Esophageal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Humans ; Induction Chemotherapy ; Neoplasm Staging ; Preoperative Period

Animals ; Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Body Temperature Regulation ; Cyclic AMP ; metabolism ; Dinoprostone ; metabolism ; Eugenol ; pharmacology ; Fever ; metabolism ; Preoptic Area ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Rabbits

Objective To investigate the effect of erythropoietin(EPO)as a brain-protective factor and inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of cerebral palsy(CP).Methods Serum samples from 31 CP patients,37 neonates with CP risk factors such as hypoxic-ischemic injury and/or perinatal infection,and 20 controls of neonates or children were obtained respectively.EPO,tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α and interleukin(IL)-6 levels were measured with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay double sandwich method(ABC-ELISA).Results The serum EPO level of neonatal patients was higher than that of controls or CP group(P<0.01),but there was no significant difference between CP group and controls.The serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels of CP and neonatal patients were higher than that in controls(P<0.01).The serum TNF-α level of CP group was higher than that of neonatal patients(P<0.05).There was no significant difference between CP group and neonatal patients in serum IL-6 level.Conclusion The inflammatory responses mediated by proinflammatory cytokines may play a role in the pathogenesis of cerebral palsy.

OBJECTIVESTo evaluate the feasibility and safety of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), and to compare surgical results of VATS with standard median sternotomy (MS) and other minimal invasive approaches through various small incisions (SI).

METHODSTotally 111 patients underwent surgery for thymic disorders (maximun diameter ≤ 5 cm, clinical stage I-II for thymic tumors) during March 2010 to June 2012 was retrospectively reviewed. There were 46 male and 65 female patients with a mean age of (51 ± 15) years.Resection via VATS was carried out in 47 patients, via SI in 26 patients, and via MS in 38 patients. Demographic characteristics, operation time, number and cause of conversion, blood loss during operation, duration and amount of chest tube drainage, transfusion, morbidity, and length of hospital stay (LHS) were compared between the three groups.

RESULTSOf the 111 patients, 79 patients had thymic epithelia tumors (stage I 32 patients, stage II 39 patients, stage III 8 patients), 31 patients had benign cysts and 1 patient had tuberculosis.In the VATS group, there were 3 conversions among 38 patients through right-side approach, and 4 conversions among 9 patients through left-side approach. The causes for conversion included dense pleura adhesion, invasion of tumor into adjacent structures (pericardium, lung, or great vessels), and injury of the left inominate vein. There was no significant difference in operative time, blood loss or transfusion during operation, duration or amount of postoperative chest tube drainage among the 3 groups (P > 0.05). Average LHS was significantly shorter in the VATS group (5.7 ± 1.7) days than in the SI group (7.5 ± 2.2) days and the MS group (8.2 ± 1.9) days (F = 3.759, P = 0.002). Total thymectomy was performed in 74 patients, 25 patients (53.2%, 25/47) in VATS group, 11 patients (42.3%, 11/26) in SI group, and 38 patients (100%, 38/38) in MS group. The reset of the patients received tumor resection and partial thymectomy. Among all the subgroups, LHS was the shortest in VATS total thymectomy patients (5.0 ± 1.4) days (F = 5.844, P = 0.001). There was no perioperative mortality. The only major morbidity was a postoperative bleeding necessitating reintervention in SI group.

CONCLUSIONSVATS for benign thymic lesions and early-stage thymic tumors is safe and feasible.It is associated with shorter hospital stay compared with other minimal invasive approaches or standard sternotomy.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Thymectomy ; methods ; Thymoma ; surgery ; Thymus Neoplasms ; surgery

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Defecation ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Short Bowel Syndrome ; physiopathology ; therapy

Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; pharmacology ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Chick Embryo ; Chorioallantoic Membrane ; blood supply ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; drug effects ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; pharmacology

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be propagated indefinitely, while maintaining the capacity to differentiate into all cell types in the body except for the extra-embryonic tissues. This iPSC technology not only represents a new way to use individual-specific stem cells for regenerative medicine but also constitutes a novel method to obtain large numbers of disease-specific cells for biomedical research. However, the low efficiency of reprogramming and genomic integration of oncogenes and viral vectors limit the potential application of iPSCs. Chemical-induced reprogramming offers a novel approach to generating iPSCs. In this study, a new combination of small-molecule compounds (SMs) (sodium butyrate, A-83-01, CHIR99021, Y-27632) under conditions of transient folate deprivation was used to generate iPSC. It was found that transient folate deprivation combined with SMs was sufficient to permit reprogramming from mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) in the presence of transcription factors, Oct4 and Klf4, within 25 days, replacing Sox2 and c-Myc, and accelerated the generation of mouse iPSCs. The resulting cell lines resembled mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells with respect to proliferation rate, morphology, pluripotency-associated markers and gene expressions. Deprivation of folic acid, combined with treating MEFs with SMs, can improve the inducing efficiency of iPSCs and reduce their carcinogenicity and the use of exogenous reprogramming factors.

?Age-related macular degeneration ( AMD) is one of the main leading causes of irreversible damage eyesight over the 50 years old people. Genetic factors play an important role in the occurrence and development of AMD. ln recent years, the studies found that complement factor H ( CFH) gene has obvious correlation with the incidence of AMD. ln this article, we reviewed the researches on the CFH in AMD.

?AlM: To evaluate the clinical effects and security of posterior chamber implantable Collamer lens ( lCL ) implantation in patients with extreme highly myopia.
?METHODS:ln this study, 18 patients ( 32 eyes ) with extreme highly myopic patients who had undergone posterior chamber lCLs implantation from July 2010 to July 2013 were evaluated. Diopter -10. 5 ~ 19. 0D, and astigmia -0. 5 ~4. 5DC. Changes in intraocular pressure ( lOP ) , refraction, visual acuity and corneal endothelium, anterior chamber depth, iris, high arch, lens were noted at 1d, 1wk, 1, 3mo and 1a after surgery respectively, and follow-up was of 1a.
? RESULTS: Before surgery, the uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) were 0. 01~0. 05, and the best spectacle-corrected visual acuity ( BSCVA) were 0. 4 ~ 1. 0. One month after surgery, the UCVA were 0. 5~1. 2. The mean vault were 547±222 μm (95%CI 442~672μm) and 528±268μm (95%CI 354 ~635μm) for 1mo and 1a, respectively (P = 0. 81), and there was no significant difference. Anterior subcapsular opacities in 1 eye, mild and transient increase in lOP in 3 eyes, and chronic pigment dispersion in 2 eyes were observed. There was no serious complication.
?CONCLUSlON: Posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation is an effective and safe method for correcting patients with extreme highly myopia.