Objective To explore the relationship between artenosclerotic changes in the carotid arteries and the development of coronary beart disease (CHD), and also to study the changes in endothelial function in patients with CHD, with the aid of ultrasonographic examination. Methods One hundred and twenty inpatients were divided into CHD group ( n =90) and control group ( n =30) according to the results of coronary arteriogram. In intima media thickness (IMT) and arteriosclerotic plaques were determined in carotid arteries with B mode ultrasonography. Dilatation of the brachial arteries during reactive hyperemia and after sublingual administration of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) were determined at the same time. Results The intimia media thickness of CHD group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and had no significant but there was no significant difference among groups of 1,2,or 3 diseased vessel groups. Atherosclerotic plaques were mostly found in the carotid bifurcation and common carotid artery segments. The discovery rate was higher in patients with 2 or 3 diseased coronary arteries. The contents of TC and LDL C, and incidence rate of hypertension and diabetes mellitus were higher in CHD group. The flow mediated dilatation and GTN induced dilatation of brachial arteries in patients with CHD were significantly reduced compared with those in control group( P

OBJECTIVE: The possibility for the identification of GHB administration through hair analysis was investigated to provide method and information for toxicology examination of GHB. METHODS A GC/MS assay for GHB in hair was developed. Endogenous levels of GHB in hair, time course of GHB in hair, relationship between GHB levels in hair and hair color or administration dose were also established by guinea pig model. RESULTS: Endogenous levels of GHB in guinea pig black hair and human black hair were (3.01 +/- 1.41) ng/mg (n=28) and (1.02 +/- 0.27) ng/mg (n=20), respectively. GHB levels in black hair were increased by GHB administration and related with drug dosage, and also much higher than in brown and white hair. CONCLUSION Analysis of GHB in hair is suitable for investigation of GHB abuse in forensic toxicology and GHB level in segmental analysis compared with endogenous level of GHB may provide useful information about GHB administration.
Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Forensic Toxicology/methods* ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Guinea Pigs ; Hair/chemistry* ; Hair Color ; Humans ; Hydroxybutyrates/analysis* ; Male ; Substance Abuse Detection/methods* ; Time Factors

Objective To survey the incidence of cardiovascular damage in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients and explore the related risk factors.And to establish the risk prediction models for the future.Methods The electrocardiogram (ECG) and cardiac ultrasonography (UCG) of 122 AS patients (group A)in the department of rheumatology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2001 to 2011 were analyzed.Fifty-nine AS patients with abnormal ECG and/or UCG findings consisted of the study group (group A1),the other 63 AS patients without cardiovascular damage were the control group (group A2).We selected 100healthy controls (group B).All healthy controls had ECG and UCG tests.The ECG and UCG findings of the group A1 were analyzed,the clinical manifestations and laboratory results were compared between group A1and A2.A univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were carried out to determine the risk factors related to cardiovascular damage in AS.Results The prevalence rate of cardiovascular damage in AS patients was 48.4％ (59/122).While the prevalence of ECG and or UCG abnormality in healthy controls was 12.0％ (12/100),the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P＜0.05).In group A1,the main findings in ECG were abnormal sinus node function,high voltage in left ventricle and ST-T changes,other findings were atrioventricular block,branch bundle block and premature beats.In group A1,the main findings in UCG were valvular diseases and arterial root widening,other abnormal findings were pericardial effusion,left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and mild pulmonary hypertension.The level of ESR,CRP,RBC,HGB,blood glucose,the number of peripheral joint involvement,the severity of sacroiliac arthritis and the age were significantly different between group A1 and A2 (P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age and CRP were risk factors for cardiovascular damage in AS patients.Conclusion The prevalence of cardiovascular damage in ankylosing spondylitis is relatively high.Age and CRP are the risk factors contributing to cardiovascular damage in AS patients.

Objective: To determine protein binding characteri stic and signal transmission pathway of melatonin（Mel） receptor(MR) in human e mbryonic peripheral organ tissues. Methods: MR was measured by radio ligand-binding assay and the effect of GTPγS on melatonin specific bindi ng was studied. Results: Mel specific binding sites were det ermined in 16 kinds of human embryonic tissue and this binding could be inhibit ed by GTPγS, supporting the theory that MR is coupled to inhibitory G-proteins system. Conclusion: MR is measured in human embryo tissue, the se results provide experimental data for elucidating the mechanism of the effect of Mel.

Objective To study effects of early non-invasive ventilation (NIV) application in treating elderly patients with acute left ventricular failure induced respiratory failure. Method Totally 32 elderly patients with acute left ventrieular failure induced respiratory failure, admitted from August 1997 to February 2007, received NIV treatment, and were retrospectively studied. There were 22 male and 10 female, aged (81.5?8.6) yearsdd. The changes of rahs, respiration rate, heart rate, arterial blood gas, cardiac function before and after NIV application were compared. According to the application time of NIV, 32 patients were divided into two groups: group A (early NIV application group, n=17) and group B (non-early NIV application group, n= 15). The time to improve the symptoms, the application time of NIV, cure rates, tracheal intubation rates and mortality were compared between the two groups. Results Thirty of the 32 patients survived, cardiac function was improved from New York classⅣtoⅠ～Ⅱ, respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure significantly decreased, PaO_2 and SaO_2 significantly increased and PaCO_2 significantly decreased. The tracheal intubation was performed in 4 patients. The time needed to improve the symptoms and the application time of NIV were significantly different between group A and group B (P

dneys, renal hilars and adjacent blood vessels. Conclusions Most of the adrenal lymphoma manifested as large soft tissue masses with shght contrast enhancement. The larger lesions were likely to invade the ipsilateral kidney and adjacent blood vessels.

