Objective:To study the clinical effect of corticosteroids (C S) with small dosage in the recurrence control of pemphigus. Methods: 25 cases of pemphigus were diagnosed by clinical and pathological examinati on.They were treated with CS at 60-80 mg/d in acute stage for symptom control.Th en,the dosage of CS was decreased by 5 mg in each following 2 weeks untill it re ached 2.5 mg/2 d. The treatment of 2.5 mg/2 d was continued for 1 year and was a ssisted with tripterygium polyglycoside, compound thalidomide, compound cyclopho sphamide (compounded with total saponins of ginseng), dapsone, and/or some kidne y-supplementing herbs. The patients were followed-up for 9~16 years.Re sults:No recurrence was observed in 16 cases(64%).Recurrence was found i n 9 cases(36%),among them 7(28%) were with light symptom and 2(8%) severe. Sever e side-effect was not found in all cases. Conclusion:The recurr ence of pemphigus may be controlled without severe side-effect by long-term us e of small dosage of CS assisted with proper immuno-inhibitors, immuno-regulat ors and/or some kidney-supplementing herbs.

Enamel pearl is an ectopic enamel, which usually occurs in the root bifurcate or approaching enamel-cementum site of the first maxillary molar. A case of multiple enamel pearls on the left maxillary third molar is reported in this paper, and relevant literature was reviewed.
Dental Cementum ; Dental Enamel ; abnormalities ; Humans ; Molar ; Molar, Third ; Tooth Root

The currently used heart valve prosthesis are still far from the ideal one in anticoagulation and longevity. The construction of tissue engineering heart valve leaflets are carried out recently. This article reviews the progress of tissue engineering heart valve leaflets in implanting materials, seeded cells, animal experiment and basic research. It also discusses the benefits and feasibility of tissue engineering heart valve leaflets.

Forms and Records Control ; methods ; Humans ; Pathology, Clinical ; methods

Objective To compare the biomechanical properties between the two-level fixation by im- plantation of pedicle-screws into the adjacent upper and lower vertebrae of the fractured vertebra and the three-level fixation by implantation of pedicle screws into the fractured vertebra and its adjacent upper and lower vertebrae in the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures.Methods Eight fresh frozen calf spines were used in this study.Each specimen was tested in four models:intact model as the control,L1 burst fracture model,two-level fixation model, and three-level fixation model.The L1 burst fracture model was created on a biaxial material testing machine (MTS858 Bionix test system,America).During the experiment,the flexion,extension,bilateral bending and axial rotation loadings were applied to the specimens and the range of motion(ROM)was measured with a three-dimensional laser analysis apparatus and the stiffness was calculated subsequently.One-way statistical analysis was used.Results The ROMs under six different loadings in the fracture model became larger obviously(P＜0.05)and the stiffness decreased(P＜0.05).The ROMs in both fixation models were smaller than those in the other models(P＜0.01)and the stiffness increased distinctly(P＜0.05).There were no significant differences in ROMs and stiffness between the two-level fixation and three-level fixation models(P＞0.05).Conclusion Two-level fixation provides similar biomechanical stability as three-level fixation does in the reconstruction of unstable thoracolumbar fractures.

Adult ; Chondroma ; pathology ; Ear Auricle ; pathology ; Ear Neoplasms ; pathology ; Humans ; Lipoma ; pathology ; Male

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Fingers ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuralgia ; therapy ; Young Adult

Humans ; Interferons ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Thalidomide ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use

Objective To identify novel mutations in the GATA6 gene associated with congenital atrial septal defects (ASD).Methods This was a case-control study.A cohort of 220 unrelated Han-race patients with congenital ASD and 200 unrelated ethnically matched healthy individuals used as controls,who were admitted to Tongji University Affiliated Tongji Hospital from January,2007 to October,2011,were recruited.The peripheral venous blood samples from the participants were prepared.All the coding exons and their flanking sequences of the GATA6 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced using the di-deoxynucleotide chain termination technique.The acquired sequences were aligned with the sequences derived from GenBank by BLAST to identify the sequence variations.The software ClustalW was used to analyze the conservation of the altered amino acids.Results Three novel heterozygous missense GATA6 mutations,c.250G ＞A (p.A84T),c.649G ＞C (p.G217R) and c.1270A ＞C (p.S424R),were identified in 3 of 220 ASD patients,respectively.None of the three mutations was detected in 200 healthy control individuals.A cross-species alignment of GATA6 encoded protein sequences showed that the mutated amino acids were relatively conserved evolutionarily.Conclusion The identification of novel GATA6 mutations associated with ASD contributes to the reveal of the mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of ASD.

Objective To explore the relevance between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level in early pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods Clinical data of 5299 singletonpregnant women accepted antenatal examination and delivered in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University First Hospital from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. Results (1) The pregnant women were divided into 3 groups according to their FPG levels at early stage of gestation: Group A, FPG ＜5. 1 mmol/L (n= 4565); Group B,FPG≥5.1, but ＜5.8 mmol/L (n=701); Group C, FPG≥5.8 mmol/L, but ＜7.0 mmol/L(n=33). The incidence of GDM in Group A, B and C was 10. 69% (488/4565), 26. 11% (183/701)and 54. 55% (18/33). (2) The incidences of large for gestational age (LGA), cesarean section,premature birth, preeclampsia, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, neonatal hypoglycemia, neonatal polycythemia, and neonatal infection were compared between Group A and B. The cesarean section rate [54. 63% (282/518)]and neonatal hypoglycemia rate [1.54% (8/518)]of those who were not diagnosed as GDM in middle and late term in Group B were higher than those of Group A [49.03%(1999/4077) and 0. 61% (25/4077)] (P＜0. 05); while there were no differences between the other six index of Group A and Group B (P＞0. 05). The prognosis of the GDM patients who did not accept gestational glucose management in two groups were similar (P＞0. 05), so did the prognosis of the GDM patients who accepted gestational glucose management in two groups. After combining the patients of the two groups who were not diagnosed as GDM as a new group, they were compared with those who did not accept gestational glucose management of the two groups (Group A2 and B2)respectively. The incidence of LGA rate of the new group was lower than that of Group A2 (12. 00%va 4. 94 %, x2=21. 4159, P＜0. 05) and Group B2 (18. 39 % vs 4. 94%, x2 = 28. 7189, P＜0. 05).Cesarean section rate of the new group was lower than that of Group A2 (57. 78% vs 49.64%,x2 =5. 6806,P＜0.05) and Group B2 (66. 67% vs 49.64%, x2 =9. 9003, P＜0. 05). And there were no differences between the other six index between the new group and the other two groups (P＞0. 05). Conclusions The diagnosis criteria of GDM set as FPG≥5.1 mmol/L at early stage of gestation, recommended by International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group, is not applicable in China yet. Oral glucose tolerance test in middle and late term is still the most important diagnostic tool for GDM.