AlM:To observe the efficacy of using botulinum toxin A in the treatment of blepharospasm.
METHODS: Totally 113 patients with blepharospasm were managed with a local injection of botulinum toxin A, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated.
RESULTS:Fifty-nine cases ( 52. 2%) had a complete remission of symptoms, 49 patients ( 43. 4%) presented with obvious relieved spasm, 4 cases ( 3. 5%) were partially relieved and the 1 patient ( 0. 9%) remained unchanged. The total effective rate was 99. 1%. The time of beginning effect was 1-14d. The recover time was mostly in 14d. The average of therapeutic effect lasted 1-9mo. Adverse reactions such as mild palpebra dysraphism, palpebra ptosis and local subcutaneous blood stasis were found in 23 patients, and the symptoms disappeared in 2-4wk.
CONCLUSlON:Botulinum toxin A can effectively control medium and severe blepharospasm by injecting a little dose on local muscle.

Objective To investigate the correlation between Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and the risk,severity and prognosis of sepsis in Chinese patients of Han nationality.Methods One hundred and three Han nationality patients who developed sepsis after surgery,aged 18-80 years,were enrolled in the sepsis group,and 114 Han nationality patients without sepsis after surgery,aged 18-80 years,were enrolled in the control group.Venous blood samples were taken from the peripheral vein and three SNPs in TLR4 gene,rs10759932,rs11536889 and rs2737190,were genotyped by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry analysis.Correction for Logistic regression analysis was made to eliminate the effects of sex,age,underlying diseases and operation methods.The correlation between genotypes of SNP and occurrence of sepsis,organ dysfunction,septic shock and death from sepsis was analyzed.The odds ratio (OR) and 95％ confidence interval (Cl) were calculated.Results Compared with the control group,there was a significant difference in genotype frequency ratios of rs10759932 (P ＜ 0.05),but there was no significant difference in genotype frequency ratios of the other two SNPs in sepsis group (P ＞ 0.05).There was correlation between rs10759932 and the occurrence of sepsis,and the variant allele (CT + CC genotypes) of rs10759932 increased the risk of sepsis (OR =1.86,95％ Cl 1.17-2.97,P ＜ 0.05).There was no correlation between the three SNPs and sepsis-related organ dysfunction,septic shock and death from sepsis (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion There is correlation between the variant allele of TLR4 rs10759932 and the increase in risk of sepsis after surgery in Chinese patients of Han nationality.

BACKGROUND:Recombinant human epidermal growth factor has been shown to promote granulation tissue formation and to accelerate the healing of burn wounds, but the antibacterial effect of recombinant human epidermal growth factor is limited. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of nano-silver dressing combined with recombinant human epidermal growth factor gel in treatment of burns and the influence on the scar. METHODS:A total of 76 cases of shal ow II and depth II degree were randomly enrol ed and assigned to two groups. In the study group, recombinant human epidermal growth factor was coated on the surface of the wound, and then covered by nano-silver dressing. In the control group, recombinant human epidermal growth factor was coated on the surface of the wound, and covered by ordinary sterile gauze. The healing time, the positive rate of bacteria, scarring and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The wound healing time and the rate of hypertrophic scars after healing were lower in the study group than in the control group (P<0.01). The rate of flat scar was greater in the study group than in the control group after healing (P<0.01). The bacterial positive rate was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group at 7, 14 and 21 days after treatment (P<0.05). No significant difference in incidence of al ergies and local burning sensation was detected between the two groups (P>0.05). These data confirmed that recombinant human epidermal growth factor gel combined with nano-silver dressing in the treatment of burn has good efficacy and accelerates the wound healing, reduces scar formation, and improves aesthetics.

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the content of phthalate in disposable plastic tableware sold on Chengdu market,and to provide primary data for safety evaluation.Methods Sample selection was based on stratified sampling.Sixteen phthalate compounds were investigated in 60 disposable plastic tableware,divided into seven groups.The analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).Results In this survey,diethyl phthalate,diisobutyl phthalate,dibutyl phthalate and diethylhexyl phthalate were detected,while the other 12 phthalate compound were not.The positive rates of the four detected phthalate were 6.7％ (4/60),10.0％ (6/60),46.7％ (28/60) and 28.3％ (17/60) respectively,and the highest concentrations were 10.3,6.4,7.2 and 65.6 mg/kg,respectively.Conclusion The observed level of detection rates and maximum concentrations were relatively high in this survey.In addition,some subgroups of PAEs that were not allowed to use in food contact materials were detected.Therefore,the migration in different food simulant would be analyzed in the next step for further health outcome assessment.

Objective To analyze the impac factors of serum N?terminal pro?brain natriuretic peptide (NT?proBNP) in patients with renal failure in non?dialysis phase, and to determine the cut?off point of as a diagnostic values in these patients with heart failure (HF). Methods Cross?sectional study was applied. Clinical data of 145 patients (37 cases of CKD4, 89 cases of CKD5, and 19 cases of acute renal injury (AKI) with renal failure in non?dialysis phase were collected. Comparison between groups and lineal regression analysis were utilized to investigate the impact factors of NT?proBNP, and the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) to select a better cut?off point of diagnosis in these patients with HF. Results (1) Compared with patients without HF, patients with HF had significantly higher edema, cardiac troponin I, serum phosphorus concentration, and left atrial diameter (LA), while ALB and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were decreased (P<0.05). (2) The NT?proBNP was divided into 4 groups with four points: First groups of 36 cases, NT?proBNP 1 ?862 ng/L, second groups 37 cases, 866?2670 ng/L, third groups 37 cases, 2790?20 000 ng/L, fourth groups 35 cases, 20 900?35 000 ng/L. With the increase of NT?proBNP levels, the occurrence of AKI and CKD4 decreased gradually while the occurrence of CKD and edema were significantly increased (P<0.01). Systolic blood pressure, troponin I, uric acid, serum phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, 24 hours urine protein, LA, interventricular septum thickness (IVS), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPW) level gradually increased. Hb, ALB, calcium, CO2, eGFR, LVEF significantly decreased (P<0.01). The serum NT?proBNP of patients with HF was significantly higher than that of patients without HF (19 150 ng/L vs 1530 ng/L, P<0.01). The serum NT?proBNP of patients with edema was significantly higher than that in patients without edema (5460 ng/L vs 1630 ng/L, P<0.01). (3) Single factor linear regression analysis indicated that higher NT?proBNP was positive correlated with HF, edema, cardiac troponin I, uric acid, serum phosphorus, LA, IVS and LVPW (P<0.05), while negative correlated with Hb, eGFR, ALB, serum calcium, CO2, LVEF (P<0.05), and not correlated with eGFR, uric acid, serum calcium (P>0.05). (4) The best cut?off point of NT?proBNP predicting HF in patients with renal failure in non?dialysis phase was 3805 ng/L, AUC=0.848, 95%CI 0.786?0.910. Sensitivity was 82.4%, specificity 74.5%, positive predictive value 62.1%, negative predictive value 87.3%, positive likelihood ratio 3.2, negative likelihood ratio 0.24. Conclusions The level of NT?proBNP>20 000 ng/L is mainly found in end?stage renal disease patients with HF. HF is a main factor for the increase of NT?proBNP in patients with renal failure in non?dialysis phase. High phosphorus viremia, anemia, and hypoalbuminemia are closely related to NT?proBNP. Therefore NT?proBNP predicting HF should take into account the effects of these confounding factors in these patients.

To study the effect of essential MCU regulator (EMRE) on myocardial ischemia injury in experimental mice with underlining mechanism. Methods: Myocardial EMRE expression was up-regulated by EMRE adenovirus (Ad-EMRE) injection in mice myocardium tissue. Our research included in 3 groups: Sham operation group, sham mice received myocardium injection of eGFP adenovirus (Ad-eGFP); Myocardial infarction (MI) control group, the mice received Ad-eGFP injection and 48 hours later had coronary LAD ligation to establish MI model; MI treatment group, MI mice received Ad-EMRE injection. All animals were treated in 3 weeks. Mice cardiac function was examined by ultrasound; cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was evaluated by wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) staining, collagen fibrosis was measured by Masson staining, cell apoptosis was determined by TUNEL assay, protein expressions of EMRE, caspase-3 and caspase-9 were detected by Western blot analysis and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) was assayed by MitoSOX fluorescence probe. Results: Compared with MI control group, MI treatment group showed the worse cardiac function, aggravated cardiac hypertrophy and elevated collagen fibrosis; in addition, MI treatment group had obviously increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis and increased protein expressions of Caspase-3, Caspase-9 and more mitochondrial ROS production. Conclusion: Over expressed EMRE can increase mitochondrial ROS production, induce cardiomyocyte apoptosis and therefore, aggravate myocardial ischemia injury in experimental mice.

Objective • To investigate different methods on the diagnosis of white coat and masked phenomena in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). Methods • Information of clinical characteristics and laboratory data were collected, and measurements of office blood pressure (OBP) and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in 274 subjects were performed, including 46 persons with high normal OBP (SBP/DBP 130-139/85-89 mmHg) (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), 187 untreated patients with grade 1 and grade 2 hypertension (SBP/DBP 140-179/90-109 mmHg), and 41 treated hypertensive patients. Differences of 95th and 5th percentile between OBP and daytime ABP, were respectively taken as the cutoff for the definition of white coat phenomenon and masked phenomenon. Results • If white coat and masked phenomenon were diagnosed according to the current hypertension guidelines, the prevalence of white coat phenomenon did not differ between untreated and treated hypertensive patients (11.2% vs 7.3%, P=0.460). In the untreated group, the prevalence of white coat phenomenon was higher in grade 2 than in grade 1 hypertension (20.0% vs 8.5%, P=0.033), whereas the prevalence of white coat hypertension did not differ (2.2% vs 7.0%, P=0.230). The prevalence of masked hypertension was 73.9% in high normal blood pressure group. The prevalence of masked uncontrolled hypertension was 4.9%. If the difference of 95th percentile (≥20.50/20.50 mmHg) and 5th percentile (≤-18.67/-6.00 mmHg) between OBP and daytime ABP were, respectively, used as the cutoff for the definition of white coat and masked phenomenon, the prevalence of white coat phenomenon did not differ between treated and untreated groups (12.2% vs 9.1%，P=0.543). In the untreated group, the prevalence of white coat phenomenon was higher in grade 2 than in grade 1 hypertension (24.4% vs 4.2%, P=0.000). The prevalence of masked phenomenon did not differ between persons with high normal OBP (15.2%) and untreated (5.9%) as well as treated hypertensive patients (12.2%) (P>0.05). Conclusion • The percentile methods may be useful for the diagnosis of white coat and masked phenomena.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a long-term adding metformin to a basic treatment strategy in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and analyze whether the beneficial effects of metformin add-on treatment during the open-label proof-of-concept trial persisted during a posttrial follow-up (the metabolic memory effect), as there is a paucity of systematically collected data concerning long-term metformin use in SLE. Methods: Subjects who had participated in the open-label proof-of-concept trial and gave informed consent to this study were enrolled, and the disease flares and long-term adverse effects between metformin group and control group were compared. In addition, whether the benefit regarding decreased disease flare persisted after metformin withdrawal during the post-trial follow-up was investigated. Results: Twenty-nine subjects in the former metformin add-on strategy group and 28 subjects in the former control group were enrolled. No adverse reactions of metformin occurred during the study. The risk of disease flare in the control group was higher than that in the continuous metformin group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.326). After metformin withdrawal, the risk of disease flare in the metformin group gradually increased to the control group (P=0.998). There was no significant difference between the two continuous metformin use groups whose metformin using duration are 2.56 years and 5.00 years respectively (P=0.802). Conclusion: A long-term metformin add-on treatment is security, and can keep SLE patients in a lower risk of disease flare. The metabolic regulation of metformin in SLE immune disorder may present a time-dependent metabolic memory effect.

This study focused on the intestinal absorption of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) to reveal the scientific connotation of the compatibility of TCM pairs. The single pass intestinal perfusion (SPIP) was used in rats to compare the absorption of single extracts from Puerariae Lobatae Radix, single extracts from Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, combined extracts from Puerariae Lobatae Radix and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Puerariae Lobatae Radix and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma mixture in rats. The content of puerarin, ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Re and ginsenoside Rb1 in liquid were tested by HPLC. The speed constant (Ka) and apparent permeability coefficients (Papp) were calculated and compared. Specifically, the order of puerarin Ka and Papp values from high to low was Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Puerariae Lobatae Radix mixture > single extracts from Puerariae Lobatae Radix > combined extracts from Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Puerariae Lobatae Radix; the order of ginsenosides Ka and Papp values from high to low was Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Puerariae Lobatae Radix mixture > single extracts from Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma > combined extracts from Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Puerariae Lobatae Radix. The combined administration of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Puerariae Lobatae Radix may improve the absorption in the intestinal tract.
Animals ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacokinetics ; Intestinal Absorption ; Isoflavones ; pharmacokinetics ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Panax ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacokinetics ; Pueraria ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rhizome

Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/surgery* ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Pneumonectomy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures