Objective To investigate the expressions of EphA2 and EphrinA1 in bladder carcinomas and their clinical significance. Method The expressions of EphA2 and EphrinA1 were detected on bladder carcinomas (75 cases ) by immunohistochemistry S-P method. Results ( 1 ) The positive rates of expression of EphA2 and EphrinA1 were 61.3%(46/75) and 46.7%(35/75) respectively. (2) The expression of EphA2 was related to tumor size, lymphatic metastasis and TNM staging(P＜ 0.05),but not to gender,age and pathology type (P ＞ 0.05 ). ( 3 )The expression of EphrinA1 was related to tumor size and lymphatic metastasis (P ＜ 0.05 ), but not to gender, age, pathology type and TNM staging (P ＞ 0.05 ). (4)There was significantly positive correlation between the expression of EphA2 and EphrinA1 (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions EphA2 and EphrinA1 are related to the occurrence and development of bladder carcinoma.The combined detection of EphA2 and EphrinA1 can help to predict the clinical and pathologic characteristics of bladder carcinoma. It is an important index to assist treatment, they are predictive factors for bladder carcinoma.

BACKGROUND:The important reason for failed back surgery syndrome is the postoperative epidural scar adhesions, therefore, exploring the methods of preventing postoperative lumbar epidural scar adhesions has always been a hot research in spine surgery field. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of Shenshu point magnetic stimulation therapy on epidural scar adhesions in rat models of failed back surgery syndrome. METHODS:Sixty Sprague-Dawley rat models of failed back surgery syndrome were successfuly established using the method of laminectomy, and then divided into Shenshu magnetic therapy group and blank control group. Beginning from 1 week after modeling, rats in the Shenshu magnetic therapy group were subjected to bilateral Shenshu magnetic stimulation for 6 weeks, 5 days of treatment per week. Rats in the blank control group were not given any intervention. At 13 weeks after modeling, rats were harvested and the area ratio of epidural scars, range of adhesions and formation of colagen fibers were observed under light microscope. Fibroblasts were counted. Hydroxyproline content and transforming growth factor β1 expression in scar tissue were compared between these two groups.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion in treating arthritis of temporomandibular joint.Method Eighty patients were randomized into two groups. Forty cases in the bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion group received bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion at temporomandibular joint; forty cases in the warm needling group were intervened by selecting Xiaguan (ST7), Ashi point, etc. at the affected side. For the two groups, 3-day treatment was taken as a treatment course, and the therapeutic efficacy was analyzed after 2 treatment courses. The improvements in pain and mouth opening were observed before and after the treatment, and the treatment efficacy was evaluated by a 1-month follow-up study.Result The bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion group was superior to the warm needling group in comparing the real-time analgesic effect (P<0.05) and in the improvement of mouth opening (P<0.05); the comprehensive markedly effective rate was respectively 67.5% and 45.0% in the bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion group and warm needling group, and the between-group difference was statistically significant (P<0.05), indicating that bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion is better than warm needling in treating arthritis of temporomandibular joint; the follow-up study revealed satisfactory therapeutic efficacies in both groups: the effective rate was 92.5% in the bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion group versus 87.5% in the warm needling group, and the difference was statistically insignificant (P>0.05).Conclusion Bamboo-circled salt-partitioned moxibustion can produce a real-time analgesic effect and improve mouth opening; it's especially suitable to treat the patients who are afraid of needling, as it's significantly effective, safe, non-invasive,and easy-to-operate.

BACKGROUND:Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that primarily affects the cartilage. With the changes of the extracelular matrix, chondrocytes appear to have apoptosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor plays an important role in promoting endothelial cel division and proliferation and inducing angiogenesis. Hypoxia-inducible factor is a celular transcription factor and produces different reactions due to the oxygen content. Vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia-inducible factor are focused on inhibiting chondrocyte apoptosis. OBJECTIVE:To elaborate the effects of vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia-inducible factors on chondrocyte apoptosis. METHODS: Recent literatures related to chondrocyte apoptosis were summarized and analyzed. During the process of osteoarthritis, changes in vascular endothelial growth factors in chondrocytes and regulatory effects of vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia-inducible factor on chondrocyte apoptosis were elaborated.

BACKGROUND:In recent years, repair of articular cartilage injury has become an important field in basic medical research. Because injured articular cartilage is difficult to repair, the repair of articular cartilage injury has become a difficult hotspot.

BACKGROUND:Mesenchymal stem cels, underin vivo orin vitro specific induction conditions, can differentiate into the cartilage, muscle, tendons and so on. Clinical trials concerning mesenchymal stem cels mainly include tissue repair (such as bone, cartilage and joint repair) and treatment of heart, liver, spinal cord injury and nervous system diseases.
OBJECTIVE:To compare the biological characteristics of mesenchymal stem cels from different sources.
METHODS: PubMed and CNKI databases were retrieved for articles related to sources of mesenchymal stem cels and biological characteristics of mesenchymal stem cels published from 1987 to 2015. The retrieved articles were summarized and analyzed in the folowing aspects: cel surface marker, proliferation, differentiation, migration, and function, so as to explore the merits and demerits of mesenchymal stem cels from different sources.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A difference in the proliferation ability and surface markers is found between different sources of mesenchymal stem cels. Immunological competence of mesenchymal stem cels from different sources may be correlated with their activation status, species differences, tissue sources and culture conditions, resulting the immunological competence of mesenchymal stem cels from different sources is not exact the same. In-depth understanding of the factors and mechanisms by which influence the migration of mesenchymal stem cels from different sources can enhance the migration ability of different sources of mesenchymal stem cels, and increase their efficiency in wound healing, tissue repair and regeneration treatment.

