Objective To investigate the effect of low frequency electric deep brain stimulation on amygdale kindling in rats.Methods The amygdale kinkling model of rats was established by operation on the brain.The effects of low frequency deep brain electric stimulation used alone or in combination with anti-epilepsy drugs were ob- served in terms of severity of seizure attack reflected by Racine's scale and afterdischarge duration recorded in electro- encephalogram.Results Fifteen minutes of low frequency electric stimulation at 1 Hz and 100 to 350?A effective- ly inhibited amygdale kindling as demonstrated by a significant decrease of afterdischarge duration,and decreased the severity of seizure attack (P

Objective To invesgate the effect of P-glycoprotein(PGP)inhibitor,verapamil,on electrobiological activity and seizure behavior in phenytoin-carbamazepine(PHT-CBZ)resistant rats.Methods The model of medically intractable epilepsy was established by kindling of amygdale. Verapamil was applied to PHT-CBZ resistant rats,followed by the observation on after discharge threshold (ADT),after discharge duration(ADD)and seizure activity.Results Compared with the control group, the ADT was higher in PHT-CBZ resistant rats peritoneally injected with verapamil((238.0?32.2)?A vs (177.0?23.3)?A,P

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the dynamic change of Th1/Th2 cytokines in serum, peritoneal lavage fluid (PLF) and splenic macrophages (SM) in rats with severe peritonitis, and to observe the therapeutic effects of recombinant interleukin-12 (rIL-2) and Shenmai injection (SMI), a Chinese medicinal preparation.

METHODSSevere peritonitis (SP) model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of E. coli and B. frag, and mild peritonitis (MP) model was induced by cecal ligation and punching. Then the following experiments were done: (1) Survival rates of animals after every 6 hrs in the 72 hrs after modeling were recorded, serum and PLF levels of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), and interleukin-10 (IL-10), 6 hrs, 12 hrs, 24 hrs and 48 hrs after modeling were measured. (2) Model rats were treated with rIL-12 or SMI, the survival rate was recorded and serum levels of TNF-alpha, INF-gamma, and IL-10 before and after treatment were measured, and (3) amount of these cytokines produced by SM were determined 6 hrs, 12 hrs and 24 hrs after treatment. The survival rates and levels of cytokines were then compared between the groups (model group treated with rIL-12 or SMI, untreated model group, and blank group).

RESULTSSerum and PLF levels of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha at all the time points in SP rats were significantly lower than those in MP rats while those of IL-10 6 hrs and 12 hrs after modeling were significantly higher in the former than that in the latter (P < 0.05). IFN-gamma secretion of SM in SP rats was significantly higher than that in MP rats 6 hrs after modeling (P < 0.05). Administration of rlL-12 or SMI given before modeling could improve the survival rate of the model rats (P < 0.05) and cause significant increase of the serum level and SM secretion of IFN-gamma.

CONCLUSIONImbalance in promoting/antagonizing inflammatory cytokines and Th2 response dominance appear in SP rats early at the initiating stage, and SM secretion of inflammation promoting factor also reduces. Administration in time of rIL-12 and SMI, may increase the survival rate, and its mechanism may be related with their immuno-stimulating action.

Animals ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Interferon-gamma ; metabolism ; Interleukin-10 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-12 ; pharmacology ; Male ; Peritonitis ; drug therapy ; mortality ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Recombinant Proteins ; pharmacology ; Sepsis ; drug therapy ; immunology ; mortality ; Severity of Illness Index ; Survival Rate ; Th1 Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Th2 Cells ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the construction of oligonucleotide microarray specialized for pancreatic adenocarcinoma-associated genes and its application.

METHODSPancreatic cancer related genes were purposely selected, and oligonucleotide microarray was prepared by spotting oligonucleotide probes onto glass slides coated with APS-PDC. Total RNA were extracted from frozen tissues with TRIzol method according to the manufacturer's protocol, and purified with QIAGEN RNeasy Kit. Labeled cDNA targets for hybridizations were synthesized by reverse transcription from control- and cancer-total RNA samples in the presence of Cy5-dCTP and Cy3-dCTP, respectively. The labeled probes were hybridized with oligonucleotide microarray for 16 h to 18 h. Hybridized microarray was scanned by Agilent laser scanner, and the acquired image was analyzed by Imagene3.0 software. The intensity ratio of Cy3 and Cy5 were calculated. To confirm the expression profiles of these genes, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (Q RT-PCR) was carried out with CDC25B and TUSC3 genes. The product of PCR were quantitated by comparative Ct method.

RESULTSThe signal of microarray hybridization was clear, and the images had a lower background and higher signal-noise ratio. The signal of positive control spots were uniform, and spots of negative control and blank signal were fairly low. In comparison with normal pancreas, 24 differential expressed genes were identified, which included 17 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated genes. The results of Q RT-PCR demonstrated that the expression of CDC25B and TUSC3 in pancreatic cancer were increased and decreased respectively, which consistent with microarray hybridization.

CONCLUSIONSThe oligonucleotide microarray specialized for pancreatic cancer are desirable for its specialty, flexibility and sensitivity, which can simultaneously and parallelly detect multiple pancreatic cancer-associated genes. In contrast to normal pancreatic tissues, the genes expression profile are different significantly in pancreatic cancer.

Adenocarcinoma ; genetics ; pathology ; Aged ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; methods ; Oligonucleotide Probes ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Reproducibility of Results ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods

OBJECTIVETo evaluate advantages of the superficial lobe preservation in the parotidectomy of deep-lobe tumors, which include much lower incidence in postparotidectomy depression, variable aesthetic deformities, facial nerve injury and Frey's syndrome.

METHODSThis retrospective review included 114 patients with benign parotid gland tumors hospitalized from 2001 to 2004, among which 13 patients with deep-lobe parotid tumors and 101 patients in the superficial lobe of parotid gland. Seven in the 13 patients with deep-lobe tumors were operated with the method of the superficial lobe preservation.

RESULTSDuring median 3 years and 3 months following-up, no any cases with either tumor recurrence, permanent facial nerve injury, postparotidectomy depression, or Frey's syndrome was found in the 7 operated patients. Only 1 case with the facial nerve marginal mandibular branch palsy occurred, but completely recovered over a 3-month period of time.

CONCLUSIONSPreservation of the superficial lobe for deep-lobe tumors parotidectomy could decrease the incidence of parotidectomy complications without any influence in the treatment effect. Additionally, the parotid function preservation and cosmetic appearance after operation also satisfy both the patients and surgeons.

Adult ; Facial Nerve ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parotid Gland ; surgery ; Parotid Neoplasms ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies

The present study investigated the contribution of endogenous heme oxygenase (HO)/carbon monoxide (CO) system to hypertension pathogenesis of rats. Zinc deuteroporphyrin 2,4-bisglycol (ZnDPBG),an inhibitor of heme oxygenase (HO), was used to inhibit HO activity in vivo. It was found that the blood pressure of rats with HO inhibition was significantly elevated, and plasma levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline,endothelin, nitrate and nitrite were significantly increased. HO activity and HbCO formation within vascular smooth muscle tissues were significantly inhibited after administration of ZnDPBG. Furthermore, administration of exogenous CO into HO inhibiting rats led to MABP decrease, but injection of HO substrate, heme-Llysinate, had no effect on HO inhibition-induced hypertension. In spontaneously hypertensive rats, injection of exogenous CO resulted in a significant decrease of MABP, and heme-L-lystnate had a similar effect with exogenous CO. These data show that HO/CO system has an anti-hypertension biological action, suggesting that endogenous CO plays an important role in hypertension pathogenesis.

A sepsis model induced by cecal ligation and puncture was used to study the role of endogenous carbon monoxide in hypotension pathogenesis of rats during septic shock. After administration of zinc deuteroporphyrin 2,4-bisglycol (ZnDPBG),an inhibitor of heme oxygenase (HO),blood pressure (BP),HO activity and carbon monoxide (CO) release from vascular muscle tissue were measured. The results showed that BP of sepsis rats,including systolic and diastolic arterial BP,decreased significantly while HO activity and CO content were significantly increased. In contrast,after administration of ZnDPBG,BP of sepsis rats was significantly increased while the HO activity and CO production were significantly decreased. These findings suggest that HO activity and CO release within vascular musculature are increased during septic shock;inhibition of HO may elevate BP of rats during septic shock through a decrease of endogenous CO production. It is concluded that endogenous CO derived from vascular muscle cells plays an important role in regulating vascular tone,and the up-regulation of HO activity followed by subsequent CO production contributes to hypotension pathogenesis during septic shock.

Objective To evaluate the function autotransplanted parathyroid tissues in thyroid surgery.Methods The control group comprised 120 volunteers with normal parathyroid glands in whom serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels in blood samples taken from the bilateral elbow head veins.The experimental group comprised 34 patients in whom the parathyroid glands,which were mistakenly cut or could not be preserved during thyroid surgery because of ischemia,were fragmented and autografted into the brachioradialis muscle of the nondominant forearm.On the day of surgery and at 3 days,7 days,and 2 months postoperatively,contrast imaging and detection of serum PTH levels were performed to evaluate the function of the transplanted parathyroid tissues.Results In the control group,the mean value of the difference between the bilateral brachiocephalic vein PTH levels was ( 1.19 ± 0.98 ) ng/L ( maximum 4.52 ng/L).In this study,twice the maximum value(9.04 ng/L) was taken as the effective standard.Based on the 9.04 ng/L effective value,the effective number was 26 patients and the effective rate was 76.5％ at 2 months postoperatively in the 34 patients of the experimental group.Conclusions The autotransplanted parathyroid tissues showed their dunctions in most patients,therefore,parathyroid gland autotransplantation is an effective method of preserving function of parathyroid glands that are free or severely ischemic in thvroid surgery.

Objective To investigate the expression of aquaporin-4(AQP4) in secondary cerebral edema after epilepsy attack. Methods Brain specimens from 18 patients with medically intractable epilepsy and 20 control persons were collected, and the expression of AQP4 in the brain was evaluated by RT-PCR , immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results Compared with the control group, AQP4 expression in the brain of patients with medically intractable epilepsy showed a statistically significant increase in both mRNA and protein levels (P<0.01). Conclusion AQP4 overexpression in the brain of patients with medically intractable epilepsy may be correlated with secondary cerebral edema after epilepsy attack.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical and laboratory features of pediatric inv(16) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) retrospectively.

METHODDual color fluorescence in situ hybridization (D-FISH) using a LSI CBFβ inv(16) break apart probe labeled by Spectrum red and Spectrum green was performed in 15 acute myeloid leukemia cases, including 13 cases with or without abnormal eosinophils but with positive core binding factor β (CBFβ)-MYH11 fusion transcript detected by RT-PCR, and 2 cases with trisomy 8 (+8). The results were compared with the morphology, immunophenotype, karyotype and RT-PCR.

RESULTMorphologically, 12 cases were diagnosed as M(4)EO, 2 as M(4), and 1 as M(2a). Immunophenotypically, all 13 AML cases with inv(16) showed positive expression of CD(13) and CD(33), but without the expression of any lymphoid lineage antigens. Karyotyping analysis with G-banding detected inv(16) in 10 AML cases, including 9 M(4)EO cases and 1 M(2a), but only 5 positive cases were detected using R-banding technique. Among them, 2 cases had simultaneous +8 and trisomy22 (+22), one had +22 only in addition to inv(16). D-FISH revealed a CBFβ-MYH11 rearrangement in 13 cases of AML with positive RT-PCR results, and the mean positive rate of cell detection was 55.15% (range 37.0% - 86.0%). The complete remission rate (CR) and median survival period in this series of inv(16) AML were 81.5%and 11 months, respectively, of whom, 8 cases were still in CR. Relapse and karyotypic evolution were seen in case 5 with +8, +22 in addition to inv(16).

CONCLUSIONAML with inv(16) is a special subtype. Most cases belong to M(4)EO. Its prognosis is good in general, but it seems to be an unfavorable feature for AML with inv(16) and +8, +22 simultaneously, especially with karyotypic evolution. For detection of inv(16), G-banding technique is evidently superior to R-banding technique. D-FISH combined with RT-PCR are more sensitive and reliable than chromosome banding analysis.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chromosome Deletion ; Chromosome Inversion ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16 ; genetics ; Eosinophilia ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; methods ; Infant ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Male ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction