OBJECTIVETo observe the intervention of Dachengqi Granule (DG) on the apoptosis of small intestine smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in rats with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) and its mechanisms.

METHODSHealthy 100 adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group (n =20), the MODS model group (n =40), and the DG group (n =40).E. coli suspension was peritoneally injected to rats in the model group and the DG group to establish bacterial peritonitis induced MODS model. DG at 1 mL/100 g was administered by gastrogavage to rats of the DG group, twice daily for 3 successive days. Twenty-four hours after modeling, the proximal segment of intestine was taken and stained by using terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemistry. Changes of apoptosis quantity of SMCs and the expression of Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax), B cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 (Bcl-2) and cytochrome c protein (Cyt c) in mitochondrial apoptotic signaling pathway were observed.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the apoptosis quantity of SMCs and the expression of Bax and Cyt c protein significantly increased, and the expression of Bcl-2 protein significantly decreased in the MODS model group (P <0.01). Compared with the MODS model group, the apoptosis quantity of SMCs and the expression of Bax and Cyt c proteins significantly decreased, and the expression of Bcl-2 protein significantly increased in the DG group (allP <0.01).

CONCLUSIONDG could inhibit apoptosis of SMCs through suppressing activation of mitochondrial apoptotic signaling pathway in intestinal SMCs, thus promoting the recovery of the gastrointestinal motility function in rats with MODS.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Intestine, Small ; physiopathology ; Multiple Organ Failure ; drug therapy ; Muscle, Smooth ; physiopathology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; drug effects ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo compare two kinds of method for treating lumbar tuberculosis with psoas abscess, to provide reference for clinical reasonable select of therapy treatment.

METHODSFrom January 2010 to January 2013,42 patients with lumbar tuberculosis combined with psoas abscess with obvious surgical indications were enrolled, including 24 males and 18 females with an average age of (38.5 ± 10.2) years old ranging from 21 to 63 years old. All patients were followed up for 18 to 24 months with an average of 20.9 months. Twenty-two patients underwent posterior vertebral body lesions cleared, bone graft fusion and internal fixation and percutaneous puncture catheter drainage for treatment of psoas major abscess as group A, and twenty patients underwent one-stage extraperitoneal approach to remove abscess, posterior vertebral body lesions cleared, bone graft fusion and internal fixation as group B. The operative time, loss of blood, length of hospital stay, clinical cure rate and other clinical results for the two groups were analyzed and compared.

RESULTSThe loss of blood was (452.3 ± 137.6) ml in group A and (603.5 ± 99.6) ml in group B, there was significant statistical difference (P < 0.05). The time of operation was (193.6 ± 91.2) min in group A and (230.5 ± 56.6) min in group B, there was significant statistical difference (P < 0.05). The time of operation and the loss of blood in group A were obviously less than which in group B. In group A 20 cases were cured and 2 cases relapsed, 19 cases were cured and 1 case relapsed in group B, there was no significant statistical differences between two groups regarding cure rate with chi-square test (χ² = 0.000, P = 1.000). All patients in two groups obtained good clinical curative effect. There were no significant statistical difference between two groups regarding for length of hospital stay with t-test (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONLumbar spinal tuberculosis with psoas abscess is not absolute indications for anterior open operation. Compared with the combined anterior and posterior surgical procedure, the percutaneous puncture catheter drainage combined with posterior debridement, interbody fusion and internal fixation can achieve the same clinical effect but less trauma for the patients.

Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Debridement ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psoas Abscess ; etiology ; surgery ; Spinal Fusion ; Tuberculosis, Spinal ; complications ; surgery ; Young Adult

Objective To discuss the anatomical and radiographic parameters of medullary screw fixation of anterior acetabular column so as to provide reference for clinical application. Methods Thirty cadaveric pelvic specimens (including 18 males and 12 females) were involved in the study and fixated re-spectively with 30 retrograde medullary cannular lag screws through pubic tubercle to acetabular posterosu-perior on the left side and with 30 anterograde medullary cannular lag screws through acetabular posterosu-perior to pubic tubercle on the right side. Then, two-dimensional multiplanar CT reconstruction was done to measure the angle and length of the anterograde and retrograde medullary screw trajectory, the relationship of screws with acetabular bone and penis and determine optimal point and angle of screw insertion. Re-suits The entrance of the retrograde medullary screw was located at pubic tubercle, with vertical dimen-sion of ( 17.15±1.82) mm to pubic symphysis and that of (20.51±2.19) mm to superior margin of pu-bis. For the anterograde medullary screw, the distance from the entrance of the screw to greater sciatic notch was (33.25±2.35) mm, with safe insertion angle of (32.1±2.7)°of cephalon tilting at the sagittal plane and (46.5±3.6)°of lateral tilting at the coronal plane. The entrance angle of the anterugrade and retrograde medullary screw trajectory was similar, with only opposite direction and minor difference between the left and the right sides (P>0.05). The length of medullary screw trajectory was (119.5±2.2) mm, with insignificant difference between both sides ( P >0.05). The maximum diameter of the screw was 7.2 mm. Conclusions Medullary screw fixation of anterior acetabular column is clinically feasible but needs rather high accuracy and can be used as an alternative to plate fixation.

BACKGROUND:Currently, one of common methods is discectomy, nerve root decompression and fusion rigid fixation from the midline approach for disc herniation which is inefficient by conservative treatments. Thus, it is causing degeneration and limiting lumbar physiological activity of adjacent segments. The treatment of non-fusion lumbar disc herniation with the traditional posterior midline incision approach has some disadvantages such as big incision, wide peeling, and back muscle denervation.
OBJECTIVE:To observe therapeutic effects of dynamic stabilization system through Wiltse approach on lumbar disc herniation, and to compare the outcomes with traditional posterior approach.
METHODA total of 46 patients, who had undergone discectomy and internal fixation using dynamic stabilization systems for lumbar disc herniation at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 2011 to January 2013, were enrol ed in this study. The operation was performed through the traditional posterior approach in 25 patients and Wiltse approach in 21 patients.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Al 46 patients were fol owed up for 7 to 31 months (averagely, 13.8±2.4 months). The length of incision, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative drainage amount were less in the Wiltse approach group than in the traditional posterior approach group (P<0.05). No significant difference in visual analog scale scores and operative time was detected between the two groups at 1 week and 6 months after fixation (P>0.05). Radiographs revealed that the position of implants was good in al patients, no loosing or breakage. These data verified that the early effect of dynamic stabilization system through Wiltse approach for lumbar disc herniation is similar to that of traditional posterior approach.

Objective To investigate the feasibility and application scope of the looping technique by using a gooseneck snare and a loach guide wire in retrieving tubular foreign bodies within the vascular or ureteral duct. Methods During the period from July 2009 to Dec. 2013, six patients with ruptured catheter were admitted to authors’ hospital. All six patients were females. Three patients had internal ruptured peripherally inserted central venous catheter (PICC), one patient had ruptured implantable venous access port catheter and two patients had replacement of double “J” ureteral catheter stent. By using looping technique, i.e. a loach guide wire and a gooseneck snare were separately placed at the two ends of the tubular foreign body, then the gooseneck snare entangled the soft leading end of the loach guide wire to form a annular structure to seize the ruptured tubular catheter and then to pull it out of the body. Results With the help of the looping technique, the internal ruptured catheter or the double “J” ureteral catheter was successfully removed in all the six patients. Conclusion For the retrieval of the tubular foreign bodies within the vascular or ureteral duct, the looping technique by using a gooseneck snare and a loach guide wire is an effective and fast treatment. Therefore, this technique should be recommended in the clinical practice.

BACKGROUND:Though the effects of conservative or traditional open reduction and internal fixation in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures are reliable and satisfactory for most cases, two methods also have shortages. Minimal-invasive percutaneous pedicle screw system provides a new available method. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the clinical effect of Sextant percutaneous pedicle screw system in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. METHODS:A total of 55 patients, who had undergone percutaneous pedicle screw fixation using Sextant system (25 patients) or traditional open internal fixation (30 patients) for single-level vertebral body compression fractures in Department of Orthopedics of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from February 2011 to January 2013, were enrol ed in this study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Except two patients in traditional open internal fixation group were lost after discharge, al other patients were fol owed up for 8-14 months. Operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage amount and hospital day were better in percutaneous pedicle screw fixation group than in the traditional open internal fixation group (P<0.05). Compared with preoperation, the sagittal Cobb angle, visual analogue scale and Oswestry disability index after operation were significantly lower (P<0.05), while anterior vertebral body height ratio was significantly higher in each group (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in terms of correction loss and Oswestry disability index between two groups at 8 months after operation (P>0.05). The results show that percutaneous pedicle screw fixation using Sextant system has a satisfactory outcome in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. However, obeying indication strictly is very important for clinical application.

BACKGROUND:The effects of both conservative and traditional open reduction and internal fixation are dissatisfactory in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures, however, minimal-invasive percutaneous pedicle screw-rod systems provide a new available method.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the clinical effect of percutaneous pedicle screw fixation using Sextant minimal-invasive system in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.
METHODS:A total of 55 patients, who had undergone percutaneous pedicle screw fixation using Sextant system (25 patients) or open pedicle screw fixation (30 patients) for single-level vertebral body compression fractures in Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from February 2011 to January 2013, were enrol ed in this study. They showed no neurological signs and symptoms. The operative time, intraoperablood loss, postoperative drainage amount, length of hospital stay, pre-and post-operative Cobb angle and anterior vertebral body height ratio were recorded and compared between two groups.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Except two patients in open pedicle screw fixation group were lost after discharge, al other patients were fol owed up for 8-14 months. There were significant differences in operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage amount and length of hospital stay between two groups (P=0.000 0). The post-operative Cobb angle was significantly lower while anterior vertebral body height ratio was significantly higher at one week than those before fixation in two groups (P=0.000 0). No significant difference was found in correction loss between two groups at 8 months after operation. Experimental findings indicate that, percutaneous pedicle screw fixation using Sextant system has a satisfactory outcome in the treatment of thoracolumbar fractures. However, understanding the correct indications is very important for clinical application.

Objective To clarify the genetic diversity of HIV-1 strains currently circulating in Shanghai and establish the molecular epidemiological database of HIV-1 infection.Methods The samples from 114 newly diagnosed HIV-l-infected individuals between June 2004 and June 2005 were investigated.HIV-1 pol gene(protease 1-99 aa and reverse transcriptase 1-252 aa) from plasma sam- ples were amplified by RT-PCR,sequenced and phylogenetieally analyzed.Protease inhibitors(PRIs) and reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs) resistance-associated mutations in protease (PR) and re- verse transcriptase(RT) regions were analyzed.Results (1)Epidemiological survey showed the exist ence of different modes of transmission of HIV-1 including sexual contacts 51(44.74%),intravenous drug users 43 (37.72%),contaminated blood/blood products transfusion 3(2.63%) and unknown in- fection 17(14.91%);(2)Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 9 of the analyzed sequences were identi- fied as subtype B(7.89%),15 as subtype B'(13.16%),1 as subtype C(0.88%),1 as subtype G (0.88%),38 as CRF01 AE(33.33%),46 as CRF07 BC(40.35%) and4 asCRF08 BC(3.51%); (3)Analysis of drug-resistance associated mutation showed that 21 of 114 (18.42%) persons infected with drug-resistant HIV-1,among which major mutations in PR and RT regions accounted for 2.63 (3/114) and 17.54% (20/114),respectively.The frequencies of major mutation in PR region were M46I(66.67%),M46L(33.33%) and in RT region were M41L(7.69%),A62V (7.69%),T69S (7.69%),V75I/L(15.38%),K103R(25.00%),V118I(23.08%),V179D/E/T(33.33%),G190R (8.33%),L210K/M/X(38.46%),227L/I(16.67%),M230R(8.33%),P236R(8.33%).Conclusions The results revealed the current presence of multiple HIV-1 subtypes and recombinants strains infec- ting residents and migrants living in Shanghai.The broad diversity of HIV-1 has been introduced into Shanghai mainly through drug injection and heterosexual contacts.This study also revealed that HIV-1 strains infecting these newly diagnosed treatment-naive persons have acquired major mutations in both PR gene and RT gene of HIV-1.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of simvastatin on the proliferation and apoptosis of prostatic epithelial RWPE-1 cells.

METHODSRWPE-1 cells cultured in vitro were treated with simvastatin at 0, 10, 20, and 40 μmol/L for 24, 48, and 72 hours followed by determination of their proliferation by MTT assay, and their apoptosis by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, and Cx43 were detected by fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively.

RESULTSAfter 72 hours of treatment with simvastatin at 10, 20, and 40 μmol/L, the inhibition rates of the RWPE-1 cells were (21.07 ± 6.41)%, (34.87 ± 9.65)%, and (47.18 ± 10.88)%, respectively, significantly higher than (1.21 ± 0.54)% in the control group (P < 0.05) and in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05); the cell apoptosis rates were (0.066 ± 0.016)%, (0.126 ± 0.023)%, and (0.192 ± 0.025)%, respectively, remarkably higher than (0.015 ± 0.005)% in the control (P < 0.05) and also in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05); the mRNA and protein expressions of Bcl-2 were decreasing while those of Bax and Cx43 increasing with the increased concentration of simvastatin (P < 0.05). The expression of Cx43 was correlated negatively with that of Bcl-2 but positively with that of Bax.

CONCLUSIONSimvastatin inhibits the proliferation of prostate epithelial cells and induce their apoptosis by acting on the gap junctional intercellular communication.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Connexin 43 ; metabolism ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Epithelial Cells ; drug effects ; physiology ; Humans ; Hypolipidemic Agents ; pharmacology ; Male ; Prostate ; cytology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Simvastatin ; pharmacology ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo determine whether oral statins can delay the progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

METHODSWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of 50-69-year-old males who came for physical examination in our hospital between January 2003 and December 2008. We designed the inclusion criteria, followed them up for 5 years, and investigated the relationship of oral statins with the clinical progression of BPH and LUTS.

RESULTSTotally, 653 men met the inclusion criteria and were included in this study, of whom 283 were treated with oral statins (group 1) while the other 370 with none (group 2). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in age and baseline IPSS, Qmax, and prostate volume (PV) (P > 0.05). During the follow-up, 24 cases in group 1 and 35 cases in group 2 were excluded for obvious dys-uria. A gradual increase was observed in IPSS in both groups 1 and 2 year by year from the baseline to the 5th year of follow-up, but significantly lower in the former group (4.27 +/- 1.16, 4.63 +/- 1.05, 5.27 +/- 0.96, 6.41 +/- 1.04, 7.21 +/- 1.21, and 7.93 +/-1.50) than in the latter (4.24 +/- 1.35, 5.26 +/- 1.23, 6.84 +/- 1.20, 8.75 +/- 1.84, 10.82 +/- 3.01, and 12.98 +/- 4.21) (P < 0.01); a gradual decrease was seen in Qmax, though markedly higher in group 1 ([26.56 +/- 2.09], [24.06 +/- 1.94], [21.33 +/- 1.66], [19.24 +/- 1.54], [17.44 +/- 1.53], and [16.27 +/- 1.37] ml/s) than in group 2 ([26.74 +/- 2.40], [23.62 +/- 2.01], [20.63 +/- 1.69], [17.72 +/- 1.48], [14.82 +/- 1.11], and [11.86 +/- 1.24] ml/s) (P < 0.01); and a gradual increase was found in PV, but remarkably smaller in the former group ([19.82 +/- 4.94], [22.60 +/- 4.99], [25.80 +/- 5.20], [27.92 +/- 5.05], [29.11 +/- 5.24], and [29.97 +/- 5.26] ml) than in the latter ([20.21 +/- 4.78], [24.30 +/- 4.98], [28.50 +/- 5.14], [32.84 +/- 4.77], [36.99 +/- 4.78], and [40.90 +/- 4.78] ml) (P < 0.01). Longer medication of statins was associated with better efficacy.

CONCLUSIONOral statins can significantly delay the clinical progression of BPH and LUTS.

Aged ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Longitudinal Studies ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; Retrospective Studies