BACKGROUNDWriter's cramp is a type of task specific idiopathic focal dystonia and has an incompletely understood pathophysiology. The present study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate what type of brain activity correlates with writer's cramp and its physiological mechanism.

METHODSTen patients with writer's cramp were age and gender matched with ten healthy control subjects in a block design. Subjects were scanned by fMRI while performing three consecutive, visually instructive, tasks with MR Vision 2000: (1) suppositional writing, (2) writing with finger and (3) writing with a pencil. Data was analysed using AFNI software for groups of patients and controls.

RESULTSThe patients with writer's cramp showed significant activations of contralateral basal ganglion (especially the putamen), motor cortex (primary sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor cortex, premotor cortex) and ipsilateral cerebellar hemisphere in writing with a pencil compared with controls; whereas there was no obvious difference between patients and controls during writing with finger. Furthermore, these differences exist in the subtractive activated maps for "writing with a pencil" minus "writing with finger" of patients, when the activation of subcortical area and insula in controls disappeared.

CONCLUSIONSAbnormal activations of contralateral basal ganglion, motor cortex and ipsilateral cerebellar hemisphere of the patients with writer's cramp suggest dysfunction of basal ganglion and subcortical-cortical loop might play a pathophysiological role in writer's cramp.

Adult ; Aged ; Basal Ganglia ; physiopathology ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Cerebral Cortex ; physiopathology ; Dystonic Disorders ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography

BACKGROUNDSome studies indicated that cases of idiopathic oculomotor nerve palsy can be explained by vascular compression of the oculomotor nerve. Vascular contact with or compression to the cisternal segment of the oculomotor nerve has been reported frequently in asymptomatic individuals. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the relationship between the oculomotor nerve's cisternal segment and adjacent arteries in asymptomatic patients and the prevalence of this occurrence via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

METHODMRI of bilateral oculomotor nerves in 93 asymptomatic patients were reviewed. The oculomotor nerve-artery relationship was evaluated and classified from levels 1 to 3, representing the degrees of contact on oblique transverse and oblique sagittal reconstructed MRI. Prevalence of the nerve-artery relationship at each level was described. The correlation between the nerve-vessel relationship (levels) and the age was analyzed by Spearman's rank correlation analysis.

RESULTSCisternal segment of the oculomotor nerve did not have contact with any artery (level 1) in 27.4% (51/186) nerves. One hundred nerves made contact with at least one artery (level 2), but their shapes or configurations were not changed; 35 nerves (18.8%) were displaced or distorted due to artery compression (level 3). The posterior cerebral artery had the greatest incidence of making contact with or compressing the cisternal segment of the oculomotor nerve (58.1%). No significant correlation between nerve-vessel relationship (levels) and the age was found in this study.

CONCLUSIONSWhether oculomotor nerve contact with or compression by one or more arteries is of high prevalence in asymptomatic individuals as evidenced by MRI examination. There is no correlation with individual age. Discretion should be used when making an etiological diagnosis of vascular compression for patients with oculomotor nerve palsy. Further investigation of other causes is warranted.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nerve Compression Syndromes ; complications ; pathology ; Oculomotor Nerve ; pathology ; Oculomotor Nerve Diseases ; etiology ; pathology ; Young Adult

Knee osteoarthritis(KOA)is a common disease in the elderly.Pain,the most common symptom of KOA,is seen in more than 65% of the patients as main manifestation in clinic.At present,there is no clear pathogenesis and specific treat-ment of KOA.Conservative treatment,mainly including the control of inflammation and delay of cartilage degeneration,is for controlling pain and other clinical symptoms.KOA belongs to "Bone Bi" and "Bi syndrome" of traditional Chinese medicine. By reviewing the literature on the treatment experience of KOA in orthopedics and traumatology of TCM and combining the ex-perience of department of orthopedics and traumatology in our hospital,diagnostic and therapeutic ideology centered by the control of intractable pain of KOA is put forward with the therapeutic system guided by the concept of truncating and reversing and the combination of cold and heat.

OBJECTIVEWe aim to describe the environment iodine concentration in salt, water and soil along Zhejiang Province coast in the China foreland. It will be helpful for us to judge whether this area is insufficient in iodine and universal iodized salt is necessary or not.

METHODSWe collected iodized salt samples, drinking water samples (tap water in the towns, and well water or spring water in the villages), water samples from different sources (ditches, lakes, rivers) and soil samples through random sampling in June, 2005. Salt, water and soil iodine was detected by arsenic-cerium redox method. Statistical analysis was expressed as mean+/-SEM by Windows SPSS 13.0.

RESULTS(1) The iodine concentration in salt was 27.9+/-4.33 mg/kg (n=108). (2) Seventy-five water samples were collected. The water iodine value was 0.6-84.8 microg/L (mean of 11.66 mug/L). The watershed along the Qiantang River has significantly higher iodine content than the water in Lin'an in mountain area (P<0.01). The iodine content and mean iodine content of tap water, well or spring water and natural water sources were 4.30+/-2.43 microg/L (n=34), 23.59+/-27.74 microg/L (n=19) and 12.72+/-10.72 microg/L (n=22) respectively. This indicated that among environmental water sources, the ditch iodine content was the highest with river water iodine being the lowest (P<0.01). (3) Soil iodine value was 0.11-2.93 mg/kg (mean of 1.32 mg/kg). Though there was no statistical difference of soil iodine in different districts (P=0.131), soil iodine content correlated positively with water iodine content.

CONCLUSIONIodine concentration in salt accords with national policy of adding iodine in salt. Foreland has more iodine in water than mountain area. The data reflected that water and soil iodine in foreland area was not high, which suggests universal iodized salt should be necessary. Environment iodine has relatively close association with pollution.

China ; Iodine ; analysis ; Rivers ; chemistry ; Sodium Chloride ; analysis ; Sodium Chloride, Dietary ; analysis ; Soil ; analysis ; Water ; analysis ; Water Supply ; analysis

The effect of sterilization methods on biological activity of fibronectin on the surface of biomaterials was elaborated in the present study. Sterile protein- modified biomaterials were fabricated by microfilter filtration and UV irradiation, respectively. UV irradiation altered the conformation of surface- adsorbed fibronectin and further affected the attachment, morphology and biological function of endothelial cells. However, microfilter filtration did not to change the normal conformation of fibronectin, or the proliferation and biological function of endothelial cells, indicating that microfilter filtration sterilization is the most suitable method for protein-substrate.
Cell Adhesion ; radiation effects ; Fibronectins ; radiation effects ; Filtration ; Prostheses and Implants ; microbiology ; Sterilization ; methods ; Ultraviolet Rays

OBJECTIVETo review the clinical characteristics of spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage.

METHODSClinical data of 42 SIH patients with cerebrospinal leakage, whose diagnosis met the criteria of the International Headache Classification, were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were divided into short (n=27) and long (n=15) course groups. The clinical data and imaging features were compared between two groups.

RESULTSThirty-nine patients (92.9%) had orthostatic headache. Compared with the short course group, the frequency of headache were significantly lower in patients with long disease duration (80% vs 100%, P =0.040); the ratio of high CSF opening pressure (>=60.0 mm H2O), the average CSF opening pressure, and the frequencies of subdural hematoma were higher in long course group than those in short course group [60.0% vs 20.8%, (64.7±42.1) vs (40.0±33.8)mm H2O, and 50.0% vs 11.6%; P=0.019, 0.038 and 0.018, respectively]. Forty-two patients underwent CT myelography;definite focal CSF leakage sites were found in all patients and multiple sites of CSF leakage in 38 patients.

