AIM: Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, such as simvastatin, have been shown to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by mechanisms unrelated to its lipid-lowering effect. Several studies have shown that simvastatin induces apoptosis in a varieties of cell lines including vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). The aim of this study was to investigate the signal pathways involved in apoptosis induced by simvastatin. METHODS: Cultured VSMC were treated with simvastatin. Calpain activity was determined by measuring Ca 2+ ionophore-specific calpain substrate (suc-LLVY-AMC), caspase-3 activation was detected by Western blot, and apoptotic changes were distinguished by annexin Ⅴ binding and DNA laddering. RESULTS: After incubated with 30 ?mol/L simvastatin for 8 h, calpain activity had a marked increase ( P

Objective To evaluate the safety and feasibility of hepatic resection for huge primary liver carcinoma (PLC). Methods 216 cases of huge PLCs(mean diameter of 14.2cm) were resected. The hepatectomies were performed under intermittent occlusion of hepatic inflow. Results All 216 cases were successfully resected. The mean time of occlusion of hepatic inflow was 19min, the mean blood loss was 743 ml. No serious complications occurred, and only seven patients died of hepatic failure and upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage postoperatively in this series. Conclusions Although resection of huge PLC is quite difficult, but if suitable surgical techique and perioperative management are adopted ,it is safe and feasible .

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of combined electroacupuncture and nerve growth factor (NGF) injection at acupoints in the treatment of common fibular nerve paralysis and provide evidences for integrative Chinese & western medicine against diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Methods: Forty subjects were randomized into two groups and NGF injection; and control group was given herbal suffocation, oral Dibazol and compound vitamin B and Mecobalamin Injection. The clinical symptoms and nerve conduction velocity were observed and compared. Results: The cure rate was higher in treatment group than in control group (P<0.05); after treatment, the nerve conduction velocity was improved in both groups (P<0.01), with a significant improvement in treatment group than in control group (P<0.01). Conclusion: Combined electro-acupuncture and NGF injection at acupoints is quite effective in the treatment of common fibular nerve paralysis.

Objective: To study the alleviation of curcumin analog WZ35 on type 1 diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods: Mice were treated with a single ip injection of streptozocin (STZ) to induce type 1 diabetes, while the control animals received the same volume of citrate buffer. The curcumin and its analog WZ35 (20 mg/kg) were ig administration for 9 weeks after the diabete obtained. The body weight and blood glucose were monitored every 7 d. Biochemistry analyzer was used to analyze the creatinine (Cr) and urea nitrogen (BUN) levels in serum. The histopathology of kidney tissue was detected by HE staining. RT-qPCR assay was used to evaluate the gene levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. CD68 staining was used to evaluate the macrophages infiltration in kidney tissue. Results: Compared with negative control, the mice in diabetic group showed the reduced body weight, increased blood glucose, high Cr and BUN levels in serum, renal pathological damage, and increased inflammatory gene, and macrophages infiltration in kidney. While the administration with curcumin and its analog WZ35 could obviously attenuate the DN through inhibiting Cr and BUN in serum while had no effect on the body weight and blood glucose. Compared with curcumin, WZ35 could inhibit the gene expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines as well as infiltration of macrophages. Conclusion: The curcumin analog could attenuate DN through inhibiting inflammatory response.

BACKGROUND: Paraquat (PQ) is a world-wide used herbicide and also a type of common poison for suicide and accidental poisoning. Numerous studies have proved that the concentration of serum PQ plays an important role in prognosis. Spectrophotometry, including common spectrophotometry and second-derivative spectrophotometry, is commonly used for PQ detection in primary hospitals. So far, lack of systematic research on the reliability of the method and the correlation between clinical features of patients with PQ poisoning and the test results has restricted the clinical use of spectrophotometry. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and value of spectrophotometry in detecting the concentration of serum PQ. METHODS: The wavelengths for detecting the concentration of serum PQ by common and second-derivative spectrophotometry were determined. Second-derivative spectrophotometry was applied to detect the concentration of serum PQ. The linear range and precision for detection of PQ concentration by this method were confirmed. The concentration of serum PQ shown by second-derivative spectrophotometry and HPLC were compared in 8 patients with PQ poisoning. Altogether 21 patients with acute poisoning 4 hours after PQ ingestion treated in the period of October 2008 to September 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were divided into higher and lower than 1.8 μg/mL groups based on their concentrations of serum PQ measured by second-derivative spectrophotometry on admission. The severity of clinical manifestations between the two groups were analyzed with Student's t test or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: The absorption peak of 257 nm could not be found when common spectrophotometry was used to detect the PQ concentration in serum. The calibration curve in the 0.4–8.0 μg/mL range for PQ concentration shown by second-derivative spectrophotometry obeyed Beer's law with r=0.996. The average recovery rates of PQ were within a range of 95.0％ to 99.5％, relative standard deviation (RSD) was within 1.35％ to 5.41％ (n=6), and the lower detection limit was 0.05 μg/mL. The PQ concentrations in serum of 8 patients with PQ poisoning shown by second-derivative spectrophotometry were consistent with the quantitative determinations by HPLC (r=0.995, P<0.0001). The survival rate was 22.2％ in patients whose PQ concentration in serum was more than 1.8 μg/mL, and the incidences of acidosis, oliguria and pneumomediastinum in these patients were 55.6％, 55.6％and 77.8％, respectively. These clinical manifestations were different significantly from those of the patients whose PQ concentration in serum was less than 1.8 μg/mL (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For common spectrophotometry, the wavelength at 257 nm was not suitable for detecting serum PQ as no absorbance was shown. Second-derivative spectrophotometry was reliable for detecting serum paraquat concentration. Serum PQ concentration detected by second-derivative spectrophotometry could be used to predict the severity of clinical manifestations of patients with PQ poisoning, and PQ content higher than 1.8 μg/mL 4 hours after ingestion could be an important predictive factor for poor prognosis.

onary artery was turtuous and dilated in 4 cases. Conclusion 64 MSCT is emerging as an essential imaging tool for detecting early anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery with high resolution and significance.

Objective To observe and compare the association of serum levels of of complement component 3(C3)and high-sensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP)with insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. Methods 587non-diabetic Chinese were recruited. Weight, height, blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose,fasting serum insulin, blood lipids, C3 and hs-CRP were measured. HOMA index(HOMA2-IR)was calculated.Insulin resistance was defined as the upper quartile of HOMA2-IR. Results C3 and hs-CRP were significantly higher in subjects with insulin resistance compared with subjects without insulin resistance. After controlling for age, gender,body mass index, and waist circumference, C3 was positively and significantly correlated with HOMA2-IR(r = 0.19,P＜0.01). As C3 increased, subjects were 3.78(OR= 3.78, P＜0.05)times more likely to suffer from insulin resistance, after adjustment for age, gender, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol,triglycerides,high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and waist circumference. However, hs-CRP was not significantly correlated with insulin resistance. Conclusions Serum complement component 3 has a more marked association with insulin resistance than hs-CRP in non-diabetic Chinese.

Objective To observe the clinical manifestation and the mode of RET proto-oncogene mutation in a pedigree of mutiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A). Methods Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood lymphocytes in 18 family members including 3 patients, then PCR was performed to amplify seven exons of the RET proto-oncogene, i. e. exon 8,10,11,13-16. The PCR products were directly sequenced to identify the RET mutation and then sequenced after subcloning to identify their heterozygosity. Results The male proband suffered from pheochromocytoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma since the age of 30; while his sibling sister was ill with pheochromocytoma, and his brother with medullary thyroid carcinoma. A novel heterozygous mutation, 1893-1895delCGA, was detected in exon 11 of the RET proto-oncogene in the 3 patients and the other 2 family members. Conclusion A novel heterozygous mutation of RET proto-oncogene, 1893-1895delCGA, seems to be the disease-causing mutation in the studied MEN2A family.

Objective To study the effect of a novel injectable scaffold material chitosan- beta-TCP combining bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on repairing bone defect of goat. Methods The model of the studies was 12ram diameter circular hole tibia bone defect of goat. 30 Chinese goats were raudomly divided into 5 groups: blank group: nothing was embeded in bone defect; simple material group: the material embeded in bone defect was chitosan-beta-TCP; PRP group: the material was chitesan-beta-TCP combining PRP; MSCs group: the material was chitosan-beta-TCP combining MSCs; PRP/MSCs group:the material was chitosan-beta-TCP combining MSCs and PRP. At 4,8 weeks after operation, the samples were observed, histological and image analysis were used to evaluate the effect of bone regeneration. Results At 8 weeks, the surface of bone defect zone of PRP/MSCs group were coverd by continuous new bones, like normal bone. Histological slice showed the esteoid at boundary of normal bone of MSCs/PRP group obviously increased compare to other groups at the 4th or 8th week after operation respectively. The new bone tissues of bone defect were punctiform or lamellar new bone tissues, in which the proportion of big lamellar new bone tissue obviously increased. Image analysis showed that the areas of balnk group, simple material group, PRP group, MSCs group, PRP/MSCs group were 8.79±3.63,14.49± 3.72,24.18 ± 5.38,24.42 ± 5.10,31.10 ± 3.49 at 4 weeks and 15.41 ± 4.21,25.36 ± 5.37,30.71 ± 4.39, 33.97 ± 4.45,48.60 ± 5.97 at 8 weeks respectively. The effect of bone regeneration of PRP/MSCs group was better than other groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion The injectable tissue-engineering bone constructed with chitosan-beta-TCP, MSCs and PRP possesses good ability on repairing bone defect.

Objective To confirm the effects of statin therapy on mortality of patients with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS). Methods PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science andCochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for articles using the terms acute lung injury, ALI,acute respiratory distress syndrome, ARDS, statin, simvastatin and rosuvastatin updated to November 17,2015. Randomized controlled trial (RCT) or observational cohort studies investigating the effects of statin therapy onmortality in patients with ALI or ARDS were all identified, without date or language restriction. The control group wasgiven conventional treatment, while the experimental group was treated with statins additionally. The primary outcomewas in-hospital mortality. Meanwhile, ventilator-free day, intensive care unit (ICU)-free day, ICU length of stay (LOS)and ICU mortality were also analyzed. RevMan 5.2 and STATA 13 software were used for systematic review and Metaanalysis, and funnel plot was used to analyze the publication bias. Results A total of five trials including threerandomized controlled trials and two observational studies were included. Among 1636 patients enrolled in the study,there were 739 patients in experimental group, and 897 in control group. It was shown by Meta analysis that there was nosignificant difference in in-hospital mortality between experimental group and control group [relative risk (RR) = 0.96,95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.79-1.15, P = 0.63]. The subgroup analysis based on RCT and cohort study, or thesubgroup analysis of different statins showed that there was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality betweenthe experimental group and the control group (both P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in ventilator-freedays [mean difference (MD) = 1.41, 95%CI = -0.32-3.13, P = 0.11], ICU-free days (MD = -0.23, 95%CI = -1.61-1.15,P = 0.75), ICU length of stay (MD = -1.03, 95%CI = -6.55-4.50, P = 0.72), or ICU mortality (RR = 0.88, 95%CI =0.68-1.14, P = 0.33) between the experimental group and the control group. It was shown by funnel plot that there was nopublication bias in in-hospital mortality. Conclusion The systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that statin may not be associated with a significant reduction in mortality, ventilator-free day, ICU-free day and ICU length of stayin patients with ALI/ARDS.