pedicle fractures in 2 cases, 1 case had exudates of incision and instability after surgery. There was no other complication happened during follow-up. Conclusion The effect of one-stage posterior hemivertebra excision and internal fixation through a single posterior procedure was satisfactory and reliable in the treatment of congenital spinal deformities caused chiefly by hemivertebra.

The aimed of this study was to prepare stabilized thiomers to overcome the poor stability character of traditional thiomers. Poly(acrylic acid)-cysteine (PAA-Cys) was synthesized by conjugating cysteine with poly(acrylic acid) and poly(acrylic acid)-cysteine-6-mercaptonicotinic acid (PAA-Cys-6MNA, stabilized thiomers) was synthesized by grafting a protecting group 6-mercaptonicotinic acid (6MNA) with PAA-Cys. The free thiol of PAA-Cys was determined by Ellmann's reagent method and the ratio of 6MNA coupled was determined by glutathione reduction method. The study of permeation enhancement and stabilized function was conducted by using Franz diffusion cell method, with fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FD4) used as model drug. The influence of polymers on tight junctions of Caco-2 cell monolayer was detected with laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscope. The results indicated that both PAA-Cys and PAA-Cys-6MNA could promote the permeation of FD4 across excised rat intestine, and the permeation function of PAA-Cys-6MNA was not influence by the pH of the storage environment and the oxidation of air after the protecting group 6MNA was grafted. The distribution of tight junction protein of Caco-2 cell monolayer F-actin was influenced after incubation with PAA-Cys and PAA-Cys-6MNA. In conclusion, stabilized thiomers (PAA-Cys-6MNA) maintained the permeation function compared with the traditional thiomers (PAA-Cys) and its stability was improved. The mechanism of the permeation enhancement function of the polymers might be related to their influence on tight junction relating proteins of cells.
Acrylic Resins ; chemistry ; Actins ; metabolism ; Animals ; Caco-2 Cells ; Cysteine ; chemistry ; Dextrans ; Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate ; analogs & derivatives ; Glutathione ; Humans ; Intestinal Absorption ; Intestinal Mucosa ; drug effects ; Nicotinic Acids ; chemistry ; Rats ; Sulfhydryl Compounds ; chemistry

Objective To study the risk factors in patients with trauma accompanied by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.Method The data of 107 patients with trauma in ICU,Tongji Hospital,Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology,were retrospectively studied.All patients were divided into 2 groups:MODS group and non-MODS group.The clinical and laboratory,results,ISS score,APACHEⅢscore and GCS score were studied.Results There were no differences on gender,age and mobility of shock between the two groups.There were significant differences on the treatment of shock,ISS score,APACHEⅢscore,CCS score,the levels of blood sugar and platelet between two groups.The Logistic regression analysis showed the main risk factors were treatment of shock,ISS score and APACHEⅢscore.Conclusions The risk factors in patients with trauma accompanied by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome were the treatment of shock, ISS score and APACHEⅢscore.

Objective To investigate the effect of neutral amino acid on preventing Parkinson disease.Methods Mice were injected with L-Valine,L-Pheylalanine,D-Valine or L-Lysine before or after paraquat administration,by which prakinsonian mouse model was constructed.The paraquat immunoreactivity was observed within nigral cell bodies.Then neurodegeneration and ?-synuclein aggregation were observed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot.Results Paraquat immunoreactivity was abolished by the administration of L-Valine,L-Pheylalanine before paraquat exposure.Pre-treatment with these two amino acids also protected the paraquat-induced loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic cells and formation of thioflavine S-positive aggregates.In contrast, paraquat-induced toxicity was unaffected if animals were injected with these two amino acids after paraquat exposure or pre-treated with D-Valine or L-Lysine.Conclusions L-type neutral amino acids such as L Valine and L-Pheylalanine can prevent paraquat-induced neurodegeneration and a synuclein pathology through a competitive inhibition mechanism with stereospecificity in the central nervous system (CNS).Neutral amino acid could protect the dopaminergic neuron in substantia nigra and may prevent Parkinson disease.

Objective To explore the relationship between X - linked spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda (SEDL) gene escaping X chromosome inactivation( XCI) and SEDL phenotype. Methods RT - PCR was performed on total RNA which was isolated from blood samples of patients, female carriers and controls. Patients and female carriers were selected from the pedigree with SEDL caused by the mutation (IVS2 - 2A→C) of the gene. cDNA was analyzed by polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis(PAGE). Results PAGE data indicateed that female carriers expressed both normal and mutant SEDL mRNA,meaning the SEDL gene escaping XCI. Family investigation showed carrier females in the SEDL pedigree presented no symptoms. Conclusions The SEDL gene escaping X chromosome in-activation is firstly identified from human body. This may explain that carrier females present no symptoms.

Objective: To explore whether acupuncture can improve sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment and emotional disorders caused by sleep deprivation, and its association with the attenuation of oxidative stress injury in prefrontal cortex. Methods: Fifty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a control group (n=10), a model group (n=14), a manual acupuncture (MA) group (n=14), and a sham-MA group (n=14). All the groups were established as sleep deprivation models via the modified multiple platform method, except for the control group. Rats in both the MA group and the sham-MA group received corresponding intervention, respectively. After modeling and intervention, the four groups received three behavioral tests, namely sleep monitoring, by comprehensive lab animal monitoring system (CLAMS), Morris water maze (MWM) test and open-field test (OFT), followed by oxygen free radical level test and Western blot (WB) detection for the expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2. Results: The MA group derived more sleep time within 24 h than either the model group or the sham-MA group (both P<0.05). On MWM orientation navigation test day 1, there were no significant differences in escape latency among the control, MA and sham-MA groups (P>0.05), and the escape latency was significantly shorter in these three groups than that in the model group (all P<0.05). On test day 4, the escape latency was markedly shorter in the MA group than that in either the model group or the sham-MA group (both P<0.05); meanwhile, the MA group showed significantly better performance compared with these two groups in space probe test (both P<0.05). In OFT, compared with the control group, there was a significant decline in the horizontal movement score in the other three groups (all P<0.05), and the decrease was more significant in the model group and the sham-MA group than that in the MA group (both P<0.05). The superoxide dismutase (SOD) content was markedly higher and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was markedly lower in the MA group than those in the model group and the sham-MA group (all P<0.05). Compared with the model group and the sham-MA group, the expression of Bax was significantly lower and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly higher in the MA group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: MA therapy can lengthen the sleep time in sleep-deprived rats and improve learning and memory impairments induced by sleep deprivation, and the underlying mechanism may be associated with the enhancement of antioxidant capacity in the prefrontal cortex and the inhibition of hippocampal neuronal apoptosis.

Literatures on knee osteoarthritis treated by acupuncture both in China and abroad published in the mainstay periodicals in recent 10 years were selected, and analyses were done in the following aspects: (1) Randomization, (2) Control group, (3) Sample size, (4) Intervention measurements, (5) Intervention periods, (6) Evaluation on therapeutic effects, (7) Follow-up assessment, (8) Adverse effects, (9) Ratio of the lost case. The result indicates that differences can still be found on the trial designation in China and abroad. The domestic research design should be more comprehensively and strictly.
Acupuncture Therapy ; adverse effects ; China ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Humans ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo observe effects of Ligustrazine on serum S100p protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in elderly patients undergoing orthopedics operations.

METHODSTotally 60 patients undergoing selective total hip replacement, 65-80 years old, who were in line with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade I or II, were randomly assigned to the Ligustrazine group (Group L) and the normal saline control group (Group S). The right internal jugular vein catheters were placedcephalad and ensured theirs tips in jugular venous bulbs after anesthesia induction and tracheal intubation. Patients in Group L received 2 mg/kg Ligustrazine Injection (40 drops within one minute) and those inGroup S received equal volume of normal saline via central veins before operations. Other medicines were the same for all patients during and after operation. Five millimeter blood sample was collected frominternal jugular venous bulbs before operation (T0), 24 h (T1), 72 h (T2), 168 h (7th day, T3) after operation. Serum was collected after centrifuge. S100β protein and NSE concentration were analyzed usingELISA. Mini-mental state examinations (MMSE) were scored by the same doctor at T0, T1, T2, and T3,respectively.

RESULTSThere was no statistical difference in MMSE scores, serum S1000 protein, or NSE at TO (P > 0.05). Compared with TO, S100 P protein and NSE concentration increased and MMSE scores decreased at T1, T2, and T3 in the two groups. All indices except S100P protein and NSE at T3 were statistically different between Group L and Group S (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSerum S100P protein and NSE could be changed by pre-operation injecting Ligustrazine at certain dose in elderly patients undergoing orthopedics operations.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Humans ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; blood ; Pyrazines ; therapeutic use ; S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit ; blood

OBJECTIVETo investigate the serum myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and serum paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity in patients with silicosis and observation subjects and their clinical significance.

METHODSSeventy-two patients with silicosis (stage I: 30 cases, stage II: 22 cases, stage III: 20 cases) and 37 observation subjects were selected as a case group, and 110 healthy men were selected as a control group. Serum MPO activity was measured by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and serum PON-1 activity was measured by chemical spectrophotometry.

RESULTSSerum MPO activity was significantly higher in the case group than in the control group [(102.1 ± 15.7) U/L vs. (62.4 ± 11.4) U/L, P < 0.01], but serum PON-1 activity was significantly lower in the case group than in the control group [(85.4 ± 15.7) U/ml vs. (125.4 ± 13.7) U/ml, P < 0.01]. Serum MPO activity was significantly lower in patients with stages I, II, and III silicosis than in the observation subjects [(91.3 ± 13.5) U/L, (85.7 ± 14.4) U/L, and (88.6 ± 14.5) U/L vs. (128.4 ± 16.4) U/L, P < 0.01]. Serum PON-1 activity declined as the stage of silicosis increased; serum PON-1 activity was significantly lower in the patients with stages II and III silicosis than in the observation subjects and the patients with stage I silicosis [(70.4 ± 11.4) U/ml and (67.6 ± 13.7) U/ml vs. (101.5 ± 14.0) U/ml and (89.1 ± 10.1) U/ml, P < 0.01].

CONCLUSIONSerum MPO activity and serum PON-1 activity are valuable for early diagnosis of silicosis and evaluation of patient's condition.

Aged ; Aryldialkylphosphatase ; blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peroxidase ; blood ; Silicosis ; blood

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Hexanes ; poisoning ; Humans ; Male ; Nerve Growth Factor ; blood ; Occupational Diseases ; blood ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; blood ; chemically induced