Acupuncture Therapy ; Hemangioma, Cavernous ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; therapy ; Spinal Cord ; blood supply ; Young Adult

Objective Thymoma is associated with autoimmune diseases. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of thymoma complicated systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Patients were from Qilu Hospital Shandong University between June 2004 and June 2014, and satisfied classification criteria of American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria 1997 for SLE. Thymoma was diagnosed by chest CT scan. Results Nine cases were of thymoma complicated with SLE, with the male:female ratio of 1∶8. The age of SLE onset was (48±19) years, age of thymoma discovery was (47±19) years. The follow-up period was 3 to 10 years. Three cases (33%) were benign thymoma and underwent thymectomy and verified by histopa-thology test. One case presented thymoma 9 years after SLE, 5 cases (56%) presented SLE and thymoma simultaneously, 3 cases (33%) presented SLE after thymectomy. Clinical manifestations of SLE included 4(44%) skin lesions, 8(89%) polyarthritis, 5(56%) nephritis, 3(33%) leukocytopenia, 3(33%) throm-bocytopenia, 2 (22%) of interstitial pneumonia, 4 (44%) pleural effusion, no neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus. Nine cases (100%) were ANA positive, 7 (78%) were anti-dsDNA positive. Conclusion SLE complicated thymoma usually occurs in relatively older age, tend to present with multi-systemic presentations, and high percentage of anti-dsDNA positivity.

AIMTo investigate whether the selective AT1 receptor antagonist irbesartan exerts neuroprotective effect on focal cerebral ischemia in normotensive rats.

METHODSCerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 90 min followed by reperfusion, with the monitoring of laser Doppler flowmetry. To avoid the interaction with peripheral AT1 receptors, irbesartan was infused intracerebroventricularly (ICV) at a dose which effectively inhibited brain- but not vascular AT1 receptors. Neurological status was evaluated daily after MCAO. Rats were killed and brain samples were collected for the measurement of infarct size and immunohistochemical evaluation of apoptosis by deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated biotinylated UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and expression of activated Caspase-3 and the cleavage fragment of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP).

RESULTSTreatment with irbesartan improved significantly the neurobehavioral functions after cerebral ischemia. The infarct size was reduced about 42% on day 7 after MCAO (P < 0.05). Meanwhile,irbesartan treatment significantly decreased the number of TUNEL-positive cells in the penumbra. The expression of activated Caspase-3 and the downstream cleavage fragment of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase in the penumbra were also inhibited by irbesartan therapy on day 3 after transient cerebral ischemia.

CONCLUSIONAngiotensin AT1 receptor antagonist exhibits neuroprotection against transient cerebral ischemia in the brain. The neuroprotective effects in ischemic tissue may be associated with its inhibition of apoptotic cell death in the penumbra.

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Biphenyl Compounds ; pharmacology ; Cerebral Infarction ; pathology ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Lateral Ventricles ; Male ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Tetrazoles ; pharmacology

To investigate the correlation between methylation and expression of multidrug resistance (mdr1) gene, restriction endonuclease HpaII combined with competitive PCR technique was used to quantitatively detect the methylation status of two CCGG sites located at -110 and -50 bp (region I and II) up to the transcription start site in mdr1 promoter in 54 AL and 9 MM patients. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect the expression level of mdr1 gene. The results showed that inverse correlation between methylation rate of either region or total methylation rate and expression of mdr1 gene was observed. The correlation in the region I (r = -0.64) was closer than that in the region II (r = -0.4). High expression rate of mdr1 ascended significantly in low methylation group (n = 36) (P < 0.001). In comparison with chemotherapy sensitive group (n = 8), the methylation rate in refractory AL patients (n = 16) was lower (P = 0.05) in the region I, P < 0.05 in the region II and total regions. Comparing with the untreated patients (n = 36), the methylation rate in the region I and total methylation rate were lower in the patients with chemotherapy (n = 14) (P < 0.05). The methylation rate in the region II was also decreased after chemotherapy, however, no statistical significance was shown (P > 0.05). Increased mdr1 expression level accompanying with decreased methylation rate after chemotherapy was found, although no significant difference was shown (P = 0.06). It is concluded that the expression level of mdr1 gene was associated with the methylation status of CCGG in -110 and -50 bp upstream to the transcription start site, especially the -110 site. In both the patients treated with chemotherapy and the refractory patients, the methylation level of mdr1 gene decreased relatively. The rising expression of mdr1 gene after chemotherapy was associated with the decrease of methylation level.
DNA Methylation ; Genes, MDR ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Humans ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVEThis study was designed to investigate the prevalence, clinical characteristics and outcome of upper respiratory infection (URI) caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) in children.

METHODSPharyngeal cultures for MP antibody were performed in 960 children with acute URI. The samples were randomly collected from the outpatient room or emergency room (Observed group). Of the Observed group, there were 232 cases under 1 year of age, and the remainder, were between 1-12 years old. The samples from 100 healthy children aged from 6 months to 12 years were used as the Control group. The prevalence of MP infection between the two groups was compared. The clinical manifestations and the outcome between the patients with MP positive and negative were compared.

RESULTSMP antibody was positive in 31.7% (304/960) of the Observed group but only 9.0% (9/100) in the Control group (P < 0.05). The URI patients under 1 year of age had a lower positive rate of MP than those over 1 year old (P < 0.05). Coughs and tonsillitis were more common (P < 0.05), but catarrh, gastroenteritic symptoms, herpes, and tetter were rare (P < 0.01) in URI patients with MP positive compared with those with MP negative. Pneumonia developed in 14.8% of the patients with MP positive but only 7.0% in those with MP negative (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSMP is one of the main pathogens of acute URI in children. Acute pharyngotonsillitis symptoms are predominately presented in children with MP infection. MP infection was commonly seen in children over 1 year old and they are prone to develop pneumonia.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; isolation & purification ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; microbiology

Chronic Disease ; Diagnostic Errors ; Giant Cell Tumors ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteomyelitis ; diagnosis

OBJECTIVETo observe clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture on poststroke deglutition disorders.

