Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a most common inherited renal disease, about 50% with a family history, although the exact etiology not yet clear. To date, ADPKD, a multisystem disorder without effective preventive and therapeutic means, has been shown to be detrimental to human health. Recent studies show that severe oligoasthenozoospermia, necrospermia, immotile sperm, azoospermia, epididymal cyst, seminal vesicle cyst, and ejaculatory duct cyst found in male ADPKD patients may lead to male infertility, though the specific mechanisms remain unknown. Structural anomaly of spermatozoa, defect of polycystin, mutation of PKD genes, and micro-deletion of the AZF gene could be the reasons for the higher incidence of abnormal semen quality in male ADPKD patients. Assisted reproductive techniques can increase the chances of pregnancy, whereas the health of the offspring should be taken into consideration. This article presents an overview of reproductive issues concerning infertile male ADPKD patients from the perspective of the morbidity, pathophysiological mechanism, diagnosis, and management of the disease.
Cysts ; pathology ; Ejaculatory Ducts ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; physiopathology ; Kidney ; pathology ; Male ; Mutation ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant ; physiopathology ; Pregnancy ; Reproductive Techniques, Assisted ; Semen Analysis ; Spermatozoa ; pathology

Humans ; Occupational Diseases ; prevention & control ; Occupational Health Services ; organization & administration ; Trichloroethylene ; adverse effects

Objective To find an efficient plan for the arrangement of the beds in hospital so that the beds-operating efficiency can be raised and the requirement of patients can be perfectly met. Methods According to the data analyzed via the method of mathematical statistics, optimizing model was built and automatic stimulation program was generated as well as conducted by matlab software. Results The characteristics of bed-occupation condition was acquired by data analysis, the result of optimizing model was stimulated by program and the most efficient plan emerges which was obviously better than the original FCFS (First Come First Serve) Plan. Conclusion The mathematical model built up is of great maneuverability in the practical situation to ameliorate the management efficiency of hospital beds considerably.

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy of combination therapy of clomiphene and Chinese drugs for nourishing Shen and activating blood circulation (NSABC) in treating Stein-Leventhal syndrome caused sterility.

METHODSSixty-two patients with anovulation caused sterility were randomly divided into the treated group (n = 32) and the control group (n = 30). The treated grop was treated with the combination therapy and the control group treated by the same dosage of clomiphene alone.

RESULTSAfter treatment, when comparing with that before treatment, the endocrine hormones in the treated group improved significantly, showing a markedly decrease of androgen and luteotropic hormone, and increase of estrogen (P < 0.001). The periodic ovulation rate in the treated group reached 87%, the total pregnancy rate being 65.6%, with no occurrence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome (LUFS), while in the control group, the periodic ovulation rate was 66%, the total pregnancy rate 36.6%, with LUFS occurred in 4 patients. Comparison of the therapeutic effects between the two groups showed significant difference (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe combination therapy of clomiphene and NSABC has a better therapeutic effect in treating Stein-Leventhal syndrome caused sterility than that of using clomiphene alone.

Adult ; Androgens ; blood ; Anovulation ; blood ; etiology ; Clomiphene ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; blood ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome ; prevention & control ; Ovulation Induction ; Phytotherapy ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; blood ; complications ; drug therapy ; Progestins ; blood

