Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, which causes learning and memory to become seriously impaired. AD not only influences the patient's quality of life, but also places a great burden on caregivers. With the increasing of aging population, the pressures can be wide-ranging, involving social, psychological, physical, and economic elements of the caregivers' life.The cause and progression of Alzheimer's disease are not well understood. Currently used treatments include pharmaceutical and psychosocial ones, each offering a small symptomatic benefit. Actually, there are still no available medicines and treatments to delay the progression of the disease. Therefore, the development of a new ideal medicine to treat AD patients becomes the first priority. In recent years, most researchers have turned to natural products, hoping to find a drug candidate to cure AD patient. Baicalein, a traditional Chinese medicine extracted from Scutellaria Baicalensis (Chinese herb), has been demonstrated holding the properties of anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptosis, anti-oxidant, and improving learning and memory of human brain. Baicalein is becoming a potential ideal medicine for treating AD patient.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the application of three-dimensional CT(3D-CT) in the treatment of oblique facial clefts with mandibular outer cortex, including the surgical design and results assessment.

METHODSFrom Jan. 2003 to Dec. 2013, 22 cases with oblique facial cleft, who underwent mandibular outer cortex onlay bone graft were retrospectively studied. 3D images from CT data were reconstructed before operation for design. Then the mandibular outer cortex onlay bone transplant was performed to reconstruct the bone defect and cleft. 3D CT was performed 5-10 days postoperatively and 6- 12 months postoperatively to assess the facial symmetry.

RESULTSAccording to the results of CT measurement, the average volume of the orbital bone defects on the affected side decreased by(64. 6 ± 14. 4)% 5 to 10 days after operation. The average volume of the maxillary and zygomatic bone defects on the affected side decreased by(71.4 ± 15.7)% after surgery. After 6 to 12 months,the average recovery of the mandibular donor site was (57. 9 ± 13. 9)% of the removed mandibular outer cortex. The average absorption of grafted bones was(24.7 ± 25.6 )%. The average height difference between the centre of pupils on both sides before surgery was(3.76 ± 1.27) mm,which decreased to( 1. 15 ± 1.00) mm 5 to 10 days after surgery(P =0. 000) , and( 1.35 ± 1. 13) mm 6 to 12 months after surgery(P = 0. 003). The relapse may be caused by the absorption of the grafted bones.

CONCLUSIONS3D-CT can be used for preoperative design and postoperative assessment in the treatment of oblique facial cleft with mandibular outer cortex.

Bone Transplantation ; Cleft Palate ; surgery ; Craniofacial Dysostosis ; surgery ; Eye Abnormalities ; surgery ; Facial Bones ; abnormalities ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Mandible ; transplantation ; Maxillofacial Abnormalities ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Transplant Donor Site

This article summarizes the progress of the application of functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) on neuropharmacology. Cholinergic drugs are types of neurotransmitters which are usually used to treat neurological disorders. fMRI is widely used in the research of evaluation of cholinergic drugs. This article systematically summerizes the research of drug evaluation on memory, attention, emotion and vision by fMRI using the cholinergic drugs for example. Combined with the charactors and disciplines of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), this article also makes a prospect of the application of fMRI on traditional Chinese medicine evaluation, especially the drugs on brain disease and emotional modulation.
Animals ; Cholinergic Agents ; pharmacology ; Drug Evaluation ; methods ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; pharmacology

Objective To prepare the serum reference materials for total thyroxine .Methods Individual blood samples were collected from 13 healthy donors (7 males and 6 females) aged from 20 to 50 years old, and the sera were separated and mixed into 4 serum pools according to the concentration of thyroxine.The materials were tested for homogeneity and stability using routine methods .The method of isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry ( ID-LC/MS/MS) was used to determine the concentration of thyroxine .The candidate reference materials were also measured by four conventional methods to analyze the commutability of the materials .Results It showed that the four candidate reference materials were homogeneous and commutable in four conventional methods and they were tested to be stable for at least 1 year at -70 ℃using the isochronous stability study .The certified values ( reference value ± expanded uncertainty ,nmol/L) were:75.9 ±1.8,105.3 ±2.2,114.7 ±2.1 and 187.4 ±2.9.Conclusions Certified reference materials for serum thyroxine have been prepared .These materials have been approved to be the Certificate Reference Materials of GBW 09127,GBW 09128,GBW 09129 and GBW 09130.

