BACKGROUND: It has been recognized that the traditional herbal treatment and daoyin exercises(physical and breathing exercise) can relieve the symptoms such as tiredness of cancer patients and strengthen the tolerance to chemical drugs. But the criterion of quantitative evaluation for the effect should be scientific.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of Chinese herb for strengthening the body resistance and daoyin exercises on the survival state of lung cancer patients with the evaluation scale of life quality.DESIGN: Non-randomized and concurrent controlled trial.SETTING: Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Clinical Cancer Research Center, Guangzhou Medical College;Zhaoqing First People's Hospital.PARTICIPANTS: Totally 60 inpatients of the Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Clinical Cancer Research Center of Guangzhou Medical College were enrolled from October 1997 to March 2001 in the study. All of them were volunteers. There were 41 males and 19 females, 30 patients in the treatment group and 30 in the control group.METHODS: The treatment group was given chemical therapy, at the same time, the herbal treatment and daoyin exercises. The control group was given chemical therapy only. The same chemical therapy was applied to both groups. The appointed doctor familiar with the evaluation table of quality of life was responsible for evaluating the quality of life of the patients in the two groups before and after treatment and the observation of their accomplishment of chemical therapy. The evaluation table of quality of life of Chinese lung cancer patients was used in the evaluation. The table included 5 factors: the physiological state caused by lung cancer, social/family state, relation of altitude towards doctor and disease, emotional state, and functional state. The statistical analysis was done to see the accomplishment of chemical therapy of two groups.chemical therapy of the two groups.RESULTS: According to the intention-to-treat analysis, 60 patients all completed the whole process of study. The comparison of the score before physiological state after treatment was obviously lower than that before treatment[ (14. 1 ± 3.2), (31.7 ±2.9) scores, P ＜ 0.01] and of control state was obviously higher than that before treatment[(25.2±3.1),(12.2 ±2.3)scores, P ＜0.01] and of control group[(19.1 ±2.2) scores,after treatment was obviously higher than that before treatment[ (37.4 ± 5.2),(24.2 ±3.5) scores, P ＜0. 01 ]and of control group[ (29. 1 ±3.4)scores, P before treatment[ (43.8 ± 5.6), (28.5 ± 4. 7) scores, P ＜ 0. 01 ] and of tional state after treatment was obviously higher than that of before treatment [(26.3±2.3), (17.3±3.3) scores, P ＜ 0.01] and of control group [ (20. 3 ± 1.1) scores, P ＜ 0. 05] . The accomplishment rate of chemical control group, 26 patients accomplished 1 course(87%, 26/30) and 18rate of 2 courses of chemical therapy of treatment group was obviously higher than that of control group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).CONCLUSION: The herbal treatment combined with daoyin exercises can improve the tolerance of lung cancer patients for chemical therapy and relieve the symptoms, thus improving their quality of life.

PURPOSE: To determine the frequency of complications and diagnostic accuracy of CT-guided percutaneous automated gun biopsy, and to compare the results with those reported for fine needle aspiration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using automated biopsy devices, 118 CT-guided percutaneous biopsies of pulmonary lesions were performed. An 18-gauge needle was used. Final diagnosis was made with operation or other methods. We retrospectively analyzed the frequency of complications and diagnostic yields of 118 biopsies. RESULT: Four of 118(3.3%) patients developed pneumothorax and two of these required chest tube insertion. Other complications were resolved spontaneously. 106 biopsies (89.8%) yielded sufficient tissue for pathologic evaluation. For cases of malignant and of benign disease, sensitivity was 91.8% and 87.7% respectively ; the corresponding figures for diagnostic accuracy were 88.5% and 78.9%. CONCLUSION: CT-guided automated gun biopsy of the pulmonary lesions is safe, witha pneumothorax rate comparable to that of fine needle aspiration. In the absence of a trained cytologist at the time of biopsy, the diagnostic accuracy of automated gun biopsy of pulmonary lesions compared favorably with the reported accuracy of fine needle aspiration.
Biopsy* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Chest Tubes ; Diagnosis ; Needles ; Pneumothorax ; Retrospective Studies

AIMTo elucidate the molecular mechanism of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of MCF-7 cells induced by paclitaxel.

METHODSFlow cytometry was used to determine the cell cycle changes of MCF-7 cells upon paclitaxel treatment. Gene expression profiles of MCF-7 cells induced by paclitaxel were obtained by using cDNA microarrays containing 9984 genes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs).

RESULTSCell cycle analysis showed that 77.8% of cells arrested at G2/M phase and 1.3% of cells underwent apoptosis upon 100 nmol x L(-1) paclitaxel treatment for 24 hours; cDNA microarray results revealed that 27 and 77 genes were differentially expressed upon 12.5 nmol x L(-1) (IC50) and 100 nmol x L(-1) paclitaxel treatment, respectively.

CONCLUSIONPaclitaxel stabilized microtubules and caused G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death in a concentration-dependent manner, which is associated with the regulation of selected genes related to microtubule assembly and cytoskeleton, cell cycle regulation, and DNA repair and apoptosis.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; DNA Repair ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

AIMTo elucidate the molecular mechanism of granulocytic differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells induced by all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA).

METHODSFlow cytometry was used to determine the cell cycle changes of HL-60 cells upon ATRA treatment. Gene expression profiles of HL-60 cells induced by 1 mumol.L-1 ATRA were obtained by using cDNA microarrays containing 9,984 genes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs).

RESULTSCell cycle analysis showed that 48%-73% of cells were arrested at G1/G0 phase upon ATRA treatment; cDNA microarray results demonstrated that the expression of genes encoding adhesion molecules, tissue remodeling proteins, transporters and ribosomal proteins were up-regulated in ATRA treated of HL-60 cells. Several genes involved in oxidase activation pathway were also differentially expressed.

CONCLUSIONATRA treatment induced growth arrest and differentiation in HL-60 cells, which is associated with regulation of the oxidase activation pathway and the expression of tissue remodeling proteins.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Differentiation ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Granulocytes ; drug effects ; pathology ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Tretinoin ; pharmacology

Humans ; Child ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/prevention & control*

Hepatitis A can cause serious illness among adolescents and adults with low vaccination coverage. Even though hepatitis A vaccine is one of the strong candidates for Korean national immunization program, adolescents aged older than 12 yr would not benefit. Our purpose was to assess the willingness and analyze the correlates of Korean mothers for hepatitis A (HepA) vaccination to develop strategies for HepA vaccination. A national telephone survey on 800 mothers with children aged 7-18 yr was conducted with random-digit dialing method. Sixty-two percent and 92% of the mothers reported that they were willing to HepA vaccination at current cost and at half of the current cost, respectively. However, at current cost, only 79% wished to vaccinate their child in an epidemic and 32% wished to vaccinate promptly. Having two or more children, not having future plans to send the child overseas, and low family income were significantly associated with not willing to HepA vaccination. Low perception of the susceptibility for hepatitis A and perception of the current cost as barrier increased the odds of unwillingness to vaccination at current cost and to prompt vaccination. The mothers' willingness to HepA vaccination for the children aged 7-18 yr in Korea was not very high at current cost and associated socioeconomic status and health-belief. Targeted intervention or strategies are needed to increase the HepA vaccination rate among children in Korea.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Demography ; Female ; Health Status ; Health Surveys ; Hepatitis A/economics/*prevention & control ; Hepatitis A Vaccines/economics/*immunology ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mothers/psychology ; Republic of Korea ; Social Class ; *Vaccination

Although the presence of foreign bodies in the common bile duct and T-tube tract is uncommon, it is because of recent developments in endoscopic biliary intervention and percutaneous choledochoscopic procedures that they are found with increasing frequency in the biliary tree. We report two cases in which foreign bodies in the biliary tree were successfully removed using the percutaneous gooseneck snare technique. In one patient a plastic biliary stent was malfunctioning and could not be removed under endoscopic guidance, while in the other, a plastic guidewire had been inserted into the T-tube tract during percutaneous choledochoscopy for the treatment of a common bile duct stone.
Biliary Tract ; Common Bile Duct* ; Foreign Bodies* ; Humans ; Plastics ; SNARE Proteins* ; Stents

A perirenal hematoma very commonly occurs after trauma. Treatment differs according to the degree of renal injury, though many cases are managed conservatively and complications are rare. We report two cases in which successful treatment of a perirenal hematoma involved percutaneous catheter drainage; in one there was bowel obstruction, and in the other the hematoma was infected.
Catheters* ; Drainage* ; Hematoma*

OBJECTIVE: Transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily type 1 (TRPV1), a most specific marker of the nociceptive primary afferent, is expressed in peptidergic and non-pepetidergic primary afferents innervating skin and viscera. However, its expression in sensory fibers to skeletal muscle is not well known. In this study, we studied the neurochemical characteristics of TRPV1-positive primary afferents to skeletal muscles. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with total 20 microliter of 1% fast blue (FB) into the gastrocnemius and erector spinae muscle and animals were perfused 4 days after injection. FB-positive cells were traced in the L4-L5 (for gastrocnemius muscle) and L2-L4 (for erector spinae muscle) dorsal root ganglia. The neurochemical characteristics of the muscle afferents were studied with multiple immunofluorescence with TRPV1, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and P2X(3). To identify spinal neurons responding to noxious stimulus to the skeletal muscle, 10% acetic acids were injected into the gastrocnemius and erector spinae muscles and expression of phospho extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) in spinal cords were identified with immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: TRPV1 was expressed in about 49% of muscle afferents traced from gastrocnemius and 40% of erector spinae. Sixty-five to 60% of TRPV1-positive muscles afferents also expressed CGRP. In contrast, expression of P2X3 immnoreaction in TRPV1-positive muscle afferents were about 20%. TRPV1-positive primary afferents were contacted with spinal neurons expressing pERK after injection of acetic acid into the muscles. CONCLUSION: It is consequently suggested that nociception from skeletal muscles are mediated by TRPV1-positive primary afferents and majority of them are also peptidergic.
Acetates ; Acetic Acid ; Amidines ; Animals ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Ganglia, Spinal ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscles ; Neurons ; Nociception ; Phosphotransferases ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin ; Spinal Cord ; Viscera

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a respiratory pathogen responsible for various upper and lower respiratory tract diseases. This also induces extra-pulmonary manifestations, with encephalitis being the most frequent and critical manifestation in pediatric populations. This report describes an 8-year-old boy who presented with repetitive motions in both hands, agitation, muttering and increased appetite after seizure. He had started treatment with antibiotics for M. pneumoniae infection 14 days prior to this event. Electroencephalography (EEG) showed slow and disorganized background rhythms and polymorphic slowing on both frontal areas, whereas brain magnetic resonance imaging was normal. He was diagnosed with M. pneumoniae-related encephalitis and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (500 mg/kg/day for 4 days). After 3 days, his impulsive behaviors disappeared and, after 4 days, his EEG became normal. Abrupt hyperactive behavior in children may be a sign of M. pneumoniae-related encephalitis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Appetite ; Brain ; Child* ; Dihydroergotamine ; Electroencephalography ; Encephalitis* ; Hand ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Impulsive Behavior ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Mycoplasma* ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; Seizures