To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of nerve growth factor ( NGF ) on acute angle-closure glaucoma patients after trabeculetomy.METHODS: Patients with viral keratitis who underwent trabeculectomy in treatment of acute angle - closure glaucoma in Xiamen Eye Center of Xiamen University from December 2011 to October 2013 were selected and completed the treatment, 61 eyes of 45 cases were followed up. The treatment group of 23 cases (32 eyes) with acute angle-closure glaucoma patients were treated by NGF gel for 3mo after trabeculetomy, while in the control group 22 cases (29 eyes) were treated by normal saline replaced NGF. All patients were followed up for at least 12mo, visual acuity, perimetry, retinal nerve fiber layer ( RNFL) thickness and cup/disc ratio of the patients were followed up during the treatment. The safety of topical use of NGF gel was also evaluated.RESULTS:ln all patients, the intraocular pressure ( lOP) was successfully controlled under 21mmHg and the visual acuity was markedly increased in the affected eye after trabeculectomy. Compared with control group, the postoperative lOP and visual acuity had no significant differences in treatment group (P>0. 05). The average light sensitivity of perimetry and mean defect were better than that in control group postoperative 6 and 12mo; The results of optical coherent tomography ( OCT ) and Heiderburg Retina Tomography ( HRT )-Ⅲ showed that RNFL thickness was significantly greater than that in control group, while cup/disc ratio significantly less than that in control group postoperative 6 and 12mo. Ocular surface damage, corneal endothelium to reduce and other eye complication were no observed in treatment group.CONCLUSlON:Acute angle-closure glaucoma treated by NGF gel after operation is effective and safe.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of prenatal stress on neurological functions after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in adult offspring rats.

METHODSPregnant rats were randomly assigned to prenatal stress treatment, which was exposed to restraint three times daily in the last week of pregnancy, and no prenatal stress treatment. Adult male offspring rats were subjected to transient focal cerebral ischemia by MCAO. They were randomly divided into four groups: sham group, prenatal stress + sham group, MCAO group and prenatal stress + MCAO group (n = 10). After 24 hours of reperfusion, the neurological deficits were evaluated. The infarct size, cell apoptosis and expression of Caspase 3, cleaved Caspase 3 and Bcl-2 were detected.

RESULTSCompared with MCAO group, the neurological deficits, infarct size and apoptotic cells in prenatal stress + MCAO group were increased significantly (all P < 0.05). The expressions of Caspase 3 and cleaved Caspase 3 were much greater in prenatal stress + MCAO group than those of MCAO group, while the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly decreased in prenatal stress + MCAO group compared with MCAO group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPrenatal stress might exacerbate neuroloeical deficits in the offspring rats after MCAO by increasing cell apoptosis.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Female ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; physiopathology ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; physiopathology ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; physiopathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stress, Physiological

Objective:To study the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at the Pericardium Meridian on the heart function of volunteers with acute hypoxia, and to provide scientific evidence for the acupoints selection along the affected meridian in acupuncture-moxibustion therapy. Methods:Based on a self-control design, eighteen healthy volunteers were recruited in the study. Points from the Pericardium Meridian [Neiguan (PC 6), Ximen (PC 4), Quze (PC 3) and Tianquan (PC 2)], non-Pericardium Meridian point [Shousanli (LI 10)], non-meridian and non-acupoint points [1.0-1.5 cm lateral to Neiguan (PC 6) and Ximen (PC 4), respectively on both sides], and a blank control (only inhaling low-oxygen gas without EA stimulation) were selected to observe, once every week, 10 sessions in total, and only 1 acupoint was observed once. The volunteers inhaled low-oxygen gas mixture (10.8% O2 and 89.2% N2) for 30 min to imitate acute hypoxia. EA was conducted when the gas mixture was inhaled for 10 min and then lasted for 20 min; meanwhile, hemodynamic indexes such as cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI), systemic vascular resistance (SVR), systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), left cardiac work (LCW), left cardiac work index (LCWI) and heart rate (HR) were recorded on a hemodynamic monitor. Results:EA at the acupoints of Pericardium Meridian significantly down-regulated the increased CO/CI, LCW/LCWI, and HR (P<0.05), and significantly up-regulated the decreased SVR/SVRI in hypoxia (P<0.05); EA at other meridian acupoints or at non-meridian and non-acupoint points didn't produce such effects. Conclusion: EA at the Pericardium Meridian can obviously improve the cardiac hyper-activation caused by acute hypoxia in healthy volunteers.

