Humans ; Pulmonary Embolism ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Venous Thromboembolism ; diagnosis ; therapy

Objective To investigate the clinical features and genetic basis of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). Methods The clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, and genetic tests of one case of CAPS were retrospectively analyzed. The related literatures were reviewed. Results A 7 year and eight month old male patient had recurrent fever for 7 years and his whole body was covered with patchy red rash which was itchy and faded with pressure. The limbs and joints were normal. The levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factors were increased. The patient had fundus arteriosclerosis, double conjunctival lesions and nerve deafness on both sides. There was no mutation found in NLRP3 gene coding region, but a heterozygous mutation (-2667G>T) had been found in 5 ' untranslated region. Compared with normal control, the mRNA level of NLRP3 increased 4.2 times and the expressions of IL-1βand IL-18 gene increased 2.2 (P=0.002) and 1.2 times (P>0.05). Conclusions The clinical features of CAPS can be recurrent fever, rash, and joint involved. The oph-thalmologic abnormalities and varying degrees of deafness may occur during the progression. The test of NLRP3 gene may help diagnosis.

Schistosomiasis is a kind of zoonosis with serious hazard,which is popular in many countries and regions in the world. One of the efforts for schistosomiasis prevent and control is developing new drugs and vaccines,and knowing the tran?scription regulation mechanism and the function of transcription factors will help us find the targets of new drugs and vaccines as soon as possible. This article reviews the progress of Schistosoma transcription factors and research methods.

OBJECTIVE:To provide suggestions for the government decision of payment price of medicare drugs. METHODS:Investigation was conducted for the beginning of payment price policy of medicare drugs,effect of the implementation of policy in other countries and the encountered problems. The payment pricing mechanism was explored based on the combination of new medi-cal reform with theoretical analysis and empirical research. RESULTS:The reform of payment pricing mechanism of medicare drugs will have effect on current drug price,especially for R&D oriented pharmaceutical industries. The policy can decrease drug expendi-ture in medicare expenditure,and it is not sure whether it can decrease total medicare expenditure. CONCLUSIONS:It is suggest-ed to notice the related measures and government should keep balance between drug availability and encouraging R&D innovation.

To study the clinical efficacy of Pihui Fanggan Sachet (PHFGS), a sachet of traditional Chinese herbs, in preventing influenza and its immune regulation on mice.

Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics of primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD).Methods Eight patients with PPNAD from 2001 to 2009 in PUMC Hospital were reviewed,their clinical data were collected.Results PPNAD often occurred in adolescents.62.5% of patients with PPNAD were complicated with Carney complex(CNC).In addition to general features of Cushing's syndrome,amenorrhea and growth retardation in stature were very frequent in clinical manifestations of PPNAD.Plasma ACTH was undetectable,circadian rhythm of plasma cortisol was disappeared,glucocorticoid excretion was increased paradoxically during the dexamethasone suppression test in 50% patients with PPNAD.Adrenal imaging from 75% patients revealed normal-sized adrenal glands or suspectable micronodular changes.Adrenal pathologic analysis revealed numerous brown cortical nodules containing lipofuscin pigmentation.Unilateral adrenalectomy may relieve symptoms of Cushing's syndrome,but plasma ACTH and circadian rhythm of plasma cortisol were difficult to recovere.Hypercorticoidism might re-occure after unilateral adrenalectomy.Conclusion PPNAD should be bewared in ACTH independent Cushing's syndrome patients without apparent adrenal mass,and CNC should be screened and followed up.

Background and purpose: Researches demonstrated that the butyric acid sodium salt (sodium butyrate, NaB) has effect on the inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis-promoting, while the mechanism on salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma(SACC) is still uncertain. This study mainly probed into the impact of different concentration of sodium butyrate on the migration and invasion of SACC cell line ACC-M, and its mechanism of action. Methods:MTT assay explored the optimal concentration of sodium butyrate on the cell ACC-M and the observation of cell growth. Transwell assay was used to detect the effects of sodium butyrate on the ACC-M cells on the aspact of invasion and migration ability. Fluorescence real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blot were used to test respectively the expression of HMGB1, TLR4 mRNA and protein in ACC-M after functioned by 5 group drugs with different concentrations. Results:Compared with the control group, on the one hand, the concentration 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mmol/L of sodium butyrate could effectively inhibit cell proliferation and apparently showing concentra-tion-dependence (P<0.05);On the other hand, 5 sets concentration of sodium butyrate could also effectively inhibit invasion and migration ability of ACC-M cells in vitro (P<0.05), as well as reducing the expression of HMGB1, TLR4 mRNA and protein in ACC-M cells (P<0.05). Furthermore related analysis showed that the decline of TLR4 protein expression was positively correlated with inhibition of HMGB1 (r=0.810, P<0.05). Conclusion:Sodium butyrate has an effect on inhibiting ACC-M cell proliferation, signiifcantly reducing ACC-M cell invasion and migration capabilities, and reducing expression of HMGB1, TLR4 mRNA and protein, and both expression amount are positively correlated, Meanwhile the positively correlation suggests that sodium butyrate probably achieve the inhibition ability by lowering the expression of HMGB1, TLR4 mRNA and protein in ACC-M cell.

Objective To investigate the association between 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms( SNPs) [rs2243250 in interleukin(IL)- 4 gene and rs1800925 in IL - 13 gene]in Henoch - Schonlein purpura(HSP)and Henoch - Schonlein purpura nephritis(HSPN)in Han Chinese children. The level of IL - 4 and IL - 13 in serum were compared between HSP and HSPN. Methods A case - control study was adopted in this research,and 383 children with HSP or HSPN were recruited in this study,409 normal children served as controls. The genotypes of 2 SNPs were detected by using polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR - RFLP),and the serum levels of IL - 4 and IL - 13 in HSP and HSPN patients were detected by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the data were analyzed by SPSS 16. 0 software. Results (1)There was no association(polymorphism of SNP rs2243250 in IL - 4 gene)in HSP group and HSPN group compared with the healthy control group(P ﹥ 0. 05);and the polymorphism of another SNP(rs1800925 in IL - 13 gene)was associated with HSP(P = 0. 037),and the fre-quency of T allele of the study group was higher than that of the healthy control group(P = 0. 027). But there was no difference between the study group(HSP group and HSPN group)and the healthy control group in frequency of TT genotype(P = 0. 132),and there was no association between HSPN group and healthy control group(P = 0. 487);also there was no association between polymorphism of this SNP in HSP group and HSPN group(P = 0. 129).(2)There was an association between polymorphism of IL - 13 gene and IL - 13 level in serum,patients with TT genotype had a higher serum IL - 13 level than any other genotypes(P ﹤ 0. 05),but there was no statistically significant difference in IL - 4 level between TT genotype and other genotypes(P ﹥ 0. 05).(3)There was an association between polymorphism of IL - 13 gene and IL - 13 level in serum patients with HSPN who had a higher level of serum IL - 13 than the patients with HSP( P ﹤ 0. 05),but there was no difference in serum IL - 4 level between HSP group and HSPN group. Conclusions The polymorphism of SNP(rs1800925 in IL - 13 gene)was associated with HSP group,and the poly-morphism of this SNP might affect the level of IL - 13 in serum. The patients with HSPN have a higher level of serum IL -13 than the patients with HSP,and high level of IL -13 may be a risk factor in the progression from HSP to HSPN.

