Objective To study the clinical effects of the artificial vertebral body of the biomimetic nano-hydroxyapatite/polyamide 66 (n-HA/PA66) composite for the structural reconstruction and the height restoring of the vertebral body in the thoracolumbar fractures by the anterior surgical procedures. Methods From December 2003 to January 2006, 42 patients with thoracolumbar fractures received the anterior surgical procedures to decompress and reconstruct the spinal vertebral structure with the artificial vertebral body of the n-HA/PA66 composite. Among the patients, there were 28 males and 14 females, aged 17-67 years, averaged 43.6 years. The thoracolumbar fractures developed at T12 in 5 patients, at L1 in 17, at L2 in 14, and at L3 in 6. The height of the anterior border of the vertebral body amounted to 29%-47% of the vertebral body height, averaged 40.6%. The Cobb angle on the sagittal plane was 21-38° averaged 27.6°. According to the Frankel grading scale, the injuries to the nerves were as the following: Grade A in 7 patients, Grade B in 19, Grade C in 8, Grade D in 6, and Grade E in 2. Results All the 42 patients were followed up for 6-25 months. Among the patients, 36 were reconstructed almost based on the normal anatomic structure, and 6 were well reconstructed. The mean height of the anterior border of the vertebral body was 40.6% of the vertebral body height before operation but 91.7% after operation. And the reconstructed height of the vertebra was maintained. The mean Cobb angle on the sagittal plane was 27.6°before operation but 13.4° after operation. All the patients had a recovery of the neurological function that had a 1-grade or 2-grade improvement except 7 patients who were still in Grade A and 2 patients who were in Grade D. The implant was fused 3-5 months after operation. No infection, nail break, bar/plate break or loosening of the internal fixation occurred. Conclusion The artificial vertebral body of the biomimetic n-HA/PA66composite can effectively restore the height and the structure of the vertebra, can be fused with the vertebral body to reconstruct the spinal structural stability effectively, and can be extensively used in the clinical practice.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of post-conditioning in brain injury induced by myocardial I/R on inflammatory factor and GFAP.Methods:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into 3 groups (n=8):group Sham,group IR,group IPost.Myocardial IR was induced by occlusion of the anterior descending branch of the left coronary artery for 30 min.group IPost received 3 cycles of 10 s reperfusion followed by 10 s ischemia at the end of myocardial ischemia.The rats were sacrificed at 120 rain of reperfusion and the brains were removed for microscopic examination,inflammatory factors and GFAP.Results:Compared with group Sham,IL-6,IL-8 were significantly increased,IL-10 was down-regulated in group IR(P＜0.01).Post-conditioning can decrease IL-6,IL-8 and up-regulated IL-10(P＜0.01).When compared with group Sham,the expression of GFAP was higher in group IR(P＜0.05),however,the GFAP in group IPost is the most among these three groups(P＜0.01).Conclusion:Post-conditioning could protect brain by decreasing inflammatory factors,increasing GFAP,which both from brain injury induced by myocardial ischemia reperfusion.

Objective To study the expression and clinical meaning of tight junctions protein regulator PKC θ in human meningioma tissue.Method The expression of PKC θ in 30 non-invasion and 30 invasion meningioma tissue is tested by using immunohistochemistry S-P method,with the goal of analyzing the relationship between the expression of PKC θ and pathology character.Results The positive rate ofPKC θ in invasion meningioma tissue is obviously lower than in non-invasion meningioma tissue.The difference is significant(P<0.05)Conclusions The lower expression of PKC θ in invasion meningioma tissue pmbably affects occurrence and invasion of the meningioma by ehang4ng the structure and function of TJs.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether serum thyroid-stimulating hormone(TSH) levels are of value in predicting malignancy in patients with nodular thyroid disease. The relationship between TSH levels and thyroid cancer incidence was also investigated. METHOD: One hundred and eight patients with thyroid tumors who underwent surgical treatment were included in this study (25 cases of papillary thyroid cancer and 83 cases of benign tumors). The data of their preoperative serum TSH level, gender, age, number of tumors detected by ultrasonic inspection, and pathological type were retrospectively analyzed, and their association with thyroid cancer incidence was explored. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict thyroid cancer risk factors. RESULT: Patients with malignancy had a higher mean value of TSH than that of the patients with benignancy [(1.94±1.01)mlU/L vs (1.16± 0.85)mIU/L, respectively; P<0.05]. Compared with the patients below the population mean, patients above the population mean had a significantly higher malignancy rate (35.9% vs 15.9%, P<0.05). High serum TSH level (OR=10.913, P=0.001), male (OR=4. 845, P=0.028) and age ≥45 (OR=10.831, P=0.001) are independent risk factors of thyroid cancer. CONCLUSION The preoperative serum TSH level may be useful in predicting the probability of cancer. The high serum TSH level, male, age ≥45 are risk factors of thyroid cancer.
Carcinoma ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; pathology ; Thyroid Nodule ; blood ; Thyrotropin ; blood

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of Zhang's acupoint pressure therapy plus electroacupuncture (EA) in treating post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis.Methods:A total of 98 eligible patients with post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis were divided into group A and B by the random number table, 49 cases in each group. Group A was intervened by Zhang's acupoint pressure therapy plus EA; group B was given medicinal fumigation. The clinical efficacies of the two groups were compared.Results:The markedly effective rate of group A was significantly higher than that of group B.Conclusion:Zhang's acupoint pressure therapy plus EA can produce a satisfactory clinical efficacy in treating post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis, and is worth promotion.

Purpose To detect the HER2 gene amplification by fluorescence in-situ hybridization(FISH) and to explore its clinicopathologic relationship with the breast cancer.Methods A prospective study was conducted in 50 cases of breast invasive ductal carcinoma from Beijing Toren Hospital. Clinicopathologic data were summarized and FISH was performed in the paraffin-embedded sections for HER2 gene amplificayion using DNA probe, and immunohistochemical stain for ER, PR and HER2.Results The average age of the patients was 55.5 years. The pathologic grading showed that 11 cases were in grade Ⅰ, 30 cases in grade Ⅱ, and 9 cases in grade Ⅲ. The TNM staging showed that 13 cases were in stage Ⅰ,15 cases in ⅡA,13 cases in ⅡB,6 cases in ⅢA,2 cases in ⅢB,and 1 case in ⅢC.The median metastasis rate of lymph node was 6.91%.33 cases were positive for ER,and 32 cases positive for PR.For HER2 detection, 40 cases were positive by IHC and 33 positive by FISH. HER2 gene amplification by FISH was closely related with the expression of HER2 protein by immunohistochemistry, but not significantly related with pathologic grading, The TNM staging, median lymph node metastasis rate, ER and PR status (P>0.05). FISH test was positive in 3 cases of tumor embolus and 3 cases of multiple primary tumors. Conclusions FISH and immunohistochemistry for detecting HER2 have a good conformance, HER2 gene amplification may be related with tumor embolus and multiple primary tumors, but it can not be used as an indirect marker to predict the prognosis.

Objective To investigate the clinical and pathological features of eosinophilic diseases with cardiac involvement Methods We analyzed the clinical and cardiac pathological data of 7 patients with eosinophilic diseases with cardiac involvement under endomyocardial biopsy or autopsy.Results Seven patients (5 male, average age 51 years) were enrolled.Four patients were diagnosed as idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome and three were Churg-Strauss syndrome.Peripheral blood eosinophila count increased significantly in all patients.Cardiac involvement included angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, heart failure, presyncope and sudden death.Electrocardiogram showed cardiac ischemia, bundle branch block and third degree atrioventricular block.Echocardiography suggested ventricular and atrial enlargement, decreased ventricular systolic function, pulmonary hypertension, valvular prolapse and insufficiency and endocarditis.Pathology displayed infiltration of eosinophils, formation of granulomata, necrotizing vasculitis, myocardial necrosis and endomyocardial fibrosis in heart.Coronary artery could be also affected and led to myocardial infarction.Conclusions Cardiovascular complications of eocinophilic diseases are a major source of morbidity and mortality in these disorders.The manifestations are multiple and early recognition and treatment with steroid and immunosuppressant can improve prognosis.

Objective To compare the consistency and correlation of multiple breath-hold (BH) with respiratory-triggered (RT) 1H-MRS for quantification of hepatic lipid content. Methods Sixty subjects were underwent RT 1H-MRS of the liver (Couinaud segment VII) and BH 1H-MRS at 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonace Imaging (MRI). The peak areas of water and methylene obtained on RT and BH 1H-MRS were recorded respectively and the liver fat fraction was calculated. Pearson correlation coefficient , Bland-Altman 95% limit of agreement, and concordance correlation coefficient were calculated. Results Mean liver fat fraction measured in RT and BH 1H-MRS were (8.6 ± 8.7)% and (9.4 ± 9.3)% respectively. There was a strong correlation between RT and BH 1H-MRS(r = 0.973, P < 0.000 1, concordance correlation coefficient = 0.95). With the Bland-Altman method, 91.7% data points were within the 95% limits of agreement. Conclusion RT and BH 1H-MRS are alternative tools for intrahepatic lipid quantification. These two methods have a strong correlation and perfect consistency.

Objective To investigate the changes in angiopoietin 2 and endoplasmic reticulum stress,and the prognosis of acute phase of coronary syndrome (ACS) in type 2 diabetic patients with glycemic fluctuations.Methods Seventy-eight cases of consecutive diabetic patients with ACS within 7 days were enrolled.Another 78 cases of non-diabetic patients with ACS were selected as control.Risk assessment with global acute coronary events (GRACE) score in patients with ACS,dynamic blood glucose monitoring system (CGMS) for three days,realtime PCR analysis of angiopoietin-2,within the reticulum stress-related heavy chain binding protein (Bip),inositol kinase demand Ⅰ (IREI),endoplasmic reticulum class should PKR kinase (PERK),oxygen-regulated protein 150 (ORP150),activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6),X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1)mRNA expression change,phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2oα (p-eIF2α) by western blotting angiopoietin-2,parameters were compared between the two groups.Correlation analysis with GRACE score ; while angiopoietin-2 parameters and glycemic fluctuation,endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes correlation analysis were made.Results (1) ACS group average daily blood glucose fluctuations(MAGE),mean absolute difference daytime blood glucose (MODD),and postprandial blood glucose fluctuation (MPPGE) and the maximum amplitude of glycemic excursions (LAGE) were significantly higher [MAGE(5.13 ± 1.19) vs (3.19 ± 0.55) mmol/L,MODD (2.59 ± 0.72) vs (1.72 ± 0.63) mmol/L; MPPGE (3.51 ± 1.01) vs (2.58 ± 0.55) mmol/L and LAGE (7.75 ± 2.39) vs (4.34 ± 0.85) mmol/L,all P＜0.05].(2)In ACS group angiopoietin-2,endoplasmic reticulum associated genes Bip,IREI,PERK,ORP150,ATF6,XBP1,and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) mRNA expression levels as compared with the control group were statistically significant(all P＜0.05) ; Angiopoietin-2,protein p-eIF2α were higher(P＜0.05).(3) In the ACS group with pearson correlation analysis,angiopoietin-2 and MAGE,LAGE,MPPGE correlation (r =0.432,0.279,0.386,all P＜0.05),Bip and MAGE,LAGE,MPPGE correlation(r =0.783,0.589,0.887,all P＜ 0.05) ; IREI and MAGE,LAGE,MPPGE,MODD correlation (r =0.567,0.783,0.569,0.823,all P＜0.05) ; PERK and MAGE,MPPGE,MODD correlation(r =0.687,0.902,0.709,all P＜0.05) ; ORP150 and MAGE,LAGE,MPPGE,MODD correlation(r=0.779,0.871,0.775,0.689,all P＜0.05) ; ATF6 and MAGE,LAGE,MPPGE,MODD correlation(r =0.873,0.675,0.893,0.884,all P＜0.05),while XBP1 with no correlation with glycemic fluctuations (P＞0.05).(4) The endoplasmic reticulum stress gene was related to MCP-1 and blood glucose fluctuation parameters.(5) Multiple Logistic regression analysis revealed that LAGE,MPPGE,Bip,IREI,PERK,ORP150,ATF6 were risk factors affecting angiopoietin-2,and angiopoietin-2,ages,MAGE,homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance,Bip,ATF6 were risk factors affecting GRACE.(6) The ejection fractions of the ACS patients showed negative correlation with MAGE and LAGE,multiple linear regression analysis showed that age,HOMA-IR,Ang-2,and MAGE,Bip,ATF6 established the linear regression relation with ejection fraction.Conclusion Glycemic fluctuations cause angiopoietin-2 to rise and lead to increased endoplasmic reticulum stress and affect the prognosis of diabetic patients with ACS.

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of automated urine formed elements analyzer and/or urine dipstick analyzer for examination of urinary formed elements in screening urinary tract infection (UTI). Methods 148 fresh midstream clear-catch urine samples from the UTI patients and 284 fresh midstream clear-catch urine samples from non-UTI subjects were selected. Bacteria culture was performed for bacterial colony counting and identification. Bacteria counts ( BACT), yeast-like fungus and WBC were performed by UF-looOi automated urine formed elements analyzer. Leukocyte esterase test (LEU) and nitrite test (NIT) were performed by URISYS 2400 urine dipstick analyzer. We evaluated data obtained from urine dipstick analyzer, UF-1000i and combination of UF-1000i with urine dipstick analyzer and the results was compared with those obtained from quantitative bacterial culture. Then we evaluated the sensibility, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy. Results Among the 148 patients with UTI, the positive rate of the quantitative bacterial culture was 73.6% (109/148), the positive rate of LEU and NIT detected by dipstick test 26. 4% (39/148).There was significantly statistical difference between bacterial culture and strip test(χ2 = 55.68 ,P < 0. 05 ). The positive rate of urine flow cytometry by UF-1000i with either positive of BACT and WBC was 91.2%(135/148), which was higher than the positive rate of the quantitative bacterial culture. There was significant difference between two methods (χ2 = 14. 70, P < 0. 05 ). The positive rate of anyone positive among BACT, WBC, LEU and NIT was 94. 6% (140/148) when detected with combination of dipstick test and UF-1000i, which was higher than the positive rate of the quantitative bacterial culture. And there was significant difference between two methods (χ2 = 20. 45, P < 0. 05 ). The sensitivity of dipstick test was low (26. 4% ,39/148 ), and specificity was high ( 99. 3%, 282/284 ) . The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of BACT detected by UF-1000i in diagnosing urinary tract infection were 92. 6% ( 137/148 ), 39. 8% ( 113/284 ). 44. 5% ( 137/308 ) and 91.1% ( 113/124 ), respectively. If the dipstick test was combined with UF-1000i, the sensitivity, negative predictive value, specificity, positive predictive value and accuracy were 98.0% ( 145/148 ), 97.1% ( 100/103 ). 35.2% (100/284) ,44. 1% (145/329) and 56. 7% (245/432), respectively. Conclusions The combination of urine dipstick test and automated urine formed elements analyzer UF-1000i plays an important role in early diagnosis of UTI. And it has significant value in diagnosis of UTI, especially for the patients with negative bacterial cultures of urine sample.