Objective To evaluate the clinical value of radionuclide pulmonary perfusion imaging in diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism.Methods Radioactive pulmonary perfusion imaging was performed in 25 patients clinically suspected for acute pulmonary embolism,meanwhile,imaging of deep veins of lower limb was taken.Results Multiple segments of abnormal blood perfusion were found in 23 of 25 patients,among them,radioactivity defects were found in 41 segments,radioactivity rarefied areas were found in 84 segments.Deep venous thrombosis was detected in 6 patients.Conclusion Radionuclide pulmonary perfusion imaging is a non-invasive and effective method in diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism.

BACKGROUND: The nomination of undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (USpA) has provided clues for the early diagnosis of spondylitis ankylopoietica and other subsets of SpA, thereby avoiding possible wrong treatments.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of SpA in the workers and their adult relatives aged over 16 years old from a factory in Beijing urban district, as well as the results of human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) B27 and X-ray inspection on sacroiliac joint.DESIGN: Systematic sampling investigation.SETTING: Department of Internal Medicine, Chenghai District People's Hospital of Shantou City; Rheumatism Research Institute, Medical College of Shantou University; Department of Internal Medicine, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital.PARTICIPANTS: A survey was conducted among 1982 workers and their adult relatives aged over 16 years from a factory in Beijing urban district between May and October 1999; there were 1,025 males and 957 females.They all volunteered into this study after informed of the experiment.METHODS: All examinees were surveyed door to door with the modified Chinese-International Anti-rheumatic Alliance Rheumatism Questionnaire,those with positive results were subjected to physical examination and those suspicious cases were subjected to MHC-B27 and X-ray examination.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence of SpA in the workersand their adult relatives aged over 16 years from a factory in Beijing urban district, as well as the results of MHC-B27 and sacroiliac joint X-ray inspection.RESULTS: Totally 1,982 subjects were enrolled in this study and all entered the result analysis. The prevalence of spondyloarthropathy was 1.61%(32/1 982), amongst which the prevalence of ankylopoietic spondylitis,USpA, and psoriastic arthritis was 0.31% (6/1 982), 1.21% (24/1 982),and 0.10% (2/1 982), respectively. No other subsets of SpA were observed. USpA was mainly presented by inflammatory lumbago and asymmetric arthrosteitis [83% (20/24), 62% (15/24)], while rheumatoid factor was negative in all subjects. Meanwhile, MHC-B27 was proved positive in 25% (6/24) subjects with the male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of SpA is 1.61% in Beijing urban area,and SpA mainly consists of ankylopoietic spondylitis and USpA.

In coal mines, main occupational hazard is coal-mine dust, which can cause health problem including coal workers' pneumoconiosis and lung cancer. Some heat shock proteins (Hsps) have been reported as an acute response to a wide variety of stressful stimuli. Whether Hsps protect against chronic environmental coal-mine dust over years is unknown. It is also interesting to know that whether the expression of Hsp27 and Hsp70 proteins as a marker for exposure is associated risk of lung cancer among coal miners. We investigated the association between levels of Hsp27 and Hsp70 expression in lymphocytes and plasma and levels of coal-mine dust exposure in workplace or risk of lung cancer in 42 cancer-free non-coal miners, 99 cancer-free coal miners and 51 coal miners with lung cancer in Taiyuan city in China. The results showed that plasma Hsp27 levels were increased in coal miners compared to non-coal miners (P<0.01). Except high cumulative coal-mine dust exposure (OR=13.62, 95%CI=6.05-30.69) and amount of smoking higher than 24 pack-year (OR=2.72, 95% CI=1.37-5.42), the elevated levels of plasma Hsp70 (OR=13.00, 95% CI=5.14-32.91) and plasma Hsp27 (OR=2.97, 95% CI=1.40-6.32) and decreased expression of Hsp70 in lymphocytes (OR=2.36, 95% CI=1.05-5.31) were associated with increased risk of lung cancer. These findings suggest that plasma Hsp27 may be a potential marker for coal-mine dust exposure. And the expression of Hsp27 and Hsp70 levels in plasma and lymphocytes may be used as biomarkers for lung cancer induced by occupational coal-mine dust exposure.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy of intratympanic steroid injection as supplementary or initial treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). METHOD: A total of 68 patients diagnosed with SSNHL were randomized into group A (45 cases including systemic steroid for 33 cases and systemic steroid + intratympanic steroid as supplementary treatment for 12 cases) and group B (23 cases, initial intratympanic steroid). Then observe the therapeutic effect in two groups. RESULT: The total effective rate was 55.6% in group A and 56.5% in group B. No statistical difference was detected between these two groups (P > 0.05). There was statistical difference after therapy of intratympanic steroid as supplementary treatment for 12 patients due to poor hearing improvement after systemic steroid in group A (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Both systemic and intratympanic steroid injection for SSNHL are effective. The efficiency of intratympanic steroid injection as supplementary or initial treatment for SSNHL is similar to that of systemic steroid. The intratympanic steroid injection for SSNHL as initial protocol or as supplementary treatment when poor hearing improvement after systemic steroid is recommended.
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; drug therapy ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Injection, Intratympanic ; Steroids ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome ; Tympanic Membrane

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the prevalence of primary gout in the Shantou area, China, and to understand its clinical features.

METHODSSamples from three surveys of the Chenghai across ten years were studied. Clinical, laboratory and radiology data of 419 cases of primary gout were collected and analyzed.

RESULTSPrevalence of primary gout in the three surveys were 0.17%, 0.15% and 0.26%, respectively. Among the clinical patients, the ratio of male to female was 21:1; the average age of onset of women was significantly higher than that of men. The number of cases in the last ten years has been increasing. In the first wave of cases, the first metatarsophalangeal joint was involved in 82.1% of all cases; no fourth metatarsophalangeal joint involvement had been observed. Hyperlipemia was the most common accompanying abnormal laboratory test (57.1%). Radiographic bone erosion was found in 49.4% patients, most of them with disease duration more than 5 years.

CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of primary gout in Shantou area has been increasing in the last ten years. Changes in diet and lifestyle may be responsible for this rapid increase.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Gout ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radiography

In coal mines, main occupational hazard is coal-mine dust, which can cause health prob-lem including coal workers' pneumoconiosis and lung cancer. Some heat shock proteins (Hsps) have been reported as an acute response to a wide variety of stressful stimuli. Whether Hsps protect against chronic environmental coal-mine dust over years is unknown. It is also interesting to know that whether the expression of Hsp27 and Hsp70 proteins as a marker for exposure is associated risk of lung cancer among coal miners. We investigated the association between levels of Hsp27 and Hsp70 expression in lymphocytes and plasma and levels of coal-mine dust exposure in workplace or risk of lung cancer in 42 cancer-free non-coal miners, 99 cancer-free coal miners and 51 coal miners with lung cancer in Taiyuan city in China. The results showed that plasma Hsp27 levels were increased in coal miners compared to non-coal miners (P<0.01). Except high cumulative coal-mine dust exposure (OR= 13.62, 95%CI=6.05-30.69) and amount of smoking higher than 24 pack-year (OR=2.72, 95%CI=1.37-5.42), the elevated levels of plasma Hsp70 (OR= 13.00, 95% CI=5.14-32.91) and plasma Hsp27 (OR=2.97, 95% CI=1.40-6.32) and decreased expression of Hsp70 in lymphocytes (OR=2.36, 95% CI=1.05-5.31) were associated with increased risk of lung cancer. These findings suggest that plasma Hsp27 may be a potential marker for coal-mine dust exposure. And the expres-sion of Hsp27 and Hsp70 levels in plasma and lymphocytes may be used as biomarkers for lung can-cer induced by occupational coal-mine dust exposure.

Objective:To investigate the expression level and regulatory mechanism of 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase（HPGD） in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps（CRSwNP）. Methods:The expression pattern and level of HPGD in CRSwNP and control was observed using immunofluorescence, and western blot was used for analysis of HPGD expression in nasal polyp tissues. The effect of recombinant human high mobility group box-1（HMGB1） on HPGD expression in primary human nasal epithelial cells was observed, and the potential blocking effect of RAGE neutralizing antibody on HMGB1-induced HPGD expression was investigated. Results:The expression of HPGD was elevated in CRSwNP patients compared to the control, while the protein mainly localized at CD68-positive cells and epithelial cells. Recombinant human HMGB1 stimulated an increase in HPGD expression in primary human nasal mucosal epithelial cells at a time-dependent manner. Additionally, increased phosphorylation levels of MEK and elevated RAGE expression were also observed at 12 hours, but decreased at 24 hours after the incubation of HMGB1. The increase in the expression of HPGD induced by HMGB1 in primary human nasal epithelial cells was partly inhibited with RAGE neutralizing antibody. Conclusion:Elevated HPGD expression is observed in CRSwNP, predominantly in macrophages and epithelial cells. HMGB1 regulates HPGD expression through the RAGE-MEK signaling pathway, potentially providing a new target for future regulation of PGE2levels in CRSwNP.
Humans ; Antibodies, Neutralizing/metabolism* ; Chronic Disease ; HMGB1 Protein/metabolism* ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases/metabolism* ; Nasal Mucosa/metabolism* ; Nasal Polyps/metabolism* ; Rhinitis

Using forward and reverse genetics and global gene expression analyses, we explored the crosstalk between the IκB kinase β (IKKβ) and the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling pathways. We show that in vitro ablation of Ikkβ in fibroblasts led to progressive ROS accumulation and TGFβ activation, and ultimately accelerated cell migration, fibroblast-myofibroblast transformation and senescence. Mechanistically, the basal IKKβ activity was required for anti-oxidant gene expression and redox homeostasis. Lacking this activity, IKKβ-null cells showed ROS accumulation and activation of stress-sensitive transcription factor AP-1/c-Jun. AP-1/c-Jun activation led to up-regulation of the Tgfβ2 promoter, which in turn further potentiated intracellular ROS through the induction of NADPH oxidase (NOX). These data suggest that by blocking the autocrine amplification of a ROS-TGFβ loop IKKβ plays a crucial role in the prevention of fibroblast-myofibroblast transformation and senescence.
Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Animals ; Autocrine Communication ; physiology ; Cell Line ; Cell Movement ; Cellular Senescence ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; metabolism ; I-kappa B Kinase ; deficiency ; genetics ; metabolism ; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Mice ; Myofibroblasts ; cytology ; metabolism ; NADPH Oxidases ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Superoxide Dismutase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Transcription Factor AP-1 ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; genetics ; metabolism ; Up-Regulation