AIM: To study the inhibitory effect of captopril on retinal neovascularization (RNV).METHODS: Sixty seven-day-old mice were randomly divided into treated group and control group with thirty mice in each group. These mice were exposed to 750 50mL/L oxygen for 5 days and then to room air.The treated group had been injected captopril (2.7mL/kg), while control group had been injected 9g/L sodium chloride (2.7mL/kg) by intravitreal for 5 days.The mice were sacrificed at the 17th day after birth and the eyes were enucleated. Adenosine diphosphate-ase(ADPase) stained retina flat-mounts was performed to assess the retinal vascular profiles, Hematoxylin Eosin (HE)staining method was applied to count the number of new vascular cell nuclei and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2)and pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF)was detected by immunohistochemical method.RESULTS: Comparing with control group,regular distributions and good branch and reduced density of RNV were observed in the treated group. The number of nucleus of new vessels vascular endothelial cells breaking through the internal limiting membrane was less in the treated group than in the control group (P<0.05). Stain of retinal MMP-2 was weaker in the treated group than in the control group and stain of retinal PEDF was stronger in the treated group than in the control group.CONCLUSION: Intravitreal injection of captopril (2.7mL/kg) may block the RNV in the oxygen-induced mouse model and may provide an effective method for prevent-ing RNV.

Objective:To investigate efficacy of paroxetine in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome(D-IBS).Methods:In a self-controlled trial,45 patients with D-IBS symptoms according to the Rome Ⅱ criteria were treated with paroxetine 10mg Qd for 12 weeks.The efficacy measures included D-IBS gastroin- testinal symptoms,abnormal frequency or consistency of defecation,Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD)and Hamil- ton Anxiety Scale(HAMA).Results:42 cases completed 12 week therapy.The overall IBS symptoms,the Bristol stool consistency,stool frequency and abdominal pain were relieved significantly at week 2(P

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of mirtazapine in patients with anorexia nervosa.Methods: A randomized,controlled study was undertaken in 42 patients with anorexia nervosa.Subjects were treated with mir- tazapine or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor(SSRIs)for 12 weeks and followed up to 12 weeks.The clinical out- come measures included body weight,Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD),Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA)and the side effects of medications.Results:38 subjects completed the trial,20 in mirtazapine group,18 in SSRIs group. The weight gain in mirtazapine group was significantly more that that in SSRIs group at week 6 but the difference was not significant at week 12.The scores of HAMD and HAMA at endpoint were significantly lower than those at base- line(P0.05).No severe adverse events were observed in both groups.Common side effects of SSRIs were gastroenterological discomfort,while those of mir- tazapine included somnolence and weight gain.Conclusion:Mirtazapine can improve appetite and weight gain in pa- tients with anorexia nervosa in addition to relieve anxiety and depression.It is well tolerated and has ealier onset of effect than SSRIS.

Objective To study changes of?-glutamyltransferase(GGT)and its isoenzyme in urine and renal cortex of rats with subacute cadmium exposure.Methods Sixty healthy SD male rats were chosen and divided randomly into control group,middle dose group and high dose group,which were orally dosed daily with feed containing0,5and10mg cadmium per kg for six weeks.The activities of GGT and its isoenzyme in urine and renal cortex of the rats were determined in the3rd and6th week respectively.Re sults During the whole experimental period,the body weights and kidney to body weight ratios of control group,middle dose group and high dose group showed no significant differences.The GGT activities of middle dose group and high dose group increased significantly with the prolongation of exposure to cadmium and the increase of cumulative exposure compared with those in the control group.Unusual bands of GGT isoenzyme in the urine and renal cortex homogenate were found in the3rd week and the incidence of unusual bands of GGT isoenzyme was100percent in the6th week in the cadmium-treated rats of middle dose group and high dose group.Con clusion The GGT activities and the unusual bands of GGT isoen-zymes in the urine and renal cortex could be used as sensitive indexes to identify the renal toxic effects induced by cadmium.

Objective: To summarize and analyze the early outcomes and clinical experience in 1198 patients undergone off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB). Methods: This multi-center report covers 15 different institutes in China from October 1996 to May 2002. The ratio of OPCAB to conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (cCABG) was 85.2%. The mean age was (61.6?9.0) years. 77.3% patients were male and 22.7% were female. There were 34.6% patients with myocardial infarction, 58.2% with unstable angina pectoris, 18.7% with left main lesion, 76.9% with triple-vessel disease, 1.5% was redo surgery, and 9.9% emergent or urgent surgery. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 0.56?0.17. Results: The number of distal anastomosis was 3.1?0.9. IMA was used in 65.6% patients and radial artery was used in 18.0%. 13.5% OPCAB was combined with TMLR. IABP was used in 5.2% patients. The hospital mortality was 1.2%. The morbidity included 0.4% peri-operative myocardial infarction, 0.3% heart failure, 1.2% fatal arrhythmia, 2.0% pulmonary complications, 1.2% neurotic disorder, 0.7% renal dysfunction, 1.0% reopen for bleeding, and 0.6% delayed wound healing. Conclusion: OPCAB surgery is a safe and feasible procedure with good early results. Its late outcomes need further follow-up. OPCAB requires certain special skills and methods in practice so a specific training course should be designed.

Objective To investigate the effects of serotonin(5-HT) on the ionic channels currents and membrane potentials of single guinea pig proximate colon myocytes. Methods Cell images before and after contraction were captured and analyzed with an imag e analysis software. Channels currents, action potential (AP) and resting potent ial (RP) were recorded with an EPC-9 amplifier. Results The direct actions of 10 ?mol/L 5-HT to myocytes resulted in followin g effects: Firstly, the exogenous stimulated peak values of AP reduced to 60%?7 .3%(n=7,P

Objective To investigate the principles of combined traditional Chinese and western medicine treatment of early postoperation inflammatory small bowel obstruction(EPISBO).Methods 93 cases of EPISBO were randomly divided into two groups including group A,47 cases received combined traditional Chinese and west- ern medicine treatment,and group B 46 received only western medicine treatment.Results 93 patients were all cured through nonsurgical treatment.The combined traditional Chinese and western medicine treatment was better in symtom improvement and reduce of expense.Conclusion The principle treatment of EPISBO is mainly nonsurgical. The traditional Chinese medicine and somatostatin are very important.

Two 78-years old-old man and woman presented with thyroid tumor without a past history of chronic thyroiditis. Physical examinations showed touchable lumps in thyroid without other lymph nodes swelling or extra nodal lesions. Two cases both had thyroid function test, color Doppler ultrasound examination, computed tomography (CT) scan and fine needle aspiration (FNA) before surgery. The patients underwent partial thyroidectomy or subtotal thyroidectomy. Postoperative pathologic findings were consistent with malignant lymphoma. The diagnosis mainly relied on the postoperative pathologic findings.
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Thyroid Neoplasms

Objective To evaluate the effects of reduced glutathione (GSH) on contractile and diastolic functions of the thoracic aorta of rats with obstructive jaundice.Methods Twenty-four adult male Sprague-Dawley rats,weighing 200-250 g,were randomly divided into 4 groups (n =6 each) using a random number table:sham operation group (group S),GSH group,bile duct ligation group (group BDL),and GSH + bile duct ligation group (group GSH + BDL).In GSH and GSH + BDL groups,GSH 300 mg/kg was infused via stomach everyday for 7 consecutive days,while the equal volume of normal saline was given in the other two groups.The common bile duct was ligated in the animals on 1 d after the end of intragastric administration in GSH and GSH + BDL groups.In GSH and GSH + BDL groups,after the model was established,GSH 300 mg/kg was infused via stomach everyday for 7 consecutive days,while the equal volume of normal saline was given in the other two groups.On 7th day after the model was extablished,blood samples were collected for determination of the levels of serum total bilirubin (TB),alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST),tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α),interleukin-lβ (IL-1β) and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT),malondialdehyde (MDA),nitric oxide (NO) and GSH.The thoracic aortic rings were obtained and perfused with different concentrations of norepinephrine (NE),acetylcholine (Ach) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP).The maximum contraction and dilatation of aortic rings were recorded and the percentage was calculated.Some thoracic aortic rings were obtained again and perfused with different concentrations of NE after removal of the endothelium or after being perfused with L-NAME (nitricoxide synthase inhibitor).The maximum contraction of aortic rings was recorded and the percentage was calculated.Results Compared with group S,the serum levels of TB,ALT,AST,TNF-α,IL-1β,MDA,3-NT,NO and GSH were significantly increased in group BDL,and the serum levels of TB,ALT,AST,MDA,GSH and NO were increased in group BDL + GSH,the percentage of the maximum contraction amplitude of aortic rings in response to NE was decreased,and the percentage of the maximum dilatation amplitude of aortic rings in response to Ach and SNP were decreased in groups BDL and BDL + GSH,and no significant changes were found in the parameters mentioned above in group GSH.Compared with group BDL,the serum levels of TB,ALT,AST,TNF-α,IL-1β,MDA,3-NT and NO were significantly decreased,the level of GSH was increased,the percentage of the maximum contraction amplitude of aortic rings in response to NE was increased,the percentage of the maximum dilatation amplitude of aortic rings in response to Ach was increased,and no significant change was found in the percentage of the maximum dilatation amplitude of aortic rings in response to SNP in group BDL + GSH.Compared with the aortic rings from which the endothelium was removed or which were perfused with L-NAME in group BDL,no significant change was found in the percentage of the maximum contraction amplitude of aortic rings after removal of the endothelium or after being perfused with L-NAME in response to NE in group BDL + GSH.Conclusion GSH can improve the contractile and diastolic functions of thoracic aorta of rats with obstructive jaundice and this effect depends on the vascular endothelium.

Objective To investigate the role of Stathmin in pancreatic cancer invasion and metastasis and its relationship with DNA methylation. Methods Immunohistochemical detection of MBDI and Stathmin protein expression in 40 cases of pancreatic cancer and 15 cases ot normal pancreatic tissue were performed,followed by analysis of their clinical and pathological relationship with pancreatic cancer; Human pancreatic cancer cell line BxPC-3 was treated with 5-Aza-2-dC (AZA).Both qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis of Stathmin expression were used before and after AZA treatment; Stathmin-siRNA transfected BxPC-3 cells were divided into the Stathmi-siRNA group and the empty vector control group.Transwell chamber invasion assay and animal experiment were performed to measure the changes in cell invasion and metastatic capability. Results lmmunohistochemistry showed positive MBDI and Stathmin expressions in 28 (70％) and 24 (60％) out of 40 cases of pancreatic cancer,respectively,which were significantly higher than that in the normal pancreatic tissue (P＜ 0.05); MBDI and Stathmin protein expressions were positively correlated (r =0.356,P =0.037),so were MBDI expression and lymph node metastasis (P=0.023).Stathmin expression was significantly correlated with clinical staging and lymph node metastasis (P =0.002,and P =0.001,respectively).After AZA treatment,both Stathmin mRNA and protein expression in BxPC-3 were significantly decreased.Transwell chamber invasion assay showed that compared with the control group,the cell invasion capability of the Stathmin-siRNA group was significantly decreased (P＜0.05).Animal experiment showed that the incidence of liver metastasis was significantly lower in the Stathmin-siRNA transfected group than the empty vector control group (P＜0.05).Conclusion Demethylation may contribute to the reduction of Stathmin expression in pancreatic cancer and further improve the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients.