PURPOSETo investigate the profiles of cognitive impairment through Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in patients with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke and to evaluate the sensitivity of the two scales in patients with TBI.

METHODSIn this cohort study, a total of 230 patients were evaluated, including TBI group (n = 103) and stroke group (n = 127). The cognitive functions of two groups were evaluated by designated specialists using MoCA (Beijing version) and MMSE (Chinese version).

RESULTSComparedwith the patientswith stroke, the patientswith TBI received significantly lower score in orientation subtest and recall subtest in both tests.MoCA abnormal rates in the TBI group and stroke group were 94.17% and 86.61% respectively,whileMMSE abnormal rateswere 69.90% and 57.48%, respectively. In the TBI group, 87.10% patientswith normalMMSE score had abnormalMoCA score and in the stroke group, about 70.37% patients with normal MMSE score had abnormal MoCA score. The diagnostic consistency of two scales in the TBI group and the stroke group were 72% and 69%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONIn our rehabilitation center, patients with TBI may have more extensive and severe cognitive impairments than patients with stroke, prominently in orientation and recall domain. In screening post- TBI cognitive impairment, MoCA tends to be more sensitive than MMSE.

Adult ; Aged ; Brain Injuries, Traumatic ; psychology ; Cognitive Dysfunction ; etiology ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales ; Stroke ; psychology

OBJECTIVETo explore an appropriate measure to repair tissue defects and deformities in mandibulo-cervical region.

METHODSEighteen cases with severe tissue defects and deformity in jaw and neck were repaired with thoracic skin flap with multiple blood supply system in our unit from Jan. 2006 to Nov. 2008. Anterior cutaneous branch of transverse cervical artery, intercostal branch of internal thoracic artery and lateral thoracic artery were included in the pedicles.

RESULTSAll skin flaps survived, except in one patient in whom a small belb appeared at the distal end of the island flap with anterior cutaneous branch of transverse cervical artery, and it was healed after a few dressing changes. The functions and appearances were satisfactory after 6-month to 2-year follow-up, without showing secondary deformity.

CONCLUSIONSThe blood supply of thoracic skin flap is abundant and constant, which is an ideal method for repair of tissue defects and deformities in jaw and neck after taking into account some factors, such as the demand of the patient, general physical condition, and the size of the defect.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; abnormalities ; surgery ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Skin ; blood supply ; Skin Transplantation ; methods ; Surgical Flaps ; blood supply ; Thoracic Wall ; surgery ; Wound Healing ; Young Adult

In order to elucidate the effect of acetylcholine (ACh) on the occurrence and development of human pituitary adenoma, it was firstly observed whether there exists choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) which is necessary for the synthesis of acetylcholine in the cells of human pituitary adenoma, and then MTT method, (3)H TdR incorporation, cell cycle analysis and TUNEL were employed to estimate the influence of ACh on the proliferation, DNA synthesis and apoptosis of three kinds of human pituitary adenoma (human prolactinoma, somatotropinoma and non-functional tumor) cells cultured in vitro. The results showed that (1) the positive staining of ChAT was obviously observed in the cells of the three kinds of human pituitary adenoma, however, it was lower than that in normal human pituitary gland; (2) ACh had a similar effect on the proliferation of the three kinds of human pituitary adenoma cells. ACh at 0.1-10 micromol/L decreased the (3)H TdR incorporation and the MTT A value in a dose-dependent manner. At the same time, ACh decreased the ratio of S or G(2) phase pituitary adenoma cells significantly, but increased the ratio of G(1) phase pituitary tumour cells markedly; (3) the effect of acetylcholine on the proliferation of human pituitary adenoma cells was inhibited by atropine, but not by tubocurarine; (4) ACh had no effect on the apoptosis of human pituitary adenoma cells cultured in vitro. These data suggest that ACh may have a significant modulating effect on the proliferation of pituitary adenoma cells by means of paracrine or autocrine, and the effect is mediated by muscarinic receptor.
Acetylcholine ; pharmacology ; physiology ; Acetyltransferases ; biosynthesis ; physiology ; Adenoma ; pathology ; secretion ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Division ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Humans ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; pathology ; secretion ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Objective This study aimed to explore the potential effects of terahertz (THz) waves on primary cultured neurons from 4 rat brain regions (hippocampus,cerebral cortex,cerebellum,and brainstem)and 3 kinds of neuron-like cells (MN9D,PC12,and HT22 cells) under nonthermal conditions.Methods THz waves with an output power of 50 (0.16 THz) and 10 (0.17 THz) mW with exposure times of 6 and 60 min were used in this study.Analysis of temperature change,neurite growth,cell membrane roughness,micromorphology,neurotransmitters and synaptic-related proteins (SYN and PSD95) was used to evaluate the potential effects.Results Temperature increase caused by the THz wave was negligible.THz waves induced significant neurotransmitter changes in primary hippocampal,cerebellar,and brainstem neurons and in MN9D and PC12 cells.THz wave downregulated SYN expression in primary hippocampal neurons and downregulated PSD95 expression in primary cortical neurons.Conclusion Different types of cells responded differently after THz wave exposure,and primary hippocampal and cortical neurons and MN9D cells were relatively sensitive to the THz waves.The biological effects were positively correlated with the exposure time of the THz waves.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid/complications* ; Biomarkers ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial/etiology* ; Prognosis

AIM: To explore the optimal concentration of endoplasmic reticulum stress immunohistochemical(IHC)staining antibody in mouse retinitis pigmentosa(RP)model, which provides the corresponding index detection method for studying the pathogenesis and intervention measures of RP.METHODS: Clean male C57BL/6J mice were intraperitoneally injected with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea(MNU, 60mg/kg)to prepare RP mouse model. Electroretinogram(ERG)and hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining were performed on 7d after modeling to verify the successful modeling. The expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins(IRE1, ATF6, PERK, GRP78, Caspase-12)was detected by IHC staining.RESULTS: The following proteins, including IRE1, ATF6, PERK, GRP78 and Caspase-12, were positively expressed in retina of RP mouse. The optimal concentrations of the above proteins were as follows: IRE1 antibody concentration was 1:1000, ATF6 antibody concentration was 1:500 and 1:1000(with no difference in positive expression, P>0.05), PERK antibody concentration was 1:1500, GRP78 antibody concentration was 1:200 and Caspase-12 antibody concentration was 1:100, the proteins were well expressed at the above concentrations, and the positive expressions of corresponding proteins were different from those of other antibody concentrations(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The optimal concentrations for IHC staining in different proteins of mouse RP models were as follows: the concentrations of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related protein antibodies were 1:1000 in IRE1, 1:500 and 1:1000 in ATF6, 1:1500 in PERK, 1:200 in GRP78, and 1:100 in Caspase-12.