Objective To develop specific targeted magnetic biomarkers which can selectively mark the senile plaques in Alzheimer' s disease (AD) and verify its feasibility and validity.Methods Aβ1-40 peptide and Tat-PTD ( Tat-protein transduction domain) was binded with dextran-coated ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide ( USPIO) particles.Visualization of plaques in vivo in Alzheimer transgenic mice was investigated at 7.0 Tesla using T2 sequences after intravenous administration of the targeted nanoiron contrast agent and verified by histological staining.Results The targeted nano-iron contrast agent could enter the cultured neural stem cells,and was able to accelerate T2 relaxation rates of water protons in the cells and negatively reinforce the T2 signal intensity in the labeled cells.Plaques were specifically detected in vivo by magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI) and correlated well with histological staining after injection of nano-iron contrast agent into the APP/PS1 mice.Conclusion The targeted nano-iron contrast agent has the ability of selectively labeling the senile plaques in AD brain tissues in vivo,which might enable the early detection of plaques by MRI and can be further applied in the studies of early diagnosis of AD.

Small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) is a rare and aggressive malignant tumor with a poor prognosis. The optimal disease staging system and treatment approaches have not yet been defined. This study aimed to evaluate the prediction of different staging systems for prognosis and treatment options of SCCE. We retrospectively accessed the clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment strategy, and prognosis of 76 patients diagnosed with primary SCCE between 2001 and 2011. The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 58%, 31%, 19%, and 13%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that the 2002 American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification (P = 0.002), Veterans Administration Lung Study Group (VALSG) stage (P = 0.001), predisposing factors (P < 0.001), T category (P = 0.023), and M category (P < 0.001) were prognostic factors for overall survival. Multivariate analysis showed that the 2002 AJCC TNM stage (P < 0.001) was the only independent prognostic factor for survival. The value of the area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of the 2002 AJCC TNM staging system was larger than that of VALSG staging system with regard to predicting overall survival (0.774 vs. 0.620). None of the single treatment regimens showed any benefit for survival by Cox regression analysis. Thus, the 2002 AJCC TMN staging system improved the prediction of SCCE prognosis; however, the optimal treatment regimen for SCCE remains unclear.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Small Cell ; classification ; pathology ; therapy ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; classification ; pathology ; therapy ; Esophagectomy ; methods ; Etoposide ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; methods ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; Radiotherapy, High-Energy ; Retrospective Studies ; Societies, Medical ; Survival Rate ; United States

Objective To analyze the characteristics on injuries,using data from the Jiangsu sentinel hospitals,from 2006 to 2013,to develop a injury prevention strategy.Methods Data was collected from the ‘National Injury Monitoring Report Card' of six sentinel hospitals from two surveillance points from 2006 to 2013.Results Information from 448 778 cases was analyzed.The numbers of male cases outnumbered the females,with sex ratio as 1.72:1.The top five causes of injuries were as follows:falls (27.21％),traffic-related (26.23％),blunt (17.50％),knife/sharp instrument (13.87％) and animal injury (6.59％).Injuries mainly occurred in June,July and August,at 8 to 10 O'clock in the morning.The major places where injuries occurred were road/street (31.58％),home (23.47％),industries and construction sites (21.38％).Recreation activities (36.12％),driving vehicle (25.26％),and at work (24.78％) were the major activities when injuries took place.Most injury cases were unintentional(92.65％) and deliberately(violence/attack) (6.36％).Conclusion All the injuries showed an yearly increase,from 2006 to 2013,with main causes as falls and traffic-related ones.Injuries among teenagers and the elderly should be paid special attention to,with targeted interventions taken.

OBJECTIVEApoptosis contributes to the instability of the atherosclerotic (AS) lesions. The vulnerable plaque was identified in vivo by detecting the apoptosis with radiolabeled annexin V in an atherosclerotic rabbit model.

METHODSEight male New Zealand white rabbits on 2% cholesterol diet for 2 weeks had abdominal aortic balloon injury and fed a 2% cholesterol diet for another 15 weeks (AS group), 3 rabbits fed a normal rabbit chow for 17 weeks without balloon injury served as controls. Annexin V labeled with (99)Tc(m) was then intravenously administered and planar whole-body images were captured using a gamma camera in the left lateral position. The entire length of the abdominal aorta was explanted for ex vivo imaging with gamma camera. The aorta then was divided into several segments according to the severity of AS. The segments were separated weighted and counted in an gamma counter for the absorptive dose of annexin per gram of tissue. Histology examinations were made on specimens.

RESULTSAt 2 hours post annexin V injection, clear delineation of radiolabel within the abdominal aorta could be evidenced in vivo gamma imaging. After explanation of the aorta, ex vivo imaging showed a robust uptake of radiotracer in the infradiaphragmatic aorta corresponding to the in vivo images and conforming to the macroscopic distribution of atherosclerotic lesions. The uptake of radiolabel was absent in areas without grossly visible atherosclerotic lesions. The in vivo and ex vivo images identified plaque areas were identical and corresponded histological results on the explanted specimen. The aortic specimen was divided into 18 segments on lesions. The magority of the lesions (14/18) manifested as type IV or type V lesions of AHA classification (vulnerable lesions), except segments 1 - 4, which manifested as type I or type II lesions. The thickness of fibrous cap (TFC) and the ratio of cap and lipid nuclear (RCN) were significantly reversely correlated to the unit radioactivity counts, and the correlation between RCN and the unit radioactivity counts was more significant than that between TFC and the unit radioactivity counts (r = -0.904, P < 0.01, and r = -0.8, P < 0.01). Apoptosis detection (TUNEL): annexin V intake in plaques was positively correlated to apoptotic index(r = 0.651, P = 0.012).

CONCLUSIONNoninvasive Annexin V imaging could be used to detect vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques in vivo.

Animals ; Annexin A5 ; Aorta, Abdominal ; Atherosclerosis ; Cholesterol, Dietary ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Rabbits

Diffuse pulmonary lymphangiomatosis (DPL) is a rare disease that is characterized by diffuse proliferation of abnormal pulmonary lymphatic channels. DPL occurs mostly in children and young adults and often undergoes a progressive clinical course, eventually causing deterioration of the lung. Both the clinical diagnosis and treatment of DPL remain a challenge. Here, we report a case of DPL in a 53-year-old Chinese woman with comprehensive investigations including pulmonary function tests, computer tomography (CT), bronchoscopy and histological examination of the lung biopsy, and review the literature.
Bronchoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; congenital ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Lymphangiectasis ; congenital ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVEThis study examined the effect of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) on the serum levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S-100β protein and myelin basic protein (MBP) in young rats 24 hrs after lithium-pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) in order to study the potential role of r-HuEPO in epileptic brain damage.

METHODSForty 19-21-day-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four groups (n=10): normal control group, SE, r-HuEPO pretreated-SE and r-HuEPO. SE was induced by lithium-pilocarpine. R-HuEPO (500 IU/kg) was intraperitoneally injected in the r-HuEPO pretreated-SE and r-HuEPO groups 4 hrs before SE. Serum levels of NSE, S-100β and MBP were determined 24 hrs after the SE event.

RESULTSSerum levels of NSE, S-100β and MBP in the SE group increased significantly compared with those in the normal control and the r-HuEPO groups (P＜0.05). The r-HuEPO pretreated-SE group showed significantly decreased serum levels of NSE, S-100β and MBP compared with the SE group (P＜0.05).

CONCLUSIONSr-HuEPO may reduce the expression of NSE, S-100β and MBP and thus might provide an early protective effect against epileptic brain injury.

Animals ; Erythropoietin ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Myelin Basic Protein ; blood ; Nerve Growth Factors ; blood ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; blood ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Recombinant Proteins ; S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit ; S100 Proteins ; blood ; Status Epilepticus ; blood ; drug therapy

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of head injuries through data gathered from the Jiangsu Injury Surveillance System.Methods Data on head injury that occurred during 2006-2014 were collected from the Jiangsu injury surveillance system and analyzed by SPSS 19.0 software.Results From 2006 to 2014,data on 133 172 cases of head injuries were collected which accounting for 26.2％ (133 172/509 175) of all the injury cases.Among them,males were 2.18 times higher than the females.The top five leading causes of head injuries were falls 24.6％ (32 796/133 172),blunt force injuries 24.4％ (32 446/133 172),motor car accident injuries 20.3％ (26 993/133 172),knife or sharp force injuries 10.7％ (14 183/133 172) and non-motor car accident injuries 6.7％ (8 919/133 172).Main locations that head injuries occured would involve roads/ streets 32.5％ (43 262/133 172),working places 22.2％ (29 526/133 172),at home 20.5％ (27 925/ 133 172) and public residences 10.8％ (14 367/133 172).Recreation activates 37.9％ (50 479/133 172),driving 26.1％(34 749/133 172),paid jobs 24.8％ (33 034/133 172) were the three major activities related to head injuries.Severity of injuries would depend on the situations on site.As for minor injuries,bruise accounted for 63.5％ (67 929/106 912).Brain trauma 21.5％ (5 119/23 803) and fracture 14.9％ (3 554/23 803) appeared an increasing trend.Severe injuries would include brain trauma 74.6％ (1 833/2 457).78.8％ (104 940/133 172) of the patients with head injuries would go home after receiving treatment the hospital,with fetality only as 0.1％ (134/133 172).Conclusion Data from the Jiangsu surveillance program showed that Head injury appeared the highest proportion among all the body injuries that called for special attention.

