A Review] The neuroendocrine-immunoregulatory network is fundamental to the maintenance of homeostasis. In this article, the authors present an overview of the role of neuroimmunoregulatory mechanism in the occurance and development of some diseases, which may have important therapeutic implication for the clinics.

Animals ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; Humans ; Kidney Tubules ; cytology ; drug effects ; Oleanolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Podocytes ; drug effects

Objective To investigate the value of virtual colonoscopy in the diagnosis of malignant and benign lesions in the colon. Methods CT colography was performed in 37 patients. Patients included 20 cases colon polyps, 6 cases colon cancer, 4 cases diverticulum, 5 cases ulcerative colitis and 2 cases other benign lesions. The colon lesions were evaluated with 2D and 3D images, depending on individual software. Results were compared with colonoscopy for each case. Results 17 cases colon polyps, 6 cases colon cancer, 4 cases diverticulum, 2 cases ulcerative colitis were detected by CTC. Conclusion CT virtual colography is a promising technique for the detection of colorectal lesions. This procedure is minimal invasive and fast, causes mild patient discomfort.

Objective To evaluate the effect of various herniorraphy in treating inguinal hernia. Methods The clinical data of 108 patients who underwent conventional Bassini herniorraphy (BH), tension free herniorraphy (TH), or laparoscopic herniorraphy (LH),respectively were analysed and comparated. Results The operation time in TH was less than that in BH, and in LH was longer than that in TH. The ability recovery, hospita stay and postoperative complication in TH and LH were less than those in BH.All the patients were followed up for at least 1 year.Of them, 1 recurred after BH, but there was no recurrence after TH and LH. The blood neutrophils, serum level of fibrin, C-reactive protein and alpha-1 antitrypsin increased significantly in the patients undergoing herniorraphy, which were significantly higher in the patients underwent TH and LH. Conclusions The curative effect of TH and LH is much better than that of BH in treating ingumal hernia. Application of marlex for herniorraphy might increase inflammation response, but it will not increase the incidence of infection.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features and operation treatment of the congenital middle ear cholesteatoma. METHOD: A retrospective review of clinical and surgical records of 10 patients with congenital middle ear cholesteatoma were performed. All patients were treated by surgeries,5 of 10 cases deal with one-stage tympanoplasty after drum exploration by external auditory meatus, 3 cases dealed with closed mastoidotympanectomy and tympanomastoidectomy, 2 cases dealed with open mastoidotympanectomy and tympanomastoidectomy. RESULT: The cholesteatomas were located at or around the posterior tympanum or mesotympanum in 5 patients, confined to the tympanic cavity and attic in 3 patients, advanced cholesteatoma that extended from the tympanic cavity into the mastoid antrum was seen in 2 patients. The mean postoperative PTA was 30 dB HL, the mean ABG was within 20 dB, after six months. No residual or recurrence of cholesteatoma was found. CONCLUSION The congenital cholesteatoma often originates from the posterior or anterior of the middle ear, with hiding lesion, thus result in severe conductive hearing loss. Imaging examination plays an important role in diagnosing and treating of congenital cholesteatoma. Early stage surgical treatment can obtain a good hearing reconstruction effect.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cholesteatoma ; congenital ; surgery ; Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear ; surgery ; Ear, Middle ; physiopathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Tympanoplasty ; methods ; Young Adult

The microbial transformation of buflomedil by Cunninghamella blakesleana AS 3.153 was studied, as well as a microbial model which can be used to mimic metabolism of buflomedil in mammal was established. Experiments were conducted to screen the capabilities of four strains of Cunninghamella species to transform buflomedil, in which C. blakesleana AS 3.153 was selected for a preparative biotransformation. Furthermore, the microbial model was established based on the transformation condition optimization. The parent drug and its metabolites produced by C. blakesleana AS 3.153 were detected by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method and three metabolites were identified while two of them were new found metabolites. Two major metabolites, para-O-desmethyl buflomedil and 12-C-oxidated buflomedil, were isolated by semi-preparative HPLC. Based on the comparison between different species, the microbial transformation of buflomedil by C. blakesleana AS 3.153 is more similar to the metabolism of buflomedil in human and Beagle dog than that in rat.

Basal rate verification is the process to find and verify the basal rate of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSⅡ) required for basal glucose metabolism.In the present study,five cases of brittle diabetes were treated by CSⅡ with Insulin Lispro.After doses were adjusted to reach steady blood glucose levels,basal rate verifying tests were carried out.The results showed that the overall level and stability of blood glucose were improved markedly after CSⅡ.Before and after the verification of the basal rate,there was no significant difference in CSⅡ total doses.Basal rates decreased from 50％ of total to 30％ (P＜0.05),and boluses increased to 70％ (P＜0.05).The basal rates during lunch and supper time were reduced by half (P＜0.05),the boluses of lunch and supper were increased 1.5 times (P＜0.05),and square waves were needed to control postprandial blood glucose.These results suggest that the CSⅡ could smoothly control blood glucose level in brittle diabetes without basal rate verification.However,the implementation of the verification could better determine the basal rates for basal glucose metabolism,and thus help to identify diet-related boluses.

This paper presents a case of post-pancreatitis diabetes mellitus with seriously damaged islet function. The blood glucose level was successfully controlled by continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion ( CSII )therapy both in short and long terms.

The aim of this work was to investigate guar gum/ethylcellulose mix coated pellets for potential colon-specific drug delivery. The coated pellets, containing 5-fluorouracil as a model drug, were prepared in a fluidized bed coater by spraying the aqueous/ethanol dispersion mixture of guar gum and ethylcellulose. The lag time of drug release and release rate were adjustable by changing the ratio of guar gum to ethylcellulose and coat weight gain. In order to find the optimal coating formulation that was able to achieve drug targeting to the colon, the effect of two independent variables (the ratio of guar gum to ethylcellulose and the coat weight gain) on drug release characteristics was studied using 3×4 factorial design and response surface methodology. Results indicated that drug release rate decreased as the proportion of ethylcellulose in the hybrid coat and the coat weight gain increased. When the ratio of guar gum to ethylcellulose was kept in the range of 0.2 to 0.7, and the coat weight gain in the range of 250% to 500%, the coated pellets can keep intact for about 5 h in upper gastrointestine and achieve colon-specific drug delivery. The pellets prepared under optimal conditions resulted in delayed-release sigmoidal patterns with T5% (time for 5% drug release) of 5.1-7.8 h and T90% (time for 90% drug release) of 9.8-16.3 h. Further more, drug release was accelerated and T90% of the optimum formulation pellets decreased to 9.0-14.5 h in pH 6.5 phosphate buffer with hydrolase. It is concluded that mixed coating of guar gum and ethylcellulose is able to provide protection of the drug load in the upper gastrointestinal tract, while allowing enzymatic breakdown of the hybrid coat to release the drug load in the colon.

Objective To investigate the relationship between expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Bcl-2 and chemosensitivities in lymph node metastases (LNMs) of gastric carcinoma. Methods The chemosenisitivities to 9 drugs were measured by MTT assay, and the expression of COX-2, Bcl-2 was determined immunohistochemically in 40 paired primary tumor (PT) and lymph node metastases(LNMs)of gastric carcinoma. Results The positive rate of COX-2 and Bcl-2 in PT were 52.5%, 45.0% respectively, and in LNMs, the positive rate were 72.5% and 60.0%. The expression of COX-2 was higher in LNMs than in PT(χ~2=4, P<0.05). There was no statistically difference in the expression of Bcl-2 between PT and LNMs(χ~2=3, P>0.05). There was positive correlation of COX-2, Bcl-2 between PT and LNMs(r=0.3403, 0.4560, beth P<0.05). There was positive correlation between COX-2 and Bcl-2 in PT and LNMs (r=0.6014, 0.5330, both P<0.01). In PT the inhibition rate for 5-FU, VCR and eADM in COX-2 high expression group were lower than those in low expression group (t=2.29, 2.18, 2.41, all P< 0.05). The inhibition rate to 5-FU, PTX and eADM was significantly lower for the Bcl-2 high expression group in PT (t=2.46, 2.23, 2.22, all P<0.05). In LNMs, there were lower inhibition rates for VCR and MTX in COX-2 strong expression group (t=2.17, 2.35, both P<0.05); the inhibition rates to 5-FU, VP-16, PTX and MTX were significantly lower for the Bcl-2 strong expression group in LNMs (t=2.32, 2.29, 2.50, 2.25, all P<0.05). Conclusions COX-2 and Bcl-2 are involved in MDR of gastric carcinoma. The LNMs of gastric carcinoma are heterogeneous with respect to expression of COX-2, Bcl-2 and response to chemosensitivities. Effective adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric carcinoma depends on targeting the metastatic component of the tumor.