L-Carnitine plays an essential role in the transfer of long chain fatty acids from the cytoplasm of a cell into the mitochondrion,where they undergo ?-oxidation.Carnitine deficiency is characterized by plasma and tissue carnitine concentrations below those required for the normal functions of the organism,including cardiomyopathy,myopathy,hypoketonemia,hypoglycemia,hyperammonemia.Studies show that supplement of carnitine could improve the clinical symptoms of some diseases.

It has been reported that the level of antioxidants is lower in obese patients compared with that in normal weight subjects. Important antioxidants, vitamin E and ?-carotene, are lowered in obese adults and children, which may cause lipid super oxidation and are associated with atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Copper and zinc are trace elements that compose parts of enzymes such as CuZn-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) which can scavenge free radicals. Plasma copper and zinc levels are lowered in obese individuals, which may lead to abnormality in glucose metabolism.

Medicated diet has a long history in China. It is a special dietary form under the guidance of basic theo-ries of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This article discussed the characteristics, hot spots and methodological development of current study on medicated diet. It also discussed on current misunderstandings on the study of med-icated diet, such as lack of the guidance of systematic theory, not well-formed system, lack of professional personnel and their limitations, in order to promote the subject development of medicated diet.

Objective To evaluate four tumor markers of insulin-like growth factor 1((IGF-1), CEA, cytokeratin fragment antigen 21-1 (CYFRA21-1), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) for the diagnosis and prediction of treatment response in human lung cancer. Methods Serum samples were taken from three groups: 91 patients with lung cancer, 30 healthy adults and 15 patients with benign pulmonary diseases. Serum IGF-1 was assayed by radioimmunoassay and CEA, CYFRA21-1, and NSE by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. The differences among the three groups were determined by Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and with Mann-Whitney rank-sum test. Diagnostic efficacy was evaluated by ROC curves. Results The four serum tumor marker levels were significantly higher in lung cancer group, as compared with the benign and the healthy (IGF-1:χ2=26.95,P<0.001, CEA:χ2=49.11,P<0.001; CYFRA21-1:χ2=40.63,P<0.001; NSE:χ2=14.76;P<0.001). The diagnostic sensitivities of IGF-1, CEA, CYFRA21-1 and NSE was 75.6% (34/45), 53.3% (24/45), 66.7% (30/45) and 42.2% (19/45) respectively for lung cancer. The diagnostic sensitivity of IGF-1 combined with CYFRA21-1 was 95.5 %( 43/45) and that of IGF-1 combined with CEA and CYFRA21-1was 97.8%(44/45). Only IGF-1 and CYFRA21-1 showed significant changes before and after treatment (IGF-1: χ2=5.99,P=0.014; CYFRA21-1:χ2=4.99, P=0.025) in cancer group. Conclusions Serum IGF-1, CEA, CYFRA21-1 and NSE are all valuable for lung cancer diagnosis and the combination of those parameters can enhance the diagnostic efficiency. Serum IGF-1 and CYFRA21-1 may also be useful for evaluating the treatment response in lung cancer.

Objective To set up a RP-HPLC method for determining gastrodin and ferulic acid in drug delivery system of Dachuanxiong simultaneously. Methods ODS-2 Hypersil column was used with methanol-1% glacial acetic acid as solution gradient elution. The flow rate was 1 mL/min and column temperature was 25 ℃. The wavelength of detector of gastrodin was 270 nm, and ferulic acid was 322 nm. Results Gastrodin and ferulic acid can be separated well with other components within 40 minutes. The linear range of gastrodin was 0.092～1.840 ?g (r =1.000 0), and ferulic acid was 0.122～2.440 ?g (r =1.000 0). The average recovery rate of gastrodin was 99.50% with RSD=1.23% (n =5), and ferulic acid was 101.5% with RSD=1.52% (n=5). Conclusion The method is simple, rapid, accurate and reliable, and can be used for determining gastrodin and ferulic acid in drug delivery system of Dachuanxiong simultaneously.

Accidents, Occupational ; Bromine ; poisoning ; Humans ; Hydrobromic Acid ; poisoning

Oral sustained- and controlled-release drug delivery systems of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are a research hotspot in the development of drug-delivery systems for TCM. The quality evaluation system is an important guarantee for the safety and efficiency of these drug-delivery systems. In this paper the methods to construct such quality evaluation system were discussed.

Objective To study the effectiveness of microwave ablation in treating HCC.Methods A total of 98 nodules in 56 cases of HCC were treated via appropriate puncture approach ac-cording to the volume, amount and site of tumor nodules. Results Only 1 patient failed to finish treatment since he could not suffer the pain. The other 55 patients finished without a hitch. Clinical and imaging findings were analyzed for change of physiology. Conclusion The microwave ablation is effective for the treatment of HCC. Such therapy can be important supplement of direct surgical man-agement. Its effect mainly depends on accurate puncture approach and enough diametric range. Mean-while, reasonable puncturing method should be selected.

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of hepatectomy in combination with portal azygous disconnection for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated with severe portal hypertension (PHT). Methods Clinical data of 30 cases of HCC complicated with PHT treated in our hospital from April 2005 to April 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. All 30 cases were randomly divided into the single operation group (group Ⅰ ) and combined group (group Ⅱ ). Results After operation, there were no significant statistical differences in rates of complications such as hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, stress ulcer, etc. and recovery of liver function between the 2 groups. The WBC and PLT counts in the blood samples of group Ⅱ were higher than those in group Ⅰ after operation. The postoperative 1- and 2-year hemorrhagic rates were lower in group Ⅱ than in group Ⅰ .Conclusion Hepatectomy in combination with portal azygous disconnection is safe and feasible for treatment of HCC complicated with PHT.

Objective To analyze the change of serum levels of neuron‐specific enolase (NSE) and C reactive protein (CRP) and their early diagnostic value in hand‐foot‐mouth disease (HFMD) complicating encephalitis .Methods One hundred and twenty cases of HFMD and 50 healthy children(healthy control group) served as the research subjects and the HFMD cases were divided into the common HFMD group (n=70) and HFMD complicating encephalitis group (n=50) according to the clinical manifesta‐tions .The enterovirus 71 (EV71) in throat swab was detected by quantitative PCR .The NSE and CRP levels were detected by en‐zyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) ,and white blood cell (WBC) count was measured by hematology analyzer .The NSE and CRP levels were compared and their diagnostic values were analyzed .Results The serum NSE and CRP levels in the HFMD complicating encephalitis group were higher than those in the HFMD common group and control group ,the differences were statis‐tically significant (P< 0 .05) ,and which in the EV71 positive group were significantly higher than those in the EV71 negative group ,the differences were statistically significant (P<0 .05) ,but WBC count had no statistically significant difference (P>0 .05) . The serum NSE level was positively correlated with the CRP level (r=0 .43 ,P<0 .01) .The area under ROC curves (AUC) and 95% CI of NSE and CRP were 0 .893(95% CI:0 .833 -0 .952) and 0 .867(95% CI:0 .799 -0 .934) ,the optimal operating points (OOP) were 11 .6 ng/mL and 14 .15 mg/L respectively ,the sensitivity and specificity of NSE and CRP for diagnosing HFMD com‐plicating encephalitis were 80 .0% ,86 .00% and 81 .4% ,78 .6% respectively ,while which of their combined detection were 88 .0%and 85 .7% ,AUC and 95% CI was 0 .927(95% CI:0 .845-0 .969) .Conclusion The NSE and CRP levels in children patients with early HFMD complicating encephalitis are significantly increased ,especially which in the patients with EV71 positive is more signif‐icant .The combined detection of serum NSE and CRP levels can be used as the early sensitive indicators for diagnosing HFMD complicating encephalitis .