CONCLUSIONAll SIH do not necessarily show the typical clinical manifestations, and cranial MRI and CT myelography are helpful in the diagnosis. Because of higher risk of subdural hemorrhage, patients with long disease duration require active intervention.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cerebrospinal Fluid Otorrhea ; complications ; Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea ; complications ; Female ; Humans ; Intracranial Hypotension ; diagnosis ; etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

The objective of this paper is to develop a fast analysis method to determine fingerprints of Radix Glycyrrhizae from different areas of China for identification and quality control. The experiments were carried out under following conditions: Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 (4.6 mm x 50 mm, 1.8 microm) column, acetonitrile and 0. 05% phosphoric acid solution as the mobile phases with gradient elution, flow rate 1.0 mL x min(-1), analysis time 11 min. The run time of the method was obviously decreased from 36 minutes to 11 minutes compared with routine HPLC method. The cluster analyses of the fingerprints of the 70 samples were performed by SPSS. The results showed that all samples were classified into 2 groups, 59 Glycyrrhiza uralensis as well as 11 G. inflata. Three compounds, liquiritin apioside, liquiritin and glycyrrhiza acid should be considered as effective references for quality control of Radix Glycyrrhizae. This method can be used widely for identification and quality control of Radix Glycyrrhizae.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Flavanones ; analysis ; Glucosides ; analysis ; Glycyrrhiza ; chemistry ; Glycyrrhizic Acid ; analysis ; Reproducibility of Results

China ; Humans ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; isolation & purification ; Quality Control ; Sputum ; microbiology ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; microbiology

Based on the deletion information of high virulent PRRSV genome, 3 oligonucleotide primer were designed and synthesized. Specific and sensitive reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays were de-veloped for the detection of high virulent PRRSV. The sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR assays were evaluated, the results showing that the detection limit of the assay was found to be 0.265 pg of tissue total RNA, and the protocol have no cross-reaction with classical swine fever virus, porcine circovirus type 2,pseudorabies virus, streptococcus, haemophilus parasuis and Escherichia coli. Then 36 cell cultures, two PRRSV live vaccine strains and 184 clinical specimens from 52 farms were tested. Five PRRSV field iso-lates were the high virulent PRRSV; two PRRSV live vaccine strains from normal PRRSV, and 123 speci-mens from 42 farmer were positive (only 1 specimen was normal PRRSV). This RT-PCR method proved to be accurate differential diagnosis of the high virulent PRRSV and normal PRRSV with the characteristics of rapidity, sensitivity and specificity, and has a strong clinical relevance.

Objective To investigate the Wallerian degeneration of neural fiber tract in medulla and bilateral middle cerebellar peduncle following pontine infarction and to explore its impacts on neurological recovery.Methods Fourteen patients with a recent unilateral pontine infarct underwent the diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)and evaluations with the NIH stroke scale(NIHSS),the Fugl-Meyer motor scale(FM), ataxia rating scale(ARS)and the Barthel index(BI)at the first week(W1),the fourth(W4)and twelfth week(W12)respectively.Mean diffusivity(MD)and fractional anisotropy(FA)were measured at pons, medulla and middle cerebellar peduncle.Fourteenth age and gender matched volunteers underwent a DTI were studied as controls.Results Compared with the matched regions in controls,the FA values of infarct side medulla and bilateral middle cerebellar peduncle in patients significantly decreased at W1,W4 and W12(on the infarct side of medulla:W1:0.43?0.01;W4:0.37?0.02;W12:0.30?0.02;on the infarct side of middle cerebellar peduncle:W1:0.50?0.01;W4:0.43?0.02;W12:0.35?0.04;on the opposite side of middle cerebellar peduncle infarction:W1:0.54?0.02;W4:0.52?0.03;W12:0.47?0.04,t values are 1.92 to 28.56,P0.05 respectively).The absolute value of percent reduction of FA in infarct side medulla and bilateral middle cerebellar peduncle was correlated negatively to the absolute value of percent change of NIHSS and BI score(P