Objective To determine whether an environmental intervention tailored to each patient's allergic sensitization and environmental risk factors could improve asthma-related outcomes. Methods Irritant or allergen sensitivity determined by the patient's exposure history and confirmed with skin test. Patients were asked to record 2-week days without symptoms, days off-work(or school) and ?2-agonist puffs. Pulmonary function was also examined. Ninety-six asthmatics with atopic asthma (aged 16-78 years) were randomly assigned to a control group, an intervention group that received an educational handout monthly for 2 months. Asthmatics of both groups inhalded budesonide at a daily dose 200-800 ?g and ?2-agonist as needed. Environmental intervention lasted six months and included education and remediation for exposure to allergens. The control group had no special recommendations. Results The intervention group had more days without symptoms compared with the control group (13.4 vs.10.1days, P

Objective: To discuss the value of congenital hypertrophy retinal pigment epithelium (CHRPE) in diagnosis of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Methods: Twenty-two FAP patients who have received treatment in our department (January 2001 to June 2003) and 10 patients with sporadic colorectal polys (as control group) were subjected to optical fundus examination. The incidence, morphological feature and distribution of CHRPE were analyzed. Results: Seventeen (81.8%) of the 22 FAP patients were found to have CHRPE in optical fundus. The lesions showed a bilateral and multiple(≥2) distribution along the peripheral vessels with oval pigmentation. One patient was found to have CHRPE in the control group. Conclusion: Optical fundus examination is a highly sensitive and specific adjuvant diagnosis for FAP. It is a safe and effective way for screening FAP in FAP family members.

Objective: To analyze the expression of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis and to discuss the possible role of COX-2 in adenoma formation and cancerization. Methods: The aden oma specimens were obtained from 10 FAP patients (2001-2003). Different sizes (≤0.5 cm and ≥1 cm) of adenomas and cancerous adenomas were subjected to Envision immunohistochemistry for analysis of COX-2 protein expression. Results: COX-2 was mainly detected in epithelial cells, with some in interstitial cells. When ≤0.5 cm, COX-2 expression in adenomatous epithelial cells was stronger than in normal epithelial cells (P> 0.05); the same was true when ≥1.0 cm, but with statistical significance (P<0.01). The expression of COX-2 in different sizes of adenomas was significantly different (P<0.01), with that in ≥1.0 cm adenomas stronger than that in ≤0.5 cm adenomas. Expression of COX-2 in cancerous adenoma was stronger than that in normal epithelial cells (P<0.01) and epithelial cells of ≥1.0 cm adenomas (P>0.05). Conclusion: COX-2 may be a stimulative factor in the progression of FAP and may participate in adenoma formation and cancerization. Selective inhibition of COX-2 may be an effective strategy for preventing FAP.

Two parental strains BY-14 and BY-6,with high leavening ability in lean and sweet dough respectively,were selected.Through spore production and separation,two haploids with opposition types were selected for cross-breeding.At last one hybridization strain was obtained,with good fermentation ability as BY-14 in lean dough and better than BY-6 by 25%in sweet dough.

The secondary development of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) is an important content of TCM modernization process, as well as an important path for developing new TCM drugs. Under the guidance of the system theory, in response to the lack of the overall guideline and practical methods for the secondary development of TCMs at present, we introduced the overall thought of the secondary development of major TCM varieties, as well as the roles and contents of clinical research, pharmacology and pharmaceutics in the process of the secondary development of major TCM varieties, so as to provide systematic strategies and methods for the development of major TCM varieties.
Biomedical Research ; Drug Discovery ; methods ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Pharmacology

The secondary development of major traditional Chinese medicine varieties is one of important links during the modernization, scientification and standardization of traditional Chinese medicines. How to accurately and effectively identify the pharmacodynamic material basis of original formulae becomes the primary problem in the secondary development, as well as the bottleneck in the modernization development of traditional Chinese medicines. On the basis of the existing experimental methods, and according to the study thought that the multi-component and complex effects of traditional Chinese medicine components need to combine multi-disciplinary methods and technologies, we propose the study thought of the material basis of secondary development of major traditional Chinese medicine varieties based on the combination of in vivo and in vitro experiments. It is believed that studies on material basis needs three links, namely identification, screening and verification, and in vivo and in vitro study method corresponding to each link is mutually complemented and verified. Finally, the accurate and reliable material basis is selected. This thought provides reference for the secondary development of major traditional Chinese medicine varieties and studies on compound material basis.
Absorption ; Animals ; Drug Discovery ; methods ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Adult ; Deferoxamine ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; chemically induced ; Male ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; drug therapy

Animals ; Guanylate Cyclase ; metabolism ; Hypercapnia ; metabolism ; Hypoxia ; metabolism ; Lung ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; metabolism ; Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase

Adult ; Bone Neoplasms ; Humans ; Male ; Nose Neoplasms ; Osteoblastoma ; Skull Base Neoplasms

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; etiology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male