Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Brain Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; secondary ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Quinazolines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; metabolism ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; metabolism

85 cm) before 65 years old and descended after 65 (P

AIM: To investigate and analyze the changes of corneal biomechanics of normal eyes,forme frusta keratoconus eyes,subclinical keratoconus eyes and clinical keratoconus eyes by Corneal visualization Scheimpflug technology (Corvis ST),and provide clinical basis for early diagnosis of keratoconus.METHODS: Case-control study.We randomly selected 40 normal eyes as normal group,15 forme frusta keratoconus eyes as forme frusta keratoconus group,23 subclinical keratoconus eyes as subclinical keratoconus group,and 40 clinical keratoconus eyes as keratoconus group.The biomechanical parameters of each group were measured by Corvis ST.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curves was plotted to distinguish keratoconus from the normal cornea.RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the parameters of biomechanics between normal group and forme frusta keratoconus group (P>0.05).Compared to normal group and subclinical keratoconus group,the parameters second applanation length(AL2),first velocity of applanation (AV1),central curvature radius at highest concavity (HC-radius),deformation amplitude (DA) were revealed statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The biomechanical parameters of the keratoconic group were significantly different from those of normal group except for the second velocity of applanation (AV2),time from the start until the highest concavity(HC-time),peak distance (PD).ROC curve showed that the DA(area under the curve:0.891±0.028) was the best predictive parameter to distinguish keratoconus from the normal eyes.CONCLUSION: The corneal biomechanical parameters of forme frusta keratoconus group are not changed compared with normal group.The changes between normal group and subclinical keratoconus group should combine with other technology to further improve subclinical keratoconic screening.Compared with normal corneas,keratoconus has a great change in biomechanics,which DA diagnosis of the highest efficiency.

Calcium ; metabolism ; Calcium Signaling ; Epinephrine ; pharmacology ; Hepatocytes ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans

OBJECTIVETo investigate changes in serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and their significance in children with left-to-right shunt congenital heart disease (CHD) associated with heart failure (HF).

METHODSTwenty healthy children (control group), 20 children with HF, without basic heart disease (HF group), 20 children with left-to-right shunt CHD, without HF (CHD group), and 30 children with left-to-right shunt CHD associated with HF (CHD+HF group) were included in the study. These groups were compared in terms of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels. According to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classification, the CHD+HF group was further divided into NYHA-II, NYHA-III and NYHA-IV subgroups and the subgroups were compared in terms of serum IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels. The correlation of serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels with serum cTnI level in the CHD+HF group was analyzed.

RESULTSThe CHD group showed decreased serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels compared with the control group (P<0.01). The CHD+HF group showed a significantly decreased serum IGF-1 level compared with the control group (P<0.01) and CHD group (P<0.05). The HF group had significantly increased serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels compared with other groups (P<0.01). The NYHA-II subgroup had the highest serum IGF-1 level and the NYHA-IV subgroup had the lowest serum IGF-1 level (P<0.01). In the CHD+HF group, serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels were negatively correlated with serum cTnI level (r=-0.692, P<0.05; r=-0.530, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSerum IGF-1 level can be used as an objective condition evaluation indicator for CHD, and low serum IGF-1 level is a risk factor for HF. This also provides a clinical basis for treatment of HF using exogenous IGF-1.

Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; blood ; Heart Failure ; blood ; Humans ; Infant ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 ; blood ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; analysis ; Male ; Troponin I ; blood

Bone marrow (BM) and umbilical cord (UC) are the major sources of mesenchymal stem cells for therapeutics. This study was aimed to compare the basic biologic characteristics of bone marrow-derived and umbilical cord derived-mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC and UC-MSC) and their immunosuppressive capability in vitro. The BM-MSC and UC-MSC were cultured and amplified under same culture condition. The growth kinetics, phenotypic characteristics and immunosuppressive effects of UC-MSC were compared with those of BM-MSC.Gene chip was used to compare the genes differentially expressed between UC-MSC and BM-MSC. The results showed that UC-MSC shared most of the characteristics of BM-MSC, including morphology and immunophenotype. UC-MSC could be ready expanded for 30 passages without visible changes. However, BM-MSC grew slowly, and the mean doubling time increased notably after passage 6. Both UC-MSC and BM-MSC could inhibit phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation, in which BM-MSC mediated more inhibitory effect. Compared with UC-MSC, BM-MSC expressed more genes associated with immune response. Meanwhile, the categories of up-regulated genes in UC-MSC were concentrated in organ development and growth. It is concluded that the higher proliferation capacity, low human leukocyte antigen-ABC expression and immunosuppression make UC-MSC an excellent alternative to BM-MSC for cell therapy. The differences between BM-MSC and UC-MSC gene expressions can be explained by their ontogeny and different microenvironment in origin tissue. These differences can affect their efficacy in different therapeutic applications.
Adult ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Separation ; Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Middle Aged ; Umbilical Cord ; cytology ; Young Adult

