Accessory pathway-induced dilated cardiomyopathy is a new diagnosis proposed recently.Pre-excitation of part of the myocardium may mediate electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony,which will result in decreased left ventricular systolic function and increased diameter of left ventricle in patients with right-sided overt accessory pathways (type B ventricular preexcitation).Its features are listed as follows:(1) Incessant and prolonged tachyarrhythmia never happened.Tachycardiomyopathy and other causes of dilated cardiomyopathy are excluded.(2) Right-sided overt accessory pathways are shown by electrocardiogram.(3)Echocardiography indicates dyssynchronous left ventricle contraction,decreased left ventricular systolic function and increased diameter of left ventricle.Normal interventricular septal motion,recovered left ventricular and reversed left ventricular remodeling can be realized by radiofrequency ablation with a good prognosis.To infant patients,taking anti arrhythmia drugs to inhibit the conduction of the accessory pathway was recommended.

Objective To investigate the expression of interleukin 18 (IL-18) in liver tissues of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and its clinical significance.Methods Totally 172 CHB patients admitted in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2012 to December 2012 were enrolled.The tissue specimens were obtained by liver biopsy from all patients,and 22 normal liver specimens were also collected as controls.Liver function,serum markers of HBV and HBV DNA load were measured and liver inflammation grades and fibrosis stages were assessed.Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of IL-18 in liver tissues.Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the correlations between IL-18 expression and the above indicators.Results IL-18 was mainly expressed in cytoplasm of liver cells.It was positive or strong positive in liver cells of healthy people,but weakly positive in liver cells of CHB patients.The difference of IL-18 expression between CHB patients and healthy people was of statistical significance (x2 =42.124,P ＜ 0.05).In CHB patients,the expression of IL-18 was gradually enhanced with the increasing of ALT,inflammation grades and fibrosis stages (r =0.182,0.173 and 0.068,P ＜0.05),but it was not correlated with HBV DNA load and HBeAg (r =-0.05 and 0.041,P ＞0.05).Conclusion In CHB patients,the expression of IL-18 may be involved in liver injury and fibrosis formation.

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of baicalein on mycoplasma pneumonia and its the protective mecha -nism in body , and to provide scientific experimental basis for prevention and treatment of mycoplasma pneumoniae infection .Methods The mycoplasma pneumoniae and baicalein treated BALB /c mice lung tissues were stained with hematoxylin eosin (HE), and his-topathological grading .Minimum inhibitory concentration ( MIC) of baicalein on mycoplasma pneumonia was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) .The expression of P 1 adhesion molecules mRNA and protein in lung tissue of BALB /c mice was determined with reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot .The expression of epidermal growth factor ( EGF) mRNA and protein in lung tissue was detected by quantitative RT-PCR and immunofluorescence .Results Baicalein significantly reduced the my-coplasma treated mice's lung tissue pathological score .The minimal inhibitory concentration of baicalein was 32 μg/ml.Baicalein sig-nificantly downregulated P 1 gene transcription and protein translation , and upregulated EGF gene transcription and protein expression . Conclusions Baicalein shows significant resistance to mycoplasma pneumoniae , and can protect the body against mycoplasma damage by inhibiting the expression of P 1 protein and promoting the expression of EGF protein .

AIM:To analyze circulating miR-141 in the serum as a non-invasive biomarker in the patients with prostate cancer ( PCa) and benign prostate hyperplasia ( BPH) , and healthy individuals.METHODS: A total of 75 pa-tients with PCa, 52 with BPH and 40 healthy individuals were enrolled into this study.Total RNA was isolated from the se-rum samples and the circulating levels of miR-141 were determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS:The serum levels of miR-141 were significantly higher in the patients with PCa compared to the patients with BPH and the healthy controls (P<0.01).The level of miR-141 in PCa group obviously differed from that in BPH group and healthy control group with high diagnosis performance, with areas under the curve of 0.785 and 0.801, respectively. No statistically significant difference of the serum miR-141 levels between the patients with BPH and healthy individuals was observed (P>0.05).The serum miR-141 level was also found to be related to Gleason score, clinical stage and bone me-tastasis status of the patients with PCa (P<0.05), and the patients with higher Gleason scores had higher serum miR-141 levels.No relationship was detected between miRNA-141 level and the patient’ s age, biochemistry recurrence and serum prostate-specific antigen level (P>0.05 for all comparisons).CONCLUSION: Circulating miR-141 could serve as a non-invasive biomarker for prostate cancer diagnosis, staging and prognosis prediction.

