The chemokine fractalkine primarily involves in chemotaxis,adherence and inflammation.Recently it has been discovered owning the ability of inhibiting cell death in neurons and glial cells,as well as protecting central nervous system from toxic damage.Fractalkine reduces the toxicity to neurons and glial cells mediated by excessive Fas L,glutamate(Glu) or lipopolysaccharide(LPS).In vivo neutralization of endogenous brain fractalkine signal pathway increases inflammatory cytokines secretion and neuronal cell death induced by LPS.Fractalkine may achieve its neuroprotective property through influencing expression of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins,intracellular Ca2+ level and inflammatory cytokines secretion via protein kinase B(PKB)/Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK)/MAPK pathways.

Objective To observe the influence of Ligustrazine on the hemodynamic effects and prognosis in elderly patients with early cerebral ischemia following intracranial aneurysm operation ,and explore the therapeutic value .Methods 43 elderly patients with ECI following intracranial aneurysm operation were randomly divided into the Ligustrazine group (20 cases) ,and the conven-tional treatment group(23 cases)according to the table of random numbers .The patients in the Ligustrazine group were given intra-venously Ligustrazine injection and combined with conventional therapy ,whereas ,other patients were given conventional treat-ments .Results The clinical effective rate in Ligustrazine group was significantly higher than conventional treatment group (P<0 .05) .Patients recovered well in conventional treatment group were 7 cases(30 .43% ) ,mild disability 8 cases(34 .78% ) ,severe dis-ability 4 cases(17 .39% ) ,plant survival 1 case(4 .34% ) ,3 cases died(13 .06% ) ,data peer-based in the Ligustrazine group were 12 cases(60 .00% ) ,5 cases(25 .00% ) ,2 cases(10 .00% ) ,0 case and 1 case(5 .00% ) ,which were significantly lower than that of con-ventional treatment group .The prognostic scores in Ligustrazine group were apparently higher than conventional treatment group by using Glasgow outcome scale and Chinese stroke scale(P<0 .05) .Meanwhile ,the indicators of hemodynamic effects also reflec-ted that the Ligustrazine improved the blood circulation of patients with ECI ,which was better than the conventional treatment group(P<0 .05) .Conclusion The Ligustrazine Phosphate for injection showed better curative effect and prognosis in elderly pa-tients with ECI following intracranial aneurysm operation .

ObjectiveTo develop a stable model of focal cerebral infarction in rat to study the curative effect of neural stem cells transplantation.MethodsThirty-seven rats were selected which were divided into two groups in random, experimental group and control group. The focal infarction model was developed by the ligation of the left middle cerebral artery followed by the ligation of the ipsilateral common carotid artery and the temporary clip occlusion of the contralateral common carotid artery for 1.5 h. The operation adopted minimally invasive craniotomy though temporal bone. The model was evaluated by examining the neurologic deficits, ink perfusion, TTC staining and Magnetic Resonance imaging.ResultsAll the rats were in good condition after the operation, the mortality rate was 6.25% after 4 weeks. Ink perfusion and TTC staining confirmed that the ischemia was confined to the cortex. The areas of infarction measured 83.52 mm3 by Magnetic Resonance imaging after 4 weeks.ConclusionA stable focal cerebral infarction model can be achieved by minimally invasive craniotomy. It is superior for its homogeneity of infarction volume and site, and its low mortality. It can be used for the study of transplantation of neural stem cells.

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) of the breast occurs in premenopausal women and is characterized by anastomosing channels lined by spindle cells. It has been suggested to be of hormonal origin. This unusual condition may also be mistaken for a vascular tumor. We analyzed eight cases of PASH of the breast in Samsung Cheil Hospital from 1992 through 1998. All patients were premenopausal and had painless breast lump. Clinical diagnoses were fibroadenomas. Grossly, the masses were well circumscribed, nonhemorrhagic and measure 2.2 to 5 cm. Histologically, they consisted of complex interanastomosing channels lined by slender spindle cells, which resembled low grade angiosarcoma. Cells that line the interanastomosing channels showed no immunoreactivity for Factor VIII and electron microscopic findings consistent with fibroblast. All patients were treated with surgical excision and none of them had recurrence for 1 to 69 months (mean: 19 months) postoperatively. Pathologic diagnosis of PASH may be difficult unless the pathologists are aware of the presence of a mass lesion and appreciate the characteristic stromal changes. PASH should be included in the differential diagnosis of a circumscribed mass, especially in the premenopausal women.
Breast* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Factor VIII ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; Fibroblasts ; Hemangiosarcoma ; Humans ; Hyperplasia* ; Recurrence

This study aimed to investigate the synergistic effect of lidamycin (LDM) and rituximab on human B cell lymphoma Ramos cells. Cell proliferation was measured using MTS assay, cell apoptosis was analyzed by Annexin V-FITC/PI assay, the expression of apoptosis related proteins was analyzed by Western blotting, and the in vivo lymphoma inhibition was verified using BALB/c mice inoculated via tail vein using Ramos cells which stably expressed pEGFP-N1 plasmid. The results showed that, after the pretreatment with rituximab for 48 h, rituximab and LDM showed significantly synergistic effects on cell proliferation. Cells in combined treatment group had a higher apoptosis rate than that in LDM treatment group. Compared with the LDM treatment group, the expression of apoptosis-related proteins such as Cleaved caspase-3, Cleaved caspase-7, Cleaved caspase-9 and Cleaved PARP in combined treatment groups increased, and expression of cIAP-2 and Bcl-2 decreased. The result of in vivo experiment showed that, in the combined treatment group, the survival time of BALB/c mice was significantly longer than the mice in control group and LDM treatment group, and the degree of tumor accumulation and metastasis to lymph nodes and spleen was lower.
Aminoglycosides ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspase 7 ; metabolism ; Caspase 9 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drug Synergism ; Enediynes ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; metabolism ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rituximab ; pharmacology

Objective To elucidate the immunologic mechanism and clinical effect of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) combined with dendritic cell and cytokine induced killer cell (DC-CIK) immunotherapy on patients with pancreatic cancer.Methods Seventy-two pancreatic cancer patients were divided randomly into 2 equal groups,one treated with HIFU only the other treated with HIFU and DC-CIK immunotherapy.Ultrasound imaging and a variety of immunological indexes were recorded before and after treatment and the clinical effects in the two groups were compared.Moreover,autogenous tumor cells were isolated from the combination therapy group and the killing activity of DC-CIK which loaded tumor antigen processed by HIFU on autogenous tumor cells was observed.Results Tumor antigen processed by HIFU can improve the killing activity of DC-CIK on autogenous tumor cells.After treatment,the immunological indexes,of all patients were better than before treatment.(58.26 ± 17.97 versus 52.15 ± 14.22 pg/ml with IL-12 22.14 ± 6.39 versus 17.36 ± 5.73 ng/ml with HSP70 and 0.94 ± O.34 versus 1.32 ± O.61 ng/ml with TGF-β,P ＜ 0.05 ) ; The combination group was significantly better than the HIFU group with regard to the average scores of quality of life (75.89 ± 19.65 versus 67.22 ± 16.34,P＜0.05),pain (3.15 ±0.82 versus 3.59 ± 1.04,P ＜0.05),tumor markers (107.55 ±27.58 versus 123.63 ±34.12 U/ml) and survival time (18.92±6.47 versus 13.36 ±5.78 mos).Conclusion HIFU can improve the immunologic status and anti-tumor response in patients with pancreatic cancer.HIFU combined with DC-CIK has good synergistic therapeutic effect for treating pancreatic cancer.

Recently developed new classifications (Holland, Van Nuys, modified Lagios) of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) linked to outcome have emphasized the importance of nuclear morphology rather than architecture. We have evaluated these three classifications in ductal carcinomas composed of in situ and invasive carcinomas. The reproducibility of three classifications was assessed (n=49), and the histological grade of the DCIS was compared with the histologic differentiation (modified Bloom & Richardson method) and nuclear grade (modified Black method) of the coexisting invasive ductal carcinoma (n=45). According to Holland classification, the DCIS component was poorly differentiated in 51.0%, intermediately differentiated in 40.8%, and well differentiated in 8.2%. Using the Van Nuys classification, the DCIS component was group 3 (high grade with or without necrosis) in 44.9%, group 2 (non-high grade with necrosis) in 28.6%, and group 1 (non-high grade without necrosis) in 26.5%. According to the modified Lagios classification, the DCIS component was high-grade in 42.8%, intermediate-grade in 32.7%, and low-grade in 24.5%. The histologic grades of the three classifications revealed significant correlations between Holland and Van Nuys classification (p<0.0001) and between Holland and modified Lagios classification (p<0.0001), especially in poorly differentiated/group 3/high-grade DCIS. The reproducibility of classification of the DCIS was 71.4% in the Holland, 61.2% in the Van Nuys, and 55.1% in the modified Lagios classifications. The grade of the DCIS showed significant correlation with the grade of coexisting invasive ductal carcinoma (p<0.0001), especially in poorly differentiated/group 3/high-grade DCIS. In conclusion, DCIS grade, determined by the Holland, Van Nuys or modified Lagios classifications, is closely correlated with the histologic grade of the invasive ductal component in tumors composed of in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma, and may be a useful factor to estimate clinical behavior of DCIS. In our experience the Holland classification is recommended for DCIS classification due to its high reproducibility.
Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating* ; Classification* ; Netherlands

Objective To explore the association of Crohn's disease (CD) with T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (Tim-3) gene polymorphisms in patients of Zhejiang Han population in China.Methods A total of 308 CD patients and 573 age-and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in our study.Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of Tim-3 (rs1036199 and rs10515746) were examined by the improved multiple ligase detection reaction technique (iMLDR).Analyses of linkage disequilibrium and haplotype were also performed by Haploview 4.2 software in all study subjects.Results In general,the allele and genotype frequencies of Tim-3 (rs1036199 and rs10515746) were not statistically different between CD patients and the controls (all P ＞0.05).According to the Montreal Classification,CD patients were divided into different subgroups.The variant allele (C) and genotype (AC + CC) of rs1036199 were more frequent in CD patients with penetrating diseases than in the controls (10.4％ vs 1.7％,P =0.002;20.8％ vs 3.5％,P =0.023).Similar conclusions were also drawn for the variant allele (A) and genotype (CA + AA) of rs10515746 in patients with penetrating diseases when compared with the controls (10.4％ vs 2.2％,P =0.000;20.8％ vs 4.2％,P =0.033,respectively).The two SNPs of Tim-3 were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D'=1.0,r2 =0.928).The haplotype (AC) formed by their wild-type alleles (A) and (C) was decreased in patients with penetrating CD compared with the controls (89.6％ vs 98.3％,P =0.000).However,the haplotype (CA) formed by their variant alleles was more frequent in patients with penetrating CD than in the controls (10.4％ vs 1.6％,P =0.000).Conclusions Tim-3 (rs1036199 and rs10515746) variations might be correlated with the enhanced risk of penetrating diseases in CD patients.Furthermore,the haplotype (AC) and (CA) formed by the two SNPs might be a protective and a risky factor for penetrating CD respectively.

The technology of ECG (Electrocardiograph) auto-analysis has developed rapidly in recent years. There are lots of related techniques appearing. The majority is about R-peak detection. Although P-peak is important too, there are a few kinds of method about P-peak detection. In this paper is presented a new method for P-peak detection. According to Prony analysis, ECG is separated first, and then detected. The method gets good result. Data in experiment are from MIT Arrhythmia Database. The reliability of this algorithm in accurately detecting the P location is 97.8%.
Algorithms ; Electrocardiography ; methods ; Humans ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

OBJECTIVEThis study explored the subjective quality of life in children with Tourette syndrome (TS) in order to provide a basis for more effective interference of TS.

METHODSA total of 174 children with TS (≥ 8 years old) and 186 aged-matched healthy children as controls were enrolled. The subjective quality of life was investigated by a case-control study.

RESULTSThe total score of subjective quality of life in the TS group (156.6 ± 21.1) was lower than that in the control group (164.2 ± 21.2; P<0.01). The scores of family life, school life, cognitive component, anxiety experience and depression experience (19.1 ± 3.5 vs 20.7 ± 3.0, 24.1 ± 4.4 vs 26.6 ± 3.2, 90.6 ± 13.3 vs 97.9 ± 15.3, 24.0 ± 4.6 vs 25.1 ± 3.1 and 23.8 ± 4.4 vs 24.7 ± 3.5) in the TS group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). The correlation analysis showed that the total score of subjective quality of life in children with TS was negatively related to the age, the course of disease, the severity of symptoms, the total score of child behavior problem and family conflict (r=-0.432, -0.213, -0.869, -0.137, -0.257; P<0.01), while it was positively related to family active-cultural orientation (r=0.084, P<0.01). The multiple step regression analysis indicated that the factors influencing the subjective quality of life in children with TS included the severity of symptoms, age, family conflict and family active-cultural orientation (β'=-0.787, -0.171, -0.109, 0.106; P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe subjective quality of life is not well in children with TS. It is important to control clinical symptoms and improve family environment for the improvement of the subjective quality of life in children with TS.

Adolescent ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Quality of Life ; Tourette Syndrome ; psychology