ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Indapamide on the rehabilitation of cardiac function in patients with primary hypertension disease.Methods56 patients with primary hypertension disease were randomly divided into the Indapamide group and Hydrochlorothiazide group with 28 cases in each group, and treated with Indapamide and Hydrochlorothiazide respectively assisted with conventional non-drug treatment such as dietetic and weight control. The cardiac functions of patients in two groups were examined with echocardiography before and two months after treatment.ResultsAfter treatment, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) raised and relative wall thickness (RWT) declined in patients of two groups, but the effect of the Indapamide group was better than that of the Hydrochlorothiazide group ( P<0.05).ConclusionThe effect of Indapamide on cardiac function and structure is better than Hydrochlorothiazide.

Adult ; Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia ; physiopathology ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

Background and purpose:Gemcitabine-based chemotherapy has been shown to have signiifcant activity and favourable safety in metastatic breast cancer patients, but the effectiveness is limited due to drug resistance. MicroRNAs are a family of small non-coding RNA molecules, acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Although various mechanisms of chemoresistance have been uncovered, the aberrant microRNA expression and its relationship with drug resistance of breast cancer are still unclear. This study explored the potential role and underlying mechanism of microRNA-21 in gemcitabine resistant breast cancer. Methods:MDA-MB-231 cells were continuously exposed to the increasing concentrations of gemcitabine to induce drug resistance to gemcitabine, which was 10 times more resis-tant. Then multiple methods were used including real-time PCR (RT-PCR), CCK-8, Western blot, transfection, wound healing and Transwell assay to observe the effect of microRNA-21 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and chemosensitivity. Results:The expression of microRNA-21 was up-regulated in gemcitabine resistant breast cancer cell line and inversely correlated with gemcitabine sensitivity. Manipulation of microRNA-21 status could change microR-NA-21 level, and could result in corresponding changes in EMT status and drug sensitivity. Conclusion:MicroRNA-21 induces gemcitabine resistance possibly via EMT process in breast cancer.

Objective:Our purpose was to investigate the function of angiotensis converting enzyme(ACE) in the occurrence and development of pregnancy-induced hypertension(PIH). Methods:The study group included 30 pregnant women diagnosed with PIH( 10 mild, 10 moderate, 10 severe). Thirty healthy pregnant women were selected as the control group. The serum was assayed for the activity of ACE by using color comparison method, hippuric acid used as the substrate. Results:The activity of ACE of the study group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Significantly positive correlationships existed between mean blood pressure, degree of adema, level of urine protein,and uric acid. Conclusion:The elevation of serum activity of ACE is related to the occurrence and development of PIH.

Objective To identify the compliance and influencing factors of colorectal cancer screening among urban communities. Methods People in urban communities are categorized as the case group, comparison group A and comparison group B, according to whether they receive questionnaire survey, FOBT test, intestine mirror, and different follow-up results in this screening test Results No significant differences (P>0.05) are found among people from different groups. In the survey for screening related knowledge, understanding of such knowledge is significantly higher than the comparison group(P>0.01), and the knowledge of comparison group A is higher than that of comparison group B. Conclusion The higher their knowledge in screening, the higher their compliance for screening.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture plus a multi-function cervical rehabilitation system in treating cervical spondylosis.Methods Sixty patients with cervical spondylosis were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 30 cases each. The treatment group received electroacupuncture plus treatment with a multi-function cervical rehabilitation system and the control group, electroacupuncture alone. After 30 days of treatment, changes in the pain score, the neck disability index, and cervical active range of motion and isometric muscle strength were observed in the two groups and the clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups.Results The total efficacy rate was 96.7% in the treatment group and 93.3% in the control group; there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in the pain score, the neck disability index, and cervical active range of motion and isometric muscle strength in the two groups (P<0.01,P<0.05). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in the neck disability index, and cervical active range of motion and isometric muscle strength between the treatment and control groups (P<0.05).Conclusions Electroacupuncture plus a multi-function cervical rehabilitation system is an effective way to treat cervical spondylosis. It can relieve the clinical symptoms in the patients.

RNA interference ( RNAi) is a process in which double-stranded RNA ( dsRNA) induces specific postranscriptional silencing of homologous transcripts. Systematic silencing of genes on a genome-wide scale using RNAi library targeting many thousands of genes provides a powerful research tool in functional genomics. RNAi libraries, which may be derived from plasmids cloning, virus packaging, PCR amplification, chemically synthesis or enzymatic digestion, have been successfully used to identify gene function, dissect signaling pathway and discover drug targets, etc. Promising progresses have been made in this field. The development, application and problems of RNAi library methodology and future prospects were reviewed.

Objective To investigate the changes of the N-acetylaspartate(NAA) concentrations in different brain regions and executive function skills in alcohol dependence,and to study the relationship between NAA levels and cognitive functions in subjects.Methods 49 male,non-smoking,alcohol-dependent patients and 45 healthy control subjects were measured with Proton 1H Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST).Results Alcoholics had lower NAA/Cr ratios in prefrontal grey matter(GM) (1.59± 0.13) and white matter(WM) (1.58±0.12) regions and performed poorly on executive function tests compared to controls (P＜0.001).NAA/Cr in left prefrontal regions positively correlated with certain parameters of EF testing (number of correct responses 30.37± 3.73,perseverative errors 11.49± 3.39,random errors 6.18± 2.64,categories completed 2.08± 1.59)in alcoholic group (P＜0.01).NAA/Cr in prefrontal WM regions correlated with certain parameters of EF testing in alcoholic group (number of correct responses r=0.379,categories completed r=0.433,P＜ 0.05).Conclusion Long-term,chronic alcoholism will damage neuronal viability and cognitive functions,which suggests that NAA concentrations can reflect the extent of damage of cognitive functions with decreased levels reflecting neuronal loss.

Intervertebral disc degeneration is considered as a primary cause of clinical low back pain, however the molecular mechanism is not clear yet. Recently, researches on the molecular basis of intervertebral disc degeneration have become a hotspot. The special structure and biomechanics properties of the disc contribute to its propensity toward degeneration. Intervertebral disc degeneration is associated with the changes of the cytological behavior,including the increase in cell death and the degradation of extracellular matrix. However, the mechanism of cell death including cell apoptosis and autophagy in intervertebral disc degeneration remains unclear. Further study on the molecular mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration is the foundation of improving and treating the intervertebral disc degeneration in the future. Although some progresses are made in the aspect of biological study, the biological environment of intervertebral disc itself is still a challenge for the development of biological treatment. This article is to review the latest advance on the biological characteristics of normal intervertebral disc and the cell death in the process of the intervertebral disc degeneration.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cell Death ; Extracellular Matrix ; metabolism ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; cytology ; metabolism ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration ; metabolism ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the application of prognosis evaluation of ulnar nerve injury by 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). METHODS: The metabolites of first dorsal interossei (FDI) of two hands from 12 healthy volunteers and 1 volunteer with complete ulnar nerve injury were detected by 1H-MRS and the data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: For the FDI of healthy adults, the female peaks area of extra-myocellular lipids (EMCL) was higher than the male (P < 0.05); There was no significant difference in Cho, Cr and intra-myocellular lipids (IMCL) between male and female (P > 0.05); There was no significant difference in all the peaks area between the left and right hand (P > 0.05). The EMCL peak of the injury side was higher than that of the healthy side, and the area of FDI was reduced in the volunteer with ulnar nerve injury. CONCLUSION Noninvasive and quantitative detection of 1H-MRS may be valuable for prognosis evaluation of peripheral nerve injury.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries/diagnosis* ; Prognosis ; Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy/methods* ; Sex Distribution ; Ulnar Nerve/metabolism*