OBJECTIVETo investigate the long-term effect of oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) transplantation on a rat model of white matter injury (WMI) in the preterm infant.

METHODSA total of 80 Sprague-Dawley rats aged 3 days were randomly divided into sham-operation group, model control group, 5-day ventricular/white matter transplantation group, 9-day ventricular/white matter transplantation group, 14-day ventricular/white matter transplantation group (n=10 each). All groups except the sham-operation group were treated with right common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia for 80 minutes to establish a rat model of WMI in the preterm infant. OPCs were prepared from the human fetal brain tissue (10-12 gestational weeks). At 5, 9, and 14 days after modeling, 3×10OPCs were injected into the right lateral ventricle or white matter in each transplantation group, and myelin sheath and neurological function were evaluated under an electron microscope at ages of 60 and 90 days.

RESULTSElectron microscopy showed that at an age of 60 days, each transplantation group had a slight improvement in myelin sheath injury compared with the model control group; at an age of 90 days, each transplantation group had significantly thickened myelin sheath and reduced structural damage compared with the model control group, and the 14-day transplantation groups had the most significant changes. There were no significant differences in the degree of myelin sheath injury between the ventricular and white matter transplantation groups at different time points. At an age of 60 or 90 days, the transplantation groups had a significantly higher modified neurological severity score (mNSS) than the sham-operation group and a significantly lower mNSS than the model control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSOPC transplantation may have a long-term effect in the treatment of WMI in the preterm infant, and delayed transplantation may enhance its therapeutic effect.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Disease Models, Animal ; Myelin Sheath ; pathology ; Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells ; transplantation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; White Matter ; injuries ; pathology ; ultrastructure

Objective To explore the safety of collection of peripheral blood stem cells(PBSCs) from low-weight infants with osteopetrosis(OP) and its clinical significance. Methods One case of low-weight infants with OP received PBSCs collection using a continuous-flow blood cell separator,and the safety of collection process was observed.The amount of monocyte cell(MNC) and CD34+ cell were noted and its clinical significance was analyzed.Results Low-weight infants with OP could tolerate collection process,the number of collection MNC and CD34+ cells were 10.06?108/kg,2.74?106/kg.Conclusion Adequate PBSCs can be collected from OP who need not be mobilized,thus can offer backup for graft failure.PBSCs collection from low-weight infants is safe.

Objective To evaluate the relationship between post-stroke depression (PSD) and leukoaraiosis in a well-defined acute ischemic stroke cohort.Methods One hundred and sixty-eight patients with acute ischemic stroke,admitted to our hospital from June 2007 to March 2011,were examined by magnetic resonance imaging.The patients were made a diagnosis of post-stroke depression by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders,Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria 2 weeks after the index stroke; 60 (35.7％) patients had PSD in the acute period and 60 stroke patients without depression matched according to age and gender served as a control group were chosen.The distribution and severity of leukoaraiosis were evaluated using scale developed by Fazekas and age-related white matter changes (ARWMC) scale.The risk factors of PSD were chosen after univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results In comparison with the non-PSD group,patients in the PSD group were more likely to have high deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMHs) scores and ARWMC scale scores in the frontal area with significant difference (P＜0.05).There were no significant differences in periventricular white matter hypertensities (PVWMHs) scores and ARWMC scale scores in the parieto-occipital area,temporal area,infratentorial area and basal ganglia area between the PSD and control groups (P＞0.05).In the multivariate logistic regression analysis,DWMHs remained an independent risk factor of PSD (OR:1.740,95％CI:1.194-2.536,P=0.004).Conclusion There may be an association between PSD and leukoaraiosis; severe leukoaraiosis in the deep area may increase vulnerability to develop depression in the acute period after ischemic stroke.

OBJECTIVETo construct the virus-like parcel expressing hepatitis B virus (HBV) C gene and identify its immunogenicity.

METHODSHBV C gene was cloned into the shuttle vector pSC11, and the resulted plasmid pSC11-C was transfected into modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA).

RESULTSpSC11-C was correctly constructed as verified by sequence analysis and PCR, and the recombinant virus-like parcel possessed good immunogenicity.

CONCLUSIONThe MVA-C expressing HBV C gene has been successfully constructed to provide important basis for gene therapy research of chronic HBV infection.

Genes, Viral ; Genetic Vectors ; Hepatitis B Core Antigens ; genetics ; Recombination, Genetic ; Vaccinia virus ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo assess the efficiency and safety of human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) transplantation in the treatment of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) in children.

METHODSTwenty-two children with PDD were treated, including 13 children with Rett syndrome and 9 children with autism. They accepted hNPCs transplantation voluntarily. hNPCs derived from aborted fetal tissue were injected into the lateral ventricle of the patients under supersonic guidance. All patients were assessed according to the Autism Behavior Checklist before operation, at one and six months post operation, and one year later.

RESULTSNo delayed complications resulting from this therapy were observed. The clinical symptoms of 17 patients, including 8 patients with autism and 9 patients with Rett syndrome, improved in varying degrees. The assessment results of the Autism Behavior Checklist for children with autism showed that compared with pre-operative function, social communication scores were significantly reduced at six months after transplantation, and total scores and social communication and language scores were also significantly reduced 1 year after transplantation (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that hNPCs transplantation is effective and safe for treatment of PPD in children. It deserves a further study.

Child ; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive ; therapy ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neural Stem Cells ; transplantation ; Rett Syndrome ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo study the changes of dietary pattern among adult residents in different areas of Liaoning province from 1989 to 2006.

METHODSHealthy adults (6213 subjects) at age of 18 - 65 years from 480 households in three cities (Shenyang, Yingkou, Wafangdian) and three counties (Qingyuan, Huanren, Chaoyang) were selected with stratified multiple cluster random sampling. The information on nutrient intake of the subjects were collected from datasets of Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in 1989, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2004, and 2006. Different food intake, the nutrients intake percentages for recommended nutrition intake (RNI) and appropriate intake (AI), and the percentages of total energy and protein from grain, animal product, bean and its product were calculated to assess the residents' dietary pattern and nutrition status. The changes of dietary pattern among adult residents were analyzed.

RESULTSAmong the residents, there were a 38.1% of decreased intake for grain (from 601.9 to 372.5 g/d), 20.5% for potato (from 75.6 to 60.1 g/d), 25.1% for beans (from 38.7 to 29.0 g/d), and a 77.2% of increased intake for fish and shrimp (from 25.0 to 44.3 g/d), 36.9% for livestock and poultry (from 65.6 to 89.8 g/d), 47.7% for fruit (from 70.7 to 104.4 g/d), and intake of milk product (from 5.8 to 21.3 g/d), egg (from 17.3 to 35.7 g/d), vegetable (from 296.1 to 316.3 g/d) were also increased from 1989 to 2006. During the period, the intake percentages of energy and protein from grain decreased from 67.5% (8.7 MJ/12.8 MJ per day) to 51.5% (5.0 MJ/9.6 MJ per day) and from 72.0% (66.2 g/91.9 g per day) to 59.7% (45.3 g/75.9 g per day), and on the contrary those from animal products increased from 8.9% (1.1 MJ/12.8 MJ per day) to 14.8 (1.4 MJ/9.6 MJ per day) and from 15.9% (14.6 g/91.9 g per day) to 27.9% (21.2 g/75.9 g per day), respectively. In 2006, the intake of vitamin A (508.9 µg/d) was 67.6% of it's RNI, intake of vitamin B(2) (0.9 mg/d) was 64.6% and the intake of calcium (453.7 mg/d) was 52.5% of it's AI among the residents.

CONCLUSIONThe intake of plant food decreased and that of animal food increased from 1989 to 2006 and the dietary intakes of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B(2) need to be increased among adult population of Liaoning province.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; China ; Diet Surveys ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nutritional Status ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDBalanced adjustment of the portal vein shunt volume during a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is critical for maintaining liver perfusion and decreasing the incidence of liver insufficiency. A stent-graft is proved to be superior to a bare metal stent (BMS) for the construction of a TIPS. However, the clinical results of the combination application of stents and stent-grafts have not been determined. This study aimed to compare the technique of using a combination of stents and stent-grafts with using a single stent-graft to construct a TIPS.

METHODSFrom April 2011 to November 2014, a total of fifty patients were randomly assigned to a stents-combination group (Group I, n = 28) or a stent-graft group (Group II, n = 22). Primary patency rates were calculated. Clinical data, including the technical success rate, bleeding control results, incidence of encephalopathy, liver function preservation, and survival rate, were assessed.

