OBJECTIVETo measure the levels of urinary prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients with or without overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms and determine whether urinary PGE2 can serve as a biomarker for BPH-related OAB.

METHODSThis study included 86 BPH patients and 34 male control subjects without lower urinary tract symptoms. Based on the OAB symptom scores (OABSS), the BPH cases were classified as BPH/OAB (n =49) and BPH/non-OAB (n = 37) to be treated orally with tamsulosin alone and tamsulosin + tolterodine-tartrate, respectively, for 12 weeks. We measured the urinary PGE2 levels of all the subjects by ELISA before and after medication, the total PGE2 level normalized to the concentration of the urinary creatinine (PGE2/Cr). We also obtained the residual urine volume, Qmax, prostate volume, PSA level, IPSS and OABSS of the BPH patients, and compared them among different groups.

RESULTSThe baseline PGE2/Cr level was significantly lower in the control than in the BPH/OAB and BPH/non-OAB groups (both P <0.05), and higher in the BPH/OAB than in the BPH/non-OAB patients (P <0.05). After 12 weeks'treatment, the urinary PGE2/Cr level was remarkably decreased with relief of the OAB symptoms in the BPH/OAB patients (P <0.05) , but not in the BPH/non-OAB group (P >0.05). The concentration of PGE2 was not correlated with the IPSS storage score and OABSS of the BPH/OAB patients (P >0.05).

CONCLUSIONPatients with BPH/OAB have significantly higher urinary PGE2/Cr levels than those with BPH/non-OAB and normal controls, which tend to decrease with the alleviation of OAB symptoms. Our findings suggest that urinary PGE2 can be a potential biomarker for BPH/OAB.

Aged ; Biomarkers ; urine ; Case-Control Studies ; Dinoprostone ; urine ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; complications ; urine ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive ; complications ; urine

Objective To evaluate the changes of reticulated platelets (RP)in diagnosis and treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Methods RPs were measured by flow cytometry and the percentage and absolute counts of RPs were calcula- ted in ITP group,non-ITP group and control group.Results Compared with control group,ITP group had a significantly high percentage and low absolute counts of RPs (P

Literatures of study on acupoint functional effect of encephalic region with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are collected from the database of China National Knowledge Information (CNKI) and Wan fang database. Analysis and comments are made respectively from the status quo of studies on combination of single acupoint, two acupoints and multiple acupoints under both physiological and pathological conditions. The results show that the corresponding encephalic regions can be specifically activated by acupuncture. And different regions can be activated by different acupoints. However, studies on single acupoint, two acupoints and three acupoints are the major researches carried out at present. It is still lack of observation on effect of commonly-used combinations in clinic. Moreover, the reliability of the research results are also affected by disunity of operations protocol, reinforcing or reducing manipulations, intensity or depth of stimulation and duration of needling retention. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a unified and standard operation protocol to strictly control the bias factors which may affect the result of research in the future, and take patients as the study target as much as possible, so as to further explore the central effect mechanism.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; physiology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Radiography

To construct expression vectors of small hairpin RNA aimed at N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase Ⅴ(GnT-Ⅴ) gene, and to investigate effects of GnT-Ⅴ shRNA on proliferation, adhesion, migration and invasion of LoVo cell line. siRNAs were designed according to the coding sequence of GnT-Ⅴ gene, shRNA expression vectors were constructed and transfected into LoVo cell line, cell lines which stably expressed low level of GnT-Ⅴ were established by G418 screening. The mRNA and protein expression of GnT-Ⅴ were measured by semi- quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis, respectively. The effects of pGPU6/GFP/Neo GnT-Ⅴ shRNA vectors on proliferation, adhesion, migration and invasion of LoVo cell line were evaluated by CCK-8 assay, heterogenous adhesion, wound closure assay, chemotactic migration and cell invasive experiment, respectively. GnT- Ⅴ shRNA expression plasmid was constructed successfully and pGPU6/GFP/Neo GnT-Ⅴ shRNA down-regulated expression of GnT-Ⅴ dramatically in LoVo cell. Expression of LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/1564 and LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/2224 dereased by 82%, 71.5% respectively at mRNA level, and 68%, 56% respectively at protein level. The more effective interfered cell line, LoVo GnT-Ⅴ/1564, was chosen to do further experiment. CCK-8 assay showed proliferation of LoVo GnT- Ⅴ/1564 was suppressed obviously, compared to proliferation of negative control group cell (P

AIM: To compare the efficiency and safety of torsional phacoemulsification with or without intelligent phacoemulsification ( IP ) software in hard nucleus cataract extraction.
METHODS: Ninety two eyes with Ⅳ - Ⅴ grades cataracts were enrolled in this randomized prospective study. Operated eyes were divided into two groups -those operated without IP software ( non- IP group, n =43) and those operated using IP software (IP group, n =49 ). The two groups were compared in terms of ultrasound time (UST) and cumulative dissipated energy (CDE). Post- operative outcome measures included the corneal edema and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 1,7d and 3mo postoperatively, corneal endothelial cell density and percentage of hexagonal cell at 7d and 3mo postoperatively.
RESULTS: UST was measured as 52. 51±9. 64s in non-IP Group and 48. 79±7. 13s in IP Group (P = 0. 030). CDE was 15. 78±3. 73% in non-IP Group and 14. 29±2. 77% in IP Group ( P = 0. 026). At the first postoperative day, the rate of BCVA>0. 1 in non-IP Group was 56%, and the rate in IP Group was 79% (P= 0. 066). Corneal edema in non-IP Group was 2. 98±0. 77 scores, and in IP Group it was 2. 61±0. 64 scores (P = 0. 021). At the postoperative 7 and 30d, the BCVA and corneal edema were no differences between two groups. At the postoperative 7d, corneal endothelial cell density in non- IP Group were 2497. 95 ±211. 48 / mm2 , less than 2586. 26±154. 71 / mm 2 in IP Group (P= 0. 029);percentage of hexagonal cell in IP group was 48. 33±8. 69%,higher than 44. 19±9. 48% of non-IP group(P= 0. 030).CONCLUSION: In hard nucleus cataract extraction, the IP software can combine the advantages of the two kinds of ultrasonic modes, which is more effective with lower ultrasound energy and less injury for the corneal endothclium, and is helpful for the recovery of vision at early stage after surgeries.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Nimodipine on the hemorrheology and brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) in the patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI) and to explore the mechanism.Methods50 cases with VBI were divided into Nimodipine group (25 cases) and routine therapy group (25 cases). The hemorrheology and BAEP were measured before the treatment and 1 month later.ResultsThe blood viscosity,including the whole blood viscosity shear value, plasma viscosity and blood fat of patients with VBI was increased. The total abnormity rate of BAEP was 76%. The main abnormity was brainstem type. The hemorrheology and the function of nerve conduction were improved distinctly (P<0.05) after treatment. Compared with the routine therapy group, the level of plasma viscosity was decreased markedly (P<0.05) in Nimodipine group, and peak latency of V wave, interpeak latency of III-V and I-V were also improved significantly (P<0.05).Conclusions Nimodipine can improve the hemorrheology and the function of nerve conduction in patients with VBI.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of the covered stent placements in the treatment of malignant esophageal stenosis and to analyze the interrelated factors and countermeasures of complications.Methods 102 patients with malignant esophageal stenosis were undergone treatment with the covered stent placements through the mouths under X-ray fluoroscopy.The stents included China-made and imports,and the specifications were various.92 patients underwent radiotheraphy before or after process.All cases were followed up after operations.Results The successful rate of operation was 100%,110 covered stents were placed in total.The clinical symptoms of patients disappeared or abated obviously.Complications included:chest pain in 36 cases(35.3 %),restenosis in 7 cases(6.9%),stomach-esophageal countercurrent in 6 cases(5.9%),stent migration in 6 cases(5.9%),esophageal bleeding in 4 cases(3.9%),esophagus-mediastinum fistula in 1 case(1%),stent jam in 1 case(1%)and stent fell off accompanied with rupture partially in 1 case(1%).The mean survival time was 10.6 months.Conclusion The covered stent placement in the treatment of malignant esophageal stenosis is a high effective and easy method,but it is not very safe.

BACKGROUND: Studies showed that both anterior cervical disc replacement and anterior cervical decompression and fusion can achieve good clinical result in cervical spondylosis. However, it is not conclusive about which kind of surgical method has an advantage in avoiding the adjacent segment degeneration. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect on adjacent segment degeneration of single segment cervical disc herniation treated with anterior cervical decompression and fusion and anterior cervical disc replacement. METHODS: We col ected clinical data of 178 patients with cervical disc herniation and receiving anterior cervical disc replacement or anterior cervical decompression and fusion from January 2009 to December 2012. A retrospective analysis was performed. There were 116 cases in the anterior cervical decompression and fusion group and 62 cases in the anterior cervical disc replacement group. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Evaluation: visual analogue scale score, Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores and neck disability index were improved significantly in both groups during final fol ow-up compared with that pre-treatment (P < 0.05). (2) No significant difference in range of motion of operation segment, adjacent upper segment and adjacent lower segment was detected between final fol ow-up and pre-operation in the anterior cervical disc replacement group (P > 0.05). At 3 months after surgery, in the anterior cervical decompression and fusion group, surgical segment was confluent, and range of motion lost. During final fol ow-up, range of motion of adjacent upper segment and adjacent lower segment was significantly increased, and the increased range of motion in the upper segment was bigger than that of the lower segment (P < 0.05). (3) During final fol ow-up, X-ray films and MRI images revealed the number of degenerated adjacent segment was more in the anterior cervical decompression and fusion group than in the anterior cervical disc replacement group (P <0.05). The number of degenerated middle and upper segments was more than that of the lower segment in both groups (P < 0.05). (4) The findings confirmed that anterior cervical disc replacement or anterior cervical decompression and fusion for treating cervical disc herniation could effectively relieve nerve symptoms of patients. However, compared with the anterior cervical disc replacement, adjacent segment degeneration occurs more commonly after anterior cervical decompression and fusion.

BACKGROUND:Elderly patients have more loose bone. After fractures, bones are mostly crushed. Simultaneously, many elderly patients experience many internal diseases. Various organs have dysfunction. Surgery tolerance is poor, which also brings difficulty in treatment with internal fixator, and increases the risk of therapy. Thus, the choice of internal fixation method is not uniform. OBJECTIVE: To compare and analyze the repair effects of proximal femoral nail anti-rotation blade and anatomic proximal femoral locking plate in treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly. METHODS:A total of 100 elderly patients with unstable intertrochanteric fractures were selected from the Youyi Branch, Kunshan First People’s Hospital from April 2011 to June 2013. They were randomly assigned to two groups. Patients in the experimental group received internal fixation with proximal femoral nail anti-rotation blade. Patients in the control group received anatomic proximal femoral locking plate. After treatment, folow-up was conducted. Operative indexes, postoperative Harris score for hip function and incidence of complications were compared and analyzed in both groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: No significant difference in various indexes was detected in both groups (P > 0.05). Harris scores were significantly better in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Postoperative complications were significantly less in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). These results indicated that internal fixation of proximal femoral nail anti-rotation blade for unstable intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly achieved satisfactory results in the recovery of joint function and had the advantage of few complications.

Objective To evaluate the influence of integrated-CT artifacts on attenuation-corrected (AC) images of SPECT bone imaging. Methods Imaging documents of 78 patients who underwent SPECT/CT bone imaging were retrospectively analyzed, and the artifacts on CT images and CT attenuation maps were visually studied. Compared with the non-attenuation corrected (NC) images, the coefficient of variation (CV) and percentage difference (PD) of radioactive count of regional bone influenced by CT artifacts were calculated and statistically analyzed to estimate the influence of CT artifacts on AC images of SPECT bone imaging. Results The integrated-CT artifacts were found in 38 patients of 78, and appeared the same image findings as those on CT attenuation maps respectively, including truncation artifact, thoraco-abdominal gas artifact, photon starvation artifact, etc. On all the AC images with integrated-CT artifacts, regional bones were influenced not only on uniformity (CVAC 17.62%±4.13%, CVNC 11.19%±3.81%;t=2.13, P<0.05), but also by the distribution (PDAC 16.98%±3.31%, PDNC 9.84%±1.62%;t=2.46, P<0.05) of radioactive count. Conclusion Artifacts on integrated-CT images can induce false AC information on CT attenuation maps, therefore, a comparative analysis with NC images is recommended if necessary.