Drug Delivery Systems ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma ; drug therapy ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical effects of PLIF surgery for elderly patients with lumbar degenerative disease.

METHODSFrom March 2010 to May 2013, 28 patients with lumbar degenerative disease, aged more than 80 years were treated with PLIF surgery. There were 10 males and 18 females, aged from 80 to 93 years old with an average of (85.44±3.66) years. Course of disease was from 3 to 20 years. The operation time, intra-operative blood loss, operation complications were recorded and JOA scores and Macnab criteria were used to evaluate the clinical outcomes.

RESULTSAll patients were followed up from 12 to 40 months with an average of 26.5 months. The average operation time was (150.00±26.42) min and the average intra-operative blood loss was (373.33±99.88) ml. The pre-operative JOA score was 12.30±2.43, and the corresponding postoperative JOA score at the final follow-up was 24.81±2.09 which was much higher than the preoperative one (P<0.01). According to the modified Macnab criteria to evaluate at the final follow-up, 16 patients got an excellent result, 10 good, 2 fair. In the weeks postoperatively, injuries of nerve root happened in 3 cases, superficial wound infection with delayed healing in 3 cases, and tear of the dural sac accompanied with cerebrospinal fluid leakage in 1 case. After long term follow-up, adjacent segment degeneration and the corresponding spinal canal stenosis occurred in 1 case at 34 months after operation. All cases got successful fusion without any displacement of internal fixation and pseudoarthrosis formation.

CONCLUSIONWith proper cases, fully preoperative preparation, perfect intra-operative manipulation and active treatment after operation, even advanced ages older than 80 years with lumbar degenerative disease could get satisfactory outcomes after PLIF surgery.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Operative Time ; Spinal Diseases ; surgery ; Spinal Fusion ; methods

OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical effects of transforaminal endoscopic spine system in surgical revision of lumbar vertebrae.

METHODSFrom January 2012 to October 2013,14 patients who needed reoperations of lumbar vertebrae were treated using transforaminal endoscopic spine system (TESSYS). There were 8 males and 6 males, aged from 27 to 84 years old with an average of (50.4 ± 18.9) years. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (JOA) were compared before and after surgical revision. Macnab standard was used to assess the clinical effect.

RESULTSAll the patients were followed up from 6 to 27 months with the mean of 18 months. Preoperative VAS score was 6.79 ± 1.31, and in a week,3 months and 6 months after operation were 2.50 ± 1.29, 2.21 ± 1.53, 1.64 ± 1.08, respectively, which were all much lower (P < 0.01) than preoperative score. Preoperative JOA score was 12.43 ± 1.95, and the above corresponding postoperative JOA scores were 21.50 ± 3.78, 21.93 ± 4.55, 23.36 ± 4.33, respectively, which were all much higher than preoperative score (P < 0.01). According to the modified Macnab criteria, 5 patients got an excellent results, 7 good, 1 fair and 1 poor. The nerve root injury of L5 occurred in 1 case during paracentesis and no other complications were found.

CONCLUSIONSelecting the appropriate indications using TESSYS in surgical revision of lumbar vertebrae can successfully avoid the operation scar, reduce the surgical complications and obtain satisfactory clinical outcomes.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Endoscopy ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Reoperation ; Spinal Fusion ; methods

BACKGROUND:More recently, the focus has been on searching for a compound Chinese medicine for reinforcing kidney, which cannot only inhibit bone absorption, but also promote osteogenesis to protect against osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE:To explore effects of drug serum of Jianbuhuqian pil s on proliferation and function of osteoblast-like cel s in vitro. METHODS:Twenty-four adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into low-dose, medium-dose, high-dose and normal saline groups, and given intragastric administration of 1.5, 3.0, and 6 g/kg Jianbuhuqian pills and equal volume of normal saline, respectively twice daily for 1 week. At 1 hour after final gavage, rats were decapitated to prepare drug sera used for culturing osteoblast-like cells. At 24, 48 and 72 hours of culture, the cellular morphology was observed, as well as the cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity was detected by MTT assay and alkaline phosphatase staining, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the normal saline group, the cel density began to increase significantly in three Jianbuhuqian groups at 24 hours after culture, mitotic figures were easy to be observed, cel s were in overlapping growth, much secretions and matrix accumulation appeared, especial y in the high-dose group. The obsorbance values in Jianbuhuqian groups were significantly higher than that in the normal saline group. After 24 hours of culture, the obsorbance values in the medium-dose and high-dose groups were significantly increased compared with the low-dose group, and the values showed significant differences among three Jianbuhuqian groups after 48 and 72-hour culture. In addition, the alkaline phosphatase activity presented overt increase in the Jianbuhuqian groups compared with the normal saline group, and significant differences could be found among Jianbuhuqian groups. To conclude, the drug serum of Jianbuhuqian pil s can promote the activity of osteoblast-like cel s in a time-and concentration-dependent manner.

Objective: To develop the EST-SSR molecular identification system of Lilium lancifolium, Lilium davidii var. willmottiae, Lilium regale, Lilium casa blanca and Lilium brownie var. viridulum, and analyze the development efficiency and identification ability of EST-SSR molecular marker technology for Lilium genus. Methods: The MISA.pl program was used to identify the SSR locus of the EST gene sequence published by NCBI. The EST-SSR primers were generated by Primer3 program module, and the primers were screened by PCR amplification and agarose gel electrophoresis. The primary screening primers were verified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the characteristic bands of different germplasms were labeled and analyzed to construct an identification system. Results: A total of 199 pairs of SSR primers were designed. After screening 26 pairs of primers, two pairs of highly efficient primers were obtained. The molecular identification system constructed by primer JZ391 can effectively identify the mixed commercial materials, which had certain practical value. Conclusion: Based on the extreme genetic characteristics of the research materials, this identification marker development is very efficient. The results confirm that the genetic basis of the species is an important factor affecting the development efficiency of its EST-SSR molecular marker. At the same time, this case can be used as a reference for the development of EST-SSR markers for other Chinese medicinal herbs similar to Lilium genus.

DNA microarrays have been acknowledged to represent a promising approach for the detection of viral pathogens. However, the probes designed for current arrays could cover only part of the given viral variants, that could result in false-negative or ambiguous data. If all the variants are to be covered, the requirement for more probes would render much higher spot density and thus higher cost of the arrays. Here we have developed a new strategy for oligonucleotide probe design. Using type I human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) tat gene as an example, we designed the array probes and validated the optimized parameters in silico. Results show that the oligo number is significantly reduced comparing with the existing methods, while specificity and hybridization efficiency remain intact. The adoption of this method in reducing the oligo numbers could increase the detection capacity for DNA microarrays, and would significantly lower the manufacturing cost for making array chips.

OBJECTIVETo explore the performance patterns of reaction point Jingtong in balance acupuncture through multi-center and big-sample clinical investigation. Methods The Jingtong points of balance acupuncture on healthy side and affected side were observed among 230 cases of cervical spondylosis and scores of self-discomfort in reaction point, color of skin, changes of skin, morphology of subcutaneous tissue and abnormal pressing pain were recorded. The software SPSS 15.0 was applied to statistically analyze the recorded scores.

RESULTSAmong 230 cases, the reaction point appeared in 226 cases, accounting for 98. 3%. Among the 226 cases who had reaction point, the total score of symptom and sign was (1.08+/-1.09) on the healthy side and (0. 84+/-1. 36) on the affected side, which had statistical significance (P<0. 01); score of self-discomfort in reaction point was (0. 76 +/-0. 83) on the healthy side and (0. 40+/-0.80) on the affected side, which had statistical significance (P<0.01); the score of skin color was (0.10+/-0.36) on the healthy side and (0. 03+/- 0. 19) on the affected side, which had statistical significance (P<0. 05); the score of abnormal pressing pain was (2. 47+/-2. 46) on the healthy side and (1. 39+/-2. 37) on the affected side, which had statistical significance (P<0. 01).

CONCLUSIONThe total score of symptom and sign of reaction point Jingtong on the healthy side is higher than that on the affected side, indicating positive reaction of Jingtong on the healthy side has specificity for cervical spondylosis. When patient has cervical spondylosis on either side of neck, the other side will have anomaly in Jingtong.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neck Pain ; therapy ; Spondylosis ; therapy ; Young Adult

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable neoplastic disease, although high-dose chemotherapy supported by autologous stem cells, and the latest integration of several novel agents, including thalidomide, bortezomib and lenalidomide, into each step of therapeutics have substantially improved the outcome of patients with MM.1-5 Herein, we gave our own considerations on some promising directions in the near future, aiming at further improving the survival and the quality of life of MM patients, and even achieving our final goal of the cure of MM, including highlighting stratified and individualized therapies, pursuing novel targets and strategies, unraveling the biological characteristics of myeloma initiation cells and strengthening post-transplant immunotherapies.

OBJECTIVETo explore the regulation and clinical significance of intestinal dripping of Jianpi Tongli (JPTL) Chinese herbs on levels of serum cytokines, such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) in treating patients with gastric cancer (GC) at early post-operational stage.

METHODSSixty patients with GC were randomly divided into two groups, i. e. the studied group (n = 30), treated with JPTL Chinese herbs, and the control group (n = 30) treated with normal saline. The medication was started from the 1st day after operation by intestinal dripping daily, 7 days as one course. Levels of IL-2, sIL-2R and IL-12 were observed before and after operation.

RESULTSSignificant difference was seen on the 7th day post-operation between the studied and the control group, mainly in aspects of obvious increase of IL-2 and decrease of sIL-2R (P <0.05), no significant difference in IL-12 was found (P >0.05) though there was certain improvement. Compared with pre-operation of the same group, significant difference was found in the studied group in the increased IL-2 and IL-12 and decreased sIL-2R on the 7th day post-operation, while no significant difference in these indexes was found in the control group (P >0.05), though certain improvement was shown.

CONCLUSIONEarly intestinal dripping of JPTL Chinese herbs to post-operational patients with GC could improve their immune function, which was of important significance in early preventing the severe complications, improving the prognosis, and elevating the survival rate.

Adenocarcinoma ; blood ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-12 ; blood ; Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Intestine, Small ; Intubation, Gastrointestinal ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Postoperative Period ; Receptors, Interleukin-2 ; blood ; Stomach Neoplasms ; blood ; drug therapy ; surgery

OBJECTIVETo investigate the complications of surgical treatments for femoral intertrochateric fractures using dynamic hip screw (DHS).

METHODSFrom Jan. 2002 to Dec. 2007, sixty-nine patients with intertrochanteric fractures were treated by dynamic hip screw fixation included 27 males and 42 females,with an average age of 72.9 years ranging from 53 to 96 years. According to Evans classification there were 10 cases in type I ,21 in type II, 22 in type III, and 16 in type IV, of which 51 patients (73.9%) suffered from systematic diseases preoperatively.

RESULTSFifty-seven patients were followed up for 8 to 70 months (41 months on average). Four patients died, 17 cases occurrenced systematic complications postoperatively. Internal fixation related complications occurred in 12 patients. There were 8 cases with mechanical failure of DHS including 4 of screw loosen,3 of cutting-out of device through femoral head and neck and 1 of plate breakage. Five patients had a coxa vara, and delayed union occurred in 4 patients.

CONCLUSIONUnstable fracture pattern produced high percentage of mechanical failure. In such cases DHS should not be the first choice for treatment. The appropriate treatment should be in relation to pre-operative fracture stability and osteoporosis.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Screws ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; adverse effects ; Hip Fractures ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies