OBJECTIVETo observe preliminary efficacy of decompressive unilateral improved transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) for the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases.

METHODSFrom August 2009 to December 2011, 28 patients with lumbar degenerative diseases were treated by decompressive unilateral improved TLIF,including 16 males and 12 females with an average of 61 (aged 46 to 71) years old,the courses of disease ranged from 6 months to 6 years. Among them, 20 cases suffered from lumbar spinal stenosis, 8 cases were lumbar disc herniation. Decompressive range included single segment in 24 cases,and double segments in 4 cases; 15 cases were performed operation on the left side, 13 cases on the right side. JOA lower back pain scoring system (29 points) were applied for evaluate preoperative and postoperative symptoms, physical signs and sphincteral functions;Visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to evaluate preoperative and postoperative low back pain.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up 6 to 28 (mean 14) months. Postoperative JOA score and VAS score were 17.9 +/- 2.2, 2.8 +/- 0.7 respectively,and preoperative JOA score and VAS score were 8.5 +/- 1.7, 8.6 +/- 1.2, respectively. There were significant meaning in JOA and VAS scores before and after operation (P < 0.05). Twenty-eight patients were all obtained intervertebral synostosis.

CONCLUSIONDecompressive unilateral improved TLIF for treatment of unilateral radicular lumbar spinal stenosis and lumbar disc herniation,which has advantages of minimally invasive,curative effects,decrease medical costs,is worthy spreading in clinical.

Adult ; Aged ; Decompression, Surgical ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Diseases ; surgery ; Spinal Fusion ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the effects of thymoquinone (TQ) on the levels of proteins involved in oxidative stress and cytokine in the brain of rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods Wistar rats (n=48) were randomly divided into 3 groups:normal control group,model group and TQ treatment group (n =16).The normal control group was fed with clean grade ordinary feed.The model group and TQ treatment group rats were fed with high-glucose and high-fat diet.After 6 weeks' feeding,model group and TQ treatment group rats were administered streptozocin (STZ) (35 mg/kg) to establish type 2 diabetic model by intraperitoneal injection.Then,the model group and TQ treatment group rats were fed with high-glucose and high-fat diet for another 6 weeks.After that,TQ treatment group rats were administered TQ (5 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection every other day.The model group rats were injected with an equal dose of ethanol.Six weeks later,all the rats were sacrificed to obtain the hippocampal tissue for the protein extract.The protein levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2),heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the hippocampal tissue were measured by Western blot.Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was determined by SOD kit.Blood-glucose meter was used to assess the blood glucose before the rats were sacrificed and after the model was successfully established.All the measurement data was described by the x ± s,measurement data were compared among groups using One Way ANOVA.Results The results by Western blots showed that the levels of the Nrf2 and HO-1 protein were significantly decreased in the model group compared with the normal control group,the levels of the Nrf2 and HO-1 proteins were increased in the TQ treatment group in comparison with the model group (P＜ 0.05).Meanwhile,compared with the normal control group,the SOD activity of the hippocampus in model group was significantly lower (P＜ 0.05);by contrast with the model group,the SOD activity in the TQ treatment group was considerably increased (P＜0.05).By contrast,the COX-2 level in the model group was substantially higher than that in the normal control (P＜0.05),and the COX-2 level in the TQ treatment group was lower than that in the model group (P＜0.05).Conclusions TQ might inhibit inflammation and improve oxidative stress of the brain tissue in the rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective Total aortic arch replacement and stented elephant trunk surgery is an important surgical method for acute type A aortic dissection, and the short, middle, long term curative effect has been recognized by more and more experts at home and abroad.Circulatory arrest was an independent risk factor for postoperative complications and mortality in patients with type A aortic dissection.The aim of this article is to observed the effection of a new technology to block aortic arch, whicn can shorten the circulatory arrest time to 2 minutes and avoid harm of circulatory arrest on patients.Methods From May 2016 to February 2017, 68 patients with acute type A aortic dissection were divided into the conventional group and the modified group.All the patients underwent total arch replacement and stented elephant trunk surgery.The rectal temperature of the conventional group was 25℃ and circulatory arrest time was 20 min.While the rectal temperature of the modified group was 28℃ and and circulatory arrest time was 2 min.Results In the conventional operation group, 3 patients died after operation while all the patients in the modified group were cured and discharged.There are no differences between the two groups in the time of cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) and heart arrest time(P>0.05).There are Significant differences in CPB time, circulatory arrest time, postoperative awake time, intubation time, amount of blood used, the amount of drainage during the first two days after operation, the time staying in ICU and the postoperative time in hospital.And the modified group was much better.(P<0.05)Conclusion The results of new technology blocking aortic arch in the patients with acute type A aortic dissection are better than the conventional surgical approach during the perioperative period.This technology is simple and effective.It is worth promoting.

In this paper, the concepts of surrogate outcomes and intermediary outcomes, their correlation with the primary outcome, how to select surrogate outcomes and intermediary outcomes and the particular requirements for using surrogate outcomes in assessing TCM clinical efficacy were discussed and described. It is difficult to evaluate clinical efficacy objectively and thoroughly by means of a single surrogate outcome for reason of the global characteristics of TCM, therefore, to rationally select such intermediary outcomes as important clinical symptoms, combination of several syndromes, patients' subject feeling, patients' satisfaction for treatment and quality of life, should be beneficial for objectively evaluating the efficacy of TCM intervention approaches.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Health Status Indicators ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; methods ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome

HPS1-D, an active polysaccharide,was isolated and purified from Hedysarum polybotrys. HPS1-D was obtained after treated with Savage method and H2O2, and purified with DEAE-cellulose 52 and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography. Then physicochemical property analysis, GC, methylation, partial acid hydrolysis, and NMR method were used to study chemical structural of HPS1-D. The conformation was primarily analyzed with GPC-MALLS method and Congo red reaction. The anti-complementary activity of HPS1-D was evaluated with the hemolysis assay. HPS1-D was a heteropolysaccharide and consisted of D-glucose, L-arabinose, (7.2:1.3). HPS1-D proved to be a neutral sugar, with 1, 4-and 1, 4, 6-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl residues in backbone ,and 1, 5-and 1, 3, 5-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl residues in branches. HPS1-D has a random coil state conformation with monodisperse mass distribution in 0.9% NaCl solution. And HPS1-D had triple-helix conformation in concentrate of NaOH solution. Anti-complementary activity of HPS1-D was closed to its positive control heparin.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Hemolysis ; drug effects ; Mice ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; pharmacology

ObjectiveTo investigate the delineation of gross tumor volume (GTV) in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANC) according to imageological changes before and after induction chemotherapy (IC) in order to decrease high dose area and protect normal tissue better.MethodsBetween Mar 2010 to Jan 2011,11 patients with LANC were enrolled and treated with TPF regimen followed by intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with concurrent chemotherapy,target volumes were delineated based on fused CT imaging before and after IC following project determination.Tumor target volumes after and before IC were respectively delineated according to imaging tumor residues and were overlaid by CTVnx in order to ensure radical doses for the imaging tumor volume before IC,the resulting differences of tumor target volumes of IC before and after were measured and analyzed by paired t-test.ResultsBefore and after IC,the average volumes of GTVnx were respectively 44.72 cm3 and 28.87 ( t =3.89,P =0.003 ),the average volumes of GTVnd were respectively 32.76 cm3 and 19.82 cm3 ( t =2.47,P =0.033 ),the volumes of maximum dose area in brainstem and spinal cord as well as eyeball decreased ( t =2.93-4.59,all P ＜0.05).ConclusionsLANC treated by 3 cycle TPF regimen followed by IMRT with concurrent chemotherapy showes significant shrinkage of tumor volume.The volume of high dose region which caused by normally recovered tissues were decreased by re-delineation of target volume in brainstem and spinal cord as well as eyeball of CT images after IC.

Objective:To investigate the immune response after injecting polysaccharide nucleic acid of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin(BCG-PSN)under the mucous membrane of bladder in rabbits and to search for the most suitable dose of BCG-PSN.Methods:The rabbits were randomly divided into 5 groups:high dose(0.35 mg/ml)BCG-PSN group,mid- dle dose(0.175 mg/ml)BCG-PSN group,low dose(0.0875 mg/ml)BCG-PSN group,BCG(0.35 mg/ml)control group and BCG-PSN(0.35 mg/ml)intra-bladder perfusion control group.T lymphocyte subsets(CD4~+,CD8~+)in the peripheral blood were determined by flow cytometry before and 1 week,2 weeks,1 month and 3 months after the treatment; the levels of IL-2,TNF-?,and IFN-?of peripheral blood were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay;H-E and Masson staining was used for the pathological examination of the bladder.Results:(1)BCG-PSN injection increased the number of CD4~+ and CD8~+ T lymphocytes in a time- and dose-dependent manner,with the peak numbers appeared 2 weeks after BCG-PSN injection;the numbers restored to the normal levels 3 months after BCG-PSN injection.BCG control group had a similar changing pattern to the BCG-PSN injection group.The number of CD4~+ T cells BCG-PSN perfusion group was significantly lower than that in the high-dose BCG-PSN injection group(P

Objective To investigate the effect of different Chinese herbs on cell proliferation and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein(COMP)expression in chondrocyte culture.Methods Chondrocytes isolated from rabbit knee cartilage were cultured for 3 generations with the density of 2?10~4/cm~2 and were verified by collagenⅡimmunohistochemical staining.Rabbit sera containing herbs were obtained after animals orally ad- ministrated herbs at the dosage equivalent to human.At 5% and 10% serum density,cells were cultured in the medium that contained liver-softening herbal compound sera.Subgroups setting at 1,3 and 5 hours after herb intervention were observed.Rabbit and bovine sera were control groups.Seven days after intervention,chon- drocytes proliferation was observed using the MTT assay kit.For the study of COMP expression,chondrocytes were isolated from human knee cartilage supematant.Superuatant COMP level was tested by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assays(ELISA)after directly adding compound and extract from liver-softening herbs to the culture at the final concentration of 10 mg/ml for 3 days.Results Liver-softening herbal compound group had significant effect on cell proliferation compared to control,of which,3-hour subgroup was more significant than 1-and 5-hour subgroups(P

ObjectiveTo analyze the disc working zone of intervertebral foramens (ⅣF) for percutaneous posterolateral approach to the lumbar disc with dissection and measurement of adult cadaveric spine speciments.MethodsTwenty-five lumbar IVFs of cadaveric spines(age:45-65 years; body height:150-176 cm) were studied.The heights of the intervertebral space at the most posterior margin (h) and the angles between the nerve root and the plane of the disc (β) at the sagittal plane and the distance from the nerve root to posterolateral margin of disc(d) were measured.The distances from nerve root to the lateral edge of articular process at the plane of the inferior endplate of the upper vertebra (a1) and the plane of the superior endplate of the vertebra below(a2) were measured.We also measured the distance between the nerve root and the dura at two planes of the vertebra endplate(b1,b2) after removing the lamina and articular processes.ResultsThe disc in the ⅣF is contained in the trapezoid shaped zone at the sagittal plane or the coronal plane.The parameters of two trapezoids are displayed:h is (7.0±1.1) mm; β is 77.6°±8.4°; d is (3.4±2.3)mm; a1 is (9.4±2.2) mm; a2 is (10.8±4.6) mm; b1 is (9.9±2.7) mm; and b2 is (17.7±2.1) mm.All values increase as the level goes down except the value of β,which decreases.ConclusionThe disc working zone of ⅣF is a complicated three-dimensional structure changed from the Kambin's triangle,which could be simulated by construction of two trapezoid on sagittal and coronal planes.The anatomic study of the structure is able to help the clinical transforaminal managements of the lumbar disc.For example,the dimension of working cannula could be figured out by the height of the intervertebral space.The angle of the needle inserted is affected by the distance from nerve root to the disc in this structure.