Objective To report and analyze the renal function improvement in a case with ad-vanced bilateral renal cell carcinoma after targeted therapy. Methods The patient was a 60-year-old man who complained of lower back pain for 1 month. Ultrasound and CT scan detected bilateral renal masses, left lesion was 11.0 cm×9.4 cm×8.5 cm, and the right one was 3.5 cm×4.3 cm×4.1 cm. X-ray examination showed metastatic lesions in liver and lower right lung. GFR was 20.39 ml/min of left kidney, 25.40 ml/min of right kidney. The renal biopsy confirmed renal clear cell carcinoma. Sorafenib was administrated 400 mg twice or once daily for 12 weeks. Results After the targeted therapy, the decreased bilateral kidney tumor sizes were identified by CT scan. There was liquid nec-rosis in the tumor, and no new metastatic lesion detected. The kidney function was improved as well. The total GFR increased to 71.38 ml/min. Left kidney GFR increased to 31.57 ml/min, right kidney GFR increased to 39.81 ml/min, respectively. Conclusion Targeted therapy could improve renal function in advanced renal cell carcinoma cases by controlling tumor development.

Background Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor(G-CSF)has been reported to have beneficial effect on cardiac dysfunction in post infarction and doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy.Objective To investigate the effects of G-CSF on cardiac remodeling in cardiac hypertrophy induced by angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ).Methods Thirty-six male wild type mice(WT)were allocated randomly to receive subcutaneously G-CSF(10 ?g/kg per day, n=9),or Ang Ⅱ(2.88 mg/kg per day,n=9),or Ang Ⅱ plus G-CSF(Ang Ⅱ 2.88 mg/kg+G-CSF 10 ?g/kg,n =9)for 4 weeks with untreated WT(n=9)as controls.Blood pressure and cardiac function were measured. Heart weight/body weight ratio,myocyte cross-sectional area and fibrosis area were determined.The mRNA ex- pression of osteopontin(OPN)in myocardium was detected by RT-PCR.The expressions of angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE),ACE2 and phosph-p70S6 kinase protein in myocardium were assessed by Western-Blot.Results Ang Ⅱ significantly elevated blood pressure(SBP,Ang Ⅱ:139.7?1.6 vs WT:108.7?2.3 mmHg,P0.05),but significantly attenuated the myocyte cross-sectional area(Ang Ⅱ+G-CSF:181.06?0.11 vs Ang Ⅱ:202.02?0.16 ?m~2,P

BackgroundWith the increasing prevalence of dry eye and the continuous improvement of living standards,the problem of dry eye more and more get the attention of people.At present,China still lacks the large population-based epidemiological data of dry eye. Objective To investigate the prevalence and possible risk factors of dry eye in a community of Huidong County of population aged 14 and over.Methods From September 2010 to January 2011,using questionnaires and examination of dry eye related,2800 people were selected randomly for cross-sectional survey.Those suspected as dry eye were examed by the SchirmerⅠtest ( S Ⅱ T),tear-film breakup time(BUT),corneal fluorescein staining(F1).Results In the 2475 questionnaire effectively,154 persons were diagnosed as dry eye,and the prevalence rate of dry eye was 6.22％,8.06％in females,4.14％in males.The prevalence rate increases with age.The S Ⅰ T and BUT decreased with increasing age.S Ⅰ T and BUT in females are less than males.Foreign body sensation is the primary complaints of patients.Logistic analysis showed that the most common risk factors in dry eye are age and gender.The system disease and eye diseases,eye fatigue and long exposure to dust are also main determinants.ConclusionsThe population prevalence rate of dry eye increased with age,the prevalence rate of dry eye in females is higher than that in males.The key factors associated with dry eye are age,gender,systemic disease and eye diseases,occupation,working environment.

