OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes in the levels of monocarboxylate transporter-2 in spinal cord horn in a rat model of chronic inflammatory pain.

METHODSMale SD rats weighting 180 - 220 g were randomly divided into two groups(n = 48): normal saline group (NS group), complete Freund's adjuvant group (CFA group). Rats were given injections of CFA 100 µl in left hind paw in group CFA, and an equal volume of saline was given injection in group NS. Mechanical withdraw threshold(MWT) and thermal withdraw latency(TWL) were measured at before injection(T0 and 3 h, 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 14 d, and 21 d after injection(T1-7). Four rats were chosen from each group at T0-7 and sacrificed, and L4-5 segments of the spinal cord horn were removed for measurement of the expression of monocarboxylate transporter-2 by Western blot analysis.

RESULTSIn CFA group, mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia appeared on the 3 h after CFA injection, then until the day 14. The expression of monocarboxylate transporter-2 in the spinal dorsal horn of rats in CFA group was significantly higher than that in normal control group at T1-6(P <0.05). The protein level of monocarboxylate transporter-2 was apparently correlated with MWT and TWL(P <0.01 and P <0.05) in CFA group.

CONCLUSIONThe level of monocarboxylate transporter-2 in spinal dorsal horn is significantly increased in a rat model of chronic inflammatory pain and the change may involve in the formation and maintenance of central sensitization in spinal cord of chronic inflammatory uain.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Freund's Adjuvant ; Hyperalgesia ; chemically induced ; Inflammation ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Male ; Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters ; metabolism ; Pain ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; metabolism ; physiopathology

Objective To assess the diagnostic capability of spiral CT for giant pure seminoma in intraabdominal undescended testis.Methods Spiral CT of 6 cases with pure seminoma of inabdominal testes as proved by surgery and pathology were analyzed.All patients were male,and the age ranged from 31 to 45 years old with the mean of 35.2 years old.Results All tumors were located along the path of testicular descent on CT images.The arterial-supply of tumors all came from the testicular artery ipsilaterally.The draining vein could be seen between the mass and inferior vena cava or left renal vein in 5 cases.Isolaterally spermatic cord was absent in the inguinal region.Isolateral kidney was shifted upward.CT scans typically demonstrated a unilateral,mixed solid and cystic mass,with areas of solid located at the lateral aspect and areas of necrosis at the medial aspect.Contrast-enhanced CT scan showed mild enhancement of solid areas and band-like septal enhancement in areas of necrosis.There is no evidence of calcification or fat within the mass.Conclusion Spiral CT proves to be a very useful preoperative imaging modality for the giant intraabdominal seminoma.

Objective To investigate the surgical curative effect of long-segment fixation and fusion on the degenerative scoliosis (DS) in the elderly.Methods The clinical data of 27 patients with DS undergoing surgical treatment from January 2011 to December 2013 in our department in Beijing Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.All patients suffered from degenerative scoliosis accompanied with lumbar canal stenosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, lumbar vertebrae lateral slip in coronal surface, spinal vertebral rotation deformity and kyphosis.The decompression osteotomy and fixed segment, blood loss volume and operation time were recorded.The differences in scoliosis angle (Cobb angle), lumbar lordotic angle, top vertebral rotation degree (Nash-Moe vertebral rotation grade), apical vertebral offset distance, visual analogue scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) score were compared between pretreatment versus the last follow-up.Results The selective 1-5 segment decompression and 5-10 segment fusion were selected in a total of 27 patients.Some patients were treated with Smith-Petersen osteotomy (SPO).All of 27 cases were treated with a lamina and inter-transverse fusion, among which 25 cases took inter-vertebral fusion additionally.The time of postoperative follow-up was more than 1 year.The Cobb angle, lumbar lordotic angle, apical vertebral offset distance, VAS and ODI scores were improved after treatment as compared with pretreatment [(11 6) vs.35 6 , (32±10) vs.(17±9) , (16.3±8.2) mm vs.(32.2±9.8) mm, (3.3±1.6) vs.(7.3±2.1), (18±14) vs.(33±14), t=2.469, 2.313, 2.331, 2.362, 2.395, P=0.021, 0.030, 0.029, 0.026, 0.023 respectively].The satisfaction survey result was excellent in 19cases, good in 5 cases, fair in 3 cases.Complications were found in 9 patients, among whom 2 cases had screw loosening in the internal fixation, 2 cases had adjacent segment degeneration, 1 case had pulmonary infection, 1 case had urinary tract infection, 2 eases had spinal fluid leakage, 1 case had epidural hematoma.No serious complications and deaths were observed.Conclusions Under strictly controlling the therapeutic indications, the limited decompression and long-segmental fixation and fusion have good therapeutic efficacy on degenerative scoliosis in elderly patients.

