Cardiovascular Diseases ; enzymology ; metabolism ; Humans ; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases

Objective To compare the efficacy of the conventional PPD skin test and a new enzymelinked immunospot assay(TSPOT-TB)for diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection(LTBI)in patients with rheumatic diseases.Methods Two hundred and sixty rheumatic patients were enrolled,and all were screened for LTBI based on clinical history,chest X-ray,PPD skin test or TSPOT.Results The positive rate of TSPOT assay was 24.1%and that of PPD skin test was 39.4%.The overall concordance rate between the 2tests was 61.0%.Among PPD negative patients (n=149).29 were TSPOT(+)(19.5%).Among PPD(+)patients(n=98),69 were TSPOT(-)(70.0%).The patients who got BCG vaccination or had history of tuberculosis infection showed a significantly higher rate of positive result of PPD skin test than those who did not (P<0.05 or P<0.01).While in TSPOT assay,the BCG vaccination or history of tuberculosis infection did not show influence on TSPOT results(P>0.05).Of the 127 patients who received biological agents after screening for LTBI,9 patients were pretreated with isoniazide.Twenty-seven patients stopped biological agent treatment because of the positive results of PPD or TSPOT.Twenty three patients who had positive PPD but negative TSPOT results received biological agent treatment without isoniazide,and none of them developed active tubereulosis after 6 to 18 months of follow-up.Conclusion BCG vaccination affects the result of PPD test in rheumatic patients,but has no influence on TSPOT results.The infection rate of latent tuberculosis of rheumatic patients in our research is 23.8%detected by TSPOT.

Objective　To investigate the role of cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated molecule-4Ig(CTLA-4Ig) in the prevention of C57BL/6 mice autoimmune hepatitis. Methods　The C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally immunized with C57BL/6 mice liver-specific protein in complete Freund's adjuvant. At the same time CTLA-4Ig were given to observe the pathologic alteration of C57BL/6 mice liver. Results　With the increase of time of immunization, the results in the treatment group were similar to those of the control group; but inflammatory cell infiltration, hepatic cell swelling, focal necrosis and severe hepatocyte damage were found in the pathologic model group. There was a significant difference between the pathologic model group and control one. Conclusion　Autoimmune hepatitis of C57BL/6 mice can be effectively prevented by CTLA-4Ig.

OBJECTIVETo analyze craniofacial growth three-dimensionally for adolescents with normal occlusion in Beijing.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty-six adolescents with normal occlusion were selected according to the criteria. The sample was divided into four age groups (53 within 4 years, 30 within 7 years, 27 within 10 years and 16 within 13 years). Information of growth was collected. Three-dimensional cephalometric system based on cone-bean CT was established.

RESULTSFrom 4 to 13 years Co-A increased (14.55 ± 1.15) mm on average on the left and (13.66 ± 1.14) mm on the right, and Co-Gn increased (22.89 ± 1.40) mm on the left and (22.82 ± 1.38) mm on the right; and U1-NA increased (2.20 ± 0.44) mm on the left and (1.60 ± 0.46) mm on the right; and CoL-CoR and GoL-GoR increased (13.31 ± 1.21) mm and (18.59 ± 1.40) mm, and N-Me increased (18.03 ± 1.32) mm.SN-PP and SN-MPL basically remained unchanged.

CONCLUSIONSAdolescents with normal occlusion in Beijing grew obviously in three-dimensions and developed harmoniously.

Adolescent ; Cephalometry ; methods ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Dental Occlusion ; Face ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; Facial Bones ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; growth & development ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Incisor ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; growth & development ; Mandible ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; growth & development ; Maxilla ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; growth & development ; Maxillofacial Development

Objective To reveal and forecast the incidence trend of Brucellosis, in order to provide acientific basis for future intervention and policy-making. Methods Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze and statistically describe the distribution of the disease in different times, different locations and different (7.0783/10 million to 13.1257/10 million) and Qingxu ( 1.4811/10 million to 8.5241/10 million) were higher,followed by Yangqu county(0 to 5.8232/10 million), Xiaodian(0.8108/l0 million to 2.4229/10 million) and Jinyuan district ( 0.5329/ 10 million to 1.5896/10 million), and the remaining counties(districts) in the annual There were 223 cases of Brucellosis patients from 2006 to 2009 in Taiyuan. Vocational high risk population was farmers, with a total of 140 cases, accounting for 62.78% of the total number of incidence, followed by students and workers, respectively, 13, 14 cases, accounting for 5.83% and 6.28%, other occupational groups, 56 cases,77.58%;28 cases aged above 60 years, accounting for 12.56%;22 cases aged younger than 19 years, accounting identical in the four years, most cases occurred in spring and summer and showing a clear seasonal high.Conclusions The incidence trend of Brucellosis is on the rise from 2006 to 2009. High risk population is farmer,and the number of younger patients is on the rise, we propose strengthen protection for high risk groups.

OBJECTIVETo study the protective effect of dl-tetrahydropalmatine(dl-THP) on liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CC4) in mice.

METHODMice were administracted with dl-tetrahydropalmatine ip 20, 40 mg x kg(-1) daily for 9 d respectively, and then actue liver injury model was induced by 0.1% carbon tetrachloride ip 20 mL x kg(-1). The mice were killed 17 h after injection ip of CCl4, serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT and AST) activity were measured, and maleic dialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity in liver were detected.

RESULTdl-THP significantly reduced the level of serum ALT and AST, inhibited lipoperxidation in liver, while increased SOD activity in liver tissue. Degeneration of hepatocytes was obviously prevented in mice treated with dl-THP, and the liver histological structure was well maintained.

CONCLUSIONdl-THP has inhibitory effects on liver injury induced by CCl4 in mice. The mechanisms may be related with its effects of reducing lipid peroxidation product.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Berberine Alkaloids ; pharmacology ; Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; etiology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Lipid Peroxidation ; drug effects ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Mice ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEThe brain is one of the most common metastatic sites of breast cancer. Brain metastases develop in 10%-15% of patients with breast cancer and are associated with poor prognosis. The purpose of this retrospective study was to analyze the clinical characteristics and survival of patients with brain metastases due to breast cancer of different subtypes and to identify the prognostic factors that affect clinical outcome.

METHODSA total of 89 patients with breast cancer brain metastases diagnosed between October 1997 and July 2008 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were included in this study. Among the 89 patients, the number of luminal A, luminal B, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), and triple-negative (TN) subtypes were 30, 20, 16, and 14, respectively; 9 patients had an unknown subtype. The clinical characteristics, pathologic features, and prognostic factors were analyzed both at the initial diagnosis and at the diagnosis of brain metastases. Endocrine therapy for patients with luminal subtypes was further studied.

RESULTSThe median age of patients was 46 years (range 28-74 years). The median survival time was 8.0 months (range, 0-80 months), the 1-year survival rate was 32% and the 5-year survival rate was 4%. The time to brain metastasis differed according to clinical stage at the initial diagnosis, and the time for patients with the luminal A subtype was the longest (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that performance status score > 1, multiple brain metastases and without whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in combination with chemotherapy were associated with poor prognosis. Compared with the luminal A subtype, features of the HER-2 and TN subtypes included early metastases, rapid progression after first-line treatment (8.0 months vs. 11.0 months), and poor overall survival (25.0 months vs. 63.0 months). The luminal A subtype showed a tendency for good prognosis and slow growth. Tamoxifen could improve the survival of luminal A/B subtypes (median survival 24.0 months vs. 7.0 months, respectively, P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONSThe prognosis of brain metastases from breast cancer was poor, especially in patients with HER-2 and TN subtypes. Generally, WBRT in combination with chemotherapy was the standard treatment modality. Patients with the luminal subtypes could benefit from tamoxifen.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Brain Neoplasms ; secondary ; therapy ; Breast Neoplasms ; classification ; pathology ; therapy ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; classification ; pathology ; secondary ; therapy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cranial Irradiation ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mastectomy ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; blood ; Receptors, Estrogen ; blood ; Receptors, Progesterone ; blood ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Tamoxifen ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo identify differential proteins in the seminal plasma of healthy fertile men and non-obstructive azoospermia patients by the shotgun proteomic strategy.

METHODSSix seminal plasma samples from 3 healthy fertile and 3 non-obstructive azoospermia volunteers were collected by Percoll isolation, balanced-mixed, and followed by separation of the mixture by SDS-PAGE. The proteins were subjected to in-gel enzymolysis and isolation of peptide fragments, and then identified by the shotgun proteomic strategy. Then comparative analyses were made between the two groups on the identified proteins with the unique peptide count > or = 2 and = 1 but with the peptide count > or = 4.

RESULTSA total of 213 differential proteins were identified, 133 in the non-obstructive azoospermia patients and 80 in the healthy fertile men. According to the molecular function, these differential proteins mainly fell into the types of signal transduction, cytoskeleton and catalytic activity, especially oxidoreductase activity in the latter type. Eighteen of the differential proteins were found to be of particular significance, including dynein heavy chain, fatty acid synthase, and tubulin alpha-6 chain.

CONCLUSIONThe differential proteins identified in this study were many in number and various in function, which not only demonstrated the value of the shotgun proteomic strategy in protein identification, but also suggested the complicated pathogenesis and varied types of non-obstructive azoospermia. The samples must be selected strictly based on their gene and histological types. Non-obstructive azoospermia was shown to be related with the M phase of the mitotic cell cycle at the protein level, but its specific mechanism remains unknown.

Azoospermia ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Proteome ; analysis ; Proteomics ; methods ; Semen ; chemistry ; Sperm Motility

OBJECTIVETo determine the total and segmental colonic transit time of normal Chinese children and to explore its value in constipation in children.

METHODSThe subjects involved in this study were divided into 2 groups. One group was control, which had 33 healthy children (21 males and 12 females) aged 2 - 13 years (mean 5 years). The other was constipation group, which had 25 patients (15 males and 10 females) aged 3 - 14 years (mean 7 years) with constipation according to Benninga's criteria. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of each subject. In this study the simplified method of radio opaque markers was used to determine the total gastrointestinal transit time and segmental colonic transit time of the normal and constipated children, and in part of these patients X-ray defecography was also used.

RESULTSThe total gastrointestinal transit time (TGITT), right colonic transit time (RCTT), left colonic transit time (LCTT) and rectosigmoid colonic transit time (RSTT) of the normal children were 28.7 +/- 7.7 h, 7.5 +/- 3.2 h, 6.5 +/- 3.8 h and 13.4 +/- 5.6 h, respectively. In the constipated children, the TGITT, LCTT and RSTT were significantly longer than those in controls (92.2 +/- 55.5 h vs 28.7 +/- 7.7 h, P < 0.001; 16.9 +/- 12.6 h vs 6.5 +/- 3.8 h, P < 0.01; 61.5 +/- 29.0 h vs 13.4 +/- 5.6 h, P < 0.001), while the RCTT had no significant difference. X-ray defecography demonstrated one rectocele, one perineal descent syndrome and one puborectal muscle syndrome, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe TGITT, RCTT, LCTT and RSTT of the normal children were 28.7 +/- 7.7 h, 7.5 +/- 3.2 h, 6.5 +/- 3.8 h and 13.4 +/- 5.6 h, respectively. With the segmental colonic transit time, constipation can be divided into four types: slow-transit constipation, outlet obstruction, mixed type and normal transit constipation. X-ray defecography can demonstrate the anatomical or dynamic abnormalities within the anorectal area, with which constipation can be further divided into different subtypes, and combined use of the gastrointestinal transit time and X-ray defecography is of clinical importance in exploration of etiology of constipation.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Constipation ; physiopathology ; Defecography ; methods ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Transit ; Humans ; Male ; Time Factors

·AIM: To investigate the effects of astragalus injection on the metabolic and pathological changes of the retinal free radical metabolism and pathology in high-altitude hypoxic rats. ·METHODS: Sixty healthy SD rats without any eye disease were selected,and the random grouping method was divided into two groups: astragalus injection group (intervention group) and physiological saline group (control group),each group of 30 rats. In each group,6 were randomly selected for injection of astragalus injection (15mL/kg) and physiological saline (15mL/kg) in the pre-simulated chamber. The rats were sacrificed immediately and removed the eyeballs after the rats were taken out of the simulated module. We observed the changes of retinal morphology with the HE staining method, and determine the retinal SOD and MDA content with colorimetry. · RESULTS: HE staining showed no morphological changes in the two groups of retinas at 2h, and as the time of hypoxia was prolonged, the retinal edema gradually increased,but the intervention group was less edema than the control group. The activity of SOD in both groups decreased with the increase of anoxia time of high altitude, and the comparison of different time points in the group was statistically significant(P<0.05). The content of MDA in both groups increased gradually, and the comparison between different time points in the group was statistically significant (P<0.05). The SOD in the two groups of retinas was significantly different at same time point(P<0. 05), except for at 2h without statistical significance. The MDA showed the same situation as SOD. ·CONCLUSION: Astragalus injection can reduce the damage degree of retinopathy in rats under the high altitude hypoxia environment, that the mechanism may be related to free radicals, enhance the activity of SOD, reduce the MDA content of lipid peroxides,and enhance antioxidant capacity.