Objective To investigate the clinical application of statins for secondary prevention and its efficacy in patients with ischemic stroke.Methods A total of 300 patients with ischemic stroke were divided into statins group (n=91) and control group (n=209) according to whether statins was received or not.Serum lipid parameters,liver and kidney function,carotid artery intimamedia thickness (IMT) and plaque area were compared between the two groups.Results In 209 patients not taking statins,68 cases (32.5％) were not advised by clinic doctor; 55 cases (27.8％)were reluctant to take statins in fear of adverse reactions; 77 cases (36.8％) discontinued stains when serum lipids were normal; 3 cases (1.4％) developed skin allergic reaction and the skin rash that disappeared after stains discontinuance; 3 cases (1.4％) had elevated liver enzyme levels and the enzyme levels were declined to normal after stains discontinuance.The levels of total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were significantly lower in statin group than in control group [(4.93±0.45) mmol/L vs.(5.87±0.38) mmol/L,(1.68±0.61)mmol/L vs.(2.01±0.58) mmol/L,(2.49±0.57) mmol/L vs.(3.76±0.44) mmol/L,t=18.60,4.46,20.94,P=0.000,0.007,0.000,respectively].High density lipoprotein (HDL-C) level was significantly higher in stain group than in control group [(1.36±0.31) mmol/L vs.(1.03±0.25)mmol/L,t=9.75,P=0.001].There were no significant differences in liver and kidney function parameters such as alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,alkaline phosphatase,serum total bilirubin,direct bilirubin,indirect bilirubin,glutamyl transferase,blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine between the two groups (all P＞0.05).The carotid IMT and carotid atherosclerotic plaque area were significantly lower in stain group than in control group [(1.62 ± 0.23) mm vs.(1.74±0.31) mm,(0.57±0.12) cm2 vs.(0.65±0.18) cm2,t=3.32,3.88,P=0.008,0.002,respectively].Conclusions Most patients with ischemic stroke are still not taking statin for secondary prevention.Statins can improve the blood lipid levels and carotid arteriosclerosis status,and no obvious adverse reactions are observed.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that osteoporosis often leads to a failure in pedicle screw fixation. Considering that the use of ordinary pedicle screw fixation cannot achieve a strong and stable fixation of the osteoporotic vertebra,special measures to strengthen the internal fixation is indispensable.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of bone cement augmentation combined with expandable pedicle screw fixation on the fixation strength of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebrae.METHODS: Twenty osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral specimens were randomly divided into four groups: conventional pedicle screw group implanted with normal pedicle screw, and the other three groups implanted with expandable pedicle screw. Bone cement augmentation with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and calcium sulfate was done in the PMMA group and calcium sulfate group, respectively, followed by expandable pedicle screw implantation. No bone cement was used in the expandable pedicle screw group. The maximum axial pull-out strength and yield energy absorption value of the unilateral pedicle were detected, and the maximum removal torque of the contralateral pedicle was determined. Bone cement leakage after augmentation was observed.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the conventional pedicle screw group, the other three groups showed a significant increase in the maximum pull-out strength, maximum removal torque and yield energy absorption values (P < 0.05). Moreover, these parameters were significantly higher in the PMMA and calcium sulfate groups than the expandable pedicle screw group and conventional pedicle screw group (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the PMMA and calcium sulfate groups (P > 0.05). No leakage of bone cement was found in all the groups. To conclude, the combined use of expandable pedicle screw and can significantly enhance the stability of the osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebrae, and the PMMA and calcium sulfate cements have similar effects.

Objective To investigate the characteristics and treatment effects in patients with spinal fractures associated with dural tears.Methods A retrospective analysis was made on 185 patients with spinal fractures presenting to hospital from February 2013 to February 2015.There were 103 males and 82 females,aged 17-73 years (mean,58 years).Causes of injury were high falls in 72 patients,traffic collisions in 58,hitting by heavy objects in 41,ground-level falls in 12,and collision events in two.Cervical spine fractures were seen in 65 patients,thoracic vertebra fractures in 51,and lumbosacral vertebral fractures 69.Neurologic deficit was assessed using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score,including grade A in 24 patients,grade B in 22,grade C in 26,grade D in 37 and grade E in 76.Eighty patients were managed by simply anterior surgery,97 by posterior surgery,and eight by anterior-posterior surgery.Twenty-one patients were found with dural tears (group A) and 164 patients without dural tears (group B).Incidence of dural tears in cervical,thoracic and lumbosacral vertebral fractures were recorded and compared.Preoperative neurologic deficit,laminar fracture and spinal canal encroachment rate were compared between groups.Neurological function and complications associated with dural repair were detected.Results In group A,ten patients were rated ASIA grade A,five grade B,three grade C,one grade D and two grade E.In group B,14 patients were rated ASIA grade A,17 grade B,23 grade C,36 grade D and 74 grade E.Group A accounted for 11％ (7/65) of cervical,10％ (5/51) of thoracic,and 13％ (9/69) of lumbosacral spine fractures (P ＞ 0.05).Nineteen patients (91％) in group A were complicated with neurological deficit,compared to ninety patients (54.9％) in group B (P ＜ 0.01).Eighteen patients (86％) in group A had laminar fractures,compared to fifteen patients (9.1％) in group B (P ＜ 0.01).In group A,rate of spinal canal encroachment was (62.3 ± 12.1)％ and 17 patients (81％) showed spinal canal encroachment of greater than 50％.While in group B,rate of spinal canal encroachment was (36.2 ± 15.6)％ and 25 patients (15.2％) showed spinal canal encroachment of greater than 50％ (P ＜ 0.01).For dural tears in group A,11 patients were treated by direct suturing,four by thoracolumbar fascia repair,three by artificial dural coverage and three by fibrin glue sealing.In group A,19 patients were followed up and one of them presented persistent cerebral spinal fluid leak that necessitated an irrigation and debridement to cure.ASIA score was improved from grade A to B in two patients,grade B to C in one,grade C to D in one and grade D to E in one at the final follow-up.Conclusions Majority patients with spinal fractures associated with dural tears exist severe neurologic deficit,spinal canal encroachment and laminar fractures.Incidence of dural tear in cervical,thoracic and lumbosacral vertebral fractures is similar.Incidence of complications related to dural tear repair is low,but the neurological function recovery is poor after operation.

Objective To investigate the clinical therapeutic effects of different surgical treatments on cervical spondylotic my-elopathy and the occurrence of postoperative complications .Methods 65 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy admitted in our department between January 2010 and January 2013 were retrospectively analyzed ;and among them ,31 underwent anterior cer-vical discectomy and fusion(ACDF) and 34 underwent anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF);the general surgical condi-tions ,JOA scores and functional grades of Nurick ,incidences of dysphagia and so on in the patients of the two groups were investi-gated .Results The operative time and intra-operative blood loss of the patients of the ACDF group were better than those of the ACCF group[(88 .70 ± 9 .03)min ,(125 .46 ± 12 .62)min ,(94 .26 ± 10 .34)mL ,(133 .98 ± 12 .09)mL] ,and the differences were sta-tistically significant(P<0 .05) .The postoperative lengths of stay of the two groups were similar ,and the differences in preoperative and postoperative JOA scores and functional grade of Nurick of the two groups were statistically insignificant (P>0 .05);but the differences between the preoperative and postoperative JOA scores and functional grade of Nurick in 6 months after the surgeries and those before the surgeries of the same groups were statistically significant (P<0 .05) .At the same observation time points ,the incidences of dysphagia and the thicknesses of soft tissue before the cervical vertebra in the operated segment of the observation group were all lower than those of the control group ,and the differences were statistically significant (P<0 .05);in the patients of either group ,no loosening ,translocation or non-fusion of the bone graft was observed .Conclusion The two surgeries in treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy van both obtain satisfying clinical therapeutic effects ,but ACDF has a lower incidence of postop-erative complications ,and doctors should choose a suitable surgery based on the actual conditions .

ObjectiveTo explore the appropriate teaching methods for medical international students.MethodsTotally 84 students in grade 2005 and 63 students in grade 2006 took part in clinical skills training in 2010 and 2011.The traditional method was employed in grade 2005 and interactive teaching and imagery training was applied in grade 2006 combined with the traditional methods.ResultsThe scores of clinical skill tests ( posterior thorax puncture test,abdomen puncture test,bone puncture,catheterization test) were significantly higher in grade 2006 than in grade 2005 with statistical differences,P ＜ 0.01.The clinical skill test scores were not statistically different between grade 2005 and 2006 before training,P ＞ 0.05,but the scores were statistically different between grade 2005and 2006 after training,P ＜ 0.05.Conclusion Using polynary teaching methods synthetically is helpful to improve the clinical skill training effect for medical international students.

This study examined the effect of GHRP-6, a known GHSs receptor agonist, on the phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) and the underly mechanism. GH3 cells were cultured and subjected to different treatments as follows: GHRP-6, GHRP-6 plus GHRH, phorbol ester (PMA), an activator of PKC, alone or in combination with GHRP-6, Gö6983, a general inhibitor of PKCs, in the presence or absence of GHRP-6, rottlerin, an inhibitor of PKCs, alone or plus GHRP-6. The cells were transiently transfected with PKCsigma-specific siRNA and then treated with GHRP-6. GH level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of phosphor-CREB, PKCsigma, PKCtheta and phosphor-PKCsigma was determined by Western blotting. The results showed that GHRP-6 stimulated GH secretion in both time- and dose-dependent manners and enhanced the effect of GHRH on GH secretion. GHRP-6 was also found to induce CREB phosphorylation. Moreover, GH secretion was enhanced by the PKC activator PMA and reduced by the PKC inhibitors (Gö6983, rottlerin) and knockdown of PKCsigma. PKCsigma could be activated by GHRP-6. It is concluded that PKC, especially PKCsigma, mediates CREB phosphorylation and GHRP-6-induced GH secretion.

The effects of RNAi-mediated gene silencing of LRlG1 on proliferation and invasion of the human glioma cell line U251-MG and the possible mechanisms were explored in this study. The plasmids pGenesil2-LRIG1-shRNA1 and pGenesil2-LRIG1-shRNA2 were transfected into U251-MG glioma cells respectively by using Lipofectamine 2000 and the transfected cells in which the LRIG1 expression was stably suppressed were selected by G418. The cells transfected with negative shRNA served as control. The expression levels of LRIG1 mRNA and protein were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. The results showed that LRIG1 mRNA expression was reduced by 70% and 58% and LRIG1 protein expression by 58% and 26% in U251-MG cells transfected with pGenesil2-LRIG1-shRNAl and pGenesil2-LRIG1-shRNA2 relative to the negative shRNA-transfected U251-MG cells. The proliferative capacity of the LRIG1 specific siRNA-transfected cells was stronger than that of control cells. Cell cycle analysis showed that silencing LRIG1 significantly increased the percentage of S phase cells and the proliferation index (P<0.01). Moreover, silencing LRIG1 could promote the invasion of U251-MG cells (P<0.05). These findings suggested that LRIG1-targeting siRNA can exert a dramatically inhibitory effect on RNA transcription and protein expression of LRIG1, and LRIG1 down-regulation could promote the proliferation of U251-MG cells, arrest U251-MG cells in S phase, and enhance the invasion of U251-MG cells.

The Leucine-rich repeats and immunoglobulin-like domains-2 (LRIG2) gene expression in pituitary adenoma and its correlation with tumor invasiveness were studied. The expression of LRIG2 mRNA and protein in human pituitary adenoma obtained surgically was detected by RT-PCR (39 cases) and immunohistochemical staining (30 cases). It was found that LRIG2 was mostly localized at the nucleus of the pituitary adenoma cells. Its expression was significantly higher in the invasive cases than in the non-invasive cases. LRIG2 protein was positive in 14 cases out of 21 cases of invasive adenoma, but only 2 cases were positive in 9 cases of non-invasive adenoma. The positive expression rate of LRIG2 mRNA was 91.3% in invasive cases (total 23 cases) and 62.5% in non-invasive cases (total 16 cases), respectively. LRIG2 gene is overexpressed in invasive pituitary adenoma. It may play an important role in pituitary adenoma invasiveness and further studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanism under this phenomenon.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL) and clinicopathological features and prognosis of serous ovarian cancer retrospectively. Methods A total of 73 patients with serous ovarian cancer treated in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from January 2000 to December 2015 were included in this study. The relationship between serum FSH, LH, PRL and clinicopathological features was analyzed by Mann-Whitney U method. Kaplan-Meier (K-M) method was used to analyze survival rates of patients with different clinical features. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to analyze prognostic factors of serous ovarian cancer patients. Results The mean concentrations of serum FSH and LH were significantly higher in the>50 year-old group than those in the<50 year-old group (P<0.05). The mean concentrations of FSH and LH were significantly higher in menopause group than those in non-menopause group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in serum levels of FSH and LH in patients with other different clinicopathological features (P>0.05). There was no significant correlation between serum PRL concentration and clinicopathological features (P>0.05). Analysis results showed that poor prognosis of patients was related with high serum levels of FSH (>40.13 IU/L), PRL (>14.96 μg/L) and FIGO stage (Ⅲ+Ⅳ) (P<0.05). There was no significant correlation between serum LH concentration and prognosis (P>0.05). COX regression analysis showed that the serum PRL>14.96 μg/L was risk factor for prognosis of serous ovarian cancer [HR(95%CI): 3.530(1.180-10.557),P=0.024]. Conclusion The serum levels of FSH and LH are significantly increased in postmenopausal women than those in menopause women. The serum level of PRL is correlated with the prognosis of serous ovarian cancer.

Objective To observe the efficacy of Simiao pill combined with celecoxib in the treatment of acute gouty arthritis(AGA). Methods From January 2015 to January 2017,70 patients with AGA in the Central Hospital of Luohe were selected and randomly divided into two groups,with 35 cases in each group. The control group received celecoxib treatment,while the treatment group received Simiao pill combined with celecoxib. The treatment course was 7 days in each group. The clinical efficacy and the blood uric acid ( UA) changes were observed and compared before and after treatment. Results The total effective rate of the treatment group was 91. 4% (32/35), which was remarkably higher than 77. 1% (27/35) of the control group,the difference between the two groups was statistically significant(χ2=4. 381,P ＜0. 05). Before treatment,there was no significant difference in UA level between the treatment group and control group(P＞0. 05). After treatment,the level of UA in the treatment group was (402. 17 ± 18. 43) μmol/L,which was lower than (475. 29 ± 37. 82) μmol/L in the control group,the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t= －11. 051,P＜0. 05). Conclusion The clinical efficacy of Simiao pill combined with celecoxib in the treatment of AGA is effective,and is worthy of clinical promotion.