OBJECTIVETo compare the diagnostic value of barium enema (BE), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) in primary colorectal carcinoma.

METHODSA total of 64 patients with suspected colorectal carcinoma received BE (n=39), spiral CT (n=31) and MRI (n=42). The detective results were compared with the surgical results.

RESULTSAmong 64 patients, 54 cases were pathologically proved as colorectal carcinoma. The diagnostic sensitivity of BE,CT and MRI was 96.9% ,96.2% and 97.1% ,and the overall accuracy was 92.3% 83.9 % and 90.5% respectively. The overall accuracy of CT and MRI for tumor T staging was 73.1% and 82.9% respectively.

CONCLUSIONBE can be considered as a primary approach for diagnosing colorectal carcinoma, CT and MRI be necessary diagnostic approaches. Combined BE with MRI is the best choice for diagnosing of colorectal carcinoma.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Barium Sulfate ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Enema ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Spiral Computed

OBJECTIVE We have recently reported that cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) signaling plays an important role in microglial interleukin (IL)-1β secretion and subsequent neurotoxicity. The present study aimed to examine microglial morphological changes and the upstream molecular underlying IL-1βproduction in CysLT receptor agonist leukotriene D4 (LTD4)-treated BV2 microglia in vitro. METHODS Twenty-four hours after murine microglial BV2 cells were stimulated with LTD4 (1-100 nmol·L- 1), the cell proliferation and morphology were observed. The expression level of cysteinyl aspartate-specific protease 1 (CASP1) protein was measured by Western blotin BV2 cells. In addition, BV2 cells were pretreated with or without CysLT1 receptor antagonist montelukast for 1 h and the effects of monte-lukaston LTD4-stimulated microglial activation and CASP1 expression were evaluated. RESULTS The number of BV2 cells had an increasing tendency after 24 h treatment with LTD4, but no significant differences were observed between the control and LTD4-treated cells (P>0.05). Under basal and resting conditions, BV2 microglial cells displayed a ramified morphology. However, LTD4 at 100 nmool · L- 1 drove microglial morphological changes from a ramified towards an amoeboid shape. The expression of CASP1 protein was significantly upregulated in 100 nmool·L-1 LTD4-treated BV2 microglia (P<0.01). Furthermore, pretreatment with CysLT1 receptor antagonist montelukast prevented cell morphological changes and suppressed the increased CASP1 expression in LTD4-treated BV2 cells (P<0.05). CONCLUSION CysLT receptor agonist LTD4 induces morphological changes and CASP1 expressionin BV2 microglia, which can be inhibited by CysLT1 antagonist. These results suggest the involvement of CysLT signaling in microglial morphological changes and CASP1 expression.

Objective To introduce an optimized practical method of making and detecting pipettes for microinjection.Methods Transfer pipette was made from hard glass capillary. We softened the hard glass capillary by rotating it in a spirit-lamp flame,then moved out from the flame and quickly pulled it into two transfer pipettes.After broken by a grinding wheel,the tip of the pipette was fire-polished by quickly touching the flame to make a fine opening.A hard glass capillary (1.0 mm,ouside diametre)was pulled into two holding pipettes by pipette Puller.The pipette shoulder was broken at desired position with a grinding wheel,then the fine pipette tip opening was heated by a microforge and shrinked into a diameter -15 μm.Injection pipette could be made directly from a capillary with filament by Puller.The solution loaded injection pipette and holding pipette were assembled into the micromanipulator and could be checked before use.We transfered both pipettes into the zygotes media drop,touched the holding pipette with the tip of the injection pipette to make a "suitable"opening.Then we switched injection pipette to the mineral oil and applied injection pressure through the injector to check whether the solution could come out of the tip smoothly and at a proper speed.It could be further verified by pronucleus microinjection of zygotes.Results The results showed that the method introduced in this paper could produce suitable pipettes for zygote microinjection.In particular,the method of detecting the opening of the injection pipette was helpful for achieving high efficiency of zygote microinjection.Conclusion The method introduced here to make and detect pipettes for microinjection is very helpful for establishing a standard microinjection manipulation procedure and improving the efficiency of zygote microinjection.

BACKGROUNDThin endometrium is associated with poor reproductive outcomes; estrogen treatment can increase endometrial thickness (EMT). The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to investigate the factors influencing the effectiveness of estrogen treatment and reproductive outcomes after the treatment in patients with thin endometrium.

METHODSRelevant clinical data of 101 patients with thin endometrium who had undergone estrogen treatment were collected. Possible factors influencing the effectiveness of treatment were analyzed retrospectively by logistic regression analysis. Eighty-seven infertile women without thin endometrium who had undergone assisted reproduction served as controls. The cases and controls were matched for age, assisted reproduction method, and number of embryos transferred. Reproductive outcomes of study and control groups were compared using Student's t-test and the Chi-square test.

RESULTSAt the end of estrogen treatment, EMT was ≥8 mm in 93/101 patients (92.1%). Effectiveness of treatment was significantly associated with maximal pretreatment EMT (P = 0.017) and treatment duration (P = 0.004). The outcomes of assisted reproduction were similar in patients whose treatment was successful in increasing EMT to ≥8 mm and the control group. The rate of clinical pregnancy in patients was associated with the number of good-quality embryos transferred in both fresh (P = 0.005) and frozen-thawed (P = 0.000) embryo transfer cycles.

CONCLUSIONSThinner EMT before estrogen treatment requires longer treatment duration and predicts poorer treatment outcomes. The effectiveness of treatment depends on the duration of estrogen administration. Assisted reproductive outcomes of patients whose treatment is successful (i.e., achieves an EMT ≥8 mm) are similar to those of controls. The quality of embryos transferred is an important predictor of assisted reproductive outcomes in patients treated successfully with exogenous estrogen.

Endometrium ; drug effects ; Estrogens ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Retrospective Studies

Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Fibromuscular Dysplasia/complications* ; Renal Artery ; Hypertension, Renovascular/etiology* ; Renal Artery Obstruction/complications* ; Hypertension/complications*

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy of initial periodontal therapy in periodontitis patients with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus and its correlation with white blood cell counts. METHODS: In this study, 32 chronic periodontitis patients without systemic disease (CP group) and 27 chronic periodontitis patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (CP+DM group) were enrolled. At admission, all the patients went through periodontal examination and fasting blood examination(baseline). Probing depth (PD), attachment loss (AL), bleeding index (BI), plaque index (PLI), white blood cells (WBC) counts and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were recorded respectively, while hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was recorded only in CP+DM group. After that, initial periodontal therapy was performed. All the tests were repeated 3 and 6 months after treatment. The changes of periodontal clinical indexes and WBC levels were compared between the two groups before and after treatment, and the correlation between WBC and periodontal clinical indexes and glucose metabolism indexes were analyzed by generalized linear mixed model. RESULTS: At baseline, the periodontal inflammation and destruction were similar in CP and CP+DM group, but the WBC level was significantly higher in CP+DM groups [(6.01±1.26)×10⁹/L vs. (7.14±1.99)×10⁹/L, P=0.01]. After 3 and 6 months of initial periodontal therapy, the mean PD, AL, BI, and PLI in CP+DM and CP groups were significantly lower than the baseline, and the PD in CP+DM group was further decreased by 6 months compared with 3 months [(3.33±0.62) mm vs. (3.61±0.60) mm, P < 0.05]. However, none of these periodontal indexes showed significant difference between the two groups by 3 or 6 months. In CP+DM group, HbA1c at 3 months and 6 months were significantly lower than the baseline [(7.09±0.79)% vs. (7.64±1.16)%, P < 0.05; (7.06±0.78)% vs. (7.64±1.16)%, P < 0.05], and FBG was significantly lower than the baseline by 6 months [(7.35±1.14) mmol/L vs. (8.40±1.43) mmol/L, P < 0.05]. The WBC level in CP group was significantly lower than the baseline level by 3 months [(5.35±1.37)×10⁹/L vs. (6.01±1.26)×10⁹/L, P < 0.05], while that in CP+DM group was significantly lower than the baseline level by 6 months [(6.00±1.37)×10⁹/L vs. (7.14±1.99)×10⁹/L, P < 0.05]. The analysis of genera-lized linear mixed model showed that WBC level was significantly positively correlated with PD and FBG (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Initial periodontal therapy can effectively improve the periodontal clinical status of patients with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus, and have benefits on glycemic control in diabetic patients. However, the response of periodontal indexes and WBC level to initial therapy were relatively delayed in diabetic patients. WBC plays an important role in the correlation between diabetes mellitus and periodontitis.
Chronic Periodontitis/therapy* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications* ; Glycated Hemoglobin A/analysis* ; Humans ; Leukocytes/chemistry* ; Periodontal Index