Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Humans ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy

Objective To study the testicular ultrastructure in CBAVD patients. Methods Ultrastructure of testicular tissue was studied in 13 CBAVD patients with azospermia whereas the testicular morphology under light microscopy was normal. Results The presence of thickening,multilayered,finger shaped protuberent to seminiferous tubules in variable degrees in basement membrane was confirmed at ultrastructural level in 13 CBAVD patients.Collagen fibres revealed an increase in number,proliferation,disturbance in variable degrees and no polarity in all the 13.Malformed heads,metachromatic granules nuclei with abundant bulla,full or partial absence of middle mitochondria sheath were seen in most of spermatozoa.Of 5 cases,invagination and low electronic density layered materials were presented in acrosome and acrosomal cyst respectively.Most of sertoli cells presented abundant lipid droplets and degradative bodies in their cytoplasm in all cases.In 2 cases,tight junctions between sertoli cells were not found. Conclusions Microstructural alteration of testicular tissue,especially conspicuous in spermatozoa and in the limiting lamina of testis,might be a contributory cause of azospermia in addition to the clinical absence of vas deferens.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of cerebroprotein hydrolysate on diabetic peripheral neuropathy.Methods105 diabetic patients were randomly divided into the treatment group (34 cases, treated with intravenous injection of cerebroprotein hydrolysate), standard control group (38 cases, treated with intramuscular injection of Metrycobal combined with intravenous injection of Actovegin) and blank control group (33 cases, treated with oral vitamin B1, B6, B12). Curative effects of three groups were evaluated.ResultsIt was shown that intravenous injection of cerebropotein hydrolysate could improve patients' symptoms, raised speed of nerve conduction and its curative effect was as same as intramuscular injection of Metrycobal combined with intravenous injection of Actovegin.ConclusionIntravenous injection of cerebropotein hydrolysate has a curation effect on diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Objective To investigate the effects of ulinastatin on pulmonary and hepatorenal function of elderly patients undergoing resection of esophageal cancer. Methods The clinical data of 40 elderly patients with esophageal cancer who had been admitted to Southwest Hospital from January 2005 to January 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were randomly divided into control group (n = 20) and ulinastatin group (n = 20) according to random number table. Patients were administered with total parenteral nutrition, and patients in ulinaslatin group were additionally instilled with 4×10~5 U/d of ulinastatin. The levels of PaO_2, PaCO_2, PaO_2/FiO_2, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (Tbil), blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and uric acid were detected preoperatively and at postoperative day 2 and day 6. All the data were analyzed by t-test and chi-square test. Results The levels of PaO_2 and PaO_2/FiO_2 were (87.3±4.2) mm Hg (1 mm Hg =0.133 kPa) and (416±20)mm Hg in ulinastatin group, which were significantly higher than (79.0±4.3)mm Hg and (376±20)mm Hg in control group (t =6.2, 6.2, P <0.05). The levels of ALT, AST and Tbil were (23±7)U/L, (38±8)U/L and (13.4±3.0) μmol/L in ulinastatin group, and (39±8) U/L, (50±9) U/L and (24.5±6.0) μmol/L in control group, with significant difference between the 2 groups (t = 7.0, 4.4, 7.6, P < 0.05). The levels of uric acid, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine were (279±84) μmol/L, (4.1±1.7) mmol/L and (66±12) μmol/L in ulinastatin group, and (386±67)μmol/L, ( 8.9±2.7) mmol/L and (95±38) μmol/L in control group, with significant difference between the 2 groups (t = 4.4, 6.4, 3.3, P < 0.05). The recurrence of complications in ulinastatin group was significantly lower than that in control group (χ~2 = 4.8, P <0.05). Conclusion Postoperative supplementation of ulinastatin and total parenteral nutrition is helpful in improving the pulmonary and hepatorenal function of elderly patients undergoing resection of esophageal cancer.

Objective To investigate serum cardiac troponin T(cTnT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and assess the prognostic values of cTnT and CRP of mortality and cardiovascular events in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Methods One hundred and six MHD patients were enrolled in this study. Serum cTnT, CRP, creatinine, albumin were measured in pre-hemodialysis at the beginning of the study. The mortality and cardiovascular events were recorded during the period of follow up. Results At the initiation of the study,28 patients (26.42%) were recorded with positive cTnT level, 32(30.19%) with positive CRP and 16 (15.09%) with positive cTnT and CRP. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant correlation between serum cTnT and serum CRP and Scr. Patients with positive cTnT and CRP levels had higher mortality and more cardiovascular events than those with negative levels. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed a significant difference between patients with normal and abnormal cTnT and CRP levels. Conclusions Some MHD patients have elevated serum cTnT level. Serum cTnT level is correlated with serum CRP and creatinine level. Patients with positive cTnT and CRP levels have higher mortality and more cardiovascular events than those with negative levels.

ObjectiveTo demonstrate the effect of moderate hypothermia and doule carotid ice applied to acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and the best opportunity of treatment.Methods174 cases with ICH were randomly divided into treated group and control group, 87 cases for each group. Each case of both groups was treated by routine therapy, moreover, all cases in treated group were treated by moderate hypothermia (MHT).The clinical effect and prognosis between treated group and control group were contrasted,so to do between the cases in the treated group who were treated no more than 3 hours and more than 3 hours after attack.ResultsCompared with the control group, the neurological function improved in the treated group(P<0.05), as well as survival rate and recovery(P<0.05).Cases who treated no more than 3 hours after attack was better than that of more than 3 hours(P<0.05).ConclusionModerate hypothermia can effectively ease the neurologic deficits after ICH, decrease mortality and disable rate.The best therapy time is within 3 hours after ICH.

In previous case report entitled "Multidetector CT findings of a congenital coronary sinus anomaly: a report of two cases" by Chou et al. (Korean J Radiol 2008;9:S1-S6), there were mistakes. "The Figure 1A and 1B are the MDCT findings of normal coronary sinus of a normal individual." "The Figure 1C to 1E are the MDCT findings of congenital coronary sinus anomaly in 60-year-old woman with Ebstein's anomaly." "The Figure 2J and 2K are illustration of atresia of the right atrial ostium of the coronary sinus with/without PLSVC"

Objective To explore the effects of virtual reality (VR) combined with motor imagery therapy on the upper limb function of hemiplegic stroke survivors.Methods Thirty-nine hemiplegic stroke patients were divided randomly into a treatment group (n =20) and a control group (n =19).Both groups were treated with motor imagery therapy,but the treatment group also received VR training lasting 20 min/day,6 days/week for 8 weeks.All of the patients were assessed with the Fugl-Meyer (FMA) upper limb assessment,the modified Barthel index (MBI) and electromyography at the beginning and after eight weeks of treatment.Results Before the intervention there was no significant difference between the groups in any of the assessments.After eight weeks of treatment,all the assessment results in the treatment group were significantly better than those in the control group.Conclusion Virtual reality combined with motor imagery therapy can distinctly improve the upper limb motor function of hemiplegic stroke survivors and their ability in the activities of daily living.

T cell immune receptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT), a promising new target in cancer immunotherapy, plays a critical role in limiting adaptive and innate immunity against tumors. The extracellular domain of human TIGIT was used to immune BALB/c mice, and a new anti-human TIGIT chimeric antibody (c7D3) was developed. The mice in this study were used in accordance with the international guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals, and the animal study was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee of AbMax Biotechnology. The biological activity of c7D3 was studied. The results showed that c7D3 exhibited high affinity for TIGIT and effectively inhibited the interaction between TIGIT and its ligands. Cell-based assays indicated that c7D3 induced strong luciferase signaling in TIGIT/CD155 signaling reporter assay and enhanced cytokine secretion in a T cell stimulation assay. The data showed that c7D3 has high binding affinity and excellent blocking bioactivity, supporting the further advancement for therapeutic application.

Hemangiomas in the pancreas are very rare and only a few cases in adulthood have been reported in the literature. We describe a case of pancreatic hemangiomas in an adult with unique imaging findings. A 23-year-old woman visited the hospital for an incidentally detected pancreatic mass. CT and MRI revealed a multilocular cyst with fluid-fluid levels and no obvious enhancement. The patient underwent surgery and the mass was confirmed as a pancreatic hemangioma. The radiological features and differential diagnosis of this rare lesion are discussed.
Female ; Hemangioma/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/*diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult