Background Researches showed that multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) is able to assess the retinal function in the eyes with acute Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada ( VKH ) syndrome. But the mfERG characteristics of convalescence stage of VKH are still below clear. Objective Present study was to compare and follow up the variation process of visual acuity and mfERG in acute and recovery stages of VKH syndrome. Methods This was a clinic-based retrospective study. Visual acuity, mfERG and fundus fluorescence angiography ( FFA ) were recorded from 35 eyes of 18 acute VKH cases. The period of follow-up in recovery stage lasted about 18 months with the repetitive recording results for 4 times. Results In this study, the visual acuity range in acute stage VKH was 0. 01 to 1.0, and 91.4% (32/35 eyes) was below 0.6. Compared with normal control group, the visual acuity was significantly decreased (P＜0.01). The response densities (amplitudes) of N1 ,P1 waves of the first-order kernel were significantly lowed in all the 6 rings,and the implicit times of 1-4 rings of both waves were significantly prolonged in acute VKH eyes(P＜0. 05). The abnormalities of retinal function showed a regional difference at the posterior pole retina with the dominant change in the first ring,showing a cutting off78% in the P1 amplitude. The abnormal degree of mfERG was more serious as the the increase of retinal eccentricity. In 2 months of convalescence after glucocorticosteroids therapy,the range of visual acuity were 0. 1-1.2 ,and the amplitudes of N1, P1 of 1-2 rings were greatly elevated in comparison with acute on-set (P＜0. 05 ). However, there was still a remarkable difference in the amplitudes of from 1 through 6 rings,comparing with normal. The response density of P1 wave from whole recording region was only 44% of normal. Though the visual acuity was stable during the follow-up duration, a decreasing tendency in N1 and P1 amplitudes were seen. The implicit times of both wave shortened only in 1-3 rings in recovery stages of VKH (P＜0.05). Conclusion VKH syndrome cause serious damage of posterior retinal function.Macular region is the site with greater retinal functional lesion and restore before and after medication. This hardly recovery of retinal function can last over one and half year,even satisfied visual acuity is stable after proper treatment.

Objective To explore the clinical outcome of improved technique of Gamma nail in the treatment of intertrochanteric hip fracture of the elderly patients. Methods From March 2002 to October 2006.39 patients with intertrochanteric hip fracture were operated by improved technique of Gam-ma nail.There were 18 males and 21 females at average age of75.7 years(67_98 years).There were 6 patients with type A1 fracture,24 with type A2 fracture and 9 with type A3 fracture according to AO/ASIF classification.Of all.36 patients(92.3%)had osteoporosis.The operation improvements included the following points:(1)The patients were placed at the lateral decubitus position with the fractured limb on the uppermost,with flexion of knee and hip of 60°.The normal hip and knee were flexed as possible.(2)One-off indirect traction reduction was used after general anesthesia. no requirement of continuous mechanical traction.(3)C-arm image intensifier was employed to obtain normal and lateral projections.Results Of all,35 patients were followed up for a mean period of3 years and 2 months, ranging from 6 months to 5 years and 2 months.Operation data showed incision length of(4.3±1.2)cm,mean opera-tion time of(46±10)minutes,intraoperative bleeding volume of(65±26)ml and intraoperative X-ray exposure of(3.0±2.1)times.Postoperative recovery data showed survival in one-year follow up,with ambulation time of(10.5±3.6)days and fracture union time of(10.9±2.1)weeks.Mean Parker's score wag(6.9±3.2)points 6 months after operation. Conclusions Improved technique of Gamma nail can shorten operation duration,reduce operative trauma and bleeding,reduce X-ray exposure and im-prove success rate of surgery.as facilitates early pest-operative recovery and reduces the perioperative mortality rate of the elderly.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safty of photoselective vaporization of prostate (PVP) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with obstruction within 5 years.

METHODSFrom December 2004 to December 2009, there were 782 cases have been except for neurogenic bladder dysfunction and prostate cancer, who received PVP surgical treatment of BPH. The surgical conditions and postoperative follow-up data were recorded and the follow-up cut-off time for surgery after 5 years.

RESULTSA total of 782 patients with BPH who underwent PVP were included in this retrospective study. The operation in 740 cases was successfully completed at one time. But in other 42 cases, the twice operation was performed. The mean operation time was (85 ± 38) minutes, and the mean energy delivery was (355 ± 124) kJ. The mean catheterization and postoperative hospitalization time was (2.3 ± 1.7) days and (5.2 ± 2.6) days, respectively. No severe intraoperative complications were observed. The mean follow-up was (44.1 ± 19.3) months. The shortest follow-up was 6 months. The longest follow-up was 5 years. Complete follow-up data were available for 398 of the 782 patients. Of the 398 patients followed up for 5 years, the mean international prostate symptom score after 5 years was 12.8 ± 6.9, quality of life score was 2.2 ± 1.6, maximal flow rate was (14.5 ± 2.4) ml/s, and residual urine volume was 58 ml (M50). The retreatment rate because of BPH was 2.3% (9/398). Urethral stricture and bladder neck contracture were observed in 1.5% and 0.5% of the patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSPVP has demonstrated remarkably consistent results for objective and subjective voiding parameters. Its late complication is rare and retreatment rate is low.

Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lasers, Solid-State ; Male ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To study the clinical and imaging features of patients with bone metastases from breast cancer and identify the factors related to the incidence of bone metastases. Methods Three hundred and thirty-four patients with breast cancer were recruited into this study. Whole-body 99Tcm-methylene disphosphonate (MDP) bone scan, clinical staging, pathological, immunohistochemical and serological test results were analyzed retrospectively. χ2 test was used for statistical analysis. Results The incidence rate of bone metastases for patients with and without lymph node metastases was 71% (152/214) and 22. 5% (27/120), respectively (χ2 =72.80, P =0.000). The incidence rate of bone metastases from infiltrated non-specified and specified breast cancer was 69% (203/294) and 41.7% (5/12), respectively (χ2 =3. 97, P=0.046). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was elevated in 28.5% (51/179) and 14.9%(11/74) of patients with and without bone metastases, respectively (χ2 = 5. 25, P = 0.022 ). Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 15-3, CA125, CA19-9 increased in 68.7% ( 123/179) and 27.0% (20/74) of patients with and without bone metastases, respectively (χ2 = 37. 03, P =0. 000). Conclusions The incidence of bone metastases from breast cancer is correlated to pathological types of primary tumor and lymph node metastases. Bone metastases occurs more frequently in patients with infiltrated, non-specified, primary cancer and with lymph node metastases. Serum ALP, CEA, CA15-3,CA125, CA19-9 might be the tumor makers for early diagnosis of bone metastases from breast cancer.

Objective To explore the importance and methods of retaining articularis during pri- mary total hip arthroplasty(THA)and reconstruct soft tissue balance of hip joint after THA.Methods From February 2003 to August 2005,41 eases(43 hips)including 19 males and 22 females at age of 46- 80 years(mean 66.5 years)were treated with THA with retained capsule(Group R)and other 42 cases (44 hips)including 20 males and 22 females at age of 43-80 years(mean 64.3 years)with standard THA (Group S).Preoperative diagnosis found femoral neck fractures(GardenⅢⅣ)in 13 cases(13 hips)in Group R and 14(14 hips)in Group S;acetabular dysplasia(CroweⅢ)in 9(9 hips)in Group R and 8 (hips)in Group S;Osteoarthritis in 6(8 hips)in Group R and 7(8 hips)in Group S;and femoral head osteonecrosis(FicatⅢⅣ)in 13(13 hips)in Group R and 13(14 hips)in Group S.There were 13 hips of cement prostheses in Group R and 11 in Group S,8 cementless prostheses in Group R and 8 in Group S, 22 cement and cementless prostheses in Group R and 23 in Group S.Gibson's approach was used in both groups.Group R used the method of retaining capsule and little supination muscles during the operation to reconstruct responsibly soft tissue balancing of postoperation for THA.For comparison,Group S used the method of standard which resected a lots of capsule and didn't reconstruct it.The comparative items between Group R and Group S included incisional length,operative time,operative bleeding,drainage transfusion, infection,dislocation,postoperation standing,postoperation walking and Harris's score.Results All cases in Group R and Group S were followed for 6-22 months(mean 16.5 months in Group R and 16.7 months in Group S).There was significantly statistical difference upon interoperative and postoperative data between Group R and Group S.The result of Group R was significantly better than that of GS.Conclu- sion Retaining articularis during primary THA can minimize operative trauma,reconstruct soft tissue bal- ance and augment hip stability to get postoperative functional recovery.

Background: The onset and progression of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is closely related to autoimmunity. Effective monitoring of the immune system and developing targeted therapies are frontier fields in T1DM treatment. Currently, the most available tissue that reflects the immune system is peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Thus, the aim of this study was to identify key PBMC biomarkers of T1DM. Methods: Common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets GSE9006, GSE72377, and GSE55098, and PBMC mRNA expression in T1DM patients was compared with that in healthy participants by GEO2R. Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses of DEGs were performed using the Cytoscape, DAVID, and STRING databases. The vital hub genes were validated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using clinical samples. The disease-gene-drug interaction network was built using the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) and Drug Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb). Results: We found that various biological functions or pathways related to the immune system and glucose metabolism changed in PBMCs from T1DM patients. In the PPI network, the DEGs of module 1 were significantly enriched in processes including inflammatory and immune responses and in pathways of proteoglycans in cancer. Moreover, we focused on four vital hub genes, namely, chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1), C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1), matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9), and granzyme B (GZMB), and confirmed them in clinical PBMC samples. Furthermore, the disease-gene-drug interaction network revealed the potential of key genes as reference markers in T1DM. Conclusion These results provide new insight into T1DM pathogenesis and novel biomarkers that could be widely representative reference indicators or potential therapeutic targets for clinical applications.

Background: In the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in treating ascending-type nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is under-evaluated. This study was to compare the efficacy of NACT followed by IMRT (NACT + RT) with the efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) on ascending-type NPC.Methods: Clinical data of 214 patients with ascending-type NPC treated with NACT + RT or CCRT between December 2009 and July 2011 were analyzed. Of the 214 patients, 98 were treated with NACT followed by IMRT, and 116 were treated with CCRT. The survival rates were assessed using Kaplan –Meier analysis, and the survival curves were compared using a log-rank test.Results: The 4-year overall survival, locoregional failure-free survival, distant failure-free survival, and failure-free survivalrates were not significantly different between the two groups (all P > 0.05). However, patients in the CCRT group exhibited more severe acute adverse events than did patients in the NACT + RT group during radiotherapy, including leukopenia (30.2% vs. 15.3%, P = 0.016), neutropenia (25.9% vs. 11.2%, P = 0.011), and mucositis (57.8% vs. 40.8%, P = 0.028). After radiotherapy, patients in the CCRT group exhibited significantly higher rates of xerostomia (21.6% vs.10.2%, P = 0.041) and hearing loss (17.2% vs. 6.1%, P = 0.023).Conclusions: The treatment outcomes of the NACT + RT and CCRT groups were similar; however, CCRT led to higher rates of acute and late toxicities. NACT + RT may therefore be a better treatment strategy for ascending-type NPC.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of the treatment of the lower lumbar fractures by posterior vertebral pedicle screw fixation, vertebral canal decompression,bone graft and titanium mesh reconstruction.

METHODSFrom January 2006 to December 2008, 22 patients with lower lumbar fractures were treated by posterior vertebral pedicle screw fixation, vertebral canal decompression, bone graft and titanium mesh reconstruction at same period. There were 18 males and 4 females with an average age of 43.8 years ranging from 22 to 63 years old. The injured vertebrae were L3 in 11 cases, L4, in 8 cases, and L5 in 3 cases. The operative time, blood loss, the preoperative and postoperative vertebral height,sagittal index, and the lumbar lordosis angle were recorded and evaluated.

RESULTSThe operative time was 3 to 4.2 hours (means 3.6 h). The blood loss averaged 1300 ml (900 to 1500 ml). The preoperative and postoperative sagittal index were (57.5 +/- 7.6)% and (93.5 +/- 8.1)%, respectively. The preoperative and postoperative lumbar lordosis angle were (34.3 +/- 7.3) degrees and (38.5 +/- 9.8) degrees, respectively. All patients were followed up for 10 months to 3 years (means 2.6 years). No fixation were failed,the segment of titanium mesh reconstruction obtained bone healing, no pseudoarticulation formation. At the last time of followed-up, 15 patients with nerve injuries were evaluated according to Frankel grade, there were 10 cases in grade E, 4 in D, 1 in C. According to the low back outcome scores (LBOS), the results were excellent in 20 cases, good in 1, fair in 1.

CONCLUSIONThe stability of the lower lumbar spine can be reconstructed by bone graft and titanium mesh combined with transpedicular screw fixation through a posterior approach. The decompression and vertebral body removal can also be performed in this approach. The recovery of the vertebral height and lumbar lordosis can prevent the delayed neurological deficit and traumatic kyphosis.

Adult ; Bone Screws ; Decompression, Surgical ; methods ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; methods ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; injuries ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fractures ; surgery ; Surgical Mesh ; Titanium

This study aims to develop inexpensive and effective experimental vaccines against highly pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus and to optimize their immunization programs. To this end, we first synthesized the codon-optimized hemagglutinin gene (HAop) and neuraminidase gene (NAop), both of which were derived from a H5N1 virus (Anhui strain), and constructed successfully the DNA vaccines containing a single cistronic construct (HAwt, HAop, or NAop) or a bicistronic construct (HAop/M2 or NAop/M1) of H5N1 influenza virus origin. Their expression was confirmed by indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA) and Western blotting. Then twice vaccination of mice with the DNA vaccines by injection intramuscularly or in vivo electroporation (EP) via two different routes was evaluated and analyzed by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay, NA-specific antibody detection, micro-neutralizing antibody test and IFN-gamma ELISpot assay. Our results showed that the DNA vaccines with coden-optimized HAop and NAop constructs could quickly elicit a strong immune response by in vivo EP, especially the cellular immune response against HA and NA; the in vivo EP via intradermal route induced stronger humoral immune responses than those via intramuscular route. Our findings will pave a way for further development of novel DNA-based H5N1 vaccine and for the optimization of the immunization programs of DNA vaccine.
Animals ; Antigens, Viral ; immunology ; Codon ; genetics ; Electroporation ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype ; immunology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Vaccination ; methods ; Vaccines, DNA ; genetics ; immunology ; metabolism ; Viral Structural Proteins ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo examine the expression of FLICE-inhibitory protein (FLIP) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and analyze its correlation with synovial inflammation.

METHODSThe expression of FLIP was assessed in 11 JIA and 3 normal synovial tissue samples by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. The cell types expressing FLIP were further characterized, and the correlation of FLIP expression with the degree of synovial inflammation, as well as the activity of caspase 8 was then analyzed.

RESULTSRT-PCR revealed the expression of FLIP mRNA in all 11 JIA samples, but not in 3 normal synovial tissues. In JIA, FLIP expression could be found in both the lining and sublining layers, mainly in the macrophage-like cells. Moreover, the expression of FLIP in JIA synovial tissues was positively correlated with the degree of synovial inflammation (r = 0.563, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe expression of antiapoptotic FLIP in JIA synovial tissue and its correlation to accumulation of inflammatory cells in synovial tissue suggests that FLIP potentially extends the lifespan of synovial cells and thus contributes to the progression of joint destruction.

Adolescent ; Arthritis, Juvenile ; metabolism ; pathology ; CASP8 and FADD-Like Apoptosis Regulating Protein ; genetics ; metabolism ; Caspase 8 ; metabolism ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Protein Isoforms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Synovial Membrane ; cytology ; metabolism ; pathology