The efficacy of colorectal cancer treatment is not very satisfactory.Conventional morphologic imagings are limited in the diagnosis and in the applications of multimodality treatment for colorectal cancer.18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET-CT can play a pivotal role in detecting metabolism changes and in the localization of lesions concurrently.It is valuable in the assessment of responses to therapy,prediction of prognosis and selecting modality management and monitoring postoperative recurrence.The right-moment and proper application of PET-CT can increase the therapeutic efficacy of colorectal cancer.

AIM: To investigate the early changes of retinal function in diabetic patients detected by multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG).METHODS: The first-order kernel responses of mfERG were recorded from eyes of 33 normal control subjects,63 diabetic patients without retinopathy and 43 diabetic patients with background retinopathy. The response densities and implicit times of N1 and P1 were compared among the control, diabetic patients without retinopathy and diabetic patients with retinopathy.RESULTS: The response densities of N1 and P1 in central 3 rings were reduced significantly in diabetic eyes with and without retinopathy. And the implicit times of N1 and P1 were delayed significantly only in diabetic eyes with retinopathy.CONCLUSION: mfERG can detect the early changes of retinal function quantitatively in diabetic patients. Analysis of response densities and implicit times of N1 and P1 can reflect the progress of local retinal dysfunction in diabetes.

Objective:To evaluate the value of Facial Emotion Recognition Test (FERT) in the early diagnosis of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).Methods:A total of 27 patients with mild bvFTD, 27 patients with mild Alzheimer′s disease (AD) and 54 normal controls were successively collected in the Memory Clinic of Department of Neurology,Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2018 to July 2019. The subjects were assessed by the FERT and a battery of neuropsychological background tests including Mini-Mental State Examination, Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), etc. The discriminatory power of the FERT was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).Results:The average FERT scores of bvFTD, AD and control groups were 18.00 (14.00, 21.00), 25.00 (21.00, 28.00) and 28.00 (26.00, 30.00) respectively. The FERT scores of bvFTD group were significantly lower than those of control groups ( H=-55.278, P<0.001) and AD groups ( H=-28.407, P=0.002). ROC results showed that the FERT had a high discriminatory power for differentiating bvFTD from the controls, with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.969 (95% CI 0.931-1.000, P<0.001). Both the sensitivity and specificity were 92.6% with a cut-off value at 24. For differentiating bvFTD group from AD group, the AUC value for the FERT was 0.850 (95% CI 0.749-0.951, P<0.001), with sensitivity of 81.5% and specificity of 71.4% with a cut-off value of 22. Compared with the AUC values for the FAB and AVLT-Delayed Recall (0.776 and 0.714), the AUC value for the FERT was slightly higher, though the differences among them were not statistically significant. Conclusions:Disturbance of emotion processing is presented in the early stage of bvFTD. FERT is one of the sensitive and specific neuropsychological indicators for the early diagnosis of bvFTD.

Objective To evaluate the safety, feasibility and clinical value of real-time navigation system with CT/MR and sonographic images for percutaneous ablation of hepatic malignancies poorly defined on conventional ultrasonography. Methods Fifteen patients with 22 hepatic malignant lesions underwent percutaneous ablation guided by virtual navigation system with ultrasonography. Treatment response was assessed by the contrast CT/MR followed up one month after procedures. Results Complete tumor necrosis was achieved in 20 lesions, but 2 lesions showed residual tumor in the ablation zone. No treatment associated complications were found. Conclusions The application of virtual navigation system is of clinical value in localization of lesions, guidance of biopsy and assessment of the interventional therapy in patient with hepatic malignancies, particularly for those with poorly identified lesions by conventional ultrasonography.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of acetylcholine (ACh) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammatory model of rat alveolar macrophages, and to observe the effect of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine (Phy) on the anti-inflammatory effect of ACh.Methods The rat alveolar macrophages NR8383 were cultured in vitro, which were divided into five groups: blank control group, LPS group (stimulated with 1 mg/L LPS for 12 hours), LPS+ ACh group (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100μmol/L of ACh were added for 5 minutes before LPS stimulation), LPS+ Phy group (1 mmol/L Phy was added for 5 minutes before LPS stimulation), and LPS+ ACh+ Phy group (1 mmol/L Phy and 10μmol/L ACh were added for 5 minutes before LPS stimulation). The supernatants were collected in each group, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assay the contents of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukins (IL-1β, and IL-6). The activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE ) in the supernatant was also determined.Results① The contents of TNF-α (ng/L: 605.09±57.13 vs. 34.07±8.62), IL-1β (ng/L: 377.09±28.55 vs. 32.33±10.62) and IL-6 (ng/L: 558.04±77.45 vs. 42.62±11.21) in the LPS group were significantly higher than those in the blank control group (allP< 0.05). These results indicated that the inflammatory model of rat alveolar macrophages was constructed successfully.② ACh with the final concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, and 1μmol/L had less influence on the production of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the culture supernatants of alveolar macrophages stimulated with LPS compared with LPS group (allP> 0.05). Nevertheless, 10μmol/L and 100μmol/L ACh notably reduced the production of TNF-α (ng/L: 451.19±30.67, 332.19±32.19 vs. 604.96±22.56), IL-1β(ng/L: 261.08±24.78, 143.98±28.39 vs. 367.06±10.44) and IL-6 (ng/L: 342.75±54.60, 235.48±29.75 vs. 562.69±63.34) in the culture supernatants compared with the LPS group (allP< 0.05).③ The activity of AChE in the LPS group was significantly higher than that in the blank control group (kU/L: 5.21±0.63 vs. 3.09±0.10,P< 0.05). The activity of AChE was successfully inhibited by 1 mmol/L acetylcholinesterase inhibitor Phy pretreatment compared with that in the LPS group (1.51±0.12 vs. 5.21±0.63,P< 0.05).④ The level of TNF-α (ng/L: 183.17±35.44 vs. 451.19±30.67), IL-1β (ng/L: 91.49±12.27 vs. 261.08±24.78) and IL-6 (ng/L: 108.17±22.82 vs. 342.75±54.60) in the culture supernatants of LPS+ ACh+ Phy group was significantly decreased as compared with LPS+ ACh group (allP< 0.05).Conclusions ACh with the final concentrations of 10μmol/L and 100μmol/L can inhibit the LPS induced inflammatory reaction in alveolar macrophages. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitor Phy can reinforce the ACh-mediated anti-inflammatory effect on alveolar macrophages inflammatory model.

Objective To explore the impact factors for post-thaw embryo survival rate and clinical pregnancy rate in frozen-thawed embryo transfer program. Methods The clinical data of 573 cycles of frozen-thawed embryo transfers were retrospectively analysed. Groups were divided according to the pre-freeze embryo quality, pre-freeze embryonic developmental stage, frozen-thawed embryo quality and cryopreservation technique, respectively, and post-thaw embryo survival rates and/or clinical pregnancy rates were compared among groups. Results The clinical pregnancy rate of high quality pre-freeze embryo was significantly higher than that of low quality pre-freeze embryo (31.8% vs 20.0%) (P< 0.05). There was no significant difference in the post-thaw survival rates and clinical pregnancy rates between embryos frozen at day 2 of ferrtilization and those frozen at day 3 of ferrtilization(79. 1% vs 82.9% and 25.5% vs 31.2%, respectively) (P>0.05). The clinical pregnancy rates of the transfer cycles only with fully intact embryos and with mixed embryos were significantly higher than that only with partially damaged embryos(36.7% vs 24.1% and 29.2% vs 24.1%, respectively)(P<0.05). The post-thaw survival rate and post-thaw high-quality embryo rate were significantly higher in those processed with modified cryopreservation technique than in those processed with original cryopreservation technique (82.0% vs 66.3% and 50.0% vs 27.5%, respectively)(P<0.05). Conclusion Pre-freeze embryo quality, post-thaw embryo survival rate and post-thaw embryo quality have a positive correlation to subsequent clinical pregnancy rate. Favorable cryopreservation technique may ensure the success of post-thaw embryo recovery and transfer.

AIMTo study the effects and mechanism of naloxone on the febrile response in IL-1beta-induced fever rats.

METHODSThe fever model was established by intracerebroventricular injection of IL-1beta in rats. The effect of naloxone on the body temperature of feverrats was observed. The contents of cAMP in hypothalamus and AVP in VSA were detected.

RESULTSNaloxone alleviated IL-1beta-induced fever and the contents of cAMP in hypothalamus and AVP in VSA were correspondingly decreased (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONNaloxone could inhibit IL-1beta-induced fever in rats, and the mechanism might be due to inhibiting synthesis of cAMP in hypothalamus and promoting release of AVP in VSA.

Animals ; Arginine Vasopressin ; metabolism ; Cyclic AMP ; metabolism ; Fever ; metabolism ; Hypothalamus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Naloxone ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Septum of Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism

Objective To study the inhibitory effect of pterin acid (PTA) against ricin and recombinant ricin A chain protein. Methods Luciferase protein synthesis inhibition assay in a cell-free system and in vitro cytotoxicity experiments were performed to assess the biological activity of ricin and rRTA treated with PTA.Results The result showed that PTA could significantly inhibit the activity of ricin and rRTA in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusion PTA might be used as a small molecular probe to develop an evaluating system for ricin/RTA small molecular inhibitor in vitro. The cell-free system adopted in the current study could also serve as a necessary basis for screening some novel small molecular compounds against ricin and RTA in the future.

To study the protective mechanism of Danhong injection on brain microvascular endothelial cells (rBMECs) injured by hypoxic. In the experiment, primary suckling mouse's rBMECs cells were collected and identified with factor VIII to establish the 4 h injury model. Meanwhile, rBMECs were given Danhong injection (25, 50, 100 mL . L-1), and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the malonyldialdehyde (MDA) level were detected by the biochemical method. Cell MMP-9, ICAM-1 and P53 mRNA expression levels were detected by RT-PCR method. Changes in cells' microscopic structure were observed by transmission electron microscope. According to the results, primary rBMECs were notably injured by hypoxia. Compared with model group, Danhong injection (50, 100 mL . L-1) could remarkably resist the injury induced by hypoxic, increase intracellular SOD activity, decrease MDA level and significantly down-regulate ICAM-1, MMP-9 and P53 mRNA expressions. Danhong injection (100 mL . L-1) could protect the cells' normal morphology and microscopic structure, maintain the close intercellular junction, and inhibit the hypoxia-induced cell apoptosis. The results showed that Danhong injection plays a significant role in protecting rBMECs injured by hypoxia. Its mechanism may be related to the enhancement of cells' antioxidant capacity, the inhibition of inflammatory response and the cell apoptosis.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Brain ; metabolism ; Cell Hypoxia ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Endothelial Cells ; ultrastructure ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Injections ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; genetics ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; genetics

To study the protective effect of combined administration of active ingredients of Danhong on cultured primary mice's brain microvascular endothelial cells (rBMECs) injured by hypoxia. Primary mice's brain micro-vascular endothelial cells were cultured to establish the 4 h hypoxia model. Meanwhile, active ingredients (protocatechuic aldehyde, salvianolic acid B, hydroxysafflor yellow A and tanshinol) of Danhong were administered in rBMECs. The non-toxic dosage was determined by MTT. The leakage of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), cell superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and MDA level were detected by the colorimetric method. The expressions of ICAM-1, MMP-9, P53 mRNA were detected by RT-PCR method. Changes in rBMECs cell cycle and early apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. Danhong's active ingredients and prescriptions 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 could be combined to significantly restrain LDH in hypoxic cells supernatant. Prescriptions 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 could significantly enhance SOD activity in anoxic cells; Prescriptions 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 could significantly decrease the MDA level; Prescriptions 1, 2, 6, 7, 9 could significantly inhibit the early rB-MECs apoptosis induced by hypoxia. After hypoxia, the up-regulated P53 mRNA expression could cause retardation in G, phase and promote cell apoptosis. This proved that the regulatory function of P53 gene lay in monitoring of calibration points in G, phase. Prescriptions 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 could significantly down-regulate the P53 mRNA expression; Prescriptions 1, 4, 7, 8, 9 could significantly down-regulate the ICAM-1 mRNA expression; Prescriptions 1, 3, 6, 9 could significantly down-regulate the MMP-9 mRNA expression. The combined administration of Danhong's active ingredients showed a significant protective effect on primary cultured rBMECs injury induced by hypoxia Its mechanism may be related to the enhancement of cellular antioxidant capacity and the inhibition of inflammatory response and cell apoptosis. This study could provide ideas for researching prescription compatibility, and guide the clinical medication.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Brain ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Endothelial Cells ; drug effects ; Hypoxia ; drug therapy ; Microvessels ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley