AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the expression of nerve growth factor(NGF) in spinal dorsal horn following crushed spinal cord injury. METHODS: The adult Srague-Dawley rat model of crushed spinal cord injury was established by the method in our laboratory, and intact spinal cord was used as control. The rats were sacrificed respectively after 24 hours, 7 days, and 21 days of operation, and the L3 spinal segments were removed out and fixed in 4% polyformaldehyde. The segments were sectioned into sections of 20 μm in thickness. The sections were stained with anti-NGF antibody by ABC method of immunohistochemistry technique. The immunoreactive intensity of NGF and the number of positive neurons as well as glial cells in dorsal horn were observed and counted under light microscope. RESULTS: The number of positive cells and immunoreactive intensity of NGF increased gradually in the dorsal horn at 24 hours, 7 days and 21 days following crushed spinal cord injury compared with control group (P＜0.01). CONCLUSION: These results indicated that NGF plays an important role in the postoperative reaction during the early period of the crushed spinal cord injury.

AIM: It is well known that different injuries will result in different consequences. In this paper, we investigated the morphological change of spinal cord following crushed, hemi-sectioned and transected injury. METHODS: Sixty Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: intact group, crushed spinal cord injury group (cSCI), hem-sectioned SCI group (hSCI) and transitioned SCI group (tSCI). The models of SCI were established by the method in our laboratory. The animals in each group were sacrificed respectively at 24 hours, 7 and 24 days after operation. The L2 spinal cord which located in the caudal of injury site was taken respectively from each animal in each group and sectioned into frozen sections (20 μm). The sections were stained by hematoxylin and observed under light microscope. The number of neurons in dorsal and ventral horn was also counted. RESULTS: In cSCI group, some neurons appear to atrophy compared with that of intact group, but the number of neurons did not decrease apparently than that of intact group (P＞0.05). Comparatively, some cavities were observed in dorsal and ventral horn in hemi-sectioned and transitioned SCI group. And the number of neurons in dorsal horn and ventral horn decreased greatly at 24 hours, 7 and 21 days compared with intact group (P＜0.05). The results indicated that the decrease of neuronal number in dorsal horn and ventral horn after injury resulted from hSCI and tSCI, but not from cSCI. As a result, some different strategies should be considered for different injuries. For example, some neurotrophic factors may be useful in cSCI, but, many neurons have disappeared following hSCI and tSCI, therefore, other strategies that increase the number of neurons should be considered too. CONCLUSION: Our results provide the important morphological evidences on the change of spinal cord following cSCI, hSCI and tSCI. The data will be useful in treatment of SCI in the future.

Objective To analyze the efficacy of early management of eomplications in patients with multi-ple traumas by applying the damage control theory. Method All total of 116 patients admitted to Wuhan Tongji Hospital between Jan 2006 and Jan 2008 were included in this retrospective study and were classified according to treatment method. Overall, 55 cases underwent damage control operations and 61 cases underwent conventional management. The groups of patients were compared in terms of parameters such as length of operation time, time to resuscitate from shock, lethal triad of death (LTD), complications and treatment outcomes after operation. Results The length of operation time was (67.43±19.52) min, resuscitation time from shock was (6.77±3.16) h and LTD was (11.54±4.10) h in the damage control group, and (163.95±55.41) min, (22.51±11.65) h and (34.55±5.63) h, respectively, in the conventional group, with significant differences between the two groups (P< 0.01). The per capita complication and mortality rates were 227.27 % and 3.64 %, respectively, in the dam-age control group and 363.93 % and 9.84%, respectively, in the conventional group (P <0.05). Couclusions Here, we demonstrated that early management of patients with multiple traumas undergoing operations by apply-ing the damage control theory significantly decreased the operation time, and decreased time to resuscitation from shock and LTD. Furthermore, this approach significantly reduced the incidence of comphcations and the mortality rate of patients with severe multiple traumas.

