Objective To investigate the relationship between low serum calcium concentration and hematoma volume in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.Methods Between January 2012 and October 2014,870 consecutive patients with intracerebral hemorrhage admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery,West China Hospital,Sichuan University were enrolled prospectively.The patients completed laboratory serum calcium concentration and head CT examinations within 24 h after attack,and the baseline data and laboratory findings were collected.According to the normal reference value of laboratory serum calcium concentration,the patients were divided into a hypocalcemia calcium group (<2.1 mmol/L;n=193) and a normal calcium group (2.1-2.7 mmol/L;n=677).Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the blood serum calcium concentration and the hematoma volume on admission.Results (1) The hypocalcemia group compared with normal calcium group,the proportion of male patients was high (73.6% [n=142] vs.66.0% [n=447]),the median score for Glasgow coma scale was lower (9 vs.11),and the median hematoma volume was larger (33.86 cm3 vs.21.69 cm3).The differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05).(2) Spearman correlation analysis showed that the lower serum calcium level on admission was weakly negatively correlated with the volume of hematoma in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (r=-0.113,P<0.01).Conclusion The study suggested that the hypocalcemia on admission was mostly males in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage,the condition was serious,the volume of hematoma was larger,and the lower serum calcium concentration was negatively correlated with the hematoma volume.

Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture at Baihui (DU20) and Zusanli (ST36) acupoints on the cognitive function and the oxidation protective mechanism of cortex in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) rats, providing experimental evidence for the clinical treatment of VCI. Methods The VCI model was established by fluorescent microemboli injection through internal carotid artery. Randomly divided into the control group (n=12), the model group (n=12), the positive drug group (n=12), the acupuncture treatment group (n=12). Two weeks after modeling, the rats in the acupuncture treatment group were stimulated for 30 minutes with daily electroacupuncture at Baihui and Zusanli acupoints. The positive drug group was treated with donepezil hydrochloride 0.5206 mg/kg orally daily for 30 days. After the treatment, the water maze test was used to test the cognitive learning ability of rats. The content of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the cortex of rats were detected by biochemical methods. Results Compared with the model group, the number of passing through the platform (7.5 ± 1.9, 6.8 ± 2.2 vs. 3.7 ± 1.0) of acupuncture treatment group and positive drug group were significantly higher (P<0.05), and the total distance in target quadrant (495.4 ± 89.4 cm, 487.6 ± 96.2 cm vs. 341.4 ± 67.3 cm) were significantly longer (P<0.05). In acupuncture treatment group and the positive drug group, the activity of SOD in the cortex (17.3 ± 3.3 U/mg, 15.1 ± 2.5 U/mg vs. 9.7 ± 4.9 U/mg) was significantly higher (P<0.05), but the MDA (9.1 ± 2.2 μmol/L, 8.4 ± 3.7 μmol/L vs. 15.2 ± 4.4μmol/L), and H2O2 (85.2 ± 16.2 μmol/L, 82.1 ± 13.2 μmol/L vs. 114.7 ± 24.8 μmol/L) were significantly lower (P<0.05). In acupuncture group, the activity of GSH-Px (14.5 ± 3.7 U/mg vs. 9.0 ± 2.5 U/mg) was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between acupuncture group and positive drug (P>0.05). Conclusions Acupuncture at Baihui and Zusanli acupoints can improve the behavior scores of rats with VCI, increase the contents of total SOD and GSH-Px,decrease the content of MDA and H2O2 in brain,and enhance antioxidant effects, while inhibiting peroxidation, improve free radical metabolism.

Male ; Humans ; Aged ; Sleep Duration ; Aging ; Testosterone ; China ; Sleep

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer, characterized by a high potential of tumor recurrence, has high lifelong monitoring and treatment costs. To date, tumor cells with intrinsic softness have been identified to function as cancer stem cells in several cancer types. Nonetheless, the existence of soft tumor cells in bladder tumors remains elusive. Thus, our study aimed to develop a micro-barrier microfluidic chip to efficiently isolate deformable tumor cells from distinct types of bladder cancer cells. METHODS: The stiffness of bladder cancer cells was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The modified microfluidic chip was utilized to separate soft cells, and the 3D Matrigel culture system was to maintain the softness of tumor cells. Expression patterns of integrin β8 (ITGB8), protein kinase B (AKT), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) were determined by Western blotting. Double immunostaining was conducted to examine the interaction between F-actin and tripartite motif containing 59 (TRIM59). The stem-cell-like characteristics of soft cells were explored by colony formation assay and in vivo studies upon xenografted tumor models. RESULTS: Using our newly designed microfluidic approach, we identified a small fraction of soft tumor cells in bladder cancer cells. More importantly, the existence of soft tumor cells was confirmed in clinical human bladder cancer specimens, in which the number of soft tumor cells was associated with tumor relapse. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the biomechanical stimuli arising from 3D Matrigel activated the F-actin/ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis pathways to enhance the softness and tumorigenic capacity of tumor cells. Simultaneously, we detected a remarkable up-regulation in ITGB8, TRIM59, and phospho-AKT in clinical bladder recurrent tumors compared with their non-recurrent counterparts. CONCLUSIONS The ITGB8/TRIM59/AKT/mTOR/glycolysis axis plays a crucial role in modulating tumor softness and stemness. Meanwhile, the soft tumor cells become more sensitive to chemotherapy after stiffening, that offers new insights for hampering tumor progression and recurrence.
Animals ; Mice ; Humans ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Actins/metabolism* ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Glycolysis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Mammals/metabolism* ; Tripartite Motif Proteins/metabolism* ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/metabolism* ; Integrin beta Chains