Objective To investigate the prevalence of sinusitis in poorly controlled asthma children.Methods Asthmatic children from the Asthma Specialist Department of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital were selected as the study cases,of which 107 children coughing for more than 4 weeks after treatment were allocated to the research group and 105 newly diagnosed asthmatic children were selected as the control group.Results 1.The CT confirmed sinusitis prevalence was 81.3％ (87/107 cases) in research group and 51.4％ (54/105 cases) in the control group,respectively.The 2 groups were significantly different (x2 ＝ 21.242,P ＜ 0.05).2.The patient complained nasal obstruction in sinusitis group was 80.5％ (70/87 cases) compared to 50.0％ (10/20 cases) in non sinusitis group,and the difference between 2 groups was statistically significant (x2 =7.997,P ＜ 0.05).3.In the research group,69.2％ (74/107 cases) suffered from maxillary sinusitis,61.7％ (66/107 cases) ethmoid sinusitis,14.0％ (15/107 cases) frontal sinusitis,and 30.8％ (33/107 cases) sphenoid sinusitis.All the 4 nasosinus involved was 10.3％ (11/107 cases).The frequency of allergic rhinitis symptoms in 4 groups of sinuses had no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Chronic cough in poorly controlled asthma children is related to sinusitis and upper airway cough syndrome.

Objective To detect the relationship between XPD Lys751Gln polymorphism and the risk of adult acute leukemia (AL). Methods 100 adult AL patients and 100 controls were chose as case and Lys751Gln were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCRRFLP) analysis in peripheral blood. Results The genotype frequency of Lys/Lys, Lys/Gln, Gln/Gln were 83 %, 16 %, 1% in case group and 90 %, 10 %, 0 in control group, respectively. The difference the two groups was no signficant difference (x2=1.44, P =0.49). No significantly increased risk for adult AL was observed for those carrying variant genotype with OR analysis (x2 = 2.10, P =0.15, OR =1.84; 95 % CI 0.80-4.25). Individuals with the variant genotype of XPD Lys751Gln might enhance the risk of adult AL (OR =2.77, 95 % CI 0.99-7.73). Conclusion XPD Lys751Gln polymorphism is found to have relationship with adult acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Objective To analyze diagnostic experience of children with anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) and assess its surgical results.Methods Six children with ALCAPA had been diagnosed in our hospital from Mar. 2006 to Oct.2007 aged from 6 months to 10 years old(median 43.5 months).The medical data included common clinical presentations,the findings of electrocardiogram(ECG),the echocardiogram,ECG-gated 64-slice computed tomography,the digital subtraction angiogram (DSA),surgical records and the outcome.Results Diaphoresis,fantod,breathlessness and difficult feeding were commonly presented in 5 cases ALCAPA and the 5 children presented with left ventricular failure in infancy.The predominant ECG findings were Q waves and ST segment changes in the anterolateral chest leads in 4 cases,ST changes in 1 case,and normal ECG in 1 case.Cross-sectional echocardiography showed dilated left ventricles with poor contractility in 4 cases,medium mitral regurgitation in 2 cases and severe mitral regurgitation in 2 cases,aneurysmal dilatation of the right coronary artery(RCA) in 2 cases.CT and DSA examinations showed characteristic changes in these children.The surgical reestablishment of a two-coronary system was performed in 5 cases,direct reimplantation in 2 cases and creation of an autologous extrapulmonary tunnel in 3 cases.Simultaneous mitral annuloplasty was performed in 2 cases.After operation,the symptoms of 5 cases were all improved and none died.Conclusions Understanding the clinical manifestations and lab findings of ALCAPA is helpful to making an early diagnosis of ALCAPA.Early surgical treatment can improve the patients′ outcome.

Astragalus polysaccharides was lounded to 4-(2-aminoethylphenol), followed by labeling the APS-Tyr with fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate (FITC) at the secondary amino group. The absorption enhancement effects of low molecular weight chitosan and protamine on astragalus polysaccharides were evaluated via Caco-2 cell culture model. The results show that the fluorecent labeling compound has good stability and high sensitivity. On the other hand low molecular weight chitosan and protamine also can promoted absorption of the astragalus polysaccharides without any cytotoxity, and the absorption increase was more significant with increasing the amount of low molecular weight chitosan and protamine. At the same time, the low molecular weight chitosan has slightly better effect. The transepithelial electric resistance (TEER) of Caco-2 cells show that absorption enhancers could improve its membrane transport permeability by opening tight junctions between cells and increasing the cell membrane fluidity.
Absorption ; Astragalus Plant ; chemistry ; Biological Transport ; Caco-2 Cells ; Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate ; chemistry ; Fluorescent Dyes ; chemistry ; Humans ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics

Objective To analyze white matter hyperintensities(WMH)and brain volumes quantitatively in patients with Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy(CADASIL)on conventional MRI and correlate them with clinical parameters.Methods Fifteen patients with CADASIL confirmed by pathological investigation underwent conventional MRI examinations.Involvement of centrum semiovale,posterior limbs of the internal capsule,corpus callosum,external capsules and white matter of the temporal poles was determined by an experienced radiologist.Normalized brain volume(NBV)and the percentage of WMH to brain volume were calculated with softwares and they were correlated with NIHSS and MMSE statistically.Results Involvement of white matter in the brains of patients with CADASIL included:semiovale centrum in 13 cases,white matter of the temporal poles in 10 cases,external capsules in 8 cases,posterior limbs of the internal capsule in 5 cases,corpus callosum in 4 cases.The percentage of WMH to brain volume was(5.7±1.4)%,and the NBV was(1602±58)×103mm3.Spearman test showed a significant relationship between age and NBV(r=-0.555,P＜0.05).There was a significant relationship between NBV and NIHSS(r=-0.624.P＜0.05).The percentage of WMH to brain volume correlated significantly with NIHSS and MMSE(r=0.522,P＜0.05;r=-0.679,P＜0.01).Conclusions The white matter hvperintensities and brain volume in patients with CADASIL can be assessed quantitatively,which showed correlation with severity of the clinical scale.The development of WMH may refleet the degree of cognitive impairment in CADASIL.

Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Gluconates ; pharmacology ; Lactate Dehydrogenases ; metabolism ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; prevention & control ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Accidents, Occupational ; China ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Poisoning ; epidemiology

Age of Onset ; China ; epidemiology ; Dust ; Humans ; Occupational Exposure ; analysis ; Pneumoconiosis ; epidemiology

Objective: To observe the therapeutic efficacy of warm needling moxibustion plus intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate in treating chondromalacia patellae and its effect on inflammatory factors in knee joint fluid. Methods: Sixty-eight patients with chondromalacia patellae were randomized into a control group and an observation group, with 34 cases in each group. The control group was treated with intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate, while the observation group was given additional warm needling moxibustion treatment. Before and after treatment, the two groups were scored using Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and visual analog scale (VAS), examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and determined for the levels of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β in knee joint fluid. Clinical efficacy was estimated after treatment. Results: The effective rate was higher in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the scores of pain, stiffness and daily activities, as well as the general score of WOMAC declined significantly in both groups (all P<0.05), and were lower in the observation group than in the control group (all P<0.05); the time cost for climbing up and down one staircase and VAS score decreased markedly in both groups (all P<0.05), and were shorter or lower in the observation group than in the control group (both P<0.05); the MRI grading showed no significant change in the control group after intervention (P>0.05), while the grading in the observation group showed notable improvement (P<0.05), and was better than that in the control group (P<0.05); the levels of NF-κB and IL-1β in knee joint fluid dropped significantly in the control group after treatment (both P<0.05), while the levels of NF-κB, TNF-α and IL-1β in knee joint fluid all decreased significantly in the observation group (all P<0.05) and were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Warm needling moxibustion plus intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate can produce definite efficacy in treating chondromalacia patellae; it can mitigate the clinical symptoms, improve the lesion extent of chondromalacia and down-regulate the levels of NF-κB, TNF-α and IL-1β in knee joint fluid.

Objective: To screen the potential type II 5α-reductase inhibitors from active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) based on molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation technology. Methods: The molecular docking was used to screen 26 monomer compositions from TCM. Based on the docking results, MD was performed to evaluate the binding strength of compounds with protein. The binding free energy of the system was calculated using the MM/PBSA method. The in vitro micro-reaction system was used to investigate biological activity. Results: The binding energies of 26 monomer compositions from TCM to type II 5-alpha Reductase were different. Among them, ligustroflavone, safflower yellow and hinokiflavone have low binding energies to type II 5-alpha reductase, and their binding abilities were strong. The molecular dynamics simulation results are consistent with the docking results (binding capacity: ligustroflavone-protein > safflower yellow-protein > hinokiflavone-protein). The three components ligustroflavone, safflower yellow and hinokiflavone have a certain inhibitory activity on type II 5α-reductase with the IC50 value of (42.12 ± 3.83), (69.06 ± 6.35), and (191.28 ± 5.90) μmol/L, respectively. Conclusion: Among the screened 26 monomer compositions, ligustroflavone, safflower yellow and hinokiflavone have the potential to be used in the study of treatment and prevention of androgen-dependent diseases, which provides a reference for further exploration and discovery of type II 5α-reductase inhibitors.