China ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Pneumoconiosis ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Population Surveillance

Objective:To evaluate the clinical value of percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD) and percutaneous transhepatic cholangial stent(PTCS)implantation therapy for malignant biliary obstruction in the elderly patients.Methods:Fifty three patients over 60 years-old were treated with PTCS implantation (n=35),PTCD for internal-external drainage(n=11),or single external drainage(n=7). The imaging examination was performed for all the patients one week after surgery. The serum levels of total bilirubin (TBIL) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were detected before and after surgery.Rusults:Metallic stents were successfully implanted in 32 patients during the surgery, and 3 patients were implanted 5 to 7 days later after PTCS. Both total serum levels of TBIL and ALT were significantly decreased at one week after surgery (P<0.05). The mean survival periods were 11.5 months for stent implantation patients and 5.5 months for PTCD patients. Conclusion:PTCD and PTCS are easy to perform and safe and effective in the treatment of malignant biliary obstruction of elderly patients.

ObjectiveTo study the state of oxidative injury induced by sodium arsenite(NaAsO2) in SV-40-immortalized normal uroepithelial (SV-HUC-1 ) cells.Methods SV-HUC-1 cells were exposed to different concentrations of NaAsO2[0(control),1,2,4,8,10 μmol/L] for 24 h,intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was determined by flow cytometry,and the content ofintracellular nitrotyrosine(NT) and the 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels of cell culture medium were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results After 24 h treatment,ROS levels(81.76 ± 4.91,95.23 ± 2.17,126.61 ± 17.95,126.74 ± 27.77,114.18 ± 9.65) of SV-HUC-1 cells in the 1,2,4,8,10 μmol/L NaAsO2 exposure groups were significantly higher than those of the control group (69.84 ± 1.28,P ＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01 ),ROS levels and exposure dose were positively correlated significantly(r =0.818,P＜ 0.01); the content of NT in the 10 μmol/L NaAsO2 exposure group[(919.66 ± 206.33) μg/L] was significantly higher than that in the control group[ (238.19 ± 38.28)μg/L,P ＜ 0.01 ],NT content and dye concentrations of arsenic also had dose-response relationship (r =0.617,P ＜ 0.01); after 24 h the cells were treated with arsenic,no significant difference of 8-OHdG content in the culture medium was observed(F =2.127,P ＞ 0.05 ).ConclusionNaAsO2 can cause SV-HUC-1 cell oxidative damage.

Objective To observe the distribution and metabolism of arsenic speciation in urine of rats exposed to different concentrations of dimethylaraenic acid (DMA) through drinking water.Methods Thrity six weaning Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control,low-dose group and high-dose group,12 rats in each group(6 female and 6 male); average body weight of female rats was (60 ± 5)g,and male rats was (50 ± 5)g.All rats of the 3 groups were given DMA at concentrations of 0,100,200 mg/L,respectively,corresponding to their specific groups through drinking water for 10 weeks.Inorganic arsenic(iAs),monomethylarsenic acid(MMA),DMA and trimethylarsenic compound (TMA) in urine were measured by hydride generation trapping and ultrahypothermia coupled with atomic absorption spectrometry.Results After feeding for 10 weeks,the differences of rat urinary concentrations of iAs,MMA,DMA and TMA between normal control,low-dose group and high-dose group were statistically significant(x2 =25.441,25.942,25.751,17.767,all P＜ 0.01).Urinary concentrations of iAs,MMA and DMA(2.541,4.383,24.447 mg/L) of low-dose group were significant higher than those of normal control (0.784,0.000,0.743 mg/L,all P ＜ 0.05) ; iAs,MMA,DMA and TMA(3.978,7.186,35.112,4.518 mg/L) of high-dose group were significantly higher than those of normal control(0.784,0.000,0.743,0.000 mg/L,all P ＜ 0.05).The concentrations increased along with increasing doses of DMA concentrations in drinking water(all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions After rats are exposed to DMA,most of the DMA are excreted in unchanged form in urine and a small portion of DMA is metabolized into TMA.

Chinese medicine pair (CMP) was frequently applied in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinic, and its significance was shown in long-term clinical practices and many accumulated experiences. It is the unique combination of two relatively fixed Chinese medicines in TCM clinic with the basic feature and principle of TCM compatibility, is the most fundamental and the simplest form of TCM formulae with certain theory basis and combinatory reason, which is proven effective. And the unique combination is frequently used for achieving mutual reinforcement or detoxication. CMP is an intermediate point between single herb and many TCM formulae, reflecting the regularity of TCM formulae compatibility and connotation of differential treatment. This paper analyzed and summarized the basic characteristics, development process and research significance of CMP, which aims to lead the modern basic and applied research on compatibility theory of CMP.
Drug Interactions ; History, 16th Century ; History, 17th Century ; History, 18th Century ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; History, Ancient ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; history ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of IL-10 and the methylation of its promoter in acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF).

METHODSPatients were divided into three groups: 25 with ACLF, 25 with CHB, 10 healthy controls. Respectively detect the serum level of IL-10 via ELISA, and the methylation of IL-10 promoter via MSP, to analyze the difference among the three groups.

RESULTSBoth the ACLF group and the CHB group have significant increase in serum level of IL-10 compared with the control group (P < 0.05); the ACLF group's level is higher than the CHB group, however without statistical significance (P > 0.05). The serum level of IL-10 in ACLF group has no significant relativity with ALT and HBV-DNA( r = -0.022, r = 0.033, respectively; P > 0.05); has positive relativity with TBIL and MELD ( r = 0.566, r = 0.443, respectively; P < 0.05); and negative relativity with PTA (r = -0.581, P < 0.05). The distribution of the methylation of IL-10 promoter in ACLF group is significantly different from the other two.

CONCLUSIONThe serum level of IL-10 in hepatitis patients is significantly higher and increases with the degree of liver failure. The promoter methylation may be important in the gene inactivation.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Chronic Disease ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; genetics ; metabolism ; Liver Failure, Acute ; blood ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Methylation ; Middle Aged ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVEThe National Institutes of Health (NIH) category IIIa chronic prostatitis syndromes (non bacterial chronic prostatitis) were common disorders but with few effective therapies. Alpha-blockers and bioflavonoids had recently been reported in randomized controlled trials to improve the symptom of these disorders in a significant proportion of men. The aim of this study was to confirm these findings in a prospective randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

METHODSForty-five men with category IIIa chronic non bacterial protatitis were randomized into three groups as follows: (1) placebo; (2) phenoxybenzamine-hydrochloride:10 mg two times a day for one month; (3) flavoxate HCI-neptumus: 200 mg three times a day for one month. The NIH chronic prostatitis symptom score was used to grade symptoms at the beginning and conclusion of the study.

RESULTSAll the patients in three groups completed the study except three dropout patients in placebo group because of sever symptoms. The three groups were similar in age, duration of symptoms and initial symptom score. Patients taking placebo had a mean improvement in NIH-CPSI from 21.85 to 19.55 (not significant), while the phenoxybenzamine-hydrochloride group had a mean improvement from 21.95 to 13.75 (P < 0.01), and those taking flavoxate HCI-neptumus had a mean improvement from 21.75 to 16.95 (P < 0.05). The decrease in NIH-CPSI was associated with significant improvement in patients' clinical manifestations.

CONCLUSIONTherapy with alpha-blockers was well tolerated with significant symptomatic improvement in most men having chronic non-bacterial chronic protatitis while the bioflavonoids group had no significant improvement. Mechanism of both medicines needs further study.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Flavonoids ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Flavoxate ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Parasympatholytics ; therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome

To shed light on cardiac effects of the potent vasoconstrictive peptide urotensin II (U II), Langendorff-perfused isolated rat hearts were consecutively perfused with 0.1, 1 and 10 nmol/L U II, for 5 min at each dose, followed by 5-min washout. Moreover, isolated hearts subjected to 20-min global no-flow ischemia were reperfused with U II (1 or 10 nmol/L) for 20 min. Heart function parameters including heart rate, left ventricular pressure and dP/dt were monitored; content of protein and myoglobin, and activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in coronary effluent were determined; malondialdehyde (MDA) in myocardium and [(125)I]-U II binding sites in plasma membrane were measured after the completion of perfusion. The results showed that: (1) In normal rat hearts, the coronary flow was decreased and the heart function was suppressed by U II dose-dependently, and these changes were not abolished by washout. The leakage of cardiac protein, myoglobin and LDH increased with the increment of U II, but it diminished rapidly after washout. In contrast, MDA content in U II -treated myocardium was not statistically different from that in normal myocardium. (2) Ischemia-reperfusion caused significant decreases in coronary flow, suppression of heart function, and leakage of protein and LDH. In U II -reperfused hearts, all these disorders were significantly aggravated and myocardial MDA content significantly increased (P<0.01), to a greater extent in the presence of higher dose of U II. (3) The maximal binding capacity (B(max)) of U II receptors in plasma membrane from ischemia-reperfusion myocardium increased significantly as compared with that of normal myocardium (20.53+/-1.98 vs 14.65+/-1.78 fmol/mg pr, P<0.01), while Kd remained unchanged. These results indicate that U II caused injury to the isolated rat hearts under normal perfusion, and worsened the injury of the hearts under ischemia-reperfusion, in which U II receptors were up-regulated.
Animals ; Female ; Heart ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; pathology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Urotensins ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETransplantation of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) is associated with potential risks of late complications including tumorigenesis due to the active proliferation of the cells. We aimed to test the effect of transplantation of ADSCs with suppressed proliferation by gamma irradiation in the treatment of thin endometrium in rats.

METHODSADSCs were isolated from female SD rats and identified by detecting the surface antigens with flow cytometry. After exposure to gamma irradiation at 0, 5 Gy and 10 Gy, the cells were examined for changes in colony-forming ability. Twenty-four female rats with chemically induced thin endometrium were randomized into 4 equal groups and at 6-8 h after modeling, the rats received intrauterine injection of non-irradiated ADSCs (group I), 5 Gy irradiated ADSCs (group II), 10 Gy irradiated ADSCs (group III), or PBS only (group IV). Endometrial pathology was analyzed with HE staining in these rats in the third estrus phase following the cell transplantation.

RESULTSThe ADSCs showed a complete loss of proliferative capacity after exposure to 10 Gy irradiation. After the cell transplantation, the endometrium thickness was thicker in group I and II than in group IV (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between groups III and IV.

CONCLUSIONSGamma irradiation impairs the proliferative capacity of ADSCs in vitro. Exposure to 10 Gy irradiation causes a total loss of proliferation capacity of the ADSCs, which have no therapeutic potential; 5 Gy irradiation causes partial loss of proliferation capacity of the cells, which still retain the activity to promote endometrial cell regeneration.

Autopsy ; China ; epidemiology ; Congenital Abnormalities ; epidemiology ; etiology ; mortality ; Folic Acid ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Survival Rate ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal ; adverse effects