Objective To investigate the characteristics of multifocal visual evoked potential (mf-VEP) in healthy individuals, and provide normal reference values for its clinical application. Methods The mf-VEP of 37 healthy individuals (70 eyes) were examined by VERIS Science TM 4.0. The visual stimulus was a dart board with patterns consisted of 60 patches spanning a 25? visual field. The length of m-sequence was 2 14-1. The results were recorded by bipolar occipital straddle. The signal was amplified 100 K and was put through a band-pass filter between 3 and 100 Hz. The first slice of the second order kernel was analyzed by VERIS software. The summed responses of fields with different stimulus were analyzed and compared according to different ages, genders and eyes. Results The latencies and response densities of amplitude had statistically significant differences both in dimidiate and quartered field(P 0.05). Conclusions The mf-VEP of healthy individuals can reflect the VEP at different field locations objectively with its specific physiological characteristics, which may provide normal reference values for its clinical application.

ObjectiveTo analyze the symmetry of multifocal visual evoked potential (mfVEP) between both eyes in normal subjects. Methods The monocular mfVEP of both eyes in thirty-six normal subjects (72 eyes) was tested with VERIS Science 4.0. The stimulus was the pattern reversal dart array consisted of 60 sectors each included 16 black-white reverse patterns. The visual stimulation was controlled by the binary pseudo-random m-sequences and subtended approximately 25 degrees. Results There existed no statistically significant difference of P1 latencies and amplitudes between correspondent quadrant visual field of both eyes. The data difference of the ipsilateral quadrant visual fields was greater than those of the correspondent quadrant visual field. The comparison among four quadrant visual fields in right eye or left eye each showed that there was statistically significant difference of P1 latencies between the superionasal quadrant visual field and inferiotemporal or inferionasal quadrant visual fields. Conclusions The symmetry of normal mfVEP is more dominant in retina than that in visual cortex.

Objective Deletion detection and annotation of 18 lines from the population of specific chromosome 1 substitution strains ( PCSSs) derived from Chinese wild mice based on whole genome re-sequencing data. Methods Whole genome re?sequencing of the 18 lines were performed on the Illumina Hiseq platform. SpeedSeq software was used to detect the deletion after read alignment. Further annotation was obtained using SnpEff software. Results 13803 dele?tions were identified among the 18 lines, the length of deletion was ranged from 51bp to 70 kb, among them nearly 50%were less than 500 bp. Through functional annotation,we found most of the variants were located in intronic (50. 361%) and intergenic (28. 745%) regions. However, we also identified 31 protein coding genes harboring loss?of?function dele?tions. Among them, 3 genes were associated with human diseases, 7 genes were participated in 11 KEGG pathways. Conclusion The chromosome 1 of PCSSs harbors abundant deletion mutations which can be used as genetic markers in genetic studies.

Objective To investigate the influence of experimental scotoma on multifocal visual evoked potential (mf-VEP). Methods The mf-VEP of 10 healthy individuals (20 eyes) was measured with VERIS Science 4.0. Every eye was measured for 3 times. The right eye was measured with full field stimulation and upper hemi-field or lower hemi-field masked. The left eye was measured with full field stimulation and central three-rings area or lower nasal field masked. The first slice responses of the second order in different field were analyzed and compared by VERIS software. Results The mf-VEP in masked area was undetectable or obviously decreased in all subjects. In most unmasked field, the amplitudes of mf-VEP were not changed, except that in some place decreased slightly with statistically significant difference in comparison to the full field stimulation mode. Conclusion mf-VEP is influenced with experimental scotoma. The mf-VEP changes are consistent with the visual field masked.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma on visual evoked potential (VEP).

METHODSVEP of 63 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were tested before, at the end of, half a year, one year, 2 years and 3 years after their radiotherapy.

RESULTSWithin the male group, one year after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before and at the end of radiotherapy, while the amplitude was decreased significantly. Two years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed more than that before radiotherapy. However there was no significant difference among VEP at the end of, half a year and 3 years after radiotherapy. Within the female group, 2 years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before radiotherapy. Three years after radiotherapy, the latency of VEP was significantly delayed than that before, at the end of, half a year and one year after radiotherapy. There was no significant difference in VEP amplitudes before and after radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONWithin the male group, the abnormal delay of VEP latency mostly happens one or two years after radiotherapy. Within the female group, the significant delay of VEP latency happens at the end of radiotherapy and lasts for 3 years, while the VEP amplitude does not change significantly during the 3 years after radiotherapy. The result indicates that the sustained radiation damage within the female visual nerve system starts at the end of radiotherapy, but to a lesser degree. It was shown that radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma certainly damages the visual nerve system, though there is sex difference in the impairment.

Adult ; Evoked Potentials, Visual ; radiation effects ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; radiotherapy ; Sex Factors ; Time Factors

The Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway is essential for cellular proliferation and differentiation during embryonic development. Gain and loss of function of Hh signalling are known to result in an array of craniofacial malformations. To determine the critical period for Hh pathway antagonist-induced frontal bone hypoplasia, we examined patterns of dysmorphology caused by Hh signalling inhibition. Pregnant mice received a single oral administration of Hh signalling inhibitor GDC-0449 at 100 mg•kg or 150 mg•kg body weight at preselected time points between embryonic days (E)8.5 and 12.5. The optimal teratogenic concentration of GDC-0449 was determined to be 150 mg•kg. Exposure between E9.5 and E10.5 induced frontal bone dysplasia, micrognathia and limb defects, with administration at E10.5 producing the most pronounced effects. This model showed decreased ossification of the frontal bone with downregulation of Hh signalling. The osteoid thickness of the frontal bone was significantly reduced. The amount of neural crest-derived frontal bone primordium was reduced after GDC-0449 exposure owing to a decreased rate of cell proliferation and increased cell death.
Administration, Oral ; Anilides ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Bone Diseases, Developmental ; chemically induced ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; physiology ; Female ; Frontal Bone ; abnormalities ; Hedgehog Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Limb Deformities, Congenital ; chemically induced ; Mice ; Micrognathism ; chemically induced ; Osteogenesis ; drug effects ; Pregnancy ; Pyridines ; pharmacology ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Shenge Bushen Capsules （SBC） on sexual development in normal 3-week-old mice. MethodsThe experiment consisted of two parts. In the first part， mice were divided into four groups： The control group and the low， medium， and high-dose SBC groups （234.7， 469.4， 938.7 mg·kg^-1， respectively）. In the second part， mice were divided into four groups： Control group， Pseudostellariae Radix polysaccharide （PRP） group， total flavonoids group， and SBC group， all receiving a dose of 469.4 mg·kg^-1. After 7 days of administration， the vaginal opening of female mice and the descent of testes and scrotum in male mice， as well as the ovarian and testicular organ indices， were observed. After 4 weeks of administration， female and male mice were housed together for 2 days， and the pregnancy rate of females was monitored. After delivery， the pregnant female mice continued receiving the treatment for 4 weeks， and the sexual development of their offspring， including vaginal opening， testicular descent， and organ indices of ovaries and testes， was observed. Serum sex hormones were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， and the expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone （GnRH） and growth hormone （GH） proteins in the hypothalamus was assessed by Western blot. ResultsCompared with the control group， there was no significant effect on the vaginal opening of female mice or the descent of testes in male mice after 7 days of SBC administration. After 4 weeks of administration， the pregnancy rate in the low-dose group was significantly reduced （P<0.05）， but no significant effects were observed in the other groups. The three doses of SBC did not significantly affect the ovarian or testicular organ indices， and there was no significant upregulation in the expression of GnRH or GH in the hypothalamus. The primary component of SBC， Pseudostellariae Radix polysaccharide， significantly reduced the vaginal opening in female mice after 7 days of administration （P<0.05）. After 4 weeks， the serum estradiol levels of non-pregnant female mice were decreased （P<0.05）， but there was no significant effect on the expression of GnRH or GH proteins in the hypothalamus of either male or female mice. Additionally， there were no significant effects on precocious puberty indicators， such as vaginal opening and testicular descent， in the offspring mice. ConclusionSBC does not significantly promote precocious puberty in young mice， and it does not have any noticeable effects on the pregnancy rate of adult mice or the sexual development of their offspring.