Objective To observe the effect of consciousness-restoring obstruction-clearing needing technique combined with swallowing function training on pseudobulbar paralysis after stroke.Methods 80 stroke patients with pseudobulbar paralysis were randomly divided into the trial group and control group with 40 cases in each group.The patients of the trial group were treated with consciousness-restoring obstruction-clearing needing technique combined with swallowing function training and routine medicine,those of the control group were treated only with routine medicine.Results After treatment,the whole effective rate of the trial group was 92.5%,that of the control group was 60.0%,there was a significant difference between two groups(P<0.05).Conclusion The therapeutic effect of consciousness-restoring obstruction-clearing needing technique combined with swallowing function training and routine medicine on pscudobulbar paralysis after stroke is superior to simply routine medicine.

Objective To explore the relationship between uric acid (UA) level and cognitive function in elderly patients with Parkinson,s disease (PD) and analyze the cognition related factors.Methods The clinical data of 60 elderly PD cases in our hospital from 2001 to 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. The 60 healthy people receiving medical examination in our hospital and matched by gender and age, were as control group. The information including gender, age, illness duration, Hoehn & Yahr stage (H-Y stage), serum UA level and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale were recorded. Results The serum UA level was significantly lower in PD group than in control group [(262±53) μmol/L vs. (332±45) μmol/L, t=-6.724, P＜0.001]. In PD group, the serum UA level was slightly higher in males than in females [(271 ±48) μmol/L vs.(254±39) μmol/L, t=3. 282, P=0. 058]. The serum UA level was significantly lower in male PD patients than in male controls [(353± 62) μmol/L, t=- 5. 625, P＜0. 001], and was lower in female PD patients than in female controls [( 294 ± 59) μmol/L, t = - 4. 721, P = 0. 012]. There were no significant differences in serum UA level among different H-Y stage subgroups (P＞0. 05), but the serum UA level was lower in different H-Y stage subgroups than in control group (F=22. 039, P＜0. 01 ). There was no correlation between the UA level and the illness duration (r=0. 961, P＞0.05).The MMSE score had significant difference between elderly PD group and control group (t= -3. 168,P＜0. 001). In PD patients, the MMSE score was positively correlated with serum UA level (r=0. 789, P= 0. 000), and was negatively correlated with H-Y stage (r= - 0. 577, P = 0. 019 ), age (r= -0. 333, P=0. 034), but was not correlated with illness duration (r= -0. 333, P=0. 207) and BMI (t=- 0. 410, P= 0. 115). Conclusions The level of serum UA is lower in elderly patients with PD than in normal controls. There is correlation between the serum UA level and cognitive impairment. Lower serum UA level predicts worse cognitive scores.

Objective To construct the bait expression plasmid pGBKT7-GR of glucocorticoid receptor(GR)binding domain.Methods The fragments of GR binding domain was amplified by RT-PCR,and then was cloned into pMD18-T.After being verified by sequencing,it was subcloned into the bait expression vector pGBKT7.Then the bait vector pGBKT7-GR was transformed into AH109 yeast cells and the expression of the bait protein was analyzed by Western blot.Toxicity and self-activation of the bait protein were detected.Results GR binding domain was amplified and cloned into pMD18-T and pGBKT7 successfully.The bait vector was transformed into AH109 yeast cells successfully,without toxicity or self-activation.The expression of the bait protein was confirmed by Western blot.Conclusion The successful construction of bait expression vector of glucocorticoid receptor binding domain lays the foundation for constructing small molecule ligand yeast three-hybrid system.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the capability of semi-quantitative and quantitative parameters of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) to predict the response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy( CCRT) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODSA total of 24 patients with stage III or IIIB NSCLC, who underwent 3.0T DCE-MRI before CCRT, were enrolled in this study. Semi-quantitative and quantitative parameters were calculated by Funtool and Omnikinetics software. The relationship between these obtained parameters and tumor response was evaluated by Spearmen' s correlation analysis. The patients were classified into two groups according to the tumor regression rate after treatment, as response group (group A) and non-response group ( group B). Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the parameters of responders and non-responders. The value of the parameters on predicting response was calculated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).

RESULTSThe tumor regression rate after treatment was negatively correlated with time to peak (TTP) and the extravascular-extracellular volume fraction (Ve), and was positively correlated with signal enhancement ratio (SERmax) and volume transfer constant (Ktrans) (P < 0.05 for all). Statistical significant differences were found between group A and group B both in semi-quantitative and quantitative parameters (P < 0.05). Group A had a lower TTP value [(34.66 ± 16.37) s vs. (44.09 ± 17.41) s] and Ve value [(0.19 ± 0.03) vs. (0.25 ± 0.05)] than group B, whereas group A had a higher SERmax [(166.50 ± 44.95)% vs. (113.57 ± 46.62)%] and Ktrans [(0.41 ± 0.17) min(-1) vs. (0.28 ± 0.12) min(-1)] than group B (P < 0.05 for all). The ROC analysis indicated that when setting the threshold of Ve on ≤ 0.21 for predicting response, the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy were 85.7%, 80.0% and 83.3%, respectively, with an area under curve of 0.875 (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSBoth the semi-quantitative and quantitative DCE-MRI parameters are helpful for predicting the response after CCRT of NSCLC. Quantitative parameters seem to be more meaningful than semi-quantitative parameters.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; pathology ; therapy ; Chemoradiotherapy ; methods ; Contrast Media ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; therapy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; ROC Curve ; Remission Induction ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Time Factors

AIM: HLCDG1 is a novel gene cloned recently, and its expression inhibits significantly the growth of A549 cells and tumorigenesis of A549 cells transplanted in nude mice. In this study, our aim was to construct HLCDG1 gene short/small interference double-strand RNA (siRNAs) expression vector and to observe its influence on cell cycle and proliferation of A549 cells. METHODS: Using RNA interference (RNAi) techniques, a DNA vector-driven siRNAs expression vector was constructed, and a lung carcinoma cell line stably expressing siRNAs was also selected. Sequentially, using flow cytometry analysis and MTT assay, the changes of cell cycle and cell proliferation in this cell line were observed. RESULTS: Four site-match and one site-mismatch plasmids were constructed, which were named pHL-si-1, pHL-si-2, pHL-si-3, pHL-si-4 and pHL-si-c. These plasmids were co-transfected with a pcDNA3.1(+)/HLCDG1 plasmid into A549 cells, respectively. Among five co-transfected A549 cell lines, a A549 cell line co-transfected by the pcDNA3.1(+)/HLCDG1 and pHL-si-1 plasmids, namely A549-HLCDG1-si-1, showed nearly complete inhibition of HLCDG1 expression. MTT assay and flow cytometry analysis indicated that A549-HLCDG1-si-1 cells, namely the HLCDG1 gene-silencing cells, got a faster growth compared with other HLCDG1 expression cell lines, and that HLCDG1 gene-silencing induced A549-HLCDG1-si-1 cells into S phase and G_2+M phase significantly. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the HLCDG1 gene is proved to have a markedly inhibitory effect on growth in A549 lung carcinoma cells. This study might provide some understanding of the biological function and molecular mechanism of HLCDG1 gene.

Objective To investigate diagnostic value of GP73 in alcoholic disease .Methods GP73 was measured by ELISA in 44 alcoholic fatty liver ,43 alcoholic hepatitis ,32 alcoholic cirrhosis ,67 non‐alcoholic fatty liver patients and 120 healthy control per‐sons .Meanwhile ALT ,AST ,ALP ,GGT ,Alb ,TBil ,AFP were measured .Results GP73 of alcoholic fatty liver ,alcoholic hepatitis , alcoholic cirrhosis ,non‐alcoholic fatty liver patients and healthy control group were (84 .22 ± 26 .22) ,(157 .98 ± 39 .71) ,(201 .23 ± 61 .14) ,(62 ± 14 .02) ,(47 .08 ± 22 .75)ng/mL respectively .The GP73 differences between patients and healthy control group had statistical significance(P<0 .05) .Before and after therapy of alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis patients had statistical signif‐icance(P<0 .05) .Sensitivity of diagnostic value of GP73 in ALD was 71 .4% and specification was 95 .2% .Conclusion Serum GP73 elevates in types of alcoholic liver disease and show significant diagnostic value .Decrease of GP73 could be applied to assess treatment of alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis .

An analytical method was developed for the determination of five carbohydrate impurities in amino acid drug substances by high performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD). Sugar impurities in the amino acid sample were separated and enriched by cation exchange resin. A Lichropher NH2 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) was used for chromatographic separation, and a gradient elution was performed using acetonitrile-water as mobile phase. The drift tube temperature was 40 oC, the gain value was 8, and nitrogen (350 kPa) was auxiliary gas. Method validation results showed that the limits of detection for fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose and lactose were in the range of 20.8-75.0 mg/kg and that the limits of quantitation were in the range of 96.2-238.8 mg/kg. Good linear relationship (r ≥ 0.999) were in the linear range for the five sugars, and the recoveries ranged from 84.9%-107.8%. With easy operation, high sensitivity, good precision and reliable accuracy, the method can be used for analysis of residual sugar impurities in amino acid drug bulk drug.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the frequency and clinical significance of ABL tyrosine kinase point mutations in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients receiving imatinib treatment.

METHODSNested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on 40 bone marrow samples from 23 patients to amplify the ABL kinase domain, followed by direct sequencing and sequence homologous analysis.

RESULTSIn the 23 patients analyzed, the ABL domain point mutations was detected in 7 patients who presented with 5 types of nucleotide changes, namely T315I(n=3), Y253H, E255K, F317L and G321W. The incidence of mutations in chronic phase (CP), accelerated phase (AP) and blast phase (BP) was 25.00%, 40.00% and 30.00%, respectively. For 6 of the 7 patients with mutations who were resistant to imatinib before sequencing, the daily drug dose had been increased to 600-800 mg daily for poor response to 400 mg/day imatinib. During the follow-up for 3-6 months, only the patient with F317L achieved major cytogenetic response (MCR), and the patient with Y253H and 1 of the 3 with T315I progressed to BP. The newly diagnosed patient with G321W IN cp achieved a complete hematologic remission and had a significant decrease of the proportion of BCR-ABL-positive cells.

CONCLUSIONSABL kinase point mutation is an important mechanism of imatinib resistance. The type of mutations is associated with the level of resistance to imatinib, and detection of ABL kinase point mutations by direct sequencing may help estimate the prognosis and plan for therapeutic strategy adjustment.

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Base Sequence ; Benzamides ; Drug Resistance ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Point Mutation ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; genetics ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use

Objective To verify the reliability of our previously established reverse-transcription loop-mediated isother-mal amplification ( RT-LAMP) method for the detection of sentinel lymph nodes metastasis in breast cancer patients .Meth-ods Sentinel lymph nodes of breast cancer patients were analyzed by RT-LAMP and FDA-approved GeneSearch methods respectively, and the consistency of the two methods was assessed with a kappa concordance test.Results One hundred and thirty-four cases of sentinel lymph node samples were collected from seven hospitals in Beijing .Using the GeneSearch assay as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity and consistentcy of RT-LAMP were 96.2%(25/26),96.3%(104/108) and 96.3%(129/134), respectively.Statistical analysis showed that the two methods were consistent (Kappa=0.8857, P<0.001).Conclusion RT-LAMP is highly consistent with GeneSearch ,efficient,simple and inexpensive, promising a good prospect of application to intra-operative detection of sentinel lymph nodes metastasis for breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of the additional skull lateral static imaging in whole-body bone imaging (WBI) vs CT for evaluation of skull base invasion in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

METHODSA total of 405 patients with pathologically confirmed NPC underwent WBI with additional static imaging of the left and right skull as well as CT examination of the nasopharynx and skull base within one week before the radiotherapy.

RESULTSThe concordance rates between WBI and CT for positive and negative diagnosis were 29.48% and 76.05% in these cases, respectively, with the total concordance rate of 81.23%. The concordance rates between skull lateral static imaging with visual judgment and CT examination for positive and negative diagnosis were 67.95% and 74.07%, respectively, showing a total concordance rate of 87.16%. Skull lateral static imaging with semi-quantitative analysis and CT examination showed concordance rates for positive and negative diagnosis of 75.64% and 74.07%, respectively, with a total rate of 88.64%. In 27 patients with negative diagnosis by CT but a positive one in skull lateral static imaging with semi-quantitative analysis, 9 had a positive diagnosis by magnetic resonance imaging.

CONCLUSIONSSkull lateral static imaging can be of value in the diagnosis of skull base invasion in NPC patients and may serve as an effective means for screening skull base invasion in NPC.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Skull ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Skull Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; secondary ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Whole Body Imaging ; Young Adult