OBJECTIVETo observe the intervention effect of Liangxue Shengji Recipe (LSR) on incidence of post-percutaneous coronary intervention (post-PCI) restenosis and adverse cardiovascular events.

METHODSWith a randomized, single-blinded methods adopted, 100 patients with coronary artery disease (CHD) and underwent stent implantation were randomized into two groups, the control group and the treated group, conventional Western treatment was administered to them all, but with LSR to patients in the treated group additionally. They were followed up for at least six months. The incidences of post-PCI restenosis and adverse events, including cardiogenic death, acute myocardial infarction, recurrent angina pectoris, severe heart failure, further intervention and coronary artery bypass grafting, were observed to estimate the effect of LSR.

RESULTSNo statistically significant difference between the two groups was shown in terms of incidences of intra-stent restenosis, recurrent angina pectoris, estimator of restenosis and its cumulative risk, as well as in reducing the incidence of single adverse event, but did show statistically significant difference between groups in reducing the incidence of united cardiovascular event (P=0.032) and its cumulative risk (P=0.036).

CONCLUSIONAdministration of LSR in post-PCI stage could significantly reduce the probability and cumulative risk of united cardiovascular events, and the beneficial effect presents at about six months post-PCI.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Coronary Disease ; therapy ; Coronary Restenosis ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Heart Valve Diseases ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Incidence ; Phytotherapy ; Risk Factors ; Single-Blind Method

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of the potential factors, including Chinese herbal decoction, on the long-term prognosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

METHODSPrevious clinical data of 162 patients with AMI were collected, who were followed-up to observe the important events for prognosis, as death and cardio-cerebral episode, and the Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the relative factors.

RESULTSThe degree of cardiac function (by New York grading) increased 1 grade when age increased for 10 years, and the relative hazardous degree (RHD) raised to 1.983 and 3.169. After treatment with Chinese herbal decoction and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), the RHD could be reduced to 0.177 and 0.161 respectively. Taking the important cardio-cerebral events, including death, as the endpoint, when age increased for 10 years, the cardiac function would increase for 1 grade and RHD of endpoint events increased to 2.021 and 1.863, if patients had history of anterior infarction, arrhythmia and diabetes mellitus, it increased to 2.903, 2.588 and 4.039 respectively. Chinese decoction and ACEI treatment could reduce it to 0.093 and 0.141 respectively.

CONCLUSIONAge, heart failure, anterior infarction, arrhythmia and diabetes mellitus are the hazardous factors of the long-term prognosis of AMI, Chinese herbal decoction and ACEI are the protective factors.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; China ; epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Phytotherapy ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo understand the risk factors of schistosomiasis transmission in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) and to provide evidence for the development of control strategy.

METHODSApproaches including epidemiology, immunology and field survey were applied to investigate the potential risk factors which would involve the importation of infectious resources live mobile and migrant population, and livestock in the reservoir area. Meanwhile, observation on survival and reproductive status of snail under simulation habitats was also carried out, using ecological methods on snails. Strategy in preventing the spread of snail as infectious resources was also provided.

RESULTS175 mobile people from schistosomaisis endemic area of were tested and one person showed immunology tests positive with indirect hemagglutination test (IHA) and circumoral precipitin test (COPT), with a positive rate of 0.57%. Through the two-year period under observation, data showed that the snails with ribbon/smooth shells could survive and reproduce under habitats of simulation.

CONCLUSIONSOnce the infectious resource of schistosomiasis was introduced into the TGRA, the area became a new schistosomiasis epidemic area in TGRA which called for countermeasures to be taken.

Animals ; China ; epidemiology ; Disease Reservoirs ; Humans ; Risk Factors ; Schistosomiasis japonica ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Snails ; parasitology

OBJECTIVETo explore the expression of miR-135b in endometrial carcinoma and the mechanism by which miR-135b promotes the proliferation of endometrial cancer cells.

METHODSThe expressions of miR-135b and FOXO1 were using RT-PCR detected in 22 fresh endometrial cancer tissues and paired adjacent tissues and also in endometrial cancer cell lines JEC, Ishikawa, HEC-1-B, and RL-952. The RL-952 and Ishikawa cell lines were transfected with miR-135b mimics or inhibitors, and the changes in their proliferative activity were detected with MTT assay; the expressions of FOXO1 mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively.

