Objective　To study the indication, contraindication and short-term clinical effects of stereotactic radiotherapy (X-knife) in lung cancer. Methods　A total of 56 cases (Treatment group) of lung cancer were treated with X-knife composing of the modern 3-D treatment planning system and the stereotactic body frame, and SL-75 accelerator. And another 53 cases only treated with routine external radiation served as the control. In treatment group, 42 cases received 50 Gy radiation, at 2 Gy per day, 5 d per week in the upper mediastinum, hilus of lung, below the primary focus first and then underwent X-knife for the primary focuses, and other 14 recurrent and metastatic cases received irradiation of 8-12 Gy per day, 5 d by X-knife alone. Results　The actually reexamination rate for 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after X-knife treatment in 78 focuses from 56 cases was 79.5% (62/78), 89.8% (70/78), 87.2% (68/78) and 78.2% (61/78) respectively. The focuses reappeared in 3 months after the treatment and the growth rates of focus in 3, 6, and 12 month after the treatment were 2.6% (2/78), 5.1% and 9% (7/78) respectively. There were 2 focuses received a second treatment with X-knife because no change after the first one. Both the 1-and 2-year survival rates of 36 cases of the primary lung cancer in the treatment group were higher than that of control group (89.1%, 53.9% and 77.4%, 39.6%). Conclusion　The stereotactic radiotherapy is of applicable and prospective in the treatment of lung cancer. The indications include: ①As a boost dose in case when primary focus is less than 5 cm after the first external radiotherapy may reduce the exposure of lung tissue to x-ray and the occurrence of radiation pneumonia; ②Treatment for the recurrence after radiotherapy and operation; ③Radical treatment for the metastatic focus less than 5 cm. Attention must be paid to when multiple treatment is carried on the volume of the focus, the Karnofsky scores and the general condition when stereotactic radiotherapy combined with X-knife for lung cancer.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the factors which influence the safety and prognosis of aorta replacement combined with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for thoracic aortic aneurysm associated with coronary artery disease.

METHODSFrom May 1982 to October 2002, 67 patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm were admitted, and 24 of them combined with CABG. Of the 24 patients, 9 received descending aorta replacement combined with CABG, and the other 15 received the ascending aorta replacement combined with CABG. The treatment results were compared with the other 43 patients only undergoing the thoracic aortic replacement.

RESULTSThe mortality rate of the patients with aorta replacement combined with CABG was 13% (3/24). Though the descending aorta replacement combined with CABG could make the cardiopulmonary bypass time and selective cerebral perfusion time longer, (278 +/- 54) min and (188 +/- 59) min respectively, no significant difference was observed in postoperative complications, 3-year survival rate, 3-year-cardiac-event-free rate compared with the patients only undergoing the thoracic aortic replacement (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe aorta replacement combined with CABG can be performed safely, and the revascularization for coronary artery disease is useful for preventing occurrence of cardiac events.

Aorta, Thoracic ; surgery ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic ; complications ; surgery ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Artery Disease ; complications ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVE Oxidative sress is one of the key factor responsible for occurrence and development of hepatic fibrosis, a common consequence of chronic liver injury of multiple etiology. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) serves as a major regulator of a celular defense system against oxidative stress. Xiaochaihutang (XCHT), a compound of seven botanical extracts used for liver diseases traditionally in East Asia. However, few studies have investigated its anti-hepatic fibrosis effects and pathophysiological mechanism of action. The present study was designed to confirm the anti-hepatic fibrosis effects and explore its potential mechanism of action by investigating the intervention of Nrf2 pathway. METHODS Liver fibrosis was induced by repeated injection of Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) over a period of 9 weeks. Starting from the 6th week, the animals in treatment groups were given the appropriate dose of XCHT granules and silybin. Biochemical parameters, histological changes of the liver and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were determined. The expressions of Nrf2, Keap1, Nqo1, HO-1, Gclc and Gclm were assessed by RT-PCR and Western blot. RESULTS CCl4 caused a significant fibrosis damage in the rat liver and the liver functions and fibrosis degree were significantly improved by XCHT (5 g·kg- 1 and 10 g·kg- 1). XCHT (5 g·kg- 1 and 10 g·kg- 1) treatment significantly decreased the number of cells labeled with α-SMA antibodies. Moreover, XCHT (5 g·kg-1 and 10 g·kg-1) significantly increase Nqo1, HO-1, Gclc and Gclm expressions in the liver. CONCLUSION These studies establish XCHT is a potentially useful therapeutic agent for treatment of hepatic fibrosis and it might be via regulation of Nrf2 pathway in rats against oxidative stress, making further efforts to inhibiting the activated HSCs. Activation or up-regulation of Nrf2 pathway may be an alternative treatment strategy for liver fibrosis.

OBJECTIVETo study the protective effects of saponines of stem and leaf of Panax notoginseng (PNSSL) on acute myocardial ischemia in anaesthetic dogs.

METHODThe acute ischemia models were made by ligation of left anterior descending (LAD) artery. The myocardial blood flow (MBF) was determined by ultrasonic doppler. The experiments adopted epicardiogram mapping to measure the scope and degree of myocardial ischemia, quantitative histologic assay (nitroblue tetrazolium, N-BT stain) to determine the size of myocardial infarction. And the endothelin (ET) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) were measured by radioimmunological assay.

RESULTPNSSL was showed to obviously alleviate the degree of myocardial ischemia (sigma-ST) and narrow the ischemic area indicated by N-BT staining. In addition, PNSSL could increase the MBF of ischemia section. And the treatment could inhibit the ET and TXB2 release induced by ischemia and infarction.

CONCLUSIONPNSSL demonstrated to attenuate the damage subjected to myocardial ischemia and infarction, which may be due to its function of inhibiting the ET and TXA2 release, increasing the MBF, and then improving the damaged cardiac function.

Animals ; Coronary Circulation ; drug effects ; Dogs ; Endothelins ; blood ; Female ; Ginsenosides ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Panax ; chemistry ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Protective Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Thromboxane B2 ; blood

AIM:The effect of acupuncture on mitophagy-related protein expression in skeletal muscle of rats after heavy-load exercise was investigated to explore the role of acupuncture in the repairment of exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage. METHODS:Male adult Sprague-Dawley rats (n=128) were randomly divided into 4 groups:control (C,n=8) group, exercise (E, n=40) group, acupuncture (A, n=40) group, and exercise and acupuncture (EA, n=40) group. The rats in E group and EA group performed an eccentric exercise,and the rats in A group and EA group immediately after exercise received acupuncture treatment. The rats in the latter 3 groups were further divided into 0 h,12 h,24 h,48 h and 72 h sub-groups(n=8),and soleus muscle was collected at each time point. The transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructural changes of the mitochondria in skeletal muscle. The content of citrate synthase (CS) was measured by ELISA. The protein expression of skeletal muscle PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1),parkin and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) was determined by Western blot. RESULTS:After the heavy-load exercise,the mitochondria swelled and accumulated under cell membrane. The number of mitophago-somes was increased,and the content of CS was significantly decreased(P<0.05). The expression of PINK1,parkin and LC3 was significantly elevated (P<0.05). However,the acupuncture intervention after exercise promoted the recovery of mitochondrial ultrastructure, attenuated mitophagolysosome formation, maintained CS content and down-regulated the ex-pression of PINK1,parkin and LC3 (P<0.05). CONCLUSION:Heavy-load exercise causes the damages of mitochon-drial structure and function in the skeletal muscle and activates PINK1/parkin pathway to induce excessive occurrence of mitophagy. Acupuncture intervention after exercise is able to alleviate the damage of mitochondria in the skeletal muscle through decreasing the expression of mitochondrial outer membrane protein PINK1,reducing the recruitment of downstream cytoplasmic protein parkin,thereby affecting the combination of LC3 and mitochondria to inhibit the overactivation of mito-phagy.

The motivation of the brain-computer interface (BCI) research and its potential applications are introduced in this paper. Some of the problems in BCI-based medical device developments are also discussed.
Artificial Intelligence ; Brain ; physiology ; Communication Aids for Disabled ; trends ; Electroencephalography ; instrumentation ; methods ; Evoked Potentials ; physiology ; Humans ; Neuromuscular Diseases ; rehabilitation ; Rehabilitation ; instrumentation ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; User-Computer Interface

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects and mechanisms of hawthorn leaves flavonoids (HLF) on acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion in anesthetized dogs.

METHODSThe acute ischemia models were prepared by ligating left anterior descending (LAD) artery for 60 min. Qualified 15 male dogs were randomly divided into 3 groups with 5 in each group: blank control (treated with normal saline 3 mL/kg) group, HLF low dosage (5 mg/kg) group and high dosage (10 mg/kg) group, with an once injection through a femoral vein 5 min before reperfusion. Epicardial electrocardiogram was adopted to measure the scope and degree of myocardial ischemia. Simultaneously, neutrophil infiltration in infarct (Inf) and remote site (RS) of myocardial tissue was measured by myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity assay. The serum interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factorα (TNF-α) content were quantified by radioimmuno-assay. Furthermore, expression of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in Inf and RS tissue were detected by Western blotting technique.

RESULTSIschemia and reperfusion increased the MPO activity and IL-1 and TNF-α content. HLF (10 and 5 mg/kg) could significantly decrease the degree and scope of myocardial ischemia; markedly inhibit the increase of MPO activity, and IL-1 and TNF-α content induced by myocardial ischemia/infarction. Furthermore, HLF increased GRK2 expression and inhibited NF-κB expression in Inf tissue.

CONCLUSIONHLF could improve the situation of acute myocardial ischemia and inhibit the inflammation in anesthetized dogs, which might be due to its increasing effect on the GRK2 and NF-κB expressions.

Anesthesia ; Animals ; Crataegus ; chemistry ; Dogs ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Inflammation ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; complications ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; complications ; drug therapy ; Neutrophil Infiltration ; drug effects ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Random Allocation

Chronic infection of a seminal vesicle cyst is an extremely rare disorder worldwide. To date, only two cases, which were diagnosed initially by the use of contrast-enhanced CT or non-enhanced MR imaging, have been reported in the literature. We report here a case of a 78-year-old man with chronic infection of a seminal vesicle cyst to illustrate the usefulness of the pelvic contrast-enhanced MRI in making a definitive diagnosis of the rare disorder. In addition, a brief review of the relevant literature is presented.
Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Cysts/*diagnosis ; Genital Diseases, Male/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Infection/diagnosis ; *Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; *Seminal Vesicles

BACKGROUNDThe autosomal dominant form of retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP) can be caused by mutations in 14 genes and further loci remains to be identified. This study was intended to identify mutations in a Chinese pedigree with ADRP.

METHODSA large Chinese family with retinitis pigmentosa was collected. The genetic analysis of the family suggested an autosomal dominant pattern. Microsatellite (STR) markers tightly linked to genes known to be responsible for ADRP were selected for linkage analysis. Exons along with adjacent splice junctions of PRPF31 were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and screened by direct sequencing.

RESULTSThe caused gene of ADRP was mapped to 19q13.4 between markers D19S572 and D19S877, with a maximum LOD score of 3.01 at marker D19S418 (recombination fraction = 0).

CONCLUSIONThe affected gene linked to the 19q13.4 in a Chinese family with ADRP, which is different from other mutations at the same loci in other Chinese families.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Chromosome Mapping ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Exons ; genetics ; Eye Proteins ; genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Microsatellite Repeats ; genetics ; Pedigree ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retinitis Pigmentosa ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of Corocalm (shuguan capsule) on acute myocardial ischemia in anesthetized dogs and its possible therapeutic mechanism.

METHODSThe acute ischemia model was established by ligating the left anterior descending (LAD) artery. Twenty-five dogs were randomly divided into 5 groups (5 dogs in each group): the control group (treated with normal saline 3 mL/kg), the refined Guanxin Capsule group (GXC 200 mg/kg), high and low dose Corocalm groups (48.5 mg/kg for low dose group and 194.0 mg/kg for high dose group) and the Diltiazem group (5 mg/kg). The animals were treated via a single duodenal administration after the model was established. The experiments used epicardial electrocardiogram (EECG) to measure the scope and degree of myocardial ischemia. Simultaneously, the coronary blood flow (CBF) and serum activity levels of creatine phosphokinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured by electromagnetic flow meter and automatic biochemical analyzer respectively. The plasma endothelin (ET) content was quantified by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTSCorocalm (48.5 mg/kg and 194.0 mg/kg) significantly decreased the degree and scope of myocardial ischemia, reduced the infarct area, markedly increased the CBF, and inhibited the increase of CK and LDH activities and ET levels induced by myocardial ischemia/infarction.

CONCLUSIONCorocalm could improve the state of acute myocardial ischemia and infarction in dogs. The mechanism of action might be correlated to increasing CBF, inhibiting CK and LDH activities and preventing ET release.

Anesthesia ; Animals ; Capsules ; Coronary Circulation ; drug effects ; Creatine Kinase ; blood ; Dogs ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Endothelins ; blood ; Female ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; blood ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; drug therapy ; pathology