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of metastatic hepatic carcinoma.Methods The clinical data of 87 patients with metastasis hepatic carcinoma who received radiofrequency ablation (RFA) at the Southwest Hospital from January 2004 to December 2008 were retrospectively analyzed.Of the 87 patients,34 were with liver metastasis from colonic cancer,33 with liver metastasis from rectal cancer,12 with liver metastasis from pancreatic cancer,and 8 with liver metastasis from gastric cancer.The survival of the patients was analyzed by life score and kamofsky performance status (KPS)scale.Patients were followed up via phone call and out-patient examination.Ultrasonography,computed tomography,liver function and tumor markers test were done every month within postoperative 6 months,and every 2 months at 6 months later.The follow-up was ended in Novermber 2013.All data were analyzed using chi-square test or rank sum test.The survival curve was drawn by Kaplan-Meier method,and the survival rate was compared using the Log-rank test.Results Of the 87 patients,84 were successfully treated by RFA,and 3 patients gave up RFA because of unbearable pain (2 patients with colonic cancer and 1 with gastric cancer).A total of 129 metastatic lesions were detected in the 84 patients,and 107 metastatic lesions were ablated after single RFA,with the success rate of 82.95％ (107/129).The other 22 lesions were ablated after a second RFA.The mean duration of hospital stay was (10.7 ± 2.3) days (range,4-29 days).Before operation,the life quality was excellent in 60.7％ (51/84) of patients,good in 22.6％ (19/84) of patients,fair in 10.7％ (9/84) of patients,and poor in 6.0％ (5/84) of patients.The candition of 63.1％ (53/84) of patients was improved,29.8％ (25/84) of patients was stable,and 7.1％ (6/84) of patients was deteriorated.At postoperative month 6,the life quality was excellent in 78.2％ (54/69) of patients,good in 11.6％ (8/69) of patients,fair in 5.8％ (4/69) of patients,and poor in 4.4％ (3/69) of patients.The condition of 73.9％ (51/69) of patients was improved,21.7％ (15/69) of patients was stable,and 4.4％ (3/69) of patients was deteriorated.There were significant differences in the life score and KPS scale between patients before and after operation (x2 =29.760,17.140,P ＜ 0.05).All patients were followed up for 6-60 months.The 1-,3-,5-year survival rates of patients with liver metastasis from colonic cancer after RFA treatment were 68.8％,21.9％ and 6.3％,and the median survival time was 21.5 months.The 1,3,5-year survival rates of patients with liver metastasis from rectal cancer after RFA were 66.7％,27.3％,12.1％,and the median survival time was 19.5 months.The 1-,3-,5-year survival rates of patients with liver metastasis from pancreatic cancer after RFA treatment were 41.7％,0 and 0,and the median survival time was 8.5 months.The 1-,3-,5-year survival rates of patients with liver metastasis from gastric cancer after RFA treatment were 71.4％,14.3％ and 0,and the median survival time was 16.5 months.The survival rates of patients with liver metastasis from pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer were significantly lower than those with liver metastasis from colorectal cancer after RFA (x2 =9.169,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The efficacy of RFA for selected patients with liver metastasis from digestive tract tumors is satisfactory.

Acute Disease ; Adult ; Animals ; Brucellosis ; transmission ; Cattle ; blood ; Female ; Food Handling ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; etiology ; Sheep ; blood

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the therapeutic effect of Longjintonglin Capsules on type IIIA prostatitis accompanied by abnormal semen liquefaction.

METHODSWe selected 140 patients with type IIIA prostatitis accompanied by abnormal semen liquefaction according to the diagnostic standards of the American Institutes of Health (NIH) and treated them with Longjintonglin Capsules orally 3 capsules once tid for 12 weeks. We obtained the NIH Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Indexes (NIH-CPSI), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores, leukocyte count in the expressed prostatic secretion (EPS), semen liquefaction time, and the results of semen analysis and compared these indicators before and after the treatment.

RESULTSOf the 140 cases, 132 were included in this study, excluding 8 due to their incomplete case histories. Before and after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of medication, the total NIH-CPSI scores were 24.52 ± 5.43, 21.28 ± 4.85, 18.01 ± 4.28, and 14.49 ± 3.65 (P < 0.01), the TCM syndrome scores were 35.63 ± 6.07, 26.66 ± 5.03, 17.37 ± 4.18, and 11.11 ± 3.96 (P < 0.01), and the leukocyte counts (/HP) were 27.50 ± 7.01, 22.38 ± 5.22, 16:76 ± 4.10, and 11.40 ± 4.74 (P < 0.01), respectively. After 12 weeks of treatment, 31 of the patients with type IIIA prostatitis were cured and another 72 well responded, with an overall response rate of 78.0%. Of those with abnormal semen liquefaction, 61 were cured, 39 well responded, and 32 failed to respond, with an overall effectiveness rate of 75.8%. Semen analysis showed significantly increased percentage of progressively motile sperm after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of medication as compared with the baseline (P < 0.01). No abnormal liver or renal function or other adverse reactions were observed during the treatment.