RESULTSThe expression of miRNA135b was significantly up-regulated and FOXO1 expression was down-regulated in endometrial carcinoma tissues as compared with the adjacent tissues (P<0.05). The mRNA expression of miR-135b was negatively correlated with the expression of FOXO1 in endometrial carcinoma. In RL-952 and Ishikawa cell lines, transfection with miR-135b mimics obviously promoted the cell proliferation (P<0.05). Up-regulation of miR-135b significantly decreased the expressions of FOXO1 protein and mRNA (P<0.05), and down- regulation of miR-135b increased FOXO1 expressions (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSMiR-135b plays an important role in the occurrence and development of endometrial carcinoma partially by regulating its target gene FOXO1.

Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Down-Regulation ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; Female ; Forkhead Box Protein O1 ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; Transfection ; Up-Regulation

Conventional medical experiments can hardly simulate cardiac excitation propagation and observe the evolvement of cardiac electrical activities firsthand as is possible with computer simulation. Based on the anatomic structure of the heart, simulation of cardiac electrical activity mainly consists of the emulation of the excitation process among the cardiac cells and calculation of the electrical activities of individual cardiac cells. In this study we establish a geometric ventricular structure model demonstrating the direction of the cardiac muscle fibers and the layers of the ventricular cells, and endow different action potential models to the ventricular cells of different layers, and observe the activation process of the ventricular parts in view of the three-dimensional anatomy. This method gives attention to both enough calculation amounts and efficiency, which achieves satisfactory simulation results of ventricular electrical activity based on the anatomic structure and cell electrophysiology through an improved algorithm on personal computer.
Algorithms ; Computer Simulation ; Electrophysiology ; Heart ; anatomy & histology ; physiology ; Humans ; Models, Anatomic ; Models, Cardiovascular

The nitric oxide (NO) formation and intrinsic nitrosation may be involved in the possible mechanisms of liver fluke-associated carcinogenesis. We still do not know much about the responses of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) induced by Clonorchis sinensis infection. This study was conducted to explore the pathological lesions and iNOS expressions in the liver of mice with different infection intensity levels of C. sinensis. Extensive periductal inflammatory cell infiltration, bile duct hyperplasia, and fibrosis were commonly observed during the infection. The different pathological responses in liver tissues strongly correlated with the infection intensity of C. sinensis. Massive acute spotty necrosis occurred in the liver parenchyma after a severe infection. The iNOS activity in liver tissues increased, and iNOS-expressing cells with morphological differences were observed after a moderate or severe infection. The iNOS-expressing cells in liver tissues had multiple origins.
Animals ; Clonorchiasis/*enzymology/genetics/parasitology/*pathology ; Clonorchis sinensis/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Liver/*enzymology/parasitology/pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/*genetics/metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of porcine anti-human lymphocyte globulin (P-ALG) plus cyclosporine A (CsA) therapy for severe aplastic anemia (SAA).

METHODSForty-eight SAA patients (31 males, 17 females) including 17 very severe aplastic anemias (vSAA) were treated with ALG plus CsA between 1999 to 2009 in our hospital and the outcomes were analyzed retrospectively for early mortality, response rate and quality, survival rate, toxicity and complications.

RESULTSThe median age was 28 (13 - 64) years. The interval from diagnosis to treatment was 45 days. The median neutrophil count at diagnosis was 0.178 × 10(9)/L. Overall response was 83.3% (54.2% complete, 29.2% partial) with a median time of 90 (23 - 380) days. 10.4% died of infection within 30 days mainly of fungi infection. Only 1 patient relapsed 2 years after treatment. No clonal disease was found. The 1.5-year survival rate was 87.5%. vSAAs had less response, higher early mortality and less survival (64.7%, 29.4% and 51.8%, respectively) compared to that of SAA (93.5%, 0, 100%, respectively, P < 0.05). Grouped patients with different age, gender, intervals between diagnosis and treatment and pre-existing infections had similar response. The main side effects were fever and skin rash (52.1%), serum sickness (16.7%), impaired liver function (60.4%) and hemorrhage (2.1%). No treatment-related mortality was found.

CONCLUSIONP-ALG plus CsA is an ideal and well tolerated treatment for SAA but not for vSAA.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Anemia, Aplastic ; drug therapy ; Animals ; Antilymphocyte Serum ; therapeutic use ; Cyclosporine ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Swine ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy and safety of domestic levosimendan versus dobutamine for patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).

METHODSADHF patients from 8 medical centers were recruited in this multicenter, blind, positive-controlled, randomized study and received 24 h intravenous levosimendan (n = 114) or dobutamine (n = 114) therapy. SWAN-GANZ catheter was performed in patients with pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) ≥ 15 mm Hg (1 mm Hg = 0.133 kPa) and cardiac index (CI) ≤ 2.5 L·min(-1)×m(-2) (n = 39 each).

RESULTSCompared with baseline level, LVEF increased [(31.56 ± 9.69)% vs. (28.44 ± 7.08)%, P < 0.01] at 24 h in both groups. LVEF increase at 24 h was similar between two groups [(3.11 ± 6.90)% vs. (3.00 ± 6.63)%, P > 0.05]. The PCWP decrease at 24 h was significantly greater in levosimendan group than in dobutamine group [(-8.90 ± 7.14) mm Hg vs. (-5.64 ± 6.83) mm Hg, P = 0.04]. Decrease in NT-proBNP at 3 days was also more significant in levosimendan group than in dobutamine group [the percentage change compared to baseline: (-22.36 ± 38.98)% vs. (-8.56 ± 42.42)%, P < 0.01]. Dyspnea improvement at 24 h was more significant in levosimendan group than in dobutamine group. The incidences of adverse reactions and events were similar between two groups.

CONCLUSIONLVEF improvement is similar between dobutamine and domestic levosimendan while greater decreases in PCWP and NT-proBNP are achieved with domestic levosimendan in patients with ADHF.

Aged ; Dobutamine ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Failure ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Hydrazones ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pyridazines ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo study the emergency management principles of severe trauma in hospital (injury severity score larger than or equal to 16).

METHODSWe used "ATP principle" to manage severe traumatic patients. The ATP principle is composed of: 1) attending surgeons offering initial management (A); 2) teamwork commencement immediately after patients admitted to hospital (T); 3) parallel principle, ie, emergency resuscitation, evaluation and laboratory test performed simultaneously (P). Clinical effects before and after applying ATP principle were retrospectively analyzed and compared.

RESULTSDuring January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2003, 338 patients were treated without applying ATP principle, in which ISS was 25.9+/-6.4, 152 cases died with the mortality being 39.2%, and the time stayed in emergency department and the time to operation room after admission were (102.8+/-16.7) min, (140.3+/-20.6) min, respectively. During January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005, 438 patients were treated based on ATP principle, in which ISS was 28.6+/-7.8, 87 cases died with the mortality being 19.9%, and the time in emergency department and the time to operation room after admission were (69.5+/-11.5) min, (89.6+/-9.3) min, respectively. ISS showed no significant difference between the two groups (P larger than 0.05) but the mortality, the time stayed in emergency department and the time to operation room after admission were greatly reduced and showed significant difference between the two groups (P less than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSApplying ATP principle to treat severe traumatic patients can shorten emergency treatment time in hospital and decrease mortality.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; organization & administration ; Female ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Care Team ; Retrospective Studies ; Triage ; Wounds and Injuries ; classification ; mortality ; therapy

Since 2015 when the transmission of schistosomiasis was controlled in China, the country has been moving towards elimination of schistosomiasis, with the surveillance-response as the main interventions for schistosomiasis control. During the period of the 13th Five-Year Plan, the transmission of schistosomiasis had been interrupted in four provinces of Sichuan, Jiangsu, Yunnan and Hubei and the prevalence of schistosomiasis has been at the historically lowest level in China. As a consequence, the goal set in The 13th Five-Year National Schistosomiasis Control Program in China is almost achieved. However, there are multiple challenges during the stage moving towards elimination of schistosomiasis in China, including the widespread distribution of intermediate host snails and complicated snail habitats, many types of sources of Schistosoma japonicum infections and difficulty in management of bovines and sheep, unmet requirements for the current schistosomiasis control program with the currently available tools, and vulnerable control achievements. During the 14th Five-Year period, it is crucial to consolidate the schistosomiasis control achievements and gradually solve the above difficulties, and critical to provide the basis for achieving the ultimate goal of elimination of schistosomiasis in China. Based on the past experiences from the national schistosomiasis control program and the challenges for schistosomiasis elimination in China, an expert consensus has been reached pertaining to the objectives, control strategy and measures for The 14th Five-Year National Schistosomiasis Control Program in China, so as to provide insights in to the development of The 14th Five-Year National Schistosomiasis Control Program in China.