Objective To investigate the association of HLA-DRB31*03,*04 and *11 alleles with alopecia areata(AA)in Han Nationality in East China.Methods Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer(PCR-SSP)method was conducted in 158 Chinese Han patients with AA as well as in 172 healthy human controls in East China.The relationships of HLA-DRB1 polymorphism to age of onset,episode frequency,clinical course,family history,and severity of AA were evaluated.Results No significant differences were observed for the frequency of HLA DRB1*03,*11 alleles between the patients and human controls,while increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*04 was observed in patients(OR=1.99,Pc=0.01).Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that HLA-DRB1*04 was more prevalent in patients with an onset after 16 years of age(OR=1.94,Pc=0.02),those without family history(OR=1.97,Pc=0.02),those with recurrent AA(OR=2.49,Pc=0.02),those with a clinical course of more than 1 year(OR=2.94,Pc=0.01),those with severe AA(OR=3.53,Pc=0.00)and tbose with single episode of AA(OR=1.83,Pc=0.04)in comparison with the normal human controls.Conclusion This study demonstrates that HLA-DRB1*04 allele is associated with the occurrence and clinical types of AA in Han Nationality in East China.

Objective To describe the clinical features of venous diethylene glycol poisoning and to identify factors correlating with such kind of poisoning.Methods Retrospective chart review was performed to analyze the epidemiology,clinical presentation,hepatorenal functions,bemodynam- ics and pathological characteristics of 64 patients with severe liver diseases who received intravenous diethylene glycol.Comparative analyses of correlating factors and causes of poisoning were based on the presence or absence of poisoning.Results Fifteen cases of poisoning were reported.After a 5 day incubation period,all poisoned patients displayed acute renal failure and 11 cases with digestive tract symptoms and(or) symptom exacerbations were noted.Neurological system impairment was observed in 10 cases after 2 weeks.Metabolic acidosis developed in 13 cases.Poisoned patients exhibited signif- icantly lower red blood celI(RBC)[(2.32?0.76)?10~(12)/L],hemoglobin(Hb) [(79.5?23.6)g/L] value and higher white blood cell(WBC)[(9.78?3.75)?10~9/L] count.Renal biopsy of poisoned patients revealed acute tubular necrosis and interstitial nephritis.Twelve poisoned patients died.Sig nifieant differences were found between groups regarding preexisting severe hepatitis,ascites,renal disease and diuretic therapy.Prior to diethylene glycol injections,mean values of neutrophil,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),creatinine(Cr) and calcium and phosphorousions differed significantly between groups.Conclusions Features of venous diethylene glycol poisoning include oliguric acute renal fail- ure,metabolic acidosis,digestive symptoms,nervous system impairment and a high probability of anemia and WBC proliferation.Mortality is high.Correlative factors include preexisting severe liver disease,renal disease and infection.

Objective To investigate the prevalence and pattern of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) in Shanghai through a community-based survey. Methods A cluster sampling survey was done among the residents in Beixinjing Community, Changning District, Shanghai. All the subjects were asked to fill a questionnaire to provide their general information, including sex, age, native place, physical status, life habit, family history, etc. The diagnosis of AGA was made by dermatologists. To determine the pattern of hair loss,Norwood-Hamilton classification system and Ludwig classification system were used for male AGA and female AGA, respectively. All the data were statistically analyzed by EpiData and SPSS11.5 software. Results Totally, 7056 subjects completed the questionnaire, including 3519 males and 3537 females, and the response rate was 72.5%. AGA was diagnosed in 809 patients, consisting of 701 males aging from 19 to 91 years (mean 64.16±11.9 years) and 108 females aging from 35 to 91 years (mean 70.46±18.89 years). The standardized prevalence (SP) was 9.47% in total, 15.73% in males and 2.73% in females; the difference was significant between males and females (χ2=356.00, P<0.001). A family history of AGA was observed in 52.7% of all subjects including 391 (55.78%) males and 35 (32.41%) females. Type Ⅲ vertex involvement was the most common type in men aging from 20 to 70 years old, and type Ⅵ in those over 70 years old. Grade Ⅰ and Ⅱ predominated in female AGA. Conclusions The results of this survey indicate that the prevalence of AGA is remarkably higher in men than that in women. Furthermore, the prevalence is steadily increased with advancing age in Shanghai.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of testosterone on neointimal proliferation and blood lipids after balloon-induced aorta injury in male rabbits.

METHODSTwenty-five male white rabbits were randomly divided into five groups with 5 in each. G1 underwent sham castration served as control group, rabbits in remaining 4 groups were castrated. One week after the castration, rabbits in G3, G4, G5 groups received 3 mg/kg, 6 mg/kg, 12 mg/kg testosterone undecanoate i.m, respectively, G2 was not received. Two weeks after the castration, deendothelializing balloon-induced injury in right iliac artery was performed in all animals. Two weeks after the injury, blood samples were drawn for measurement of plasma testosterone and lipids, and the right iliac arteries were excised for computer imagining analysis.

RESULTCompared with G1, plasma levels of total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), low density lipoprotein(LDL) in G3, G4 and G5, gradually decreased, plasma levels of high density lipoprotein(HDL)gradually increased. There were most significant differences of plasma TC, TG and LDL(P<0.05) between G2 and G1. There were not significant differences of plasma TC, TG, HDL and LDL among all groups before endothelial denudation and 2 weeks after endothelial denudation (P>0.05). In G3, G4 and G5 the intimal area and radio of intima/media gradually decreased, there were significant differences between G2, G3, G4 and G1(P<0.05), the differences between G1 and G2 were most significant, and those of G5 were close to G1. Endothelial cell repair was observed with electron microscope. Endothelial cells from G2 to G5 became smoother gradually, which in G5 were very close to G1.

CONCLUSIONTestosterone inhibits the intima proliferation induced by balloon-induced injury and improves blood lipids levels. The effects are enhanced by the dose increasing.

Animals ; Aorta ; pathology ; Catheterization ; adverse effects ; Cholesterol ; blood ; Hyperplasia ; Lipids ; blood ; Lipoproteins ; blood ; Male ; Orchiectomy ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation ; Testosterone ; pharmacology ; Triglycerides ; blood ; Tunica Intima ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of bladder neck preservation (BNP) on postoperative continence during laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

METHODSOne hundred and forty-five patients with localized prostate cancer (Tlb-T2c) underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in our center from July 2006 to May 2010, including 59 cases treated with bladder neck preservation (BNP group) and 86 cases with bladder neck resection (non-BNP group). All cases were diagnosed as prostate cancer by transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate biopsy preoperatively, in which localized tumors were confirmed by CT or MRI and distant metastases were ruled out by ECT bone scan. All patients had no history of incontinence and no radiation therapy preoperatively. All the 145 operations were performed by the same surgeon. The bladder neck preservation was defined as a procedure of direct suturing of the bladder neck on the urethra without repair and reconstruction of the bladder neck. Both procedures of neurovascular bundle preservation and external striated urethral sphincter preservation were carried out on all cases. Urinary continence was evaluated using the International Continence Society questionnaire at 1, 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Positive surgical margins rates were compared between the two groups. Postoperative continence was defined as the absence of need for pads or the use of one pad daily.

RESULTSAt 1, 3 and 6 months, the urinary continence rates were 42.4%, 74.6% and 86.4% in BNP group, respectively, while 25.6%, 58.1% and 80.2% in non-BNP group, respectively. There were statistically significant differences in continence at 1 and 3 months between two groups (P <0.05), while no significant differences were observed at 6 months postoperatively (P=0.331). There were no significant differences in overall rate of positive surgical margins between two groups (10.1% Compared with 10.4% P=0.954) and both groups had one case with positive surgical margins at bladder neck.

CONCLUSIONBladder neck preservation during laparoscopic radical prostatectomy is helpful for postoperative continence without increase of positive surgical margins rate.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostatectomy ; methods ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Bladder ; surgery ; Urinary Incontinence ; prevention & control

Metabolic characteristics of 39 human brain tumor tissues, including 15 astrocytomas, 13 fibroblastic meningiomas and 11 transitional meningiomas from 39 individual patients, have been studied using high resolution magic-angle spinning (HRMAS) 1H NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with principal component analysis (PCA). With rich metabolite information, 1H NMR spectra showed that the tumor-tissuc metabonome was dominated by lipids, lactate, myo-inositol, ereatine, choline metabolites such as choline, phosphocholine and glycerophosphocholine, amino acids such as alanine, glutamate, glutamine, taurine, N-acetyl-aspartate and glutathione. PCA of the tumor NMR spectra clearly showed metabonomic differences between low-grade astrocytomas and meningiomas whereas such differences were more moderate between fibroblastic and transitional meningiomas. Compared with meningiomas, the low-grade astrocytomas had higher levels of glycerophosphocholine, phosphocholine, myo-inositol and creatine but lower levels of alanine, glutamate, glutamine, glutathione and taurine. The N-acetyl-aspartate level was low but detectable in low-grade astrocytomas whereas it was not detectable in meningiomas. It is concluded that tissue metabonomics technology consisting of HRMAS 1H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis (MVDA) offers a useful tool (1) for distinguishing different types of brain tumors, (2) for providing the metabolic information for human brain tumors, which are potentially useful for understanding biochemistry of tumor progression.

Objective To compare the effect of different intestinal loop labeling methods under single balloon enteroscopy for ERCP. Method From June 2015 to May 2017, 36 cases of single balloon enteroscopy assisted ERCP patients, according to the study period divided into A, B, C three groups, In group A, the afferent loops were confirmed by titanium clips, labeled intestinal loops, and the B group was identified by methylene blue labeling and intestinal loops, and the C group was the control group, the operation time of the 3 groups was recorded (the starting time of operation, the time of reaching the nipple of the input loop or the time of the Roux-en-Y biliary anastomosis), the incidence of complications and the success rate of operation. Results The operation time was 42.17 min in group A and 59.83 min in group C, and there was significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01),There was no statistically significant difference between group A and group B, group B and group C (P > 0.05), the complication rate and the operation success rate were not statistically different between the three groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion The operation time of the input loop at the time of ERCP assisted by single balloon enteroscopy has a clear advantage over the examination of the intestinal loop with a titanium clip.

BACKGROUNDPlasma galectin-3, a mediator of fibrogenesis and inflammation, its potential to associate with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is poorly investigated. Here, we explored its interaction with the serum galectin-3 and vascular complications.

METHODSWe conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey in Zhejiang, China involving 165 men and 119 women (age range, 43 - 84 years), investigating the relationship between serum galectin-3 and vascular disease in patients with T2DM.

RESULTSSerum galectin-3 was higher in subjects with T2DM than that in control participants (27.4 vs. 17.6 ng/ml, P < 0.001). Compared with subjects with galectin-3 values in the lowest quartile, those with values in the highest quartile had an increased likelihood of vascular complications (4th quartile odds ratio (OR) 2.52, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.25 - 4.07). Increased risk of micro- or macrovascular complications correlated with serum galectin-3 concentration (ORs 11.4 and 8.5, respectively). An increased number of vascular complications was associated with high serum galectin-3 levels (P < 0.05). Patients with serum galectin-3 levels > 25 ng/ml had an elevated risk of diabetes relative to patients with levels < 10 ng/ml (OR for any vascular complication 2.64, for heart failure 3.97, for nephropathy 4.09, for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) 4.18; all P < 0.05). Complication risk was higher in patients with neurogenic, stroke, or retinopathy complications, but this difference was not significant after risk factor adjustment. Serum galectin-3 levels correlated with diabetes duration, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and albuminuria.

CONCLUSIONHigh galectin-3 values were associated with increased odds of developing heart failure, nephropathy, and peripheral arterial disease in patients with T2DM.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; C-Reactive Protein ; analysis ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; Diabetic Angiopathies ; blood ; etiology ; Female ; Galectin 3 ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUNDLarge animal models with toxin-mediated pancreatic damage have been used extensively in researches with respect to diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diabetic complications. The present study aimed to establish Chinese Guizhou minipig models with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes and characterize the animal models by analyzing inflammatory cytokine levels in aortic wall, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

METHODSTwenty-two male Chinese Guizhou minipigs (age, 4 to 6 months; weight, 20 kg to 30 kg) were divided into STZ-induced diabetic group (n = 12) and control group (n = 10). STZ (125 mg/kg) was administrated to induce hyperglycemia and afterwards insulin was used to control fasting blood glucose levels below 10 mmol/L. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed before and one month after STZ administration and serum concentrations of alanine transaminase, asparagine transaminase, albumin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, lipids and white blood cell count were measured before and six months later. Animals in both groups were euthanized after six months and pancreas was examined immunohistochemically for islet beta cells. Aortic intima of diabetic minipigs and controls was analyzed for TNF-alpha level in tissue conditioned medium by Western blot. TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 mRNA levels in aortic intima were assayed by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

RESULTSSignificant elevation in serum glucose levels was observed one month and six months after STZ induction (P < 0.001) and markedly increased OGTT values were noted, compared with baseline data. The normal pancreas had many irregular sized islets and small clusters of islet beta cells, while in pancreas of diabetic minipigs islet beta cells almost disappeared. No statistical difference was notified in serum concentrations of biochemical examinations before and six months after STZ induction. Western blot demonstrated dramatically increased TNF-alpha level in aotic intima conditioned medium, and significant elevation of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 mRNA levels was revealed by RT-PCR.

CONCLUSIONSThe present study has established Chinese Guizhou minipig models with STZ-induced diabetes. Inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6) significantly elevated in aortic intima of diabetic minipigs.

Animals ; Aorta ; chemistry ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; immunology ; pathology ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Immunohistochemistry ; Interleukin-1beta ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Pancreas ; pathology ; Streptozocin ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

OBJECTIVEThis study is to examine the influence of familiarity on energy intake, eating behavior, and concentration of the plasma gut hormones in lean and overweight young male subjects.

METHODSTwenty-eight lean and twenty-eight overweight participants were recruited. Their food consumption was documented and analyzed when they had a test meal while they were paired with friends or strangers at the same weight stature. Their eating behavior was recorded with cameras hidden in the carton, and postprandial plasma gut hormone concentration were measured.

RESULTSCompared with overweight strangers (OS), overweight friends (OF) had increased food consumption, prolonged and decreased number of chews per 10 g food. Compared with OS, postprandial plasma concentration of cholecystokinin-8 was significantly lower in OF group at 30, 60, and 90 min, whereas the concentration of glucagon-like peptide 1 was significantly lower at 60 and 90 min. Plasma ghrelin concentration was significantly higher in the OF group than that in the OS group at 90 and 120 min. No significant differences in gut hormone concentration were observed between lean strangers (LS) and lean friends (LF) groups at all time points.

CONCLUSIONFamiliarity plays an important role in increasing energy intake and in changing of postprandial gut hormone concentration in overweight individuals.