Objective To analyze the factors related to the occurrence of extensive cerebral infarction following surgeries for severe head injury and analyze the clinical outcomes of the patients. Methods Twenty patients with extensive cerebral infarction following surgeries for severe head injury were retrospectively analyzed for preoperative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, hemorrhage volume, skull base fracture, pupil size, presence and duration of cerebral hernia. All the patients were treated with standard large bone flap decompression and/or routine comprehensive treatments. Results Patients with preoperative GCS score less than 5, intraeranial hemorrhage over 60 mL, and skull base factures complicated by prolonged cerebral hernia had significantly increased incidence of cerebral infarction. The 20 patients were followed up for 12 months and their clinical outcomes were evaluated with Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS), which showed good recovery in 8 cases, moderate disability in 3 cases, severe disability in 2 cases, and vegetative survival in 3 cases. Death occurred in 4 cases. Conclusion Multiple factors may contribute to extensive cerebral infarction following surgery for severe head injury, among which low preoperative GCS score, massive intracranial hemorrhage, and prolonged skull base fracture with cerebral hernia are highly risk factors. Early detection of the infarction and timely management with decompression, dehydration, intracranial pressure control, promoting brain circulation, prevention of cerebral vasospasm, and mild hypothermia treatment may help lower the disability and mortality rates of the patients.

BACKGROUNDPulse wave velocity and flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) are widely used as noninvasive modalities for evaluating atherosclerosis. However, it is not known whether pulse wave velocity is related to FMD in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the alteration in brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and endothelial function in CAD patients.

METHODSThirty-three patients with CAD and thirty control subjects were recruited for this study. baPWV was measured non-invasively using a VP 1000 automated PWV/ABI analyzer (PWV/ABI, Colin Co. Ltd., Komaki, Japan). Endothelial function as reflected by FMD in the brachial artery was assessed with a high-resolution ultrasound device.

RESULTSbaPWV was increased in CAD patients compared with control subjects [(1756.1 +/- 253.1) cm/s vs (1495.3 +/- 202.3) cm/s, P < 0.01]. FMD was significantly reduced in CAD patients compared with control subjects [(5.2 +/- 2.1)% vs (11.1 +/- 4.4)%, P < 0.01]. baPWV correlated with FMD (r = -0.68, P < 0.001). The endothelium-independent vasodilation induced by sublingual nitroglycerin in the brachial artery was similar in the CAD group compared with the control group.

CONCLUSIONSCAD is associated with increased baPWV and endothelial dysfunction. Increased baPWV parallels diminished endothelial function. Our data therefore suggest that baPWV can be used as a noninvasive surrogate index in clinical evaluation of endothelial function.

Aged ; Ankle ; blood supply ; Blood Flow Velocity ; physiology ; Brachial Artery ; physiopathology ; Coronary Artery Disease ; physiopathology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Vasodilation

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the feasibility and the clinical practicality of the design about the hollowed titanium stick supporting the femoral head and preventing it from collapsing.

METHODSFrom Jan.2003 to Jun.2007, 36 patients (46 hips) diagnosed as cystis degeneration of the femoral head were treated by surgical operation, including 20 males and 16 females with an average age of 40 years ranging from 18 to 56 years old, and the course of the disease was from 10 to 24 months (16 months on average). According to ARCO staging,there were 24 patients (34 hips) in NFH II, of which 11 hips were II a stage, 13 hips were II b stage and 10 hips were II c stage; there were 6 patients diagnosed as osteofibrous,4 patients as simple bone cyst and 2 patients as chondromyxoid fibroma. Under X-ray the percutaneous narrow core decompression and focus infection elimination were performed and supported the sclerotin under the cartilage with titanium stick. The patients were followed-up at the first, third, sixth, twelfth, twenty-fourth and thirty-sixth month after the operation. The clinical evaluation was done by X-ray and the indexes included stable, unstable and abortive. The data was analyzed by Fisher exact probility and the suviaval rate was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier suviaval curve using statistical soft ware SPSS13.5.

RESULTSThere were no unstable or failure cases on each period from the 1st month to the 12th month after the operation, indicating that the supporting effect of the titanium stick was exact during 12 months after the operation. There were unstable and failure cases from the 12th month to the 24th month after the operation, which were mainly in stage NFH II c but the comparision of the stable rate in this period and 12 months after the operation had no obvious statistical differences (P>0.05) indicating that the supporting effect of the titanium stick was feasible during the stage. One of the unstable cases deteriorated and failed but there were no new unstable cases, both the stable rate and the unstable rate had no change and the failure rate rose on the 36th month after the operation. The compar- ision of the stable rate on each period after the operation had no obvious difference (P=0.197>0.05), which indicated that the supporting effect of the titanium stick was persistent. By the difference of the etiology the three-year survival rate of the relevant NFH II c pathological changes was the lowest-70% and the survival rate of the pathological changes induced by other etiological factors was 90.2%.

CONCLUSIONThe design about the hollowed titanium stick supporting the collapsed femoral head is feasible. Using the hollowed titanium stick to support the femoral head and prevent it from collapsing is pragmatic in the clinical and the effect is positive, however, when it comes to the NFH II c pathological changes, the choice should be made discreetly.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Femur Head ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prosthesis Design ; methods ; Titanium ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Young Adult