Objective To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of retrobulbar injection with triamcinolone acetonide (TA) for macular edema caused by retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Design Retrospective case series. Participants 21 eyes of 21 patients with macular edema caused by RVO. Methods Retrobulbar injection with TA 40 mg was performed on 21 eyes. The visual acuity, intraocular pres-sure, fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) and macular central thickness under the optical coherence tomography (OCT) were recorded and analyzed before and after treatment. The follow-up duration was 6-11 months. Main Outcome Measures The visual acuity and the macular central thickness of OCT. Result Visual acuity was improved at the end of follow-up in 16 eyes (76.2%) and unchanged in 5 eyes (23.8%). Macular central thickness was (287.55±121.70) μm at the end of follow-up and (617.23±185.58) μm before treatment. The difference was statistically significant(P=0.000). After treatment, the comparison of visual acuity and macular central thickness be-tween CRVO patients and BRVO patients, as well as between ischemic RVO patients and non-ischemic RVO patients had no significant difference (P>0.05). In patients of course less than 6 months, the visual prognosis after treatment is better than that of before treatment (P=0.011, 0.01), while in patients of course more than 6 months, no difference of vision could be detected before and after treatment (P= 0.583). The result of FFA showed decrease of fluorescein leakage. During follow-up, intraocular pressure of all patients was in the nor-real range. Recurrence of macular edema was found in 8 eyes 2 to 6 months after treatment. Conclusions Retrobulbar injection with TA is a safe, effective, and easy method to treat macular edema caused by RVO. Early treatment can get better efficacy. (Ophthalmal CHN, 2009, 18: 254-256)

Humans ; Salivary Gland Neoplasms ; therapy

BACKGROUND: Appropriate anastomosis materials can improve success rate of trachea and bronchus reconstruction.Common domestic suture materials include silk suture, dacron and synthesized absorbable suture. However, the suture with best effects in preventing and lightening scar granulation hyperplasia and luminal stenosis remains Uncertain.OBJECTIVE: To compare the influence of three kinds of suture materials on histopathological changes of anastomotic stoma and transforming growth factor-β_1 (TGF-β_1) expression in rabbits following tracheotomy.DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: A randomized, controlled animal experiment and histopathological observation were performed at the Animal Experimental Department, Nanhua University from September 2005 to October 2006.MATERIALS: Artificial absorbable suture was purchased from Brazil Johnson & Johnson Professional Products; silk suture and dacron were purchased from Hangzhou Fuyang Medical Suture Factory and Hangzhou Huawei Medical Products Co., Ltd.METHODS: A total of 36 New Zealand healthy adult rabbits, regardless of gender, weighing 1.6-2.0 kg, were randomly divided into silk, dacron and artificial absorbable suture groups with 12 animals in each group. The end-to-end anastomosis following tracheotomy was performed using silk, dacron and artificial absorbable suture, respectively.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The pathological changes and TGF-β_1 level around the sutures 1, 2, 4 weeks post operation were observed.RESULTS: A total of 36 rats were included in final analysis. There were no difference in anastomotic healing between three groups 1 and 2 weeks postoperatively, with a great amount of inflammatory cell infiltration, mainly neutrophil, around the sutures.Moreover, bleeding in the focus and foreign body grannuloma were found. At 4 weeks postoperatively, foreign body grannuloma formed accompanied with obvious firboplasia in silk and dacron groups, and the sutures in the artificial absorbable suture group were absorbed. Compared with 1 and 2 weeks postoperatively, the expression of TGF-β_1 was slightly decreased in silk and dacron groups at 4 weeks (P > 0.05), but the absorbable suture group significantly decreased (P < 0.05).CONCLUSION: Of three kinds of suture materials, artificial absorbable suture exhibited good histocompatibility, effectively reducing inflammatory reaction and benefiting the prevention and lightening of formation of pathological scar after tracheal surgery.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion combined with cognitive training in treating cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury (TBI). MethodsSixty patients were recruited into the study and randomly divided into the control group and the treatment group according to the MINIMIZE software. Patients in the control group were treated with cognitive training and regular treatment. Besides the traditional treatment, patients in the treatment group were additionally treated with acupuncture and moxibution. The treatment lasted four weeks. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) were applied to evaluate the patients’ cognitive function before and after the treatment.Results In the end, there were 27 patients in the control group and 28 patients in the treatment group, because 5 patients withdrew from the study. After treatment, scores of MMSE, LOTCA and their sub-items in the control group and the treatment group increased significantly (P<0.05), and the scores in the treatment group were higher than the control group (P<0.05).Conclusion Combination of acupuncture, moxibution, and cognitive training could help patients after TBI to increase the scores of MMSE and LOTCA, and improve the cognitive impairment caused by TBI. Its therapeutic effect is superior than the pure cognitive training.

Standardized rotary residency training is an important part of clinical medical education. Traditional clinical teaching can't meet the rapid development of oncology medicine. In the rotary residency training in oncology department, we put forward the problems encountered in clinical practice, stimulate the interest and initiative of residence, the PBL teaching model is combined with the evidence-based medicine in the teaching process through the relevant training, literature review and discussion. By standardizing the treatment concept the residence's understanding of the basic theory and frontier knowledge of oncology was improved, the thinking innovation and clinical practice ability of the residency doctors were enhanced.

AIM To prepare D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS)-modified artesunate liposomes and to investigate the in vitro anti-tumor activity.METHODS The liposomes prepared by thin-film dispersion method were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and particle size analyzer,and the encapsulation efficiency was determined by ultrafiltration centrifugation.The liposomes' cytotoxicity to human hepatoma HepG2 cells was evaluated by MTT method.RESULTS The average particle size,PDI,Zeta potential,encapsulation efficiency,drug loading of the liposomes were 126.7 nm,0.182,-10.1 mV,78.8％ and 18.38％,respectively.The liposomes displayed a significant inhibition on HepG2 cells with the IC50 value of 0.034 μmol/mL.CONCLUSION Compared with non-TPGS-modified artesunate liposomes,the TPGS-modified artesunate liposomes prepared by this method afford smaller vesicle size,better stability and higher encapsulation efficiency with stronger in vitro anti-tumor activity.

Isolated alkaloids from Coptis chinensis Franch. The compounds were identified as berberine, columbamine, groenlandicine, jatrorrhizine, magnoflorine, corydaldine and ferulic acid methylester. Then measured their bitter degree based on the electronic tongue and evaluated the antibacterial. The results based on the Electronic Tongue showed that berberine, columbamine, groenlandicine and jatrorrhizine have higher bitter degree than magnoflorine and corydaldine. And they also appeared better antibacterial activity on E. coli and S. aureus. The correlation coefficients between bitter degree and the two bacteria antibacterial activity were 0.983 and 0.911. So there was close relationship between the bitter degree and antibacterial activity of bitter components. Thus, it is confirmed further that bitter components are the material foundation of medicinal effectiveness of bitter herbs.
Aporphines ; analysis ; Berberine ; analogs & derivatives ; analysis ; Berberine Alkaloids ; analysis ; Biomedical Research ; instrumentation ; methods ; Coptis ; chemistry ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Electronics ; instrumentation ; methods ; Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Reproducibility of Results ; Staphylococcus aureus ; drug effects ; growth & development ; Taste

Objective To observe the curative effect of captopril and metoprolol in the treatment of chronic Keshan disease (CKD). Methods One hundred and ninty-five patients with CKD chosen from Juxian, Wulian, Yishui, Pingyi, Sishui and Zoucheng in Shandong Province were randomly assigned to control group, captopril group and metoprolol group according to NYHA cardiac functional grading. All cases were given diuretics, digitalis and vasodilating agents as routine treatment. On this basis, captopril and metoprolol was administered in captopril group and metoprolol group respectively. After 12 months of follow-up visit, the causes of cardiac death, hospitalization status and the changes of heart size, electrocardiogram, blood pressure and heart rate were all observed. Results It was found that the mortality of captopril group and metoprolo] group was 4.76% (3/63), 5.00% (3/60) respectively, both lower than the control group 10.61%(7/66). But this difference had no statistically significance(P=0.39). Besides, the hospitalization days of each year in captopril group and metoprolol group was respectively (19.12± 20.35) and(18.86±21.52)days, much more reduced than in the control group[(21.45±21.74)days, q=3.17, 3.38, P<0.05]. The detection rate of cardiothoracic ratio decreased in captopril group and metoprolol group [45% (27/60) and 40.4% (23/57)] After treatment showed more pronounced amelioration than the control group [18.6% (11/59), χ2=9.51,6.59, all P<0.0125], still the detection rate of cardiomegaly and invariability had no significant difference among three groups (χ2=2.50,4.75, all P>0.05). The elimination coefficient of ectopic rhythm in metoprolol group [56.5% (13/23)] was pronounced higher than the control group and captopril group [23.8% (5/21), 22.7% (5/22)], but differences had no statistically significance(P=0.0358,0.0331, all P>0.0125). Significant differences were found in systolic blood pressure(SBP), diastolic blood pressure(DBP) and heart rate(HR) in three groups prior and post-treatment(F=47.51,44.23,80.66, all P<0.01). The interaction of therapy and treatment time had influence on SBP and HR (F=3.19,37.44, all P<0.05), but had no influence on DBP(F=2.21, P> 0.05). There was no difference in SBP, DBP or HR among three groups before treatment(F=0.28,0.57,1.80, all P>0.05). After treatment, SBP and DBP in captopril group, metoprolol group and the control group[(109.0±10.9), (112.2±12.8), (114.7±13.2)mm Hg, (69.3±7.2), (72.1±9.5), (73.3±9.3)mm Hg] were all lowered compared with pre-treatment[ (117.1±13.4), (119.0±14.4), (117.6±14.1)mm Hg and (74.2±10.2), (76.3±10.8), (75.4±11.1)mm Hg, t=4.79,4.47,2.08,5.12, 4.32,2.15, all P<0.05]. HR was reduced in metoprolol group, being [(66.2±7.7), (75.9±11.5)times/min] before and after treatment(t=10.81, P<0.01), while it remained unchanged in captopril group and control group[(70.6±8.0), (72.6±10.5) times/min and (71.9±10.4), (73.8± 12.2)times/min, t=1.77,1.74, all P>0.05]. After treatment, both SBP and DBP of captopril group were significantly lower than that in the control group (q=3.52,3.56, all P<0.05); HR was reduced in metoprolol group, lower than that in captopril group and control group(q=5.44,3.73, all P<0.01). Conclusions Having a tendency of depressing mortality, captopril and metoprolol can reverse or delay myocardial remodeling and reduce admission rate in a safe,reliable and economic way, and are worth to be widely used in the treatment of chronic Keshan disease.

Objective To explore the reliability of relevant electrocardiogram(ECG) indexes in evaluating isoprenaline(ISO)-induced rat acute ischemic myocardial injury and provide reference for future scientific applications of these models. Methods Seventy male Wistar rats were randomly equally assigned to ten groups according to their body weight: 5,10,20,40,80,160,320,640, 1280 and 2560 μg/kg dose groups. All rats were tail intravenously given corresponding doses of saline diluted isoprenaline according to their body weight. Standard limb Ⅰ , Ⅱ, Ⅲ-lead ECG of all rats were recorded before, immediately after and 1,24,and 72 hour after injection, respectively.Changes of heart rate, T-wave amplitude of Ⅱ -lead and Q-T interval were measured. Results Significant differences were found in heart rates, T-wave amplitudes and Q-T intervals at different time points(F = 15.03,11.28,13.64, all P ＜ 0.01 ), while differences among the ten ISO-dose groups were statistically insignificant (F= 1.45, 1.17,1.09, all P ＞ 0.05). No interaction between observation time and ISO dose was observed on heart rates, T-wave amplitudes and Q-T intervals(F= 0.79,0.82,0.59, all P ＞ 0.05). Immediately after injection of ISO, the heart rates were significantly increased compared with that of pre-injection in all groups(all P ＜ 0.05), of which 320 and 640μg/kg dose groups increased most significantly [(550 ± 47), (521 ± 43)times/min]. T-waves decreased significantly compared with that of pre-injection (all P ＜ 0.01 ), and 20 μg/kg dose and above groups decreased particularly evident, and partly inverted. Q-T intervals of rats in each group were significantly shorter than that of pre-injection(all P ＜ 0.01 ), and 320, 640, 1280 μg/kg groups shortened more pronounced[(0.070 ± 0.006),(0.072 ± 0.005), (0.068 ± 0.005)ms]. One hour after injection, the heart rate of rats in each group decreased,except 320 and 640 μg/kg dose groups[(518 ± 43), (487 ± 36)times/min], which were still higher than that of pre-treatment[(450 ± 40), (448 ± 51 )times/min, all P ＜ 0.05], the rest groups no longer had significant differences (all P ＞ 0.05). ECG T-wave in each group was significantly recovered compared with that of instantly medication (all P＜0.05), and 40 μg/kg dose and above groups recovered more than a big margin, but there were still differences compared with that of pre-treatment (P ＜0.05), while T-waves of 40 μg/kg dose and below groups had returned to the level of pre-treatment. Q-T interval in each group had varying degrees of recovery, except 1280 and 2560 μg/kg dose groups[(0.080 ± 0.004), (0.076 ± 0.011 )ms]which were still less than that of pre-treatment[(0.086 ± 0.007),(0.085 ± 0.006)ms, all P ＜ 0.05], other groups had no significant difference compared with that of pre-treatment (all P ＞ 0.05). Twenty-four hours after injection of ISO, the heart rates of 1280 and 2560 μg/kg dose groups [(389 ± 31 ), (398 ± 23)times/min]decreased significantly compared with that of pre-treatment[(427 ± 43), (438 ±26)times/min, all P ＜ 0.05], while other groups had returned to the level of pre-treatment. Seventy-two hours after injection of ISO, the heart rates, T-wave amplitudes and Q-T intervals of all doses groups had returned to the level of pre-treatment (all P ＞ 0.05). Conclusions There has no significant ST segment in the electrocardiogram of rat.Isoprenaline has an exact effect on shortening Q-T interval. T-wave amplitude and Q-T interval can be used as reliable indexes of ECG for assessment of this animal model.

OBJECTIVE: To realize the automated assessment of the levels of epiphysis of distal radius and ulna by support vector machine (SVM). METHODS: The X-ray films of the left wrist joints were taken from 140 teenagers aged from 11 to 19 years old as training samples. The levels of epiphysis of distal radius and ulna were divided into five developmental levels. Each level contained 28 samples. Another 35 cases were selected as independent verifying samples. SVM classification models of the five developmental levels of epiphysis of distal radius and ulna were established. The internal cross validation was made by leave one out cross validation (LOOCV), while the external validation was made by histogram of oriented gradient (HOG), and then the accuracy (PA) of testing results was calculated, respectively. RESULTS: The PA of SVM, LOOCV and HOG of distal radius epiphyseal level were 100%, 78.6%, and 82.8%, respectively; whereas the PA of SVM, LOOCV and HOG of distal ulna epiphyseal level were 100.0%, 80.0% and 88.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION The SVM-based automatic models of the growth stage of distal ra- dius and ulna appear to have certain feasibility, and may provide a foundation for software development of bone age assessment by forensic medicine.
Adolescent ; Bone Development/physiology* ; Child ; Epiphyses/growth & development* ; Female ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Male ; Radius/growth & development* ; Support Vector Machine ; Ulna/growth & development* ; Wrist/growth & development* ; Wrist Joint/growth & development* ; Young Adult