OBJECTIVETo study the diagnosis and treatment of lumbar internal disc disruption (IDD).

METHODSThirty-six patients with chronic disabling low back pain proved by discography as IDD were treated with disc excision and lumbar interbody fusion, and 8 cases were treated with PLIF, 28 with ALIF. The clinical results were evaluated by pre- and post-operative VAS, and the fusion results were evaluated by X-ray studies of the lumbosacral spine.

RESULTSThe average period of follow-up was 18 months, ranging from 6 to 26 months. Six patients treated with PLIF basically disappeared low back pain, 2 complained of mild back pain; the VAS after operation was decreased significantly in comparison with that of pre-operation (P < 0.01). Twenty-seven treated with ALIF basically disappeared low back pain; the VAS after operation was decreased significantly in comparison with that of pre-operation (P < 0.01). Fusion rate was 88% in patients who were treated with PLIF, and 97% in patients with ALIF.

CONCLUSIONDisc excision and interbody fusion is an effective method for the treatment of IDD, but the operation indications should be known well.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Intervertebral Disc ; diagnostic imaging ; Low Back Pain ; etiology ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; diagnostic imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Diseases ; complications ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Spinal Fusion ; instrumentation ; methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective To assess the clinical value of HPV genotyping in follow-up after treatment for cervical high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). Methods Two hundred and thirty eight patients with HSIL receiving conization in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from Dec, 2006 to Jan, 2009 were accrued in our study. All the patients were prospectively observed after conization every 6 months for 3 times or till histologically confirmed recurrence. The items in every visit included pelvic examination, cervical cytology and HPV genotyping. Twenty-one HPV genotypes were detected by PCR-hybridization method. The last follow-up was July 31, 2010, and the median follow-up time was 28.3 months (range 6.5-43.0 months). Kaplan-Meire method as used for analyzed the median recurrent time, and the relationships between HPV status and recurrent disease were calculated by and log-rank test and Cox-regression model. Results Among the 238 patients, 110 cases (46.2%, 110/238) had positive result of HPV DNA testing at any visit. The most common HPV types detected in follow-up were HPV16 (45.6%), HPV58 (26.5%), and HPV52 (16.9%). There was no correlation between recurrent disease and any individual high risk HPV infections (P>0.05). Seventeen recurrent cases (7.1%) were identified in 238 patients within a median recurrent time of 14.9 months (range 6.0-32.1 months). In univariate analyses, HPV positive at any visit, persistent infection, multiple infection, type specific persistent infection and positive HPV at 18 months after conization were indicators for residual/recurrent disease (P<0.05). In multivariate analysis, only multiple HPV infection (HR=8.6, 95%CI:1.8-41.7, P=0.008) and type specific persistent HPV infection (HR=5.1, 95%CI: 1.0-24.8, P=0.042) had an elevated risk of recurrent disease. Conclusions HSIL with multiple HPV infection and type specific persistent HPV infection in follow-up are at high risk of recurrent disease. Patients with HPV turning into negative within 18 months after treatment have a low risk of recurrence.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) feature of multiple cerebral sclerosis (MS) for better understanding and diagnosis of this disease.

METHODSThe MRI data of 32 patients with MS were reviewed. Conventional scanning with T1WI, T2WI, Flair sequence was performed, and 26 patients underwent Gd-DTPA enhanced scanning. The MS plaques were analyzed for their locations, sizes, shapes, MR signals and enhanced features, space-occupying signs, and the related corpus callosum changes and brain atrophy. Descriptive statistical method was used for all the data.

RESULTSMRI identified MS lesions in the brain in 30 cases, with the sensitivity of 93.75%. All the MS patients had multiple lesions with predilection sites of the cortical/juxtacortical and periventricle areas, the centrum semiovale, and the corpus callosum. Most of the MS plaques were round or oval of different sizes. Bilateral lesions were almost symmetrical in distribution. Twenty patients had "rectangular demyelination" and 12 had "dirty white matter" signs, and 11 had both manifestations. The lesions were isointense, slightly hypointense or hypointense on T1WI, and hyperintense on T2WI and Flair sequences. Most of the MS plaques presented no enhancement, with occasional nodular or circular enhancement. No or slight space-occupying effect was found in the plaques. Of the 28 MS patients undergoing sagittal scanning of the corpus callosum, 17 presented with abnormal signals, with the sensitivity of 60.71% (17/28). Five patients had corpus callosum atrophy, and 10 had brain atrophy of different degrees.

CONCLUSIONThese results suggest that the corpus callosum is often compromised by the MS lesions to present diffusive, nodular, radiating signal abnormalities and irregular ependymal thickening, which can be most obvious with sagittal FLAIR imaging.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain ; pathology ; Corpus Callosum ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Sclerosis ; diagnosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo explore the role of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in neuronavigation surgery of brain tumors involving pyramidal tracts.

METHODSForty-nine patients with brain tumors involving pyramidal tracts were randomly divided into trial group (DTI navigation) and control group (traditional navigation). The patients in trial group underwent DTI and T1 weighted 3D navigational magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. The main white matter tracts were constructed by the DTI datasets, and merged to the anatomical structure, which was delineated by the T1-weighted three-dimensional fast spoiled gradient recalled sequence (3D/FSPGR). The relationship between the tumors and adjacent pyramidal tracts were segmented and reconstructed for three-dimensional visualization.

RESULTSIn 25 patients of trial group and 24 patients of control group, the statistic analysis confirmed well balance of main variations. The tumors were completely resected in 12 patients (50.0%) of control group and in 20 patients (80.0%) of trial group (P < 0.05). Postoperative aggravated contralateral extremities weakness or hemiplegia due to pyramidal tract injury occurring in 75.0% cases of control group whereas only 20.0% patients in trial group (P < 0.01). The mean Karnofsky scale were 69.58 +/- 23.49 and 84.80 +/- 23.49 respectively in control and trial groups (P < 0.05). The excellent outcome ratio (Karnofsky scale = 90 - 100) was 37.5% in control group and 72.0% in trial group respectively (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSDTI allows individual estimation of large fiber tracts of brain. Furthermore, to integrate spatial three-dimensional information concerning the white matter tracts into traditional neuronavigation images during surgery, was valuable in presenting topographical character of involving (shift or erosive) pyramidal tracts and relationship with the margins of neighboring tumors. The mapping of large fiber tracts was a safe, efficient, reliable technique. DTI should be routinely used in neuronavigation surgery of brain tumor involving pyramidal tracts to plan the optimal trajectory and ensure total resection of the lesions during operation, as well as to decrease potential disability after operation and to shorten the length of hospitalization.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Brain Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Child ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuronavigation ; methods ; Pyramidal Tracts ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo compare the sonographic findings with pathological features of ovarian thecoma, and to analyze the relationship between them.

METHODSThe sonograms of 45 ovarian thecoma cases were reviewed retrospectively and categorized into three subtypes as sound attenuation pattern, homogeneous hypoechoic pattern and solid and cystic mixed pattern. The pathological findings were classified as theca cell-predominant, fibroblast-predominant and mixed thecoma according to the cellular composition of the tumors. Hyaline degeneration and luteinization of the tumors were recorded. The pathologic findings of each subtype based on sonography were compared.

RESULTSOf the 45 patients, there were 34 (75.6%) solid ovarian lesions, 15 (33.3%) of those showed a sound-attenuation pattern with an anterior hypoechoic zone and posterior acoustic attenuation in sonography, the other 19 (42.2%) cases had homogeneous hypoechoic pattern with no posterior acoustic attenuation, and the remaining 11 (24.4%) cases presented as a solid and cystic mixed pattern. There were no significant differences in pathological cellular composition among the three sonographic subtypes. Five solid tumors containing hyaline degeneration and one with luteinization were found to have posterior acoustic attenuation. The solid and cystic mixed thecomas showed cystic degeneration and hemorrhage.

CONCLUSIONSolid ovarian thecomas usually have typical sonographic features, which may be associated with degeneration but not with cellular composition within the tumor.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; CA-125 Antigen ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; blood ; classification ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Thecoma ; blood ; classification ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color ; methods ; Young Adult

For the purpose of detecting the HBD-2 expression at protein level, the recombinant prokaryotic expression vector pGEX-1lambdaT-HBD-2 was constructed and the E. coli-based product of GST-HBD-2 fusion protein was prepared. When rabbit was immunized with the fusion protein, the anti-serum against HBD-2 was produced. After caprylic acid and ammonium sulfate precipitation, high titer of specific polyclonal antibody against HBD-2, which was detected by ELISA and Western blot, was obtained. This result suggests that recombinant peptide fusion protein could be used instead of the conjugate of peptide-albumin or peptide-thyroid globulin to produce antibody. The obtained antibodies could be used for revealing the tissue distribution of HBD-2 and the regulation of its gene expression.
Animals ; Antibodies ; isolation & purification ; metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Immunization ; Rabbits ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; immunology ; beta-Defensins ; immunology

Objective To study the clinical and MRI features of multiple sclerosis and to get a better understanding and diagnosing level of brain multiple sclerosis. Methods Twenty patients of brain multiple sclerosis were evaluated retrospectively with regard to clinical data, lesion location,shapes, MR signal and enhancement patterns, as well as the changes of corpus callosum. Results Multiple sclerosis often occurred in young and middle-aged women with acute and subacute onset. The initial symptoms included visual disturbance, acrognosis or motor disturbance. The vision-evoked potential was abnormal in most patients. Lesions were found in 18 patients by MRI scanning, the sensitivity of MKI being 90% (18/20). The distribution of lesions were observed most frequently at the two sides of periventricle, cortical and juxtacortical of frontal lobe and centrum semiovale. The shape of lesions were mostly round or ovate with different sizes. Two typical manifestations of multiple sclerosis were "right-angle demyelination sign" and "dirty-appearing white matter ". The lesions showed as isointensive or hypointensive on T1WI, hyperintensive on T2WI and Flair sequences. The lesions showed as nodular enhancement, ringlike enhancement, arc enhancement or nonenhancment on T1 enhancement scanning. Conclusions MRI appearances of multiple sclerosis have some characteristics. MRI is helpful to diagnosis and differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and also the most sensitive imaging method for multiple sclerosis.

It has been reported that baculoviruses could serve as a new gene-transfer vehicle for mammalian cells. We have previously constructed recombinant baculovirus BacV-CMV-EGFPA and have proven that mammalian cells could be effectively infected by the recombinant baculovirus. In this report, we studied the efficiency of baculovirus to deliver exogenous gene into twenty mammalian cells, including twelve human cell lines (WI-38, Hela, HepG2, 293, PLC/PRF/5, 143B, MCF-7, BGC-223, DMS 114, CNE, Raji, LCL-cm), seven murine cell lines (BNL 1ME A.7R.1, CHO-K1, L-929, JC, PT67, NIH3T3, P815) and one monkey cell line (CV1). Results showed that most mammalian cell lines could be transduced by the recombinant baculovirus, the transduction efficiencies of the human and monkey cell lines were markedly higher than that of murine cell lines, and the transduction efficiencies in adherent culture cell lines higher than that of suspend culture cell lines, implying that the infection efficiency of the baculovirus may be correlative with the organism used and the growth properties of the cell lines. The plasmid pcDNA3. 1-EGFP, which contains the CMV promoter and EGFP reporter gene, was next transfected by LipofectAMINE into a number of mammalian cells, especially those cells that were low in the baculovirus transfection. Results showed that the CMV promoter could effectively direct the expression of the reporter gene in these mammalian cells. Therefore the gene-expression efficiencies in different mammalian cell lines by the recombinant baculovirus which contains the same CMV promoter were dictated by the ability of the baculovirus to enter the cell lines. This study suggested that the recombinant baculovirus vector is more suitable for gene expression in primate adherent culture cells than in murine cells and suspend culture cells.
Animals ; Baculoviridae ; genetics ; Cytomegalovirus ; genetics ; Gene Transfer Techniques ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Spodoptera