Objective To assess the clinical factors impacting on the effective time of endocrine therapy for patients with prostate cancer.Methods The chnical data of 432 patients with prostate cancer who accepted endocrine therapy were analyzed retrospectively.The endpoint of the study was failure of endocrine therapy which was defined as continuous elevation of prostate specific antigen (PSA) from nadir for 2 times and more than 0.2 μg/L.The clinical data such as age,clinical stage,lymph node metastasis,bone metastasis,Gleason score,initial PSA,and PSA nadir were collected and their rehtionship with the effective time of endocrine therapy were further assessed via COX regression model.Results Age of onset was 57-88(73.70 ± 7.28) years.Initial PSA was 10.30-588.10(27.15 ± 75.90) μ g/L.The effective time of endocrine therapy was 3-62 (27.01 ± 13.10) months.Univariate regression analysis showed that initial PSA,clinical stage,Gleason score,PSA nadir,lymph node metastasis,bone metastasis were correlated with the effective time of endocrine therapy (P ＜ 0.01).Multivariate regression analysis showed that only Gleason score was correlated with the effective time of endocrine therapy(P=0.001).Compared with patients with Gleason score equal to or less than 3+4,patients with Gleason score equal to or more than 4+3 showed 2.49 fold increased risk of therapy failure (OR =2.49,95％ CI 1.44-4.30).Conclusion Gleason score has close relationship with the effective time of endocrine therapy for patients with prostate cancer,Gleason score equal to or more than 4+3 is an indicator for poor response to endocrine therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of arsenic trioxide (ATO) on the expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in K562/A02 cells and to explore the correlation between VEGF and P-gp. METHODS: The inhibition rate of K562/A02 cell proliferation was detected by using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay (MTT); the level of VEGF was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the expression rate of P-gp was determined by flow cytometry (FCM). RESULTS: 0.05 micromol/L ATO had no influences on the cell proliferation and the expression of VEGF in K562/A02 cells; 0.4 and 3.2 micromol/L ATO could significantly inhibit the K562/A02 cell proliferation and down-regulate the expression of VEGF in K562/A02 cells (P<0.05). The expression of P-gp did not changed after being exposed to 0.05 and 0.4 micromol/L ATO for 24, 48 and 72 hours (P>0.05). 3.2 micromol/L ATO could remarkably reduce the expression of P-gp in K562/A02 cells after 48- and 72-hour incubation with ATO (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The down-regulation of P-gp and VEGF after being exposed to ATO probably contributes to the reversion of multidrug resistance in K562/A02 cells. The level of VEGF may be related to the expression rate of P-gp in K562/A02 cells.

Objective To evaluate the effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and delayed surgery for infant hepatoblastoma.Methods TACE was performed with the initial digital subtractive angiography (DSA) under general anesthesia 1-3 times in 8 infants with huge hepatoblastoma, whose age was 2 to 12 months. DSA was done via arterials in hepatoblastoma each time before chemoembolization. The arterials were perfused with chemodrugs and suspensions in ultrasome iodized oil , and were blocked with spring rings. DSA findings indicated that the tumor shrank without new tumorous arterials after 1 month in 6 cases, and 4 of them showed no tumorous staining, and the delayed surgery was performed successfully 1 week later in 6 infants. One boy underwent systemic chemotherapy alone during 6 months after 3 times of TACE. Results TACE therapy did not encounter any major technical problem or toxic reaction caused by chemotherapy. The following DSA test 4 weeks later did not detect any new tumorous vessels in 6 cases. Six children received TACE and surgery had been followed-up with no tumor recurrence for months averagely. The boy underwent TACE and venous chemotherapy for 6 months , without surgery , had been followed-up for 48 months until the present report. CT, AFP and DSA did not show any hints of tumor recurrence. Six cases receiving 3 times TACE combined with surgery survived without tumor recurrence. Conclusions TACE is a very effective, safe and helpful therapy for hepatoblastoma, which stressed the repeated use of spring ring to block tumor vessels lastingly if necessary. If surgery is required, DSA test is needed beforehand to detect new tumorous vessels or neoplasm. If there is any , TACE is repeated. TACE combined with surgery may provide an additional promising choice in the treatment of hepatoblastoma, and repeated TACE alone may cure hepatoblastoma in infants.

Objective To explore the value of practicing PBL which was guided by MDT in teaching diagnoses and treatments of war wound and trauma caused by compound agents.Methods An emulational war wound case caused by compound factors was designed and a multi-disciplinary team been organized,then totally 45 interns who would graduate in 2017 were divide into two groups randomly,experimental group which had 23 cases received PBL model combined with MDT followed six step procedure which included case preparation by teachers,independent analysis and group discussion by interns,problem extraction by teachers and division of solution by interns before class,then answering and debating problems by interns in class,conclusion and reporting after class in the end,while the control group which had 22 cases received traditional teaching model in accordance with common case discussion in class including characteristics of patient,diagnosis and diagnostic basis,examinations needed to carry out,first aid measures and professional treatments.The effect of new teaching model was evaluated by assessment in class and questionnaire after class.The data was analyzed through Chi-square test by SPSS 22.0.Results Class assessment showed 18 (78.3％) interns in experimental group displayed good abilities of proposing,analyzing and resolving medical problem,as well as good presentation and speech skills.Questionnaire survey showed that not only clinical teaching of war wound and trauma could meet the demands of talent training in battle-field rescue,but also displayed new model,which could help interns to enhance abilities of first-aid and treatment of war wound on future war field,reinforce the consciousness of military medical support and service.In addition,it could clear confusion more professionally and strengthen teamwork and overall importance.Conclusion Applying PBL combined with MDT in teaching diagnoses and treatments of war wound and trauma can not only help interns to review and retain important knowledge of related subjects,but also improve the abilities of interns in clinical diagnoses and treatments,and moreover,it merges the medical knowledge and war wound cure together organically.In short,the new model is well worth applying in clinical teaching and military medical education because of its excellent effects.

Objective To explore the distribution rule of metastatic lymph node in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods 315 histopathologically proved NPC patients were studied retrospectively.All patients had had their nasopharynx scanned by MRI with plain and contrast enhanced sequences.The distribution of lymph node was divided into six cervical levels plus retro- pharyngeal nodes(RN) according to RTOG guidelines proposed in 2003.Results 254 out of 315 patients (80.6%) had lymph node involvement,with 81 in the right neck alone,72 left neck alone,and 101 both necks;73 in RN alone,21 neck node alone,and 160 both necks and RN node.Skip metastasis was found in only 4 patients (1.6%).There was significant difference in BN metastasis between the primary tumor be- ing located merely on the superior/posterior wall and lateral wall (78% vs 49%,P＜0.01).The incidence of lymph node metastasis in T1,T2,T3 and T4 patients was 73.5%,91.2%,71.9%,73.5% (P＞0.05), respectively,without significant difference between early or advanced T stage in node distribution (P＞0.05).Conclusions The incidence of lymph node metastasis is high in nasopharyngeal carcinoma,with retropharyngeal node being the most commonly involved,but the incidence of skip metastasis is very low. There is no significant difference between T stage and the incidence of lymph node metastasis.So is the dis- tribution of metastatic node.

Objective To investigate the morphological features of normal lumbar dorsal root ganglia using a three-dimensional(3D)coronal MR imaging.Methods One hundred and fifteen volunteers were included.Ages ranged from 15 to 75 years,with a mean of 40 years.Coronal 3D fast field echo(FFE) with water selective excitation(Proset)MR examination of 1150 dorsal root gangha were underwent at nerve root levels from L1 to L5.The source coronal images were further reconstructed into a series of rotational alignment coronal images with an interval angel of 12 degree using maximum intensity projection(MIP) technique.All DRGs of bilateral spinal nerve from L1 to L5 were morphologically analyzed on the original and MIP images including qualitative evaluation of the location,signal intensity,architecture and quantitative dimensional measurement.Results There were 225,225,219,210 and 160 foraminal ganglia from L1 to L5 level,respectively.The incidence of intraspinal ganglia from L3 to L5 gradually increased with a maximum at L5 level of 29.1%(X~2=188.371,P

Objective To investigate the effect of pedicle screw augmentation with bone cement perfusion on the long segment fixation and fusion in the elderly patients with spinal deformity treated by osteotomy.Methods The cohort data of the older patients aged ≥70 years with spinal kyphosis were retrospectively analyzed in Beijing Hospital,Department of Orthopedic Surgery,Division of Spine Surgery from January 2012 to June 2014.32 cases with complete clinical date were included in this study.The kyphosis of all patients was secondary to thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fracture.All patients were treated by posterior thoracolumbar spinal osteotomy with long segment fixation and fusion.The patients with fusions including sacral vertebral body fusion or the T score of BMD were less than-5 were excluded.Some patients with neurological compression symptoms also underwent selective decompression in spinal canal and nerve root foramen.All patients were divided into two groups:with (n=14)versus without(n=18)screw augmentation with bone cement perfusion(augmentation vs.non-augmentation/control group).The follow-up time was no less than 12 months.The data of age,gender,operative time,blood loss volume and preoperative bone mineral density were compared between two groups.Cobb angle of postoperative spinal surgery region,lordosis angle of postoperative lumbar,VAS and ODI improvement were analyzed.Data of surgical fixation and fusion segments were recorded.Pedicle screw loosening was compared between two groups.Results In the augmentation group,the pedicle screw loosening didn't occur.But control group showed screw loosening in 7 cases,a euphoric zone around screw in 4 cases,pedicle screw pullout in 2 cases,and vertebral cutting phenomenon with euphotic zone around screw in 1 case.There were no significant differences in ODI improvement rate and surgical satisfaction between the two groups.Conclusions When operative procedures of surgeon are in precision and skillful,bone cement augmentation technique for pedicle screw can reduce the occurrence of pedicle screw loosening in older patients during osteotomy and long segment fixation and fusion operation for spinal kyphosis.