Background Intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) can effectively eliminate central vein occlusion macular edema and improve visual acuity, and photopic negative response (PhNR) can reflect the inner retinal function of RGCs and their axons. It is possible there is a correlation between these two observations.Objective This study was to evaluate the changes of PhNR of flash electroretinogram (F-ERG) after intravitreal injection of TA for macular edema in central retinal vein occlusion ( CRVO ). Methods Thirteen eyes of 12 patients with macular edema caused by CRVO received an injection of 0. 1 ml (4 rg) of TA. PhNR,visual acuity and retinal thickness of macular area were assessed with Roland RETI scan 3. 15 system,decimal visual chart and Stratus optical coherence tomography (OCT) before and 4 weeks after the administration of TA. Written informed consent was obtained from each subject before any medical procedure. Results Visual acuity was improved in 12 eyes and stable in 1 eye 4 weeks following the intravitreal injection of TA. OCT showed that the retinal thickness of the macular area was reduced ;meanwhile,elevation of the amplitude of PhNR also was seen in the F-ERG after the administration of TA in comparison with before the administration of TA. The calculated results determined that the visual acuities were 0. 32t0. 12 and 0. 48±0. 09 (t=6. 325 ,P=0. 000) ,and the retinal thickness values of the macular area were (459.46± 131.31 ) μm and ( 297.54 ±43.31 ) μm ( t = 5.961, P = 0. 000 ), and the average amplitude of PhNR were ( 80. 23±22.96 ) μV and (61.28 ±20. 16 ) μV ( t = 4. 438, P = 0. 001 ) before and after the intravitreal injection of TA, respectively,showing significant differences. No significant correlation was found between PhNR amplitude and retinal thickness of the macular area both before and after the administration of TA ( before: r = 0. 587, P = 0. 035; after:r=-0. 011 ,P = 0. 971 ). Conclusion PhNR can be used for evaluating the status of inner retina after intravitreal injection of TA for macular edema of CRVO.

Objective To investigate the waveform of the first-order kernel and second-order kernel of muhifocal electroretinogram stimulated with light emitting diode(LED).Design Prospective,noncomparative,interventional case series.Participant 18 subjects(18 eyes)who had been accepted the mfERG test.Method The patients were devided into two groups,they accepted the muhifocal elec- troretinogram(mfERG)stimulated with cathode ray tube(CRT)and LED using the Roland RETI Scan3.15 system.The first-order kernel or the second-order kernel was analyzed.The stimulation time of LED were changed from 1.7ms to 16.7ms.Five different stimulation time of LED in this study were 1/10(1.7ms),3/10(5ms),5/10(8.3ms),7/10(ll.7ms)and 10/10(16.7ms).Main Outcome Measure The summed responses were observed.The waveform,amplitude and implicit times of mfERG summed response were analyzed.Result The waveforms of the first-order kernel stimulated by LED were similar to those of CRT.In the second-order kernels of mfERG,the wave- forms were obviously different from those stimulated by LED and CRT.The P1 wave stimulated by CRT was sharp,but the P1 wave of LED was broad.The N2 wave of LED was deeper.The amplitude of N1 wave and P1 wave were increased,and their implicit times pro- longed with the stimulation times prolonging.Conclusion In the first-order kernel of mfERG,the waveform of the summed response stimulated by LED was similar to that of LED.In the second-order kernel of mfERG,the waveform stimulated by LED was more com- plicated,may be there were more inner retina information.(Ophthalmol CHN,2006,15:351-355)

Background Sweep pattern visual evoked potential (SVEP) is an objective method of visual test.There is a clear correlation between SVEP acuity and subjective vision,but they are not identical.Recent studies showed that new regression method can improve the accuracy of SVEP acuity. Objective This trial was to investigate and compare the outcome between amplitude-spatial frequency (A-SP) regression method and amplitudelogVA (A-logVA) regression method in extrapolating the SVEP acuity.Methods SVEP was recorded in 113 eyes of 64 subjects using GT-2000 ( Guo Te,China) with the gratings of 10 different spatial frequency from 0.99 to 12.89 cpd as stimulus.The 1 13 eyes included cataract,glaucoma,corneal disease,optical neuropathy,retinal disease,ocular trauma,refractive error and normal eyes.The correlation were analyzed of SVEP acuity,decimal visual acuity and LogMAR visual acuity.The response were averaged and DFT on the monitor display.SVEP acuity was calculated by extrapolating 0 response amplitude.Results The correlation indices of decimal visual acuity curves obtained by the A-logVA function was 0.663,and that obtained by the A-SP function was 0.705.The positive correlation was seen between subjective decimal visual acuity and A-logVA decimal visual acuity (r =0.540,P＜ 0.01 ) and between subjective decimal acuity and decimal acuity calculated by the A-SP regression method (r=0.620,P＜0.01 ).SVEP decimal acuity calculated by the A-SP function regression method was significantly different from the that calculated by the A-logVA function regression method (Z =-8.688,P＜0.01 ).And the correlation indices of LogMAR visual acuity curves obtained by the A-logVA function was 0.733 and that obtained by the A-SP function was 0.715.The positive correlation was found between the subjective LogMAR acuity and that calculated by the A-SP regression method (r=0.700,P＜ 0.01 ) and between the subjective LogMAR acuity and LogMAR acuity calculated by the A-logVA regression method (r=0.710,P＜0.01 ).SVEP LogMAR acuity from A-SP function regression method was significantly different from the LogMAR acuity from A-logVA function regression method (Z=-8.748,P＜0.01 ).No significant differences of VA LogMAR were found in gender,eyes,type of disease and age(x2 =2.171,P=0.338;x2 =0.976,P=0.614;x2 =6.032,P=0.420;x2 =14.720,P=0.257 ).Conclusions SVEP can obtain the visual outcome in human.The amplitude-logVA function regression method is more accurate in extrapolating SVEP acuity.

One of the major circulatory changes that occur in human during space flight and simulated weightlessness is a cerebral redistribution of body fluids, which is accompanied by an increase of blood volume in the upper body. Therefore, atrial myocardium should increase the secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), but the researches lack common conclusion until now. The present study was to investigate the expression level of ANP in simulated weightlessness rats, and to confirm the changes of ANP by observing the associated proteins of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs). The tail-suspended rat model was used to simulate weightlessness. Western blots were carried out to examine the expression levels of ANP and SNARE proteins in atrial and left ventricular myocardium. The results showed that ANP expression in atrial myocardium showed an increase in 4-week tail-suspended rats (SUS) compared with that in the synchronous control rats (CON). We only detected a trace amount of ANP in the left ventricular myocardium of the CON, but found an enhanced expression of ANP in left ventricular myocardium of the SUS. Expression of VAMP-1/2 (vesicle associated SNARE) increased significantly in both atrial and left ventricular myocardium in the SUS compared with that in the CON. There was no difference of the expression of syntaxin-4 (target compartment associated SNARE) between the CON and SUS, but the expression of SNAP-23 showed an increase in atrial myocardium of the SUS compared with that in the CON. Synip and Munc-18c as regulators of SNAREs did not show significant difference between the CON and SUS. These results suggest that the expression of ANP shows an increase in atrial and left ventricular myocardium of 4-week tail-suspended rats. Enhanced expression of VAMP-1/2 associated with ANP vesicles confirms the increased expression of ANP in atrial and left ventricular myocardium.
Animals ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor ; metabolism ; Heart Ventricles ; metabolism ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Rats ; SNARE Proteins ; metabolism ; Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein 1 ; metabolism ; Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein 2 ; metabolism ; Weightlessness Simulation

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of antibiotics and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent on the level of total prostate specific antigen (PSA) and free PSA ratio (F-PSAR) in patients with chronic prostatitis IIIA.

METHODSA total of 228 outpatients diagnosed as with chronic prostatitis III A received 4-week antibiotic and anti-inflammatory treatment. The PSA level and F-PSAR were determined before and after the treatment, and the changes analyzed.

