ObjectiveTo investigate the methylation status in the promoter region of secreting frizzled related protein 2 (SFRP2) gene in patients with myelodyplastic sydrome (MDS) and to initially explore the relationship between the methylation of this gene and prognosis/survival time.MethodsMSP method was applied to examine the promoter methylation of SFRP2 gene in 43 bone marrow or peripheral blood samples of MDS patients.As controls,70 normal peripheral blood samples from volunteers of general outpatients were examined.Then some of the patients were followed up.ResultsIn 43 patients of MDS,10 samples (23.3 ％)showed SFRP2 gene methylation,and all of them were semi-methylation status.In 70 controls,no sample showed SFRP2 gene methylation.The frequency of SFRP2 gene methylation in MDS patients was significantly higher than that in controls (x2 =17.86,P ＜0.0001).Of the 10 SFRP2 gene methylation samples,5 were bone marrow samples and 5 were peripheral blood samples.In this group of patients,3 patients were diagnosed as RA,1 patient was diagnosed as RAS,2 patients were diagnosed as RCMD,3 patients were diagnosed as RAEB and 1 patient was diagnosed as MDS-U.There was no significant difference between the different sample source (bone marrow or peripheral blood) for the results of the methylation status (x2 =0.912,P ＞0.05).Either no significant difference between the different sex,age,type,chromosome and WPSS score (all P ＞0.05).The progress of disease didn' t influence the methylation rate (P ＞0.05).16 patients accepted follow-up and 11patients died,3 patients went to AML.2 died patients showed SFRP2 gene methylation.The survival analyses showed no relationship between the methylation of this gene and survival time(x2 =0.022, P ＞0.05).ConclusionIn this MDS group,there is a high level of methyl-modification in SFRP2 gene.The methylation of SFRP2 may be one of the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the progress of patients with MDS.The peripheral blood sample maybe a better substitute in detection of SFRP2 with MDS.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the hazards of aluminum dusts to the exposed workers and the clinical features of aluminosis.

METHODRetrospective investigation on 75 aluminosis patients from a certain factory diagnosed in Shanghai Occupational Diseases Hospital from 1972 to 2004 was carried out.

RESULTSThere were 27 cases of aluminosis I (36.0%), 28 cases of aluminosis II (37.3%) and 20 cases of aluminosis III (26.7%) among 75 cases. The shortest exposure duration was 3 years, and the longest 17 years, and 37 cases of aluminosis occurred after exposure less than 10 years. hest radiographic examination mainly showed irregular micro-shadows: t (22/75), s (4/75), t/u (1/75), t/s (2/75), or predominantly irregular mixed microshadows s/p (5/75), s/r (1/75), t/p (9/75), t/q (5/75); some showed round shape micro-shadows: p (6/75), q (1/75), p/q (3/75), q/p (1/75). 27 cases showed large shadows, 20 cases of them were diagnosed as pneumoconiosis III. A lot of irregular micro-shadows gathered and developed to form uneven, loose and border-irregular masses. Most massive fibrosis looked like stripe or plait, located mostly in middle and upper lung field. 8 patients suffered from aluminosis with single side of massive fibrosis and 12 with both sides of massive fibrosis, accounting for 40% and 60% respectively. Mediastinal and bronchopulmonary lymph nodes were enlarged and calcified, accompanied with pleural thickening.

CONCLUSIONSShort exposure to high concentration of black fused alumina may cause serious aluminosis to the exposes. The hazards of aluminum dusts should not be ignored.

Aluminum Oxide ; toxicity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Occupational Diseases ; etiology ; Occupational Exposure ; Pneumoconiosis ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Workplace

BACKGROUNDCathepsin S and its endogenous inhibitor cystatin C are implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, especially in the plaque destabilization and rupture leading to acute coronary syndrome. However, whether circulating cathepsin S and cystatin C also change in association with coronary plaque morphology is unknown yet.

METHODSWe recruited 98 patients with unstable angina (UA, n = 6) or stable angina (SA, n = 2) who had a segmental stenosis resulting in > 20% and < 70% diameter reduction in one major coronary artery on coronary angiography. Thirty-one healthy subjects served as controls. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was used to evaluate plaque morphology. Plasma cathepsin S and cystatin C were measured as well.

