BACKGROUND: Diabetes can lead to many complications. Of them, retinopathy is a common type. To explore the effect of erythropoietin in diabetic retinopathy, it is necessary to establish an animal model of similar pathologic features and high reproducibility in clinical retinal neovascularization.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of vitreous cavity injection of erythropoietin on optic nerve of rats with diabetic retinopathy.
METHODS: Rat models of diabetic retinopathy were established and injected with erythropoietin through vitreous space for 14 consecutive days. Results were compared between the model and normal control groups.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Transmission electron microscope: compared with the model group, retinal ganglion cel nucleus presented uniform red; cel membrane was intact; endoplasmic reticulum exhibited slight swel ing. A smal number of vacuoles were found in mitochondria around the nuclei. (2) Western blot assay and RT-PCR: compared with the model group, Caspase-3 and Bax protein expression was lower in the erythropoietin group (P < 0.05). Caspase-3 protein and Bcl-2 protein expression was significantly higher in the erythropoietin group than in the model group (P < 0.05). Significant differences in nuclear factor κB and Survivn gene expression were detected between the model and erythropoietin groups (P < 0.05). (3) Results verified that vitreous cavity injection of erythropoietin had neuroprotective effect on rats with diabetic retinopathy, which may be associated with the inhibitory effect on apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical efficacy of microwave ablation in treating snoring and obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS). METHODS Eight patients with snores and 48 with OSAHS were included in the study. They all received micro-surgeries including plastic operations on the uvula and soft palate,tonsil ablation and tonsillectomy,inferior nasal concha and adenoid ablation,and de-volume of the tongue root. Symptoms six months before and after surgery were monitored by Polysomnography(PSG). RESULTS In 56 cases, the patients’ throats were widened. The mean values of the apnea hypopnea index(AHI), the lowest saturations (LSaO2) and the snoring index were significantly different before and after surgery(P

OBJECTIVETo explore the role of the Rho pathway in the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) paracrine signal-mediated bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) promotion of apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).

METHODSA BMSC-HSC co-culture system was established using plates with transwell inserts. Dynamic changes in response to pretreatment with the c-met blocker PHA665752 and the Rho pathway inhibitor Y-27632 were observed under an inverted phase contrast microscope at 24, 48 and 72 h of culture. Optimal intervention concentrations of Y-27632 and PHA665752 were determined by MTT assay. Expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin in HSCs was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and the apoptosis rate of HSCs was measured by Annexin-V-FITC/propidium iodide. RhoA protein and mRNA levels were measured by western blot and quantitative real-time PCR respectively. Concentrations of HGF and hepatocyte growth factor activator (HGFA) were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Between-group differences were evaluated by one-way ANOVA with P less than 0.05 indicating significance.

RESULTSThe apoptosis rates of HSCs gradually and steadily increased in a time-dependent manner. The apoptosis rate of the PHA665752 pretreated group was lowest and that of the Y-27632 pretreated group was highest, with the most robust difference occurring at the 72 h time point (P less than 0.05). The mRNA and protein expression levels of RhoA decreased in a time-dependent manner in the Y-27632 pretreated group (all time points, P less than 0.05) but the expression levels increased in a time-dependent manner in the PHA665752 pretreated group (all time points, P less than 0.05). For both the PHA665752 and the Y-27632 pretreated groups, the concentration of HGF decreased in a time-dependent manner, but the concentrations in both remained significantly higher than that in the control group at all time points examined (P less than 0.05). The concentration of HGFA increased in a time-dependent manner, and the PHA665752 pretreated group showed significantly higher levels than any of the other groups at all time points examined (P less than 0.01).

CONCLUSIONBMSC promotes HSC apoptosis in a co-culture system by activating HGF and down-regulating the RhoA signaling pathway.

Actins ; metabolism ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Line ; Cells, Cultured ; Coculture Techniques ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; cytology ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; secretion ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction

Objective:To investigate the normal reference values of spinal bone mineral density measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and the differences of bone mineral density (BMD) in different regions of in Chinese adult males.Methods:Men who underwent low-dose CT lung scan for cancer screening in regions of Northeast, North, East, South, Central and Southwest of China from January 2018 to December 2019 were selected. And the lumbar vertebrae BMD values in the male subjects were measured by the QCT system (Mindways Software, Inc.). The mean BMD values and their decline rates were calculated at an age interval of 10 years, and the prevalence of osteoporosis was calculated according to the American College of Radiology spine QCT osteoporosis diagnostic criteria.Results:A total of 50 682 males with a mean age of (50.22±12.79) years (ranged 20 to 98 years) were included in this study. The peak BMD of (173.11±28.56) mg/cm 3 in the healthy Chinese adult male population appeared in the age group of 20 to 29 years and then declined with age. Before the age of 70 years, the BMD was relatively higher in males in South China, and it was lower in Central China and Southwest China, and it was intermediate in Northeast, North and East of China, with statistically significant differences. There was no significant differences in BMD in the males in the two age groups of 70 to 79 years and 80 and older among the regions in China. The overall decline rate of spinal BMD in Chinese males under QCT was about 46.92% over the lifetime, and it declined obviouslyin the 40-49 age group. The overall prevalence of osteoporosis in Chinese male population aged 50 years and above was approximately 11.42%, with the highest prevalence in Southwest China and Central China (14.72% and 13.87%, respectively) and the lowest in North China and South China (8.53% and 7.71%, respectively). Conclusions:A reference of lumbar spine BMD values for healthy males in China based on QCT is established. BMD values were highest in South China and Lowest in Central China.

BACKGROUNDWe evaluated the impact of the number of metastatic lymph nodes and the metastatic lymph nodes ratio (the ratio between metastatic lymph nodes and total dissected lymph nodes, MLNR) in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma following curative gastrectomy and also analyzed the relationship between the number of removed lymph nodes and prognosis in node-negative gastric cancer.

METHODSFrom January 2005 to December 2010, 1 390 patients who were diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma and underwent curative gastrectomy were included. In particular, lymph node metastasis was not present in 515 patients. The number of metastatic lymph nodes and the metastatic lymph nodes ratio were selected for univariate and multivariate analyses to evaluate their influences on the disease outcome. The survival curve was presented according to the number of removed lymph nodes in node-negative gastric cancer using Kaplan-Meier plots.

RESULTSThe overall 5-year survival rate was 54% in this group. Univariate analysis revealed that age category, macroscopic appearance, histological grade, tumor size, depth of primary tumor invasion, number of metastatic lymph nodes, metastatic lymph nodes ratio, tumor, nodes, metastasis-classification (TNM) stage and status of lymphovascular, and vessel invasion have significant impact on survival. The number of metastatic lymph nodes and the metastatic lymph nodes ratio both have significant impact on survival (P < 0.001). However, in multivariate analyses, only the metastatic lymph nodes ratio was identified to be an independent prognostic factor (P < 0.001). The number of removed lymph nodes in node-negative was a strong prognostic factor of survival, the more lymph nodes dissected, the better the survival.

CONCLUSIONSThe metastatic lymph nodes ratio has more significant prognostic value for survival in patients with gastric cancer following curative gastrectomy than the number of metastatic lymph nodes. The number of removed lymph nodes might be an important prognostic factor for gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis.

Adenocarcinoma ; mortality ; surgery ; Aged ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Stomach Neoplasms ; mortality ; surgery