BACKGROUND:Studies have found that vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia inducible factor are involved in the development process of osteoarthritis, but their correlation is rarely reported. OBJECTIVE:To observe the expression and correlation of hypoxia inducible factor-2α and vascular endothelial growth factor in chondrocytes of articular cartilages in human osteoarthritis. METHODS: Articular cartilage specimens were colected from 50 patients with knee osteoarthritis undergoing total knee joint replacement. According to the joint Kelgren-Lawrance (K-L) X-ray grouping classification standard, there were 18 cases of K-LIII level and 32 cases of K-LIV level. Besides, articular cartilage specimens from 10 patients undergoing amputation for legs tumor or traffic accident served as control group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining, Safranin O-Fast Green staining and Mankin scoring were performed to observe and evaluate the histological characteristics of articular cartilages of each group, immunohistochemical staining was conducted to detect the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-2α and vascular endothelial growth factor in chondrocytes of articular cartilages, and their correlations were analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The Mankin score of K-LIV group was significantly higher than those of K-LIII group and control group. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the number of chondrocytes with positive expression of hypoxia inducible factor-2α or vascular endothelial growth factor in K-LIV group was significantly higher than that in K-LIII group and control group (P < 0.05). The expression of hypoxia inducible factor-2α and vascular endothelial growth factor increased in chondrocytes of articular cartilages of osteoarthritis patients, and to up-regulate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor may be the regulatory mechanism of hypoxia inducible factor-2αinthe pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of heat-sensitive point moxibustion plus manipulative reduction in treating thoracic facet joint disorder. Method A single-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out. Eighty-two patients meeting the criteria were randomly allocated to an observation group of 42 cases and a control group of 40 cases. The observation group received heat-sensitive point moxibustion plus manipulative reduction and the control group, TDP plus manipulative reduction. Both groups were treated five times a week, five times as a course for a total of two courses (including the patients cured after less than two courses). The therapeutic effects were evaluated by using the McGill Pain Questionnaire the as the observation index, comparing pre-/post-treatment Pain Rating Index (PRI) scores, Visual Analogous Scale (VAS) scores and Present Pain Intensity (PPI) scores and referring to the Criteria of the Diagnosis of and the Therapeutic Effect on Syndromes in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Result After treatment, the PRI, VAS and PPI scores decreased significantly in both groups (P<0.01) and were lower in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.01). The cure rate was 57.1% (24/42) in the observation group, which was significantly higher than 27.5% in the control group (11/40,P<0.01). The total efficacy rate was 95.2% (40/42) in the observation group, which was significantly higher than 80.0% in the control group (32/40,P<0.01). Conclusion Heat-sensitive point moxibustion plus manipulative reduction has a very good therapeutic effect on thoracic facet joint disorder. The effect is significantly better than that in the control group.

BACKGROUND:Articular cartilage repair has been a difficulty in the clinical setting, which is mainly treated with autologous or al ogeneic osteochondral grafts, and cartilage periosteum or periosteum grafts. However, the limited source, secondary lesion and immunological rejection force some researchers to search for a novel treatment strategy, cartilage tissue engineering, that is of great significance for cartilage regeneration and repair. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the tissue-engineered scaffolds for the repair of articular cartilage defects. METHODS:The first author searched the PubMed and WanFang databases for the articles addressing tissue-engineered cartilage for articular cartilage defects published between 1991 and 2015 using the keywords“articular cartilage defect, scaffold, tissue engineered cartilage”in English and Chinese, respectively. The irrelative and repetitive literatures were excluded. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Final y 48 eligible literatures were enrol ed based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cartilage tissue engineering possesses the advantages of control ability, little damage to tissue itself, and biological repair of injured cartilage. Tissue-engineered scaffold material is a critical factor in tissue engineering construction;therefore, it should hold biodegradability and histocompatibility. The commonly used scaffold materials include natural macromolecule materials (col agen, silk fibroin and chitosan), and synthetic polymer materials (polylactic acid and tricalcium phosphate). It is necessary to prepare composite scaffolds with high bioactivity integrate advantages of each material. The tissue engineering is bound to be a hotspot in the field of articular cartilage repair.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of early intervention with nimodipine treatment in diffuse axonal injury. METHODS: Based on the characteristic radiological signs and criteria for diffuse axonal injury (DAI), 89 patients with the diagnosis of DAI were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. RESULTS: Nimodipine proved to be safe and well tolerated. With TCD sonography we found that there was a higher incidence of cerebral vasospasm in this series (38.2%). Overall, Nimodipine produced a better clinical result than placebo, but there was no statistically significant difference in favorable outcome at 3 months after injury (P=0.11) between the two groups. A trend toward a favorable effect was suggested by the analyses in two small subgroups, either in the patients suffering from clinical Grade III DAI (P=0.04), or in those with the TCD-evidence of cerebral vasospasm during clinical observation (P=0.049). CONCLUSIONS: We postulate that a clinically valuable benefit is possible with nimodipine treatment in DAI patients. However, the effects on outcome should be verified by further controlled study.