Objective To explore the curative effects, side effects and complications of arterial embolization for the treatment of uterine leiomyoma.Methods Bilateral uterine arterial embolization with silk particles of 350～500 ?m was performed in 16 cases of uterine leiomyomas with uterine hemorrhage as the main complaint.Results 15 patients underwent technically successful embolization. No serious complications occurred. The patients were followed up for 3～12 months. Menses returned to regular cycle. In the patients with anemia, the hemoglobin concentration rose up to normal level. The sizes of uterine leiomyoma decreased by 52% after 6 months of the treatment.Conclusions Uterine arterial embolization is an effective and less invasive therapy with no serious complications for patients with uterine leiomyoma, especially for presentation of the uterus.

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the changes of expression of angiogenic factor mRNA in the spinal cord of rats with protruded intervertebral disc and the effects of electroacupuncture , and to analyze the role of electroacupuncture in the spinal microvascular angiogenesis .Method Eighteen healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into 3 groups:the electroacupuncture group , model group and sham-operated group .The protruded intervertebral disc models were generated by the left lateral and ventral spinal cord compression at T 13 using a self-made silicon sheet.Only the rats in the first group were treated by electroacupuncture once a day for consecutive 7 days.Spinal cord tissue samples were taken from the compression site at 7 days after operation .The mRNA levels of Ang-1, Tie-1, Ang-2, Tie-2, VEGF, Flt-1, caspase-3 and Tsp-1 were determined by RT-PCR, and the pathological changes of the spinal cord was examined using HE staining .Results The rats in the electroacupuncture treated group showed significantly im-proved hind leg function , a relatively complete spinal cord structure , and a clear boundary between grey and white matters . The expression levels of Ang-1, Ang-2, Tie-1, Tie-2, capase-3 and Tsp-1 in the spinal cord tissues of the model group were significantly higher than those of sham-operated group ( P<0.01 ) , but the levels of VEGF and Flt-1 between those two groups showed no significant difference (P>0.05).The expression levels of Ang-2, Tie-1, Tie-2, caspase-3 and Tsp-1 of the electroacupuncture group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0.01), while the expression levels of Ang-1, VEGF and Flt-1 were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05).All the indexes be-tween electroacupuncture and sham-operated groups showed no significant difference ( P>0.05 ) .Conclusions Our re-sults demonstrate that mRNA expression of relevant angiogenic factors were abnormal after spinal cord compression , while electroacupuncture can down-regulate the expression of Ang-2, Tie-2,Tsp-1 and caspase-3, and modulate the promoting and inhibiting factors of angiogenesis to return towards normal , therefore , to create beneficial conditions for the repair of spinal cord injuries .

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) laparoscopic surgeries in the treatment of Todani type Ⅰ choledochal cyst.Methods The retrospective cohort study was conducted.The clinical data of 59 patients with Todani type Ⅰ choledochal cyst who were admitted to the People's Hospital of Hunan Province between January 2013 and January 2016 were collected.Thirty patients undergoing 2D laparoscopic surgery between January 2013 and June 2014 were allocated into the 2D group and 29 patients undergoing 3D laparoscopic surgery between July 2014 and January 2016 were allocated into the 3D group.There were the same Trocar placement and surgical procedure in the 2 groups,and surgical procedure completely followed the treatment principle of Todani type Ⅰ choledochal cyst.Observation indicators included (Ⅰ) surgical situations:conversion to open surgery,operation time,volume of intraoperative blood loss,(2) postoperative situations:postoperative complications,(3) follow-up.Patients were followed up by outpatient examination or telephone interview to detect postoperative recovery up to April 30,2016.Measurement data with skewed distribution were presented as M (range) and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test.Count data were compared by Fisher exact probability.Results (1) Surgical situations:patients in the 2 groups underwent laparoscopic choledochal cystectomy + Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy.Two patients in the 2D group received conversion to open surgery and patients in the 3D group received the successful surgery without conversion to open surgery.Rate of conversion to open surgery in the 2D and 3D groups were 6.7％ (2/30) and 0,respectively,with no statistically significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Operation time in the 2D and 3D groups were 285 minutes (range,240-390 minutes) and 190 minutes (range,140-215 minutes),with a statistically significant difference (U =40.0,P ＜ 0.05).Volume of intraoperative blood loss in the 2D and 3D groups were 50 mL (range,10-300mL) and 45 mL (range,20-250 mL),with no statistically significant difference (U =1 018.5,P ＞ 0.05).(2)Postoperative situations:patients in the 2 groups had good recovery,without occurrence of severe complications in Clavien-Dindo≥ Ⅲ stage.Four and 1 patients in the 2D and 3D groups were complicated with bile leakage (in Ⅱ stage of Clavien-Dindo) and 1 and 1 were complicated with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (in]][stage of Clavien-Dindo),respectively,with no statistically significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Overall incidence of complications in the 2D and 3D groups were 16.7％ (5/30) and 10.3％ (3/29),with no statistically significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).All the patients were cured by conservative treatment.(3) Follow-up:59 patients were followed up for 5-36 months,with good recovery and without occurrence of reflux cholangitis,hepatic and intestinal anastomosis stenosis and reoperation.Conclusions 3D and 2D laparoscopic surgeries are safe and effective for Todani type Ⅰ choledochal cyst.Compared with 2D laparoscopic surgery,3D laparoscopic surgery can reduce the operation time and not increase the complications,and it should be discreetly promoted based on the experiences of surgeons.

Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation ; Mastitis ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo establish social stress induced depression-like model in mice of C57BL/6 strain, and to assess its reliability using differenf behavioral methods.

METHODSTotally 20 male mice of C57BL/6 strain were divided into the normal group and the stress model group by random digit table,10 in each group. Another 10 CD1 mice were subjected to social stress. Mice in the normal control group received no stress, while those in the model group received social stress for 10 successive days. Behavioral assessment was performed using social interaction test (SIT), the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test, tail suspension test (TST), respectively. Serum cortisol level was detected by ELISA to assess the reliability of the model.

RESULTSIn the social interaction test when the social target (CDI mice) was inexistent, mice in the normal control group spent longer time in the social interaction zone and less time in the corner zone (P < 0.05); mice in the model group spent less time in the social interaction zone and more time in the corner zone (P < 0.05). Compared with the normal group when CDI mice existed, mice in the model group spent less time in the social interaction zone and more time in the corner zone (P < 0.05). Compared with the normal control group, the total times for entry into open arms, close arms, and the maze were obviously reduced (P < 0.05), and the proportion of entering open arms was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in the model group. In TST, the motionless time within the last 4 mm was prolonged in the model group (P < 0.05). The serum cortisol level in the model group was obviously elevated (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSocial stress induced depression-like animal model in mice of C57BL/6 straineasquite reliable and possibly suitable to be used in integrative medicine research of combination of disease and syndrome model.

Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Depression ; physiopathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hydrocortisone ; blood ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Social Behavior ; Stress, Psychological

OBJECTIVEThis study measures the glutaredoxin (Grx) gene and protein expression in umbilical vein endothelial cells upon exposure to Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The involvement of the Akt-signaling pathway is also determined.

METHODSEA-hy926 cells were pretreated with 1,000 ng · mL⁻¹ P. gingivalis LPS for 4, 12, 18, and 24 h, and then real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was employed to detect Grx1 expression. The effect of Grx on Akt activity was investigated using Western blot for the control, LPS (1,000 ng · mL⁻¹ LPS), and carmus- tine (BCNU) groups (1,000 ng · mL⁻¹ LPS, and the EA-hy926 cells were pretreated with 25 μmol · ml⁻¹ BCNU for 30 min).

RESULTSGene expression of Grx1 significantly increased in LPS group compared with that in the control group. The Grx1 expression reached the peak level in 12 h, and the variation between the expression in 4 and 12 h was significant (P < 0.05). After 12 h, the protein levels of Grx and phosphorylated-Akt (p-Akt) significantly increased in the LPS group (P < 0.05), whereas the BCNU group showed a considerable decrease in both Grx and p-Akt expression levels (P < 0.05). Moreover, a slight difference was observed in the total Akt protein levels in the three groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONGrx expression increased upon exposure of EA-hy926 cells to the LPS. Akt activity could be inhibited by BCNU (a Grx inhibitor), which indicated that Akt might act as a downstream regulator of Grx.

Endothelial Cells ; Glutaredoxins ; genetics ; Humans ; Lipopolysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Phosphorylation ; Porphyromonas gingivalis ; pathogenicity ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; drug effects ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Umbilical Veins

Objective To evaluate the effects of compositive cognitive training on reasoning ability for healthy community elderly.Method All the participants were selected from one district in Shanghai by every 50 samples.151 community healthy elderly who accorded with the standard were collected at last.They were divided into cognitive intervention group ( n =90) and control group ( n =61 ) by sequence.The interventions ( includes reasoning,memory training,et al) were conducted in 24 sessions over 12 weeks.All individuals were assessed by Neuropsychological Test Battery for Elderly (NTBE) at baseline,follow-up,half a year follow-up and one year follow-up phase,and Raven' s Standard Progressive Matrices on reasoning classes.Results The scores of Raven' s Standard Progressive Matrices were significantly higher after reasoning training in intervention group( (15.54 ±5.70),(10.35 ± 5.10),t =3.595,P ＜ 0.01 ).Compared with baseline,the reasoning test scores of NTBE were significantly higher after cognitive intervention in treatment group at follow-up phase,and were also significantly higher than control group (P ＜ 0.05 or P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusion Results support the effectiveness of compositive cognitive training in improving reasoning ability are positive,and can last for one year.

BACKGROUND: Neuroprotective role of hypothermia on cerebral ischemic-reperfusional impairment has been long acknowledged. Since general hypothermia is complicated and unfit for observing postoperative consciousness and neurological function, it is of important significance to explore novel methods of focal cerebral hypothermia.OBJECTIVE: To study the neuroprotective effect of lateral ventricle infusion of low-temperature fluid on ischemic neurons of middle cerebral artery (MAC) occlusion models established on New Zealand rabbits.DESIGN: A randomized case-control study based on experimental animal models.SETTING: Neurosurgical department and pathological department of a general military hospital of Chinese PLA.MATERIALS: This study was carried out at Neurosurgical Laboratory of Nanjing General Hospital, Nanjing Military Area Command of Chinese PLA. Altogether 18 healthy New Zealand male rabbits, weighing from 2. 8 to 3.2 kg, were selected 4 - 6 months after birth, and randomly divided into occlusion group, hypothermia group and control group.INTERVENTIONS: Cerebral focal ischemic-reperfusional model was established on the New Zealand rabbits through MCA occlusion for 2 hours followed by reperfusion for 24 hours.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores for neurological function, water content in the left and right brain, pathological changes of nerve cells in the left MCA supplying region.pothermia group, significantly higher than that in occlusion group(7.58 ± 0.58 )( P ＜ 0.01 ), but no significant difference could be observed in contrast with brain was(81.64 ± 0.82)% and (79.26 ± 1.30)% in occlusion and hypothermia groups with significant difference between them( P ＜ 0.05), and it was significantly different between the left side [ (81.64 ± 0. 82 )% ] and opyknosis and deep staining could be observed in nerve ganglion cells in occlusion group under optical microscope, but no obvious pathological changes were observed in MCA supplying brain regions in hypothermia group.CONCLUSION: Permanent infusion of low-temperature fluid into the lateral ventricle plays an important neuroprotective role by attenuating cerebral ischemic-reperfusional impairment and improving post-ischemic neurological functions.

Objective To analyze the characteristic and the clinical application of high -frequency stimulation ABR for the patients with unilateral sudden deafness .Methods 40 patients aged 17~45 with unilateral sudden deaf-ness(40 health ears ,subject group)and 20 normal volunteers (40 ears ,control group)were selected to receive high and low frequency stimulation ABRs and pure tone audiometry .Results There were no statistical differences be-tween subject group and control group in pure tone audiometry .The wave Ⅰlatency of high -frequency ABR was longer in the subject group than that in the control group(P<0 .001) .The abnormal rate of Ⅰ - Ⅴ interval between high and low frequency stimulation ABRs was 62 .5% (25/40) in the subject group ,and 5% (2/40) in the control group .There were statistical differences between the two groups (χ2 =29 .574 ,P<0 .001) .Conclusion The waveⅠlatency of high-frequency ABR was longer and the abnormal rate of Ⅰ - Ⅴ interval markedly increased in the health ear of patients with unilateral sudden deafness .This may suggest that the contralateral ear may have an ab-normal blood supply of the inner ear when single side sudden deafness happened .High frequency stimulation ABR can be used to detect the potential changes of contralateral ear before the hearing loss occurred .

BACKGROUND:Periprosthetic femoral fracture is a severe complication after total hip arthroplasty. More than 85% belongs to Vancouver B2 and B3 fractures, and the operation is difficult. OBJECTIVE:To explore the clinical effect of Cable-Ready fast system and biotype long-stem prosthesis and its effect on the recovery of joint function in patients with Vancouver B2 and B3 type periprosthetic femoral fractures after total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: A total of 60 patients receiving total hip arthroplasty suffered from Vancouver B2 and B3 type periprosthetic femoral fractures in the Huanggang Central Hospital from September 2011 to September 2012. They were equaly divided into control and observation groups according to different fixation methods. Patients in the control group were treated by ordinary steel wire cerclage fixation combined with uncemented long-stem prosthesis; those in the observation group were treated by Cable-Ready fast system combined with fast uncemented long-stem prosthesis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The average operation time, the time of hospitalization and fracture healing time were shorter in the observation group than in the control group. Moreover, the intraoperative blood loss was less in the observation group than in the control group. After 1 year of folow-up, Harris hip score was higher in the observation group compared with pre-treatment (t=3.174 9,P=0.002 6), and significantly higher than the control group (t=2.479 8,P=0.015 4). The excelent and good rate of Harris hip score was significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group (χ2=11.294 5,P=0.002 6). The total incidence of complications was significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group (χ2=8.139 7,P=0.04 2). These data indicate that Cable-Ready fast system combined with uncemented long-stem prosthesis in the treatment of Vancouver B2 and B3 periprosthetic femoral fractures after total hip arthroplasty has smal injury, less postoperative complications and better recovery of hip function after operation.