RESULTSSignificant variations were observed in the median PSA concentrations (3.51 microg/L and 2.75 microg/L) and F-PSAR (0.25% and 0.27%) 4 weeks after the treatment. Sixty-five of the patients (28.5%) presented with serum PSA greater than 4 ng/ml, the mean PSA decreased by 32.9%, from 6.24 microg/L before the treatment to 4.58 microg/L 4 weeks after the treatment (P < 0.05), and the serum PSA was normalized in 18 of the 65 patients (27.7%). The median variation of F-PSAR (0.16% and 0.22%) was greater than that of PSA. The variation indexes obtained 4 weeks after the treatment showed no statistical difference from those observed 8 weeks after the treatment.

CONCLUSIONChronic prostatitis IIIA appears to contribute to increased serum PSA levels in some men. Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory treatment could significantly reduce the PSA level and increase F-PSAR.

Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; therapeutic use ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatitis ; blood ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVE: Loneliness is a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. The present study examined whether the serum oxytocin level would interact with social support and buffers loneliness and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis activity in drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHODS: Twenty-six patients with MDD (male:female = 3:23; mean age, 45.54 ± 12.97 years) were recruited. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale and self-reported Measurement of Support Function Questionnaire were administered. Serum oxytocin and cortisol levels were assessed using a commercial immunoassay kits. RESULTS: In MDD patients, a negative association was found between degrees of social support and loneliness (β = −0.39, p = 0.04). The interaction between social support and serum oxytocin level was negatively associated with loneliness (β = −0.50, p = 0.017) and serum cortisol level (β = −0.55, p = 0.020) after adjusting for age. Follow-up analyses showed that the association between higher social support and lower loneliness was observed only in the higher-oxytocin group (r = −0.75, p = 0.003) but not in the lower group (r = −0.19, p = 0.53). The significance remained after further adjusting for sex and depression severity. CONCLUSION: Low oxytocin level is a vulnerability factor for the buffering effect of social support for loneliness and aberrant HPA-axis activity in MDD patients.
Buffers ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Immunoassay ; Loneliness ; Oxytocin ; Risk Factors

Objective: The impact of serotonergic system on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is well studied. However, the correlation between OC presentations and autonomic nervous system (ANS) is still unclear. Furthermore, whether the correlation might be modulated by serotonin is also uncertain. Methods: We recruited eighty-nine healthy subjects. Serotonin transporter (SERT) availability by [ 123 I]ADAM and heart rate variability (HRV) tests were measured. Symptoms checklist-90 was measured for the OC presentations. The interaction between HRV and SERT availability were calculated and the correlation between HRV and OC symptoms were analyzed after stratified SERT level into two groups, split at medium. Results: The interactions were significant in the factors of low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD). Furthermore, the significantly negative correlations between OC symptoms and the above HRV indexes existed only in subjects with higher SERT availability. Conclusion OC symptoms might be correlated with ANS regulations in subjects with higher SERT availability.

Human bocavirus, which was firstly discovered in 2005, is a new human parvovirus associated with lower respiratory tract infection in children. In this study, a human bocavirus, named WLL-1 isolate, was identified in Wenlin County, Zhejiang Province. The genome of bocavirus WLL-1 has been sequenced and analyzed. Phylogenetic analyses showed that WLL-1 shares 99% homology with other bocaviruses recently reported, but also has some special variations.
Bocavirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; China ; DNA, Viral ; chemistry ; genetics ; Genome, Viral ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

OBJECTIVETo understand the epidemiological characteristics of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 and to determine the degree of its genetic relations.

METHODSPolymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques and chromosomal DNA digested by restriction enzyme Xba I according to PulseNet directions by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method were applied to 300 E. coli O157 strains isolated from patients and animal sources from 1988 to 2005 from Henan, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.

RESULTSVery high prevalence of stx2 gene in EHEC O157:H7 strains isolated from some provinces of China was found and variation existed in some strains. We got 161 PFGE patterns from 300 strains. The stx2-producing strains could be clearly separated from stx2 variation-producing strains.

CONCLUSIONThe variability of restriction enzyme-digestion patterns of O157 genomes suggested that the presence of some genomic diversity among the strains did exist.

China ; epidemiology ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Escherichia coli O157 ; classification ; genetics ; Humans ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Shiga Toxin 2 ; genetics