Objective To explore the relationship of the ratio of plasma adrenomedullin(AM)and endothelin-1(ET-1)with serum concentration of neuron-specific enolase(NSE)in full-term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy(HIE).Methods Plasma concentrations of AM,ET-1 and serum NSE from 32 full-term neonates with HIE were detected by radioimmunoassay(RIA)on the 1,3 and 7 d after parturition,30 neonates in the corresponding periods in our hospital were employed as controls.The infants with HIE were divided into mild,moderate or severe group in terms of diagnostic standard of HIE.Results 1.Plasma concentrations of AM and ET-1 in newborns with mild,moderate or severe HIE were significantly higher than that of control group at 1 d after life with a decline from 3-7 d(Pa

Objective To explore the effect of exogenous adrenomedullin(ADM) on expressions of glutathion in plasma and brain tissue inneonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemia reperfusion brain damage(HIRBD) and the mechanism of action.Methods Fifty-six cases of 7 d SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups including normal control group(without any treatment),HIRBD group(the model with hypoxia for 2 h and ischemia for 1 h),primed group(abdomen infusion of ADM at 0.5 h before making model,the other was same to the HIRBD group)and treatment group(abdomen infusion of ADM at onces after making model,the other was same to the HIRBD group).The neonatal rats in 4 groups were derived blood and brain tissue after decapitation at either 4 h or 24 h after reperfusion.The levels of gtutathion(GSH) in plasma and brain tissue were determined by using chromatometry.Results In HIRBD group,the affection areas at 24 h after reperfusion enlarged compared with those at 4 h after reperfusion.Meanwhile,the affection of punctiform degeneration or necrosis at 4 h after reperfusion transformed into the affection of lamellar or diffuse degeneration or necrosis at 24 h after reperfusion.The levels of GSH in plasma and brain tissue in HIRBD group at either 4 h or 24 h after reperfusion were significantly lower than that in normal control group(Pa0.05).Meanwhile the pathology score of brain section in primed group and treatment group were significantly lower than that in HIRBD group at either 4 h or 24 h after reperfusion(Pa0.05).Conclusion Exogenous ADM can induce the neuroprotection in HIRBD by adjusting the expression of GSH.

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of the superficial venous trunk (SVT) and its nourishing vessels on early revascularization of the reverse-flow random flap in order to provide theoretical evidences for clinical applications.

METHODSThe morphologic changes of micrangium of the reverse-flow random flap with SVT and without SVT were observed at different phases and compared by optical microscopy and stereological methods.

RESULTSThe micrangium density of the flaps with SVT and without SVT showed a tendency of increasing at 3 days after the operation. At 5 to 10 days, the micrangium density of the flap with SVT was much higher than the flap without SVT. There was significant difference between the two groups, which was proved by the optical microscopy observation.

CONCLUSIONSThis study suggests that SVT and its nourishing vessels could promote early revascularization of the flap after transplantation. The SVT can be of benefit to the survival of the reverse-flow random flap.

Animals ; Graft Survival ; Microcirculation ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Skin Transplantation ; Surgical Flaps ; blood supply ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature ; Veins ; transplantation

Epilepsy is one of the most common and debilitating neurological diseases that affects more than 40 million people worldwide. Genetic factors contribute to the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Molecular genetic studies have identified 15 disease-causing genes for epilepsy. The majority of the genes encode ion channels, including voltage-gated potassium channels KCNQ2 and KCNQ3, sodium channels SCN1A, SCN2A, and SCN1B, chloride channels CLCN2, and ligand-gated ion channels CHRNA4, CHRNB2, GABRG2, and GABRA1. Interestingly, non-ion channel genes have also been identified as epilepsy genes, and these genes include G-protein-coupled receptor MASS1/VLGR1, GM3 synthase, and proteins with unknown functions such as LGI1, NHLRC1, and EFHC1. These studies make genetic testing possible in some patients, and further characterization of the identified epilepsy genes may lead to the development of new drugs and new treatments for patients with epilepsy.
Chloride Channels ; genetics ; Epilepsies, Myoclonic ; genetics ; Epilepsy ; genetics ; Epilepsy, Absence ; genetics ; Humans ; KCNQ2 Potassium Channel ; genetics ; KCNQ3 Potassium Channel ; genetics ; NAV1.1 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel ; NAV1.2 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel ; Nerve Tissue Proteins ; genetics ; Sodium Channels ; genetics

Achondroplasia ; genetics ; Adult ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Genes, Dominant ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 3 ; chemistry ; genetics ; physiology

BACKGROUNDSepsis is a leading cause of death in the intensive care units. The late inflammatory cytokine, high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), plays a critical role in sepsis. In the present study, we investigated the association between the serum HMGB1 levels and the severity of organ injury in the lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis in rats.

METHODSTo produce an animal model of sepsis with different degree of organ injury, animals were treated with three different doses of lipopolysaccharide (4, 8 and 16 mg/kg), and the animals in control group were treated with the same volume of the vehicle (saline). The levels of serum HMGB1 were measured at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 and 48 hours after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or vehicle injection, meanwhile the biochemical and histopathological indicators for the severity of organ injury were assessed.

RESULTSThe level of HMGB1 had a positive, high correlation with the abnormal changes of serum cardiac troponin I, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, as well as the pathologic scores of heart, lung, liver and kidney.

CONCLUSIONSThe level of serum HMGB1 is highly correlated with the severity of sepsis in rats, suggesting that HMGB1 could serve as a valuable adjunct in the diagnosis and management of sepsis.

Animals ; HMGB1 Protein ; blood ; Lipopolysaccharides ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sepsis ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of oxymatrine in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

METHODSA multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 144 patients with chronic hepatitis B entered the study for 52 weeks; of them 72 received oxymatrine, and 72 received a placebo. Before and after the treatment, clinical symptoms, liver function, serum hepatitis B virus markers, and adverse drug reactions were observed.

RESULTSIn 144 patients, 14 were dropped and excluded due to inconsistencies in the included standard. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of 130 patients were analyzed. After being treated for 52 weeks, 70.77% of the patients in the study group had a normal ALT level, and in 43.08% and 33.33% their HBV DNA and HBeAg became negative. In the placebo group, 39.68% had normal ALT level, and 12.31% and 3.33% had their HBV DNA and HBeAg become negative. The rates of complete response and partial response in the oxymatrine group were 23.08% and 58.46%, and in the placebo group they were 3.08% and 44.62%. They were significantly higher in the oxymatrine group than in the placebo group. In the oxymatrine treated patients, 12 weeks after its withdrawal, 60.00% had a normal ALT level, 41.54% and 23.33% had both HBV DNA and HBeAg negative. In the placebo group, 31.75% had a normal ALT level, 3.08% and 1.67% had both HBV DNA and HBeAg negative. The rates of complete response and partial response in the oxymatrine group were 21.54% and 47.69%, and in the placebo group they were 0 and 41.54%. They were significantly higher in the study group than in the placebo group. The adverse reaction rates of oxymatrine in the study and the placebo group were 7.69% and 6.15%, respectively, but there was no statistical significant difference between them.

CONCLUSIONOxymatrine is an effective and safe agent for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alkaloids ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antiviral Agents ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quinolizines

To test the European BIOMED-1 Concerted Action proposed technique to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in the chinese patients with precursor-B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (precursor-B-ALL) by triple-staining flow cytometry and to define both normal and aberrant phenotypic profiles of precursor B cells, a series of bone marrow samples, 35 from precursor-B-ALL (13 in newly diagnosed cases, 15 at the end of remission induction therapy and 7 at end of the consolidations), and 19 from normal controls, were immunophenotyped with the five triple-staining antibodies (TdT/CD10/CD19, CD10/CD20/CD19, CD34/CD38/CD19, CD34/CD22/CD19 and CD19/CD34/CD45) recom-mended by the BIOMED-1 using common flow cytometric protocols. Further, with different ratios of the leukemic cells with CD34/CD38/CD19 phenotype and normal mononuclear cells, a serial dilution test was analyzed. The results showed that three major CD19(+) cell subpopulations were identified in the normal controls, representing three consecutive maturation stages. The subpopulations in the precursor-B-ALL cases disappeared and were replaced with a great number of luekemic cells which had different characteristics of phenotypes, and then they reappeared with almost same characteristics as the normal CD19(+) cells after the patients achieved complete remission. When the five triple-staining antibody combinations were used, the phenotypic aberrancies could be identified in 12/13 (92.3%) cases with newly diagnosed precursor-B-ALL, at least one triple-labeling per case at the level of 0.01% or more. The frequencies of phenotypic aberrations detected with the triple-staining were 8/13 (61.5%) for CD10/CD20/CD19, 5/13 (38.5%) for CD34/CD38/CD19, 4/13 (30.8%) for CD10/TdT/CD19, 3/13 (23.1%) for CD34/CD22/CD19, and 2/13 (15.4%) for CD34/CD45/CD19. At the end of remission induction, the phenotypic aberrancies could be detected in 5/15 (33.3%), of which, 3/8 (37.5%) cases with the leukemic phenotypes detected both at the newly diagnosis and at the end of induction. The dilution test indicated that the cells with CD34/CD38/CD19 detected by flow cytometry correlated well with the leukemic cells added (r = 0.85, P < 0.05) over 1:1 to 1:400,000. It is concluded that the flow cytometric detection of precursor-B-ALL-MRD proposed by BIOMED-1 Concerted Action were well realized in this study. The one precursor-B-ALL cell can be effectively detected out of 10(4) normal bone marrow cells.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD ; analysis ; B-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; pathology ; Bone Marrow Cells ; immunology ; pathology ; Child ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm, Residual ; blood ; immunology ; pathology ; Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; blood ; immunology ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of Magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate in treatment of chronic liver diseases.

METHODSIt is a randomized, double-blind, multi-doses, active drug controlled, multi-center study. 480 proper patients were randomly divided into group A (180 patients), group B (180 patients) or group C (120 patients). Patients in group A received magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate 100 mg once daily. Patients in group B received magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate 150 mg once daily. Patients in group C received compound glycyrrhizin 120 mg once daily. The treatment course was 4 weeks. Patients were followed up 2 weeks after the treatment. Patients visited once every 2 weeks. Clinical symptoms, ALT, AST were evaluated in all the patients before treatment, at week 2, at week 4 and at 2 weeks later after treatment. The other liver function test was done before treatment and at week 4.

RESULTS412 patients completed the study according to the protocol,152 in group A, 160 in group B and 100 in group C. ALT and AST level were significantly decreased in all groups at week 2 and week 4 (P < 0.05). The degree of ALT decrease is greater in group B than in group C at week 2 (P < 0.01). The degree of ALT decrease was not significant different among three groups at week 4 (P > 0.05). The rates of ALT improvement at week 4 in group A, B, C were 92.59%, 91.76%, 88.29%, respectively (P > 0.05). The rates of symptoms improvement at week 4 in group A, B, C were 90.41%, 89.86%, 86.46% and 72.22%, 73.53%, 68.47%, respectively (P > 0.05). No relapse were found in all three groups after treatment. The rate of adverse event in three groups was similar (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONMagnesium isoglycyrrhizinate is an effective and safe treatment for chronic liver diseases.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Chronic Disease ; Double-Blind Method ; Fatty Liver ; blood ; drug therapy ; Female ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Injections, Intravenous ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Liver Diseases ; blood ; drug therapy ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; blood ; drug therapy ; Male ; Saponins ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Triterpenes ; adverse effects ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

In 2013, two episodes of influenza emerged in China and caused worldwide concern. A new H7N9 avian influenza virus (AIV) first appeared in China on February 19, 2013. By August 31, 2013, the virus had spread to ten provinces and two metropolitan cities. Of 134 patients with H7N9 influenza, 45 died. From then on, epidemics emerged sporadically in China and resulted in several victims. On November 30, 2013, a 73-year-old woman presented with an influenza-like illness. She developed multiple organ failure and died 9 d after the onset of disease. A novel reassortant AIV, H10N8, was isolated from a tracheal aspirate specimen that was obtained from the patient 7 d after onset. This case was the first human case of influenza A subtype H10N8. On 4 February, 2014, another death due to H10N8 avian influenza was reported in Jiangxi Province, China.
Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza A Virus, H10N8 Subtype ; classification ; Influenza A Virus, H7N9 Subtype ; classification ; Influenza A Virus, H9N2 Subtype ; classification ; Influenza, Human ; epidemiology ; virology ; Phylogeny ; Reassortant Viruses ; classification