Aging changes of somatostatin (SS) mRNA-positive neurons in the dorsal hippocampus of old rats were studied by in situ hybridization histochemistry and image analysis. In the young rats,SS mRNA-positive cell bodies were mainly located in the pyramidal and polymorphic cell layers of the CA1 and CA2 regions, and in the strata radiatum and polymorphic cell layer of the CA3 region, and in the polymorphic cell layer of dentate gyrus. In the old rats,SS mRNA-positive cell bodies were concentrated in the polymorphic cell layer and denate gyrus. A marked decrease of number of SS mRNA-positive cell bodies and a significant increase of gray value of SS mRNA-positive cell bodies were found in the dorsal hippocampus and dentate gyrus of the old rats as compared with the young rats. No significant age difference in the sectional area of SS mRNA-positive cell bodies was observed in the dorsal hippocampus. The results showed that there were apparent changes with aging of the SS mRNA-positive cell bodies in the dorsal hippocampus of the rats. The significance of the changes remains to be studied further.

Objective To investigate the effects of trichostatin A (TSA) on Th1 and Th17 cells in the mice model of collagen induced arthritis (CIA).Methods Mice model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was induced in DBA/1 mice with type Ⅱ collagen.Paws were scored for histological severity of arthritis.The severity of inflammation of mice joints was evaluated by histological examination.Real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine mRNA of cytokines and transcriptional factors.Serum cytokine production was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).T cell proliferation was examined by MTT method.One-way ANOVA and Student-Newman-Keuls were conducted in this study.Results The expressions of IFN-γand IL-17 mRNA of the CIA group were higher than that of the control group (8.27±0.64 vs 2.97±0.25,5.80±0.23 vs 0.70±0.26,all P＜0.01),but were inhibited significantly by TSA introduced at the onset of arthritis(6.60±0.52,2.50±0.41,all P＜0.01).Collagen specific T cell proliferation was significantly suppressed by the introduction of TSA.Increased level of IL-4 was observed in TSA treated group compared to that of CIA group(2.10±0.17 vs 1.01±0.08,P＜0.01).Conclusion Th1 and Th17 cells play crucial roles in the lesions of RA.TSA can suppress the progress of CIA by decreasing the percentage of Th1 and Th17.

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction on gut dysfunction in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods Forty-eight SAP patients complicated with gut dysfunction were randomly divided into two groups according to the number of admission, which were treatment group and control group. The therapy in t reatment group was Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction infusion through gastric tube (one paste/day, b. i. d), however the therapy of control group was normal saline infusion through gastric tube (the amount was the same as the former, b. i. d), and other management in the two groups was similar. The first passage of gas by anus and defecation after treatment was observed. Serum amylase, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 were examined before and one week after treatment;complications and mortality were compared between the two groups. Results The first passage of gas by anus and defecation in the treatment group was ( 12.3 ± 5.7 ) h and ( 24.8 ± 11.2 ) h, respectively, and shorter than ( 22. 1 ± 9.7 ) h and 46.2 ± 17.4) h of control group ( P <0.01) ;the numerical values of serum amylase, CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 one week after treatment were ( 120.3 ± 35.8 ) U/L, ( 10.8 ±2.0) ng/ml, (36.3 ± 5.8) U/L and (4.8 ± 1.0) U/L, which were significantly decreased when compared with the values before treatment, and these values were significantly lower than (267.2 ± 78.9 )U/L, ( 19.5 ± 2.7 ) ng/ml, (80.1 ± 9.0) U/L, ( 10.5 ± 1.2 ) U/L of the control group ( P < 0.05 ). The total complications and mortality of treatment group was 12.5% and 4.4%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the control group (37.5% and 25%, P <0.05). Conclusions Treatment with Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction in SAPpatients complicated with gut dysfunction was effective to reverse gut dysfunction and reduce total complications and mortality.

Objective To investigate the effect of Da-Cheng-Qi decoction on enteric functional disturbance in rats with acute experimental pancreatitis and its potential mechanism. Methods Seventy-two SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, acute pancreatitis (AP) group and Da-Cheng-Qi decoction treated group with 24 each. The AP model was induced by retrograde injection of sodium taurocholate (0.1 ml/100 g) into bitiopancreatic duet. Before modeling, the rats in treatment group received Da-Cheng-Qi decoction (2 g/100 g), and the rats in other two groups received 0.9% NaCl solution. The rats were sacrificed at 3, 6 and 12 hours with 8 each, and the blood samples were taken for detecting the level of amylase and the contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The colonic tissues 10 cm apart from trans-ligament incluing jejunum, terminal ileum and sigmoid colon were collected for examining the expressions of 5-HT_3 and 5-HT_4mRNA and proteins by RT-PCR and Western blotting respectively. Results ① The levels of serum amylase and 5-HT in AP group and treatment group were significantly higher than those in sham operation group (P<0. 01), but they were lower in treatment group than in AP group at each time points (P<0. 05). The level of 5-HT was increased in the initial stage and then decreased gradually both in AP group and treatment group. ③ The expressions of 5-HT_3 and 5-HT_4 mRNA and proteins were significantly decreased in the jejunum, terminal ileum and sigmoid colon in AP group compared with sham operation group (P<0. 01). Whereas the expressions of 5-HT_3 mRNA and protein,but not 5-HT_4, were increased in the treatment group in comparison with AP group (P<0.05). Conclusions The level of 5-HT is significantly increased in acute pancreatitis, but its receptors (5-HT_3 and 5-HT_4) are decreased, which may induce enteric functional disturbance. The Da-Cheng-Qi decoction may improve enteric dynamic failure by increasing the expression of 5-HT_4 and may be a choice for treatment of acute pancreatitis with enteric dynamic failure

Objective To study the efficacy and safety of implantation of a modified temporary self-expanding metallic stent for cardia achalasia.Methods A total of 30 patients diagnosed as having cardia achalasia were randomly divided into 2 groups,group A (traditional stents) and group B (modified stents)(n =15 in each group).Two days after stent implantation at the cardia by endoscopy,stents were withdrawn with endoscope guided by X-ray.LES Pressure,X-ray images ( including the diameter of the most dilated part of esophageal and the most narrow part of cardia) and the symptoms of dysphagia were compared before and half year after the treatment.The width changes of the most narrow stenting part on the point of stenting and 2 days after removal were compared.The side effects and complications during the treatment were recorded.Results All thirty stents were successfully implanted and removed.Stent dislocation occured in 2 cases in group A,but none in group B.Dysphagia had significant improvement after the treatment in both groups ( P ＜ 0.05 ),but the recurrence rate of group A ( 26.7％ ) was significantly higher than group B (6.67％ ) in 6 months ( P ＜ 0.05 ).LES pressure and X-ray images of both groups significantly improved after treatment ( P ＜ 0.001 ),and those of group B were superior to group A ( P ＜ 0.05 ).There was no difference in adverse reaction between the two groups.No perforation occured in any group.Conclusion Self-expanding metallic stents is safe for patients with cardia achalasia,with implantation convenience,symptomatic improvement,low recurrence,and few complications or dislocation.

Objective To determine the level and clinical significance of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein (iFABP) in patients of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) with intestinal dysfunction. Methods The serum and urine in 42 cases of SAP with intestinal dysfunction were collected at day 1, 3 and 7 after admission, respectively. The numbers of bowel sounds were recorded. 20 health subjects were selected as the control. Results The numbers of bowel sounds in health subjects were 5.6 ± 2.3/min. The numbers of bowel sounds in SAP patients at day 1,3 and 7 were 2.3 ± 0.7/min, 1.7 ± 0.2/min and 3.1 ± 1.1/min, respectively;which were significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.01). The level of 5-HT in the control group was(86.7 ± 9.5)ng/ml, while the levels of 5-HT in the SAP patients at day 1, 3 and 7 were (112.0 ± 17.8) ng/ml, (130.5 ± 19.7) ng/ml, (107.9 ± 16.3) ng/ml. The level of urine iFABP in the control group was (90.5 ± 19.8) pg/ml, while the levels of urine iFABP in the SAP patients were (1250.2 ± 425.3) pg/ml, (1586.9 ± 523.4) pg/ml, (1154.6 ± 394.0) pg/ml. The levels of 5-HT and urine iFABP in the SAP patients all were significantly higher than those in the control group (P <0.01). The levels of 5-HT and urine iFABP in the SAP patients at day 3 were significantly higher than those in the day 1 and day 7, while there was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions Determination of serum 5-HT and urine iFABP in patients with early SAP could effectively evaluate the intestinal function, and it may have potential clinical significance.