Objective To explore the protective effect of selenium, an antioxidant, on fluoride-induced renal injury in rats and find out the optimal level of selenium against fluoride toxicity and its valid molecular target.Methods All 80 male weanling SD rats were randomly divided into 8 groups by body weight as follows: normal control group(drinking tap water), fluoride exposed group (drinking water containing 50 mg/L of NaF), low, middle,high selenium exposed groups(drinking water containing 0.375, 0.750, 1.500 mg/L of Na2SeO3) and low, middle,high Se-fluoride groups (drinking water containing both 50 mg/L NaF and three doses of Na2SeO3 as abovementioned, respectively). After 6 months, the rats were killed then the oxidation level and nuclear factor κB(NF-κB)expression level in kidney were measured. Results The weight of the fluoride exposed group[(695.95 ± 55.89 )g]was significantly deceased than the controls[(782.69 ± 56.12)g, P ＜ 0.01]. Glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)activity of fluoride exposed group[(55.86 ± 5.09)U/mgprot] was not significantly different but decreased. Tatal antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) activity in fluoride exposed group [(7.54 ± 1.35)U/mgprot] significantly decreased than the controls[(9.03 ± 0.37 )U/mgprot, P ＜ 0.05]. In addition, a significant increase of malondialdehyde ( MDA )in fluoride exposed group[(3.86 ± 0.31 )mnol/mgprot, P ＜ 0.05] was observed than the controls[(3.14 ± 0.32)nmol/mgprot, P ＜ 0.05]. GSH-Px activity of high Se-fluoride group[(74.99 ± 8.41 )U/mgprot] was significantly higher than the fluoride exposed group[(55.86 ± 5.09)U/mgprot, P ＜ 0.05] and its MDA level[(3.17 ± 0.20)nmol/mgprot] was lower than the fluoride exposed group[(3.86 ± 0.31 ) nmol/mgprot, P ＜ 0.05]. NF-κB expression levels of fluoride group, high selenium group and low Se-fluoride group(0.360 ± 0.015,0.367 ± 0.007,0.376 ± 0.006,respecyively) were obviously increased compared with the controls(0.312 ± 0.022, P ＜ 0.05); it was significantly lower in high Se-fluoride group(0.312 ± 0.005) than in fluoride exposed group(0.360 ± 0.015, P ＜ 0.05). Conclusions Na2SeO3 of 1.5 mg/L is the optimal dose against chronic fluorosis on kidney injury under this experimental condition.NF-κB is likely to be a target molecule of the selenium as an antagonist on fluorosis.

Objective To analyze hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection stage in single nucleic acid test(NAT)reactive blood donors.Methods Blood donor samples were screened routinely for HBV DNA by using transcription-mediated amplification(TMA) NAT and quantitative polymerase chain reaction(PCR).Then serum markers of HBV were also detected.The HBV infection stage was analyzed.Results Among the 225 single NAT reactive samples,78(34.67%) were identified to be reactive for HBV DNA by TMA NAT discrimination test and/or PCR test,of which 63(82.89%) were occult HBV infection(OBI),13(17.11%) were probably window period infection(pWP),and 2 cases could not be classified for infection stage.Among the OBI samples,49 samples(77.78%) were with HBV DNA concentration less than 20 IU/mL,whereas,there were only 4 samples(30.77%) in pWP samples.The 225 samples were classified into three groups according to the S/CO of NAT, including 1-<6 group,6-<10 group and 10-17 group, the confirmed HBV DNA positive rates of which were 13.11%,13.64% and 47.18%,and the positive rate of 10-17 group was higher than 1-<6 group and 6-<10 group(P<0.05).In all 63 OBI samples,there were 8(12.70%),3(4.76%) and 52(82.54%) samples were classified into S/CO 1-<6,6-<10 and 10-17,respectively.All of the 13 pWP samples were with NAT S/CO of 10-17.Conclusion Part of single NAT reactive blood donors could be with HBV infection,of which OBI might be popular than pWP, with very low concentration of HBV DNA.Deferral of single NAT reactive blood donors could reduce transfusion-transmitted HBV infection.

Objective To analyze the potential risk factors of infantile spasms (IS) relapse through following up the respondents with IS after different treatment protocols.Methods Sixty-nine cases were collected in the Department of Pediatric Neurology,Jiangxi Children's Hospital from May 2011 to September 2013,who had complete cessation of spasms for at least 28 days or more after the different treatment protocols.The follow-up was performed on these patients until spasms seizure relapse or at least 1 year for those without recurrence.According to the literature review,8 possible risk factors of IS recurrence (gender,age of onset,course of diseases,etiology,high irregular types of electroencephalogram,development quotient,onset time,treatment protocols) were selected,and then Logistic multiple regression was used to analyze the relationship of various potential risk factors with the relapse of spasms.Results (1) The recurrence rate at 6 months and 12 months were 40.6％ (28/69 cases)and 43.5 ％ (30/69 cases),respectively.(2) Among the various potential factors,the age at onset and the time to response were closely related to the IS recurrence.Namely,the non-classic onset(early-onset and late-onset) of IS were more likely to relapse than the classic onset[66.7％ (14/21 cases) vs 33.3％ (16/48 cases),x2 =6.605,P =0.010];the responders beyond 1 week were more likely to relapse than those within 1 week[63.6％ (14/22 cases) vs 34.0％ (16/47 cases),x2 =5.341,P =0.021].There were significant differences between the 2 groups (all P ＜ 0.05).(3) Logistic multiple regression analysis demonstrated that age at onset (Wald =3.603) was most closely related to the relapse of spasms.Conclusions (1) The relapse rate of IS in children was high,and the majority of them relapsed within 6 months.So a long-term,rational and effective clinical management solution should be explored.(2) The age at onset and the time to response are very important risk factors of the IS recurrence,and the former was more significant.So,early diagnosis and early treatment are more likely to improve the efficacy of IS,and reduce the risks of recurrence and improve the prognosis.

OBJECTIVE： To apply reference drug in the fingerprint study of Niuhuang qingwei pills, and perform primary evaluation of the quality grade of the samples. METHODS： Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) separation was performed on an AQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column with gradient elution using acetonitrile (containing 0.5% formic acid)-0.5% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.2 mL•min-1. The injection volume was 2 μL and the column temperature was maintained at 40 ℃. The detection wavelength was set at 254 nm. By comparing with reference substances and the reference herbal materials, characteristic peaks and their ascriptions were investigated. Using Niuhuang qingwei pills reference drug as the accompanying physical control, the similarities of the fingerprints of 49 batches of samples from 18 manufacturers were calculated, and the quality grades were evaluated. RESULTS： The similarities of all samples fell within the range of 0.76-0.98. The similarities of 49 samples were above 0.75 and met the second-grade limit. The similarity of 24 samples were above 0.90 and met the first-grade limit. CONCLUSION： The method is simple, accurate and rapid. It can be used for the quality control and grade evaluation of Niuhuang qingwei pills, which provides reference for the quality grade research of Chinese patent medicines.

Background Congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles (CFEOM) affects patient' s appearance and quality of life,and no effective treatment for this disease is available.Imaging study is helpful for exploring the pathogenesis of CFEOM.Objective This study was to describe the characteristics of CFEOM associated with limb movement disorder using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods A family with CFEOM associated with limb movement disorder was investigated in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.Disease history was collected and the pedigree was investigated.Ophthalmologic examinations,including corrected visual acuity,refractive error,slitlamp examination,ophthalmoscopic examination,force of levator palpebrae superioris,ocular movement,eye position,forced duction test,and bell phenomenon examination,were performed.Ocular orbital and cranial MRI was performed in 4 CFEOM patients and 10 normal subjects to compare the structures of the extraocular muscles,motor nerve and cranium.Oral informed consent was obtained from each patient prior to any medical examination.Results A total of 1 1 members from 3 generations were investigated in this study,presenting with 4 cases of disease.The mode of inheritance of this family complied with the Mendelian autosomal dominant inheritance law.Clinical signs included disturbance of eye movement,deviation of eye position,ptosis,lack of Bell sign and positive reaction of passive pull test.In addition,unstable gait,improper body limb alignment,dysphasia and mental retardation were ohserved in 1 patient,which coincided with the diagnostic criteria of type 3 CFEOM.MRI results demonstrated that the levator palpebrae superioris,superior rectus and superior oblique muscle were clearly thinner,and the medial rectus,lateral rectus,inferior rectus muscle were thinning in the patients,showing significant differences in comparison with the normal controls(P＜O.05).The oculomotor and abducens nerves became thinner and even absent in the patients.Cranial MRI showed that Ⅲ-3 in the pedigree with callosum was shorter than that of the normal controls,suggesting that patient suffered from corpus callosum hypoplasia.Meanwhile,cranial MRI indicated the presence of cerebellar hypoplasia and the expansion of the fourth ventricle.Conclusions MRI demonstrates consistent abnormalities of the oculomotor nerves and abducens nerves in the affected individuals in this CFEOM 3 family,and some affected members exhibit two types of central nervous system abnormalities-corpus callosum and cerebellar hypoplasia.These findings suggest that CFEOM 3 is primarily a neuronal disease.

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlationship between platelet count and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) or Western medicine (WM) in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

METHODSA total of 356 patients with confirmed diagnosis of active RA from 9 clinical centers were randomly assigned to the TCM group (184 cases) and the WM group (172 cases). The TCM group was treated with basic therapy (administration of glucosidorum tripterygll totorum and Yishen Juanbi Pill) and TCM syndrome differentiation dependent treatment, while the WM group was treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and slow-acting anti-rheumatic drugs. The therapeutic efficacy was assessed with ACR20, the joint damage degree of both hands was evaluated by X-ray.

RESULTSThe platelet count was positively correlated to the X- ray grading of joint damage, namely, patients with a more severe joint damage often presented a higher platelet count. After treatment, in patients with joint damage of X-ray grade II or III and effectively treated with TCM, also in patients with joint damage of grade III and effectively treated with WM, the platelet count was lower than that in those treated ineffectively.

CONCLUSIONPlatelet count is closely correlated to the efficacy of drug therapy, therefore, it may be taken as an important index for judging the curative effect of therapeutic approach in treating RA patients.

Adult ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; therapeutic use ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; blood ; drug therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Platelet Count ; Treatment Outcome ; Tripterygium ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo explore the correlations between diagnostic information and therapeutic efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with decision tree model analysis.

METHODSThree hundred and ninety seven patients came from 9 clinical centers were randomly divided into the Western medicine (WM) group (n=194) treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and slow-acting antirheumatic drug and the Chinese medicine (CM) group (n=203) with basic therapy and syndrome-differentiation dependant TCM treatment. TCM and WM diagnostic information were collected. The ACR 20 was used for efficacy evaluation and the information of patients before treatment was analyzed by SAS 8.2 statistical package. Through single-factor exploratory analysis, odds ratio of efficacy and variable was calculated taken P < 0.2 as the including criteria for data mining analysis with decision tree model. All data were classified into the training set (75%) and verifying set (25%) with efficacy as the variable for layering to make further verification of the data-mining analysis.

RESULTSTwenty variables were included in the CM group and 26 in the WM group in the data-mining model. In the former, 9 variables were positively correlated to the efficacy, including degree of arthralgia, tenderness and morning stiffness, number of swollen joint, and joint with tenderness, levels of IgM, rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), and total assessment from doctor; and disease duration and degree of nocturnal polyuria were negatively correlated to that. While in the latter, 8 were positively correlated to the efficacy, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), sour and weak waist and knees, white fur in tongue, joint ache and stiffness, swollen joint, and total assessment from doctor and patient, and red tongue with yellow fur and leucocyte count negatively correlated to it. Data mining with decision tree analysis revealed that different combinations of morning stiffness, slight red tongue, joint tenderness and nocturnal polyuria in the CM group, and those of white fur in tongue, CRP level, leucocyte count and morning stiffness in the WM group showed different efficacy, which were also verified in the randomly chosen verifying set.

CONCLUSIONTo analyze the correlations between diagnostic information and therapeutic efficacy with decision tree analysis is conformed to the theory of TCM in applying treatment according to syndrome differentiation individually, thus it would contribute to elevate the accuracy of therapy.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; therapeutic use ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Decision Trees ; Diterpenes ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Epoxy Compounds ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Phenanthrenes ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the efficacy of absorbable screw rod system in the treatment of posterior hip dislocation complicated with femoral head fracture.Methods Between February 2009 and June 2014,20 patients were treated at our department for posterior hip dislocation complicated with femoral head fracture.They were 14 males and 6 females,with an average age of 38.2 years (range,from 27 to 60 years).Eight left hips and 12 right hips were affected.By the Pipkin classification,15 cases were type Ⅰ and 5 type Ⅱ.The time from injury to surgery ranged from 3 to 14 days (average,6 days).All of them were treated with absorbable screw rod system after Allis manual reduction.Results The operation time in this group ranged from 1 to 6 hours (average,1.8 hours).The intraoperative blood loss ranged from 70 to 400 mL (average,160 mL).They were followed up for 18 to 48 months (average,32 months).All the fractures united after an average time of 3.4 months (range,from 2.5 to 5.0 months).According to the Harris scores at 6 months postoperation,10 cases were rated as excellent,7 as good,2 as fair and one as poor,with a good to excellent rate of 85.0％.Total hip replacement was performed for 2 fair and one poor cases because their postoperative pain was not relieved and femoral avascular necrosis developed.Conclusion Absorbable screw rod system is an effective treatment of posterior dislocation with femoral head fracture,because it can simplify operative procedures,reduce trauma,fixate the fracture firmly,avoid secondary operation,and reduce postoperative complications.

Adult ; Cauda Equina ; injuries ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; complications ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Recovery of Function

Objective To investigate the mechanism of BVT. 2733 on insulin resistance, by using diet-induced obese (DIO) mice model. Methods After having been balanced for 3 days, the C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a normal diet group and a high-fat diet (HFD) group. After 20 weeks, the obese mice were further randomly divided into an obese control group, a BVT. 2733 group and a pioglltazone (PGZ) group and they were orally administered with placebo, BVT. 2733 and PGZ separately for two weeks.Adiponectin and leptin mRNA expression levels from adipose tissue were analyzed with real-time quantitative PCR. The levels of plasma glucose, serum insulin and adiponectin were measured with biochemical technology, radioimmunoassay and ELISA. Adipocyte sizes were observed with immunohistocbemistry.Results The body weight, plasma glucose and serum insulin levels raised(P<0.05)in the HFD group and the adipocyte sizes were bigger. Serum insulin levels significantly reduced (P<0.05) and adipocyte sizes reduced, while plasma adiponectin level raised (P<0.01)in the two treatment groups as compared with those in obese controls. Both the mRNA expressions of adiponectin and leptin upregulated(P<0.05)in the PGZ group, but their expressions in the BVT. 2733 group did not alter significantly. The body weight of the mice reduced significantly in the BVT. 2733 group. Conclusion BVT. 2733 can reduce body weight significantly and improve insulin resistance, but cannot influence the expression of adipocytokines.