A 28-year-old female with a 1-year history of ketamine abuse developed ketamine-associated urinary symptoms that were refractory to conservative treatment after the complete cessation of ketamine use. Smooth voiding with increased bladder capacity and minimal postvoid residual urine volume were achieved by performing an augmentation enterocystoplasty. An uneventful pregnancy with the vaginal delivery of a healthy baby occurred postoperatively.
Adult ; Cystitis* ; Delivery, Obstetric ; Female ; Humans ; Ketamine* ; Pregnancy* ; Urinary Bladder

OBJECTIVETo observe the effectiveness and safety of Kangquan Recipe (康泉方, KQR) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients.

METHODSOne hundred and six BPH patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group (53 cases) and the control group (53 cases) according to a random number table. The treatment group was given KQR orally; the control group was given cernilton orally. After 24-week treatment, the clinical effect and safety were evaluated using the International Prostatic Symptom Score (I-PSS), quality of life (QOL), maximum flow rate (Qmax), average flow rate (Qave), residual urine volume (RUV), total prostatic volume (TPV), etc.

RESULTSAfter treatment, the score of I-PSS was decreased from 16.9±5.6 to 12.5±4.6 in the treatment group, significantly lower compared with the control group; the levels of Qmax and Qave were from 10.9±3.5 to 15.6±4.5 and 5.4±2.1 to 7.3±2.5 (mL/s) in the treatment group, significantly higher compared with the control group; the levels of RUV and TPV were from 70.8±28.2 to 35.2±21.8 and 37.2±16.9 to 30.1±10.8 (mL) in the treatment group, significantly lower compared with the control group (all P<0.05). The incidence rate of adverse reaction was similar between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONKQR is effective and safe for the treatment of BPH.

Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organ Size ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; urine ; Treatment Outcome ; Urination

OBJECTIVETo screen out the HAb18G/CD147 binding peptides and find out an antagonist against hepatoma invasion.

METHODSHAb18G/CD147 was purified by affinity chromatographic method and the antigen binding peptides acquired by bio-panning a phage-displayed 12-peptide library. After obtaining the sequence of the selected phage-displayed peptides, all the 9 peptides were synthesized by solid-phase method and identified by mass spectrograph. The peptides' anti-metastatic function was tested by Boyden Chamber assay.

RESULTSThe purified HAb18G/CD147, identified by Western blot (molecular weight about 65 kd) could be used to bio-pan the phage-displayed peptide library. After 3 rounds of bio-panning, 9 positive phage clones were selected and sequenced. The synthesized peptides had uneven inhibitory activities and three of them were able to markedly inhibit the hepatoma cell invasion (P < 0.01). The most effective peptide decreased by 90.1% of hepatoma cells migrating through the Boyden Chamber membrane as compared with the control.

CONCLUSIONBio-panning the phage-displayed peptide library can be used successfully to screen out the antigen binding peptides. Hepatoma metastatic potential can be inhibited by peptide antagonist which could be a good foundation of developing peptide therapeutic agent against hepatoma metastasis.

Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; therapeutic use ; Basigin ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Mice ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Peptide Library ; Peptides ; therapeutic use

BACKGROUNDDecayed teeth are harmful to children's growth and development and can severely jeopardize their health. This study was set out to investigate and analyze the prevalence of dental caries in preschool children in Shanghe County in Shandong Province, China, and provide new insights into potential prevention and treatment strategies.

METHODSBased on the random sampling method, we performed dental examinations of children aged 2 to 6 years in kindergartens of Shanghe County. The prevalence of caries, the average number of decayed teeth per capita as well as the constituent rates of decayed, missing and filled teeth were determined retrospectively. SPSS software was used for data analysis.

RESULTSDental caries were found in 1088 out of 2052 children from 56 kindergartens. The total number of decayed teeth was 4487 with a prevalence of 53.02%. The average number of decayed teeth per capita was 2.187, and the filling rate was 0.29%. There was no statistical difference in the prevalence of caries between boys and girls though there were significant differences between different age groups. The prevalence of decayed teeth as well as the mean number of decayed teeth infected per capita increased with age. In addition, urban children had a higher prevalence than those from rural areas (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe prevalence of decayed caries among kindergarten children in Shanghe County was high, suggesting that more emphasis should be put on improving oral health education with priority given to prevention. Further efforts should be made to increase the decayed caries filling rate.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Dental Caries ; epidemiology ; pathology ; prevention & control ; Female ; Health Education, Dental ; methods ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence

Nowadays, the overcharge problem of some highly valued medical consumables is getting worse in China, leading its relevant treatment cost to be very high, which greatly increases the burden of medical expenses for the patients' treatment and forms a terrific reason of catastrophic health expenditure. It is advisable for the government attaching great importance to and take comprehensive measures to curb the overcharge for highly valued medical consumables. To solve this problem, it is suggested to cure the standard, cultivate national brands to break the monopoly of import products, improve the comprehensive regulatory mechanism of circulation and use to prevent some highly valued medical consumables being overpriced, strengthening oversight in the stage of use to restrain clinical abused behaviors, packaging pricing for these highly valued medical consumables to promote producers and operators to significantly reduce prices, and guiding the doctors in the choice of cost-effective medical supplies.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the risk factors for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the overall hospitalized cardiac department population. This study was conducted to investigate the risk factors and develop a predictive model for SCD in a hospitalized cardiac department population. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of patients admitted to the cardiac department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from June 2015 to February 2017. We collected the clinical data from medical records. Multiple stepwise logistic regression analysis was carried out to confirm the risk factors for SCD and develop a predictive risk model. The risk score was assessed by the area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. RESULTS: A total of 262 patients with SCD and 4485 controls were enrolled in our study. Logistic regression modeling identified eight significant risk factors for in-hospital SCD: age, main admitting diagnosis, diabetes, corrected QT interval, QRS duration, ventricular premature beat burden, left ventricular ejection fraction, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. A predictive risk score including these variables showed an AUROC curve of 0.774 (95% confidence interval: 0.744-0.805). The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test showed the chi-square value was 2.527 (P = 0.640). The incidence of in-hospital SCD was 1.3%, 4.1%, and 18.6% for scores of 0 to 2, 3 to 5 and ≥6, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Age, main admitting diagnosis, diabetes, QTc interval, QRS duration, ventricular premature beat burden, left ventricular ejection fraction, and estimated glomerular filtration rate are factors related to in-hospital SCD in a hospitalized cardiac department population. We developed a predictive risk score including these factors that could identify patients who are predisposed to in-hospital SCD.
Aged ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; epidemiology ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Inpatients ; statistics & numerical data ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Objective To investigate the characteristics of blood routine in 129 patients with COVID-19, and analyze the correlation between blood routine parameter changes and clinical classification. Methods A total of 129 COVID-19 patients were recruited and their blood samples were collected at the beginning and the end of treatment.The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio(LMR) and C-reactive protein(CRP) were determined and used to calculate Δ NLR, Δ PLR, Δ LMR.The differences in these parameters were compared between the non-severe group (93 cases) and the severe group (36 cases).In addition, the relationship between the changes in blood routine test result and the prognosis of patients was determined. Results The average age of 129 patients was 46.9±17.4 years old, and the ratio of male to female was 1.2 ∶ 1.Thirty-five (35) cases (27.1%) had leucopenia (< 4×10⁹/L) and 59 cases (45.7%) had lymphopenia (< 1.1×10⁹/L).There were statistically significant differences in age, treatment days, blood routine indexes between these two groups.In all the patients, the differences between before and after treatment were statistically significant in the following: leukocyte number, neutrophil cell percentage, lymphocyte number, lymphocyte percentage, monocyte number, monocyte percentage.The differences in RBC, HGB, CRP, and NLR between the two groups before and after treatment were also statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion The older COVID-19 patients have lower number of lymphocytes, higher NLR and PLR, lower LMR and higher CRP.They have a higher risk of progressing to severe disease.After treatment, there is an increase in the number of granulocytes, especially the number of lymphocytes, while a decrease in CRP and NLR.The change of lymphocyte count, NLR and CRP levels can predict the risk of severe COVID-19 and evaluate the therapeutic effect.

AIMTo investigate whether Ginkgo biloba extract can augment endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) number, and promote EPC proliferation, migration and adhesion.

METHODSTotal mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated from peripheral blood by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation, and then the cells were plated on fibronectin-coated culture dishes. After 7 days of culture, attached cells were stimulated with Ginkgo biloba extract (10, 25 and 50 mg x L(-1)) or vehicle control for the respective time points (6, 12, 24 and 48 h). EPC were characterized as adherent cells double positive for DiLDL-uptake and lectin binding by direct fluorescent staining under a laser scanning confocal microscope. EPC were further documented by demonstrating the expression of CD34, VEGFR-2 and AC133 with flow cytometry. EPC proliferation, migration and in vitro vasculogenesis activity were assayed with MTT assay, modified Boyden chamber assay and in vitro vasculogenesis kit, respectively. EPCs adhesion assay was performed by replating MNCs on fibronectin-coated dishes, and then counting adherent cells.

RESULTSIncubation of isolated human MNCs with Ginkgo biloba extract increased the number of EPC, maximum at 25 mg x L(-1), 24 hours (approximately 1-fold increase, P < 0.01). In addition, Ginkgo biloba extract promotes EPC proliferative, migratory, adhesive and in vitro vasculogenesis capacity.

CONCLUSIONGinkgo biloba may promote EPC augmentation and enhance its functional activity.

Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; cytology ; drug effects ; Ginkgo biloba ; chemistry ; Humans ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; drug effects ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Stem Cells ; drug effects

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether fluvastatin augments the number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), and promotes EPCs proliferation, migration and adhesion. Total mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated from peripheral blood by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. The cells were then plated on fibronectin-coated culture dishes. After being cultured for 7 d, the attached cells were stimulated with fluvastatin (final concentrations: 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 micromol/L), simvastatin (1 micromol/L) or a vehicle for the respective time points (6, 12, 24 and 48 h). EPCs were characterized as adherent cells double positive for DiLDL-uptake and lectin binding by direct fluorescent staining under a laser scanning confocal microscope. EPCs were further documented by demonstrating the expression of KDR, VEGFR-2 and AC133 with flow cytometry. EPCs proliferation, migration and in vitro vasculogenesis activity were assayed by MTT assay, modified Boyden chamber assay and in vitro vasculogenesis kit, respectively. EPCs adhesion assay was performed by replating it on fibronectin-coated dishes, and the adherent cells were then counted. In addition, we also studied EPCs culture assay of peripheral blood from fluvastatin-treated animals in vivo. Incubation of isolated human MNCs with fluvastatin dose- and time-dependently increased the number of EPCs, while reached the maximum 24 h after the administration at 1 micromol/L, (2.5-fold increase, P<0.05). Moreover, treatment of rats with fluvastatins elevated the number of EPCs (3-fold increase, P<0.05), thus extending the in vitro data. In addition, fluvastatin also promoted EPC proliferation, migration, adhesion and in vitro vasculogenesis in a concentration-dependent manner. The effects of fluvastatin on EPCs were compared with those of simvastatin at the same concentration (1 micromol/L), with a result of no statistical difference. The results of the present study define a novel mechanism of the action of statins: the augmentation of EPCs with enhanced functional activity.
Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Count ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Indoles ; pharmacology ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; cytology ; Simvastatin ; pharmacology ; Stem Cells ; cytology

Adult ; China ; epidemiology ; Dengue ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Travel