OBJECTIVE: To study the distribution of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in healthy children aged 0-6 years. METHODS: A total of 826 healthy Han children aged 0-6 years were recruited. According to their age, the children were divided into four groups: newborn, infant, toddler and preschool. Their peripheral blood samples were collected to measure the percentages of lymphocyte subsets by flow cytometry. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the percentages of CD3 T cells, CD3CD4 T cells and CD3CD19 B cells and the CD4/CD8 ratio between boys and girls (P<0.05). The girls had a lower percentage of CD3CD19 B cells, higher percentages of CD3 T cells and CD3CD4 T cells and a higher CD4/CD8 ratio than the boys. The newborn group had the highest percentages of CD3 T cells and CD3CD4 T cells and the highest CD4/CD8 ratio (P<0.05). The percentage of CD3CD4 T cells and the CD4/CD8 ratio gradually decreased with age and the preschool group had the lowest values (P<0.05). The newborn group had the lowest percentages of CD3CD19 B cells and CD3CD16CD56 NK cells (P<0.05). The percentage of CD3CD16CD56 NK cells gradually increased with age and the preschool group had the highest percentage (P<0.05). The percentage of CD3CD19 B cells reached the peak in the toddler period and then decreased with age (P<0.05). The preschool group had the highest percentage of CD3CD8 T cells (P<0.05). The variation trend of distribution of lymphocyte subsets in boys from different age groups was consistent with that in children from different age groups. For girls, the newborn group had the highest percentage of CD3CD4 T cells and CD4/CD8 ratio (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The distribution of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in healthy children is significantly different across ages and sexes. Therefore, the reference values should be established according to age and sex.
Antigens, CD19 ; B-Lymphocytes ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Lymphocyte Count ; Lymphocyte Subsets ; Male

Adenocarcinoma/pathology* ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; Stomach Neoplasms/surgery*

BACKGROUNDAlthough thrombolytic therapy with rescue percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a common treatment strategy for ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI), scant data are available on its efficacy relative to primary PCI, and comparison was therefore the aim of this study.

METHODSThis multicenter, open-label, randomized, parallel trial was conducted in 12 hospitals on patients (age < or = 70 years) with STEMI who presented within 12 hours of symptom onset (mean interval > 3 hours). Patients were randomized to three groups: primary PCI group (n = 101); recombinant staphylokinase (r-Sak) group (n = 104); and recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) group (n = 106). For all patients allocated to the thrombolytic therapy arm, coronary angiography was performed at 90 minutes after drug therapy to confirm infarct-related artery (IRA) patency; rescue PCI was performed in cases with TIMI flow grade < or = 2. Bare-metal stent implantation was planned for all patients.

RESULTSAfter randomization it required an average of 113.4 minutes to start thrombolytic therapy (door-to-needle time) and 141.2 minutes to perform first balloon inflation in the IRA (door to balloon time). Rates of IRA patency (TIMI flow grade 2 or 3) and TIMI flow grade 3 were significantly lower in the thrombolysis group at 90 minutes after drug therapy than in the primary PCI group at the end of the procedure (70.5% vs. 98.0%, P < 0.0001, and 53.0% vs. 85.9%, P < 0.0001, respectively). Rescue PCI with stenting was performed in 117 patients (55.7%) in the thrombolytic therapy arm. Rates of patency and TIMI flow grade 3 were still significantly lower in the rescue PCI than in the primary PCI group (88.9% vs. 97.9%, P = 0.0222, and 68.4% vs. 85.0%, P = 0.0190, respectively). At 30 days post-therapy, mortality rate was significantly higher in the thrombolysis combined with rescue PCI group than in primary PCI group (7.1% vs. 0, P = 0.0034). Rates of death/MI and bleeding complications were significantly higher in the thrombolysis with rescue PCI group than in the primary PCI group (10.0% vs. 1.0%, P = 0.0380, and 28.10% vs. 8.91%, P = 0.0001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONSThrombolytic therapy with rescue PCI was associated with significantly lower rates of coronary patency and TIMI flow grade 3, but with significantly higher rates of mortality, death/MI and hemorrhagic complications at 30 days, as compared with primary PCI in this group of Chinese STEMI patients with late presentation and delayed treatments.

Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Coronary Angiography ; Female ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Thrombolytic Therapy