Objective To study relationships between myocardial injury and the levels of serum complement C3, C4 and C5b-9 in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods A retrospectively analysis was conducted. 170 ACS patients [including 110 cases of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and 60 cases of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS)] with ischemic chest pain or chest discomfort onset within the prior 12 hours admitted to the cardiology department of Tianjin Union Medicine Center from January 2014 to July 2016 were enrolled. Thirty-six healthy cases were enrolled as control during the same time. The levels of serum complement C3, C4 and C5b-9 on 1, 3 and 7 days after admission and myocardial function indicators were analyzed. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and readmission rate were analyzed after 1 year follow-up. The correlation between serum complement levels and myocardial function indicators was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Results ① The levels of serum C3, C4 and C5b-9 on the first day in NSTE-ACS group and STEMI group were significantly higher than control group [C3 (g/L): 1.04±0.33, 1.26±0.35 vs. 0.39±0.21, C4 (g/L): 0.31±0.14, 0.33±0.10 vs. 0.19±0.07, C5b-9 (g/L): 575.46±197.26, 659.26±160.77 vs. 501.40±141.51, all P < 0.05]. There were no changes of serum C3, C4 in NSTE-ACS group, but C5b-9 decreased after a peak (g/L: 700.63±218.42) at 3 days. Serum complements in STEMI group reached peak on the third day [C3 (g/L): 1.37±0.33, C4 (g/L): 0.42±0.12, C5b-9 (g/L): 754.72±136.22]. The levels of serum C4 and C5b-9 in STEMI group were higher than NSTE-ACS group on the third and seventh day. ② The levels of troponin T (TnT), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), solution intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), global registry of acute coronary events (GRACE) scores and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) numbers in STEMI group were significantly higher than those in the NSTE-ACS group, which were as opposite as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, there were no significant differences in levels of serum N-terminal pro-brain nitric peptide (NT-proBNP), Fibrinogen (Fib), readmission rate and incidence of MACE between STEMI and NSTE-ACS groups. ③ According to GRACE, patients with ACS were divided into low risk group (≤ 108 scores, 26 cases), intermediate risk group (109-140 scores, 61 cases) and highest group (> 140 scores, 83 cases). TnT and sICAM-1 in intermediate risk group were significantly increased as compared with low risk group. Levels of TnT, sICAM-1, C3, C4 and C5b-9 in the highest group were significantly higher than the low and intermediate risk groups, however the lowest LVEF was found in the highest group. ④ It was shown by Pearson correlation analyses that levels of serum C3, C4, C5b-9 were positively correlated with TnT (r value was 0.481, 0.367, 0.292, respectively, all P <0.01), sICAM-1 (r value was 0.298, 0.249, 0.365, respectively, all P < 0.01), but negatively correlated with LVEF (r value was -0.384, -0.260, -0.200, respectively, all P < 0.01). In addition sICAM-1 positively correlated with TnT (r = 0.536, P = 0.000), but negatively correlated with LVEF (r = -0.341, P = 0.001). Conclusions Serum complements activation was found in the acute phase of ACS patients. Serum complement C3, C4 and C5b-9 are involved in the process of myocardial injury, and may reflect severity of myocardial injury and cardiac dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Isoflavone isolated from Trifolium pratense L. has been found to be able to effectively inhibit bone resorption, reduce bone turnover rate, improve osteocyte activity and bone mineral density by enhancing the effect of estrogen, which is helpful for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Trifolium pratense L. extracts on the bone resorption and differentiation of osteoclasts.METHODS: Rat bone marrow cells were extracted, isolated by lymphocyte separation and cultured for 5 hours; then, the non-adherent cells were selected followed by induced by 30 μg/L macrophage colony stimulating factor and 75 μg/L RANKL (control groups), or different concentrations of Trifolium pratense L. extracts (0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 g/L) to observe their effect on the osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. The levels of osteoclast differentiation-associated proteins c-fos and NFATcl were determined by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the control group, different concentrations of Trifolium pratense L. extracts could suppress osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption to different degrees. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining showed that Trifolium pratense L. extracts could significantly reduce the number of osteoclasts. Western blot assay results suggest that Trifolium pratense L. extracts significantly inhibited the expression levels of c-fos and NFATcl. These results reveal that Trifolium pratense L. extracts can inhibit osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption.