Objective To understand the direct medical expense for surgical patients with splenomegalic advanced schisto?somiasis and its influencing factors,so as to provide evidences for relevant departments to improve the rescue strategy of ad?vanced schistosomiasis. Methods The data about the expenses of patients with splenomegalic advanced schistosomiasis hospi?talized in Xiangyue Hospital affiliated to Hunan Institute of Schistosomiasis Control from January 2010 to August 2014 were col?lected,the hospitalization expense and hospital stays of the patients were analyzed,and the factors influencing the hospital ex?penses were analyzed by the univariate and multi?factor analyses. Results From January 2010 to August 2014,totally 249 cas?es were hospitalized in the hospital,their average hospital stays and hospital expenses were 28.92 d and 18 896.13 Yuan,and both of them were increased year by year. Among all the kinds of expenses,the constitution ratios of the medicine expenses were the highest,and those in the 5 years were all above 44%. The results of the univariate and multi?factor analyses showed that the hospital stays,the amount of intraoperative bleeding,liver function classification,postoperative complications,age,portal hy?pertensive gastropathy were the influencing factors of the hospital expenses. Conclusion Presently,the burden of the direct hospital expenses of the patients with splenomegalic advanced schistosomiasis is still heavy. The government should further im?prove the proportion of the compensation of medical assistance and perfect the medical aid scheme. Meanwhile ,the hospitals should strengthen the management and standardize medical behavior to reduce the hospitalization expenses of the patients.

Objective To investigate the application of carotid artery resection and reconstruction in surgical management of thyroid carcinoma with carotid artery involvement.Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 10 patients whose common carotid arteries were invaded by thyroid carcinoma.All patients underwent tumor en bloc resection and carotid arteries reconstruction.Patients were evaluated by muhidisciplinary team and surgeries were cooperated by general surgeons,orthopedists and vascular surgeons.The perioperative complications and surgical outcomes were also recorded and analyzed.Results No patient had complications of central nervous system.One patient suffered Horner syndrome and one presented hoarseness postoperative.Two patients had wound infection,two patients presented carcinoma recurrence and two patients presented distant metastasis during the follow-up.Conclusion En bloc resection of tumor and carotid artery reconstruction is a feasible modality in treatment of thyroid carcinoma with carotid artery invasion.

Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Hexanes ; poisoning ; Humans ; Male ; Prognosis ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEBronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder. Long-term inflammation leads to varying degrees of structural changes in the airway wall known as airway reconstruction or remodeling. These structural changes are found in the airways of most patients with prolonged disease. After remodeling, the airway walls show the submucous membrane becomes thick with collagen deposition, and the smooth muscle cells show hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Smooth muscle cells are a vital component of the airway wall, and a major effector cell involved in the course of bronchial contraction. Smooth muscle cell hyperplasia and hypertrophy are important pathological changes in airway remodeling. This study investigated the expression of markers of human airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) phenotypic change, which were matrix Gla protein (MGP) and major fibrosis proteins, after in vitro treatment with transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)).

METHODSHuman ASMCs were subjected to primary culture in vitro. Ten groups of cells were treated with 100 microg/ml of TGF-beta(1), while the cells in the control groups were treated with 10% fetal bovine serum. After being cultured for 7 d, the cells of both groups were harvested. MGP mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR. Protein levels of collagen I, III and V were determined by Western blot analysis.

RESULTSTreated with TGF-beta(1), airway smooth muscle cells expressed MGP mRNA greater than controls [(62.3 +/- 13.1)% vs (27.4 +/- 11.4)%, P < 0.01]. Also, airway smooth muscle cells stimulated by TGF-beta(1) produced more collagen I, III and V than the control group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSTGF-beta(1) induced expression of collagen III and V, which are early markers of the switch from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype in ASMCs. This induction is an indication that ASMCs have the potential to make this switch and that TGF-beta(1) is involved in airway remodeling.

Biomarkers ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Bronchi ; cytology ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Collagen Type I ; metabolism ; Collagen Type III ; metabolism ; Collagen Type V ; metabolism ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; drug effects ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the better efficacy of clinic treatment for dermatitis medicamentosa like of trichloroethylene (DMLT) and observe the clinic efficacy of Xuebejing injection for DMLT patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).

METHODS16 DMLT patients with SIRS were randomly divided into control group (conventional therapy) and xuebijing group (conventional therapy plus xuebijing). We evaluated all the patients with APACHE II before treatment and checked the TNF-alpha in blood at the different time (before treatment and the 7th day of treatment). The total usages, first dosage of medrol and the time of therapy for each group were counted.

RESULTSAll patients were cured, there was no significant difference according to APACHE II and TNF-alpha before treatment in two groups . The level of TNF-alpha of all the patients were decreased markedly, but more significantly in xuebijing group (P < 0.01). Moreover, the treatment group patients were given relatively less total usages, first dosage of medrol and time of therapy (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONXuebejing injection combined glucocorticoids can cure DMLT patients with SIRS effectively, and reduce the total usages, first dosage of medrol and time of therapy.

APACHE ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Drug Eruptions ; drug therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Trichloroethylene ; toxicity ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the neuro-protective effect and mechanism of qingkailing injection (QKL) against cerebral injury caused by E. coli-meningitis (CM).

METHODSThe CM model rabbits were treated by ampicillin with QKL as adjuvant. The leukocyte count and protein content in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), the contents of water, sodium, potassium and calcium in cerebral tissues were measured before, 16 h and 26 h after Bacillus coli injection respectively. The expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was determined at the same time.

RESULTSAdjunctive treatment with QKL can not only inhibit the increase of leukocyte cells, protein content in CSF, and water, sodium, calcium content in cerebral tissues, but also the decrease of potassium content revealed during simple antibiotic treatment. It also can decrease the expression of MMP-9 in cerebral tissues of rabbits with CM.

CONCLUSIONAs an adjunctive treatment, QKL can prevent transient inflammatory reaction and aggravation of brain injury in CM induced by simple antibiotic treatment, its mechanisms might relate with calcium antagonism and attenuation of MMP-9 expression in brain tissues.

Ampicillin ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Brain ; metabolism ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Injections ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; biosynthesis ; Meningitis, Escherichia coli ; drug therapy ; Neuroprotective Agents ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Rabbits

OBJECTIVETo measure the effect of atorvastatin on COX-2 expression in monocytes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

METHODSForty patients with AMI (AMI group) and 18 patients with stable coronary heart disease (control group) were enrolled, and patients with AMI were randomly given routine therapy (n = 20) and routine therapy plus atorvastatin (20 mg/day, n = 20) for a week. Peripheral blood monocytes for each participant including patients with AMI were isolated and cultured for 24 hours. During the culture, monocytes in patients with pretreatment AMI were incubated with celecoxib in different concentration (0, 0.1, 1 and 10 micromol/L). COX-2 mRNA expression in monocytes was measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) in supernatant from monocytes and plasma hs-CRP levels were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTSCOX-2 expression in monocytes in patients with AMI (0.92 +/- 0.13) was significantly higher than that in the control subjects (0.19 +/- 0.08), and decreased by 66% after atorvastatin (compared with that on routine therapy, P < 0.05); IL-6 secretions of monocytes in the AMI group (204.8 +/- 45.6 ng/L) increased dramatically compared with those in the control group (40.9 +/- 1.2 ng/L, P < 0.05), and reduced dramatically by 58% when incubated with 10 micromol/L celecoxib (P < 0.05) in a concentration-dependent manner; plasma levels of CRP in the AMI group (43.3 +/- 14.9 mg/L) significantly increased compared with those in the control group (1.7 +/- 0.8 mg/L), and reduced by 62% after atorvastatin (compared with those in the routine therapy group, P < 0.05). COX-2 expression in monocytes in the AMI group was positively correlated with both secretions of IL-6 and plasma level of CRP (r = 0.636 and 0.662, respectively, both P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThere is an inflammatory activation in peripheral blood monocytes in patients with early AMI, and the monocytes-derived COX-2 may play an important role in promoting early inflammatory process. Atorvastatin may decrease COX-2 expression in peripheral blood monocytes in patients with AMI and cyclooxygenase-dependent pathway might be correlated with the anti-inflammation mechanism of statin.

Aged ; Atorvastatin Calcium ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; metabolism ; Female ; Heptanoic Acids ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Pyrroles ; therapeutic use ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics

Homo sapiens longevity assurance homologue 2 (LASS2) is a novel gene isolated from a human liver cDNA library by our laboratory, and it is a human homologue of the yeast longevity assurance gene LAG1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae longevity assurance gene). According to our previous results, LASS2 could interact with subunit c of vacuolar type H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase), and the overexpression of LASS2 could inhibit the cell growth of a human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line, SMMC-7721. In order to understand the role of the interaction between LASS2 and V-ATPase in HCC cell growth, we transiently transfected plasmid pCMV-HA2-LASS2 into HCCLM3, a HCC cell line without the significant expression of endogenous LASS2. The pH-sensitive fluorescence probes, BCECF and BCECF-AM, were used to measure the intracellular and extracellular H(+) concentrations of HCCLM3 cells respectively. The effect of LASS2 gene on apoptosis was evaluated with Annexin-V/FITC and propidium iodide (PI) by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect cytochrome c (Cyt c) in the cytosol and mitochondria, as well as pro-caspase-3 in cytosol. The results showed that the cell growth of LASS2-transfected HCCLM3 cells was significantly inhibited compared with that of the mock control. LASS2 transfection increased intracellular H(+) concentration of HCCLM3 cells, while decreased extracellular H(+) concentration. Moreover, LASS2 transfection significantly enhanced the apoptosis of HCCLM3 cells. In LASS2-transfected cells, the amounts of Cyt c increased in the cytosol, while decreased in the mitochondria. Meanwhile, the expression of pro-caspase-3 in the cytosolic extracts was decreased. These results implicate that LASS2 gene might increase intracellular H(+) of HCC cells via the interaction with V-ATPase, thereby inducing cell apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway.
Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Sphingosine N-Acyltransferase ; metabolism ; Transfection ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; metabolism ; Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical and molecular characteristics of a child with Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG). METHODS: A 4-month-old boy who had presented at the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang University Medical School on December 31, 2019 due to feeding difficulties after birth was selected as the study subject. High-throughput sequencing was carried out for the patient, and real-time qPCR was used for validating the suspected deletion fragments and the carrier status of other members of his family. RESULTS: High-throughput sequencing revealed that the child had lost the capture signal for chrX: 153 045 645-153 095 809 (approximately 50 kb), which has involved 4 OMIM genes including SRPK3, IDH3G, SSR4 and PDZD4. qPCR verified that the copy number in this region was zero, while that of his elder brother and parents was all normal. CONCLUSION The deletion of the fragment containing the SSR4 gene in the Xq28 region probably underlay the SSR4-CDG in this child.
Aged ; Child ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Gene Deletion ; Glycosylation ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Neoplasm Proteins ; Parents ; Siblings

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of selective lumbosacral posterior rhizotomy(SPR) on lower limb spasticity and gross motor function in patients with cerebral palsy. METHODS: From January 2018 to October 2018, 47 patients with cerebral palsy were treated with rehabilitation alone and SPR combined with rehabilitation. According to whether SPR was performed, the patients were divided into group A and group B. Group A was treated with rehabilitation combined with SPR at lumbosacral level, and group B was treated with rehabilitation alone. There were 23 cases in group A, including 15 males and 8 females, with an average age of (7.30±3.25) years old; 24 cases in group B, 13 males and 11 females, with an average age of (7.00±3.09) years old. Forty-seven patients were assessed with modified Ashworth(MAS) and Gross Motor Function Scale(GMFM-88 items) before and after treatment. The changes of MAS and GMFM-88 scores before and after treatment were compared to evaluate the degree of spasm and the improvement of gross motor function in the two groups. RESULTS: All 47 patients were followed up. At 6 months after treatment, the MAS classification of the two groups was significantly improved(<0.05), and the improvement of group A was more obvious than that of group B(<0.05). Six months after treatment, the D, E and total scores of GMFM-88 between two groups were significantly improved compared with those before operation(<0.05). The improvement of D and total scores in group A was more obvious than that in group B. There was no significant difference in the improvement of area E between two groups. CONCLUSIONS Selective posterior rhizotomy combined with rehabilitation can significantly improve the spastic state and gross motor function of lower limbs in children with cerebral palsy, and can effectively promote the reconstruction and recovery of motor function of lower limbs in children with cerebral palsy.
Cerebral Palsy ; surgery ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Movement ; Muscle Spasticity ; Rhizotomy