Objective To explore the value of vesical imaging reporting and data system(VI-RADS)combined with absolute tumor-wall contact length(ABTCL)and actual tumor-wall contact length(ACTCL)in diagnosing muscle invasive bladder cancer(MIBC).Methods The MRI data of 113 patients with pathologically confirmed bladder cancer(BCa)were analyzed retrospectively.All patients underwent conventional MRI,diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and dynamic contrast enhanced(DCE)MRI before sur-gery.Two radiologists independently evaluated MRI images based on VI-RADS score,and measured quantitative parameters,inclu-ding ABTCL and ACTCL.The Chi-square test was used to compare the difference of VI-RADS scores between MIBC and non-mus-cle invasive bladder cancer(NMIBC).Quantitative parameters between MIBC and NMIBC were compared by Mann-Whitney U test.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of VI-RADS,quantitative parameters and VI-RADS combined with quantitative parameters in the diagnosis of MIBC.Results VI-RADS,ABTCL and ACTCL had significant differences between MIBC and NMIBC(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)for VI-RADS,ABTCL and ACTCL in diagno-sing MIBC were 0.89,0.76 and 0.77,respectively.There was no significant difference between the AUC for ABTCL and ACTCL(P＞0.05).The AUC for VI-RADS combined with ABTCL or ACTCL in diagnosing MIBC was 0.93,higher than that of only VI-RADS(P＜0.05).Conclusion The combination of VI-RADS with either ABTCL or ACTCL can effectively improve the diagnostic performance of MIBC.ABTCL obtainedby linear measurement is easier to implement in clinical practice than ACTCL obtained by curved measurement.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of capsule endoscopy for the diagnosis of intestinal diseases in children.Methods:Clinical data of 113 pediatric patients who received capsule endoscopy in Xi'an Children's Hospital from October 2018 to September 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The completion rate, passage time of stomach and small intestine, lesion detection rate, adverse reactions and complications of capsule endoscopy were analyzed.Results:Among 113 pediatric patients, 78 (69.03%) were male and 35 (30.97%) were female. The age was (99.8±44.7) months (9-195 months), and 31 (27.43%) were under 7 years old. The minimum weight was 9 kg and the minimum height was 70 cm. Eighty-seven pediatric patients (76.99%) swallowed capsules orally (the oral group) with the minimum age of 4 years and 3 months. Capsules were implanted in 26 pediatric patients (23.01%) under gastroscopy (the gastroscopic group), with the maximum age of 9 years and 2 months. Unexplained abdominal pain (47.79%) and unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding (31.89%) were common in the pediatric patients. The completion rate of capsule endoscopy was 97.35% (110/113), and the detection rate of lesions in small intestine was 31.81% (35/110). The passage time of small intestine in the gastroscopic group was significantly longer than that of the oral group (461.04±129.27 min VS 288.23±107.84 min, t=5.646, P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the passage time of stomach or small intestine among different genders, different ages or different endoscopic examination results ( P>0.05). The positive results of capsule were not correlated with the method of ingestion ( P=0.401, OR=2.562, 95% CI:0.284-23.077), gender ( P=0.154, OR=2.352, 95% CI:0.726-7.616), age ( P=0.949, OR=1.007, 95% CI:0.816-1.242), examination reason ( P=0.246) or small intestine passage time ( P=0.219, OR=1.003, 95% CI:0.998-1.008). No complications such as capsule retention occurred in any pediatric patient. Conclusion:Capsule endoscopy in children is noninvasive, rapid and simple, which can improve the diagnostic rate of small intestinal diseases in children, and can be further promoted in pediatric patients.

Objective To study the incidence and risk factors of new foot ulcer among diabetic patients on peritoneal dialysis.Methods This is a single-center prospective cohort study.Clinically-stable diabetic patients on peritoneal dialysis in our renal division were recruited from January 2014 to June 2014.Baseline data including general information,biochemistry data,dialysis adequacy,the dorsalis pedis artery pulse,clinical symptoms of diabetic foot and ankle brachial index were recorded.All patients were followed till to Dec 31,2015.The outcomes consisted of new foot ulcer,amputation due to foot ulcer or gangrene,and lower limb vascular blood supply revascularization.Results Totally 108 patients were recruited and followed up the average time (17.7±5.6) months.Among 108 patients,16 cases had a history of diabetic foot ulcer,and 1 case had amputation.During the follow-up,11 cases (10.2％) had new foot ulcer,3 cases (2.8％) had amputation due to foot ulcers or gangrene,and 8 cases (7.4％) had lower limb vascular blood supply revascularization.A total of 13 cases (12％) had composite end points with 81.3 times/1000 patients of incidence.Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models showed that the history of foot ulcer was the only independent risk factors for new foot ulcers-related composite end points.Conclusion The incidence of new foot ulcer-related composite end points was 12％,which could be independently predicted by the history of diabetic foot ulcer.