OBJECTIVETo observe the therapeutic effect of Qilin Pills combined with bromocriptine on idiopathic hyperprolactinemic (HPRL) oligoasthenospermia.

METHODSWe conducted a randomized controlled study on 40 cases of idiopathic HPRL oligoasthenospermia, who were equally assigned to a trial group and a control group to be treated with Qilin Pills (6 g tid) combined with bromocriptine and bromocriptine alone, respectively, both for a course of 12 weeks. Then we observed the changes in the semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility and the levels of serum prolactin and testosterone, and compared the therapeutic results between the two groups before and after medication.

RESULTSCompared with the parameters before medication, both the trial and the control group showed significant improvement after treatment in sperm concentration ([11.60 +/- 3.90] x 10(6)/ml vs [28.10 +/- 13.50] x 10(6)/ml and [12.03 +/- 4.10] x 10(6)/ml vs [18.85 +/- 8.50] x 10(6)/ml), the percentage of grade a sperm ([8.75 +/- 6.65]% vs [24.35 +/- 13.25 ]% and [8.70 +/- 6.70] % vs [19.65 +/- 10.05]%), the percentage of grade a + b sperm ( [28.45 +/- 11.35]% vs [45.80 +/- 16.55]% and [27.65 +/- 10.65]% vs [35.66 +/-13.25]%), and sperm motility ([38.22 +/- 16.35]% vs [60.05 +/- 20.65]% and [37.25 +/- 15.75 ]% vs [52.65 +/- 18.25 ]%) (all P<0.01). No significant differences were found in semen volume (P>0.05). The serum prolactin levels were significantly decreased in the trial and control groups ([152.00 +/- 22.32] and [160.45 +/- 26.65] mIU/L), as compared with premedication ([482.25 +/- 65.32] and [477.32 +/- 60.25] mIU/L) (P<0.01), while the serum testosterone levels were remarkably higher ([16.35 +/- 5.52] and [11.15 +/- 4.65] nmol/L) than before treatment ([3.75 +/- 1.10] and [4.05 +/- 1.30] nmol/L) (P<0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in the serum prolactin and testosterone levels between the two groups after treatment (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONQilin Pills combined with bromocriptine have a significantly better efficacy than bromocriptine alone in the treatment of idiopathic HPRL oligoasthenospermia.

Adult ; Asthenozoospermia ; blood ; drug therapy ; Bromocriptine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hyperprolactinemia ; blood ; drug therapy ; Male ; Oligospermia ; blood ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy ; Prolactin ; blood ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo identify the genotype of RET gene in one multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A) kindred.

METHODSGenome DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leucocytes. The DNA sequence of gel-purified polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products was determined with the previously reported 6 pairs of primers of PCR amplification of 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16 exons of RETgene.

RESULTSNo abnormalities were found in exon 10, 13, 14, 15, and 16. C to G replacement in nucleotide 14 996 of exon 11 was identified in DNA samples obtained from both peripheral blood of 2 affected brothers. This missense point mutation arisen in heterozygosity and caused a substitution of Cys to Trp residue at codon 634 ( Cys 634 Trp) in RET protein.

CONCLUSIONThe genotype of the family is identified as Cys 634 Trp substitution of RET gene.

Adult ; Exons ; genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2a ; genetics ; Pedigree ; Point Mutation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret ; genetics