OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical effects of Dynesys system for the treatment of multiple segment lumbar degenerative disease.

METHODSA total of 28 patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease treated with Dynesys system from December 2008 to May 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 16 males and 12 females, aged from 27 to 75 years old with an average of 49.1 years. Thirteen patients with multiple segmental lumbar intervertebral disc protrusion, including L3-L5 in 7 cases, L2-L4 in 1 case and L4-S1 in 5 cases. Fifteen patients with multiple segmental lumbar spinal stenosis, including L3-L5 in 10 cases, L4-L5 in 4 cases and L2-S1 in 1 case. The symptoms of lumbago and (or) intermittent claudication in all patients were treated with conservative treatments for more than 6 months and these methods did not work. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to analyze the lumbar and leg pain, imaging data were used to measure the intervertebral space height and intervertebral motion of fixed segment and upper adjacent segment, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) was used to evaluate the clinical effect.

RESULTSAll operations were successful and the patients were followed up from 38 to 65 months with an average 50.6 months. At final follow-up, ODI and VAS of the low back pain and leg pain were (25.10±6.52)%, (1.25±0.70) points and (1.29±0.89) points, respectively and were decreased compared with preoperative (P<0.05). Postoperative intervertebral space heights were increased and intervertebral motions were decreased in fixed segment compared with preoperative (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in intervertebral space heights and intervertebral motions of upper adjacent segment between preoperative and postoperative (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONDynesys system may obtain long-term clinical curative effect in treating multiple lumbar degenerative disease. It can partially preserve the intervertebral motions of the fixed segments, have little effect on adjacent segments. The long-term clinical effect of Dynesys still need longer time follow-up observation.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration ; pathology ; surgery ; Joint Instability ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Visual Analog Scale

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical effects of dynamic neutralization system (K-Rod) in treating multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease.

METHODSFrom October 2011 to October 2013, 20 patients with multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease were treated with dynamic neutralization system (K-Rod). There were 8 males and 12 females with an average age of 45.4 years old (ranged from 31 to 65) and an average course of 3.8 years (ranged from 9 months to 6.25 years). All patients had the history of low back and legs pain. Among them, 10 cases were far lateral lumbar disc herniation, 7 cases were lumbar spinal stenosis, 3 cases were lumbar spondylolisthesis (degree I in 2 cases and degree II in 1 case). Every patient had only one responsible segment which causing the symptom would have to be rigidly fixed during operations, and the adjacent intervertebral disc of the responsible segments at least 1 segment has already obvious degenerated. All patients underwent the operation to relieve compressed nerves and reconstruct spinal stability with K-Rod system (the responsible segments were fixed with interbody fusion, and the adjacent segments were fixed with dynamic stabilization). Visual analogue scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (JOA) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were used to evaluate the clinical effects. Imaging data were used to analyze the range of motion (ROM), intervertebral disc height and intervertebral disc signal (according to modified Pfirrmann grading system) in degenerative adjacent segment.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up for more than 1 year, and preoperative symptoms obviously relieved. There were significant differences in VAS, JOA, ODI between preoperative and postoperative (postoperative at 1 week and 1 year) (P<0.05). Radiological examination showed that all responsible segments had already fused, and no looseness, displacement and breakage of internal fixations were found. Postoperative at 1 year, the ROM of adjacent segments were decreased (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in intervertebral disc height between preoperative and postoperative at 1 year (P>0.05). According to modified Pfirrmann grading system to classification for the 25 disks of adjacent segment, 8 disks (32%) got improvement, 15 disks (60%) got no change and 2 disks (8%) got aggravation at 1 year after operation.

CONCLUSIONDynamic neutralization system (K-Rod) combined with interbody fusion could obtain short-term clinical effects in the treatment of multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Spinal Diseases ; surgery ; Spinal Fusion ; methods ; Spinal Stenosis ; surgery ; Spondylolisthesis ; surgery

This study investigated the effect of arctigenin (ARG) on the induction of apoptosis and the putative pathways of its action in HL-60 and K562 cells. MTT assay was used to detect the cytotoxic effect of ARG in HL-60 and K562 cells. The apoptosis was observed by Hoechst 33258 fluorescence staining and DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. Caspase-3 enzyme activity was measured by caspase-3 enzyme activity detection kit. The expression of related protein was analyzed by Western blotting and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ARG-treated HL-60 cells and K562 cells exhibited growth inhibition and displayed several features of apoptosis, including DNA fragmentation and DNA laddering by agarose gel electrophoresis. It was observed that poly-(ADP-ribose) polymeras (PARP) were cleaved to smaller molecules and ARG induced upregulation of bax and downregulation of bcl-2 protein expression. However, it had no effect on VEGF levels. Taken together, this study demonstrated that ARG is a potent inducer of apoptosis and this was accompanied by caspase-3 activation and upregulation of bax/bcl-2, which offers a potential mechanism for the apoptosis-inducing activity of ARG.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arctium ; chemistry ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; DNA Fragmentation ; drug effects ; Fruit ; chemistry ; Furans ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Lignans ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

The present work is to investigate the chemical constitutions of Hyptis rhomboidea and their antifungal activities. The compounds were isolated by Toyopearl HW-40, Sephadex LH-20, MCI-Gel CHP-20, RP-18, PTLC and silica column chromatographic methods and subjected to evaluate some monomers antifungal activity of eight kinds of plant pathogenic bacteria. Eleven compounds were isolated and identified as ethyl caffeate (1), ursolic acid (2), oleanolic acid (3), vanillactic acid (4), methyl rosmarinate (5), kaempferol 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 6) -beta-D-glucopyranoside (6), kaempferol 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (7), ilexgenin A (8), beta-amyrin (9), kaempferol 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (astrgalin, 10) and cholest-5-ene-3beta, 4beta-diol (11). Compound 1 showed the strongest inhibitory effect on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum with the MIC 16.2 mg x L(-1), and compound 5 showed the strongest inhibitory effect on S. minor and Exserohilum turcicum with MIC 16.2, 8.1 mg x L(-1), respectively. All compounds were isolated from the H. rhomboidea for the first time, and compounds 1 and 5 showed antifungal activity.
Antifungal Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Fungi ; drug effects ; Hyptis ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Animals ; Hypoxia ; classification ; metabolism ; Male ; Oxygen Consumption ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To investigate the significance of serum neuron specific enolase (NSE) in the severity and prognosis assessments of diffuse axonal injury (DAI).Methods The levels of serum NSE were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) at 12 hours and 1st,2nd,3rd,7th and 14th days after injury in 79patients with DAI.The relationship of serum NSE level with the severity and the prognosis of DAI were analyzed in the patients with DAI.Another 15 patients with only limb fracture and without hemorrhagic shock treated in the hospital during the same period served as the control group.Results The serum NSE levels of the mild injury group were (10.47 ± 2.75) ng/L,(13.41 ± 3.45) ng/L,(16.41 ±4.14) ng/L,(15.57 ±4.28) ng/L,(7.95 ±2.79) ng/L,and (6.39 ± 1.55)ng/L at 12 hours and 1st,2nd,3rd,7th and 14th days after injury.The serum NSE levels of the moderate injury group were (14.98 ± 3.78) ng/L,(19.88 ± 4.78)ng/L,(22.41 ±5.50) ng/L,(20.11 ±6.60) ng/L,(14.59 ±6.64) ng/L,and (8.31 ±3.83) ng/L respectively at 12 hours and 1st,2nd,3rd,7th and 14th days after injury.While the serum NSE levels of the severe injury group were (27.22 ± 4.54) ng/L,(36.43 ± 10.38) ng/L,(41.32 ± 12.44) ng/L,(43.98 ±9.51) ng/L,(42.22 ± 13.05) ng/L,and (37.59 ± 12.96) ng/L at 12 hours and 1st,2nd,3rd,7th and 14th days after injury respectively.The NSE levels in each time point were significantly higher in the severe injury group than in the mild and moderate injury groups (F within =28.11,P ＜ 0.001 ; F between =57.34,P ＜0.001 ;F interaction =8.21,P ＜ 0.001 ;P ＜ 0.01).Compared with the control group ((6.26 ± 1.35) ng/L),the serum NSE levels of the DAI group were significantly different at 12 hours after injury ((18.16 ± 3.76)ng/L,t =2.938,P ＜ 0.01).At three months after injury,patients were divided into the decreased group (n =9),poor prognoses group (in vegetative state or severely disabled,n =29) and good prognoses group (moderately disabled or completely recovered,n =41) according to the GOS score.The serum NSE levels of the decreased group were (32.07 ± 5.73) ng/L,(43.12 ± 15.04) ng/L,(48.26 ± 14.89) ng/L,(50.47 ±11.05) ng/L,(52.90 ±3.82) ng/L,and (56.17 ± 14.62) ng/L respectively at 12 hours and 1st,2nd,3rd,7th and 14th days after injury.The serum NSE levels of the poor prognoses group were (21.90 ± 4.95) ng/L,(24.13 ± 9.94) ng/L,(26.43 ± 6.99) ng/L,(21.62 ± 9.77) ng/L,(15.80 ± 7.15) ng/L,and (10.16 ± 2.33) ng/L respectively at 12 hours and 1st,2nd,3rd,7th and 14th days after injury.The serum NSE levels of the good prognoses group were (13.61 ±4.56) ng/L,(13.75 ±5.10) ng/L,(14.77 ±5.41) ng/L,(13.47 ±4.49) ng/L,(8.92 ± 5.61) ng/L,and (6.60 ± 2.30) ng/L at 12 hours and 1 st,2nd,3rd,7th and 14th days after injury respectively.At each time point,the serum NSE levels were significantly different in the decreased group than in the good prognoses and the poor prognoses groups (F within =18.70,P ＜ 0.001 ; F between =62.97,P ＜0.001 ;F interaction =11.83,P ＜0.001).Conclusion The serum NSE levels can be regard as an index for judging the injury severity and prognosis of DAI,and can be used to guide the option and adjustment of therapeutic approaches for patients with DAI.

Based on variation of Pinus massoniana families, heritablility and correlation analysis, the contents of shikimic acid and procyanidine (heritability 0.90, 0.70), dry weight of single branch (heritability 0.60) and and leaf length (heritability 0.46) were screened out as quality, yield and harvest cost traits of Folium Pini, respectively. For the different medicinal application of Folium Pini, varied methods were chosen to estimate weight and construct index equation. Weight adjustment based.on equal emphasis were used as economic weight determining method to select the best families, and the index (accuracy 0. 936 4 and heritability 0. 881 6) obtained was a little better than that obtained by equal emphasis, and much better than that by restricted index. The superior families selected with adjustment weight and equal emphasis were No. 46, 43 and 28. Partial regression were used as economic weight determining method to select the best families,and the index obtained had the highest accuracy (0.941 5) , index heritability (0. 889 9) and the genetic gain of shikimic acid content. The superior families selected with this method were No. 46, 27 and 47. No. 46 was the best families with maximal economic benefit. Our study indicated that suitable method for estimate weight and construct index equation can be applied for better accuracy of superior families selection of P. massoniana.
Breeding ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Pinus ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; growth & development ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; classification ; genetics ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo establish genetic method in detecting Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia which often coinfected with AIDS patients.

METHODSCryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts were isolated and purified from fecal samples of the individuals infected with C. parvum and G. lamblia, respectively. Genomic DNAs were extracted. Two pairs of specific primers were designed or synthesized according to the 18S rRNA gene from C. parvum or the triose phosphate isomerase (tim ) gene from G. lamblia. Polymerase chain reaction(PCR) technique was used to amplify the DNA samples from the oocysts and the cysts, and those from the 6 control samples, including Schitosoma japonicum, Toxoplasma gondii , Entamoeba histolytica, Trichinella spiralis, Trichomonas vaginalis and human blood cells. DNA samples from 30 fecal samples of AIDS patients were detected with the same method.

RESULTSOne fragment of 500 bp was amplified with the primer of C. parvum, and the other one of 683 bp was amplified with the primer of G. lamblia. Twenty pg and 0.4 pg DNA of C. parvum and G. lamblia could be detected separately. The specificity of these two pairs of PCR primers was confirmed by the failure in the amplification of the control DNA samples. Out of 30 cases of AIDS patients, 7 showed C. parvum positive, while non Giardia was detected.

CONCLUSIONGenetic detection method for C. parvum and G. lamblia detection was established which was more sensitive and specific.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; microbiology ; Cryptosporidiosis ; diagnosis ; Cryptosporidium parvum ; genetics ; DNA, Bacterial ; Giardia lamblia ; genetics ; Giardiasis ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo establish an ELISA approach to study the interaction of polysaccharides with cytokine in vitro.

METHODSThe heparin BSA complexes (HBC) were synthesized with a chemistry method and separated using a 1 X 90 cm column of Separose 4B. After identification of the complex via SDS-PAGE,the wells of ELISA plates were coated with HBC and the interaction of HBC with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) was detected. The effects of heparin, low molecular weight heparin (LMW heparin), chondroitin sulfate (CS), hyaluronic acid (HA) and carrageenans on the binding of HBC to IFN-gamma were tested in this system.

RESULTHuman recombinant IFN-gamma bound to heparin in a concentration dependent manner, the binding of IFN-gamma to HBC was detected at the concentration of 0.25 ng, and saturated at around 2 ng. Free heparin, LMW heparin, CS,HA and carrageenans competed for the binding of IFN-gamma to HBC with significant different ability. The IC(50)concentrations of heparin and LMW heparin were 2.40 microg/ml and 18.60 microg/ml respectively.

CONCLUSIONIFN-gamma is a cytokine with high binding affinity to heparin and carrageenans family but poor to CS-A and CS-C. ELISA is a simple, sensitive approach to detect the interaction of polysaccharides with cytokine in vitro.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; methods ; Heparin ; metabolism ; Interferon-gamma ; metabolism ; Polysaccharides ; metabolism ; Serum Albumin, Bovine ; metabolism