Objective: To detect the expression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in human rectal carcinoma, to study their correlation in invasion and metastasis. Methods: The expression of FAK and VEGF in 86 specimens resected from patients with rectal carcinoma and 30 non-rectal carcinoma specimens, was investigated by immunohistochemical SABC method respectively. Results: the positive rate of FAK, VEGF was 80 % and 59% respectively in rectal carcinoma. However, non-rectal carcinoma was 10% and 13 % respectively. The diference was significant (P

Objective:To investigate the expressions of Bag-1 and Bcl-2 in colorectal cancer and evaluate their clinical significance.Methods:Bag-1 and Bcl-2 expressions were studied by immunohistochemical Streptavidin-Biotin-Peroxidase Complex(SABC)method in 64 samples of colorectal cancer tissues,10 normal colorectal tissues.Results:Bag-1 was positively related to the tumor grade,distant metastasis,stages of Dukes and prognosis,but was not related to the pathological cell types,tumor diameter,depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis.Bcl-2 was not correlated to these clinicopathologic factors.There was a positive correlation between Bag-1 and Bcl-2(r=0.475).Conclusion:The over expression of Bag-1 and Bcl-2 protein in colorectal cancer can affect the generation of colorectal cancer by participating in the regulation of apoptosis.

Classical description of central pathways has been that there are segregated routes for visceral and somatic inputs, for pain and tactile processing. Ample evidence in recent studies however calls for a revision of this traditional view. It has been demonstrated that visceral nociceptive inputs may travel in the dorsal column-medial lemnicus system along with skin tactile inputs, and convergence and interactions between the two distinct modalities have been demonstrated in route to the high brain centers. In the spinal cord and thalamus, skin inputs may inhibit noxious colorectal inputs; on the other hand pre-existing visceral nociception may cause abnormally high discharge of single neurons. These recent findings shine light on mechanisms of central processing of visceral nociception and its associated allodynia and referred pain, as well as for the effects of some traditional therapies such as acupuncture and massage.

Electrical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been approved by FDA and is widely used in recent years for the treatment of epilepsy and possibly other medical conditions such as depression. The current success rate of VNS for epilepsy is about 50%, but there are complications, potential risks and cost concerns. One of the major limitations for this new therapy is that its antiseizure mechanisms are by no means clear. In particular, it is not known whether the therapeutic effect is vagal specific, what types of nerve fibers in the vagus nerve are contributing to the therapeutic effects, or what individual patients would benefit from the use of the expensive and invasive VNS implantation. There are controversies regarding how and where the VNS takes effect on epilepsy in the central nervous system. The poor understanding of VNS has inevitably limited the application and success of the therapy. The current review analyses the pros and cons of VNS for epilepsy in vis-?-vis other available therapies including Chinese medical methods, and explores the possible mechanisms in order to stimulate further improvement of this new technology.

To explore the relationship between serum resistin concentration, hypertension, degree of obesity and blood glucose, fasting serum resistin concentration was measured with EIA in 17 normotensives and 44 patients with essential hypertension. Serum resistin concentration was significantly correlated with age and body fat percectage (BF%). The concentration level was significantly higher in grade 2 hypertension group [(30.5?11.0)?g/L] than in grade 1 hypertension group [(24.3?10.5)?g/L] and in normotensives group [(21.5?6.1)?g/L]. The difference in serum resistin concentration between the three groups disappeared when age and BF% were corrected by analysis of covariance. Serum resistin concentration was significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure, age, BF%, fasting plasma glucose. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age, BF% and fasting plasma glucose were significantly independent predictors of serum resistin concentration. The results suggest that serum resistin concentration is not directly related to blood pressure, but the concentration level is actually correlated with age, BF% and glucose metabolism.

Objective: To study the probiotic properties of 12 selected strains of lactobacilli.Methods: The probiotic properties of 12 selected strains of lactobacilli were investigated for their resistance to pH 2.5 and 0.3% oxgall,their adhesion to Caco-2 cells and antimicrobial activity against enteric pathogenic bacteria.Results: The 12 strains all showed relatively high resistance to acid and bile salt and varied antimicrobial activities against pathogenic bacteria of intestinal infection.Lactobacillus johnsonii JCM1022 exhibited a broad inhibitory effect on enteric pathogenic bacteria,especially on enteropathgenic E.coli and Salmonella enteritidis,while Lactobacillus reuteri JCM1081 possessed a high activity of adhesion to Caco-2 cells(495.07?80.03).Conclusion: Among the 12 strains,Lactobacillus johnsonii JCM1022 and reuteri JCM1081 are qualified candidates for clinical application.

Objective To investigate the effect of obesity on change of the levels of blood glucose and blood lipid after treatment with different combinations of antihypertensive drugs in patients with essential hypertension (EH). Methods One hundred and thirty-eight patients with mild to moderate EH were randomly divided into 3 groups with different combinations of drugs: reserpine with dihydralazine, hydrochlorothiazide, potassium chloride group (group 1), fosinopril with indapamide group (group 2), and nifedipine with atenolol group (group 3). Treatment period lasted for 14 months. Every group was divided into obesity subgroup and non-obesity subgroup according to Chinese obesity standard. Results After treatment, blood glucose levels were significantly decreased and blood lipid level was unchanged in both obesity subgroup and non-obesity subgroup of group 1. High density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)/low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) ratio was significantly decreased and blood glucose was significantly increased in obesity subgroup, however, there was not significant change in the level of blood glucose and blood lipid in non-obesity subgroup of group 2. Blood glucose level was significantly increased and HDL-C/LDL-C ratio was significantly decreased in obesity subgroup, however, there was significant increase only in fasting blood glucose in non-obesity subgroup of group 3. Conclusions The results suggested that treatment with a combination of reserpine and dihydralazine, hydrochlorothiazide, potassium chloride showed beneficial effect on improving carbohydrate metabolism in both obese and non-obese patients with EH, while the treatment with the combination of fosinopril with indapamide deteriorated carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in obese patients with EH, and the treatment with combination of nifedipine with atenolol impaired carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in obese patients with EH.

Objective:To study the expression and significance of HGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in pancreatic carcinoma. Methods:The expression of HGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were examined by immunohistochemical technique in 50 cases of pancreatic carcinomas and 10 cases of normal tissues. The relationship between the expression and tumor behaviors were also analyzed. Results:The expressions of HGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in pancreatic carcinoma and normal tissues had distinct differences (P

Objective:To investigate the expression of dental matrix protein 1(DMP1)in carious human permanent teeth and its possible role during the reparative process after pulp injury.Methods:10 of noncarious third molars (NC),10 of shallow carious (SC),10 of intermediate carious (IC) and 10 of deep carious (DC) were prepared for the detection of DMP1 in odontoblasts by immunohistochemical staining. DMP1 expression in odontoblasts was analyzed by image analysis system and expressed as integral optical density (IOD).Results:DMP1 was majorly detected in cytoplasms and processes of odontoblasts and odontoblast-like cells.The IOD values in the groups of NC,SC,IC and DC were 0.265?0.018,0.309?0.021,0.678?0.031 * and 0.691? 0.033 * respectively;that in the reparative dentin in DC group was 0.856?0.045 ** ( *vs NC P

Objective To culture astrocytes of human optic nerve and establish the cell lines for further study of healing process after optic nerve trauma. [WT5”HZ]Methods [WT5”BZ]Astrocytes of infantile optic nerve were cultured by tissue inoculation or tissue digestion with 0.25% trypsin and 0.06% EDTA. The second and fourth passage cells were stained with HE and anti GFAP, S 100 protein, vimentin, and CD34 antibodies. [WT5”HZ]Results The trypsinized astrocytes of infantile optic nerve reached confluence in 7 days. The cultured cells were in polygonal shape with processes and the cytoplasm was abundant. These cells were positive in GFAP, S 100 protein and vimentin staining, and negative in CD34 staining. Conclusions Astrocytes of human optic nerve can be successfully cultured by trypsinization rather than tissue inoculation.