Animals ; Cattle ; China ; epidemiology ; Echinococcosis ; epidemiology ; parasitology ; transmission ; Echinococcus granulosus ; pathogenicity ; Humans ; Seasons

AIM:To investigate the role of microRNA-101-3p (miRNA-101-3p) on the proliferation, apopto-sis and invasion of gastric cancer cells and the possible regulatory mechanisms .METHODS: The expression of miRNA-101-3p in two kinds of gastric cancer cells and a gastric mucosal cell line was detected by real -time PCR.The miRNA-101-3p was overexpressed by Lipofectamine 2000 transfection with miRNA-101-3p mimics.The effects of miRNA-101-3p on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry .The effects of miRNA-101-3p on cell proliferation and migration abilities were detected by CCK-8 assay, trypan blue exclusion test and Transwell assay .The protein expression of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 ( EZH2) was determined by Western blot .RESULTS: The expression of miRNA-101-3p in gastric cancer cells was lower than that in gastric mucosal cells (P<0.05).The gastric cancer cell MGC-803 had the low-est expression level of miRNA-101-3p.The result of flow cytometry showed that the population of S phase was reduced , and the population of G0/G1 phase and the early stage apoptotic rate were increased after the expression of miRNA-101-3p was overexpressed (P<0.05).The results of CCK-8 assay, trypan blue exclusion test and Transwell assay showed that overex-pression of miRNA-101-3p significantly reduced the proliferation and migration abilities of gastric cancer cells (P<0.05). Overexpression of miRNA-101-3p decreased the protein level of EZH2 (P<0.05).CONCLUSION:miRNA-101-3p may suppresses the gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration , and promotes the gastric cancer cell apotosis by down-regula-tion of EZH2.

OBJECTIVETo observe the pregnancy outcome among patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

METHODSData associated with pregnancy, delivery and neonate from the patients or patient's spouse who conceived while receiving TKIs were collected retrospectively.

RESULTSTwo young female patients (who had been on imatinib therapy for 90 and 91 months, respectively) and spouses of 10 male patients (involving 7 patients who had received imatinib for a median of 60 months and 3 who had received dasatinib for 2.5 months to 7 months, respectively) with median age of 33.5 years (range 26 - 46 years) conceived and gave birth to 12 babies. One woman took imatinib throughout her pregnancy except one month. The other one took imatinib throughout her pregnancy and had breast-fed while on imatinib therapy for nearly half a year postpartum. Among the 12 babies, one was born prematurely with low birth weight and hypospadias (surgical repair after birth), the others were all healthy with no congenital defects. The median age of the children at the date of this report is 17.5 months (range 3 to 101 months), and they all have a normal pattern of growth and development.

CONCLUSIONSConception among patients with CML while receiving TKIs may result in normal pregnancies. The possible effects of TKIs on birth abnormalities cannot be ruled out. It is recommended that childbearing female patients should be advised to practice adequate methods of contraception and should not breast-feed while on TKIs therapy. In cases of accidental pregnancy, risk/benefit evaluations must be carried out carefully on an individual basis. No special precautions apply for male patients being treated with imatinib.

Adult ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzamides ; Dasatinib ; Female ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Infant ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Piperazines ; therapeutic use ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Pyrimidines ; therapeutic use ; Retrospective Studies ; Thiazoles ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical and pathologic characteristics of poorly differentiated cutaneous angiosarcoma of scalp.

METHODSEight cases of poorly differentiated cutaneous angiosarcoma of scalp were enrolled into this study. The clinical manifestations and histopathologic features were analyzed. Immunohistochemical study for CD31, CD34, factor VIII-related antigen, vimentin, AE1/AE3, CAM5. 2, epithelial membrane antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen was performed.

RESULTSThe mean age of the patients was 69 years. The male-to-female ratio was 5 : 3. The tumor manifested clinically as bruise-like lesion in early phase, indurated erythematous plaque accompanied by nodules, ulcerations and bleeding in advanced phase. Histologically, the tumor was composed of solid sheets of undifferentiated spindle cells which were not easily recognizable as vascular in origin. Nuclear atypia was always present. The tumor cells in all of the 8 cases strongly expressed CD31, factor VIII-related antigen and vimentin. Weak expression of CD34, AE1/AE3 and CAMS. 2 was noted in 2, 4 and 4 cases, respectively. The staining for epithelial membrane antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen and S-100 was negative. Conclusions Angiosarcoma needs to be excluded by histologic examination whenever bruise-like and erythematous lesions occurring on scalp skin of elderly patients. The endothelial origin of the tumor cells can be confirmed with immunostaining for CD31, CD34 and factor VIII-related antigen.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, CD34 ; immunology ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; analysis ; Cell Adhesion Molecules ; Cell Differentiation ; Endothelium ; metabolism ; Female ; Hemangiosarcoma ; immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; immunology ; Scalp ; pathology ; Skin Neoplasms ; immunology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Vimentin ; analysis

Objectives: To explore the incidence and factors of severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to probe their impacts on cytogenetic and molecular responses, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) . Methods: Data of newly diagnosed patients with CML in the chronic phase (CP) and/or accelerated phase (AP) were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Results: 855 CML patients [including 744 (87%) in the CP and 111 (13.0%) in the AP] were included in this study. 523 (61.2%) patients were male with a median age of 39 years (range, 14-87 years) . 749 (87.6%) patients received imatinib, 93 (10.9%) nilotinib, and 13 (1.5%) dasatinib, respectively as front-line therapy. At a median treatment of 1 month (range, 0.1-7.0 months) , 137 (16.0%) developed ≥grade 3 leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia and recovered 0.6 month (range, 0.3-6.5 months) . Multivariate analysis showed that female gender (OR=1.5, 95%CI 1.0-2.2, P=0.033) , WBC ≥100×10⁹/L (OR=1.9, 95%CI 1.3-2.8, P=0.001) , CP in Sokal high-risk (OR=2.2, 95%CI 1.2-3.9, P=0.005) , AP with ≥15% blast cells in blood or bone marrow (OR=5.1, 95%CI 1.9-13.3, P=0.001) were factors associated with higher incidence of ≥grade 3 leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia. Severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia with time of drug discontinuance >2 weeks was associated with lower probabilities of achieving complete cytogenetic (OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.3-0.6, P<0.001) , severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia, no matter the time of drug discontinuance >2 weeks or ≤2 weeks, were associated with lower probabilities of achieving major molecular responses (OR=0.3, 95%CI 0.2-0.5, P<0.001; OR=0.7, 95%CI 0.5-1.0, P=0.036) and MR4.5 (OR=0.2, 95%CI 0.1-0.5, P=0.002; OR=0.7, 95%CI 0.4-1.1, P=0.110) ; however, those had no impacts on PFS and OS. Conclusions: Severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia were common adverse events during TKI therapy. Female patients, WBC ≥100×10⁹/L at diagnosed, CP in Sokal high-risk, CML-AP with ≥15% blast cells in blood or bone marrow were at high risk for higher incidence of severe leukopenia and/or thrombocytopenia. Those severe adverse events had impacts on lower cytogenetic and molecular response.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Dasatinib ; Female ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Drugs, Generic ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate/therapeutic use* ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive/drug therapy* ; Pyrimidines/therapeutic use* ; Quality of Life ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To explore the genetic basis for a fetus featuring oligodactyly.Methods:A fetus with hand deformity identified by ultrasound at the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Hubei Province on October 20, 2018 was selected as the study subject. Clinical information and ultrasonographic finding of the pregnant woman were collected. Following elected abortion, umbilical cord and peripheral venous blood samples of the couple were collected for the extraction of genomic DNA. Copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) and trio-whole exome sequencing (trio-WES) were carried out. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing.Results:Ultrasonographic examination at 30 + 2 weeks of gestation revealed that the fetus had small right hand with absence of 2nd ~ 5th fingers, whilst its left hand had appeared to be normal. By CNV-seq, no pathogenic or likely pathogenic copy number variation (CNV) (> 100 kb) was detected in the fetus. Trio-WES revealed that the fetus had harbored a novel heterozygous c.3298G>A (p.Val1100Met) variant of the SMC3 gene. The variant has not been recorded in the population databases, and was predicted to be deleterious by several bioinformatics software and evolutionarily conserved based on multiple sequence alignment analysis. Sanger sequencing showed that neither parent has carried the same variant. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the variant was predicted to be likely pathogenic (PS2+ PM2_Supporting+ PP3). Conclusion:The fetus was diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, for which the novel heterozygous c.3298G>A variant of the SMC3 gene may be accountable.