Biomimetics ; Blood Cells ; metabolism ; CD55 Antigens ; blood ; CD59 Antigens ; blood ; Cell Membrane ; Humans ; Male ; Submarine Medicine

Accidents, Occupational ; statistics & numerical data ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Cross-Over Studies ; Female ; Hand Injuries ; etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo discuss the therapeutic effect of thenar perforator flaps for the narrow cicatricial contracture at thumb and the first web.

METHODSFrom Aug. 2010 to Jan. 2012, 9 cases with narrow cicatricial contracture at thumb and the first web, were treated. The defect size after releasing the contracture ranged from 8 mm x 20 mm to 15 cm x 30 mm. The bilateral thenar perforator flaps beside the wound were designed which size was 10 mm x 25 mm to 15 mm x 35 mm. The wounds at donor sites were closed directly.

RESULTSAll the 9 flaps survived completely with primary healing. The patients were followed up for 6-18 months. The flaps had soft texture and good appearance. The shape of flaps and function of the fingers were satisfied after 6-18 months of follow-up. There was no scar contracture at incisions in thenar. The thumb motion was really normal. The abduction of first web was 70 degrees - 90 degrees degrees.

CONCLUSIONSThe thenar perforator flaps is one of the ideal methods for the treatment of narrow cicatricial contracture at thumb and the first web. The main artery is not sacrified.

Arteries ; Cicatrix ; surgery ; Contracture ; surgery ; Fingers ; Humans ; Perforator Flap ; transplantation ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Skin Transplantation ; Thumb ; surgery ; Wound Healing

OBJECTIVETo investigate the levels of secretions from the prostate and seminal vesicles and their association with the expressions of aquaporins (AQP) in the prostatic tissue and seminal vesicles of castrated rats.

METHODSWe randomly divided 18 eight-week-old male SD rats into a control, a castration, and a testosterone (T) replacement group. Four weeks after surgical castration, we detected the plasma T level and measured the volumes of the secretions and the expressions of AQPs 3, 7, and 10 - 12 in the prostate and seminal vesicles of the rats.

RESULTSThe plasma T level was significantly lower in the castrated models ([30. 98 ± 28. 84] ng/dl) than in the rats of the control ([700.78 ± 123.8] ng/dl) and T replacement groups ([688.08 ± 132. 47] ng/dl) (P <0. 05). The castration group, in comparison with the control and T replacement groups, showed remarkably reduced ratios of prostatic secretion volume / prostate weight ([11.1 ± 0.30] vs [2.32 ± 0.61] and [2.13 ± 0.56] %, P <0. 05) and seminal vesicle secretion volume / seminal vesicle weight ( [4. 78 ± 1. 97 ] vs [57. 36 ± 11. 86] and [55. 74 ± 7. 21] %, P < 0. 05). Immunohistochemistry revealed the expressions of AQPs 3 and 7 in the epithelial envelop and cytoplasm and that of AQP 11 the in endothelial envelop and cytoplasm of the prostate and seminal vesicles. Western blot exhibited significantly lower expressions of AQPs 3, 7, and 10 - 12 in the prostate and seminal vesicles of the castrated rats than in the animals of the control and T replacement groups (P <0. 05).

CONCLUSIONSignificant decreases of the secretions from the prostate and seminal vesicles may be related to the reduced expressions of AQPs 3, 7, and 10 - 12 in the prostatic tissue and seminal vesicles in castrated rats.

Animals ; Aquaporins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Orchiectomy ; Prostate ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seminal Vesicles ; metabolism ; Testosterone ; blood

Objective To explore a new method of functional reconstruction of hand digits and joints with free transfer of foot tissues so as to increase the success rate of the operation.Methods After micro-anatomic study of the plantar and dorsal metatarsal arteries,retrograde and free grafts of foot tissues pedicled with plantar metatarsal arteries were designed and applied in transplantation to treat 76 cases of hand digital or joint defects.The surgeries included 58 cases of transfer of the second toe,four cases of transfer of composite tissues of the second toe, eight cases of transfer of proximal interphalangeal joint,and six cases of nail flap transfer.Results The mi- cro-anatomic study found that the first plantar metatarsal artery was anatomically constant and the diameter of its branch to the second toe was larger than that of the first dorsal metatarsal artery.Flaps survived in 75 of the 76 patients(98.7%),with fine appearance and significantly improved function.One patient who had received free transfer of the second toe to reconstruct the thumb function had to undergo a second repair with infraclavicula skin tube because of refractory arteriospasm of anastomosed vessels.Conclusion Transfer with free retrograde grafts of foot tissues pedicled with plantar metatarsal artery to reconstruct hand functions can effectively improve the success rate of the operation,because it is free of the shortcomings of great anatomic variation of blood vessels and time-consuming and complex procedures in conventional transfer.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of mannatide injection (MI) in enhancing the efficacy of radiotherapy in two therapeutic schedules in mice bearing Lewis lung cancer.

METHODSC57BL/6 mice bearing Lewis lung cancer xenograft were assigned randomly into control group, fractionated schedule (FS) group, nonfractionated schedule (NFS) group, MI group, FS+MI group, and NFS+MI group (n=10). MI (4.5 mg/kg) or saline was given intraperitoneally for 14 consecutive days in the corresponding groups. Radiation with 8 MeV electron beam was delivered in a single 4 Gy dose in NFS and in 4 fractions (total dose 4 Gy) in FS. Tumor inhibition rate and the spleen and thymus index were calculated after the treatments.

RESULTSMI significantly enhanced the efficacy of radiotherapy with a tumor inhibition rate reaching 70% in FS+MI group (P<0.01). FS resulted in a significantly higher tumor inhibition rate than NFS (P<0.05), but the rates were comparable between FS+MI and NFS+MI groups. The spleen index and thymus indices were significantly higher in FS+MI and NFS+MI groups than in FS and NFS groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONMI can enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy with different therapeutic schedules in mice bear Lewis lung cancer, and MI plus fractionated radiation produces the optimal effect.

Animals ; Biological Products ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Lewis Lung ; drug therapy ; radiotherapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Dose Fractionation ; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents ; therapeutic use ; Streptococcus

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect and mechanisms of Liuwei Dihuang Decoction (LW)on cognition in PrP-hAβPPswe/PS1ΔE9(APP/PS1)transgenic mice.METHODS LW was adminis-trated with oral for 3 months.The locomotor activity test was performed to investigate the spontaneous motor activity of mice. The Morris water maze test and shuttle box test were performed to investigate the spatial learning and memory and active avoidance response respectively.The Αβ deposits and neuron loss in the hippocampus was detected by immunofluorescence staining and nissl staining respectively. The flow cytometry was employed to investigate the lymphocyte subsets of the mice.The 3H-thymidine incorporation was performed to investigate the splenocytes proliferation. RESULTS The treatment of LW ameliorated the impairments of spatial learning and memory and active and passive avoidance in APP/PS1 mice. The administration of LW alleviated neuron loss in the brain, suppressed amyloid-β (Αβ) deposits in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice. The treatment of LW significantly increased ConA-and LPS-induced proliferation of splenocytes,increased CD3+T cells and CD19+B cells in the spleen lymphocytes and reduced Gr1+cells in APP/PS1 mice.CONCLUSION This data indicated the adminis-tration of LW ameliorated behavioral and pathological deterioration via regulating immune function.

Adult ; Aged ; Cell Cycle Proteins ; analysis ; Coal Mining ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; chemistry ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; metabolism ; Pneumoconiosis ; metabolism ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility and value of multi-slice spiral computed tomography angiography (CTA) in 3D imaging of internal pudendal arteries and their branches.

METHODSUsing 64-slice spiral computed tomography, we performed hypogastric CTA for 156 twenty to seventy years old males without vascular diseases. We assigned them to groups A (n = 83, 20 to 55 yr old) and B (n = 73, 56 to 70 yr old), and included 7 male patients with arterial erectile dysfunction (AED) aged 43 to 70 years in group C. We conducted maximum intensity projection (MIP), volume rendering (VR) and vascular analysis on the internal pudendal arteries and their branches, divided the MIP and VR images into 3 levels according to the resolution and continuity of the internal pudendal arteries and their branches for blind evaluation, and measured their diameters at various positions.

RESULTSVR images of the internal pudendal arteries and their branches revealed significant differences between groups A and B (P<0.05), but not MIP images (P>0.05). There were no dramatic differences between MIP and VR in displaying internal pudendal arteries and their branches (P>0.05), nor any remarkable differences in the diameters of bilateral internal pudendal arteries and their branches at different levels in groups A and B (P>0.05). VR and MIP showed the 7 AED cases at grade III, and clearly revealed the degree and position of stenosis and occlusion in the internal pudendal arteries and their branches.

CONCLUSIONCTA can display clear 3D images of internal pudendal arteries and their branches, and has a valuable role in the diagnosis and treatment of ED induced by internal pudendal artery diseases.

Adult ; Aged ; Angiography ; methods ; Feasibility Studies ; Genitalia, Male ; blood supply ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; Young Adult

Adult ; Anastomosis, Surgical ; Esophagus ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Stents ; Stomach ; surgery ; Tracheoesophageal Fistula ; surgery