CONCLUSIONLongjintonglin Capsules, with its advantages of safety, effectiveness and no obvious adverse effects, deserve to be recommended for the treatment of type IIIA prostatitis accompanied by abnormal semen liquefaction.

Capsules ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phytotherapy ; Prostatitis ; classification ; drug therapy ; Semen ; Semen Analysis

Connexin43 has been shown to play a pivotal role in wound healing process. Wound repair is enhanced by acute downregulation of connexin43, by increasing proliferation and migration of keratinocyte and fibroblast. Angiogenesis is also a central feature of wound repair, but little is known about the effects of connexin43 modulation on functions of endothelial cells. We used connexin43 specific small interference RNA (siRNA) to reduce the expression of connexin43 in human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC), and investigated the effects of connexin43 downregulation on intercellular communication, viability, proliferation, migration and angiogenic activity of HUVEC. Treatment of siRNA markedly reduced the expression of connexin43 by -80% in HUVEC (P < 0.05), and decreased the intercellular communication by -65% (P < 0.05). The viability, proliferation, migration and angiogenic activity of HUVEC decreased significantly (P < 0.05), compared with that of the normal cells. The results suggest that temporally downregulation of connexin43 expression at early stage of wound to inhibit the abnormal angiogenesis characterized with leaky and inflamed blood vessels, maybe a prerequisite for coordinated normal healing process.
Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Survival ; Connexin 43 ; metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; Umbilical Veins ; cytology ; Wound Healing

A new flavonoid glycoside, (-)-2S-8-methyl-5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavanone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), along with five known ones, quercetin-3-O-(2"-galloyl)-α-L-arabinoside (2), kaempferol-3-O-α-L-arabinoside (3), guaijaverin (4), trifolin (5) and hyperin (6), was isolated from the leaves of Eucalyptus robusta. Their structures with absolute configurations were elucidated by NMR, HR-ESI-MS, CD spectra data and physicochemical methods. In addition, 2-6 were isolated from E. robusta for the first time.
Eucalyptus ; chemistry ; Flavonoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glycosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry

BACKGROUND:L-type calcium channels, as a kind of voltage-dependent calcium channel, is the main way of extracellular calcium ions into the cell, and play an important role in maintaining cellmorphology and physiological activities, characterized by a large single-channel conductance, slow channel attenuation, and longer duration of channel opening. Previous studies showed that basic fibroblast growth factor can promote the proliferation of chondrocytes cultured in vitro.
OBJECTIVE:To explore the effect of the L-type calcium channels on regulating chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation in response to basic fibroblast growth factor with patch-clamp.
METHODS:The chondrocytes were harvested from the joints of 3-day-old New Zealand rabbits. The second passage of chondrocytes was divided into experimental group and control group. Chondrocytes were incubated in media containing 10μg/L basic fibroblast growth factor and media alone separately. The opening of L-type calcium channels under the action of basic fibroblast growth factor was detected by patch-clamp. The intracellular calcium concentration was detected with laser confocal microscopy in the chondrocytes after 2 weeks of culture with basic fibroblast growth factor. Chondrocyte proliferation was analyzed by cellTiter kit after 8 days of culture. Type Ⅱ col agen was assessed quantitatively by immunohistochemistrical staining after 10 days of culture.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Basic fibroblast growth factor has an inhibitory effect on the opening of the L-type calcium channels, resulting in a decrease in intracellular free calcium concentration (P<0.01). cellnumber was higher after culture with basic fibroblast growth factor than that cultured under conventional condition (P<0.01), and staining area of type II col agen significantly increased (P<0.05). Results verified that basic fibroblast growth factor can maintain intracellular Ca2+concentration at a low level by inhibiting the opening of L-type calcium channels, which can promote the proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes.