BACKGROUND: The treatment of upper cervical spine disorders through a posterior pedicle fixation approach have been carried out in some domestic large hospitals, but this surgery is still considered as a difficulty of cervical spine surgery. In order to minimize the risk of surgery, the authors designed a program of individual operations, and combined with self-developed pedicle locating and directing speculum to determine precise intraoperative position of pedicle screws, and no report is found by searching related database in China.OBJECTIVE: To improve the one-time success rate of internal fixation screws, to investigate the biomechanical effect of the implant, to formulate a simple, practical, individual protocol for atiantoaxial pedicle screw-plate system based on related data. METHODS: A total of 31 patients were recruited from Department of Orthopaedics in the 251 Hospital of Chinese PLA, between January 2002 and September 2006. Under the guidance of self-made atlantoaxial locating and directing speculum, the entrance point and angle for screw insertion, as well as screw diameter and length were determined according to the results of X-ray and CT measurement. Atlas pedicle screw was inserted at left (19.93±1.32) mm, and right (19.16±1.3) mm; Atlas pedicle screw insertion angle to inside was left (23.72±2.09)°, and right (23.35±1.91)°; Atlas pedicle screw insertion angle to side of head was (9.00±1.20)°. Axis pedicle screw was inserted at left (13.14±0.82) mm, and right (13.85±0.79) mm; Axis pedicle screw insertion angle to inside was left (24.52±1.26)°, and right (20.42±1.42)°; Axis pedicle screw insertion angle to side of head was (25.00±3.00)°.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: ①Totally 124 pedicle screws were implanted into 31 patients, and 122 screws were of one-time success. The precision rate was 98.39%. Two screws were secondly inserted because of cutting lateral cortical bone of pedicle for deviation of inward angle. ②Occipital neuralgia was found in 2 cases postoperatively and cured after one month of treatment;screws penetrated atlas left vertebral lateral wall in 2 cases, no spinal or vertebral artery injury was found. ③Radiographs showed that atlas was completely reduced in all patients, and apposition of dentoid process of axis fracture was good. CT films showed the screws a good location to the vertebrarterial spinal cord. ④The follow-up visit was averaged of 10.5 months. Bony fusion was found in all patients. No screw-plate breakage was found. No inflammatory or rejection reactions occurred.⑤By JOA scale, there were 16 cases of excellent, 12 cases of good, 2 cases of fine, and 1 case of poor. The excellent and good rate was 90%. It is suggested that the success rate of atlantoaxial pedicle screw-plate mplantation can be improved through a biomechanical angle.

Elucidate the mechanism of Eucommiae Cortex in treatment of hypertension, to provide the basis for further research and development of Eucommiae Cortex. Our study using the entity grammar systems inference rules to analyse the interactions of chemical constituents of Eucommiae Cortex and disease target proteins at the molecular level, and got a biological network of Eucommiae Cortex anti-hypertension which inciude 602 nodes and 2 354 edges. We got 3 treatment of hypertension pathways of Eucommiae Cortex by analyzing biological network, that is, by inhibition of vascular remodeling to improve the deterioration of hypertension, reduce activity of polymorphism genetic genes related to essential hypertension, inhibition of carbonic anhydrase 1 to maintain the osmotic pressure, Eucommiae Cortex play the role of anti-hypertension.
Animals ; Antihypertensive Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Databases, Factual ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Essential Hypertension ; Eucommiaceae ; chemistry ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; drug effects ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Chinese herbs for stasis removing and collaterals dredging (CHSRCD) upon angiotensin-converting enzyme 2-angiotensin-(1-7)-Mas axis in the renal cortex of diabetic nephropathy rats.

METHODSTotally 89 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the blank control group (C group, n=22), the high-glucose high-fat control group (H group, n=10), and the streptozotocin (STZ)-injecting group (n=57). The diabetes rat model (n=50) was induced by feeding high-glucose high-fat diet in combination with intraperitoneal injection of STZ, which were further divided into the model group (M group, n=24), the irbesartan group (I group, n=13), and the CHSRCD (Z group, n=13). Rats in I and Z groups were intragastrically fed with suspension of irbesartan and CHSRCD, once daily for 16 weeks. Equal volume of drinking water was administrated to rats in the rest groups. Blood glucose and 24 h urine protein quantitation were tested at four time points. And the mRNA expression of ACE2 and Mas at various time points was detected by Real-time PCR, immunohistochemical assay, and Western blot. Quantitative analyses of ACE2 and Mas protein expression were performed at the end of week 16.

RESULTSCompared with the C group, blood glucose increased in the H and M groups (P < 0.01). It was higher in the H group (P < 0. 01). 24 h urine protein quantitation at different time points increased in the M group, and it was higher than that in the H group (P < 0.05). Compared with the M group, 24 h urine protein quantitation decreased at the end of week 8 in the I group, and at the end of week 8 and 16 in the Z group (P < 0.05). It was lower in the Z group than in the I group at the end of week 16 (P < 0.05). Compared with the C and H groups, the expression of ACE2 mRNA in the renal cortex was lower in the M group at the end of week 16 (P < 0.01). Compared with the M group, it was higher in the Z group (P < 0. 01). There was no statistical difference in the expressions of Mas mRNA at the end of week 16 between the C group and the M group (P > 0.05). It was lower in the M group than in the H group (P < 0.05). It was higher in the Z group than in the M group (P < 0.05), and higher than in the I group (P < 0.05). The expression of ACE2 and Mas protein in the M group decreased as time went by. The expression quantitation of ACE2 and Mas protein at the end of week 16 was lower in the M group than in the C group (P < 0.05). Compared with the M group, ACE2 expression of the Z group and Mas of the I and Z groups increased more significantly (P < 0. 05).

CONCLUSIONCHSRCD could play a role in renal protection for diabetic nephropathy rats by up-regulating the mRNA and protein expression of ACE2 and Mas, promoting the ACE2-Ang-(1-7)-Mas axis, and lowering urinary protein.

Angiotensin I ; metabolism ; Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Kidney Cortex ; metabolism ; Male ; Peptide Fragments ; metabolism ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ; metabolism

To study the relationship between the interleukin (IL)6 -572G/C polymorphism and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in men.A hospital-based case-control study was conducted with 500 male HCC patients without tumor history in other organs and 590 healthy male controls without history of tumors or chronic diseases. All HCC cases were diagnosed by histopathology. The controls were recruited from the Department of Orthopedic Trauma and Ophthalmology at the same hospital. The IL-6 promoter -572G/C polymorphism and its genotype variants were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The Chi-squared test and unconditional logistic regression analyses were applied to determine the risk of HCC among men carrying the different genotype variants.The frequencies of alleles and distribution of genotypes in the -572G/C loci were not significantly different between the HCC cases and controls (P more than 0.05). The Chi-squared test indicated that the polymorphisms of the loci were not associated with HCC in our male population. However, after adjusting by multivariate logistic regression, the odds ratio (OR) of HCC for the G allele (CG + GG genotypes) carriers was 1.31 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00 - 1.71) compared with the CC genotype. Among the male HBV carriers, the CG genotype increased HCC risk significantly (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.14 - 2.24) compared with the CC genotype. A trend test indicated that HCC risk was significantly increased with the numbers of G alleles (P trend less than 0.05). Breslow-Day tests of homogeneity of the ORs indicated an interaction between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and polymorphisms of IL-6 (P less than 0.05). The synthetic odds ratio (OReg) of HBV infection and harboring a G allele was 5.95 (95% CI: 3.99-8.87), which represented a super multiplication interaction.Polymorphism of the IL-6 promoter -572 loci may be associated with HCC occurrence in men. Moreover, there is a super multiplication interaction for HCC risk between HBV infection and harboring the IL-6 G allele.
Adult ; Alleles ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; pathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Genotype ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; genetics ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of Bauhinia championii.

METHODCompounds were isolated from the ethanolic extract of B. championii by silica gel column Chromatography, and their structures were elucidated by spectral analyses.

RESULTFive compounds were isolated and elucidated as 2,4,6-trimethoxyphenol 1-O-beta-D-(6'-O-galloyl)-glucopyranoside (1), (+/-)-lyoniresinol (2), daucosterol (3), beta-sitosterol (4) and gallic acid (5).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 1-4 were isolated from B. championii for the first time.

Anisoles ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Bauhinia ; chemistry ; Gallic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Glucosides ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Structure ; Naphthalenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Stems ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Sitosterols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the relationship between the incidence of abnormal thyroid function of newborns and maternal hyperthyroidism with antithyroid drug therapy.

METHODThe clinical data of 35 neonates born to mothers with hyperthyroidism from 1983 to 2003 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the maternal thyroid function and the antithyroid drugs taken during pregnancy, subjects were divided into different groups.

RESULTSThe proportion of abnormal thyroid function in newborn was 48.6% (17/35). The prevalences of primary hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, hypothyroxinemia, and central hypothyroidism were 29.4%, 29.4%, 35.3%, and 5.9%, respectively. The incidence of abnormal thyroid function of neonates whose mothers did not take the antithyroid drugs (ATDs) until the third trimester of pregnancy was significantly higher than those without and with ATDs during the first or second trimester (P < 0.01). The incidence of abnormal thyroid function significantly increased in premature neonates, neonates whose mothers with modest or heavy pregnant hypertension, or neonates whose core serum thyroid-stimulating hormone or serum anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies levels were abnormal.

CONCLUSIONThe risk of abnormal thyroid function of infants whose hyperthyroid mothers did not take ATDs until the third trimester of pregnancy may be increased. Prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment of hyperthyroidism in pregnant women are essential for the prevention of neonatal thyroid functional abnormality.

Adult ; Antithyroid Agents ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism ; complications ; drug therapy ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; drug therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Diseases ; congenital ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of compound granule prescription of thunberg fritillary bulb in relieving the post-chemotherapy bone marrow depression in refractory acute leukemia (RAL) patients.

METHODTwo hundred and thirty eight RAL patients collected from 7 third-grade class-A hospitals were randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group. Both groups were treated with conventional chemotherapy. They were administered with compound granule prescription of thunberg fritillary bulb or placebo three days before chemotherapy for consecutively 14 days. A standardized chemotherapy course was a treatment cycle. The changes in peripheral hemogram of two groups were detected before and after chemotherapy.

RESULTAfter the treatment, the white blood cell counts of the two groups were significantly different (P < 0.05), but there was no statistical significance in qualitative comparison. Before and after the treatment, the difference of the white cell counts of the two groups detected had significant statistics (P < 0.05). The white cell counts of both groups declined after chemotherapy, but the treatment group decreased more significantly than the control group. Before and after the treatment, there were no statistical significances in quantitative and qualitative comparisons both in HGB and PLT. After the treatment, HGB and PLT contents of both groups declined, but there was no statistical difference between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONCompound granule prescription of thunberg fritillary bulb can relieve the bone marrow suppression in RAL patients caused by the chemotherapy, which is mainly reflected by the slowdown of reduction in white blood cells.

Acute Disease ; therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Agents ; adverse effects ; Blood Cell Count ; Bone Marrow ; drug effects ; Child ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Fritillaria ; chemistry ; Humans ; Leukemia ; blood ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the active and passive mechanical properties and wall collagen and elastin contents of mesenteric small arteries (MSAs) isolated from rats of 28-day simulated microgravity (SUS), countermeasure [S + D: SUS plus 1 h/d -G(x) to simulate intermittent artificial gravity (IAG)] and control (CON) groups. Three mechanical parameters were calculated: the overall stiffness (β), circumferential stress (σ(θ))-strain (ε(θ)) relationship and pressure-dependent incremental elastic modulus (E(inc,p)). Vessel wall collagen and elastin percentage were quantified by electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that the active mechanical behavior of MSAs differs noticeably among the three groups: the active stress-strain curve of SUS vessels is very close to the passive curve, whereas the active σ(θ)-ε(θ) curves of CON and S + D vessels are shifted leftward and display a parabolic shape, indicating that for MSAs isolated from S + D, but not those from SUS rats, the pressure-induced myogenic constriction can effectively stiffen the vessel wall as the CON vessels. The passive mechanical behavior of MSAs does not show significant differences among the three groups. However, the percentage of collagen is decreased in the wall of SUS and S + D compared with CON vessels in the following order: SUS < S + D < CON. Thus, the relationship between passive mechanical behavior and compositional changes may be complex and yet depends on factors other than the quantity of collagen and elastin. These findings have provided biomechanical data for the understanding of the mechanism of postflight orthostatic intolerance and its gravity-based countermeasure.
Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Collagen ; metabolism ; Elasticity ; Hindlimb Suspension ; physiology ; Male ; Mesenteric Arteries ; physiology ; ultrastructure ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; physiology ; ultrastructure ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stress, Mechanical ; Vasoconstriction ; physiology ; Weightlessness Simulation

Objective To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adult residents of Shanghai Pudong New Area. Methods A total of 5584 residents aged 20-80 years old were randomly selected from Shanghai Pudong New Area through multistage sampling and interview between April and July 2008. Fasting blood samples and morning urine samples were collected to detect Scr and urinary albumin and creatinine. Urine albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated to estimate the renal function. Logistic regression model was used to examine the associations of demographic and lifestyle factors with indicators of kidney damage. Results The age-standardized prevalence of albuminuria, reduced renal function and CKD was 9.9% (male 8.0%, female 12.4%), 1.1% (male 1.3%, female 0.9%) and 11.0%(male 8.8%, female 12.7%), respectively. The prevalence of CKD was higher in female and increased with age. No significant difference in the prevalence was observed between urban and rural areas. Elder, female, high blood pressure, high fasting glucose, dyslipidemia and obesity were associated with CKD independently. Conclusions The prevalence of CKD in Shanghai Pudong New Area is comparable to that previously reported in China or other developed countries, and even higher. CKD is going to be a public health problem and warrants the community-integrated control strategy to prevent the incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and related complications.

In the present study, the safety of Haemophilus influenza type b conjugate vaccines inoculated in the upper arm deltoid and vastus lateralis muscle was evaluated. 680 infants aged 2-5 months and 6-12 months were selected to be the research subjects in whom the Hib conjugate vaccines were inoculated by injection in the upper arm deltoid and vastus lateralis muscle, respectively. The safety analysis indicated that there were no statistic differences in the incidence rates of adverse reactions when the Hib conjugate vaccines were inoculated at different sites. So we concluded that the safety of inoculation injection of Hib conjugate vaccines in vastus lateralis muscle was the same as that inoculated in the upper arm deltoid.
Bacterial Capsules ; China ; Haemophilus Vaccines ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant