Objective To explore the differences between the conservative treatment and the operative treatment in the management of cervical spinal cord injury, and the timing of the operation. Methods The therapeutic effectiveness o f the 45 cases who were treated from October 1996 to January 2002 was analyzed. 21 of them underwent conservative treatment and 24 operative treatment. The corr elation between the therapeutic effects of the operation and its timing was expl ored. Results The myeloid functional recovery was poor in the patients who had b een treated with conservative means but good in those who had been given an oper ation. The earlier the operation, the more effective it could be, and the higher the probability of the myeloid functional recovery. Conclusions The operative treatment promises better outcome than the conservative treatment. To get the be st effects, the operation should be done within one month after the injury, for the longer the lapse between the injury and the operation, the worse the effect.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety,particularly eye safety of hydroxychloro-quine(HCQ)treatment in primary Sj(o)gren's syndrome(pSS)patients.Methods Forty pSS patients were en-rolled and treated with HCQ 400 mg/day for 12 months.This is a prospective open-label study.Clinical mani-festations,clinical efficacy,biochemical and immunoserological parameters as well as ophthalmological exami-nations were investigated every three months to assess the safety and tolerability.Results There were signifi-cant decrease in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR),immunoglobulin G(IgG),immunoglobulin M (IgM)and rheumatoid factor(RF)level after 6 months treatment with HCQ(P＜0.01 or P＜0.05).No changewas detected in serum antinuclear antibody(ANA),anti-SSA/SSB antibodies after treated for 12 months.Somepatients had partial improvement in symptoms such as dry mouth,dry eyes and arthralgia.During the treat-ment,no significant effect on serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT),blood urea (BUN),serum creatinine (Cr),whole blood count(WBC)or hemoglobin(Hb)could be discovered.Central semus retinopathv(CSR)was found in one patient after 6 months treatment with HCQ.However,its association with HCQ could not be confirmed since it was not compatible with the usual HCQ retinopathy.Conclusion HCQ can improve svmp-toms of some pSS patients and can significantly decrease ESR,IgG,IgM and RF level.The safety profile of HCQ is generally good.However,ophthalmological examination before and after a 6-month interval may be necessary in long term HCQ treatment.

Objective To observe whether dermal multipotent stem cells (dMSCs) treated with platelet-derived growth factor-AA ( PDGF-AA )could distribute more frequently to the bone marrow in rats of total body irradiation (TBI).Methods Male dMSCs were isolated and 10 μg/L PDGF-AA was added to the culture medium and further cultured for 2 h.Then the expression of tenascin-C were examined by Western blot, and the migration ability of dMSCs was assessed in transwell chamber.The pre-treated dMSCs were transplanted by tail vein injection into female rats administered with total body irradiation, and 2 weeks after transplantation, real-time PCR was employed to measure the amount of dMSCs in bone marrow.Non-treated dMSCs served as control.Results PDGF-AA treatment increased the expression of tenascin-C in dMSCs, made (1.79 ± 0.13) × 105 cells migrate to the lower chamber under the effect of bone marrow extract, and distributed to bone marrow in TBI rats, significantly more than ( 1.24 ± 0.09) ×105 in non-treated dMSCs (t = 8.833, P ＜ 0.0l ).Conclusions PDGF-AA treatment could enhance the migration ability of dMSCs and increase the amount of dMSCs in bone marrow of TBI rats after transplantation.

Objective To analyze the relationship between serum levels of interleukin (IL)-33 , IL-18 and the level of immunoglobulin-E (IgE), eosinophils (EOS) in patients with acute asthma attack. Methods Eighty patients of acute asthma attack (observation group) and 80 cases of healthy physical examination (control group) were selected. The levels of IL-33 and IL-18 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method and compared between two groups. The levels of EOS and IgE were measured by automatic analyzer , and the relationship between serum levels of interleukin (IL)-33 and IL-18 and the level of immunoglobulin-E (IgE) and eosinophils (EOS) was analyzed in patients with acute asthma attack. Results The levels of IL-18 and IL-33 in observation group were (310.2 ± 152.6), (215.4 ± 87.5) ng/L, in control group were(204.2 ± 95.4), (138.7 ±48.3) ng/L, and there were significant differences (P < 0.05). The levels of IL-18 and IL-33 in observation group after treatment were (215.5 ± 98.2), (146.6 ± 54.9) ng/L, significantly lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The levels of EOS and IgE had positive relation with the level of IgE and EOS (P < 0.05). Conclusions The levels of IL-18 and IL-33 in patients with acute asthma attack increase, and both of them significantly decrease after treatment. They are positively correlated with IgE and EOS.

Bronchial asthma is caused by a variety of cells (such as eosinophils, mast cells, T lymphocytes,neutrophils,airway epithelial cells)and the cellular components involved in chronic airway hyperresponsiveness, and inflammatory diseases. Cytokines, adhesion molecules and some newly discovered inflammatory mediators have become the focus of research. Under normal conditions, the expression and secretion of cytokines are tightly controlled by the body. In pathological conditions, cytokines and their receptors are defective and cytokines are expressed too high or too low. Cytokines secrete and regulate the immune response. And they promote or inhibit each other in the immune response,and reach a balance state.