The incidence of colon cancer has been increasing in recent years with the improvement in living standard, and becomes one of the leading causes of cancer-related death. While radical surgery remains the primary choice for colon cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy has significantly improved the successful rate of surgery and increased postoperative survival. In addition to traditional chemotherapy with 5-Fu or oxliplatin, molecular targeted drugs lead to a higher response rate and show its dramatic effect on disease-recurrence time. However some side effects such as disease progression during chemotherapy, bleeding or liver toxicity should be concerned. In addition, indications for neoadjuvant chemotherapy do not reach a consensus. In the future, these controversies may be solved based on some large randomized controlled trials.
Colonic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Fluorouracil ; Humans ; Neoadjuvant Therapy

Objective:To evaluate the effect of ischemic preconditioning combined with dexmedetomidine on lung injury induced by limb ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery.Methods:Seventy-five patients of both sexes, aged 50-89 yr, with body mass index of <35 kg/m 2, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅱ or Ⅲ, scheduled for elective lower extremity surgery with tourniquet, were divided into 4 groups using a random number table method: control group (group C, n=17), ischemic preconditioning group (group IP, n=19), dexmedetomidine group (group D, n=19) and ischemic preconditioning combined with dexmedetomidine group (group IPD, n=20). The patients underwent three cycles of 5 min ischemia which was induced by a tourniquet placed on the upper extremity and inflated to 200 mmHg, followed by 5 min deflation at 24 h before surgery in group IP and group IPD.In D and IPD groups, dexmedetomidine was intravenously infused at a loading dose of 0.5 μg/kg over 15 min starting from the time point after the patients were in the supine position, followed by an infusion of 0.5 μg·kg -1·h -1 until the end of surgery, while the equal volume of normal saline was given instead in group C. Before using the the tourniquet (T 0), immediately after loosing the tourniquet (T 1) and at 24 h after surgery (T 2), mean arterial pressure and heart rate (HR) were recorded.Arterial blood samples were collected for blood gas analysis at T 0 and T 1, and pH value, arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO 2), arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO 2) and lactic acid concentration (Lac) were recorded.Alveolar-arterial oxygen partial pressure difference (P A-aDO 2), oxygenation index (OI) and respiratory index (RI) were calculated.The occurrence of acute lung injury (ALI) was recorded from T 1 to T 2.The serum concentrations of Clara cells secrete proteins 16 (CC16) and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay from T 1 to T 2. Results:Compared with group C, HR was significantly decreased and PaCO 2 was increased in D and IPD groups, PaO 2 and OI were increased and RI was decreased in IP and IPD groups, and CC16 and MDA concentrations were decreased ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the incidence of ALI in IP and D groups ( P>0.05). Compared with group IP or group D, no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group IPD ( P>0.05). Conclusion:For the patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, both ischemic preconditioning and dexmedetomidine can reduce lung injury induced by limb I/R, but the effect of the combination is not enhanced significantly.

Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) is a serious hereditary retinal vascular disease. The clinical manifestations vary, and the severity of the patients' condition is different. In severe cases, it may lead to bilateral blindness. The pathogenic mechanism of FEVR is also complex. At present, more than ten classical and candidate pathogenic genes have been found: NDP, FZD4, LRP5, TSPAN12, CTNNB1, KIF11, ZNF408, RCBTB1, LRP6, CTNNA1, CTNND1, JAG1, ATOH7, DLG1, DOCK6, ARHGP31 and EVR3 region. These pathogenic genes are involved in Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, norrin/β-catenin pathway and Notch pathway. They regulate and affect the development of retinal blood vessels, hyaloid vascular system regression, endothelial cell connections, and blood retinal barrier homeostasis, ultimately leading to the occurrence and development of FEVR disease.

With the rapid development of fundus imaging technology, it is of great significance to establish a new naming system for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) based on the multi-mode imaging. In 2020, an international panel of retina specialists, imaging and image reading center experts, and ocular pathologists reached a consensus after repeated discussions, a new name for nAMD subtype and related lesions was established based on the previous knowledge of fundus fluorescein angiography and pathology, combining indocyanine green angiography, optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography angiography with current pathological knowledge, in order to help ophthalmologists to study nAMD. The consensus proposed the term "macular neovascularization" and classified it into type 1, type 2 and type 3. Many lesions related to macular neovascularization, such as pigment epithelial detachment, hemorrhage, fibrosis, rip of retinal pigment epithelium and so on, were named. The new designation will help improve clinical communication between different studies, establish standard definitions and terms between reading centers and researchers, and further promote the understanding and communication of nAMD among ophthalmologists.

OBJECTIVE To preliminary predict and analyze the quality marker(Q-markers)of Platycodonis Radix decoction based on the validity and measurability of traditional Chinese medicine Q-marker. METHODS The fingerprints of 20 batches of Platycodonis Radix samples were established, and the similarity was evaluated. At the same time, a "component-target-pathway" network diagram was constructed through network pharmacology to predict the potential active components of Platycodonis Radix. Mathematical analysis methods such as principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least-squares discrimination analysis were used to screen differential components; the content of candidate components were determined. RESULTS There were 19 common peaks in the established fingerprint, and 8 common components were identified as candidate active components for network pharmacology analysis. Network pharmacology indicated that 6 compounds were screened out with a high degree of connectivity. Based on the comprehensive consideration of Q-marker principle:traceability and transmissibility, specificity, efficacy, and measurability, luteolin, syringin, chlorogen acid, platycoside D, platycoside D3 and platycoside E were preliminarily predicted as potential Q-markers of platycodon. CONCLUSION The prediction analysis of Platycodonis Radix Q-marker provides a reference for the comprehensive control of the quality of Platycodonis Radix medicinal materials, and also lays a foundation for the research and exploration of the substance basis and mechanism of action of Platycodonis Radix.

OBJECTIVE To explore the improvement mechanism of Modified sanhuang ointment on anal ulcers and swelling model rats. METHODS The anal ulcer model of the rat was induced by using glacial acetic acid； the effects of Modified sanhuang ointment low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups （185， 370， 740 mg/kg）， western medicine positive control group （Compound carraghenates cream， 1 g/kg） and TCM positive control group （Mayinglong shexiang zhichuang ointments， 1 g/kg） on body weight， area of anal ulcer， grade of anal ulcer were investigated. The other groups of rats were used to induce rectal swelling models with croton oil； the effects of Modified sanhuang ointment low-dose， medium-dose and high-dose groups （185， 370， 740 mg/kg）， western medicine positive control group （Compound carraghenates cream， 1 g/kg） and TCM positive control group （Mayinglong shexiang zhichuang ointments， 1 g/kg） on the rate of rectal and anal swelling， serum contents of inflammatory factors [interleukin 2 （IL-2）， IL-4， tumor necrosis factor （TNF-α）]， pathological morphology of rectal tissue， the expression of transient receptor potential channel V1 （TRPV1） and substance P in rectal tissue and rectal vascular permeability were investigated. RESULTS In Modified sanhuang ointment， the increase in body weight was enhanced， and the area of anal ulcers， as well as the grade of anal ulcers in rats with anal ulcer models， were reduced to varying degrees； rectal tissue damage in rectal swelling model rats was improved； the rate of rectal and anal swelling， the serum contents of inflammatory factors， the expressions of TRPV1 and substance P in rectal tissue， and rectal vascular permeability were all decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The effect of Modified sanhuang ointment was better than that of western medicine positive control and TCM positive control.Modified sanhuang ointment can improve anal ulcers and swelling in rats by reducing the release of inflammatory factors， inhibiting the expression of TRPV1 and substance P.

OBJECTIVE To predict the core ingredients, targets and signaling pathways of Sanhuang ointment in the treatment of haemorrhoids based on network pharmacology, and preliminarily discuss the mechanism of action preliminarily by means of molecular docking and experimental verification. METHODS Active ingredients, targets and haemorrhoid related targets of Sanhuang ointment were obtained through literature research and database screening. Association networks were constructed and core targets were screened by Cytoscape, and gene function analysis and pathway enrichment analysis were conducted. Autodock Vina was used for molecular docking verification, and the regulatory effects of Sanhuang ointment on core targets were verified by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS The 77 active ingredients and 61 potential targets of Sanhuang ointment for treating haemorrhoids were collected. KEGG showed that Sanhuang ointment could regulate calcium signaling pathways, neuroactive ligand receptor interactions, cGMP-PKG pathway, etc. Affect 6 core targets of CGRP, NK-1R, TRPV1, VEGF, IL-6 and TNF-α. Molecular docking showed that Sanhuang ointment had a good affinity with target protein, and animal experiments verified that Sanhuang ointment could inhibit the expression of IL-6, CGRP, substance P, and promote the expression of VEGF. CONCLUSION Sanhuang ointment may act on CGRP, NK-1R and other targets, regulate Calcium signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt pathways, and exert analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis to treat haemorrhoids.