Objective To explore the application of nanodisc in functional and drug discovery research of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR).Methods The purified recombinant 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2B receptor (5-HT2BR) was reconstituted into nanodisc complex.Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and size exclution chromatography were performed to evaluate the reconstitution reaction,followed by the use of surface plasmon resonance to validate the ligand-binding activity of 5-HT2BR after reconstitution.Results 5-HT2B R was effectively self-assembled into nanodisc while maintained its binding activity toward the antagonist SB204741.Conclusions The presented study provided potential application of 5-HT2B R-nanodisc for the development of subtype-selective drugs against 5-HT2B R and the fundamental of utilizing nanodisc for GPCR structural and functional studies as well as drug discovery.

OBJECTIVETo study the correlation between morphological variation and gentiopicroside content in cultivated Gentiana manshurica roots and to investigate the feasibility of breeding new varieties of high effective constituent content.

METHODGentiopicroside was determined in 5 morphological types of cultivated G. manshurica roots by HPLC, which are normal (or wild) type, white-flowered type, thick-rooted type, broad-leaved type I and broad-leaved type II.

RESULTAmong different types gentiopicroside content is the highest in the roots of thick-rooted type, the contents decrease as following order: normal type, broad-leaved type I white-flowered type and broad-leaved type II, and the gentiopicroside contents in the same type root system are a positive correlation with root ages, as 3-years-age roots > 2-years-age roots > 1-year-age varied with roots.

CONCLUSIONThe contents of effective constituent vary with the morphological variation in cultivated G. manshurica. It is feasible to breed a new variety with high effective constituent with the morphological character as a selecting index.

Genetic Variation ; Gentiana ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; classification ; Glucosides ; analysis ; Iridoid Glucosides ; Iridoids ; analysis ; Plant Roots ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; chemistry ; classification ; Pyrans ; analysis ; Species Specificity

Orthotopic liver transplantation has proven to be effective in the treatment of a variety of life-threatening liver diseases, however, the limitations of donated organs available and long-term immunosuppression provided an impetus for developing alternative therapies. Cell replacement strategies have been one major effective approach for overcoming the obstacles of organ transplantation in recent years. The exogenous cells should be able to proliferate and differentiate into mature hepatic cells after grafting. Use of mature hepatocytes is also hampered by limited tissue source and inability to proliferate and maintain the function for a long term in vitro. Embryonic stem cells are immortal and pluripotent and may provide a novel cell source for potential cell therapy. This review summarizes the mechanisms of controlling early liver development and hepatic differentiation of visceral endoderm in embryoid bodies, and provides an overview of diverse differentiation systems in vitro and in vivo that were applied to hepatic research in recent years. Several studies have demonstrated that ES cell-derived hepatocytes can incorporate into liver tissue and function in vivo , but a few of them have shown complete restoration of liver function after transplantation into mice with liver diseases. Further studies should be made to exploit efficient methods and clinical applications of hepatocytes derived from ES cells in the future. In addition to clinical transplantation for treatment of liver diseases, ES cells can provide a valuable tool for drug discovery applications and study on of molecular basis of hepatic differentiation.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; transplantation ; Hepatocytes ; cytology ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; therapy

Adult ; Bone Resorption ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; complications ; therapy ; Lumbar Vertebrae

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of intervention therapy with Shentao Ruangan pill (SRP) and hydroxycamptothecine (HCPT) in treating 85 patients with middle-advanced large hepatocarcinoma, and to analyze the factors that could affect the prognosis.

METHODSEighty-five patients were randomly divided into the treated group (n = 52) and the control group (n = 33). The treated group was treated by oral taking of SRP combined with local perfusion of HCPT through hepatic artery catheterization, while to the control group, the conventional therapy, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) was conducted for control. The clinical efficacy of treatment in the two groups was evaluated by the change of tumor size, the factors related with prognosis were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards model and the analysis of survival conducted by Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS(1) The tumor size reducing rate in the treated group was 19.2% and the tumor size stabilizing rate was 82.7%, while those in the control group was 21.2% and 81.8% respectively, comparison of the criteria between the two groups showed insignificant difference (P > 0.05); (2) The median survival time, 0.5- year, 1- year and 2- year survival rate in the treated group was 326 days, 80.95%, 41.39% and 12.42% respectively, those in the control group was 262 days, 64.29%, 25.00% and 8.33% respectively, comparison between the two groups showed significant difference (P < 0.05); (3) Among the 3 TCM types in patients, the survival time and rates in patients of Gan-excess with Pi-deficiency type was similar to those in patients of Gan-heat with blood stasis type showing insignificant difference (P > 0.05), but as compared with those in patients of Gan-Shen Yin-deficiency type, the difference was significant (P < 0.05) ; (4) Beneficial factor to the prognosis were therapeutic method, that used in the treated group was superior to that used in the control group. The risk factors to the prognosis were TCM type, clinical stage and liver function. Patients of Gan-excess with Pi-deficiency type had the optimal prognosis, those of Gan-heat with blood stasis type the next and of Gan-Shen Yin-deficiency the worst. The later the clinical stage and the worse the Child-Pugh grade of liver function was, the worse the prognosis would be.

CONCLUSION(1) SRP combined with HCPT intervention treatment is superior to the simple TACE treatment in elevating patients' survival rate and time; (2) There are some relations between TCM types and prognosis; (3) Local Chinese drug therapy combined with systemic therapy could be one of the effective measures of non-operational therapy in treating large hepatocarcinoma.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; drug therapy ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Enbucrilate ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Female ; Hepatic Artery ; Humans ; Injections, Intra-Arterial ; Liver Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDEffect of percutaneous transluminal septal ablation (PTSA) with ethanol injection on electromechanical remodeling of left ventricule still remains unknown. This study was conducted to assess the potential significance of cardiac electromechanical mapping (CEMM) in analyzing the left ventricular remodeling before and immediately after percutaneous transseptal myocardial ablation (PTSMA) in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).

METHODSEight patients with drug-refractory HOCM and 6 patients with hypertrophic cardiopathy (HM) without increased left ventricular outtract gradien (LVOTG) were enrolled into the present study. CEMM was undergone in patients with HOCM before and immediately after PTSA procedure, and in patients with HM.

RESULTSPTSA was successful in all patients with HOCM, LVOTG significantly decreased from (62.87 +/- 21.16) mmHg to (12.73 +/- 3.05) mmHg immediately after ablation procedure. Value of UVP in septal-base segment in HM group was higher than that in HOCM group [(22.79 +/- 2.34) mV vs (18.54 +/- 1.76) mV]. In patients with HOCM, lateral-middle and -base segments had lowest value of UVP [(15.93 +/- 1.11) mV and (15.83 +/- 1.07) mV] before PTSA. Value of UVP at posterior-middle segment decreased from (23.58 +/- 2.21) mV pre-PTSA to (18.89 +/- 1.91) mV post-procedure, PTSA led to significant increase of UVP at lateral-middle segment. Septal region in patients with HM and septal-middle, septal-base, posterior-base segments in HOCM had lower value of local linear shortening (LLS) among all patients in both HOCM and HM groups. PTSA resulted in significant reduction of LLS in anterior region and at septal-apex segment. Anterior-base and septal-middle segments in patients with HM had lowest value of local active time (LAT), and significantly differentiated from that in patients with HOCM [(-8.57 +/- 0.68) ms vs (-18.61 +/- 1.02) ms, (-6.75 +/- 0.37)ms vs (-21.90 +/- 0.96) ms, respectively]. LAT at septal-middle and -base segments in patients with HOCM was decreased significantly [(-21.90 +/- 0.96) ms vs (-13.80 +/- 1.04) ms, P < 0.002; and (-15.20 +/- 1.06) ms vs (-6.33 +/- 0.52) ms, respectively] immediately after PTSA.

CONCLUSIONSPosterior-lateral and anterior region probably played important roles in electromechanical remodeling. Significant electromechanical remodeling disassociation (uncoupling) was detected in most left ventricular regions, which would be important in differentiating of HOCM from HM, and in predicting the prognosis in patients with HOCM after PTSA procedure.

Body Surface Potential Mapping ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Ethanol ; therapeutic use ; Heart Septum ; drug effects ; Humans ; Ventricular Remodeling ; physiology

Adult ; Aged ; Bundle-Branch Block ; etiology ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Female ; Heart Septum ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology