OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of melittin and 5-Fu, DDP, and TXT on human gastric cancer cell line BGC-823 and to primarily explore their possible mechanisms.

METHODSMedian effect analysis was employed to determine the interaction between melittin and 5-Fu, DDP, TXT by analyzing the relationship between fraction affected (FA) and the combination index (CI) acquired from the dose-effect curve. Expressions of chemotherapeutic agent-associated genes of BGC-823 cells with or without treatment were measured by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR.

RESULTS(1) Both melittin and chemotherapeutic agents inhibited the growth of BGC-823. (2) For BGC-823 cells were acted by 5-Fu +melittin, when FA ranged between 0.35-0.75, CI was less than 1. For BGC-823 cells were acted by DDP + melittin, when FA ranged 0.55 or so, CI = 1; when Fa ranged below 0.55, CI was less than 1. For BGC-823 cells were acted by TXT + melittin, CI less than 1 could be seen in the whole interval. (3) After treatment suppressed were the expressions of chemotherapeutic agent-associated genes of BGC-823 cells such as thymidylate synthetase (TS), excision repair cross-complementing gene 1 (ERCC1), breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1), beta-tubulin III (TUBB3), and microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT).

CONCLUSIONSMelittin had a synergistic effect on the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents. The possible mechanisms might be associated with down-regulating chemotherapeutic agent-associated genes.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drug Synergism ; Fluorouracil ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Melitten ; pharmacology

Objective To investigate the clinical features and TCD-detected microembolic signals in patients with hypercoagulability related multiple acute cerebral infarcts within non-single arterial territories, and to explore the possi?ble underlying mechanisms. Methods A retrospective review was conducted on all clinical, laboratory, radiological and TCD monitoring records from patients with hypercoagulability related multiple acute cerebral infarcts within non-single arterial territories, who admitted to the neurology department in our hospital. Results The data from twenty-two cases were finally included in this study. All patients presented with acute-onset localized neurological dysfunction, e.g. hemi?paresis, aphasia, hemiparesthesia, dysarthria, hemianopsia and cortical blindness. Their hypercoagulability related diseas?es included 10 cases of systemic malignancy, 5 moderate to severe hyperhomocystynemia (HCY>50μmol/L), 2 nephrot?ic syndrome, 2 antiphospholipid syndrome, 1 ulcerative colitis, 1 polycythemia vera,1 paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobin?uria. In 18 cases, the hypercoagulability related diseases were diagnosed after their initial stroke onset. DWI showed mul?tiple disseminated acute cerebral infarcts in non-single arterial territories involving bilateral anterior or anterior plus pos?terior cerebral circulation simultaneously. Foci involved lobar cortex/subcortex of cerebral hemisphere in 22 cases, deep cerebral hemisphere in 12 cases, cerebellum foci in 10 cases,brainstem foci in 2 cases. TCD revealed microembolic sig? nals in ten of 22 patients monitored. Conclusions Patients with multiple acute cerebral infarcts involving non-single arte?rial territories, should be screened for hypercoagulability as in that hypercoagulability and microembolism might be in?volved in the etiology of cerebral infarction.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Behavior, Addictive ; epidemiology ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Inpatients ; statistics & numerical data ; Internet ; Male ; Young Adult

Objective To characterize the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings of patients with occult sys?temic malignant neoplasms, whose initial manifestation presented as multiple acute cerebral infarcts including coagula?tion function,radiological imaging and microembolic signals (MES) detection by transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) and to explore the possible underlying mechanisms. Methods All clinical records, laboratory hematological tests includ?ing hypercoagulable states measured by D-dimer levels, brain MRI including DWI, and TCD monitoring MES, the treat?ment and prognosis were retrospectively reviewed in 12 patients with multiple acute cerebral infarcts as the first manifes?tation of occult systemic malignancy. Results The clinical manifestations presented as localized neurological dysfunction, e.g. hemiparesis, aphasia, hemiparesthesia, dysarthria, vertigo and seizures, etc. DWI revealed multiple disseminated acute cerebral infarcts in multiple arterial territories such as the bilateral anterior or anterior plus posterior cerebral circu?lation in all patients. Eleven of 12 patients tested had elevated D-dimer. TCD detected MES in 5 of 7 patients. There were 12 patients diagnosed with occult systemic malignancy including 5 lung cancer, 3 pancreatic cancer, 1 gastric can?cer, 1 colon cancer, 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma and 1 metastatic poorly differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma with unknown primary. Ten patients already had remote metastasis at diagnosis. The prognosis was usually poor and there were 7 cases with ischemic stroke recurrence, 4 cases with acute myocardial infarction, 3 cases died during hospitaliza?tion. Conclusions When patients present with multiple disseminated acute cerebral infarcts involving multiple arterial territories as initial manifestation, the underlying occult systemic malignancy should be considered. Hypercoagulopathy and MES might provide the clues to the diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical features,therapy and prognosis of patients with peripheral T cell lymphoma(PTCL), and to find out the prognostic factors of the disease. METHODS: The clinical data of 73 patients with PTCL were reviewed.The median pre-treatment disease course was 3 months.Fifty-five patients were males, and 18 were females, with the median age of 42 years.Five patients received the combined chemo-radio therapy, 65 received chemotherapy alone, and the other 3 patients were treated with auto hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). RESULTS: Of all the patients, the overall 3 -year and 5-year survival rates were 38% (28 /73) and 22% ( 16 /73) respectively.The survival rates decreased with the progression of the Ann Arbor stages.The survival rate of the patients with B symptom (fever, night sweat, and weight loss) or the international prognostic factors index ( IPI)>2 was lower than those of the patients without B symptom or IPI<2.The patients with the increased CA125 or D-dimer lever had the worst curative effect. CONCLUSION Peripheral T cell lymphoma is highly aggressive with poor prognosis.The clinical features,Ann Arbor staging, IPI and B symptom are important prognostic factors.CA125 and D-dimer may be also important prognostic factors.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; CA-125 Antigen ; blood ; Female ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral ; diagnosis ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo investigate the psychosocial status and related factors among university students during severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in Beijing.

METHODSBy means of stratified cluster sampling, symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90) and questionnaire on general information were applied among 6800 students in three universities in Beijing.

RESULTSThere were 6280 valid questionnaires gathered. In order to control and prevent SARS, strict management was conducted in three universities which providing various social supports. Out of the 6280 students, 460 had SCL-90 positive symptoms with a rate of 7.3%. Risk factors of SCL-90 positive symptom were found as follows: major in arts (OR = 2.00), misconception on the control and prevention of SARS (OR = 1.91), considering measures non-effective (OR = 2.25), and do not believe that SARS can be under control (OR = 3.57). Protective factors of SCL-90 positive symptom would include as: being female (OR = 0.77), being graduate students (OR = 0.38), and being not much influenced on study and daily life during the period of strict management (OR = 0.54).

CONCLUSIONPsychosocial status of students was influenced by their knowledge and attitude on SARS. Various social supports might keep the university students to having a healthy psychosocial status.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Awareness ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Outbreaks ; prevention & control ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Quarantine ; methods ; organization & administration ; psychology ; Risk Factors ; Sampling Studies ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Time Factors ; Universities

This study was purpose to investigate apoptosis pathway of leukemia K562 cells induced by anticoagulant fraction from Agkistrodon acutus venom (AVVC-1). The mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) of leukemia K562 cells was detected by flow cytometry with JC-1 single staining. The expression of cytochrome C in the mitochondrial of leukemia K562 cells was analyzed by Western blot after AVVC-1 treatment. The distribution of cytochrome C in leukemia K562 cells was measured by immuno-fluorescence test. The results showed that the potential of mitochondrial membrane decreased after treatment with different concentrations of AVVC-1 (12.5, 25, 50, 100 µg/ml) for 6 h (P < 0.01). The expression level of cytochrome C protein in mitochondria obviously declined after treatment with 30 µg/ml AVVC-1 for 48 h, and the fluorescent intensity of cytochrome C in cytosol was enhanced at the same time. It is concluded that AVVC-1-induced K562 cell apoptosis is related with mitochondrial damage, and cytochrome C may be a useful agent for investigating human leukemia therapy by using AVVC-1.
Agkistrodon ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; drug effects ; Mitochondria ; metabolism ; Snake Venoms ; pharmacology

Thirty-eight pregnant inpatients with acute pancreatitis (AP) were retrospectively reviewed from 2006 to 2012 in our hospital. The incidence of pregnancy-associated AP was 2.27‰. Most (78.95%) of the attack occurred in the third trimester. The median of APACHE II score was 6 and severe AP accounted for 31.58% (12 cases). Primary diseases were absent in most cases (57.89%). The most common clinical presentations were abdominal pain (89.47%) and vomiting (68.42%). Pleural effusion and ascites were found only in the third trimester. Elevated white blood cell count, amylase and lipase were commonly found in biochemical examinations. Eleven cases required intensive care in ICU and 21 cases received caesarean section. There were 2 maternal deaths and 12 fetal losses including 4 abortions. It is concluded that AP is a rare entity in pregnancy. The incidence of pancreatitis increases with the gestational age. However, the severity is not necessarily related with the pregnancy trimesters. The diagnosis is based on clinical presentations, laboratory tests and imaging examinations. Although the treatment strategy of a pregnant woman with pancreatitis is similar to the general non-pregnant patient with AP, a multidisciplinary team consisting of gastroenterologist, gastrointestinal surgeon, radiologist, obstetrician, and ICU doctor should be set up.
Adult ; Female ; Fetal Death ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies ; Maternal Death ; Pancreatitis ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To provide reference for formulating scarlet fever prevention and control strategies by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics and predicting the incidence trend of scarlet fever. Methods Spearman correlation analysis, clustering analysis, seasonal index model and seasonal ARIMA model were used for analysis and prediction. Results The average annual incidence of scarlet fever in 2010-2018 was 1.37/100 000, and there was a positive correlation between annual incidence and year (rs=0.817,P=0.007). April-June and November-December were high incidence months. The clustering analysis was significant(F=4795.30，P<0.001), showing that the high-incidence areas are Shennongjia, Yichang, Enshi, Wuhan. Reported cases were concentrated in 1-14 years old, mainly for students, child care children and scattered children. The incidence rate of males was higher than that of females. The optimal model is ARIMA(0,1,1)(0,1,0)12. The prediction showed that the monthly incidence characteristics of 2019 were consistent with previous years, and the annual incidence rate was 10.22/100 000(95% CI:2.33/100 000-30.43/100 000), which was higher than the incidence of 2018. Conclusions The incidence of scarlet fever in Hubei Province is generally on the rise from 2010 to 2018. The incidence is bimodal. Students are the main disease group. The incidence rate of males is higher. The incidence is mainly concentrated in the mountainous areas of southwest and capital cities. The ARIMA model has a good applicability in the prediction of scarlet fever. The incidence level will continue to rise in 2019, and it is necessary to strengthen monitoring and control measures with reference to epidemiological characteristics.

Objective To investigate the effect of cardiac function and renal function on early neurological function recovery of acute stroke patients.Methods Hospitalized acute stroke patients from January 2010 to May 2018 were recruited in the Department of Neurology,Peking University First Hospital,who were divided into two groups according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at discharge,good recovery (mRS score ≤2) and poor recovery (mRS score ＞2).The clinical characteristics,laboratory and echocardiography data were collected respectively.All cases were classified according to Trial of Org 10 172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) criteria.Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated by chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration equation in renal function assessment,and cardiac function was calculated by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVFF) and E-wave/A-wave ratio (E/A).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis and stratified analysis were performed to explore the effects of cardiac and renal function and interactions on stroke patients.Results A total of 517 patients with acute stroke were enrolled in this study,23.4％ (121/517) of which presented with chronic kidney disease.Poor recovery was aggravated with the progression of eGFR stage in patients with acute stroke (x2=14.627,P=0.001).Compared with the good recovery group,LVEF and E/A were significantly lower in the poor recovery group,while left atrium diameter ((3.87±0.52) cm vs (3.77±0.49) cm,t=-2.139,P=0.033),interventricular septum thickness ((1.10±0.19) cm vs (1.04±0.16) cm,t=-4.056,P=0.000),left ventricular posterior wall thickness ((1.00±0.13) cm vs (0.98±0.13) cm,t=-2.190,P=0.029) and left ventricular mass index ((102.03±25.73) g/m2 vs (94.94±23.63) g/m2,t=-3.145,P=0.002) were significantly higher in the poor recovery group.Stratified analysis showed that the rate of poor recovery increased with the decrease of eGFR at different levels of LVEF and E/A.Compared with patients of normal renal function and mild impairment of renal function or with patients of high third tertile of LVEF,chronic kidney disease significantly increased the rate of poor recovery in patients with low third tertile of LVEF,while the rate of poor recovery was not significantly different in patients with chronic kidney disease among third tertile of E/A.The levels of eGFR and LVEF in different stroke subtypes were significantly different (F=7.433,P=0.000;F=2.617,P=0.034).The eGFR and LVEF levels of the cardioembolism (CE) group were the lowest compared with other subtypes of stroke.The eGFR levels in the CE group were significantly lower than that in other subtypes except the large artery atherosclerosis group,and the LVEF level was significantly lower in the CE group compared to the small artery occlusion group.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that eGFR (OR=0.866,95％CI 0.760-0.987,P=0.031),LVEF (OR=0.798,95％CI 0.688-0.925,P=0.003),E/A (OR=0.136,95％CI 0.034-0.548,P=0.005) and eGFR by LVEF (OR=1.002,95％CI 1.000-1.004,P=0.022) were significantly associated with early functional outcome in patients with acute stroke after adjusting for relevant clinical confounders (all P＜0.05).Conclusions Renal function,cardiac systolic and diastolic function were associated with the early functional recovery in patients with acute stroke.Moreover,cardiac systolic dysfunction and renal dysfunction interacted significantly with the early neurological function recovery in patients with acute stroke.