RESULTSTechnically, the success rate was 100% for both groups. The primary patency rates at 1, 2, and 3 years for Group I were 96%, 84%, and 77%, respectively; for Group II, they were 90%, 90%, and 78%, respectively. The survival rates at 1, 2, and 3 years for Group I were 79%, 74%, and 68%, respectively; for Group II, they were 82%, 82%, and 74%, respectively. The incidence of hepatic encephalopathy was 14.3% for Group I and 13.6% for Group II. The Child-Pugh score in Group I was stable at the end of the follow-up but had significantly increased in Group II (t = -2.474, P = 0.022).

CONCLUSIONSThe construction of a TIPS with either the single stent-graft or BMS/stent-graft combination is effective for controlling variceal bleeding. The BMS/stent-graft combination technique is superior to the stent-graft technique in terms of hepatic function preservation indicated by the Child-Pugh score. However, considering the clinical results of the TIPS, the two techniques are comparable in their primary shunt patency, incidence of encephalopathy and patient survival during the long-term follow-up.

Aged ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; complications ; mortality ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Portal Vein ; surgery ; Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic ; adverse effects ; methods ; Postoperative Complications ; Prospective Studies ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome

It is uncommon for tire explosion related injuries on the lower extremity. The bilateral lower extremities were injured by tire explosion when the patient was seated in a bus. She sustained an open fracture with partial bone loss in the right calcaneus (a comminuted fracture in the right ankle joint) and a closed comminuted fracture in the left tibia and fibula. This damage was caused by uncontacted tire explosion, thanks to a thick floor between the exploded tire and the patient's feet. This type of injury on lower extremity caused by uncontacted tire explosion was uncommon.

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in interhemispheric functional connectivity in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) based on a triple network model consisting of the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN). The technique of voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) analysis was applied to explore the aberrant connectivity of all patients. The results showed that: (1) the statistically significant connections of interhemispheric brain regions included DMN-related brain regions (i.e. precuneus, calcarine, fusiform, cuneus, lingual gyrus, temporal inferior gyrus, and hippocampus), SN-related brain regions (i.e. frontoinsular cortex), and ECN-related brain regions (i.e. frontal middle gyrus and frontal inferior); (2) the precuneus and frontal middle gyrus in the AD group exhibited lower VMHC values than those in the aMCI and healthy control (HC) groups, but no significant difference was observed between the aMCI and HC groups; and (3) significant correlations were found between peak VMHC results from the precuneus and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Scale (MOCA) scores and their factor scores in the AD, aMCI, and AD plus aMCI groups, and between the results from the frontal middle gyrus and MOCA factor scores in the aMCI group. These findings indicated that impaired interhemispheric functional connectivity was observed in AD and could be a sensitive neuroimaging biomarker for AD. More specifically, the DMN was inhibited, while the SN and ECN were excited. VMHC results were correlated with MMSE and MOCA scores, highlighting that VMHC could be a sensitive neuroimaging biomarker for AD and the progression from aMCI to AD.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease/physiopathology* ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Brain Mapping ; Cognitive Dysfunction/physiopathology* ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Memory ; Middle Aged ; Models, Neurological ; Nerve Net

BackgroundSeveral studies have investigated the association between smoking and anal abscess and anal fistula (AA/F) diseases. However, the relationship between cigarette smoking and AA/F remains unclear. This study sought to assess the role of smoking in anorectal male patients in a Chinese population.

MethodsIn this retrospective study, a questionnaire, including smoking history, was completed over a 3-month period by male inpatients in the Proctology Department of China-Japan Friendship Hospital. "Cases" were patients who had AA/F, and "controls" were patients with other anorectal complaints. Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square test were carried out to examine differences in baseline characteristics between groups. Subsequently, multivariate logistic regression was used to explore any related factors.

ResultsA total of 977 patients aged from 18 to 80 years were included, excluding those diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease or diabetes mellitus. Out of this total, 805 patients (82.4%) completed the entire questionnaire. Among the 805 patients, 334 (41.5%) were cases and 471 (58.5%) were controls. Results showed significant differences between cases and controls (χ = 205.2, P < 0.001), with smoking found to be associated with the development of AA/F diseases (odds ratio: 12.331, 95% confidence interval: 8.364-18.179, P < 0.001).

ConclusionsThis study suggested smoking to be a potential risk factor for the development of AA/F diseases in a Chinese population. Consequently, current smoking patients should be informed of this relationship, and further research should be conducted to explore and investigate this further.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anus Diseases ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Rectal Fistula ; epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; adverse effects ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult