ObjectiveTo describe the MR features of Rasmussen encephalitis (RE).Methods The MRI of 10 pathologic confirmed patients (7 male,3 female,mean age 11 ± 4 years) with RE were retrospectively analyzed in this study.Routine axial,sagittal and coronal (perpendicular to the oblique long axis of the hippocampus) scans were obtained for T1WI,T2WI and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR)images. The location and degree of cerebral atrophy,gray matter signal changes,and the evolution of these findings were evaluated. Results Brain atrophy included the enlargement of lateral ventricle(8/10),temporal horn (9/10)and lateral fissure (9/10); widened sulci and small gyri in the isolateral hemisphere (7/10) ; atrophy in caudate and putamen nucleus (6/10).The cortical atrophy was extensive at late stage of the RE,and usually was hemispheric or involved more than two lobes.The signal changes included hyperintensity involving extensive cortical and/or subcortical regions (9/10). The follow-up MR study demonstrated the progression of brain atrophy and extensive signal changes.Conclusions RE usually presents in pediatric patients. The imaging findings included progressive unilateral brain atrophy,enlargement of lateral ventricle,lateral fissure and sulci,and small gyri with or without cortical T2hyperintensity.Deep nucleus atrophy may be involved in RE.

Objective To evaluate in vitro antifungal activities of five clinically common antifungal agents against Geotrichum silvicola,and to observe morphological changes of Geotrichum silvicola after treatment with terbinafine.Methods Five antifungal agents commonly used in clinic,including terbinafine (TER),amphotericin B (AmB),flucytosine (FC),fluconazol (FCZ) and itraconazole (ICZ),were tested in this study.According to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) M27-A2 document and relevant literatures,a susceptibility test was performed to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the five antifungal agents against G eotrichum silvicola.Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe morphological changes of Geotrichum silvicola treated with different concentrations of TER.Results The MIC values against Geotrichum silvicola were as follows:TER,0.01 μg/ml;AmB,0.4 μg/ml;FC,2 μg/ml;FCZ,2.69 μg/ml;ICZ,0.25 μg/ml.Geotrichum silvicola was sensitive to TER,AmB,FC and FCZ,and sensitive to ICZ in a dose-dependent manner.SEM revealed that after TER treatment,the surface of Geotrichum silvicola became rough and shrinking with irregular defects and holes,and even gave a fragment-like appearance.Conclusions Among the five tested antifungal agents,TER shows the strongest activity against Geotrichum silvicola.Within a certain range,the higher the concentration of TER,the more serious the damage to Geotrichum silvicola.

Objective To explore the correlations of the MRI findings and its pathological typing in the focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) .Methods MR images of 74 patients with FCD confirmed by operation and histopathologic examination were analysed retro‐spectively .MRI findings with FCD were divided into three subtypes including radial band type ,hyperintensity type and mild type . The correlation of the FCD MRI findings and pathological typing is analysed .Results In 74 patients with FCD ,there were radial band type in 12 cases ,hyperintensity type in 32 cases ,and mild type in 30 cases respectively .M RI finding of radial band type FCD showed a tail of increased T2WI/FLAIR signal tapering down to the lateral ventricle .Hyperintensity type FCD showed increased T2 WI/FLAIR signal in the cortex and subcortical white matter ,accompanied with focal cortical thickening .Mild type FCD showed T2 WI/FLAIR subtle hyperintense signal in cortex with or without focal cortical thickening ,but there was no hyperintense signal in subcortical white matter .Most of radial band type FCD were ⅡB in pathology .Most of hyperintensity FCD were ⅡA and ⅡB .Mild type FCD was more found to beⅠA orⅠB .Conclusion Analysing MRI features would improve the accurate diagnosis of FCD and help to infer the pathological type .