RESULTSAt the culprit lesion site, plaque area ((7.85 +/- 2.83) mm(2) vs (6.53 +/- 2.92) mm(2), P = 0.027), plaque burden ((60.92 +/- 11.04)% vs (53.87 +/- 17.52)%, P = 0.025), remodeling index (0.93 +/- 0.16 vs 0.86 +/- 0.10, P = 0.004) and eccentricity index (0.74 +/- 0.17 vs 0.66 +/- 0.21, P = 0.038) were bigger in UA group than in SA group. Plasma cathepsin S and cystatin C were significantly higher in patients than in controls (P < 0.01). Plasma cathepsin S was higher in UA group ((0.411 +/- 0.121) nmol/L) than in SA group ((0.355 +/- 0.099) nmol/L, P = 0.007), so did the plasma cystatin C ((0.95 +/- 0.23) mg/L in UA group, (0.84 +/- 0.22) mg/L in SA group; P = 0.009). Plasma cathepsin S positively correlated with remodeling index (r = 0.402, P = 0.002) and eccentricity index (r = 0.441, P = 0.001), and plasma cystatin C positively correlated with plaque area (r = 0.467, P < 0.001) and plaque burden (r = 0.395, P = 0.003) in UA group but not in SA group.

CONCLUSIONSPlasma cathepsin S and cystatin C increased significantly in UA patients. In angina patients, higher plasma cathepsin S may suggest the presence of vulnerable plaque, and higher plasma cystatin C may be a clue for larger atherosclerotic coronary plaque.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cathepsins ; blood ; Coronary Artery Disease ; blood ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Cystatin C ; blood ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ultrasonography, Interventional ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical manifestations, imaging characteristics as well as prognosis of neonatal polycythemia complicated with brain damage.

METHODSOne hundred and sixteen in-patients with neonatal polycythemia admitted to our hospital during January 2003 to October 2005 were analyzed. Their clinical manifestations were observed. Craniocerebral ultrasonic examination (2D, 3D), CT and MRI were employed to dynamically observe the craniocerebral imaging variances as well as the cerebral hemodynamic variations and near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) was adopted to test the cerebral oxygenation. Twenty-two cases with moderate or severe disease were followed up for 3 to 12 months.

RESULTSOut of the 116 polycythemic neonates, 53 cases had brain damages, of whom 31 had mild, 14 had moderate, and 8 had severe damages. Cranial imaging alterations were mostly ischemic injuries of various areas of different severity. The severity of brain damage was closely related to the duration of polycythemia, oxygen saturation of cerebral tissues as well as cerebral hemodynamic abnormalities. Brain injury was likely to occur in those whose polycythemia persisted for more than three days. The regional saturation of oxygen (rSO(2)) in mild brain injury cases was found to be 52.1%, while it was 47.1% in moderate and severe brain injury cases. Compared to the 58% as found in non-brain injury cases, the variance was found to be statistically significant (F = 104.466, P < 0.01). Among the cases with brain injury, cerebral hemodynamics displayed a slowdown in the blood flow velocity in the cerebral anterior artery and medium artery during the systolic phase and/or the diastolic phase. The abnormality ratio was closely related to the severity of brain injury. Through the chi(2) test the variance was proved to be statistically highly significant (chi(2) = 18.889, P < 0.01), however it was not correlated with the increase of the initial levels of hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (HCT) (P > 0.05). During the follow up, neurological developmental abnormalities of various severity were found to exist in the cases with moderate (5/12) and severe disease (7/8), while cerebral palsy or epilepsy was not yet found.

CONCLUSIONNeonatal polycythemia might tend to bring about a reduction in the perfusion of cerebral blood flow and damaged cerebral oxygenation metabolism which in turn might lead to cerebral ischemic injury, which in some of the moderate and severe cases might lead to long-term neurological complications. Imaging investigations especially craniocerebral ultrasonic examination could be the practical means for the early diagnosis and evaluation of prognosis.

Brain ; pathology ; Brain Damage, Chronic ; complications ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn, Diseases ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Polycythemia ; complications ; Skull ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUNDUlcerative colitis (UC) is associated with differential expression of genes involved in inflammation and tissue remodeling. MicroRNA (miRNA) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of UC by regulating the gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and control crucial physiological processes. This study aimed to identify aquaporin 8 (AQP8) expression and its relationship with miRNA in UC patients.

METHODSHuman colon samples, in this study, were obtained from 20 patients with UC and 16 healthy subjects undergoing diagnostic colonoscopy at the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital between December 2009 and June 2010. We screened different genes from UC tissues and healthy subjects using genome-wide microarray, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. Regulation of gene expression by miRNAs was assessed by luciferase reporter construct assays and transfection of specific miRNA mimics and inhibitor.

RESULTSWe identified that 1596 genes were increased and 1301 genes were decreased in UC patients compared to healthy subjects. Among them, we focused on the analysis of AQP8 which was decreased three folds in UC tissues (P < 0.01). The expression of AQP8 mRNA and protein were decreased in UC tissue and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α treated HT29 cells compared with controls (P < 0.05). We searched candidate target miRNAs of AQP8 through bioformatics and the luciferase report assay analysis indicated that miR-424, miR-195, miR-330, miR-612, and miR-16 which has complementary site in the 3-untranslated region (3'UTR) of AQP8 could decrease the relative luciferase activities by 10% - 45%.

CONCLUSIONAQP8 and its relationship with miRNAs may be involved in the pathogenesis of UC.

Adult ; Aged ; Aquaporins ; genetics ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation ; HT29 Cells ; Humans ; Male ; MicroRNAs ; physiology ; Middle Aged ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; pharmacology

Adolescent ; Adult ; Dust ; analysis ; Female ; Health Status ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Exposure ; analysis ; Pneumoconiosis ; prevention & control ; Sentinel Surveillance ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Welding ; Young Adult

Objective To study the different effects of valsartan and extended realse nifedipine tablets on lowering blood pressure of essential hypertension patients and their reversal effects on left ventricular hypertrophy. Methods 100 cases of essential hypertension patients with left ventricular hypertrophy were randomly divided into valsartan group(group A) and adalt group(group B).Other antihypertensive drugs except diuretic were removed for 3 weeks.There were 50 cases in group A using valsartan 4～8mg qd,and 50 cases in group B using adalt 30～60 mg qd,the stud),lasted for 24 weeks.The blood pressure was measured and the altrasowic cardiogram examed in baseline and 24 weeks later.Results BP could be significantly reduced after treatment(P

Objective　In a RCT study, the safety and efficacy of sabot (a slow-release salbuteral) and volmax (controlled-release salbuterol) were compared in bronchial asthma. Methods　40 patients with moderate to severe asthma were randomly divided into two groups and treated by sabot or volmax for 2 weeks. The FEV1%, peak expiratory flow (PEF), symptom score and use of rescue ventolin were measured to evaluate the effect of treatment. Results　After treatment FEV1%, PEF and symptom score improved and the need for inhaling short-acting beta 2-agonis in both groups reduced significantly. There was no difference of these improvement between two groups. Conclusion　The safety and efficacy of sabot for treatment of asthma was similar to volmax.

Objective To explore the relationship between the incidence of hypoglycemia in infants of diabetic mothers and brain injury.Methods The incidence of 86 infants of diabetic mothers combined with hypoglycemia as well as the relationship time of persistent hypoglycemia of infants were studied.And the association of the incidence and degree of brain injury with the time of persistent hypoglycemia,complication of other diseases and symptomatic hypoglycemia was also investigated.Results Seventy-five cases of temporary hypoglycemia(87.2%),and 11 cases of frequent hypolycemia(12.8%)were observed in the study.In the group of unsatisfactory maternal blood glucose control cases,the incidence of frequent hypoglycemia was 19.4%;in the group of satisfactory maternal blood glucose control cases,the incidence of frequent hypoglycemia was 8%.The overall incidence of the brain injury and the incidence of severe brain injury in the group of frequent hypoglycemic cases were higher than those in the group of temporary hypoglycemic cases.The incidence of brain injury in cases complicated with other diseases(77.4%) and in those with clinical symptoms(81.2%) were significantly higher than those in without other diseases(48.5%) and clinical symptoms(57.4%)(Pa

Objective To explore the factors associated with the complications of cranioplasty, infection and local epidural hematoma, such as age, sex, primary disease, skull defect and concomitant hydrocephalus. Methods 211 patients after cranioplasty were reviewed. Results 8 cases (3.8%) complicated one of them, in which 6 cases with local epidural hematoma and 2 cases with infection. The infection was more likely related with the areas of skull defect (P=0.003). No factor was found related with the local epidural hematoma. Conclusion It is necessary to focus the size of the frontal sinus when repairing the the frontal bone, to avoid the screw into the frontal sinus caused infection.