Objective To evaluate MRI in diagnosis and follow-up of Achilles tendon rupture. Methods From April 2003 to May 2005, 24 cases of closed Achilles tendon rupture were examined in our department with MRI. It was performed through sagittal T1WI, T2WI, GE-STIR and axial TME imaging. Four cases were followed up with MRI after 4 to 8 weeks. Results MRI could determinate the severity and exact location of Achilles tendon rupture by demonstrating signal changes of Achilles tendon. In this series, complete rupture of Achilles tendon mostly occurred at the median part, with augmentation and high signal on T2WI. MRI demonstrated high signal on T2WI in partial rupture of Achilles tendon. The signal intensity in the four cases followed up by MRI was shown to decrease. Conclusion MRI is a valuable tool for clinical diagnosis and follow-up of Achilles tendon, because it provides enough information through signal changes at the tendon.

In recent years,using stem cells to repair the bladder defect is a hot issue on the studies of bladder tissue engineering.They are ideal seed cells for bladder regeneration of tissue engineering depending on their self-renewal and multi-differentiation potential.In this paper,we give a review on the use of embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells as seed cells to repair the bladder defect by tissue engineering approach.

Objective To investigate the carotid plaque conditions and clinical commonly used test events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to explore the risk factors affecting the stability of plaques in carotid artery.Methods According to the results of cervical vascular color Doppler ultrasound examination, 125 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were divided into unstable plaque group (n=21), stable plaque group (n =54), and non-plaque group (n =50).Analysis related results including age, gender, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), intima-media thickness (IMT), fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), uric acid (UA), fibrinogen (Fbg), D-dimer (D-D), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were analyzed.Results Age, gender, SBP, DBP, TG, HDL, D-D, and TSH were without significant differences among groups.Glucose and Fbg were significant different (P ＜ 0.05) between unstable plague group and stable plaque group/no plaque group.No significance difference was found between stable and no plaque groups.IMT, TC, LDL, and FT4 were significant different (P ＜ 0.05) between unstable and stable plaque groups, and between stable and no plaque groups.Logistic multiple regression analysis suggested that IMT and TC might be independent risk factors for the stability of plaques in carotid artery of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The factors affecting formation of plaques in carotid artery include glucose level, TC, and LDL in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.The factors affecting its stability include thickness of IMT, TC, LDL, and FT4.IMT and TC were the independent risk factors for the stability of plaques in carotid artery.

Objective To observe the protective and antioxidative effect of Xinjihuoliyin on the myocardium injury induced by adriamycin (ADM) in rats. Methods 80 SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:normal group, control group, Xinjihuoliyin group and positive control group (Huangqishengmaiyin group). In control group, Xinjihuoliyin group and Huangqishengmaiyin group, ADM was intraperitonial injected at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg, three times every week, for 4 weeks, while normal saline was intraperitonial injected at a dose of 3 mL/kg in normal group. In Xinjihuoliyin group, Xinjihuoliyin was intragastric administrated once a day at a dose of 10 g/kg. In Huangqishengmaiyin group, Huangqishengmaiyin was intragastric administrated once a day at a dose of 7 mL/kg and distilled water was given to other two groups. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) of serum and myocardium were assayed. The myocardial pathomorphism was detected at the same time. Results Compared with the control group, MDA of serum and myocardium was lower, and SOD of serum and myocardium was higher in Xinjihuoliyin and Huangqishengmaiyin group. The scale of myocardial pathological damage in Xinjihuoliyin and Huangqishengmaiyin group was improved. Conclusion Xinjihuoliyin has protective effect and antioxidative effect on the myocardium injury induced by adriamycin in rats.

Objective To investigate the expression of NF-?B and its significance to sciatic nerve in diabetic rats.Methods The model of diabetes was induced by streptozotocin.The sciatic nerve conduction velocity(NCV)and NF-?B activity were observed at 1 month(DM1),3 months(DM3)and 6 months(DM6)during the experiment respectively.Results Compared with normal control group,NCV was significantly slower in DM3 and DM6 groups.There was no difference in NCV between normal control group and DM1 group.The expression of NF-?B,by electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA),was markedly higher in DM groups(P

Objective To explore the possible association of oxidative stress reaction with the mRNA expression of podocin in rats with adriarnycin(ADR)-induced nephrotic syndrome.Methods mRNA expression of podocin in renal cortex were investigated by in situ hybridization staining and semi-quantitative RT-PCR in ADR-induced nephrotic rats,the level of malondialdehyde(MDA), superoxide dismutase(SOD)and total antioxidative capacity(T-AOC) in renal cortex were measured, then the relationship between them was evaluated.Results In ADR rats, MDA increased at d7 and reached a significant higher level at d14 and d21;SOD decreased at d14 and persisted to d21; T-AOC decreased at d21.The podocin mRNA mostly expressed in cytoplasm of glomerular cells. Both the number and the intensity of positive cells increased notably as time progressed in ADR rats.The level of podocin mRNA expression showed no obvious changes at d7, while prominently increased at d14 and pesisted to d21 in ADR rats.There was significant correlativity between the mRNA expression of podocin and the level of MDA,SOD,T-AOC.Conclusion The mRNA expression of podocin is correlated with oxidative stress reaction in rats with ADR-induced nephrotic syndrome.

Objective To observe the expression of bag-1 and heat shock protein (HSP) 70 in clinical malignant tumors and the correlation between them. Methods RT-PCR and Immunohistochemistry were employed to examine the expression of bag-1 and HSP70 in 69 cases with gastroenteric cancer (54 cancer tissues and 15 non-cancer tissues). Results The expression of Bag-1 was detected in 96.3% of the cases, much higher than that in the control group (P0.05), and no correlation was observed between histological grade and HSP 70 expression. Conclusion There exists definite relationship between the gastroenteric cancer and the expression of bag-1 and HSP70, and there are close correlation between the tumor progress and the expression of bag-1.

Object To study the physiological changes of Taxus chinensis var. mairei (Lemee et L?vl.) Cheng et L. K. Fu in the case of methyl jasmonate (MJ). Methods TTC assay, soluble protein measurement and enzyme analysis were used. Results It was observed that MJ inhibited Taxus cell growth in the view of primary metabolism. MJ induced phenylalanine ammonia lyase(PAL) activity while it inhibited polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity. Extracellular phenolic content after addition of MJ increased to the maximum at the three days than that of the control group. Conclusion It was demonstrated that MJ induced the transition of Taxus cell from primary metabolism to secondary metabolism. This is favorable for secondary metabolism of Taxus cells. It is important to study the physiology of Taxus cells for revealing the mechanism of MJ.

Objective: To study the curative effect of Shengmai injection(生脉注射液) and composite Danshen injection(复方丹参注射液) on acute septic cardiomyopathy(ASC).Methods: Sixty patients(clinically) diagnosed as ASC were randomly divided into two groups: treatment group and control group.All the patients received western routine treatment,and Shengmai injection and composite Danshen injection were added to the patients in the treatment group once per day for 14 days.Cardiac troponin(cTn),electrocardiogram(ECG),clinical synthetic curative effect and amelioration rate of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores as well as inflammatory indexes including C-reactive protein(CRP),procalcitonin(PCT) and white blood cell count(WBC) were observed after treatment.Results: The levels of cTn,ECG,clinical synthetic curative effect and amelioration rate of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores were more improved in the treatment group than those of the control group(all P

Objective To investigate the relationship between the preterm infants after premature rupture of the membranes(PROM)brain injury and some cellular factors in the umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid,and ana-lyze the biological markers with great predictive value,and provide a theoretical basis for early monitoring of brain injury in premature infants. Methods One hundred and thirty - nine singleton infants with PROM,their gestation less than 34 weeks,were evaluated. The umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid of cytokines,including interleukin - 1β(IL - 1β),IL - 4,IL - 6,IL - 8,IL - 10,IL - 17A,tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF - α),granulocyte colony - stimu-lating factor(G - CSF),monocyte chemotactic protein - 1(MCP - 1),S100B protein and soluble intercellular adhe-sion molecule - 1(sICAM - 1)levels were measured with Luminex liquid chip. All the premature infants underwent brain imaging for the diagnosis of brain damage. All cases were divided into brain injury group and non - brain injury group based on brain imaging examination. Results The concentration of IL - 10 in cord blood was significantly lower in the brain injury group than that in the non - brain injury group,and the difference was statistically significant(P ﹤0. 05). The levels of IL - 1β,IL - 6,IL - 8,TNF - α,G - CSF,MCP - 1,S100B and sICAM - 1 in the brain injury group were significantly higher than those of non - brain injury group,and the differences were statistically significant (all P ﹤ 0. 05). The levels of IL - 1β,IL - 6,IL - 8,TNF - α,G - CSF,MCP - 1 and sICAM - 1 in the amniotic fluid were significantly higher than those of non - brain injury group,and the differences were statistically significant(all P ﹤ 0. 05),but amniotic fluid S100B protein level was similar between 2 groups,which had no statistical significance (P ﹥ 0. 05). To predict the value of brain damage in premature infants,the highest sensitivity in cord blood was S100B protein,the highest specificity was IL - 6. The highest sensitivity in amniotic fluid was IL - 1β,and the highest specificity was IL - 8. The levels of IL - 4 and IL - 17A in the umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid,IL - 10 in amniotic fluid were very low,and had no predictive value for brain damage. Conclusions Many biological markers in umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid provide information about the risk of brain injury in premature infants. The highest sensitivity in cord blood was S100B protein,the highest specificity was IL - 6. The highest sensitivity in amniotic fluid was IL - 1β,the highest specificity was IL - 8. Changes in inflammation - related biomarkers suggest that brain damage in the preterm infants might be associated with intrauterine inflammation.