Objective To assess the clinical value of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles as embolic material in patients with primary hepatic cancer (PHC). Methods Twenty patients with PHC underwent TACE. The mixed emulsion of chemotherapy agents and lipiodol was given to embolize the tumor vssTranscatheter arterial chemoembolization using polyvinyl alcohol feeding artery of tumors. The tumors size, response rate and Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) value were monitored respectively at the end of the first month, the third month, the sixth month and the first year after TACE. The changes of liver function, including serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TBILI), were recorded within 1 week and 1 month after TACE. The time to progression and the overall survival were recorded. Results Compared with pre-TACE, the tumor size decreased obviously at the end of the first month, the third month, the sixth month and the first year after TACE (P<0.05), the response rate reached 80.00%, 90.00%, 95.00% and 95.00%, respectively. The AFP value decreased obviously. Serum AST, ALT and TBILI significantly increased in the first week after TACE (P<0.05), but returned to preoperative level within 1 month. The average follow-up time was (19.8±7.0) months (range 12-32 months), the time to progression was (17.0±6.8) months, and the overall survival was (19.3±7.0) months. Conclusion PVA particles are optimal embolic material for TACE of PHC. Superselective embolization is necessary in TACE to achieve effective tumor devascularization and reduce liver damage.

Objective To determine the clinical features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with pancreatitis.Methods The medical records of 46 patients with pancreatitis among 5 233 SLE patients admitted into Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1983 to January 2012 were reviewed for retrospective analyses of clinical manifestations,laboratory tests,radiological findings,treatments and prognosis.Results The prevalence of pancreatitis was 0.88％ (46/5 233) in SLE patients.There were 7 males and 39 females with an average age of (33 ± 13) yeats.Acute pancreatitis (n =40) occurred more frequently than chronic pancreatitis (n =6).It appeared mostly in active course of SLE with an involvement of more organs.Hypertriglyceridemia was found in 81.0％ (17/21) lupus-associated acute pancreatitis patients.The average level of triglycerides in severe acute pancreatitis was higher than that in mild acute pancreatitis (P =0.023).The mortality rate of lupus-associated acute pancreatitis was 37.5％ (15/40).Most patients received high-dose glucocorticoid and immunosuppressants.Acute pancreatitis appeared in only 5 patients during the course of steroids pulse therapy and most symptoms were mild.Concomitant infections were correlated with poor prognosis (P ＜ 0.01).The most common manifestations of lupus-associated chronic pancreatitis were abdominal pain,jaundice and pancreatic enlargement.Autoimmune pancreatitis could be the initial manifestation of lupus.Conclusions Pancreatitis with SLE includes acute and chronic pancreatitis.Among them,acute pancreatitis is more common and severe and it usually occurs in patients with active SLE with a high mortality.Hypertriglyceridemia may induce and aggravate lupus-associated acute pancreatitis.Early aggressive management with high-dose steroids and immunosuppressants is recommended.Concomitant infection is a risk factor of poor prognosis.

Objective To study 6 type Ⅰ interferon (IFN)-inducible genes (IFIT4, IFI44, Ly6e,OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3) in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and analyze its correlated expression levels with disease activity and/or clinical manifestations. Methods Total RNA was obtained simultaneously from kidney tissues and peripheral blood cells of 12 patients with diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis and 10 normal controls. Moreover, peripheral blood cells were obtained from 119 LN patients and 35 normal controls. Total RNA was extracted and reversely transcribed into complementary DNA. Gene expression levels were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction by comparing to a housekeeping gene, and IFN score was calculated. Disease activity was determined by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Results The 6 genes were highly expressed in diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis patients compared with normal controls. IFN scores were positively correlated with SLEDAI score, the concurrent presences of anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies (P<0.05) and hypocomplementemia (P<0.01). Conclusion The 6 IFN-inducible genes are highly expressed iri LN patients. IFN scores are elevated in active lupus nephritis patients, in patients with positive anti-ds-DNA antibody and hypocomplementemia. IFN scores may be a useful biomarker for lupus nephritis therapy.

To determine the content of dendrobine in Dendrobium nobile from different harvest times and plant parts, to research the inherent rule about it. GC with internal standard was used to determine. The content of dendrobine had significant differences in different periods and parts. The dendrobine content is higher in four-year root than in three-year root. The dendrobine content in the upper segment of stem is the highest, secondly is in the middle seg-ment, and in the low segment is the lowest. This offered evidence to determine the most appropriate harvest time and fair use of different parts for D.nobil.