ObjectiveTo observe the therapeutic effects of Shenxiong glucose injection in the patients with chronic kidney diseases.Methods Seventy-eight patients with chronic kidney disease were given intravenous glucose injection 200 ml,qd,for 2 weeks.The patients who were complicated with diabetes would be given insulin 2 U/100 ml.Before and after Shenxiong injection treatment,24 h urinary protein,blood urea nitrogen ( BUN),creatinine ( Cr),hemoglobin ( Hb),albumin ( ALB),hematocrit ( HCT),fiber fibrinogen (FIB),cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) were measured and compared.Results After 1 course of Shenxiong treatment,the serum BUN,Cr,FIB,24 h urinary protein,Hb and HCT ( [ 15.70 ± 3.62 ] mmol/L vs.[6.74 ± 1.56 ] mmol/L,[ 564 ± 65 ] μmol/Lvs.[ 189 ± 43 ] μmol/L,[ 0.08 ± 0.01 ] g/L vs.[ 0.04 ± 0.01 ] g/L,[7.96 ±3.45]g vs.[3.60 ± 1.92]g,[83.6 ±10.5]g/L vs.[79.5 ±8.7]g/L,[0.43 ±0.0] vs.[0.39 ±0.06 ] were decreased,and ALB ( 28.7 ± 8.6) vs.( 36.8 ± 6.2) was increased.The difference was statistically significant (t =3.1 1,2.98,3.04,2.82,2.02,2.23,P＜0.01 for all).TC and TG were not changed much after the treatment.ConclusionShenxiong injection can improve the kidney function,lower Fibrinogen and urine protein,which may effectively slow down the progress of chronic kidney disease and improve the life quality.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the ratio change of circulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and cellular immune function in healthy volunteers,chronic gastritis patients,gastric intraepithelial neoplasia patients and gastric cancer patients.Methods From February 2011 to July 2011,129 peripheral blood samples were collected,including 32 healthy volunteers,48 chronic gastritis patients,27 gastric intraepithelial neoplasia patients and 22 gastric cancer patients.The percentages of peripheral blood MDSC,T lymphocyte subsets and regulatory T cells (Treg) were determined by flow cytometry.The data were analyzed by one way analysis of variance,pearson and spearman correlation.Results The percentages of circulating MDSC,CD8+ T lymphocyte and Treg were highest in gastric cancer patients (9.63％±3.24％,10.03％ ± 1.26％,69.45％±3.42％) and lowest in healthy volunteers (0.92％±0.33％,4.12％ ±0.99％,32.35％ ±4.83％).Those of gastric intraepithelial neoplasia patients (5.13％ ± 1.30％,7.54％ ± 0.79％,53.26％±4.30％) were lower than gastric cancer patients but higher than chronic gastritis patients (2.76％ ±0.64％,6.28％ ±0.61％,42.37％ ±4.02％).The differences among each groups were statistically significant (F=24.85,20.88,37.84,all P＜0.05).However,the percentage of circulating CD4+T lymphocyte was highest in healthy volunteers (65.10％±4.10％),55.15％ ± 4.00％ in chronic gastritis group,42.23％ ± 3.91％ in gastric intraepithelial neoplasia group,and lowest in gastric cancer group (26.84％ ± 3.69％).The differences among each groups were statistically significant (F=46.80,P＜0.05).A significant correlation between circulating MDSC and TNM stages of gastric cancer was also observed (r=0.856,P＜0.01).The percentage of circulating MDSC was positively correlated with Treg percentage (r =0.862,P ＜ 0.01),and negatively correlated with CD4+/CD8+ ratio (r=-0.768,P＜0.01).Conclusion The increase of MDSC percentage in peripheral blood is correlated with human cellular immune function,which might play an important role in the tumor immune evasion during the development of gastric cancer.

Objective To determine MR manifestations and pathologic types of benign meningiomas and their relationship with tumor recurrence.Methods There were 218 patients (160 females,58 males; age range 4-79 years) with benign meningiomas in the study,including 31 recurrent meningiomas (recurrence group)and 187 primary meningiomas (primary group).All patients were proved by postoperative pathology.Differences of pathological types and MRI manifestations between the recurrence group and the primary group were evaluated by using x2 test and rank sum test.Logistic regression analysis was performed by taking tumor recurrence as the dependent variable,and age,gender,vital structures involvement and pathologic types as independent variables.The recurrent time intervals were compared by rank sum test.Results There were 30 patients with intracranial vital structures involvement or extreintracranial communication tumors in the recurrent group,which was obviously higher than that of the primary group (61 patients).The difference was statistically significant (x2 =57.672,P =0.001).The tumors located in the skull-base and juxtasinus in the recurrent group were obviously more than those in the primary group,and difference was statistically significant (x2 =10.990,P =0.001).Multi-logistic regression analysis showed that the recurrent risk of benign meningiomas was elevated significantly only with vital structure involvement or extre-intracranial communication tumors (wald x2 =31.863,OR =3.820,P =0.001).The recurrent risk of dural sinus involvement was 3.820 times of cerebral artery trunk and cranial nerves involvement,and the risk of the latter was 3.820 times of the non-involved.There was no statistical difference between the two groups in pathology type,location,peritumoral edema,tumor morphology and tumor size.The relapse time of dural sinus involvement and cerebral artery trunk involvement in the recurrent group was 24(13 to 180) and 126(12 to 187) months,respectively.There was significant difference (Z =2.197,P =0.028).Conclusions It is more common that the recurrent benign meningiomas located in the skull base and juxtasinus.The recurrent risk significantly increases when benign meningiomas with vital intracranial structure involved or with extra-intracranial communication tumor.The relapse time of dural sinus involvement is possibly shorter than that of cerebral artery trunk involvement.MRI plays an important role in predicting tumor recurrence and prognosis of benign meningiomas.

A dual-label time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay was established for simultaneously detecting pepsinogen Ⅰ (PGⅠ) and pepsinogen Ⅱ (PG Ⅱ) in human serum. Two capture monoclonal antibodies, 8003# of PGⅠ and 8101# of PGⅡ, were co-coated in 96 microtitration wells. The counterpart tracer monoclonal antibodies, 8016# of PGⅠ and 8102# of PGⅡ, were labeled with Eu3+ and sm3+-chelates, respectively. The samples were assayed by one-step sandwich protocol with the time-resolved fluorometry. The measurement ranges of PGⅠ were 0.2～300.0 ?g/L with the within-run and between-run precision was 5.2% and 8.1%, and that of PGⅡ were 0.05～55.0 ?g/L with the within-run and between-run precision was 7.1% and 11.7%, respectively. The average recovery rates of PGⅠ and PGⅡ were 96.9% and 103.7%, respectively. The results obtained by the dual-label assay agreed well with those by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of PGⅠ and PGⅡ, whose correlation ratio were 0.9426 of PGⅠ and 0.9396 of PGⅡ, respectively. The means of 300 healthy volunteers were (157.3 ? 51.0) ?g/L for serum PGⅠ,(10.6 ? 5.9) ?g/L for serum PGⅡ, and (14.8 ? 4.3) for the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio. The normal ranges of serum PGⅠ levels for healthy volunteers were 55.3～259.3 ?g/L, those of serum PGⅡ levels were less than 23 ?g/L, the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio was more than 6. The proposed dual-label TRFIA for simultaneous detection of PGⅠ and PGⅡ is a simple, sensitive, and rapid method. It could provide serology high-screening of the samples for gastric diseases and would allow investigations into the possible diagnostic value of analysis in various clinical condition.

Objective To investigate the significance of glomerular deposition of C4d in accessing the severity and prognosis of IgA nephropathy. Methods A total of 131 patients were recruited for the study. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the deposition of C4d in renal tissue of pa?tients with IgA nephropathy,and the relationship between C4d deposition and clinical and pathological parameters and renal remission was ana?lyzed. Results Totally 30 patients had glomerular deposition of C4d. Compared with the patients without C4d deposition,the patients with C4d deposition had significantly higher levels of serum creatinine,urinary protein excretion and C4d and higher prevalence of hypertension,but had sig?nificantly decreased levels of glomerular filtration rates. With the histopathological phenotypes segregated by Lee 's classification,the ratios of C4d deposition presented an increase(P=0.005). The patients with C4d deposition had more severe mesangial proliferation,endocapillary hypercellu?larity,segmental glomerulosclerosis and tubular?interstitial injury. The rates of renal remission were significantly lower in IgA nephropathy patients with C4d deposition than those without C4d deposition(P<0.001). Conclusion IgA nephropathy patients with C4d deposition have more se?vere clinical and pathological manifestations and lower rate of renal remission. Glomerular C4d deposition is expected to be an important pathologi?cal prognostic factor for predicting the prognosis of IgA nephropathy.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) combined with allicin in the treatment of pancreatic cancer and related mechanisms. MethodsA nude mouse xenograft model was established. A total of 60 nude mice were randomized into control group, rIL-2 treatment group, allicin treatment group, and combined treatment group. At 4 weeks after treatment, peripheral blood was collected, tumor volume, tumor weight, and survival time were recorded, and survival rates were calculated. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the apoptosis of tumor cells and measure the percentages of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and natural killer (NK) cells, ELISA was used to measure the level of interferonγ (IFNγ), and Western blot was used to measure the expression of Bcl-2 protein in tumor tissue. An analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between groups, and SNK-q test was used for further comparison between any two groups. ResultsAt 4 weeks after treatment, the rIL-2 treatment group, allicin treatment group, and combined treatment group showed significant reductions in tumor volume compared with the control group (all P＜0.05), and the combined treatment group showed the greatest reduction (P＜0.01). The combined treatment group had a tumor inhibition rate of 90.5% and a prolonged survival time (60% of the mice survived at 55 days). Compared with the control group, the combined treatment group showed significant increases in the apoptosis rate of tumor cells (233%±4.3% vs 90%±3.7%, P＜0.05) and the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. The treatment groups showed significant increases in the percentages of CD4+ T, CD8+ T, and NK cells compared with the control group (F=23.74, 26.38, and 1972, all P＜0.001). Compared with the other three groups, the combined treatment group showed a significant increase in the IFNγ level (F=9.84, P=0.026). ConclusionCombined treatment with allicin and rIL-2 can enhance the innate immunity and adaptive immunity and thus improve the survival of pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVESTo construct a hepatoma directed gene delivery system which could transfer preS2 antisense RNA to liver cancer cells specifically, and to explore a new therapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma by blocking hepatitis B virus (HBV) with antisense RNA targeting hepatocellular carcinoma.

METHODSGE7 and HA20 were synthesized and mixed with pEBAF-as-preS2, a hepatocarcinoma specific HBV antisense expression vector, to construct a novel HBV antisense RNA delivery system named AFP-enhancing 4-element complex. Nude mice bearing hepatocelluar carcinoma cells HepG2.2.15 were injected with AFP-enhancing 4-element complex via a tail vein. Total RNA from tissues was extracted, and reversal transcription-ploymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of preS2. Different doses of AFP-enhancing 4-element complex was injected into nude mice at different time points, and tumor diameter was measured.

RESULTSAFP-enhancing 4-element complex was constructed successfully. RT-PCR showed preS2 antisense RNA delivered by AFP-enhancing 4-element complex only expressed in liver tumor HepG2.2.15 cells of the mice. After the treatment of AFP-enhancing 4-element complex with dose of 0.2 micro g per mouse (once a week for 4 weeks), the mean tumor diameter of nude mice was significantly shorter than that of the control groups (0.995 +/- 0.35 cm vs 2.125 +/- 0.25 cm, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSAn HBV antisense RNA gene delivery system targeting hepatocellular carcinoma, AFP-enhancing 4-element complex, was constructed successfully. PreS2 antisense RNA expressed specifically in hepatocelluar carcinoma cells significantly inhibits tumor growth of mice bearing hepatocarcinoma HepG2.2.15 and may have therapeutic potential in HBV related hepatocarcinoma.

Animals ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Gene Transfer Techniques ; Genetic Therapy ; Genetic Vectors ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; therapeutic use ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Liver Neoplasms, Experimental ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Protein Precursors ; therapeutic use ; RNA, Antisense ; therapeutic use