Objectives To investigate the clinical features of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in children from Shen-zhen. Methods The clinical manifestations, results of electrophysiological tests and prognosis of 28 GBS patients from July 2002 to July 2012 were retrospectively analysed. Results Of 28 children, 16(57.1%) had preceding acute upper respiratory infection for 3-14 days but no patient had acute gastroenteritis. One had received HBV vaccination in 2 weeks before the onset of GBS. The peak season for GBS is spring. According to the clinical presentations and the neurophysiological results 17 patients had demyelinating neuropathy, 5 acute motor axonal neuropathy, 2 acute motor sensory axonal neuropathy, 3 Miller-fisher syndrome, and 1 polyneuritis cranialis. 14 (50.0%) patients suffered from pain in limbs which is the most nota-ble symptom in the early stage. Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) and steroids were given during the acute phases in the majority of the patients, and assisted ventilation was performed in 2 patients due to respiratory muscle paralysis. No diffe-rence was found in Hughes scores, average hospitalization durations, and the prognosis between patients with GBS variants patients and patients with classic GBS. Conclusions Children with GBS in Shenzhen area have different clinical features.

OBJECTIVE:To enrich the identification diversity of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),and provide theoretical guidance for the quality evaluation of TCM. METHODS:According to literature references and traditional identification experienc-es,characteristics including medicinal shape,size,color and lustre,surface,texture,section,odor and other aspects were identi-fied by sense organs such as eyes,hands,nose and mouth. The vivid traditional identification term were obtained through systemat-ic summarization in order to explore the internal relationship with pharmaceutical botany. RESULTS&CONCLUSIONS:As the sim-plest identification method,traditional identification method can rapidly identify the species and quality of TCM,evaluate the quali-ty,and has great significance to solve the security issues of clinical medication and health care in daily life. There was a correlation between the traditional identification and botanical research,which could be able to provide theoretical guidance to characters identi-fication and quality evaluation of TCM.

AIM:To further elaborate the effect of glucocorticoid receptor(GR) decrease on level of inflammatory media in rats after critical scald.METHOD:The changes of phospholipase A 2(PLA 2) activity and concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF?) and malondialdehyde (MDA), the product of lipid peroxidation metabolism in plasma and tissue homogenate have been studied in scalded rats with or without GR blockade by RU38486.RESULTS:The PLA 2 activity and the concentrations of TNF? and MDA in plasma and homogenate of pulmonary and renal tissue in scalded rats were significantly higher than those in the controls( P

Objective To analyze the radionuclide bone imaging in 343 primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases and to know the positive ratio and its prognosis. Methods 343 cases with primary NPC were examined by radionuclide bone imaging in order to find if there was bone metastases and analyze in single and multi factors, and then to know its prognosis. Results The positive ratio of 343 NPC cases was 32.9 %, men 37.5%, women 17.7%. There was significant statistic value in sex, age and staging through Binary Logistic Regress analysis. Men, the more advanced staging, the older people, the earlier to metastases.The overall accumulate survival ratio was 1 year 92.1%, 2 year 83.9 %, 3 year 78.8 %. Conclusion Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is easy to metastases. Radionuclide bone imaging should be performed in the patients with NPC because it is important to evaluate the staging and therapy.

Background and purpose:Currently, subjective questionaire is the most frequently used methods to evaluate swallowing dysfunctions after radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, while lacking of effective objective examinations. This study aimed to explore effective methods to evaluate swallowing dysfunctions after radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, and gain knowledge of the incidence and severity of swallowing dysfunctions. Methods: From Oct. 2013 to Dec. 2013, 128 consecutive outpatients with previously treated nasopharyngeal carcinoma received esophageal barium lfuoroscopy examination at there regularly follow-ups to evaluate swallowing function. Among these patients, 89 were primary treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and 39 with conventional radiotherapy (CRT). In this study, each patient received esophageal barium lfuoroscopy examination for 3 times with thin, thick and pasty barium and were dynamically observed using X-ray fluoroscopy from front and lateral direction. Swallowing dysfunctions were defined as follows:①The bolus could not be swallowed and blocked in the mouth;②The dilute barium diverted to the glottis or trachea;③Residual barium delayed in the pyriform sinus and vallecula;④The movement of the hyoid bone or epiglottis were restricted;⑤Bolus prolong through the pharynx;⑥Barium slowed down when went though the esophageal entrance. Results:Of the 128 patients, incidence of dysphagia was 60.2%for the entire cohort, 52.8%for IMRT group and 76.9%for CRT group. Incidence of dysphagia for IMRT group was signiifcantly lower than CRT group (P=0.018). Dysphagia incidence within 1 year, 1 to 2 years and more than 2 years after RT were 63.1%, 33.3%and 69.0%, respectively (P=0.019). Conclusion:There was a high incidence of swallowing dysfunction for the nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy and dysphagia incidence decreased when treated with IMRT. Esophageal barium lfuoroscopy examination is objective method to evaluate the incidence and severity of the swallowing dysfunction.

Objective To explore the value of high frequency ultrasound in differential diagnosis in dorsal thyroid (including gland dorsal or posterior) nodules.Methods Ultrasonographic features of 101 patients with ultrasonography suspected or misdiagnosed nodules in the dorsal area of the thyroid gland,which were then confirmed by pathology or hyaluronography/gastroscopy,were retrospectively analyzed.Ultrasonographic homogeneity (other nodules with similar ultrasonographic features were found in the ipsilateral gland),parenchyma homology (nodule parenchyma was continuous with glandular parenchyma) and blood homology (blood flow signals in nodules were continuous with those in glandular parenchyma) were applied as indicators for determinng thyroid nodules.Double-line sign or vascular arch sign at the edge of nodules served as an indicator for determining parathyroid nodules.Results Of the 101 cases,there were 46 thyroid nodules,35 parathyroid nodules,7 enlarged lymph nodes;6 esophageal diverticulum,6 esophageal cancer,1 cleft cyst.The determination of thyroid nodules by at least one of ultrasonographic homogeneity,parenchyma homology and blood homology showed sensitivity of 73.5 ％,specificity of 96.5 ％ and accuracy of 85.8％.In the determination of parathyroid nodules by double-line sign or vascular arch sign at the edge of nodules,sensitivity,specificity and accuracy was 54.1％,85.5 ％ and 74.5 ％,respectively.Conclusions Nodules in the dorsal area of the thyroid gland have different sources,and the understanding of corresponding characteristic ultrasonographic appearances is helpful for improving the differential diagnosis of these nodules.

Objective To investigate the possible mechanism of hypogammaglobuinemia caused by ketongenic diet (KD).Methods Thirty-six children with intractable epilepsy (IP) and seventeen age-matched healthy children were recruited in this study.The percentages of B cells at various stages of devel-opment and follicular helper T ( Tfh) cells were detected by flow cytometry.The plasma concentrations of IL-21 were determined by ELISA.Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to detect the expression of mam-malian target of rapamycin ( mTOR) , Blimp-1, Bcl-6 and IL-21 at mRNA level in CD4+T cells.Results mTOR at mRNA level was significantly down-regulated after KD treatment (P<0.05).The numbers of Tfh cells were positively correlated with the transcriptional level of mTOR (r=-0.691, P<0.05).Conclusion KD treatment might down-regulate Tfh and B cells through suppressing the expression of mTOR at mRNA level, suggesting a possible mechanism of hypogammaglobuinemia induced by KD treatment.

Objective To explore the impact of ketogenic diet (KD) on follicular helper T cells(TFH) in children with intractable epilepsy.Methods Thirty-three cases with intractable epilepsy were selected between Jul.2013 and Jan.2014 in Shenzhen Children's Hospital,19 boys and 14 girls; average age was 39.6 months,and seventeen age-matched healthy children who took a physical examination in the same hospital were assigned as the healthy control group.Blood samples were collected from the children with refractory epilepsy before and after 1 week of KD treatment.The proportions of the various stages of B cells and TFH cells were detected by flow cytometry.The plasma concentration of interleukin-21 (IL-21) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),and realtime quantitative PCR(RT-PCR) was performed to detect the levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ),B-lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp-1),B-cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl6) and IL-21 mRNA expression in CD4 + T cells.Results (1) The number of TFH cells in children with intractable epilepsy [(3.57 ± 0.58) ％] was remarkably decreased after KD treatment(P ＜ 0.01),while there were no difference between after KD treatment and healthy control group[(4.93 ±0.70)％ vs (5.03 ±0.63)％,P ＞0.05].(2) The levels of transcription factor Bcl6 expression after treatment were significantly decreased,while inhibitory factor Blimp-1 expression increased (P ＜ 0.05).(3)The plasma concentration of IL-21 had a trend to decrease (P ＞ 0.05),while there were no difference before and after KD treatment,and levels of IL-21 mRNA expressions in CD4 +T cells were significantly decreased after the treatment (8.28 × 10-3 ± 1.19 × 10-3 vs 1.72 × 10-2 ± 0.81 × 10-2,t =3.08,P ＜ 0.05).(4) There was no significant difference in CD27-IgD + B cells before and after KD treatment (P ＞ 0.05),CD27 + IgD + B cell and CD27-IgD-B cells had a trend to decrease after KD treatment(P ＞0.05),and CD27 + IgD-B cells and CD27 + IgD-CD38 high plasma cells were significantly decreased after KD treatment (P ＜ 0.05).(5) The number of TFH cells were correlated positively with the number of CD27 + IgD-B cells and CD27 + IgD-CD3g high plasma cells (r =0.785,0.745,P ＜ 0.05).(6) The levels of PPAR-γmRNA in CD4 + T cells expression were significantly up-regulated after KD treatment (3.49 × 10-3 ± 1.10 × 10-3 vs 2.28 ± 10-3 ± 1.30 × 10-3,t =3.41,P ＜0.05),and the number of TFH cells and PPAR-γgene expression was correlated negatively (r =-0.619,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions KD might down regulate TFH cell number and function through inducing PPAR-γexpression and could inhibit B cell differentiation,which might be one of the factors for hypogammaglobuinemia by KD treatment.

Objective To investigate the effects of ketogenic diet ( KD) treatment on helper T cell subsets in children with intractable epilepsy( IP) . Methods Thirty-five children with IP and eighteen age-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in this study.The percentages of CD3+CD8-IFN-γ+( Th1 ) cells, CD3+CD8-IL-17A+(Th17) cells and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+(Treg) cells were analyzed by flow cytometry.Re-al-time PCR assay was performed to evaluate the expression of T-bet, ROR-γ, IFN-γ, IL-17A and peroxi-some proliferator activated receptorγ( PPAR-γ) at mRNA level in CD4+CD25-T cells and the transcription-al levels of Foxp3, GITR, CTLA-4 and PPAR-γin CD4+CD25+T cells.The concentrations of cyclooxygen-ases-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin F2a (PGF2α) in plasma samples were measured by enzyme-linked im-munosorbent assay.The expression of IL-17A and IFN-γin plasma samples were detected by using cytomet-ricbeadarray(CBA).Results (1)ThepercentagesofTregcellsinperipheralbloodsamplesfrompa-tients with IP were lower than those in healthy subjects (P<0.05), which were significantly increased with the treatment of KD (P<0.05).The percentages of Th17 and Th1 cells in patients with IP were significantly higher than those in healthy children (P<0.05), but were remarkably decreased with the treatment of KD (P<0.05).Patients with IP showed decreased transcriptional levels of Foxp3, GITR and CTLA-4 in CD4+CD25+T cells as compared with healthy controls, but were up-regulated with the treatment of KD.The ex-pression of transcription factors including T-bet, ROR-γ, IFN-γand IL-17A in CD4+CD25-T cells in pa-tients with IP were higher than those in healthy subjects and were down-regulated after the treatment of KD (P<0.05).(2) The expression of PPAR-γat mRNA level in CD4+CD25-T and CD4+CD25+T cells were decreased in patients with IP as compared with those in heathy controls, but were increased after the treat-ment of KD (P<0.05).Correlation analysis showed that Treg cells had a positive correlation with PPAR-γ(r=0.61, P<0.05).However, the Th1 and Th17 cells were negatively correlated with PPAR-γ[Th1 (r=-0.54, P<0.05), Th17 (r=-0.64, P<0.05) ].(3) The levels of IL-17A and IFN-γin patients with IP were higher than those in healthy controls, but were decreased with KD treatment (P<0.05).The levels of COX-2 and PGF2αin plasma samples from patients with IP were higher than those in healthy controls ( P<0.05).A negative correlation was observed between COX-2 and PPAR-γ(r=-0.571, P<0.05). Moreover, PGF2αand PPAR-γhad a negative correlation as well (r=-0.586, P<0.05).Conclusion The treatment of KD might enhance the expression of PPAR-γthrough inhibiting the products of oxidative stress such as COX-2 and PGF2α, resulting in the rebalance of Th cell subsets and reduced expression of in-flammatory cytokines.

BACKGROUND:Mechanical properties of the blood vessels include axial and radial tension which is important to guarantee the tissue perfusion and its pressure. OBJECTIVE:To test and analyze stretching and puncture parameters that can ful y characterize the performance of blood vessels, so as to predict the health condition of the vessels transplanted into recipients. METHODS:Mechanical properties as circumferential tension, axial tension and puncture were tested on the porcine aorta, and then pathological and staining analysis was done to explore whether freeze-dried vessels can withstand the blood pressure in al directions after transplanted into the body. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Specific trend on the curves of freeze-dried vessels during circumferential tension, axial tension and puncture process was closer to that of fresh vessel curves, suggesting that structural components and arrangement of the freeze-dried vessels were not changed greatly. Meanwhile, the microscopic observations of slice and tensile section were taken into account so that the reason was studied and explained for the mechanical properties of the experimental data and results. The macroscopic mechanical result was analyzed based on the change of microstructure. These findings indicate that the vacuum freeze-drying is a better method to maintain the performance of blood vessels.