Objective To investigate the clinical value of helical CT dual-phase scan in diagnosis and staging in gastrointestinal tumor.Methods Helical CT dual-phase enhanced imaging features of gastrointestinal tumor proved by surgery and pathology in 69 cases were retrospectively reviewed.Results(1)The tumors in 55 cases were enhanced ovviously in the venous phase compared with that in arterial phase(P

Objective To investigate the effect of early intervention with mirror therapy on hemiparetie survivors of ischemic stroke.Methods Thirty-six hemiplegic patients within one month after a stroke were randomly divided into a mirror therapy group (MT group,n=18) and a routine rehabilitation control group (RRC group,n=18).The participants in the MT group received MT for 45 min/d,5 d/wk for 3 weeks in addition to conventional stroke rehabilitation.Those in the RRC group received exercise therapy at the same frequency without the mirror protocol.The Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA),Wolf motor function test (WMFT),functional ambulation category scale (FAC),Brunnstrom stages of motor recovery,and the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) were used to assess changes in the upper limb,gross hand dexterity and lower limb recovery before and right after the interventions,as well as one and two months after the treatment.Results Significant improvement was observed in the limb function of both groups after the treatment.Compared with the RRC group,there was significantly greater improvement observed in the MT group.This was true of the FMA ratings at all time points,the average WMFT scores one and two months after the intervention,the FAC ratings two months after the intervention,and the Brunnstrom stages at both one and two months after the intervention.However,no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the average MAS scores was observed at any time point.Conclusion Early intervention with MT can significantly accelerate the recovery of a paretic upper limb aud improve walking ability after stroke.Such intervention is worthy of promotion and application in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of schizandrins on the learning and memory disorder in mice, and explore its mechanism.

METHODThe memory impairment model was established by using the pentobarbital sodium (20 mg x kg(-1)) intraperitoneally injected in mice. Schizandrins (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 g x kg(-1)) were administered through intragavage for consecutive 14 days. Morris Water Maze test was used to evaluate the impairment of learning and memory. The energy of superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide (NO) and catalase (CAT) of brain tissue were measured. And the positive expression of nuclear transcription factor-kappaB p65 (NF-kappaB p65), caspase-3 in the hippocampus CA1 region were determined by immunohistochemical analysis. At the cellular level, 24 h after schizandrins (0.062 5, 0.125, 0.25 g x L(-1)) were pre-administered, the apoptosis model of PC12 cell was induced by H2O2, and activity of PC12 cell was detected by MTT colorimetric assay, the energy of NO in cell serum were measured. The expression of Bcl-2 was determined by the combination of immunocytochemical staining and image analysis software.

RESULTMorris Water Maze test showed that the model group mice took shorter searching time and distance on the previous flat area than those in the control group (P < 0.05), which could be prolonged after schizandrins treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the level of NO increased while the activity of SOD, CAT decreased in the model group (both P < 0.01). After treated with schizandrins, the level of NO significantly decreased (P < 0.01), while the activity of SOD increased (P < 0.01). Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that the protein expression of NF-kappaB p65, Caspase-3 in the hippocampal CA1 region significantly increased after modeling, while schizandrins (1.0 g x kg(-1)) can significantly inhibit the protein expression of NF-kappaB p65, Caspase-3 (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the H2O2, model group, schizandrins (0.125, 0.25 g x L(-1)) can significantly increased PC12 cell activity and decreased the NO level (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), the expression of Bcl-2 in the schizandrins group (0.125, 0.25 g x L(-1)) was up-regulated.

CONCLUSIONSchizandrins could improve the learning-memory dysfunction induced by the sodium pentobarbital in mice, and its protective mechanism is related to the lowering oxidative damage and inhibiting the cell apoptosis through up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal ; metabolism ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line ; Cyclooctanes ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Learning Disorders ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Lignans ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Memory Disorders ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; PC12 Cells ; Polycyclic Compounds ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Transcription Factor RelA ; metabolism

Objective To illustrate the clinical and pathological features of Chinese upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients and to investigate the regional difference and the possible prognostic factors.Methods A retrospective study was performed on 2 628 patients from 9 centers of three different regions (Beijing:2 centers with 1 022 cases,Shanghai:1 center with 814 cases,Sichuan:6 center with 792 cases).The median age was 68 (range 20 to 93) and the mean age was 66.3.There were 1 447 male patients (55.1％) and 1 181 female patients (44.9％).The clinical information,pathological outcomes and prognosis were collected and analyzed based on South (Shanghai and Sichuan) and North (Beijing)region.Results The distribution of Ta + T1,T2,T3 and T4 was 914 (34.8％),715 (27.2％),857(32.6％) and 142(5.4％).Patients from North were more likely to be female (55.9％ vs.38.0％,P＜0.001) and suffer from ureteral tumors (43.4％ vs.35.9％,P ＜ 0.001);while in patients from South higher tumor stage(T3 or T4,42.5％ vs.31.0％,P ＜ 0.001),high grade(72.0％ vs.34.0％,P ＜0.001) and larger tumor size [(3.73 ±2.17) cm vs.(3.36 ±2.02) cm,P＜0.001] were more prevalent.Subgroup indicated that female patients in North had obviously lower tumor stage (T3 or T4,27.2％ vs.35.9％,P =0.014),while relatively higher tumor stage were noticed in female patients in South (T3 or T4,48.2％ vs.38.9％,P =0.004).The median follow-up was 41 (1-206) months,and 963 patients (36.6％) died including 815 (31.0％) died from cancer.In North female patients had better 5-year overall survival (75.5％ vs.62.2％,P ＜0.001) and cancer-specific survival (78.3％ vs.65.0％,P＜0.001),but in South gender had no impact on overall survival (58.5％ vs.60.1％,P =0.927) or cancer-specific survival (62.0％ vs.65.8％,P =0.345).Conclusions This study demonstrated that in Chinese patients with UTUC,those from North were featured for lower tumor stage and grade,higher proportion of females and females had better survival.High age,high tumor stage and grade,large tumor diameter,and the presence of lymph node metastasis or lymphovascular invasion were risk factors for poor prognosis in Chinese UTUC patients.

Increased intestinal barrier permeability, leaky gut, has been reported in patients with autism. However, its contribution to the development of autism has not been determined. We selected dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) to disrupt and metformin to repair the intestinal barrier in BTBR T⁺tf/J autistic mice to test this hypothesis. DSS treatment resulted in a decreased affinity for social proximity; however, autistic behaviors in mice were improved after the administration of metformin. We found an increased affinity for social proximity/social memory and decreased repetitive and anxiety-related behaviors. The concentration of lipopolysaccharides in blood decreased after the administration of metformin. The expression levels of the key molecules in the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88)-nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway and their downstream inflammatory cytokines in the cerebral cortex were both repressed. Thus, "leaky gut" could be a trigger for the development of autism via activation of the lipopolysaccharide-mediated TLR4-MyD88-NF-κB pathway.
Mice ; Animals ; NF-kappa B ; Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88/metabolism* ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology* ; Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolism* ; Autistic Disorder/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction/physiology*