METHODSSixty-eight inpatients of moderate and severe deglutition disorders were treated by the activating brain function to cause resuscitation needling method.

RESULTSTwenty-six cases were cured, 24 were remarkedly effective, 16 were effective, with a total effective rate of 97.06%.

CONCLUSIONThis needling method has a markedly therapeutic effect on poststroke moderate and severe deglutition disorders.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Brain ; Deglutition Disorders ; therapy ; Humans ; Resuscitation ; Stroke

Objective To evaluate the short-term efficacy and safety of sevelamer hydrochloride in treating maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients with hyperphosphemia.Methods A multicenter,open-labeled,self-control study was performed.Phosphate binders were discontinued during a two-week washout period.Patients with more than 1.78 mmol/L serum phosphorus after two-week washout period were eligible for the trial.The dose was adjusted every two weeks as necessary to achieve serum phosphorus control. Sevelamer hydrochloride was administered to 138 MHD patients for 10 weeks and a second two-week washout period followed.Results A total of 111 from 138 patients fulfilled the whole 14-week study. Mean serum phosphorus and calcium-phosphate products starte to decline after two-week sevelamer hydrochloride treatment. By the end of 10-week sevelamer hydrochloride treatment, mean serum level of phosphorus [(1.85±0.50) vs (2.57±0.54) mmol/L,P＜0.01],calcium-phosphate product [(4.16± 1.72) vs (5.79 ± 1.50) mmol2/L2,P＜0.01 ] and low density lipoprotein [(1.64±0.76) vs (2.31 ±0.87) mmol/L,P＜0.01] were significantly decreased,while the adjusted serum level of calcium and serum intact parathyroid hormone kept steady.Both serum phosphorus and calcium-phosphrus product increased after the second washout period, but the levels were still lower as compared to pre-treatment [(2.26±0.71) vs (2.57±0.54) mmol/L; (5.12±1.63) vs (5.79±1.50) mmol2/L2,P＜0.01].Of the 138 patients involved,214 episodes in 106 patients and 121 episodes in 89 patients were reported as adverse events and adverse drug reaction respectively. Gastrointestinal symptoms,of which most were mild or moderate,happened to 68.1％ (94/138) patients. Conclusions Sevelamer hydrochloride can control serum phosphorus and reduce the levels of calcium-phosphorus product and cholesterol.Slight gastrointestinal symptoms like constipation are common during the treatment.

Objective We reported a case of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) concurrent with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and reviewed the literature to investigate the Musculoskeletal manifestations of OI.Methods A 27 years old male patient was admitted to department of rheumatology,Qilu hospital with complaints of left hip and low back pain accompanied with morning stiffness.He had pain and gradual limitation in range of motion of the spine for 2 years and symptomatic exacerbation nearly 8 months.His mother,aunt,daughter and son suffered from OI as well.Clinical examinations revealed blue sclera but hearing and teeth were normal.He had typical AS appearance and severe deformities of left hip joint.His erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 32 mm/1 h,C-reactive protein (CRP) was 9.00 mg/L,and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 was positive.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning of sacroiliac joint was consistent with spondyloarthropathies and avascular necrosis of left femoral head.After being treated with daily 99Te methylenediphonate intravenously,oral risedronate 5 mg and diclofenac sodium and sulfasalazine,his condition was improved.Results OI was an autosomal dominant hereditary disease defined by bone frailty due to abnormal synthesis of type Ⅰ collagen in bone matrix.It affects the entire skeleton,predisposing the patient to frequent non-traumatic fractures,causing pain,skeletal deformity,and disability.Conclusion OI patients have many musculoskeletal manifestations,such as arthralgia and deformities and should be considered in the differential diagnosis by rheumatologist.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the polymorphism of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT(1R)) gene A1166C and environmental factors on hypertension of Kazakh people.

METHODSThrough the random program of SPSS 13.0, 220 cases were randomly selected from the confirmed hypertension patients, and 220 cases with normal blood pressure were selected as control group. All cases were investigated through the questionnaire and the related indexes were measured. By polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, the genotypes were determined.

RESULTS(1) In hypertension group, the genotype frequency of AA and AC were 78.6% (173/220) and 21.4% (47/220), respectively, compared with control groups' 81.4% (179/220) and 18.6% (41/220), no significant difference was identified between these two groups (chi(2) = 0.537, P > 0.05). In hypertension group, the frequency of A and C allele were 89.0% and 11.0%, respectively, compared with 90.3% and 9.7% in control group. There was no significant difference between these two groups (chi(2) = 0.37, P > 0.05). (2) AC genotype might interact with excessive salt consumption (hypertension group, 31/220, 15.5%; control group 10/220, 4.5%, OR: 4.67, 95%CI: 2.15 - 10.15), overweight (hypertension group, 19/220, 8.6%; control group, 9/220, 4.1%, OR: 6.96, 95%CI: 2.33 - 20.76) and drinking large volume of salty milk (hypertension group, 20/220, 9.1%; control group, 10/220, 4.5%, OR: 2.67, 95%CI: 1.11 - 6.42) which will raise hypertension hazard of AC genotype.

CONCLUSIONThere is no relationship between the A1166C gene polymorphism of AT(1R) gene and hypertension of Kazakh people. AC genotypes might also interact with food consumption habit and behavior factors and increase the individual risk of hypertension.

Adult ; Alleles ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; epidemiology ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypertension ; epidemiology ; ethnology ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1 ; genetics ; Smoking