Objective To investigate cerebral MRI characteristics of patients with eclampsia. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 15 cases of eclampsia and items reviewed cover all data concerning clinical features,cerebral MRI findings and results of follow-up survey.Results All of these patients had clinical symptoms of.blurred vision,headache,seizure,hypertension,proteinuria and edema of lower extremity.As for the characteristics of imaging,13 cases had only abnormal symmetric signals in parieto-occipital lobes,frontal lobe and basal ganglia were involved in 2 cases,and temporal lobe was involved in 1 case.The signals of lesions in DWI were isointense or hypointense,however they were hyperintense in ADC map.Two cases had hyperintense signals in DWI.All the patients recovered well,and all brain lesions disappeared during follow up.Conclusion The most important imaging of eclampsia is vasogenic edema with a good prognosis.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of the technique of synchronously perforating and transplanting hair follicular-units in the treatment of cicatricial alopecia after burn.

METHODSOne hundred and sixty-six patients with 217 bald scar areas after burn were treated with above-mentioned technique from January 2002 to April 2008. Scalp strips, with conforming the necessity for grafting, were harvested from the occipital or temporal region. A series of follicular-units, each composing 1 - 3 hairs, were dissected from the strips under microscope or magnifying glass. Size-matching micro-slots were made in the scarred recipient area with 16 - 20 G needles to accept the grafts. The prepared follicular-unit was synchronously implanted into the bottom of the micro-slot as the needle being withdrawn. Patients who were not satisfactory with the density of hairs after I stage surgery underwent II stage surgery a half year later. Ten recipient areas with clear boundary in 10 patients were optionally chosen to observe the density of follicular-units and hair amount with naked eyes after I stage surgery. Survived transplanted hairs in above-mentioned 10 areas were counted to calculate hair survival rate at follow-up. Patients' postoperative satisfaction ratings were surveyed with questionnaire.

RESULTSIn one half of the patients, treatment was finished after I stage surgery, the other one half received 2 stages of surgery. The follicular-unit density reached 15 - 25 grafts/cm(2) with 40 - 70 hairs/cm(2) after I stage surgery. All patients were followed up for over 8 months. Grafted hairs grew well in a natural way. 96.5% mean hair survival rate was observed in the 10 recipient areas. From patients who received only I stage surgery, 61 patients (73.5%) were very satisfactory and 22 patients (26.5%) satisfactory with the results. From the other half of patients, 76 patients (91.6%) were very satisfactory and 7 patients (8.4%) satisfactory with the results.

CONCLUSIONSThe technique of perforating and transplanting follicular-unit hair synchronously is safe and effective with less surgery-induced injury and less bleeding. Hairs transplanted on cicatricial alopecia area with this technique grow well with high survival rate.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alopecia ; etiology ; surgery ; Burns ; complications ; Child ; Cicatrix ; complications ; Female ; Hair Follicle ; transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin Transplantation ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of ulinastain on the expression of hemeoxy genase-1 (HO-1) in oil acid-induced acute lung injury in rats. METHODS: The animal model of acute lung injury was established by oil acid. Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: the blank control group (A), the acute lung injury group (B) and the acute lung injury group (C) followed by injecting 100 mL/kg ulinastatin. Each group consisted of 10 rats. Group A were given 0.2 mL/kg natural solution through the trial vein; Group B and C were given 0.2 mL/kg oil-acid through trial vein, while group C were injected 100mL/kg ulinastatin by the peritoneal cavity after injecting oil acid. After 4 hours, the rates of respiration were counted and blood samples were cramped out through the heart puncture for blood gas analysis. The expressions of hemeoxygenase-1 and the pathologic construction changes were determined by HE staining in the lower right lung of rats in the 3 groups. RESULTS: The respiration dysfunction caused by oil acid could be prominently improved by ulinastain. There was only a little expression of hemeoxygenase-1 in the lung of Group A, but the expression increased in Group B and significatively increased in Group C. CONCLUSION Ulinastatin may protect the rats from acute lung injury through increasing the expression of HO-1.
Acute Lung Injury ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Animals ; Glycoproteins ; pharmacology ; Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) ; metabolism ; Lung ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Oleic Acid ; adverse effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

BACKGROUNDAccurate evaluation of response following chemotherapy treatment is essential for surgical decision making in patients with breast cancer. Modalities that have been used to monitor response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) include physical examination (PE), ultrasound (US), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of PE, US, and MRI in predicting the response to NAC in patients with breast cancer.

METHODSAccording to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors guidelines, the largest unidimensional measurement of the tumor diameter evaluated by PE, US, and MRI before and after NAC was classified into four grades, including clinical complete response, clinical partial response, clinical progressive disease, clinical stable disease, and compared with the final histopathological examination.

RESULTSOf the 64 patients who received NAC, the pathologic complete response (pCR) was shown in 13 of 64 patients (20%). The sensitivity of PE, US, and MRI in predicting the major pathologic response was 73%, 75%, and 80%, respectively, and the specificity was 45%, 50%, and 50% respectively. For predicting a pCR, the sensitivity of PE, US, and MRI was 46%, 46%, and 39%, respectively, and the specificity was 65%, 98%, and 92% respectively.

CONCLUSIONSCompared with final pathologic findings, all these three clinical and imaging modalities tended to obviously underestimate the pCR rate. A more appropriate, universal, and practical standard by clinical and imaging modalities in predicting the response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in vivo is essential.

Adult ; Aged ; Breast Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Physical Examination ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVETo observe the association between preprocedural high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level and incidence of contrast induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and the impact of atorvastatin pretreatment on CI-AKI.

METHODSAccording to the level of preprocedural hs-CRP, 270 ACS patients were divided into three groups: high hs-CRP group (hs-CRP ≥ 3 mg/L, n = 176), moderate hs-CRP group (hs-CRP 1-3 mg/L, n = 60) and normal hs-CRP group (hs-CRP < 1 mg/L, n = 34). According to the dosage of preprocedural atorvastatin, the high hs-CRP group was further divided into 10 mg group (n = 49), 20 mg group (n = 66) and 40 mg group (n = 61). Serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cystatin C (Cys C), hs-CRP were measured at before and 24 hours, 48 hours after PCI. CCr and GFR were calculated according to Scr and Cys C. Risk factors for CI-AKI were determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS(1) Cys C was significantly increased and GFR after PCI significantly reduced in high and moderate hs-CRP groups compared with normal hs-CRP group (P < 0.05). (2) Incidence of CI-AKI was 43.18%, 38.33%, 20.59% in high, moderate and normal hs-CRP groups, respectively (P < 0.05). (3) In high hs-CRP group, postprocedural GFR was significantly higher while postprocedural Cys C and hs-CRP were significantly lower in 40 mg statin subgroup than 10 mg and 20 mg statin subgroups (P < 0.05), similar trends were documented when comparing 20 mg statin subgroup with 10 mg statin subgroup (P < 0.05). (4) Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that pretreatment with high dose atorvastatin was a protective factor for post CI-AKI (20 mg atorvastatin: OR = 0.15, 95%CI 0.06 - 0.33, P = 0.001; 40 mg atorvastatin: OR = 0.10, 95%CI 0.04 - 0.23, P = 0.001), while high levels of preprocedural hs-CRP (OR = 2.06, 95%CI 1.01 - 4.23, P = 0.048), diabetes mellitus (OR = 10.71, 95%CI 5.29 - 21.70, P = 0.001), advanced age (OR = 2.64, 95%CI 1.05 - 6.63, P = 0.038) and renal failure (OR = 5.14, 95%CI 1.13 - 23.39, P = 0.034) were independent risk factors of CI-AKI.

CONCLUSIONHigh hs-CRP level is linked with the development of CI-AKI in ACS patients undergoing PCI and pretreatment with 40 mg atorvastatin is associated with lower incidence CI-AKI, possibly by reducing the postprocedural inflammation responses.

Acute Coronary Syndrome ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Acute Kidney Injury ; etiology ; Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Atorvastatin Calcium ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Contrast Media ; adverse effects ; Female ; Heptanoic Acids ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prospective Studies ; Pyrroles ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo explore the treatment of anterior decompression and reconstruction for burst thoracolumbar fractures with anterior and median column injury and to evaluate the therapeutic effect.

METHODSThirty-four patients suffering from burst thoracolumbar fractures with anterior and median column injury (male 22 and female 12, aged from 20 to 63,with an average of 40.5 years) were treated by anterior decompression and reconstruction from May 2001 to October 2006. Operative duration, bleeding and the neurological function of patients were recorded.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up from 3 to 60 months and the average time was 24.5 months. Operative duration was (178 +/- 65) min. The volume of bleeding was (1 750 +/- 950) ml and the volume of autotransfusion was (950 +/- 750) ml. Cobb angle were corrected from 27.0 degrees +/- 6.5 degrees to 3.0 degrees +/- 1.5 degrees. All fractures obtained fusion. No failure of internal fixation and formation of false joint happened.

CONCLUSIONThe technique of anterior decompression and reconstruction for burst thoracolumbar fractures with anterior and median column injury is effective, with which the decompression and reconstruction of the spinal stability can be performed under direct vision at one stage, and the sagittal alignment can be corrected at the same time. The procedure will be more smoothly by the application of the intraoperative autotransfusion.

Adult ; Decompression, Surgical ; methods ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; prevention & control ; Spinal Fractures ; surgery ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; injuries ; surgery

Comprehensive improvement in course teaching quality is an important link in deepening the reform of undergraduate education and teaching. Since 2018, West China Medical School, Sichuan University, has implemented the collective lesson preparation system of "two meetings, seven decisions, and three preparation sessions" for undergraduate clinical courses, thereby effectively implementing subject cooperation, organizational guidance, and resource integration among clinical teachers and determining the key elements of the course through "teaching, learning, and exam preparations" before class. In the process of course operation, the concept of quality control based on plan-do-check-act cycle is deeply integrated with the collective lesson preparation system, and active implementation of the whole-process quality control loop of planning (plan), organization and implementation (do), inspection of results (check), and treatment and improvement (action) has effectively improved the teaching quality of undergraduate clinical courses.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical application value of perioperative comprehensive management of precise hepatectomy in hepatectomy for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis. METHODS: The clinical data of 62 patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis who underwent hemihepatectomy from January 2017 to December 2018 were collected and divided into anatomical hepatectomy group(35 cases)and non-anatomical hepatectomy group(27 cases) according to the method of hepatectomy. The differences of preoperative basic data,intraoperative situation and postoperative clinical indexes between the two groups were compared respectively. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in age,sex,hydatid number,hydatid size and preoperative liver function index between the two groups(P>0.05). However,there were significant differences between the two groups in liver function indexes(ALT,AST,DBIL and TBIL),postoperative complication(medicine) incidence rate and postoperative hospital stay(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Accurate hepatectomy is also suitable for surgical treatment of patients with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis,and has the advantages of less liver function damage,low incidence of complication(medicine) and short hospitalization time after operation.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary studies have found that ligustrazine can effectively improve the levels of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2, and alleviate the inflammatory response of osteoarthritis, but the related mechanism remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of ligustrazine on the expression levels of type Ⅱ collagen fiber α 1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA and miR20b in the articular cartilage of knee osteoarthritis model, and to explore the mechanism of ligustrazine for early-stage knee osteoarthritis in rats. METHODS: Healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into normal, model, high- and low-dose ligustrazine, and positive control groups. Rats in the latter four groups were used to establish the model of early-stage knee osteoarthritis by intra-articular injection of papain, and were then intragastrically given the administration of normal saline, 100 and 50 mg/kg ligustrazine, and 24 mg/kg celecoxib, respectively. The normal group was given the same volume of normal saline. The treatment in each group lasted for 6 weeks. Then, the rat cartilage was taken, and changes of cartilage tissues were assessed by Mankin scores. Expression levels of type Ⅱ collagen fiber α 1, VEGF mRNA and miR20b in the cartilage were detected by qRT-PCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The order of Mankin scores was as follows: normal group < high-dose ligustrazine group < positive control group < low-dose ligustrazine group < model group (P < 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of type Ⅱ collagen fiber α 1 and VEGF were the highest in the normal group, followed by the high-dose ligustrazine group, positive control group, low-dose ligustrazine group, and model group (P < 0.05). The expression level of miR20b was significantly up-regulated except the model group, and its order was follows: high-dose ligustrazine group < positive control group < low-dose ligustrazine group. Our results indicate that ligustrazine has a positive effect on early-stage knee osteoarthritis in rats, and the possible mechanisms by which ligustrazine promotes cartilage repair are to up-regulate miR20b expression and to inhibit VEGF mRNA expression.

BACKGROUNDPotentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias (PLVAs) occur frequently in survivors after acute myocardial infarction and are increasingly recognized in other forms of structural heart diseases. This study investigated the prevalence and prognostic significance of PLVAs in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).

METHODSData concerning demographics, etiology of heart failure, NYHA functional class, biochemical variables, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings, and medical treatments were collected by reviewing hospital medical records from 1080 patients with NYHA II-IV and a left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction ≤ 45%. PLVAs were defined as multi-focal ventricular ectopy (> 30 beats/h on Holter monitoring), bursts of ventricular premature beats, and nonsustained ventricular tachycardia. All-cause mortality, sudden death, and rehospitalization due to worsening heart failure, or cardiac transplantation during 5-year follow-up after discharge were recorded.

RESULTSThe occurrence rate of PLVAs in CHF was 30.2%, and increased with age; 23.4% in patients < 45 years old, 27.8% in those between 45 - 65 years old, and 33.5% in patients > 65 years old (P = 0.033). Patients with PLVAs had larger LV size and lower ejection fraction (both P < 0.01) and higher all-cause mortality (P = 0.014) during 5-year follow-up than those without PLVAs. Age (OR 1.041, 95%CI 1.004 - 1.079, P = 0.03) and LV end-diastolic dimension (OR 1.068, 95%CI 1.013 - 1.126, P = 0.015) independently predicted the occurrence of PLVAs. And PLVA was an independent factor for all-cause mortality (RR 1.702, 95%CI 1.017 - 2.848, P = 0.031) and sudden death (RR 1.937, 95%CI 1.068 - 3.516, P = 0.030) in patients with CHF.

CONCLUSIONPLVAs are common and exert a negative impact on long-term clinical outcome in patients with CHF.

Adult ; Aged ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; mortality ; physiopathology ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Heart Failure ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Regression Analysis