Objective: To study the effects of psychological variables on orthodontic compliance of adolescents.Methods:Prior to orthodontic treatment,60 adolescent patients received two questionnaires for the analysis of their personality(EPQ) and self-consciousness.The compliance of the patients was evaluated at each visit and 6 months after the beginning of treatment by orthodontists.Results:The outgoing personality and the high self-consciousness significantly predicted good orthodontic compliance of the adolescent patients in the treatment(P

Limb-shaking transient ischemic attack (TIA), a rare manifestation, is commonly caused by severe stenosis or occlusion of an extracranial internal carotid artery. Such patients are usually treated with surgical revascularization or anti-platelet therapy. We present a 56-year-old woman with 6 months’ episodic attacks starting with mouth skewed to the right and a sensation of ‘weakness’ involving predominantly her left arm, and at times, also involved the left leg. This was immediately followed by rhythmic jerky movements of the left arm and at times, also involved the left leg. Magnetic resonance angiography revealed severe stenosis of M1 segment of the right middle cerebral artery. The patient’s symptoms were signifi cantly improved by treatment with anti-platelet drugs and nimodipine.

Objective To investigate the significances of karyotyping analysis on umbilical cord vein blood lymphocytes in the diagnosis of abnormal karyotypes in middle to late period of pregnant fetus.Methods A volume (0.5 ～ 1 ml) of umbilical cord vein blood was extracted from pregnant women in third trimester pregnancy with prenatal detection indications,and collected in sterilized anticoagulant tube.Lymphocytes were cultured and collected for karyotyping analysis after fixed and dropped on slides.Data were analyzed statistically.Results Lymphocytes were cultured successfully in 1 211 cases out of total 1 213 cases collected.Totally 142 abnormal karyotypes were found,which includes 81 cases (detection rate 6.68 ％) of non-heteromorphic abnormal chromosomes and 61 cases (detection rate 5.03％) of heteromorphic chromosomes.Among these abnormal karyotypes,50 cases (accounting for 35.21％ in total abnormal cases) of aneuploidy include 4 cases of chimerical karyotype.Structural abnormalities were found in 31 cases (accounting for 21.83％ in total abnormal cases) samples including 11 cases of translocations,17 cases of inversion and 3 cases of deletion.Conclusions Based on our findings,karyotyping analysis on umbilical cord vein blood lymphocytes could be an effective method for detect abnormal karyotypes in middle to late period of pregnant fetus and played an important role in prenatal diagnosis.

Objective To summarize the CT features of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC).Methods CT manifestations of 12 patients with ATC confirmed by surgery or biopsy were analyzed retrospectively.Results 1 1 (91.7%)patients had single lesion. The lesions appeared as low attenuation mass with cord-like,flocculent or patchy high attenuation areas.The lesions had mild to moderate enhancement in 1 1 cases (91.7%).Coarse calcifications were detected in 8 cases (66.7%),4 of them were incomplete rim or eggshell.11 cases (91.7%)showed invasion into adjacent structures,including trachea (6 cases,50%),esophagus (4 cases,33.3%),strap muscles (7 cases,58.3%),larynx (2 cases,1 6.7%),blood vessels (6 cases,50%).5 cases (41.7%)had tumor thrombus in the internal jugular vein.10 cases (83.3%)had lymph nodes metastasis.The enhancements of lymph nodes were divided into 3 types:mild homogeneous enhancement (4 cases,40%),mild enhancement with internal low-attenuation areas (7 cases,70%)and ring-like enhancement without internal enhancement (7 cases,70%).Conclusion CT features of ATC include low-density mass with cords,flocculent and patchy high-density areas,coarse calcification and mild to moderate enhancement,invasion to adjacent structure and lymph node metastasis with necrosis are common.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the severity index of Meniere's disease during acute phase by a statistical method of principal component analysis (PCA). METHOD: Ninety-five patients with Meniere's disease in the acute phase who saw the doctor with 24 hours after onset were included in this study and their clinical data were analyzed retrospectively. The subjective symptoms of hearing loss (X1) and ear stuffy plug (X4) were evaluated by VAS scoring system, and the impact of vertigo (X2) and tinnitus (X3) on the patients were evaluated by DHI and THI score. The principal component analysis (PCA) method was used to analyze the quantified data and construct a synthetic evaluate function of subjective symptoms. RESULT: (1) The quantitative results of subjective symptoms in patients with Meniere's disease were as follow: VAS score (X1) of hearing loss was 0-91 points, with an average of 46.23 ± 18.80, DHI score (X2) of vertigo was 8-98 points, with an average of 49.66 ± 15.67, THI score (X3) of tinnitus was 10-100 points, with an average of 47.53 ± 17.44, and ear VAS score (X4) of stuffy plug feeling was 0-82 points, with an average of 21.55 ± 27.54. (2) The eigenvalue of principal components Z1, Z2 and Z3 were 1.876, 0.984 and 0.703 respectively, and the variance contribution were 46.898%, 24.592% and 17.574% respectively. (3) The constructed synthetic evaluate function of the disease was as follow: The Meniere's disease severity index ƒ = 0.213ZX1 + 0.398ZX2 + 0.370ZX3 + 0.455ZX4. CONCLUSION The method of PCA for the subjective evaluation of symptoms in Meniere's disease can be constructed as a model of comprehensive evaluation system, which may provide relatively comprehensive information of clinical original variables included in the four main symptoms, reflecting the severity of the disease.
Hearing Loss ; complications ; Humans ; Meniere Disease ; complications ; diagnosis ; Principal Component Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tinnitus ; complications ; Vertigo ; complications

Objective To probe into the clinical curative effect of laparoscopic high ligation of spermatic vein in the treatment of critical varicocele.Methods The clinical data of the 26 eases of laparoscopic high ligation of apermatic vein in the treatment of critical varicocde were reviewed and analyzed in the last two years in this hospi- tal.Results All the 26 cases had been conducted smoothly with the operation time 25～50min,an average of(28?3)min.After 3～24 months being followed-up,all the symptoms and signs disappeared with no relapse and testicle a- trophy.Eight wives of the patients who had been operated on got pregnant.Conclusion With soon recovery and small wound,it was safe to adopt laparoscopic high ligation of spermatic vein in the treatment of critical varicocele, especially for critical two-sided varicocde.

OBJECTIVETo study the efficacy and safety of Reinhartdt and sea cucumber capsule (RSC) combined with donepezil in treating Alzheimer's disease (AD), and its effect on thyroid function axis.

METHODSSixty-eight patients were randomly assigned to the RSC group, the Donepezil group and the combined treatment group, who were treated for 3 and 6 months with RSC, Donepezil and RSC combined with Donepezil, respectively. The curative effect was evaluated by scoring according to Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), ADAS-Cog and ADL chart, and the level of thyroid hormones, including TSH, FT3, FT4, TT3 and TT4, were measured with radioimmunoassay before treatment, 3 and 6 months after treatment respectively.

RESULTSAs compared with the baseline, MMSE score increased, ADAS-Cog score and ADL score decreased significantly in all the three groups after 3 months and 6 months of treatment (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01), but the improvement in the combined treatment group was more significant than that in the other two groups (P < 0.01). After 6 months of treatment, the levels of FT3 and FT4 in the combined treatment group were significantly changed (P < 0.01), but no significant change in all the thyroid hormones was found in the other two groups. No obvious adverse reaction occurred in all the three groups.

CONCLUSIONRSC combined with Donepezil in treating AD is effective and safe with no evident adverse reaction, better than single drug treatment, which may be through influencing the metabolism of thyroid hormones to improve the cognition function of AD patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Animals ; Capsules ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Humans ; Indans ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Nootropic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Piperidines ; therapeutic use ; Radioimmunoassay ; Sea Cucumbers ; chemistry ; Thyroid Hormones ; blood

AIM:To investigate the effect of cyclopamine on Hedgehog (HH) signaling, phenotypic transfor-mation and matrix accumulation induced by aristolochic acid (AA) in renal tubular epithelial cell NRK-52E.METHODS:NRK-52E cells were randomly divided into control group (treated with solvent only), AA group (treated with AA at con-centrations of 1, 5, 10 mg/L) and cyclopamine group (treated with AA at concentration of 10 mg/L plus cyclopamine at concentrations of 1, 5, 10μmol/L).After cultured for 24 h, the mRNA expression of Ptch1, Smo,α-SMA, E-cadherin, ZO-1, BMP-7, type I collagen and type III collagen was quantified by real-time PCR.The protein levels of Shh and TGF-β1 were detected by ELISA .Immunofluorescence staining was used to evaluate the expression of Ptch 1, Smo,α-SMA, E-cadherin and type III collagen in the NRK-52E cells.RESULTS: AA increased the expression of TGF-β1, α-SMA and type III collagen, decreased the expression of E-cadherin and ZO-1 protein, and down-regulated the expression of Ptch1, Shh and Smo mRNA in the NRK-52E cells, indicating that AA activated HH signaling , and phenotypic transformation and matrix accumulation occurred in AA-treated NRK-52E cells.Treatment with cyclopamine inhibited HH signaling by decrea-sing Smo expression and increasing Ptch 1 expression.Moreover, cyclopamine also down-regulated the expression of TGF-β1,α-SMA, type I collagen and III collagen , and up-regulated the expression of BMP-7, ZO-1 and E-cadherin.CON-CLUSION:AA induces phenotypic transformation and matrix accumulation in renal tubular epithelial cells , which can be inhibited by cyclopamine treatment .The possible mechanism is that cyclopamine suppresses the activation of HH signaling , resulting in the reduction of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and matrix deposition .

AIM:To investigate the effects of myeloid-related protein 8/14 ( MRP8/14 ) on the survival and apoptosis of human alveolar epithelial cell line A549, and to explore the role of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in this process. METHODS:A549 cells were treated with different doses of MRP8/14 or stimulated with MRP8/14 for different time.The effect of MRP8/14 on the viability of A549 cells was determined by CCK-8 assay.The apoptotic rates were tested by flow cytometry.The nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 was detected by Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence.Be-sides, the phosphorylation level of NF-κB p65 was determined by Western blot.NF-κB-specific inhibitor Bay 11-7082 was used to further analyze the role of NF-κB in the apoptosis induced by MRP8/14.RESULTS:The viability of the A549 cells was affected by MRP8/14 in a dose-and time-dependent manner.Flow cytometric analysis showed that the apoptotic rates were increased in the cells treated with MRP8/14 (P<0.01).In A549 cells administered with MRP8/14, NF-κB p65 was significantly phosphorylated and translocated into the nuclei, suggesting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. However, NF-κB-specific inhibitor Bay 11-7082 significantly attenuated the cell apoptosis induced by MRP8/14 ( P <0.01).CONCLUSION:NF-κB plays an important role in regulating the apoptosis of human alveolar epithelial cells in-duced by MRP8/14.

Objective To investigate the effects of Houpupaiqi mixture on the recovery of gastrointestinal function after open gastrointestinal surgery,and evaluate the efficacy and safety of Houpupaiqi mixture.Methods A total of 144 selected patients who underwent open gastrointestinal surgery were enrolled into the multi-center prospective randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial from October 2010 to September 2011.Of the 144 patients,66 were from People's Hospital of Peking University,72 were from Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital University of Medical Sciences,and 6 were from People's Hospital of Guangdong Province.All the patients were randomly divided into 2 groups (test group:96 patients,control group:48 patients) at the ratio of 2∶1 according to the random number table.Five patients who did not meet the criteria were excluded from the study,and then there were 92 patients in the test group and 47 patients in the control group.The study was assessed by the ethics committees,and all the patients signed the informed consent form.Houpupaiqi mixture (50 ml) or placebo (50 ml) were administered in the test group and control group at postoperative 16 and 20 hours,respectively.Parenteral and enteral nutritional support were given after pulling out of gastric tube.A standard intravenous analgesia was applied in the 2 groups,and agents which stimulate or suppress gastrointestinal motility were prohibited.The time for the recovery of regular bowel sounds,the first exhaust and first defecation time,and the time of first solid food intake of the 2 groups were recorded.Vital signs were recored before operation and after drug administration.Blood and urinary routine test,hepatic and renal function test,electrocardiogram examination,record of adverse drug event were carried out at postoperative day 6.The time for the indexes above and relevant frequencies were calculated,and the survival curve were drawn by Kaplan-Meier method.All the time points were analyzed using the Log-rank test.The measurement data were analyzed using the t test or rank-sum test,and the enumeration data were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability.Results The median time for the recovery of regular bowel sounds,median time for first exhaust and defecation were 21.4 (20.0,23.7)hours,45.0 (40.0,54.0) hours and 65.5 (54.7,74.0) hours in the test group,and 47.5 (44.0,56.5) hours,91.0 (87.0,93.8)hours,98.0 (94.0,113.5)hours in the control group,there were significant differences between the 2 groups (Log-rank values =21.67,53.15,11.81,P＜0.05).The median time of first solid food intake were 72.5 (66.2,110.5) hours of the test group and 116.3 (114.8,117.3) hours of the control group,with no significant difference between the 2 groups (Log-rank value =13.70,P ＞ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the body temperature,respiration,heart rate,systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure before and after medication between the 2 groups (Z =0.03,0.68,0.97,0.22,0.72,P ＞ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the number of patients with abnormal results of blood test,hepatic function,renal function and electrocardiogram between the 2 groups (P ＞ 0.05).No severe adverse event was observed in the clinical trial.Conclusion Houpupaiqi mixture significantly promotes the recovery of gastrointestinal function of the patients who underwent open gastrointestinal surgery with relatively low adverse events.